What is a Paragon?

I think it could be more complicated than that.

Let me start by saying IC and OOC I have no firm idea of what a Paragon is. I think “epic level” is a big piece of what makes a Paragon. That seems pretty clear to me. But I also think there is more to it than that. In the old campaign were Menesis or Calcestus or Morushun Paragons? They were all “epic level.” But I am guessing they weren’t all paragons. Maybe none of them were Paragons.

Similarly I don’t think epic level “non humans” like Loshnek or Manetas qualify as Paragons. I think Paragons have to rise from & transcended ordinary mortality in some way.

It’s also possible that they need to embody a religion (and/or a cause, nation or quality like “Justice”). I am guessing OOC you need to be a paragon of something.

I am pretty sure Leonydas was a Paragon. It seems likely to me that figures like the Sorcerer King, Elandre and the Tyrant Natuus (sp?) are at least contenders for the title of Paragon.

Anyone else with thoughts?

A total random theory that I have proposed is that each god gets one paragon, and that the paragon is the proto-god. After all, we know that the pantheon can time travel. We suspect the “the entire pantheon is a family” story is false. So where did the gods come from? With time travel, it means they could have started as mortals and risen to godhood at separate times/speeds and then time travelled back together to start the pantheon. Obviously a mortal destined to be Nier would connect well with Nier… thus Leonydus.

This obviously means that killing a paragon would be bad…. very, very bad….

But its totally a wild guess sure to make Henry laugh.

par·a·gon
ˈperəˌɡän/
noun

1. a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.
2. a person or thing viewed as a model of excellence.

That’s a good place to start. Thanks.

I do not recall the term ‘Paragon’ ever appearing in the old 3.0/3.5 campaign, but I suspect that it refers to very special people who are the epitome of their race (Leonydas was the ultimate val’Virdan). I’m guessing that there is rarely more than one of them in a generation…snip…Aside from the Prophesies, does anyone else remember seeing any ‘paragon’ references?
I also do *not* remember the term paragon being tossed around in the First Campaign. I think the prophesies are the first/primary source of this term. Though this plot arc is called “the War of the Paragons.”

That questions the idea that there is usually only 1 per generation. Obviously there are at least Two of them “out there” this generation for the war to take place.

Leonydas. I think that he is a Paragon…and the best fit so far for the “ember bereft of fire” so I assume we will be seeing him at some point. It not clear to me if he is the paragon of the val’Virdan or the paragon of Nier. The difference might be important. Ken’s idea of “Porto-gods” would lean toward Nier…not that he’s necessarily on the right track. Just that he has an interesting idea. If instead paragons represent races or bloodlines that would be interesting too.

Would Elebac potentially be the paragon of the Dwarves? Is Magros the paragon of the Malfelens? I don’t think either of those feel right.

One thing that confuses Tukufu is that the Destroyer is opposed/defeated by the “Ember bereft of fire,” but Calemnon is worried about some guy named Merric. To my knowledge Merric has nothing to do with fire (though since I know virtually nothing maybe we’ll learn more as we go) Are there more than 2 Paragons? Is it possible that the War among the Paragons is just them jockeying for position as the Destroyer forces the hands of the paragons who would prefer to be hidden? If true then the war among the Paragons is just a warm up for a future main event against the Destroyer…

Hello Ken,

… the Blessed Lands books calls Leonydus a paragon of Nier.

Good catch.

Yep, Leonydes is/was? a Paragon of Nier.

No spoiler here as it was in the Blessed Lands book (pg 186 for those keeping score at home).

Hmmmmm. Related question:

How does one become a Paragon?

Is one born fated to take on the role? Does one slowly become worthy of the Title by years of embodying the thing one wishes to become a Paragon of? Does one go through a mystical event of apotheosis?

With each battle, the Sword of the Heavens slaughtered more of their numbers, vanquishing rebels by the thousands. At the darkest hour, when all seemed lost, two figures emerged to give the rebels a faint glimmer of hope. One a sickly boy whose power, which the Sarishians both marveled and cursed at, was the ability to break Oaths and the resultant effects. …
The second figure to come to the aid of of the rebels was a mysterious sorcerer named Amath, who claimed to hold the secret to Leonydas’ destruction.
Before launching his crusade to retake the First City, Leonydas had been warned by Basuhe, the head of the Sisters of Nier, that the Avatar of the Oath Breaker had once again taken human form. She warned him that, like it had done millennia before, this creature would once more prove his undoing should it not be dealt with, once and for all. After many sacrifices and burnt offerings performed in the old ways, Basuhe divined that this creature could be killed within the holy inner chamber of …

I purposely stopped the sentence short for suspense. But anyone who owns the book or pdf can read the rest.

My point is there was a second Avatar besides Leonydas, if Avatar=Paragon perhaps we could be dealing with several of them during this war.
“Only one will emerge from , Lord. The other shall suffer as few have in this life or the next.” For the first time in his life, Leonydas val’Virdan was given pause, for he knew that Baushe spoke not with her own voice, but that of Nier Himself.

Before launching his crusade to retake the First City, Leonydas had been warned by Basuhe, the head of the Sisters of Nier, that the Avatar of the Oath Breaker had once again taken human form. She warned him that, like it had done millennia before, this creature would once more prove his undoing should it not be dealt with, once and for all. After many sacrifices and burnt offerings performed in the old ways, Basuhe divined that this creature could be killed within the holy inner chamber of …
I purposely stopped the sentence short for suspense. But anyone who owns the book or pdf can read the rest.

My point is there was a second Avatar besides Leonydas, if Avatar=Paragon perhaps we could be dealing with several of them during this war.
“Only one will emerge from , Lord. The other shall suffer as few have in this life or the next.” For the first time in his life, Leonydas val’Virdan was given pause, for he knew that Baushe spoke not with her own voice, but that of Nier Himself.
We still don’t know what happened to Leonydas in that place. Some PCs went in afterwards, though, and we eventually learned that they did not find Leonydas inside. One can infer that the Avatar of the Oath Breaker unmade him again. Alternatively, we also know that the one force capable of manipulating divinations is the same force that inhabited the place Leonydas went, so maybe it was a trap and Basuhe’s divination was false. As a merger of the two considerations, maybe the Avatar of the Oath Breaker is connected with the Silence.