I'm currently working on a game set in Nisroch, Nidal. I greatly appreciated this thread on the subject of Zon-Kuthon, but I still feel Nidal itself is something of a mystery to me, specifically its history. Considering that "Nidal is one of the oldest civilizations on the face of Avistan," we're given almost no information whatsoever about the shaping of that civilization. What I'm attempting to do is create an environment that feels ancient but still dangerous and interesting.
My current understanding of the timeline of Nidal goes something like this:
- A long time ago: Pre-history horse lords populate the area now known as Nidal.
- -5293 AR: Starstone falls, Age of Darkness begins, Zon-Kuthon freed and emerges from the Plane of Shadow near Ridwan. Horse lords enter pact for eternal protection, reign of the church of Zon-Kuthon begins.
- Over 9000 years pass uneventfully!
- 4305 AR: Everwar begins.
- 4338 AR: Nidal conquered by Cheliax.
- 4663 AR: Nidal backs House Thrune in Chelaxian civil war and is rewarded by the withdrawal of Chelish agents.
- 4713 AR: Present day.
I'm looking to flesh out this timeline for my game. I'm attempting to create a game where ancient noble families, military and ecclesiastic orders, and the criminal underworld all conspire to maintain power in all its forms (wealth, religion, police and military, all aspects of daily life). I really like Aberrant Templar's ideas in the above thread about incorporating film noir elements and toning down the gratuity of Nidal's pain-worshiping scene so that it is the horror that lurks below the surface as opposed to the horror shoved in your face everyday.
I was also thinking that Nidal could be an ideal place for vampires to have accumulated a great deal of power, possibly as the eternal puppetmasters of noble houses. Other undead or shadow creatures could also have carved out niches for themselves over the millenia.
Mostly, I'm just looking for some help adding the dimension of time to this area of the world. While I personally think of it as somewhat backwards and stagnant, that doesn't mean nothing happened there for almost all of history.
For reference, I have read the Nisroch entry in Cities of Golarion, the Nidal entry in the Inner Sea World Guide, as well as The Midnight Mirror module, but not Nightglass (yet). I really appreciate the help!
