Anchorite

*"Pain? What pain? There is no pain. Only penance."*

## Basic Career

(RC) Some people feel that they can only follow their own mystical leanings alone, away from the distractions of civilization, conversation, and soap. These individuals become Anchorites, staking claim to a cave, or the top of a pillar of rock, somewhere in the Borderlands. They have few or no possessions, so bandits rarely bother them. Greenskins and other monsters are still likely to kill them if they can catch them, so Anchorites learn how to hide and run away.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Concealment, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Scale Sheer Surface, Silent Move

**Talents:** Flee!, Hardy, Resistance to Poison, Rover, Stout-hearted

**Trappings:** None

### **Career Exits**

Badlander, Mystic, Outlaw, Swamp Skimmer, Vagabond

## A Day in the Life

An anchorite’s life is one of contemplation and meditation brought into focus by solitude and self-deprivation. Typically he finds a cave, hole, or boulder to shelter under, things the badlands of the Border Princes have in abundance. From this modest dwelling, he then begins his journey into enlightenment. He spends days, weeks and months in filth and hunger watching the movement of the sun, stars and moons while contemplating his insignificance. Occasionally, when hunger or thirst gets the better of him, he ventures out into the wastes to dig insects from the ground and lick the dew from rocks. Even when foraging, the anchorite is careful not to spend too long sating his feeble bodily needs, lest he waste precious moments of contemplation and endanger his chance at true awakening. The only other things that might disturb this cycle of meager subsistence and endless meditation are the other inhabitants of the wastes, be they predatory wolves or big cats, or bloodthirsty orcs. When such an encounter occurs, the anchorite attempts to hide, or if this is impossible, flee, though the more devout (or crazed) remain within their retreat, convinced that their unwelcome visitor is sent to test their faith. Fortunately for most anchorites however, the stink and scrawniness of their bodies make them an unappetising meal, and all but the most desperate predators leave them alone.

## The Path to Enlightenment

An anchorite’s path to enlightenment is not an easy one. They must be willing to sacrifice all that they are to become more than they were. While each anchorite’s journey is different, those that would tread this path must follow three simple rules.

Look within and ignore without – Meditation and contemplation become an anchorite’s only priority, as he believes it is only through a lifetime of introspection that he can achieve enlightenment. To this end, an anchorite pays no heed to the feeble shadows of the world, ignoring what he considers the illusion of matter to better focus on the workings of the mind.

Break the shackles of the flesh – because an anchorite sees his body as a weak fleshy anchor pinning him to this plane of existence, he considers its needs and ills as insignificant. Hunger, disease and injury are all minor concerns and he will allow his body to be ravaged by boils, lice and lesions while devoting his life to meditation.

Cast off the burdens of society – The path of the anchorite is a lonely one. Society is a poison to the seeker of self-realisation, its rigid norms, expectations and its empty distractions a trap to lure away the weak of mind.