The timeline as read from the books, and DRAGON

I've been going through most of the books to try and get a coherent sequence of events. My best guess is as follows.

Elder Evils era: infinite
Aboleths spawned by Blood Queen.
Aboleth Empire.
Catastrophe (Aboleths decimated by Elder Gods)
Elder Gods killed by Umbral Blots
Elder Elves Empire (problably the LeShay)
Elder Elves open gate to Far Realm.
Far Realm Chaos consumes Universe
Draedens form out of Chaos. Fight among themselves. Hecatoncheires born.
Baernoloths form, and split off into Obyriths, Baatorians, and Yugoloths
Inner Planes form. Wind Duke empire begins. Abyss forms around sleeping Draeden.
Obyriths colonise Abyss.
War begins in Inner Planes
Queen of Chaos unites Demons and leads them against Wind Dukes
Miska the Wolf Spider imprisoned. Eladrins assault Abyss.
Mortal sentients begin to come into being.
Illithids arrive from future Illithid Empire formed with Penumbra as capital
Zaxum attacked and Gith race enslaved
2000 years ago: Gith Rebellion. Illithid Empire sundered.
Githyanki and Githzerai split.
Orcus becomes Demon Prince slightly less than 2000 years ago (Greyhawk)

Most of these are from WOTC, or Dragon. Making Elder Elves = LeShay is my guess though.

Any corrections? I@m not sure if I've missed some of the more important events.

Um... timeline of what?

hamishspence said:

I've been going through most of the books to try and get a coherent sequence of events. My best guess is as follows.

Elder Evils era: infinite
Aboleths spawned by Blood Queen.
Aboleth Empire.
Catastrophe (Aboleths decimated by Elder Gods)
Elder Gods killed by Umbral Blots
Elder Elves Empire (problably the LeShay)
Elder Elves open gate to Far Realm.
Far Realm Chaos consumes Universe
Draedens form out of Chaos. Fight among themselves. Hecatoncheires born.
Baernoloths form, and split off into Obyriths, Baatorians, and Yugoloths
Inner Planes form. Wind Duke empire begins. Abyss forms around sleeping Draeden.
Obyriths colonise Abyss.
War begins in Inner Planes
Queen of Chaos unites Demons and leads them against Wind Dukes
Miska the Wolf Spider imprisoned. Eladrins assault Abyss.
Mortal sentients begin to come into being.
Illithids arrive from future Illithid Empire formed with Penumbra as capital
Zaxum attacked and Gith race enslaved
2000 years ago: Gith Rebellion. Illithid Empire sundered.
Githyanki and Githzerai split.
Orcus becomes Demon Prince slightly less than 2000 years ago (Greyhawk)

Most of these are from WOTC, or Dragon. Making Elder Elves = LeShay is my guess though.

Any corrections? I@m not sure if I've missed some of the more important events.

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You're mixing in a lot of stuff from the DnD (rather than AD&D) mythology which doesn't really apply, though one of two critters from that have from time to popped up in 3e (Umbral Blots for instance).

Here's my version:

Energy planes form out of the raw probability of a pre-existant deep ethereal, a new multiverse out of an endless sea of potentially infinite others (the Far Realm conceptually being another such multiverse, the postulated Macrocosm being another).

Inner Planes form out of the energy planes.

The Outer planes already exist in some non material, abstract form, and the Baernaloth legends that describe the immaterial abstract alignments can be interpreted to mean that they may have already existed before this point, or exist outside the normal flow of time.

In any event, the truce of the alignments begins and the cardinal planes begin to form as each alignment sends their primordial exemplars to the planes. Of these, the Baernaloths are the chosen of Evil, and the only one of these beings known by name in current lore. Of note, Sigil is already present when the planes solidify into place.

Time of the Baernaloth hegemony on a singular plane of Evil, as yet untouched by Law or Chaos

Creation of the Yugoloths

Revolt of Apomps, creation of Carceri and the Gehreleths/Demodands

Purification of the Yugoloths by the General of Gehenna. Creation of Obyriths and Ancient Baatorians (or Tanar'ri and Baatezu depending on source. They created one of them, and the timeline shuffles accordingly).

Migration of Obyriths and Ancient Baatorians to the Abyss and Baator (or Tanar'ri and Baatezu)

Going by the Obyriths version of the legends, we then have the rise of the Queen of Chaos, and your timeline more or less falls into place loosely.

I would then add that at some point after the start of the Blood War you get sentient mortal life on the planes and the first larvae appearing on the lower planes. Some time later you have the first deities begin to appear on the planes with the rise of mortals on the prime and the influence of mortal belief.

There's a much more comprehensive (and sourced IIRC) multiversal timeline that popped up on either Planewalker or Realms of Evil. I think that Rip might have had a hand in it.

*sacrifices a few virgins and summons Rip*

All I have to say is the day we get a quantiative view of the multiverse in D&D, is the same day we get one of OUR own reality.

buzz said:

Um... timeline of what?

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Same here. What books?

If aboleths could cast spells, could they cast Summon Monster?

What would they summon?

buzz said:

Um... timeline of what?

Click to expand...

I'm guessing...the official D&D cosmology as expressed through the core books and the Greyhawk and Planescape campaign settings. That is just a guess.

The other campaign settings pretty much have their own cosmologies.

Pretty much: 3rd/3.5 ed info only

I don't have any of the early stuff, so I have to use 3rd ed info only.

The info on gehreleth/demodands looks interesting. Might like to see more detailed outline of events.

Does my Far realm guess make sense? Or my assumption that LeShay = Elder Elves?

DreadPirateMurphy said:

I'm guessing...the official D&D cosmology as expressed through the core books and the Greyhawk and Planescape campaign settings. That is just a guess.

The other campaign settings pretty much have their own cosmologies.

Click to expand...

He's going for a timeline of the Great Wheel cosmology, though most of what he's pulling seems to be coming from a lot of 3e and 3,5 sources, plus some DnD (not AD&D) material. I can see stuff yoinked from the ELH, Lords of Madness, and FC:1 in there as far as relatively new sources.

Such a timeline would apply to, or rather encompasses the planes along with the prime material worlds/settings of Greyhawk, FR, DL, Darksun, really any of the campaign settings that used that cosmology (excepting 3e FR's trip to bizarro world).