The Pale Cathedral¶
The Pale Cathedral is a two-level stone fortress ruin. A broad courtyard leads through a grand arch into a column-lined hall, with side chambers, cloister courts and a level sanctuary. Pale stone, dark paving, stained glass and burgundy banners distinguish it from the Sunken Temple. Eleven enemies of the Pale Order and six tameable hounds make their home here. The Cathedral is not yet open to players.
The place¶
Both levels use clearer stone joints, less cloudy mottling and darker capstones, with the original lighting and dark paving. This finish is now standard; the temporary masonry comparison settings have been removed.
Its scenery stays visible as you zoom out; players and creatures still use the usual visibility range. The floor plan appears on the world map, where gold marks show the entry and the passage sites.
Solid walls and pillars block movement and spell targeting. The broad arches are open passages. The sanctuary floor is level with the hall, without steps. The decorations never narrow the walking routes or add obstacles.
The inner paving and wall caps show mottled stone, mineral veins, short fractures and chipped, worn joints. Rough-cut marks and uneven weathering continue through the columns and arches. Pointed Gothic windows have complete arched masonry surrounds, deep stone sills, dark iron frames and branching tracery above the sanctuary and along the wings. Small wall sconces hold warm, animated flames in dark metal baskets. Twenty-two fixtures, including all ten pillars beside the runner and the front and side courts, cast warm local light, with the pillar flames set high on their supports. The arches have deep stone ribs, recessed block joints and uneven, worn edges, framed by three-section-high walls and matching tall stone supports throughout both levels. The courtyard arch rests on solid rectangular shoulders. Carved ankh shields decorate selected walls, with small weathered bronze memorial tablets beneath some of them. Wall-backed wooden bookcases vary in height and span, with worn bindings, missing volumes and stacked folios. Shallow reading ledges hold open books without cluttering the fighting routes.
Circular stone inlays mark the centers of the side chambers. The burgundy runner stops before the sanctuary and one tile before the courtyard transition, with gold end borders, softly ruffled edging, varied burgundy dye and woven gold trim with irregular worn threads.
The sanctuary and both side wings have dark, jewel-toned stained-glass windows. Soft colored light falls across the stone in front of them, suggesting sunlight, and fades before the side-room inlays so those designs stay clear. An ornate rose window sits high in the northern sanctuary wall on each level, casting a broad colored pattern across the clear stone beneath it. Shadowed upper arcades overlook selected halls and courts on both floors.
Faint, hooded apparitions wander the halls, courts and side chambers, pause and fade away. Several spirits can appear in different sections at the same time. Nearby players see the same passing spirits. They are scenery, not dead players or enemies: they cannot be targeted, attacked, resurrected or looted, and do not block movement.
A sheltered southern hallway and passages from both wings end in dark arched thresholds. Permanent travel links are still being prepared.
The second level, the Solar Reliquary, is a larger connected wing with broad galleries, a long column-lined hall and a ruined sunlit cloister. Gothic glass, carved circular stonework and eighteen raised flame fixtures continue the cathedral's architecture. Ankh reliefs line selected walls, and its return passage is on the western side. A towering sealed gate occupies the northeastern wall. Weathered brown oak leaves show long wood grain beneath thick steel beams and dark iron keepers. These are architectural scenery: the gate cannot yet be opened, and the upper arcades are not walkable. The outer watch and cloister packs belong on level one; the reliquary guard and inner-order elites belong on level two. Both levels share Warden hunt credit and the same dungeon talent pool.
The Pale Order¶
The Order once guarded a sealed passage beneath the sanctuary. Its faithful called the presence beyond it the Keeper Beyond the Gate, feeding the kennels and ringing the vesper bell to keep the threshold shut. In time, the answering whispers became their prayers. Their sentries now defend the very thing they were meant to contain.
The living kennel lines still remember a gentler oath. Others, bound to the bell and the gate, can no longer be brought back.
The Crown names this place the oath Seal, the third of four beneath the realm, and it is the first to fail. When the last monk of the Order died the bell did not stop, because the Order had made something to keep ringing it: a reliquary given a Warden's oath and set in the Hollow Sanctuary to stand the threshold alone. It stands it still. The Hollow Saint is that Warden, hollowed by the thing it was set to keep out, and the raid in the Sanctuary is the Crown's attempt to relieve it. See The Chronicle.
These human opponents wear distinct uniforms. Their equipped clothing, armor and weapons are part of their appearance, not loot: they cannot be stolen or disarmed and are removed on death. Ordinary corpse loot is separate.
| Enemy | Appearance | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Cloister Penitent | Ivory robe, dark cap and wooden quarterstaff | A straightforward melee opponent |
| Pale Gatewarden | Pale plate, wine-red surcoat and gold shield | Gatebreaker Sweep, a forward cone |
| Pale Arbalester | Dark leather, blue doublet and crossbow | Piercing Volley, a narrow straight lane |
| Vesper Cantor | Ivory dress and violet cape | Dissonant Hymn, a ring with a safe center |
| Reliquary Inquisitor | Wine-red robe, dark pointed hat and cape | Severing Verdict, a cross-shaped strike |
| Vesper Duelist | Ivory shirt, red feathered hat and dark cape | Vesper Step, a marked flanking landing |
| Oathbound Knight | Dark plate, gold helm and olive surcoat | Oathbreaker Cleave, an elite's forward cone |
| Hollow Prelate | Violet robe, pale cape and gold headdress | Hollow Benediction, an elite caster's ring |
The Order's human enemies use human voices when spawning, fighting and dying. Seven of the eight have ground-marked special attacks with a 1.2-second warning. Step out of the marked area before impact. Walls and pillars block these attacks; the duelist cannot blink through a wall. Spellcasters also use ordinary spells. The Hollow Prelate is an elite enemy, not a raid boss. None of these humans is tamable.
The corrupted kennels¶
These three hostile hounds cannot be tamed. Each gives the same 1.2-second ground warning as the Order's troops, and walls block their special attacks.
| Enemy | Attack | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Oathscar Hound | Grave Rend, a forward cone | Move out of the marked wedge |
| Bellbound Howler | Mourning Howl, a ring | Step into the clear center or outside the ring |
| Gatebound Warg | Threshold Pounce, a marked landing | Leave the marked landing before it arrives |
Tameable kennel descendants¶
These are separate living species, not tameable versions of the corrupted hounds. They appear in the regular encounter packs alongside the Order's troops. Mastiffs and coursers patrol the outer ward, reliquary hounds the cloisters, vesper wolves the second floor's guard posts, and sanctum fangs and gatekeeper wargs the inner order. Their wild melee pressure is tuned to those encounters. While wild, they attack nearby players and do not flee at low health. Even the lower-skill kennels require care; the deeper species hit harder.
Taking any damage while taming one immediately fails the attempt, including poison, spells, another attacker or an environmental hazard. Healing afterward does not rescue the attempt. Misses and fully prevented damage do not interrupt. Stay close with a clear path and line of sight, manage the incoming attacks, and try again after an interruption. Damaging the animal during a tame also retains the usual failure rule. Other animals' taming rules are unchanged.
They eat meat, use normal bonding and stabling, and have two species-specific abilities in their usual pet slots. The first unlocks at pet level 25 and the second at level 50. Their extra wild melee pressure ends when controlled; existing pet stats, ability rolls and progression are unchanged.
| Companion | Dungeon floor | Required taming | Slots | Level 25 | Level 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloister Mastiff | 1 | 35 | 1 | Adrenaline Surge | Whirlwind |
| Pale Courser | 1 | 55 | 1 | Whirlwind | Bone Spike |
| Reliquary Hound | 1 | 75 | 2 | Bone Spike | Adrenaline Surge |
| Vesper Wolf | 2 | 95 | 2 | Shadow Bolt | Lightning Bolt |
| Sanctum Fang | 2 | 110 | 3 | Ice Lance | Frost Nova |
| Gatekeeper Warg | 2 | 120 | 3 | Earthshock | Fire Breath |
Adrenaline Surge instantly heals 30% of maximum health, with a 90-second cooldown. Whirlwind strikes adjacent wild enemies; Bone Spike is a direct hit. Shadow Bolt drains a little stamina alongside damage. Ice Lance and Frost Nova also drain stamina, rather than applying a movement slow. Earthshock damages nearby wild enemies and drains stamina. Area attacks do not hit players, other controlled pets or summons, and cannot pass through walls.
The normal Animal Lore and combat-slot requirements still apply. A 35-skill mastiff is an early tame, but commanding it to fight requires at least 50 Taming and Lore for the first combat slot.
Progression and Warden jobs¶
Player kills on both Cathedral levels receive a 20% bonus to base corpse gold, rounded down. Controlled pets and summoned creatures do not award this bonus. This does not change rare-drop chances or pet abilities.
Pale Cathedral has its own dungeon talent pool, including the sanctuary. It is separate from both Wilderness and Sunken Temple, and Wilderness points are never converted into Cathedral points.
The Warden's Commission posts four Cathedral hunts and three corpse-gold quotas: 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000. Take jobs before hunting. Each pays once per account per week, and you keep your loot. The kennel hunt counts corrupted hounds, never the tameable species. Wild tameable creatures do contribute their corpse-gold value to the gold quotas. All seven jobs award Warden standing toward regalia sockets as well as Crown Marks.