Paridon
| Paridon | |
|---|---|
| Culture Level | Renaissance (9)[1] |
| Ecology | Sparse[1] |
| Climate & Terrain | Temperate settled area[1] |
| Year Formed | 551 BC[2][3] |
| Population | 11,600[4] |
| Races (%) | Humans 99%, Other 2%[4] |
| Languages | Zherisian[4] |
| Religions | Divinity of Mankind[4] |
| Government | Aristocratic Republic[4] |
| Ruler(s) | The City Council[4] |
| Darklord(s) | Sodo[5][6] |
| Nationality | Paridoner[4] |
| Analog | Victorian London[7] |
| Related Categories | |
| Locations in Paridon | |
| Transportation in Paridon | |
| Inhabitants of Paridon | |
| Former Inhabitants of Paridon | |
| Flora of Paridon | |
| Fauna of Paridon | |
| Native Monsters of Paridon | |
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
Loosely based on Victorian London[7], Paridon is a domain designed around the idea of social decay, one which happens to be infested with dread doppelgangers. The darklord is the doppelganger Sodo, who is referred to by the human inhabitants as "Flickerflame" because he cannot control his shape-changing powers and is constantly "flickering" in form. Previously an island of terror, Paridon and the domain of Timor (located within the sewers) form the Zherisia cluster.[8]
Beyond the shapechangers that hide among the populace and the marikith or other horrors from Timor below, few native inhuman monsters inhabit the fog covered streets of Paridon. However, there are all too many human evils here, including murderers that walk the streets at night. The most infamous of these madmen is Bloody Jack, a serial killer who takes six lives without fail every 13 years.[8] Most recently, he struck in 755 BC.[2][3] On a more mundane but widespread level, Paridoner society is also afflicted by the social ills of mass hunger and a stiff class divide.[8]
History
Prior to its capture by the Mists, Paridon and the surrounding land of Zherisia were located on some unknown world of the Prime Material Plane. Several dread doppelganger clans lived hidden among the humans of the city. One particularly sadistic and traitorous doppelganger systematically betrayed and wiped out all of the elders of his clan, subsequently seizing power. When his treachery became great enough, the Dark Powers drew in Paridon and some of the nearby land.[9] The year was 551 BC.[10][2][3]
In 586 BC, the murderer known as Bloody Jack went on his first spree, claiming the lives of six victims. "Bloody Jack" would continue the pattern every thirteen years right up to the present day.[11]
Even prior to the loss of the arable land surrounding the city, the problems of scarcity (particularly food scarcity) ran rampant in Paridon.[12] In 740 BC, the Grand Conjunction occurred, and Paridon became alone in the mists, the surrounding land outside of the city lost entirely.[13] Starvation ensued, though the issue was ameliorated somewhat a few years later as people started disappearing from their homes and the population dropped. Throughout this strife, Paridoners continued to refer to themselves as Zherisian, as a way to remind themselves from a time outside of the Mists. Coinciding with the drop in population, the layout of the sewer networks beneath the city became changed.[14] Unknown to the general populace, Paridon had joined with the underground remnants of Timor to form the Zherisia cluster in 744 BC.[10][2][3] Seeping up from the depths of Timor, the marikith and other denizens of that domain became a new threat to the people of Paridon.[14]
Biology
Flora
Fauna
Native Horrors
Locations in Paridon
Boroughs of Paridon
Noncanon Information
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This section contains netbook-canon info from netbooks |
The Zherisia Gazetteer, a netbook released by Fraternity of Shadows, further details the sprawling city of Paridon above and the domain of Timor below.[17]
Chronology
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
- 586 BC - The so-called Bloody Jack goes on his first murder spree. In reality, he is a doppelganger servant of Sodo who commits the murders on Sodo's behalf using the Fang of the Nosferatu. This is the first time Sodo uses the knife (by his proxy) to gain invulnerability.[11]
- 599 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his second murder spree.[20]
- 612 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his third murder spree.[20]
- 625 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his fourth murder spree.[20]
- 638 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his fifth murder spree.[20]
- 651 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his sixth murder spree.[20]
- 664 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his seventh murder spree.[20]
- 677 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his eighth murder spree.[20]
- 681 BC - S.H. Williby is born.[21]
- 690 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his ninth murder spree.[20]
691 BC - Zherisian Parliament allows the Stamp Act to expire, which leads to the success of news publications on a timely basis.[22]
- 700 BC - As the century turns, there are five major newspapers competing for readers in Paridon.[22]
- 703 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his tenth murder spree.[20]
- 716 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his eleventh murder spree.[20]
- 716 BC - The Monograph is strangely silent on news about the Bloody Jack murders. Lawsuits subsequently kills the newspaper.[22]
- 721 BC - The Newsbill becomes the king of the newspapers, warranting no major competitors.[22]
- 729 BC - Bloody Jack goes on his twelfth murder spree.[20]
- 737 BC - Shelly Holmes begins her career as a freelance private detective.[23]
- 740 BC - The Grand Conjunction occurs. All of Zherisia save for Paridon disappears, leaving the economy and food supply in crisis.
- 740 BC-741 BC - During the winter, numerous riots break out as food shortages and poor conditions wear down quality of life for the people of Paridon. A curfew is established until the following spring of 741 BC.[24]
- 742 BC - Alfred Larner finishes his degree at the University of Richemulot. He travels back home to Paridon and starts recruiting members there.[27]
- 743 BC - Child Labor and Education Bill is passed.[28]
- 747 BC - Everybody in the Zherisian countryside that was engulfed by the Mists are official declared deceased.[28]
- 750 BC - On the tenth anniversary of the Great Upheaval, the island of Zherisia is declared no more. A memorial consisting of a fountain with an everburning torch is erected.[28]
- 755 BC - Bloody Jack goes on another killing spree in Paridon.[30]
- 756 BC - Chief Constable Francine Maxwell is made the official chief constable of Paridon, removing the word "acting" from her title.
- 756 BC - Daguerreotype photography is invented and immediately becomes popular.[31]
- 757 BC - The middle class vote in a commission on electoral reform.[28]
Paridon in Ravenloft Modules
Paridon and Bloody Jack are featured in the 2nd Edition mode Hour of the Knife and its sequel, Shadow of the Knife.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.182
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ravenloft Third Edition p.17
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.19
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.183
- ↑ Hour of the Knife p.4
- ↑ Domains of Dread p.118
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hour of the Knife p.8
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Domains of Dread p. 117-118
- ↑ Hour of the Knife p. 38; Domains of Dread p. 118
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Domains of Dread p.16
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 According to Hour of the Knife p. 5, the knife was first used in this fashion 156 years ago from the time of the module. According to Domains of Dread p. 17, the events of HotK happened in the year 742 BC.
- ↑ Realm of Terror p. 86 (Black Boxed Set)
- ↑ Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red boxed set) p. 41
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Domains of Dread p.116-117
- ↑ Ravenloft Third Edition p. 163
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Domains of Dread p. 118
- ↑ http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Library.html
- ↑ Zherisia Gazetteer p. 48
- ↑ Zherisia Gazetteer p. 49
- ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 Extrapolated from the date of the first spree (156 years from the time of the module, according Hour of the Knife p. 5) Domains of Dread p. 17 places that time at 742 BC. HotK p. 5 specifies that the murders occur at 13 year intervals
- ↑ According to Hour of the Knife p. 20, S.H. Williby is aged 60 at the time of the module. Domains of Dread p. 17 says that the events of Hour of the Knife takes place in 742 BC
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Zherisia Gazetteer p. 41
- ↑ Hour of the Knife p. 62 says she has been in practiced for five years at the time of the module. Domains of Dread p. 17 says that the events of Hour of the Knife takes place in 742 BC
- ↑ Zherisia Gazetteer p. 50
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Domains of Dread p.17
- ↑ Hour of the Knife
- ↑ Zherisia Gazetteer p. 107
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Zherisia Gazetteer p. 51
- ↑ Ravenloft Third Edition p.18
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.20
- ↑ Zherisia Gazetteer p. 40
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
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Secrets of the Dread Realms - p7 | |
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Ravenloft Campaign Setting - poster map |
