Historical Timelines

May 19th, 2010 Erin D. Smale Leave a comment Go to comments

Random background for your campaign
Theres nothing like working on a project to remind you of the tools you dont have. Im putting the
final touches on the Swords of Telm supplement and finding that I need to fill in a few historical gaps.
While I have a relatively complete history in my head (meaning the settings history, not my heads), I
dont mind seeking some polyhedral guidance.
The tables below cover four eras of a settings history. Setting is a loose termit can apply to a
kingdom, a geographic area, or maybe even an entire worldregardless, its up to you to define,
based on the size of your campaign and how you choose to interpret the results. The events you
generate represent major turning pointsthings that youd expect to read about in the history scrolls.
And, since events often seem to become less significant with age, youll note that the number of these
turning points decreases as one travels back along the settings timeline. The implication is that the
more distant the era, the more pivotal the events.

Prehistory

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Any event that occurred before recorded history. In most cases, this era is described in speculative
terms, typically describing how the setting came to be peopled and serving as a precursory
justification of the settings ancient period (see below). As a result, prehistory events may or may not
have actually happened, but because theyre so broadly foundational and there is little evidence (or
need) to dispute them, they are offered with the weight of scholarly truth or religious faith. Roll 1d4
events, each spaced 1d10x1000 years apart:
Divine cleansing via (d6: 1 flood; 2 earthquake; 3 eruption; 4 disease; 5 cosmic event; 6 magic
energy)
Rise of (d6: 1-2 human sub-race; 3-4 humanoid race; 5 monsters; 6 planar beings)
Decline of (d6: 1 human sub-race; 2-3 humanoid race; 4-5 monsters; 6 planar beings)
Arrival of (d6: 1 new gods; 2-3 planar beings; 4 human tribe; 5 humanoid tribe; 6 extraterrestrials)
Disappearance of (d6: 1-2 old gods; 3-4 planar beings; 5 monster population; 6 powerful mortal race)
Mortals attain knowledge of (d6: 1 writing; 2-3 basic technology; 4 divine order; 5 advanced
technology; 6 psionics)
Mortals punished for (d6: 1 excessive pride; 2 decadence; 3 worshiping false gods; 4 worshiping evil
gods; 5 ignoring the gods; 6 succumbing to base urges)
Mortals threatened by (d6: 1 planar beings; 2-3 rampaging monsters; 4 rampant magic energy; 5
uncontrollable technology; 6 superior species)

Ancient History

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These events occurred during the settings distant past, typically describing the rise (and possible fall)
of an ancestral race or explaining the remnants of a now-extinct culture. Like prehistory, ancient
events are offered with a fair amount of speculation. However, unlike prehistory, there is more
evidence of ancient culture (in the form of monuments, burial mounds and tombs, lost scrolls, et al.)
to inspire scholarly debate and varied interpretation. As a result, there is usually enough doubt
surrounding ancient events to prevent taking them at face value. Roll 2d6 events, each spaced
1d10x100 years apart:
Cataclysm (d6: 1-2 technology gone awry; 3 magic gone awry; 4 demonic intrusion; 5 natural
disaster; 6 cosmic event)
Rise of an empire
Fall of an empire
Mass migration into region (d6: 1-4 human tribe; 5 humanoids; 6 monsters)
Mass exodus from region (d6: 1-2 human tribe; 3-4 humanoids; 5-6 monsters)
Discovery of (d6: 1 advanced agriculture; 2 energy source; 3 industrial material; 4 advanced
manufacturing; 5 precious metal; 6 unusual substance)
Historical figure (d6: 1 sorcerer; 2 sage; 3 prophet; 4 inventor; 5 artist; 6 slave)
War (d6: 1-2 successful defence against invaders; 3-4 successful conquest over foreign power; 5
defeat by invaders; 6 failed invasion)
Empire flourishes through (d6: 1-2 territorial expansion; 3-4 golden age; 5-6 renaissance)
Empire declines through (d6: 1-2 territorial reduction; 3-4 imperial decadence; 5 technically
backward; 6 militarily inferior)
Religion (d6: 1-4 new religion founded; 5-6 old religion driven out)

12. Astrological event (d6: 1 comet; 2 star alignment; 3 planetary alignment; 4 new star appears; 5 solar
flare; 6 conjunction)

Past History

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These events occurred after the settings ancient period but before the last living generation. About
two-thirds of these events should provide general support for the settings background, while the
remaining third forms the foundation for present-day adventure hooks. Depending on the settings
age, this period can span a really long time; I recommend rolling 4d6 events, each spaced 1d10x10
years apart, but add as many more as you feel are necessary to represent sufficiently the eras
duration:
Discovery of (d6: 1 advanced agriculture; 2 energy source; 3 industrial material; 4 advanced
manufacturing; 5 precious metal; 6 unusual substance)
Historical figure (d6: 1 -2 sage; 3 inventor; 4 explorer; 5 artist; 6 advisor)
War hero (d6: 1-2 brilliant general; 3 leader of elite unit; 4 master spy; 5 battlefield heroine; 6
average soldier)
War (d6: 1 successful defence against invaders; 2-3 successful conquest over foreign power; 4 defeat
by invaders; 5-6 failed invasion)
Kingdom flourishes through (d6: 1-3 territorial expansion; 4-5 resource surplus; 6 defeat of enemy)
Kingdom declines through (d6: 1-2 territorial reduction; 3-4 loss of trading partners; 5-6 source of
major resource lost)
Natural disaster (d6: 1: fire; 2: flood; 3: earthquake; 4 meteors; 5 volcanoes; 6 violent storms)
Man-made disaster (d6: 1: fire; 2 flood; 3 famine; 4 plague; 5-6 pollution)
Kingdom expands (d6: 1-3 through conquest; 4 through colonisation; 5-6 through diplomatic means)
Religion (d6: 1 new religion founded; 2-3 progressive split from orthodoxy; 4-5 cult founded; 6 old
religion driven out)
Astrological event (d6: 1 comet; 2 meteor shower; 3-4 eclipse; 5 solar flare; 6 conjunction)
Rise of a kingdom
Fall of a kingdom
Rebellion (d6: 1-4 successful; 5-6 failed) perpetrated by (d6: 1 military; 2 peasants; 3 colony; 4
anarchists; 5 slaves; 6 prisoners)
Political system (d6: 1-2 challenged; 3 created; 4 reformed; 5 replaced; 6 dissolved)
Cult (d6: 1-3 formed; 4-5 rooted out; 6 assumes power)
Strong leader (d6: 1-2 reigns; 3 dies of natural causes; 4 assassinated; 5 canonised; 6 abdicates)
Weak leader (d6: 1 reigns; 2 dies of natural causes; 3-4 assassinated; 5-6 forcibly deposed)
Genocide of (d6: 1-3 domestic racial minority; 4-5 foreign group; 6 religious sect)
Population shift (d6 1-2 to follow resources; 3 following discovery; 4 resulting from disaster; 5 due to
oppressive laws; 6 resulting from warfare)

Modern History

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These are events that have occurred within the lifespan of the last living generation; only those living
under the settings rocks will not have some memory of these events, either as a participant, a live
observer, or as a direct relation to same. Because people tend to have relatively short attention spans,
and because the effects of these events may still be felt, these events have artificial prominence that
the stuff of older histories do not. As a rule of thumb, each of these events should form the basis for a
current adventure hook, either as stand-alone instance or as an extension of an event from a previous
era. Roll 2d6 events, each spaced 1d10 years apart:
War (d6: 1 successful defence against invaders; 2 successful conquest over foreign power; 3 defeat
on foreign shores; 4 is fought diplomatically; 5 ongoing defence; 6 ongoing invasion)
Disaster (d6: 1 fire; 2 flood; 3 famine; 4 disease; 5 earthquake; 6 violent weather)
Kingdom expands (d6: 1-2 through conquest; 3-4 through colonisation; 5-6 through diplomatic
means)
Religion (d6: 1 progressive split from orthodoxy; 2 resurgence of orthodoxy; 3 forced underground; 4
acquires secular authority; 5 purge of the unfaithful; 6 absorption of associated cult)
Astrological event (d6: 1 comet; 2-3 meteor shower; 4 eclipse; 5-6 conjunction)
Scandal (d6: 1-2 religious head; 3-4 ruling family; 5 military leader; 6 high-level bureaucrat)
Formation of a county (or some subdivision of a kingdom)
Dissolution of a county (or some subdivision of a kingdom)
Rebellion (d6: 1 successful; 2-4 ongoing; 5-6 failed) perpetrated by (d6: 1-2 peasants; 3-4
anarchists; 5 slaves; 6 prisoners)
Political party (d6: 1-2 challenged; 3 created; 4 reformed; 5 replaced; 6 dissolved)

11. Cult (d6: 1-2 formed; 3-4 forced underground; 5 rises to legitimacy; 6 rooted out)
12. Leader (d6: 1 found insane; 2 scandalised; 3 heralds prosperity; 4 assassinated; 5 abdicates; 6 roots
out injustice)
13. Schism between (d6: 1 political contenders; 2-3 noble families; 4-5 religious factions; 6 guilds)
14. Political reform (d6: 1-3 improves; 4-6 worsens) (d6: 1-2 tax rates; 3 minority rights; 4 laws of
conscription; 5 slavery; 6 system of law)
15. Major monster (d6: 1-2 population increases; 3-4 hunted down; 5 establishes wilderness foothold; 6
eradicated from setting)
16. Commerce (d6: 1 tax increase; 2 raider activity rising; 3 economic boom; 4 recession; 5 trade route
discovered; 6 guild unrest)
17. Population (d6: 1-2 boom; 3 decline; 4-5 divided; 6 whispers revolt)
18. Creation of advanced (d6: 1 food production; 2 manufacturing; 3 weaponry; 4 medicine; 5 defence; 6
transport/communication)
19. Criminal activity (d6: 1-2 rises in urban areas; 3-4 plagues the countryside; 5 is ruthlessly quashed; 6
prompts new laws)
20. Ethnic minority (d6: 1-2 seeks diplomatic sovereignty; 3 suffers persecution; 4 foments sedition; 5
afforded special legal status; 6 migrates out of area)

Final Words
Youre free to use these tables in whatever way best supports your vision of the setting. Determine a
number of events from each era, then connect them however you see fit. The idea is to let the table
results inspire patterns that explain how the setting got to be the way it is today. Suggestions are
always welcome, and if you create a timeline youre proud of, please post it in the comments section.
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