A Timeline?
Posted 7th November 2008 at 05:56 PM by Archade
Hey all,
Something I would love feedback on, as my campaign world firms up through play, is my historical time line.
Nothing bugs me more than a fantasy world that's stayed the same over 10,000 years. Things should change. Technology should be developed, empires rise and fall, religions spring into existence, magic be discovered, and so on.
For my world, I made a conscious decision to keep my timeline compact, and show a few trends:
TECHNOLOGY
The development of technology (ie something that mirrors real history, where better metallurgy developed better swords, which caused the creation of chain mail, which caused the rise of impact weapons like maces and morningstars, which was responded to with plate armor, which incited thrusting weapons and firearms).
A DARK AGE
The big thing I wanted to shamelessly steal from Paizo's Golarion campaign is that the world was a more developed place, until Bad Things Happened (tm) and the world fell into a dark age, with a reduction in population, a reason for abandoned dungeons and ruins, and treasures and magical items waiting to be found. My Bad Thing was the Summoner's War, where the Shebeleth (an alliance of Mind Flayers and Aboleths and other aberrations) invaded, and toppled the Verdraaken Empire, causing people to go crazy and cities to burn.
A SALVAGED RENAISSANCE
I wanted my pre-Summoner War world to be a place of firearms and mechanical golems and pocketwatches -- almost steampunk. Not exactly Eberron, but more like Stardust. When the world was cast into darkness, those advanced wonders were lost, and now they are just being rediscovered and the means to build them is being rediscovered. Actually, that sounds a bit like Warhammer 40K, and that's okay too.
THE EBB AND FLOW OF HISTORY
I wanted other events, such as the Elven Court leaving the world, leaving a few fey behind (and making elves, halflings, and gnomes watered down fey), I wanted lycanthropes to be the former servants of the fey, I wanted a sect of mages delving into golem-making. I wanted faction states of the lost Verdraaken Empire to be struggling along.
SO WHAT DO I WANT HELP WITH?
Here's my timeline below. I'd love suggestions to help flesh it out -- random history bits, names of kings and religious leaders of days gone by, things that could have happened. Any feedback from the people who read these blogs would be greatly appreciated. I also have items I want to have happen below without dates, and advice on where to insert these events in would be wonderful as well.
Western Marches Timeline
-6000 u Dwarves emerge from Khadenhall and are seen by humans for the first time.
-6000 w Aarden discovers the Alabaster Scrolls and the worship of Aarishem, and takes them to the people
-5800 u The dwarven hold of Morrighal is discovered.
-5220 w The White Council is formed, and the Dawn Princes all agree to adhere to the Alabaster Scrolls and the worship of Aarishem.
-5200 w Aarden is ascended to Venya, and becomes a Throne Angel for his service to the Allfather.
-5000 u Acererak the lich is destroyed, and his soul is sent to Baator.
-5000 u The Elven Court leaves Glanting Isle, and sails to Avalor, led by their Queen Ehlonna.
-4708 0 MR u Malacisti Empire is founded, and all the Dawn Princes swear allegiance to Pramus Oriasini, the first Malacisti Emperor to sit the Malacite Throne.
-2105 n Half-plate armor developed by the Verdraaken Empire to combat morningstars and other piercing weapons
-1850 2858 MR n Rapiers raise to prominence in the Malacisti Empire, and their popularity is carried north to the Verdraaken Empire.
-1700 3008 MR n Firearms are developed by the Verdraaken
-1601 3107 MR u The Verdraaken Empire falls to the depradations of abberant outsiders summoned by arrogant Verdraaken runemages.
-1592 t The Summoners War begins when the remaining members of the Runebound gather, and using the last great magics of the Verdraaken Empire, their gods the Sword Spirit and Karkath, and their dragon servants, open a Gate to the Pale Realm, and summon the githyanki. The githyanki come through the gate with five flying citadels, and forge a pact with the Runebound to strike at the Shebeleth. The cost of this summoning is the magic and sanity of most dragons, the souls and lives of all the priests of Karkath and the Sword Spirit, and most of the runemages and their artifacts, and the death of the semi-divine son of Karkath
-1591 u Cuthbert dies.
-1580 t The devastation of Morrighal, when the earth splits. Morrighal is abandoned by the dwarves, who flee to Khadenhall, led by their last king Daern Blacktower.
-1560 t The Summoners War ends, and the Shebeleth flee into the underground vaults beneath the Theld. The githyanki leave with the last functional flying citadel, leaving behind half-breed children on foundered citadels floating above the Theld.
-1558 u Cuthbert is canonized by the White Council, becoming St. Cuthbert.
-1400 u Vecna rises as a lich and forges her own empire, soldiered by the undead and other foul creatures, and many people are enslaved.
-1260 u Vecna is defeated by Kas, and her empire crumbles.
-465 u Baligante, the first of the Malacisti Protectorates, is founded when the corrupt Margrave of Tellmarch offers land in the Blackfens to the Malacisti Emperor for an obscene sum of money. With magic, a large portion of the Blackfens are drained, and the boggards are driven deeper into the marshlands.
-350 n The Golemworks of Baligante are founded by Kwalish the Mad
-301 4407 MR u Goethe founded on the Jewel Fields by Patrician Janthian Goethe and some Malacisti Lancers, defeating some Theldane and taking their fortress.
-280 u Humans from Goethe settle ruins of Morrighal. Verden Blacktower is outraged, and war nearly breaks out between Goethe and Khadenhall.
-266 w The Edict of Deviltry is issued by the White Council in the Malacisti Empire, proclaiming that all arcane magic is a machination of Astaroth, and that all wizards and sorcerers are accursed to burn in Baator for using such magic, and their souls are in danger by their ignorance. The White Crusade is proclaimed, and inquisitors travel to the Protectorates from the Empire to expunge the evil from the Jewel Fields. Many sorcerers with fiendish bloodlines are put to death.
-263 w Wizards, sorcerers, and other arcane casters flee the Malacisti Protectorates in the face of the White Crusade. Several cities on the southern coast of the Protectorate Sea offer sanctuary, becoming known as the Magelands (and the Protectorate Sea becomes known as the Heretic’s Ocean)
-102 4606 MR w Aarishem dies, throwing the Malacisti Empire into civil disorder, and causing the Protectorates in the Western Marches to be abandoned.
-88 w Tenser is taken into the custody of the White Crusade by Deacon Ultrafer, and is kept for two years in the capital of Malacist. When he returns to Baligante, all priests are turned out of the Golemworks and made unwelcome.
-87 u Count Daroche Oriador proclaims himself King of Arcavia, and the city-states of Heux and Aro swear their allegiance to him.
-44 4664 MR w The White Council, now led by the Archdeacon of Aarden, quietly revokes the Edict of Deviltry, as it has fallen into disuse, confirming that the practice of arcane magic is not a theological practice, and that the White Council cannot judge it to be immoral or evil.
-25 u Mordenkainen Hoenott becomes the Headmage of the Acadaemae in Goethe
0 4708 MR The Present
??? ??? Stirrups taken from Galivesh
??? ??? Shortswords developed
??? ??? Longswords developed
??? ??? Chainmail developed
??? ??? Morningstars, maces, and hammers improved to work against chainmail
??? ??? Greatswords developed
??? ??? The fall of the Verdraaken Empire – much technology and craft skills are lost …
??? ??? Gear-clocks rediscovered
??? ??? The first airship flies from the Ashport docks …
??? ??? Cortine develops a new method of forging steel
??? ??? The wizard Igannazzar discovers an extraplanar realm of fire, and the City of Brass
??? ??? The lost secret of crafting shot powder is discovered and communicated across the Protectorates
??? ??? The Elven Court retreats from Glanting Isle and The Realm of Aldharweir (later becoming the island-kingdom of Gnelland)
??? ??? Ashport outcasts found the Styes
??? ??? The githyanki wizard-warrior Ioun …
??? ??? Monks and monk weapons are shared with the human cultures …
??? ??? The Theld becomes a barren wasteland, and the Firecrown Uplands are formed …
??? ??? The gith migrate to the land, across the Theld, Firecrown Uplands, and Graven Hills
??? ??? Plague hits Khotesh, kobolds created by Temple of Apollyon
Something I would love feedback on, as my campaign world firms up through play, is my historical time line.
Nothing bugs me more than a fantasy world that's stayed the same over 10,000 years. Things should change. Technology should be developed, empires rise and fall, religions spring into existence, magic be discovered, and so on.
For my world, I made a conscious decision to keep my timeline compact, and show a few trends:
TECHNOLOGY
The development of technology (ie something that mirrors real history, where better metallurgy developed better swords, which caused the creation of chain mail, which caused the rise of impact weapons like maces and morningstars, which was responded to with plate armor, which incited thrusting weapons and firearms).
A DARK AGE
The big thing I wanted to shamelessly steal from Paizo's Golarion campaign is that the world was a more developed place, until Bad Things Happened (tm) and the world fell into a dark age, with a reduction in population, a reason for abandoned dungeons and ruins, and treasures and magical items waiting to be found. My Bad Thing was the Summoner's War, where the Shebeleth (an alliance of Mind Flayers and Aboleths and other aberrations) invaded, and toppled the Verdraaken Empire, causing people to go crazy and cities to burn.
A SALVAGED RENAISSANCE
I wanted my pre-Summoner War world to be a place of firearms and mechanical golems and pocketwatches -- almost steampunk. Not exactly Eberron, but more like Stardust. When the world was cast into darkness, those advanced wonders were lost, and now they are just being rediscovered and the means to build them is being rediscovered. Actually, that sounds a bit like Warhammer 40K, and that's okay too.
THE EBB AND FLOW OF HISTORY
I wanted other events, such as the Elven Court leaving the world, leaving a few fey behind (and making elves, halflings, and gnomes watered down fey), I wanted lycanthropes to be the former servants of the fey, I wanted a sect of mages delving into golem-making. I wanted faction states of the lost Verdraaken Empire to be struggling along.
SO WHAT DO I WANT HELP WITH?
Here's my timeline below. I'd love suggestions to help flesh it out -- random history bits, names of kings and religious leaders of days gone by, things that could have happened. Any feedback from the people who read these blogs would be greatly appreciated. I also have items I want to have happen below without dates, and advice on where to insert these events in would be wonderful as well.
Western Marches Timeline
-6000 u Dwarves emerge from Khadenhall and are seen by humans for the first time.
-6000 w Aarden discovers the Alabaster Scrolls and the worship of Aarishem, and takes them to the people
-5800 u The dwarven hold of Morrighal is discovered.
-5220 w The White Council is formed, and the Dawn Princes all agree to adhere to the Alabaster Scrolls and the worship of Aarishem.
-5200 w Aarden is ascended to Venya, and becomes a Throne Angel for his service to the Allfather.
-5000 u Acererak the lich is destroyed, and his soul is sent to Baator.
-5000 u The Elven Court leaves Glanting Isle, and sails to Avalor, led by their Queen Ehlonna.
-4708 0 MR u Malacisti Empire is founded, and all the Dawn Princes swear allegiance to Pramus Oriasini, the first Malacisti Emperor to sit the Malacite Throne.
-2105 n Half-plate armor developed by the Verdraaken Empire to combat morningstars and other piercing weapons
-1850 2858 MR n Rapiers raise to prominence in the Malacisti Empire, and their popularity is carried north to the Verdraaken Empire.
-1700 3008 MR n Firearms are developed by the Verdraaken
-1601 3107 MR u The Verdraaken Empire falls to the depradations of abberant outsiders summoned by arrogant Verdraaken runemages.
-1592 t The Summoners War begins when the remaining members of the Runebound gather, and using the last great magics of the Verdraaken Empire, their gods the Sword Spirit and Karkath, and their dragon servants, open a Gate to the Pale Realm, and summon the githyanki. The githyanki come through the gate with five flying citadels, and forge a pact with the Runebound to strike at the Shebeleth. The cost of this summoning is the magic and sanity of most dragons, the souls and lives of all the priests of Karkath and the Sword Spirit, and most of the runemages and their artifacts, and the death of the semi-divine son of Karkath
-1591 u Cuthbert dies.
-1580 t The devastation of Morrighal, when the earth splits. Morrighal is abandoned by the dwarves, who flee to Khadenhall, led by their last king Daern Blacktower.
-1560 t The Summoners War ends, and the Shebeleth flee into the underground vaults beneath the Theld. The githyanki leave with the last functional flying citadel, leaving behind half-breed children on foundered citadels floating above the Theld.
-1558 u Cuthbert is canonized by the White Council, becoming St. Cuthbert.
-1400 u Vecna rises as a lich and forges her own empire, soldiered by the undead and other foul creatures, and many people are enslaved.
-1260 u Vecna is defeated by Kas, and her empire crumbles.
-465 u Baligante, the first of the Malacisti Protectorates, is founded when the corrupt Margrave of Tellmarch offers land in the Blackfens to the Malacisti Emperor for an obscene sum of money. With magic, a large portion of the Blackfens are drained, and the boggards are driven deeper into the marshlands.
-350 n The Golemworks of Baligante are founded by Kwalish the Mad
-301 4407 MR u Goethe founded on the Jewel Fields by Patrician Janthian Goethe and some Malacisti Lancers, defeating some Theldane and taking their fortress.
-280 u Humans from Goethe settle ruins of Morrighal. Verden Blacktower is outraged, and war nearly breaks out between Goethe and Khadenhall.
-266 w The Edict of Deviltry is issued by the White Council in the Malacisti Empire, proclaiming that all arcane magic is a machination of Astaroth, and that all wizards and sorcerers are accursed to burn in Baator for using such magic, and their souls are in danger by their ignorance. The White Crusade is proclaimed, and inquisitors travel to the Protectorates from the Empire to expunge the evil from the Jewel Fields. Many sorcerers with fiendish bloodlines are put to death.
-263 w Wizards, sorcerers, and other arcane casters flee the Malacisti Protectorates in the face of the White Crusade. Several cities on the southern coast of the Protectorate Sea offer sanctuary, becoming known as the Magelands (and the Protectorate Sea becomes known as the Heretic’s Ocean)
-102 4606 MR w Aarishem dies, throwing the Malacisti Empire into civil disorder, and causing the Protectorates in the Western Marches to be abandoned.
-88 w Tenser is taken into the custody of the White Crusade by Deacon Ultrafer, and is kept for two years in the capital of Malacist. When he returns to Baligante, all priests are turned out of the Golemworks and made unwelcome.
-87 u Count Daroche Oriador proclaims himself King of Arcavia, and the city-states of Heux and Aro swear their allegiance to him.
-44 4664 MR w The White Council, now led by the Archdeacon of Aarden, quietly revokes the Edict of Deviltry, as it has fallen into disuse, confirming that the practice of arcane magic is not a theological practice, and that the White Council cannot judge it to be immoral or evil.
-25 u Mordenkainen Hoenott becomes the Headmage of the Acadaemae in Goethe
0 4708 MR The Present
??? ??? Stirrups taken from Galivesh
??? ??? Shortswords developed
??? ??? Longswords developed
??? ??? Chainmail developed
??? ??? Morningstars, maces, and hammers improved to work against chainmail
??? ??? Greatswords developed
??? ??? The fall of the Verdraaken Empire – much technology and craft skills are lost …
??? ??? Gear-clocks rediscovered
??? ??? The first airship flies from the Ashport docks …
??? ??? Cortine develops a new method of forging steel
??? ??? The wizard Igannazzar discovers an extraplanar realm of fire, and the City of Brass
??? ??? The lost secret of crafting shot powder is discovered and communicated across the Protectorates
??? ??? The Elven Court retreats from Glanting Isle and The Realm of Aldharweir (later becoming the island-kingdom of Gnelland)
??? ??? Ashport outcasts found the Styes
??? ??? The githyanki wizard-warrior Ioun …
??? ??? Monks and monk weapons are shared with the human cultures …
??? ??? The Theld becomes a barren wasteland, and the Firecrown Uplands are formed …
??? ??? The gith migrate to the land, across the Theld, Firecrown Uplands, and Graven Hills
??? ??? Plague hits Khotesh, kobolds created by Temple of Apollyon
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