Summer Basking Ritual | Free Event for D&D and PF2e

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Event Overview. This desert temple is usually a quiet, secluded, and guarded place maintained by a few lizardfolk monks—but the Temple of the Blazing Eye comes alive during the week of the summer solstice. At the center of this open-air temple is a large, pale stone known simply as “the Rock,” upon which worshipers can sit or lie back to take in the sun’s rays. Large campgrounds filled with tents sit outside the Temple, giving travelers a place to wait their turn to sit upon the Rock, spend time in prayer and contemplation, and participate in various games involving feats of strength and agility. Wrestling matches are a popular pastime during the event, especially for scaled folk who benefit most from the Basking.

People Involved. Though the Basking Ritual began as a solely lizardfolk practice, folk are welcome to visit the Temple and participate in this form of physical and spiritual prayer. While scaled folk may lie upon the Rock without harming themselves, most non-scaled folk prefer to sit upon blankets or towels to mitigate the heat. All the monks are lizardfolk. Although some mistrust lies between lizardfolk and non-lizardfolk in this region, the Basking Ritual is open to all.

Location. Built high on an outcrop of red rock, the Temple of the Blazing Eye is one of the only landmarks for miles of open desert—and the only source of water. Beneath the Temple is a cistern built around a natural underground spring. Any traveler willing to make a donation to the Temple in the form of food, money, or clean cloth may visit the cistern for a drink or a bath.

During the Basking, a long line often forms outside the Temple through the sand and tents set up in communal campgrounds. The Temple has a large, open-air courtyard in the center, bordered with tall columns and shaded pathways. Lizardfolk monks guide visitors toward the Basking Rock at the center. Visitors are not allowed deeper into the temple unless they make a donation to visit the cistern, which is accessible through several wells with ladders throughout the temple. Even with a donation, the monks accompany the visitors the entire time they visit the cistern.

Event Details

The God with No Name. Though the “Temple of the Blazing Eye” is a well-known name, the deity’s true name is not. Iconography displayed around the Temple resembles a blazing sun, so most outside of the order of monks assume the Temple simply honors the sun itself. Some folk spread rumors that the openness of the Basking Ritual has an insidious motive, suggesting the Rock saps the worshipers’ life energy in exchange for a brief, energetic feeling. This life energy, the rumor-mongers say, aims to fuel the rebirth of the true deity of the Temple into this world; however, just as many voices speak up to discount these rumors as unduly suspicious and prejudicial against the lizardfolk.