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Havens of the Holy: The House of Kindred Spirits

Havens of the Holy: The House of Kindred Spirits

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The multiverse is a diverse and wonderful place. Why settle for stock stone temples and vaulting churches when your holy sites can be as varied as the planes themselves?

This series explores several places of power considered holy, for GMs to provide meaningful backdrops to their adventure concepts. Players may find this article useful to establish personal goals for their characters or to flesh out their backstory by connecting themselves to these sites.

The House of Kindred Spirits

A raucous bar patron leads a rousing song. Drinkers cheer as someone buys a round for the house. The center of the tavern floor is flooded with people dancing to the music that pervades the establishment. This is the House of Kindred Spirits, and it is more than just any tavern or bar; it’s a holy site.

The House of Kindred Spirits is a place of worship for several deities that value community and togetherness, but the House’s safety and operation is given over to priests of the gods or goddesses of alcohol. Whether your House of Kindred Spirits is a stone column-supported temple to Dionysus, a rustic mead hall devoted to Aegir, or even a roadside pub devoted to Saint Brigid of Kildare, the House provides drink, advice, shelter, and merriment to all who walk in her doors.

Who Is Worshipped at the House?

In many places of the Labyrinth, this temple is devoted to Rava. Nakresh once claimed dominion over the House, but the god’s penchant for thievery, ruthlessness, and deception turned the patrons on one another and the temple became abandoned. The House has become a haven for adherents of Rava who not only practice the gentle and patient art of brewing but fill the main drinking hall with new stories and tales. In Midgard, the House looks much like any other temple to Ninkash in Nuria Natal, or a drinking house devoted to Perun.

In any case, the temple is unorthodox in its ministrations. The priesthood are similar to other priests and priestesses across the Labyrinth: they listen, provide counsel, and shepherd their flock. The staff and priesthood of the House of Kindred Spirits do this and more, providing drink, rest, and relaxation to travelers along any road.

The House’s Appearance

The House of Kindred Spirits could be a smoke and gangster-ridden speakeasy, or a remote, family-owned vineyard. Even in cultures where alcoholic drinks aren’t prevalent, the House (in your world) provides substances that help loosen inhibitions and promote friendliness and merriment.

Within the House, the atmosphere provides safety, not just from physical threats, but from social stigma, the weariness and burden of responsibilities, or the haunting of life’s previous choices. Within the House of Kindred Spirits, one can forget, for a while, the outside world and be present with the rest of the tavern’s patrons, enjoying drink, song, and story.

Available Services

Traditional temples ask for or require a monetary donation for their services. House patrons ask for certain services in addition to or instead of coin. Downtime activities are explored more fully in the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide.

ServiceDescriptionCost
Everyone Knows Your NamePCs wanting to use the carousing downtime activity to find contacts do so at a fixed rate regardless of the social rank of the contact desired.15 gp per participant, regardless of the desired contact’s social rank.
House of StoriesA priest casts the legend lore spell.The PC buys drinks for everyone in the House, at a cost of 1 gp for each patron.
In Vino, VeritasA priest casts zone of truth. If the PC requesting the spell participates in the ritual and offers secret, personal information, unwilling participants make their saving throws with disadvantage. 15 gp per participant
Premiere HospitalityPCs end all conditions, cure ability score reduction and gain 1d10 temporary hit points.10 gp
Specialty Craft BrewsPCs use the training downtime activity to gain proficiency with brewer’s tools or alchemy tools in half the time normally required.The character must bring the masters of the temple a unique ingredient that has not been fermented before.
Top Shelf HelpThe PC receives a potion up to 50 gp in value. The temple only has one such potion available at any one time.The PC must spend a week waiting, bussing, and cleaning tables. The PC must succeed on a DC 12 CON save at the end of the week or gain one level of exhaustion.

Controlling the House

The House can be attuned to, like certain magic items, granting the attuner certain liberties in controlling the House’s lair actions. Situations or powerful items (listed only by name in this article) reduce the time to attune to the House to 1 action, allowing the power of the House to change hands in the middle of battle!

To attune to the House, a creature must do one of the following:

Inspire Revelry: Once each minute, for 5 minutes, a creature attempting to attune to the House must succeed at a DC 15 CHA (Performance) check. The creature must get at least three successes in the 5 minutes. After the attempt, the creature suffers one level of exhaustion for each failed check.

Drinking Contest: Each round two or more creatures attempt to gain control of the House of Kindred Spirits, they must consume drinks and make a successful DC 14 CON save or become poisoned until the beginning of their next turn. Each participant must entertain the crowd while drinking and make a successful DC 15 CHA (Performance), STR (Athletics), or DEX (Acrobatics or Sleight Of Hand) to amuse them. At the end of three rounds, the creature with the most successes gains control of the House. In case of a tie, each participant suffers one level of exhaustion and may attempt another Drinking Contest.

Valued Artifacts: Carrying an important religious artifact (an icon or holy text of the faith) breaks ties in the Drinking Contest in the possessing creature’s favor.

Once attuned, the House allows the attuned creature to use the following lair actions.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), anyone in command of the House takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the creature can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

  • A Round for the House. Each enemy creature in the House must succeed on a DC 15 CON save or become poisoned until the beginning of their next turn.

  • Drunken Confusion. Each creature within a 10-foot radius of the attune creature must succeed on a DC 15 WIS save or be under the effect of the confusion spell until the end of its next turn.

  • Stumbling Around. Up to three creatures become staggering drunk. Each time an affected creature moves 5 feet, it must succeed on a DC 15 DEX save or become prone.

about Matt Dunn

Matt Dunn lives near Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife and son, who he has written an adventure with. He works as a teacher, program manager, and part-time writer. Many of his outings have been with Eastman Dunn Press, writing for DMsGuild, Kobold Press, and Onyx Path Publishing.

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