House of the Mind

In recent times a group of highly educated persons have designed a public house where citizens can go to "chat" in various human cities and villages.
They have 3 different systems:

• Group chat: A group of persons with similar needs or problems discuss their experiences and brainstorm potential solutions. Generally, a single person in the group dictates the dynamic of the session while another takes notes on the meeting and assists others in the group. A third organizer occasionally recommends investing in extensive research with a related specialist. This type of discussions largely consists of voluntary contributions but in general the same group of scholars will continuously cover the cost to have more material for their specific studies. In some cases, the scholars will propose a subject and pay individuals to discuss it.
  
• Individual chat: A specialist in desired subjects will listen and propose recommendations to a single individual in a private session. Normally, one additional person assists with these meetings by recording the transcript for future study. In some rare cases the subject of discussion is widely considered obscure or taboo in the region, in these scenarios the inquirer is referred to another place or recommended for shelter. This kind of chat also comes at a cost.
  
• Shelter: Some individuals are confined in special houses to ensure their safety and the safety of others, these sorts of houses are rare and almost all of them can be found in large cities; it is also said that the dwarves too have these shelters but they deny it. These houses are used almost exclusively for lords and other important human dignitaries, but wealthy gnomes or minotaur have been known to visit on occasion. In some rare cases scholars pay the full cost on the behalf of other individuals in order to study their cases.

Purpose / Function

The initial objective of forming the House of Mind was to talk about common problems the humans have. Eventually, however, a group of 5 scholars (3 humans, a gnome and a dwarf), began to perform their studies surrounding the people. They quickly encountered resistance to their research including issues with the law, as a result, the group began to invite likeminded individuals to their homes until they could eventually purchase a building to hold their meetings. This practice became the standard as other scholars and wealthy persons around the continent took to following their example. Only the dwarven cities were reluctant to enact this kind of practice, while the minos began constructing similar places and even inviting humans and gnomes to be part of the study, as lecturers or equals, at least in small minotaur villages.

Alterations

The main alteration over time was to change the simple house to a "small compound", mainly in cities, to have the individuals here for study, observation also be able to reside within the house throughout their period of study. These places are widely known as "shelters of chaos" as many persons that enter these places are erratic and unpredictable.

Architecture

The houses are simple, almost all are comprised of a single large space with basic sanitary accomodations. Some others are two stories with the first floor being a single large room and the second composed of two or three rooms reserved for private sessions.
The small compounds are always a reflection of the race of construction, recently these structures have been erected outside the city as a safety measure due to the legal resistance that has been enacted within the limits of most cities.

Alternative Names

Chaos house; mind place.

Type

Public hall / house