The Book of Inner Alchemy is one of the oldest books in Candlekeep. The precise date of its curation has been lost to time, but its origin can be attributed to three masters of the Open Hand, the Ren Brothers—Rendi (pronounced REN-dee), Renjie (REN-jee-eh), and Renmei (REN-may). The Way of the Open Hand is a monastic tradition centered on the defensive and healing uses of ki and martial arts combat. The masters recorded their life’s work in this book, describing how they turned the traditional Open Hand martial arts techniques into tools for achieving everlasting life.
Rumors of an ancient tome containing martial arts techniques associated with immortality circulated among the martial orders. The three masters knew that many would seek out this power, and that circulating this knowledge would bring chaos to the world. Torn between the need to preserve their secret techniques and the guilt from making use of such powerful martial lore, the three masters chose to conceal the knowledge they discovered among the vast collection in Candlekeep.
The Book of Inner Alchemy remained unnoticed for centuries, its secrets hidden in plain sight, until one day it captured the attention of a monk determined to bend the natural order of life to his will.
Finding the Book
Characters in the Great Library of Candlekeep might encounter The Book of Inner Alchemy while researching one of the following topics:
- The nature of ki and its uses in hand-to-hand combat and healing
- Legends pertaining to immortality
- Monastic traditions, especially the Way of the Open Hand
- The crafting of magic weapons
Book Description
At first glance, this book of moderate thickness appears to be one of the many insignificant tomes that fill the shelves of the Great Library. Upon closer inspection, this volume reveals itself to be of exceptional quality. Except for minor damage to the corners, its olive-green covers are in perfect condition. Sewn into the binding with silk threads are sacred texts and medical illustrations. Text is recorded on paper pages, and illustrations are drawn on silk sheets. The paper pages appear to have aged, but the silk illustrations have stood the test of time, appearing as they did when the original artist first laid a brush upon the pages.
Composed in the language of the lands to the east of Faerûn, the text of The Book of Inner Alchemy is written in columns that are read from top to bottom, right to left. The
Esoteric Martial Arts
The Book of Inner Alchemy is an esoteric document on the mental, physical, and spiritual practices pertaining to the life energy known as ki. Contained within it are meticulous diagrams of the humanoid form, outlining the flow of ki through the body and obscure practices for cultivating one’s vitality. It describes the techniques monks learn to consciously control their life energy, to gain advantages in combat or perform extraordinary feats. These techniques emphasize the use of controlled breathing, meditation, and spiritual discipline as the primary means of achieving control over ki.
Also contained in the book is a secret body of sacred wisdom about ways to manipulate the flow of ki. Unlike the conventional teachings of the Open Hand, this catalog of martial arts techniques tells how the physical and spiritual aspects of one’s being can be joined to achieve immortality. The book offers detailed descriptions of pressure points that all the bodies of humanoid beings have and how ki can not only be attacked, but also stolen.
The book opens with theories on how the natural energies of the primordial trifecta—soul, essence, and mind—can be combined. It notes that obstacles on one’s journey are common. The soul can be corrupted by the absence of wisdom. One’s body can be sullied by violent deeds. The mind is easily compromised by ego and emotional attachment.
Following the sections on spiritual and medicinal wisdom is one on the crafting of magic items that augment the user’s martial abilities, with grisly details of how the authors obtained such knowledge. Accounts of experiments on captured people and animals are found throughout. It is through these experiments that the masters developed rituals for the creation of magic items capable of circumventing the work that would otherwise be needed to perfect the soul, the essence, and the mind.
Inner Alchemy
Characters who read from The Book of Inner Alchemy learn the following information about ki:
- Though commonly thought of by those outside the monastic orders as mystical energy, ki has strong ties to elemental air, for breath is what connects one’s soul to one’s essence (body).
- Ki is a vital force present in all living things. Medical techniques and training can be used to control the flow of ki.
- All living beings are made up of two “lives,” physical and spiritual. When these aspects are in harmony, great power can be attained.
Missing Pages
Several pages have been sliced from the binding of The Book of Inner Alchemy. They were recently stolen on behalf of a radical monk named Bak Mei, an apostate practitioner of the Open Hand who seeks physical and spiritual perfection—the keys to true longevity and immortality. The life he has chosen to live, however, has rendered his primordial trifecta (soul, essence, and mind) corrupted. Unable to achieve an immortal state of being, he ordered his most trusted students to infiltrate the library and steal pages from the book that might have a solution to his problem. Using the instructions on the stolen pages, Bak Mei seeks to craft a pair of magic gloves and use their necromantic power to enhance the techniques of the Open Hand to god-like levels.
Attack on the Great Library
After delivering The Book of Inner Alchemy to the characters, an embarrassed member of the Avowed informs them that critical pages from the tome are missing.
“My apologies, seekers, but The Book of Inner Alchemy has been vandalized. This manual is said to grant untold power over life and death to anyone who can master its secrets… and last night, someone had the audacity to come into this sacred place and desecrate it!”
Though they might not understand the intricacies of the concepts in the book, the Avowed know that the stolen pages contain instructions for creating
The Avowed acolyte accompanies the characters to the Great Library to view where the attack and subsequent theft took place:
You are led to a section of the stacks that has been ransacked. Countless literary treasures are strewn across the floor. The covered bodies of two Avowed acolytes still rest on the floor.
For the return of the stolen pages, the Keeper of Tomes is offering 8,000 gp or the equivalent in transcribed magical knowledge from the Candlekeep archives.
Scene of the Crime
The following clues point the characters in the direction of the Cloakwood, an ancient forest located near the Coast Way that leads north to the city of Baldur’s Gate:
- A character who succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (
Medicine ) check can tell that the Avowed acolytes slain during the attack were killed using martial arts. Their bruises and broken bones are evidence of powerful unarmed strikes. Speak with dead spells cast on the slain acolytes yield descriptions of the two killers: a dark-haired woman in her late thirties or early forties, her face marred by a thin scar, and an attractive silver-haired man in his thirties. Both killers wore simple, fitted black clothing under white, flowing robes.- A character who examines the bodies and succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (
Investigation ) check discovers a torn piece of white cloth clutched in the fist of one victim. The scrap of fabric is emblazoned with a white lotus inside a black circle. The Avowed recognize this as the symbol of the Order of the Immortal Lotus, a league of monks led by a master martial artist known as Bak Mei. For years, Bak Mei’s followers have attacked travelers on their way to Candlekeep from Baldur’s Gate, stealing their offerings of knowledge before the travelers could reach the library.
Development
If the characters don’t locate any clues or identify the wounds, an Avowed scholar discovers the scrap of white cloth.
A
Order of the Immortal Lotus
Bak Mei and his original students traveled as vagabonds until they settled in the city of Baldur’s Gate. Clashes with criminal organizations and the local peacekeepers soon forced the fledgling order out of the city after the monks' influence began to threaten the established powers. The monks took refuge in the heart of the Cloakwood. Toughened by the area’s rugged terrain and monstrous inhabitants, the fledgling order became a dominant force in the forest.
The order has a simple hierarchy in which Bak Mei is the elder abbot, followed by apprentices and rank-and-file monks. His trusted apprentices, Steel Crane and Jade Tigress, serve as secondary leaders who help instill in members the values Bak Mei deems most essential: obedience, discipline, and tenacity in the pursuit of knowledge.
Bak Mei is a traditional master of the Open Hand, and other members of the order bring knowledge from various traditions. They are united in the belief that the world has become sullied by war and corruption. For them, the only path is that of the lotus, a pure white flower that floats even upon the dirtiest waters. To represent this belief, Immortal Lotus monks wear simple, fitted black clothing under a white, flowing robe. The symbol of the Immortal Lotus is a white lotus inside a black circle. When operating outside the Cloakwood, the monks pass themselves off as beggars or trappers to avoid attention, or they disguise themselves as traveling rangers, druids, or rogues.
Members of the order are responsible for acquiring knowledge through force or thievery. They are each obligated to contribute at least one new tome or scroll a month. The proximity of their temple to Baldur’s Gate and Candlekeep enables them to take advantage of the traffic that flows into and out of the nearby metropolis as well as the knowledge-seekers on their way to the library.
Inside their temple in the Cloakwood, members of the order lead structured lives, engaging in intellectual, physical, and spiritual training from dusk until dawn. Bak Mei’s teaching and training methods appear insane in their use of violence but are effective nevertheless. Those who persevere accomplish in weeks what others take months to learn.
Important Members
Bak Mei is the undisputed leader of the order, and he relies on two apprentices—Steel Crane and Jade Tigress—to help train its junior members. Steel Crane and Jade Tigress are also the ones Bak Mei entrusted to attack Candlekeep and obtain the pages he needed from The Book of Inner Alchemy.
Bak Mei
Lawful evil human monk (age 70)
Bak Mei was once an agile and skilled Shou monk famous for upholding justice and helping the needy in his distant homeland to the east of Faerûn. As he grew older, learned more about the world, and began to feel the weight of old age, his worldview changed dramatically. Motivated by his growing fear of death, Bak Mei became obsessed with living an unending life. He began collecting texts on the subject, consulting with practitioners of the necromantic arts, and seeking audiences with dark forces.
The abbots of his temple confronted Bak Mei about his radical pursuits and demanded that he cease his activities. In response, he tried to stage a revolt at the temple, a traitorous action that resulted in the excommunication of Bak Mei and his followers, who christened themselves the Order of the Immortal Lotus. The small group eventually settled in the forest near Baldur’s Gate, where they recruit new members. Under Bak Mei’s cruel tutelage and eccentric training methods, the order has grown in power and numbers, living in seclusion while he planned his revenge on his former superiors.
Bak Mei is notorious among the monks of Faerûn. Some see him as a vagabond, exiled from his order for traitorous acts and disregard for tradition. Others see him as a radical seeker of knowledge.
Bak Mei is an old man with a long white beard and bushy eyebrows. Like the other members of his order, Bak Mei is clad in snow-white robes secured by a black sash over a form-fitting black shirt and trousers.
Personality Trait
“I judge others by their actions. Words mean nothing.”
Ideal
“Knowledge. The Book of Inner Alchemy will help me leave behind the sins of my past by giving me an unending future.”
Bond
“I will lead my students to a life unstained by the problems of the world. We will rise above all into eternity.”
Flaw
“I am convinced that I deserve eternal life, despite all the suffering I’ve inflicted on others.”
Steel Crane
Lawful evil human monk (age 36)
Steel Crane is tall and slender. He is exceptionally handsome, with neat silver hair and deep green eyes, and carries himself with the grace of a dancer.
A strip of cloth was torn from the left sleeve of Steel Crane’s white robe during the raid on Candlekeep, and Steel Crane hasn’t yet bothered to mend the garment. The robe’s damage is clearly visible—evidence of Steel Crane’s role in the theft.
Personality Trait
“The technique of the Immortal Lotus is beautiful and powerful. I will succeed Master Bak Mei.”
Ideal
“The ancient traditions and secret martial arts must be preserved and learned. Hiding them away in libraries dishonors our teachers.”
Bond
“The Immortal Lotus is my new family. Bak Mei will lead me to a brighter future.”
Flaw
“The monks of my old temple know my shameful history. I can never return.”
Jade Tigress
Lawful evil human monk (age 40)
Jade Tigress is a powerfully built woman whose body has been honed by intense physical training. She is rugged in appearance, with jet-black hair, hazel eyes, and a long, thin scar running across her right cheek. She matches the description of one of the thieves who infiltrated Candlekeep.
Personality Trait
“Nothing can shake my faith in Bak Mei.”
Ideal
“I do what I must. The authority of the temple is to be obeyed.”
Bond
“I owe my life to Bak Mei. He took me in when my parents left me for dead.”
Flaw
“My pride won’t let me back down from a challenge or forgive any insult.”
Into the Cloakwood
The characters can use the clues found at Candlekeep to track the thieves north along the Coast Way to the Cloakwood. Within this dark forest is the base of operations for the Temple of the Immortal Lotus. When the characters enter the forest, read:
As you begin your journey into the Cloakwood, the forest darkens at an alarming rate. From all around, you hear whispers, rustling foliage, and the distant roars of unidentifiable beasts.
The Cloakwood is home to many fierce fey and beasts. Due to its dangerous inhabitants and flora, only the desperate dare enter these woods, making it a suitable location for Bak Mei’s secret temple complex.
Disposing of Evidence
After a few hours of travel, the characters discover a worn path leading deeper into the forest. If they follow the path, they happen upon a grisly scene:
A noxious smell fills your nose. Just off the path is a hollow, petrified tree trunk filled with a viscous black ooze. Black tendrils extrude from the ooze, reaching toward two figures clad in white robes. These figures are twenty feet away from the tree trunk and pushing a wheelbarrow filled with bodies toward it.
Two Black Pudding reside within the hollow, petrified tree. Bak Mei uses these oozes to dispose of initiates who can’t handle the rigors of training, spies who meddle in his affairs, and lost travelers who accidentally discover his temple.
The white-robed figures are two Immortal Lotus Monk (see their stat block area later in the adventure). Their wheelbarrow contains four bodies—the remains of two adult humans (monks) who were killed in training exercises, and the remains of two forest gnomes who were caught stealing from the temple’s garden. If the characters do nothing but watch, the monks dump the bodies within 5 feet of the tree trunk. As the bodies tumble out of the wheelbarrow, the puddings seep out of the tree and begin consuming the remains. Each black pudding can devour one gnome corpse in 2 rounds or one human corpse in 4 rounds. The puddings ignore creatures that leave them alone.
The monks don’t stick around to watch the puddings' feast; they guide the wheelbarrow back to the temple, about 500 yards east of the dump site. If the characters make their presence known, the monks abandon the wheelbarrow and take cover behind trees, hoping to draw the characters into melee range. Perhaps foolishly, they stay and fight—eager to put their new training to the test. If they are captured, the monks remain tight-lipped and won’t divulge information willingly. A
No ability check is needed to follow the monks' tracks back the way they came, since the wheelbarrow leaves a deep furrow in the earth. Characters who follow these tracks arrive at area area L1.
Friendly Dryads
If the characters slay the black puddings as well as defeat the monks, five Dryad appear, using their Tree Stride ability.
The ominous sounds of the forest fade as warm singing fills the air. Beautiful fey forms step out from inside the trees surrounding the clearing. They raise their hands in a gesture of peace and smile at you.
Treasure
The dryads are grateful to the characters for ridding their forest of the black puddings. Each dryad presents the party with a reward: a wooden vial containing a single dose of sweet sap that functions like a
Development
The dryads urge the characters to follow the tracks left by the monks, saying they lead to a “greater evil that must be defeated.” The characters can’t convince the dryads to accompany them, because the dryads fear the temple and avoid it.
Temple of the Immortal Lotus
If the characters follow the tracks leading to the temple, read:
The tracks lead you to the western edge of a secluded glade. The trees partially obscure what appear to be several wooden structures in the clearing, but these are dwarfed by a tower-sized monument at the far end resembling a giant lotus blossom, hewn out of solid rock and bursting out of the earth.
If the characters arrive at the temple without alerting its inhabitants, they can observe the monks' movements and routines. Life at the temple is highly regimented. The day-to-day activities of the order involve patrolling the perimeter, hunting in the forest, groundskeeping, training, and practicing the teachings of Bak Mei.
The following locations are keyed to the map of the Temple of the Immortal Lotus. A gravel footpath extends up to the entrance of each structure. Clever characters can avoid certain encounters by moving through the forest rather than the clearing.
L1. Stele Forest
Towering over you is a gate with two carved stone columns and a gabled roof made from bark tiles. Above the gateway hangs a wooden plaque painted with a white lotus on a black circle. Beyond the gate is a well-kept gravel path that passes through a small forest of vertical stone slabs and ancient trees.
As the characters make their way through the Stele Forest, they encounter one of Bak Mei’s most senior students, Steel Crane, and four Immortal Lotus Monk (see the accompanying area stat blocks). They are on the lookout for trouble and spoiling for a fight. When the characters approach, read:
“Very few people would dare to come here,” says a voice from above. Perched twenty feet above you is a man balanced with his legs braced between two of the larger stone columns. He has a slim, athletic build and stares at you with piercing green eyes. Around him are four younger individuals who are similarly balanced on other stone slabs.
With the grace of a bird, he floats down from his perch, silently landing on the ground as he draws a nine-sectioned chain whip from around his waist.
“You’ve got courage. I’ll give you that. But before you get a chance to fight Bak Mei, you’ll have to deal with me—Steel Crane!”
As Steel Crane presses his attack, the monks use the steles for cover and leap between them to engage the characters in close-quarters combat.
Red Key
Steel Crane carries a red wooden key that unlocks the door to area area L3.
L2. Living Quarters
Members of the order live in a modest single-story building built on raised posts. Its shingled roof provides protection from the elements, and its sliding exterior wall panels can be opened and closed to meet the needs of the order. The walls of the living quarters are made of paper on wood frames, offering little privacy. The dwelling is within view of the Jagged Sanctum (area area L5), but far enough away to provide Bak Mei with solitude he requires.
L2a. Monk Quarters
This room contains several narrow, hard bunks where the Immortal Lotus monks sleep.
L2b. Private Quarters
Jade Tigress and Steel Crane sleep on proper beds in these two rooms.
L2c. Kitchen
All members of the order participate in a rotating schedule for duties such as washing dishes and preparing meals. Inhabitants of the temple eat a simple but balanced diet of what they grow in the garden, harvest from the Cloakwood, and hunt in the forest. Bak Mei has his meals brought to the Jagged Sanctum, where he prefers to dine.
Treasure
The kitchen contains a small box of spices worth 25 gp.
L2d. Storage
Adjacent to the kitchen is a modest storage space that holds food, kitchen supplies, and spare robes.
Treasure
A thorough search of this room yields a silk bag containing ten 50 gp gemstones.
L2e. Dining Hall
A long table made from a tree trunk cut lengthwise dominates this room, surrounded by stools made from small tree stumps. Monks take their meals in shifts. Bak Mei usually keeps to himself, rarely eating among his students.
L2f. Garden
Next to the living quarters is a well, north of which is a small garden where the order grows its vegetables. Next to the garden is a chicken coop. As with all temple duties, the monks take turns maintaining the garden and feeding the chickens.
Four Immortal Lotus Monk (see the accompanying stat block) are tending the garden and drawing fresh water from the well. If the monks are aware that the characters are nearby, they’re standing guard and ready to fight. These foes use their gardening implements as weapons (use the monk’s Unarmed Strike attack option but change the damage type to piercing or slashing, as appropriate). If two of the monks are defeated, the remaining ones flee to the training grounds (area area L4) to seek reinforcements.
L3. Hall of Knowledge
This grand wooden building is constructed around ancient stone walls of a structure forgotten by time. Its red-lacquered double door, which is locked, bears a carving of a lotus floating above two open palms.
As an action, a character can try to unlock the doors using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 17 Dexterity check, or break down the doors with a successful DC 17 Strength (
The building’s interior is one large space containing two rows of wooden practice dummies, with some other furnishings pushed toward the back of the room. Scrolls are stored in lattices along the east and west walls.
It’s here that members of the order develop their understanding of the flow of ki and practice techniques to manipulate it. The wooden dummies are carved with grooves that represent where the energy of ki flows along their surfaces. Characters who are monks or who succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom (
More than a hundred instructional scrolls handwritten by Bak Mei are stored in the lattices along the west and east walls. Anyone who reads Common can understand these scrolls.
Tormented Captive
As the characters explore the area, read:
You hear a faint moan nearby, from behind the rows of practice dummies. A dwarf suspended from thick ropes, stripped to their undergarments, hangs limply in the bonds. As you draw closer, you see dark, painful bruises on their body in a pattern that matches the grooves on the wooden dummies.
They look up at you with tears streaming from their eyes and rasp, “Please, let me die.”
The 145-year-old shield dwarf held captive in the southwest corner of the building is named Kharbek. They use the scout stat block with these changes:
- Kharbek speaks Common and Dwarvish.
- They have 1 hit point and 5 levels of
exhaustion . - They have
darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, resistance to poison damage, and advantage on saving throws against beingpoisoned .
Kharbek is the only survivor of a party of adventurers captured by the Order of the Immortal Lotus. If questioned, Kharbek is able to recall how a member of the Immortal Lotus disguised as a beggar lured the group to the temple, where the adventurers were tortured one by one. Kharbek’s weapons rest on a nearby table. If their wounds are healed and levels of
Kharbek is a mountain dwarf explorer with brown skin, brown eyes, and jet-black hair. They stand just over 4 feet tall and have an athletic build.
Personality Trait
“I am a zealous worshiper of Moradin and take it upon myself to protect those in need.”
Ideal
“Honesty is the best policy.”
Bond
“When someone helps me, I’m bound by my honor to return the favor.”
Flaw
“I am far too trusting and have a difficult time discerning a lie.”
L4. Training Grounds
Cries and the sounds of stomping feet cut through the air. Within the open courtyard, a tall, imperious woman barks orders at four younger individuals.
This wide stone courtyard is surrounded by weapon racks, balance beams, sandbags, and wooden training posts for striking. From sunrise to sunset, the inhabitants of the temple train here under harsh conditions. Violence is the primary teaching tool employed by Bak Mei and his apprentices, leaving the students well acquainted with pain.
Jade Tigress (see the accompanying stat block) and four Immortal Lotus Monk (see their area stat block earlier in the adventure) are training in this area. When the fighting starts, read:
“Intruders!” shouts the woman. “They’re here to steal the secrets of Master Bak Mei! Students, show these interlopers what the power of the Immortal Lotus looks like!”
In one swift motion, as her students rush forward to attack, she assumes a powerful stance, hands outstretched like the claws of an attacking tiger.
Jade Tigress charges into battle with the monks. All of them are willing to die for Bak Mei and are determined to stop the characters from reaching the Jagged Sanctum.
Red Key
Jade Tigress carries a red wooden key that unlocks the door to area area L3.
L5. Jagged Sanctum
This stone structure rises ominously above the rest of the temple complex. It resembles a giant stone flower growing in the heart of the forest. Stone steps draped with a long red carpet climb ten feet to the entrance of a rough-hewn chamber. The soft glow of torches beckons you inside.
The Jagged Sanctum is a study, meditation hall, and residence for Bak Mei (see his stat block later in the adventure). At the center of the chamber is an artificial pool filled with water and covered with floating lilies.
The stolen pages from The Book of Inner Alchemy rest on an intricately carved wooden altar beyond the pool. Bak Mei has yet to collect the materials needed to craft the
Bak Mei is joined by four Immortal Lotus Monk (see their stat block area earlier in the adventure). To increase the difficulty of this encounter, add more monks who have just come back from foraging. They arrive in the middle of combat.
When the fighting begins, read:
Stroking his well-kept white beard, the old man begins to mock you as his students take up fighting positions around the chamber.
“Do you really think that you can defeat my Immortal Lotus style? You are mere worms slithering through the mud on a rainy day. I am the bird, here to feast!”
Bak Mei enters a low fighting stance. His arms and hands move in a flurry, displaying unnatural grace and agility for a human of such advanced age.
“I have no weakness. No flaw. Show me your so-called power.”
Bak Mei doesn’t hesitate to kill. He attacks ferociously and chides the characters for their lack of martial refinement. When he’s near death and victory for his order looks unlikely, he begs for mercy.
Choking on blood, Bak Mei looks up at you in disbelief. “Who in the Hells are you? My Immortal Lotus style was supposed to be… unbeatable.”
Bak Mei’s fate is ultimately up to the characters. Death is a fitting end for one who feared death so much that he inflicted great pain on others, but Bak Mei was once a kind man devoted to justice, so perhaps he could find a path to redemption.
Treasure
Scattered around the Jagged Sanctum are shelves and chests containing a total of ten rare books (100 gp each) and twenty rare scrolls (50 gp each).
The backside of the altar has a secret compartment. A character who examines the altar can find this compartment with a successful DC 17 Wisdom (
Aftermath
The characters have defeated Bak Mei, left the Order of the Immortal Lotus in disarray, and recovered the stolen pages from The Book of Inner Alchemy. Now what?
When the party returns to Candlekeep with the stolen pages, the Avowed are grateful and set about repairing the book. They hail the characters as heroes and provide them the promised 8,000 gp worth of coin or transcribed knowledge from the Candlekeep archives. The conclusion of the adventure can serve as a catalyst for the next chapter in the characters' journey. The following questions might help you shape future adventures:
- What happened to the original masters of the Open Hand?
- Will the monastic orders in Bak Mei’s homeland east of Faerûn want to know his fate?
- Considering the knowledge contained in The Book of Inner Alchemy, is it safe in Candlekeep? Should it be destroyed—and if so, how?
- Who else might know the secrets of this book?
- What should happen to the now-abandoned Temple of the Immortal Lotus? Are there surviving members of the order who will try to avenge Bak Mei’s death?
- The last breaths (souls) of three individuals—one of great intellect, one of strong body, and one of a pure heart—are required to craft
gloves of soul catching . How can this be accomplished?
Regardless of the characters' choices, they have now been exposed to martial arts secrets that many would kill for. They are marked, and there are repercussions for having such knowledge.
New Magic Item
The Book of Inner Alchemy contains instructions for crafting
Crafting the gloves requires silver thread, fine leather, and other material components worth a total of 5,000 gp. To imbue the gloves with magic, a ritual must be performed, and this ritual requires three sacrifices: a being of great intellect, a being of strong body, and a being of pure heart. The ritual must take place under the light of a full moon and requires 5 hours to perform. The ritual consumes and destroys the souls of those who are sacrificed, meaning they can’t be brought back from the dead.