Kalidnay
| Kalidnay | |
|---|---|
| Culture Level | Classical (4), though metal is unavailable due to scarcity.[1] |
| Ecology |  Sparse
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| Climate & Terrain | Desert, hot during the day and cold at night[1] |
| Year Formed | 570 BC[1] |
| Population | 2,500+[1] |
| Races (%) | All Dark Sun PC races, save for thri-kreen[1] |
| Languages | |
| Religions | None, save for worship of the Sorcerer-King, Kalid-Ma and rare priests of elemental forces[1] |
| Government | Theocratic Despotism, venerating Kalid-Ma as sole deity[1] |
| Ruler(s) | Thakok-An, in the name of Kalid-Ma[1] |
| Darklord(s) | Thakok-An[2] |
| Nationality | Athasian |
| Analog | Athas |
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| Locations in Kalidnay | |
| Transportation in Kalidnay | |
| Inhabitants of Kalidnay | |
| Former Inhabitants of Kalidnay | |
| Flora of Kalidnay | |
| Fauna of Kalidnay | |
| Native Monsters of Kalidnay | |
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
Kalidnay is a domain taken from Athas (Dark Sun setting). It is ruled by the High Priestess Thakok-An[1], whose defining crime was the sacrifice of her family to transform her Sorcerer King, Kalid-Ma, into a dragon. Instead of transforming, the King was put into a deep sleep, and half of the city's population was killed. As soon as this happened, Kalidnay was added to Ravenloft as an Island of Terror. Thakok's curse is having her beloved master at her side, as she wanted, but in a sleeping state, thus never having his favor. Worse, dissonance eats at her soul, for she is conflicted over whether keeping him to herself is greater than having his favor.[2] And in the meantime, she must eternally walk a tightrope keeping the magical ecology that keeps Kalidnay together from falling apart.[3]
The doom of Kalidnay came swiftly. The city now has more empty structures than inhabitants. The survivors scavenge for food caches and other supplies in the abandoned structures. Kalidnay also has a satellite village, Artan-Ak, which it relies upon for water and crops.
In 4th Edition, Kalidnay exists in a ruined form on Athas, and in a populated form in The Grey (Athas's Shadowfell).[4]
Discrepancies
Thakok-An and Kalid-Ma's gender are up for debate as they are two versions of this dark domain's origin. When Kalidnay first appeared in the Forbidden Lore supplement, Thakok-An was a high priest and Kalid-Ma was his Sorceress-Queen. The Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium I & II supplement follows this view[5]. In the Domains of the Dread corebook their genders were swapped: Kalid became a King while Thakok was transformed into a female priestess. The reasons for this change seem to be because Dark Sun products refer to Kalid-Ma as a male.[6]
Since Kalidnay strongly depended on the Dark Sun setting, and 3rd edition Ravenloft was published by Arthaus/White Wolf, this domain was left aside and unused by the new publisher, possibly because using it would have required them to pay the rights to Wizards of the Coast as Arthaus/WW would need to cite Dark Suns and Athas' names, as they could not unbind it from its home scenario (as they did to all the other domains), and possibly because the non-core domains were never explored very much before the end of the line.
In the 4th Edition version [4], Kalid-Ma remains male and Thakok-An remains female. This edition does not specify that Kalidnay is in Ravenloft. Instead, Kalidnay's location is the "Gray" cut off from Athas where "the lost dead linger" and "devils and other horrific creatures roam" and intermittently trouble the people. Night mists capture anyone who roams the ruined city on Athas and bring them to the Gray version.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Domains of Dread p.90
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Domains of Dread p.91
- ↑ Domains of Dread p.92
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Eye on Dark Sun: Kalidnay
- ↑ Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium I & II p.116
- ↑ Dark Sun Timeline (archived link)
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
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Domains of Dread - p90 | |
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Domains of Dread - p90 |
