Apocalypses in Fantasy Worlds

[Orc_Courtesy]

I've been thinking about fantasy apocalypses - world-changing cataclysms of any variety, from Greyhawk's Rain of Colorless Fire (which seems to fit the traditional Cold War model of two warring empires destroying one another, and most of civilization, in a big bang) to the Forgotten Realm's spellplague. Inspired by the campaign book in FGU's Aftermath!, I've gotten interested in the timing of these events relative to the current campaign year, from "it's happening right now" to "in my grandfather's day" to "in the Time of Legends".

I'd like to come up with examples from sources other than game settings, but all the ones I've come up with are science fiction rather than fantasy. Here's the categories I've come up with so far, and a SF example if I have one. Can you think of fantasy worlds - from novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, whatever - with an apocalypse in the right time frame?

Apocalypse is going on right now: Independence Day
Cataclysm 10 years in the past: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
30 years ago: The Postman
100 years ago: ??
500 years ago: ??
2000+ years ago: Hiero's Journey

 

[Mark]

This might help - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz#Background

 

[Orc_Courtesy]

Yeah, that's cool because it spans multiple periods! Gee, I sure do love Wikipedia.

Still haven't come up with any fantasy archetypes (although Canticle and Hiero's Journey certainly feel like fantasy). Maybe there's a great vein of post-apocalyptic fantasy novels waiting to be written?

 

[frankthedm]

Korgoth of Barbaria

When there is an apocalypse setup for a fantasy setting, some sci fi usually comes with;

Ralph bakshi's Wizards
Thundar the barbarian
Stepghen king's The Wastelands

 

[Orc_Courtesy]

When there is an apocalypse setup for a fantasy setting, some sci fi usually comes with

QFT. Lots of the stuff in the AD&D DMG recommended reading list is either straightforward post-apocalyptic SF (Hiero's Journey, Sign of the Labrys) or fantasy-looking stuff that reveals itself be SF (Changeling World aka Empire of the East, World of Tiers, the Witch World books).

How about something straightforwardly SF that fills the hundred-years-after? Canticle fills the multiple-hundred-years niche, and the awesome Thundarr and Korgoth seem to be thousands of years after.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

The first two series of Masters of the Universe mini-comics cast Eternia as a post-Apocalyptic world. (The later mini-comics, DC Comics, and of course cartoon seemed to get away from that notion, and added on all the Prince Adam stuff.)

 

[Umbran]

When there is an apocalypse setup for a fantasy setting, some sci fi usually comes with;

I don't think so - every time there's a BBEG who was defeated in a create all-consuming war, but not destroyed, such that he comes back again, generally fits the description of "apocalypse". So Lord of the Rings, and Wheel of Time, and so forth - any time there's a greater age in the past that was lost...

 

[Enforcer]

A Song of Ice and Fire has the Doom of Valyria (which we really don't know too much about). Also the forthcoming Spellplague in the Forgotten Realms sounds very apocalyptic from the previews. Eberron has the destruction of Cyre. Dark Sun is a setting defined by apocalypse. None of these are sci-fi in flavor.

 

[Werdnam]

Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy has such an event. Minor spoiler: [sblock] The books take place in a world in which a thousand years or so ago, the Big Bad Evil won.[/sblock]

 

[Werdnam]

Oops, double post.