Mordent
| Mordent | |
|---|---|
| |
| Culture Level | Renaissance (9) |
| Ecology | Full |
| Climate & Terrain | Forests, Plains, Swamps |
| Year Formed | 579 BC |
| Population | 5,500 |
| Races (%) | 99% Human |
| Languages | Mordentish*, Falkovnian, Vaasi |
| Religions | Church of Ezra, Church of Hala |
| Government | Hereditary Aristocracy |
| Ruler(s) | Lord Jules Weathermay |
| Darklord(s) | Lord Wilfred Godefroy |
| Nationality | Mordentish |
| Analog | English countryside |
| Related Categories | |
| Locations in Mordent | |
| Transportation in Mordent | |
| Inhabitants of Mordent | |
| Former Inhabitants of Mordent | |
| Flora of Mordent | |
| Fauna of Mordent | |
| Native Monsters of Mordent | |
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
Mordent is the setting of the module Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. After one of Strahd and Azalin's many attempts to escape the Demiplane of Dread, they found themselves in Mordent. After the events involving the Alchemist and the Apparatus, they were sent back, and Mordent was added to the demiplane as a new domain.
The Darklord of Mordent is the ghost Lord Wilfred Godefroy.
Things, Creatures & Personnages of Legend
Biology
Flora
Two unusual species of plant, devil's tears and wraithroot, are native to Mordent. Trees include willows on the running alongside the Arden River, evergreens in the Forest of the Ancients, and hardwoods in the Lightless Wood. However, the heaths and coastline of Modent show little diversity in plant-life.[1]
Mordent also hosts its share of dangerous and dread plants, such as assassin vines, bloodrose plants, crawling ivy, and death's head trees.[2]
Fauna
Although snakes and spiders are common Mordentish animals[3][4], animal-kind in general seems to be unusually uncommon in Mordent.[5] Seagulls dominate the cliffs of the coasts, whereas most the rest of Mordent's terrestrial wildlife is found Mordent's marshes and forests.[5] Within the northern forests, there is some supply of deer, foxes, and even a few odd boars to serve as game animals.[5] Wolves show greater numbers within Mordent, but the Mordentish avoid hunting them for fear of inducing bad luck.[5] Dire wolves may also be encountered.[6] Other Mordentish wildlife include bats[6], rats[6] (including dire rats[6]), and ravens[6].
In the sea, flounder, lobsters, oysters, sole, and sardines all represent natural resources heavily tapped into by the Mordentish.[7][8] Other aquatic sealife includes octopi[6], porpoises[6], sharks[6], squid[6], and whales[6].
In the sphere of domesticated animals, sheep are particularly important to the Mordentish economy, although cattle are also an agricultural commodity.[7][8] As far as pets and working animals, the Mordentish hold a particular appreciation for mastiff hounds[9][10], although other breeds of dog as well as cats may also be encountered[6].
Native Horrors
Virtually any sort of undead may be found in Mordent, though ghouls, haunts, poltergeists, and shadows.[3][4][11] Of the undead, incorporeal undead figure the most in Mordentish legend, though mostly lumped together under the collective label of ghost. In addition, there are several tales of creatures of the Mists; this reflects that Mordent is a magnet for a number of Mist Creatures, such as fenhounds, mist elementals, and mist ferrymen.[12]
Other threats include hags[3][4], gargoyles[6] , imps[3][4], lycanthropes[3][4], and will o'wisps[3][4][6]. Bog Hounds are sometimes found on the moors[13], whereas reavers[6], sahuagin[3][4][6], sea spawn[6], and even krakens[6] are found in the sea or on the coast.
Geography
Locations in Mordent
Locations in Mordentshire
Weather
Terrain
Hills
Forests[14]
- The Lightless Wood
Lakes
Communication
Rivers
- The Arden River flows north out of Valachan into Arden Bay.
The Mordent Cartographic Society also supplied a few non-canon river names. The 'Volfen' is the otherwise unnamed tributary that originates in what was previously Arkandale, while the 'Newbury River' is an entirely new tributary out of Richemulot.
Roads
- The Mill Road runs from The Forest of the Ancients to Mordentshire.
Economy
Agarian
Manufacturing
Ships
Trade
Taxation
Black Market
Landmarks
- The Pale Lady and the Ashen Man are local names for the chalk cliffs on either side of Arden Bay.
Population Distribution
Towns
Steadwall (ghost town)
Villages
Mordent is dotted with small villages. Waterford is mentioned by John Mangrum in his adventure 'The Man Who Lost His Mind'. Crawford is a village derived from the Dungeon adventure 'The Unkindness of Ravens', by Jason Kuhl. Glenwich is a take on the English Dunwich (a real village on a sandcliff that threatens to be swallowed by the sea). The last site also is the location of Preston Hill, which is featured in Children of the Night:Ghosts. In Children of the Night: The Created, Lian de Loranche Punchinel is a resident of Idlethorp.
Authority
Darklord
Godefroy was a fairly inconsequential darklord, preferring to rule over the spirits in his manor, until about 750, when an assault on the Gryphon Hill manor roused him out of his complacency. He now uses the spirits of the house as spies, informants, and hostages to control the living.
Temporal Rule
Mordent was ruled in the past by landed gentry, but most of these families have vanished, leaving the Weathermay family as the only landowners left. The aging Jules Weathermay is disinclined to overt rule. His most significant political act was to sign the Treaty of the Four Towers.
Spiritual Rule
Since the return of the Church of Ezra under Felix Wachter in 698, the Church has grown to be the dominant religion of Mordent.
Church and State
While there is no official relationship between the Church of Ezra and the hereditary government, gossips are quick to comment as to the generous donation of the old temple of Mordentshire after anchorites healed young Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove after her mauling by the werewolf Natalia Vhorishkova.
Government
Landowners select a mayor for each settlement, and the mayor appoints a sheriff and magistrate.
Law
Magistrates interpret the law and exact fines and sentences. Like the sheriffs, they are equal in authority to the mayors who appointed them.
Law Enforcement
sheriffs are appointed by the mayors, but are not subordinate to them. Sheriffs, magistrates and mayors are of equal authority in their respective spheres. The Lamplighters serve as detectives. All city watchmen are volunteers.
Intelligence Gathering
Military Footing
Language & Culture
Gods and Religions
God - Focus - Domains
Inns & Taverns
Mordentshire
The Seventh Sea (579 BC)
Traveler's Inn (579 BC)
Old Salt House (579 BC)
Salty Dog Tavern (579 BC)
Blackburn's Crossing
Tumbledown
Inhabitants of Mordent
Howard Lumley (most likely)
| This page incorporates content from the inactive Mordent Cartographic Society. Used with their express permission. | 
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Chronology
- 157 BC or before: Mordentshire is settled.[15]
- 180 BC: Jacques Renier brings his family here and takes leadership of the then hamlet of Mordentshire. He eventually builds Gryphon Manor.[15]
387 BC May Dr. Blake Ramsay leaves Mordentshire for the Sea of Sorrows and takes residence on the Isle, where he later becomes darklord of.[16]- 393 BC October Liza Ramsay falls from the cliffs of the Isle. Dr. Ramsay, her father, forges a pact with the Dark Powers. He murders his wife Helen Ramsay and his two sons, Gregory Ramsay and Blake Ramsay, Jr. and uses their body parts to to make Liza into a dread flesh golem. He succeeds, but her eyes are tainted and deformed. Dr. Ramsay begins killing visitors to the Isle and harvesting their eyes.[17]
- 493 BC December: The de Boistribue Family disappears, leaving behind partly chewed bodies of servants, bloodstains, claw marks, and a single survivor: a servant driven so mad as to prevent the telling of what happened during the incident.[18]
- 502 BC-543 BC Many of the Halloway Family and their associates and friends die suspicious deaths.[19]
- 543 BC The last of the Holsworth Family vanishes into the Sea of Sorrows.[20]
- 557 BC By no later than this year has Lord Wilfred Godefroy inherited Gryphon Manor.[21]
- 566 BC Lord Wilfred Godefroy marries Estelle Weathermay.[21]
- 568 BC Estelle Godefroy gives birth to Lilia Godefroy.[21]
- 578 BC Lord Wilfred Godefroy canes Estelle Godefroy to death. When Lilia Godefroy tries to intervene, he murders her too.[21]
- 579 BC New Year's Day Lord Wilfred Godefroy commits suicide.[15]
- 579 BC The Mournesworth Family investigate a number of dreaded omens and rumors and commence a strange ritual before they ultimately disappear as Mordent is drawn into the Mists.[22]
- 579 BC October[23] Strahd and Azalin create a portal to Mordent[24], where The Alchemist conducts strange research on changing the soul.[25] The Mists snatch up Mordent before either Strahd or Azalin can make good their escape, leaving them with only hazy dream-like recollections of what happened.[24]
- 621 BC The Gauldamons's worship of Lou'gal the Smiling One is uncovered. All the members of the clan are killed or chased away into the nearby forest, where they will be hunted down over the next few decades.[26]
- 630 BC The Sea of Sorrows is revealed.[27]
- 643 BC Burton Wescote and his would-be wife Ann are to be wed through an arranged marriage. A bizarre and mysterious series of events leaves Ann dead at the feet of Burton's hounds after Ann had killed Michael Wescote. Burton, for his part, becomes cursed.[28]
- 652 BC May Dr. Blake Ramsay leaves Mordentshire for the Sea of Sorrows and takes residence on the Isle, where he later becomes darklord of.[29]
658 BCOctober Liza Ramsay falls from the cliffs of the Isle. Dr. Ramsay, her father, forges a pact with the Dark Powers. He murders his wife Helen Ramsay and his two sons, Gregory Ramsay and Blake Ramsay, Jr. and uses their body parts to to make Liza into a dread flesh golem. He succeeds, but her eyes are tainted and deformed. Dr. Ramsay begins killing visitors to the Isle and harvesting their eyes.[30]- 672 BC Howard Lumley is killed by the Automatic Man.[31]
- 673 BC Last documented case of an encounter with a member of the Gauldamon Family.[26]
- 698 BC The First Schism. After all is said and done, a Rite of Revelation is created to reveal those truly favored by Ezra.[32]
- 699 BC Felix Wachter writes the Second Book of Ezra, founding the Mordentish sect of the Church of Ezra.
- 704 BC
As the village of Valden is settled, the Garvin Family establish the Garvin Farm. The xenophobic Jacob Garvin crafts a scarecrow to scare away trespassers. However, his obsession animates it as a straw golem, and it takes several lives, including most of the Garvins. Betty Garvin is the only known survivor.[33] - 707 BC Dr. Germain d'Honaire dies.
- 707 BC The domain of Dementlieu appears, and the d'Honaire family emigrates there.[34]
- 709 BC George Weathermay is born.[35]
- 714 BC Dr. Van Richten moves to Mordentshire, sensing it is politically unsafe for him to remain in Darkon.
- 716 BC Bastion Felix Wachter dies.
- 731 BC The Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins are born to Alice Weathermay and Daniel Foxgrove.[36]
- 733 BC Bernadette d'Honaire Moussel is murdered.
- 741 BC George Weathermay is seduced by the werewolf Natalia Vhorishkova in order to get at Dr. van Richten. In the chaos of battle, Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove, a mere bystander, is wounded and is afflicted with lycanthropy. George Weathermay gives chase to Natalia out of Mordent. In Verbrek, he confronts the Vhorishkova family and, upon finding they are werewolves, murders them all to the last noncombatant, yet he fails to catch Natalia. Out of this mass murder emerges a changed, more bitter and driven George Weathermay. Weathermay fails to catch Natalia. In shame and guilt over what happened to Gennifer, George Weathermay does not return to Mordent.[37]
- 743 BC Burton Wescote's curse is removed.[38][39]
- 744 BC Sarlota Otrava becomes the Bastion of Mordent.
- 750 BC Van Ritchen vanishes while abroad.
- 752 BC Lian de Loranche Punchinel has created a number of Min'Kins in Idlethorp.[40] However, Illias seeks to exploit them to conceal his own crimes..[41]
- 757 BC By this year, Lord Wilfred Godefroy has become much active in controlling his domain. He is coercing Daniel Foxgrove into feeding him information about the current events in Mordent through holding the ghost of Alice Weathermay hostage. Furthermore, he is paying close attention to the factional politics of the Church of Ezra, hoping to find a way to exploit them.[42]
References
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.42-43
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.42, 44
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Ravenloft: Realm of Terror, p. 77
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens, p. 25
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Gazetteer III p.43
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 Gazetteer III p.44
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ravenloft Third Edition p. 130
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.149
- ↑ Denizens of Darkness p. 80
- ↑ Denizens of Dread p. 116
- ↑ For a list of some other undead, see Ravenloft Gazetteer II, p. 69
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.43-44
- ↑ Howls in the Night
- ↑ Ravenloft Gazetteer I, p37.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Gazetteer III p.45
- ↑ the House on the Edge of Midnight, Dungeon Magazine # 76, p. 12; Besides occurring before Mordent even became a domain, this date contradicts what is described on p. 10, where the module says he left "100 years ago". A House on the Edge of Midnight was published in 1999, at which time the current game year was 752 BC, so perhaps this should be 652 BC, or perhaps Mordent had a different calendar back then.
- ↑ the House on the Edge of Midnight, Dungeon Magazine # 76, p. 12. See 387 BC "Dr. Blake Ramsay leaves Mordentshire..." for why this date does not work.
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.48
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.54
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.52
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Gazetteer III p.130
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.56
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.47
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Gazetteer II p.135
- ↑ I10: Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Gazetteer III p.50
- ↑ Ravenloft Player's Handbook ].19
- ↑ Howls in the Night p.4-5
- ↑ the House on the Edge of Midnight, Dungeon Magazine # 76, p. 10, 12; See the note on 387 BC as to the derivation of the date.
- ↑ the House on the Edge of Midnight, Dungeon Magazine # 76, p. 10, 12; See the note on 387 BC as to the derivation of the 652 BC date of the arrival of the Ramsay Family in Mordentshire. On p. 12, the fall of Liza occurred 6 years after their arrival on the Isle.
- ↑ CotN:The Created
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.110
- ↑ Book of Sacrifices p. 39-41; "50 years ago" from 754 BC/2001 in the real world
- ↑ Domains of Dread p.17
- ↑ Champions of the Mists p.62
- ↑ Van Richten's Arsenal p. 137
- ↑ Champions of the Mists p.63
- ↑ Howls in the Night
- ↑ Domains of Dread p.17
- ↑ Children of the Night: The Created p. 84
- ↑ Children of the Night: The Created p. 87
- ↑ Gazetteer III p.131-132
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
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Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,18,42-43 | |
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Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp8-9 |
