Oct 22nd, 2020
You have settled on a style for your world and you know how it started. Now what?
Once everything has begun, everything else comes next. One after the other, events after events, all in order and in their own time. Slowly building a history of your world, its events and its people, is not only a great way to keep your thoughts organized as you build your world; it's also a lot of great details to draw your players and everyone else into this world you create.
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But first, why? Why spend all this time creating past events and people throughout this fictional history you are creating? Will these things have any part in the story you want to tell, will any of this matter to anyone but you?
No matter how you answer those questions I am a firm believer that creating a history is particularly important. I believe it enough that I have annoyed some of my players that sit at my table by almost always having an answer for their questions. There were even concerted efforts to stump me. Now don't go telling them, but some of my answers were made up on the spot, but they were informed by those things I already knew.
Next question would have to be: what are all these things you should put in your timeline? There is no established right or wrong way to create a historical timeline, but you can inform your choices in a variety of ways.
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Our Real-World History
Lots of great examples of historical events exist in our own world's history. Like most of the events in our history. There are people in there too, and some places, and things... Do I need to go on about this? Learn yourself some real-world history.
Other Fictional Worlds
Anything from Tolkien's Lord of The Rings to The History of Panem from the Hunger Games world. There are hundreds of published examples of historical timelines. This, if you intend to publish any of your work, is also where some caution is warranted as it is relatively easy to accidentally copy someone's work. Make Google your best friend after you flesh out an idea and just make sure the names and places have not been used the same way before. Better yet, create first, lawyer it up second. Im no lawyer and this isn't legal advice so...
Personal Histories
Biographies of historical events and people are a great way to get ideas. And basing a fictional character on a cool human who did stuff in the past is kind of a time-honoured storytelling tradition. Again, lawyers and whatever but we are not here for that. We are here to create histories today so let's keep moving.
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Let us assume then, that you have gathered up some ideas and are ready to put pen to paper and start cranking out some timeline. Where do you start?
You could begin, as we have already discussed, with the creation of your world and move through 'Ages' as your world evolves and grows. But what is an age, you ask? Well, it is a period time from one point to another filled with a bunch of events that were either similar or just bracketed by big events.
Big events could be massive wars, cataclysmic disasters, cosmic event. Nearly anything you can come up with can be used as these major events. I have been having a rough time coming up with ideas on how to explain this. Instead, let's look at a timeline I just made up on the spot.
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World History for Example-Topia
Year 0 - The Great Howler Monkey screeched the world into existence.
This world's equivalent of The Big Bang. Year 0+1 - 0+? - The world, still spinning from the effects of The Great Howl, begins to circle the Great Howler's fire. <- the star in this star system.
This is the time after the planet formed but before it cooled enough to be of any use to anything resembling complex life.
The Age of Flames - The Great Howler sees his creation spinning on the edge of his campfire light and grants to this new world the gift of fire. He is a bit overzealous though, and the world is scorched by divine fire.
I would say that this is a cataclysm where meteors rain down on the surface. Not a fun time.
The Age of Long Rain - As the ash clears, the skies weep at the sight of the lands. The tears of the sky fall and magically heal the land, bringing forth plants and animals and all creatures that will ever be. Some fragments of these tears solidify and fall into the hidden recesses of the world, waiting for later ages to be discovered and with them to bring forth what will one day be called magic.
Keeping with the meteor theme, another series of ice bearing meteors fall and inside them is a form of crystalline life that is pseudo sentient. These beings have a connection with dimensional energies and can be used to tap into the magical forces of the universe.
The Age of Fell Tides - The darkest waters of Example-Topia held fast some of the Tears of the Sky and in the darkness, far from the light, they twisted into something sickly and foul. It was then, in the first years of civilization, when the beasts one day called the Wet Walkers first emerged from the waves. This age also involved the founding of the kingdoms that one day will form the central potions of The Great Empire of First Holm. This is also when magic is first discovered by the Lore masters of Heronmark.
A global sort of threat. In this case ocean zombies, I guess?
The Age of The Frozen Stars - The modern age where the stars appear to be slowing in the sky and coming to a stop. This is the part where our story takes place.
Essentially something is slowing the spin of the world with the intent of destroying life. Maybe a super powerful (and equally insane) wizard with a genocidal death wish. The story begins with the protagonists finding out about the wizards plot and will slowly come to realize the grave effects that could befall their world, but is there any way to stop it or is it too late?
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So, there is the example and some of my opining on said example. I'm quite proud of Wet Walkers to be perfectly honest. I will accept a slow clap for that one. You guys, however, feel free to try out your own historical timelines below in the comment section. And do stay safe out there.
Eric
The links today all deal with histories of established worlds and how to make your own, have fun: