Post by David on Sept 1, 2010 18:45:40 GMT -5
So, everyone reading this knows something about the Romes, can name who build the Great Pyramid and where, has an understanding of the evolution of technology, and can (at least vaguely) catch the major themes of Asian cultures. And that's cuz this is the world we grew up in and the history that's affected our life.
Unfortunately, while some of the older PCs know these equivalents for the campaign world, we've had such an influx of new players that MANY of the recent (and worldview shaping) events are pretty much "gee, really, the world almost ended?" So, this post is to set that record straight by giving a brief idea of what even the most isolated peasant (Dnd's version of Trailer Trash) knows...
About 10,000 years ago, the continent of Morgan sunk beneath the sea and killed everyone. The Morganti culture was a high-water-mark of magical knowledge and power, but they did something wrong (dispute as to what) and died.
About 6,000 years ago, the Suloise Empire (read: psuedo-Melnibonean Nazis) began and (Baklunish [read: Celts]) humans and elves first meet.
About 3200 years ago, the Baklunish establish their calendar and civilization. The Flan (read: Amerind) say the world didn't begin til after this.
About 1200 years ago, the Oerdians (read: generic White guys) unite into a powerful group and lay claims to huge tracts of the Flanese (read: the continent)
About 1000 years ago, the Suloise and Baklunish go to war and after about 50 years, they call down the Twin Cataclysms of the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire. Not long after, with both civilizations in disarray, huge groups of refugees trekked across the Flanese and ran into/battled/were absorbed by the Oerdians and (to a lesser degree) the Flan. The trading post that would one day become Greyhawk was established about 100 years later.
About 800 years ago was the founding of the Nation of Aerdy -- which will ultimately fall apart into the Great Kingdom, Nyrond, The North and South Province, Ahlissa, etc.
The Common Year of 1 is established about 618 years ago, when the new Overking in Rauxes (read: then capital of Aerdy, now the Great Kingdom) extended the frontier of the nation all the way to Greyhawk (covering pretty much all of the Eastern half of the continent).
261 CY (~350 years ago), Greyhawk is on it's own as the Overking pulls his forces out (read: much like Britain under the Romans)
320 CY (~300 years ago), the Nation of Aerdy break up into the Great Kingdom and the various sovereign states around it (Ahlissa and the North and South Provinces were still vassals at this time).
375 CY (~250 years ago), Zagig Yragerne is mayor of Greyhawk and leads the city to greatness before later becoming a GOD
479 CY (~150 years ago), the witch, Iggwilv, captures Perrenland for a generation while Iuz' armies of orcs invade and carve out the empire that still bears his name
498 CY (~130 years ago), Greyhawk becomes a free city in all aspects
513 CY (~100 years ago), the Horned Society rises and orcs take the Pomarj
569 CY (~50 years ago), the Battle of Emridy Meadows when the Horde of Elemental Evil was destroyed (read: sorta like the siege of Gondor in LoTR). Shortly afterward there are rumors of a Scarlet Brotherhood...
583 CY (35 years ago, in game, and 28 years ago in reality), the campaign world actually BEGINS and the names Moorak Drake, Treblo SkyMage (formerly Boy Magician), Fanor Wolvesbane, Margus Jamiah, etc are heard.
592 CY (~25 years ago), the Staff of Law is FIRST recovered
595 CY, the Fabulous Five (Rhom StrongArm, Anastasia StrongArm, Solinane Pincushioner, Bart Silverwind, and Todar Giantslayer) found the Order of the Knights of the Wild March and repel the invasion of giants from the Lortmills, Jotuns, Crystalmist Mountains, and Hellfurnaces
596 CY, Rebellion tears through Furyondy as (now Arch-Duchess, then Princess) Damelia St Karlon takes the throne from her corrupt brother. This is the same year that the Staff of Law is again lost and recovered. Stargazers talk about stars changing their position in the sky and many "little stars" (read: meteorites) stuck Oerth
597 CY, Death Adder attempts to claim control of the Cairn Hills (including Greyhawk) but is defeated by a group of heroes from Portown (known as the SECOND Portown party, as Moorak's group was the FIRST)
600 CY, the illithid manipulate the minds of various world leaders to attack one another and the nations go to battle. Moorak and (then Cannon, now Pope) Rowena Hazem lead a group of heroes to save the day, drive off the mind flayers, and save all life on Oerth. Among the heroes is a giant tigress named Ashtabular and a lizard man figher/mage named Slee. Slee goes on to establish his own tribe of lizard men in the Mistmarsh. Sometime after this, Lolth is reported to have been slain by a group of human adventurers in the Underdark
609 CY, the Egg of Chaos is "hatched" in Furyondy
612 CY, Slavers suddenly errupt out of Pomarj and raid the Wooly coast until a new group of Knights of the Wild March put them down
616 CY, only TWO YEARS AGO, the world of Oerth nearly ended during the Apocalypse. Horsemouth, a disease that causes the body to overheat until the victim froths at the mouth and dies, kills 10 to 33% of all life (compare with the Black Death, but in only a month!), sickness and plague are rampant, crops quit growing and everything is stillborn, the spirits of the dead cannot move on and haunt the living, there are earthquakes, tidal waves, and freak storms, the little moon (Celene) disappears and a whole appears in the larger moon (Luna), Greyhawk and Ningal are both decimated by devils although Slee and his Sleemen (lizard men) step up to act as a police force for Greyhawk, Iuz captures most of Furyondy and parts of Veluna, and even the most respected of clerics said "it's the end of the world as we know it!" with their spells ALL failing. The only thing that turned this all around were a group of heroes now known as the Heroes of Abydos and appearing on EVERY tarot deck on the planet -- Saint/Baron Moorak Drake, Saint Kate the Hungry, Theocrat Arlinoth Daystar, Jessica Talgris, Laird Raitan Drake, Sage Edulis-Drake, Tetsuko no Kuwahara, Jyolli Surella, Artec Artlen, Rufus, Triela Celeste, and her (slain) simulacrum, Andromeda, who is now a constellation. The Staff of Law was SOMEHOW again recovered (by the Medegians [read: Greeks] at the expense of the Nereganti [read: Egyptians]) and used to permanently and definitively remove itself and the Wand of Chaos from this reality. Many changes to the world, including how some spells work, with some races being completely wiped out or altered. During the chaos, the Scarlet Brotherhood claimed control of the Hold of the Sea Princes, Idee and parts of Onwall. The Lordship of the Isles, thanks to the aid of the Themyscrians (read: Amazons) did NOT fall...
618 CY, today...
Even a mental deficient child can name everything in BOLD...
Unfortunately, while some of the older PCs know these equivalents for the campaign world, we've had such an influx of new players that MANY of the recent (and worldview shaping) events are pretty much "gee, really, the world almost ended?" So, this post is to set that record straight by giving a brief idea of what even the most isolated peasant (Dnd's version of Trailer Trash) knows...
About 10,000 years ago, the continent of Morgan sunk beneath the sea and killed everyone. The Morganti culture was a high-water-mark of magical knowledge and power, but they did something wrong (dispute as to what) and died.
About 6,000 years ago, the Suloise Empire (read: psuedo-Melnibonean Nazis) began and (Baklunish [read: Celts]) humans and elves first meet.
About 3200 years ago, the Baklunish establish their calendar and civilization. The Flan (read: Amerind) say the world didn't begin til after this.
About 1200 years ago, the Oerdians (read: generic White guys) unite into a powerful group and lay claims to huge tracts of the Flanese (read: the continent)
About 1000 years ago, the Suloise and Baklunish go to war and after about 50 years, they call down the Twin Cataclysms of the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire. Not long after, with both civilizations in disarray, huge groups of refugees trekked across the Flanese and ran into/battled/were absorbed by the Oerdians and (to a lesser degree) the Flan. The trading post that would one day become Greyhawk was established about 100 years later.
About 800 years ago was the founding of the Nation of Aerdy -- which will ultimately fall apart into the Great Kingdom, Nyrond, The North and South Province, Ahlissa, etc.
The Common Year of 1 is established about 618 years ago, when the new Overking in Rauxes (read: then capital of Aerdy, now the Great Kingdom) extended the frontier of the nation all the way to Greyhawk (covering pretty much all of the Eastern half of the continent).
261 CY (~350 years ago), Greyhawk is on it's own as the Overking pulls his forces out (read: much like Britain under the Romans)
320 CY (~300 years ago), the Nation of Aerdy break up into the Great Kingdom and the various sovereign states around it (Ahlissa and the North and South Provinces were still vassals at this time).
375 CY (~250 years ago), Zagig Yragerne is mayor of Greyhawk and leads the city to greatness before later becoming a GOD
479 CY (~150 years ago), the witch, Iggwilv, captures Perrenland for a generation while Iuz' armies of orcs invade and carve out the empire that still bears his name
498 CY (~130 years ago), Greyhawk becomes a free city in all aspects
513 CY (~100 years ago), the Horned Society rises and orcs take the Pomarj
569 CY (~50 years ago), the Battle of Emridy Meadows when the Horde of Elemental Evil was destroyed (read: sorta like the siege of Gondor in LoTR). Shortly afterward there are rumors of a Scarlet Brotherhood...
583 CY (35 years ago, in game, and 28 years ago in reality), the campaign world actually BEGINS and the names Moorak Drake, Treblo SkyMage (formerly Boy Magician), Fanor Wolvesbane, Margus Jamiah, etc are heard.
592 CY (~25 years ago), the Staff of Law is FIRST recovered
595 CY, the Fabulous Five (Rhom StrongArm, Anastasia StrongArm, Solinane Pincushioner, Bart Silverwind, and Todar Giantslayer) found the Order of the Knights of the Wild March and repel the invasion of giants from the Lortmills, Jotuns, Crystalmist Mountains, and Hellfurnaces
596 CY, Rebellion tears through Furyondy as (now Arch-Duchess, then Princess) Damelia St Karlon takes the throne from her corrupt brother. This is the same year that the Staff of Law is again lost and recovered. Stargazers talk about stars changing their position in the sky and many "little stars" (read: meteorites) stuck Oerth
597 CY, Death Adder attempts to claim control of the Cairn Hills (including Greyhawk) but is defeated by a group of heroes from Portown (known as the SECOND Portown party, as Moorak's group was the FIRST)
600 CY, the illithid manipulate the minds of various world leaders to attack one another and the nations go to battle. Moorak and (then Cannon, now Pope) Rowena Hazem lead a group of heroes to save the day, drive off the mind flayers, and save all life on Oerth. Among the heroes is a giant tigress named Ashtabular and a lizard man figher/mage named Slee. Slee goes on to establish his own tribe of lizard men in the Mistmarsh. Sometime after this, Lolth is reported to have been slain by a group of human adventurers in the Underdark
609 CY, the Egg of Chaos is "hatched" in Furyondy
612 CY, Slavers suddenly errupt out of Pomarj and raid the Wooly coast until a new group of Knights of the Wild March put them down
616 CY, only TWO YEARS AGO, the world of Oerth nearly ended during the Apocalypse. Horsemouth, a disease that causes the body to overheat until the victim froths at the mouth and dies, kills 10 to 33% of all life (compare with the Black Death, but in only a month!), sickness and plague are rampant, crops quit growing and everything is stillborn, the spirits of the dead cannot move on and haunt the living, there are earthquakes, tidal waves, and freak storms, the little moon (Celene) disappears and a whole appears in the larger moon (Luna), Greyhawk and Ningal are both decimated by devils although Slee and his Sleemen (lizard men) step up to act as a police force for Greyhawk, Iuz captures most of Furyondy and parts of Veluna, and even the most respected of clerics said "it's the end of the world as we know it!" with their spells ALL failing. The only thing that turned this all around were a group of heroes now known as the Heroes of Abydos and appearing on EVERY tarot deck on the planet -- Saint/Baron Moorak Drake, Saint Kate the Hungry, Theocrat Arlinoth Daystar, Jessica Talgris, Laird Raitan Drake, Sage Edulis-Drake, Tetsuko no Kuwahara, Jyolli Surella, Artec Artlen, Rufus, Triela Celeste, and her (slain) simulacrum, Andromeda, who is now a constellation. The Staff of Law was SOMEHOW again recovered (by the Medegians [read: Greeks] at the expense of the Nereganti [read: Egyptians]) and used to permanently and definitively remove itself and the Wand of Chaos from this reality. Many changes to the world, including how some spells work, with some races being completely wiped out or altered. During the chaos, the Scarlet Brotherhood claimed control of the Hold of the Sea Princes, Idee and parts of Onwall. The Lordship of the Isles, thanks to the aid of the Themyscrians (read: Amazons) did NOT fall...
618 CY, today...
Even a mental deficient child can name everything in BOLD...
