Leaders of the Empire?

[Aran]

There is currently a short project in progress that tries to construct a detailed history of the Empire, for reference use by scenario designers. (See topic " Wish List for BoA ")

 

The best start is, in my opinion, to construct a structured timeline of the Empire, sectioned into the reigns of the emperors. From the info given in the thread so far, I have been able to glean the following list. This is in a new topic so more people will read it - if you find anything wrong in this list, or have additional info, please post here.

 

List of Emperors:

 

Aizo was cleansed -150 to -50 b.P.

• - Sol I.
• - Sol II.
• - Sol III. Sol tried to attack Pralgrad, but was beaten back. Sol III. Was assassinated and his brother Ironclad took the throne
• - Ironclad I.
• - Ironclad II.Ironclads conquered/cleansed Pralgrad, discovered Valorim
• - Ironclad III. Cleansed Valorim???

Blackcrag fortress constructed about 650 a.P.

• - Hawthorne I.
• - Hawthorne II.
• - Hawthorne III.
• - Prazac (Empress)

Tinraya/Footracer destroyed 832 by beasts

Avernum 3 at 833 a.P.

2/3 rulers after that. Then:

• - Tahvan I.
• - Tahvan II.
• - Tahvan III.

At the Gallows in 1274 during reign of Tavhnan IV.

• - Tahvan IV.

I'm assuming that consecutively numbered emperors reigned immediately after each other, for simplicity.

The next step is going to be to put exact dates to the reign of each emperor.

[Drakefyre]

Sol I started on Pralgrad at around 50. Ironclad I was the first to successfully begin elimination of non-humans from Pralgrad. The Ironclads went up to XIII. Also, it would be 10 rulers between Prazac and Tahvan I. I'd say Hawthorne I began ruling around 720 and discovered Exile around 740. Hawthorne II started rule around 765, and Erika et al. were sent down around 770. Hawthorne III began ruling around 790 and began to send people down en masse.

 

There's more I have about the reign of the Ironclads, and the line of Emperors that discovered Pralgrad (the line before Sol).

[Aran]

Which Hawthorne did Erika assassinate (or order the assassination of)

- Hawthorne II. or III.?

 

And would all the 10 emperors/empresses between Prazac and Tahvan I. be Prazacs, or can we squeeze another line in?

 

I'm currently working on fitting these dates into context; I'll post the result soon

(tonight according to my timezone , about 2 PM board time)

 

EDIT: Did so

 

I chose some probable dates that the Ironclad line and others would have had, if you have more accurate info, please tell me.

 

And it would be great to know the name of the line before Sol.

 

Code:

Emperor	      Reign Start        Reign End- Sol I.	  50	  99 Started his reign on Pralgrad- Sol II.	  99	 134- Sol III.	 134	 168- Ironclad I.	 168	 210 Began to kill non-humans on Pralgrad- Ironclad II.	 210	 254 - Ironclad III.	 254	 297 - Ironclad IV.	 298	 336- Ironclad V.	 338	 385- Ironclad VI.	 385	 444- Ironclad VII.	 445	 490- Ironclad VIII: 490	 537- Ironclad IX.	 539	 580- Ironclad X.	 580	 616- Ironclad XI.	 616	 665- Ironclad XII.	 665	 698- Ironclad XIII. 698	 722- Hawthorne I.	 722	 763 Discovered Avernum!!! 741- Hawthorne II.	 764	 791 Erika and archmagi sent down 771- Hawthorne III. 791	 822 Assassinated, Empire War - Prazac  	 823	 865 Avernum III 833- X		 866	 901- X		 903	 925- X		 926	 961- X		 963	 998- X		 999	1030- X		1031	1057- X		1058	1084- X		1086	1114- X		1115	1143- X		1143	1178- Tahvan I.	1179	1203- Tahvan II.	1203	1238- Tahvan III.	1239	1257- Tahvan IV.  	1258 	1280 At the Gallows 1274

That timeline looks a bit more believable (I did have my doubts about the first version when I saw that an average reign lasted 80 years, maybe longer than those guys probably lived )

 

I deliberately 'roughed up' the round dates (740, 770, etc.) you stated, Drakey, so I added one year here, and took one away there, etc.

 

EDIT: By the way, I found that another emperor is specifically mentioned in Valley of Dying Things. It is not mentioned when he reigned, but I would put the time of the scenario after Exile III, and that would mean the emperor Stewart I. (no number is mentioned so I assume he's the first) is one of those X's above, between Prazac and Tahvan.

[*i]

Sol I was the founder of the Empire on Pralgad. Logically, his reign would begin at year one. The Aizonic Empire predates the Empire at Pralgad and had begun to settle the continents of Vantanas and Pralgad. It's decline began centuries before the founding of the current Empire. It finally collapsed when rebels sacked the capital about 100 BIE. A century later, Sol I established a new Empire on Pralgad.

 

Ironclad I lived a very long time and died without an hier, but would not be the last to carry the name. He was the one who started the purges of the other non-human races that would last for centuries. His appointed successor was Viceroy I, whose reign was spaned a mere three years when he was assassinated by an agent who had gone mad after being forced to slaughter numerous innocent Nephil and Troglo colonies.

 

The period after is not so certain. There was long power struggle after Viceroy I was slain with no clear ruler. Eventually someone was able to seize control and reestablished stability.

 

Emperor Stewart came sometime before the Hawthornes. Check VoDT for an approximate date. Assume about 10 years after E3 for the date of the scenario.

 

Tigere III sits on the throne as of 1477 in Spears. Her reign probably started about 10 years prior and will last for at least another decade.

 

Leave some of the spaces in between the times for other scenario designers to create. Before they gain community acceptance, they need to be a high-profile designer and of a high quality work.

[Donald Hebb]

Code:

Emperor	      Reign Start        Reign End



- Zion I.          0       5 Started his reign on Aizo

- Baltimore I.     5      50 

- Sol I.          50      99 Started his reign on Pralgrad

- Sol II.         99     134

- Sol III.       134     168

- Ironclad I.    168     210 Began to kill non-humans on Pralgrad

- Ironclad II.   210     254 

- Ironclad III.  254     297 

- Ironclad IV.   298     336

- Ironclad V.    338     385

- Ironclad VI.   385     444

- Ironclad VII.  445     490

- Ironclad VIII: 490     537

- Ironclad IX.   539     580

- Ironclad X.    580     616

- Ironclad XI.   616     665

- Ironclad XII.  665     698

- Ironclad XIII. 698     722

- Hawthorne I.   722     763 Discovered Avernum!!! 741

- Hawthorne II.  764     791 Erika and archmagi sent down 771

- Hawthorne III. 791     822 Assassinated, Empire War 

- Prazac         823     865 Avernum III 833

- X              866     901

- X              903     925

- X              926     961

- X              961     998

- X              999    1030

- X             1031    1057

- X             1057    1084

- X             1086    1114

- X             1115    1143

- X             1143    1178

- Tahvan I.     1179    1203

- Tahvan II.    1203    1238

- Tahvan III.   1239    1257

- Tahvan IV.    1258    1280 At the Gallows 1274

- Tahvan V.     1280    1213

- Tahvan VI.    1313    1368

- Tahvan VII.   1368    1371

- Tigere I.     1371    1402

- Tigere II.    1402    1442

- Tigere III.   1442    1483 Spears 1477

- X             1483    1502

- X             1502    1536

- X             1536    1570

- X             1570    1603

- X             1603    1621

- X             1621    1629

- X             1629    1645

- X             1645    1687

- X             1687    1708

- Tachyon I.    1708    1745

- Tachyon II.   1745    1762

- Tachyon III.  1762    1804

- Tachyon IV.   1804    1872 Echoes (All of it, 1870-1872)

- Baltimore 36. 1872    1876 Empire Collapses

[Aran]

The Empire was refounded on Pralgrad? I had thought it was just moved there... How long did the Aizonic Empire exist before the Pralgradian Empire was founded?

 

Code:

 - Zion I.          0       5 Started his reign on Aizo- Baltimore I.     5      50 - Sol I.          50      99 Started his reign on Pralgrad- Sol II.         99     134- Sol III.       134     153- Ironclad I.    153     210 Reigned long, died without heir- Viceroy I.     210     213 Assassinated after 3 yearsLong period of power struggle without a clear ruler - I'd say about 20 years, 213-233 a.P.- Ironclad II.   233     259 Seizes control after decade long struggle- Ironclad III.  259     281 - Ironclad IV.   282     309- Ironclad V.    311     357- Ironclad VI.   357     405- Ironclad VII.  406     450- Ironclad VIII: 450     487- Ironclad IX.   489     530- Ironclad X.    530     566- Ironclad XI.   566     615- Ironclad XII.  615     658- Ironclad XIII. 658     672- Stewart I.     673     721 130 years before VoDT, 843-130=713, so it's in his reign.- Hawthorne I.   722     763 Discovered Avernum!!! 741- Hawthorne II.  764     791 Erika and archmagi sent down 771- Hawthorne III. 791     822 Assassinated, Empire War - Prazac         823     865 Avernum III 833, VoDT 843- X              866     901- X              903     925- X              926     961- X              961     998- X              999    1030- X             1031    1057- X             1057    1084- X             1086    1114- X             1115    1143- X             1143    1178- Tahvan I.     1179    1203- Tahvan II.    1203    1238- Tahvan III.   1239    1257- Tahvan IV.    1258    1280 At the Gallows 1274- Tahvan V.     1280    1213- Tahvan VI.    1313    1368- Tahvan VII.   1368    1371- Tigere I.     1371    1402- Tigere II.    1402    1442- Tigere III.   1442    1483 Spears 1477- X             1483    1502- X             1502    1536- X             1536    1570- X             1570    1603- X             1603    1621- X             1621    1629- X             1629    1645- X             1645    1687- X             1687    1708- Tachyon I.    1708    1745- Tachyon II.   1745    1762- Tachyon III.  1762    1804- Tachyon IV.   1804    1872 Echoes (All of it, 1870-1872)- Baltimore 36. 1872    1876 Empire Collapses 

[Drakefyre]

I'd put Blackcrag's establishment at around 634 now. Tinraya at 641. Gale at 652. Lorelei at 658. Sharimik at 663. Shayder at 600. Krizsan at 700.

 

This is how I see it:

 

(Male descendants of Prazac are Hawthornes, females are Prazacs.)

 

Also, I don't like tomorrow belonging to Echoes.

 

*i, if you come back to this topic, where would you place tCa/nCA?

 

Code:

 - Zion I.        150     145 Started his reign on Aizo- Baltimore I.   145     100 Last Emperor of the Aixoan EmpireA long period of unrest and civil war, ending with ...Start of Imperial Era - Reign on Pralgrad- Sol I.           1      48- Sol II.         48     102- Sol III.       102     131- Ironclad I.    132     201 Reigned long, died without heir- Viceroy I.     201     204 Assassinated after 3 yearsLong period of power struggle without a clear ruler - I'd say about 25 years, 204-229 a.P.- Ironclad II.   230     259 Seizes control after a decade long struggle- Ironclad III.  259     281 Empire Stabilized/Giants Crushed- Ironclad IV.   282     309- Ironclad V.    311     357 Nephilim Crushed- Ironclad VI.   357     405 Troglodytes Crushed- Ironclad VII.  406     450 Anama War- Ironclad VIII: 450     487- Ironclad IX.   489     530 Established Vantanas as a profitable continent- Ironclad X.    530     566- Ironclad XI.   566     615 Discovery of Valorim/          Remaining Anama go to Bigail/No Heir Produced- Strongarm I.   615     658 Valorim Conquered          (Strongarm was a general for Ironclad XI)- Strongarm II.  658     672 His short reign is punctuated          by small rebellions on Aizo, one of which kills him.- Stewart I.     673     721 130 years before VoDT,          843-130=713, so it's in his reign. Valorim is settled.- Hawthorne I.   722     763 Discovered Avernum!!! 741- Hawthorne II.  764     791 Erika and archmagi sent down 771- Hawthorne III. 791     822 Sent misfits down en masse/AssassinatedI put a gap in here - for some time Prazacwas too young to rule and Garzahd tookcontrol of the Empire. Empire/Exile War.- Prazac         826     865 Avernum III 833, VoDT 843- Hawthorne IV   866     901 - Hawthorne V    903     925 Assassinated by the royal guard- Prazac II      926     961 Beginning of a Golden Age- X              961     998- X              999    1030- X             1031    1057- X             1057    1085- X             1086    1114- X             1115    1143- X             1143    1178- Tahvan I.     1179    1203- Tahvan II.    1203    1238- Tahvan III.   1239    1257- Tahvan IV.    1258    1280 At the Gallows 1274- Tahvan V.     1280    1313- Tahvan VI.    1313    1368- Tahvan VII.   1368    1371- Tigere I.     1371    1402- Tigere II.    1402    1442- Tigere III.   1442    1485 Spears 1477

[Aran]

Does that mean the Collapse of the Empire is taken out of the history?

 

I'd like that, because it leaves more room for scenario designers if Ermarian and the Empire is not a doomed world...

 

Oh, and I see that this list is slowly becoming more feasible, accurate and complete. We could maybe have this structure finished in a week or so.

 

Also, where there any emperors before Zion in the Aixoan/Aizonic/Aixonian/Aizonese/Aixonish whatever empire, or where there only the two?

[Zharrad]

I see your doing well with the List of Empire Rulers. My map of Ermaria is coming along nicely, I'm about to begin creating the map of Pralgad from my notes, and then combine it with Valorim.

[Aran]

What form will that map be in? I just want to know if it shows anything other than land and water, ie. Mountains, forests etc.

[Zharrad]

Its going to be a map showing large mountains, forests rivers etc. and also the large cities like Solaria, Vega, Lorelei, etc. and also areas of Importance such as where the Dragons where at one point, Depending on the size I do it at I might be able to fit in smaller towns.

 

I will do it in Black and White untill I'm happy with it, then add colour to it.

[*i]

IMHO, the timeline is way too clean. It is unreasonable to expect that centuries will pass with all of the world's rival factions vying for the throne, embittered groups (of which the Avernites are an example), power-hungry relatives, etc. without major disruptions in the ruling chains. Some Emperors are strong, some are weak. The weak tend to be puppets and also live short lives.

 

I've always taken the names of the Emperors to be arbitrary and not indicating a rulership line. It is often out of pride, or arrogance, that rulers will name their hier after them, but this need not always be the case. Remember, Queen Elizabeth I was a member of the Tudor ruling family, but we do not call her Tudor V, or something like that.

 

The Aizonic Empire is ancient and predates known history. It's control has not always been absolute, and its existance has been sometimes tenuous. It was a very unstable Empire, often rich with infighting and barbarism. The purpose of the Aizonic Empire was to unite all of humanity under one nation. The dream was very old, but by about 100 BIE, the Aizonic Empire finally collapsed under its own weight and the dream was but forgotten. Much of the history of the Aizonic Empire was lost during its reign and after its fall; historians know little about it. A century later, Sol I resurrected the dream of the Empire on Pralgad, away from all the old infighting factions, an Empire which would ultimately be more radiant and solid than the one before it. This is according to the story in At the Gallows.

 

I would say leave much of the history writing to designers. It gives an incentive to be able to expand upon the history in places that have not been explored. So I would leave out anything that is not yet part of a scenario. Let the designers write the history, let the historians (community members) figure out how to incorporate it.

 

What is nCa/tCa?

[Aran]

What we are doing here is only a general timeline for reference in creating history - we are not yet describing the individual emperors. Also, I'd say that these names are all surnames: I don't think anybody would be named 'Ironclad' or 'Strongarm' by first name. Let's just assume that in Ermarian they call the emperors by their surname and not by their first name.

 

Concerning designer freedom - I agree that not the whole world should be developed. However, there has to be a compromise between freedom and consistency: If the history we make here is too vague, then scenarios are going to contain major contradictions to each other sooner or later, likely sooner. If scenarios are set in a world where there might or might not be another continent right off the coast, it's just confusing. So there should be a general idea for the timeline.

 

Concerning civil wars - we already have some of those, one century (that's a lot) of chaos and strife after the Aizoan (Aizonian) Empire collapsed, 25 years of struggle after the assassination of Viceroy, 4 years when a power-crazy archmage (Garzahd) controled the Empire, and so on. Empires don't need to have that many civil wars. Probably there are going to be many designers who want to set their scenario in such a time, but they've already got plenty to choose from. This timeline already offers most settings for scenarios: Tranquil peace, golden eras, civil war, mayhem, tyranny, exploration, colonization, ethnic cleansing (nephilim, Giants, etc.). It's all there.

[Imban]

Hm. TM says that the Aizoan Empire and Pralgadian Empire went to war, which the Aizoans won, overtaking the Pralgadian Empire.

 

*i says that the Aizoan Empire collapsed and Sol I started his reign on Pralgad modeled after the Aizoan Empire.

 

Hoorah.

[Aran]

Where did TM say this, in a scenario or here on the board? If it's the latter, I haven't found it anywhere...

 

Not sure; did the Aizoan and the Pralgradian Empire ever truly coexist as separate nations?

[Donald Hebb]

I said it in the scenario you are supposed to be testing. *sigh*

 

Drakey- I'm giving Stareye 600 friggin' years to end his series, but the collapse of the Empire is central to Echoes, and how you can see fit to acknowledge one plotline and not another (which massively outnumbers the former anyway) is inflamatory, to say the least. I'll assume you didn't break your flaming rule and thus never said that. Thanks.

 

EDIT: Whoa! That was weird, it attached the edit to the wrong post. See next post.

[*i]

Nobody has a surname in the Exile/Avernum universe, only one name. I cannot think of any exception to this. It is Prazac, not Sally Prazac or Jane Prazac, just Prazac. Why wouldn't anyone name themselves Ironclad, Sol, etc.? Remember we live in a different universe with different names than Josh or Bill. That is how just about every monarchy works in their naming.

 

Take the Roman Empire as a model for how a real Empire will function. The periods in between many of the Emperors was not clean at all. What this government type needs to stay stable is a very strong and wise ruler capable of melding the inevitable warring factions. It is unreasonable to think that every ruler for centuries at a time will be capable of this.

 

Prazac was a very powerful and wise ruler, being benevolent. Her policies ironically led to the later Emperors, at least up to Tahvan IV, to be mere figureheads with all the real ruling done by the bureaucrats.

 

I say, leave the timeline as is only with things in scenarios. If you want to make an addition, write a piece of work. Serious contradictions did not arise in the how many years BoE was released. The timeline can be an issue to be revisited and reshaped as need be. If contradictions do arise, the community can work out ways to compromise things.

 

Here is the timeline as I see it:

 

Prehistory

 

Aizonic Empire

 

Sol I

Sol II

Sol III

Ironclad I

Viceroy I

 

* Rebellion where many very short lived Emperors claim the throne; could be Ironclad II-V, etc.

 

* Stability re-established. Many cycles of stability and instability. Genocide of non-human races accelerates. Nephilim nearly wiped out, Troglodytes and numerous other races go extinct, Dragons flee to Avernum.

 

Stewart I (business as usual Emperor)

 

Hawthorne I (start of line of three strong oppressive Emperors)

Hawthorne II

Hawthorne III (Exile/Avernum)

Prazac I (Exile III/Avernum III)

 

* The "golden age" where Emperors have been reduced to figureheads and bureaucracy rules unofficially. Society becomes very open.

 

Tahvan IV (At the Gallows)

 

* Events in AtG cause the Empire to enter a slow decline. Emperors begin to reassert control. Openness policies are revoked in the wake of chaos. Situation slowly worsens.

 

Tigere III (Spears)

 

*************************

Let specifics be decided by the designers. Put in events such as Valorim discovered or Troglodytes become extinct. However, specific details such as the Emperor name or events that are not really part of any major established BoE scenario should probably be left out. Just leave a large open space for the rulers where things are uncertain.

[Imban]

Code:

Emperor	      Reign Start        Reign End


Aizoan Empire


- Zion I.       -150    -145 Started his reign on Aizo

- Baltimore I.  -145    -100 Invaded Pralgad, causing the collapse of the Aizoan Empire


The Empire


- Sol I.           1      48 Pralgad-born descendant of Baltimore I who declared an empire on Pralgad.

- Sol II.         48     102

- Sol III.       102     131

- Ironclad I.    131     201 Began wiping out non-humans. Died without heir.

- Viceroy I.     201     204 Assassinated.

- NO EMPEROR     204     229 Civil unrest.

- Ironclad II.   229     259 Brought order to the Empire. 

- Ironclad III.  259     281 Giants crushed. 

- Ironclad IV.   281     309

- Ironclad V.    309     357 Nephilim crushed.

- Ironclad VI.   357     405 Troglodytes utterly wiped out.

- Ironclad VII.  405     450 Empire vs. Anama War

- Ironclad VIII: 450     467 

- Ironclad IX.   467     499 Began settling Vantanas.

- Ironclad X.    499     530

- Ironclad XI.   530     535 Died of disease.

- Ironclad XII.  535     587

- Ironclad XIII. 587     615 Valorim discovered. Remaining Anama move to the Isle of Bigail. Died without heir.

- Strongarm I.   615     658 Valorim brought under Imperial control.

- Strongarm II.  658     672 Killed by an Aizoan rebellion.

- Stewart I.     672     722 Closed the school in VoDT. Valorim completely settled.

- Hawthorne I.   722     763 Discovered Avernum in 741.

- Hawthorne II.  763     791 Erika and archmagi sent down in 771.

- Hawthorne III. 791     822 Assassinated.

- Garzahd I.     822     825 Empire vs. Exile War. Assassinated.

- Prazac I.      825     865 Ushers in Golden Age. Avernum III 833, VoDT 843

- X              865     901

- X              903     925

- X              926     961

- X              961     998

- X              999    1030

- X             1031    1057

- X             1057    1084

- X             1086    1114

- X             1115    1143

- X             1143    1178

- Tahvan I.     1179    1203

- Tahvan II.    1203    1238

- Tahvan III.   1239    1257

- Tahvan IV.    1258    1280 At the Gallows 1274. Golden Age ends.

- Tahvan V.     1280    1213

- Tahvan VI.    1313    1368

- Tahvan VII.   1368    1371

- Tigere I.     1371    1402

- Tigere II.    1402    1442

- Tigere III.   1442    1483 Spears 1477, Fission Point 1480.

- X             1483    1502

- X             1502    1536

- X             1536    1570

- X             1570    1603

- X             1603    1621

- X             1621    1629

- X             1629    1645

- X             1645    1687

- X             1687    1708

- Tachyon I.    1708    1745

- Tachyon II.   1745    1762

- Tachyon III.  1762    1804

- Tachyon IV.   1804    1872 Echoes (All of it, 1870-1872)

- Baltimore 36. 1872    1876 Empire Collapses

Combined from what everyone said.

[Aran]

What about Hawthorne IV. and V. then, and Prazac II.? Are those taken out again?

[Imban]

That block of 10 emperors was left blank because, well, it's for people to design scenarios in if you want one set in the actual Empire.

 

(If the other Hawthornes and Prazacs were actually in a scenario, um, whoops.)

[Aran]

How much land did the Aixoan/Aizoan Empire span before it collapsed? Only Aizo, or other continents as well?

 

I'm currently trying to get some info on the founding on the first Empire, just for fun.

 

EDIT: Please, someone tell me how far back knowledge of the Aixoan Empire reaches! I'm trying to make up a Founder that would have ruled about 650-590 b.P. (before Pralgrad). Is that approximately possible, or does such a founder already exist?

[Daedalus]

I don't have a lot of, erm, expertise to offer at this point in the project (it's interesting though ), so just let me know when the writing bit starts.

[Donald Hebb]

God! It's spelled "Aizo"!

 

...eh. The Aizoan Empire controlled all of Aizo, and maybe a few oceanic islands, but nothing more.

[demonslay3r]

Seeing as how I pretty much (someone else helped inspire...) this whole deal about Exile/Avernum history, you guys should let me handle the First Visitation.

 

Yea well, I just got home from Atlanta, GA, USA. The Lutheran National Youth Gathering was there, big event, and I of course, attended. But yea lets not talk about that. I've missed LOTS of posts of important information, so I've been reading up for the past half hour. And from the looks of it, I'd really like to be a part of this undertaking. Like I said, I would really like to handle the First Visitation, seeing as that's what my scenarios are based on. Consider this a formal request for the involved's permission.

[Donald Hebb]

Knock yourself out. I don't particularilly care about the first visitation.

[Aran]

Even if you don't, someone else might. The purpose of this is not to research what you care about. Sorry. [/useless flaming]

 

Ahem.

 

I don't really know who's currently involved in the 'project' (if it can be called that), and there's definitely no one to ask permission from.

 

It's a good idea to announce what you'll be working on, though, so no one else will do that.

 

From what I've read now, the following parts have been taken:

 

Anama War (Drakey)

Maps of Valorim/Aizo/Pralgrad etc. (Zharrad)

First Visitation (Karzoth)

Rise of Aizoan Empire (me)

Start of Imperial Era (me)

 

Looking forward to seeing your work.

[The Akeipas]

I hope you don't expect people to follow these timelines. If I set me scenario three hundred years in the past I'll make the emperor and events whoever I damn want not do what someone else tells me happened just cause they put it in there scenario. The idea of timelines and maps make creating scenarios very constricting if you want to put yours on the North of Aizo but a map made by some stranger who isn't Jeff Vogel tells you you can't it would defeat the whole purpose of Jeff creating an open ended game like BOA.

[Aran]

That's why we're going to ask Jeff to check the thing afterwards: Nobody's asked to accept stuff that's "made by some stranger who isn't Jeff Vogel".

 

Also, nobody needs to conform to this; it just makes matters a bit more understandeable if a kind of general consent on certain tidbits - like the number of continents etc. - is reached and open on the web.

 

That doesn't mean that scenarios that contradict this are 'invalid' or something. It doesn't mean that scenarios are forced to agree on these things. It just means there is anything that can be agreed upon.

 

PS: If you only want to accept history info that comes in a finished scenario, I'll be happy to make a _lot_ of scenarios, set in all those historical events. Mmh, might even be a nice source of inspiration.

 

Edit:

 

This is my idea for a brief early Aizoan (for some reason I prefer Aixoan, but never mind ) history:

 

Code:

  Rolnic I. Ormessos	 -650	 -590 Founder of the Aizoan Empire, 					Known as the Farseeing (Ormessos).Rolnic II.		 -590	 -540Rolnic III.		 -540	 -526 Assassinated in a coup, Fleetfoot, a General, seized powerFleetfoot I.		 -525	 -495 His rule was tyrannical, and he persecuted MagesFleetfoot II.		 -494	 -475 Was killed in a coup; the Rolnic family took over againRolnic IV.		 -475	 -430 Was loved by the people for restoring benevolent orderRolnic V.		 -430	 -396 Known as the Conqueror, under his rule the Empire 					expanded to all of Aizo, and several islands.Rolnic VI.		 -396	 -385 Died at a young age, of a fever. He left no heir.Artimidor I.		 -385	 -350 Known as the Lawgiver. Established a codex of jutice					that has been in use with minor modifications until todayArtimidor II.		 -350	 -346 Assassinated, and a long era of civil war started. 45 years of Civil War and absolute Chaos covered the land. It then became clear that the Aizoan Empire was doomed to fall eventually. A long line of short-lived rulers followed:Conrad I.		 -300	 -294Reynhart I.		 -294	 -289Lorn I.			 -289	 -275 Overthrown and killed by his own sonLorn II.		 -275	 -260 Tried to start a genocide on non-humans, but failedConrad II.		 -260	 -256 For a short time, tried to bring back Rolnic's I. traditions 					of peace, justice, and racial equality.Mark I.			 -256	 -224 Ruled with an iron hand. Hated magic and non-humansMark II.		 -224	 -215 Ruled with tolerance and farsight. Was murdered by his 			   		own father, who then set up his bloodthirsty unclePychron I.		 -215	 -203 Was a raving maniac. Killed millions of people on whims.Heavyhand I.		 -203	 -191 A general. Managed to reestablish order for a whileSteelhammer I.		 -191	 -164 Heavyhand's brother. Continued wise reignSteelhammer II.		 -164	 -154 Commited suicide. Eventually, his advisor Zion took over.

The history we've established so far takes over from there. I guess there is a major discrepancy to a lot of known Aizoan history, so experts who know about what was before Zion, please tell me.

 

Sounds good though, doesn't it?

[*i]

I (and other veterans) already worked out the generalized Imperial timeline about a year and a half ago. Sorry guys, but it's already been done. I left open many spaces for future designers. Part of the fun of creating a scenario is creating parts of the history. Leave that up to actual designers who have actually accomplished something. Creating all of this is really taking a lot of the fun out of what could be a very exciting exercise for someone who wants to write really good stories. I know one of the most enjoyable parts was writing the history of the Empire in At the Gallows, a scenario I wanted to make to be specifically worth such an honor. Leaving enough room for future designers was at least my original intent when we first made all of this.

 

I do not want to sound arrogant or self-righteous, but I feel a bit uneasy about letting anyone who is not a clear veteran touch the timeline in such ways. The only people I would feel comfortable with making arbitrary changes are: Aceron, Alcritas, Brett Bixler, Drakefyre, Akhronath, and probably a few other members who have been in the community for several years.

 

What I am asking is to please slow down and leave lots of space open. Be a historian, not a history writer. At very least, the changes you make need to be brought up with the community who have pretty much inhereted the universe.

 

I would make the official timeline only featuring events from the best scenarios (at least 4.5 on the Spiderweb tables). This will leave the timeline relatively open for the present, encourage designers to write in time periods that are not done, and set a high enough bar such that contradictions are unlikely.

[Zharrad]

Is it Ok if I continue with my map of the Major Continents of Ermaria (Aizo, Pralgad, Valorim). I've nearly completed, Pralgad and Valorim.

[Dark Elf]

Emperor Stewart closed the Vale School. This would have been a major part of the crackdown to bring all the mages under direct Imperial control. Since this is (by your reckoning) 41 years into his reign, the crackdown was probably his policy, not a continuation of a previous Emperor's. This centralization of mages was likely accomplished in the final years of Stewart's reign, and possibly the beginning of Hawthorne I's. The crackdown is major enough to be put onto a timeline. Give the man credit.

 

Edit: Just finished reading *i's post. He's right. However, this post is observation and logic, not writing history.

[demonslay3r]

The point of this project is to give those who want it a set of scenarios and guidelines to make "official" scenarios. If one doesn't want to follow this, then by all means, don't follow it. I already have plans for my website to include a section of what I would refer to as "official", meaning they follow what _I_ think happens. I understand your want to not come across as the bad-guy, *i, and I mean the same. This group of us just wants something to keep with the original history.

[Zharrad]

Its a persons choice whether they listen the information everyone is creating and if they don't fine, there scenario would still probably be the same. Most people wont care about what Emperor ruled when, they just want to creat sceanrios. This is just for those who want to know about the History and if so utilise it in there scenarios. Though I agree it shouldn't be set in stone, there should be areas where nobody knew what was happening so as other people can put there forward there ideas.

 

And how do do you define a "Veteran" member.

[Aran]

Well, they might mean the number of posts (>1000), but I don't think so.

 

It could also be the number of years being a member.

 

Or it could mean the number of good scenarios.

 

Neither of us are Veterans. We might become so, though. Just don't give up, newbies never do have an easy time on message boards.

 

Edit: By the way, is it possible to enter several scenarios into one category in the design contest?

I'm going to try and make a good scenario on the founding of the Empire.

[Zharrad]

I'm not a newbie, I been with the community a while, its just I only decided to join the forum a while ago. Its just I see the term "Veteran", thrown about by nearly everybody, that it has little meaning anymore.

 

Although there are some people I consider "Veterans"

[*i]

The definition of "veteran" is not an easy one to make. There are two factors that are vital: time of active membership in the community and actual contributions. Usually these two go hand in hand.

 

Anyone who has been a member of the community consistently since BoE was released (or a year after) is, in my eyes, a veteran. However, this is an unreasonable and unattainable goal. So, the other measure needs to come into play. The most significant contributions to Blades are scenarios. Anyone who makes several high quality scenarios would definitely qualify. For instance, TM is a very boardline case in my eyes. He has made LOTS of scenarios and been with the community for some time, it's just that none of them have really made it into the hall of greats IMHO.

 

While I have no problems with newer members (or at least newly active members) making contributions, and I definitely encourage it, there are certain areas that I have qualms about such as arbitrarily creating history. I don't know, it's just when we did a lot of the timeline stuff we left a lot open for future scenario designers on purpose. Now it feels as if this void we left for a specific reason is just arbitrarily being filled with little thought. That is why I am a bit uneasy about all of this.

[Aran]

I'll admit that this bit of timeline was made "with little thought". It was just a suggestion though - I didn't say that this should be made the standard. I'm going to see if I can become a 'veteran' (might take years... ), and then try again.

[Aran]

Zharrad: Are you doing a map of Vantanas too? Because I just learned a form of map-making with Photoshop 7 from a tutorial, and it is ideal for converting this sketch:

 

 

into a beautiful-looking map, like, for example, this:

Isle of Denilou

 

Of course, my skillz with the program aren't as good as that yet, but I could make a similar map as the one linked above, with Vantanas. If that's okay with you, of course. I don't want to usurp your job. It's just I have nothing better to do with Drakey, *i and TM unanimously asserting that I should keep my fingers of Aizoan history.

 

EDIT: If you want to see what the map would approximately look like, here's a link (hope it works, geocities seems to have a nasty habit of intercepting links to images.) If it doesn't work, type the Url in: "www.geocities.com/arancaytar/gifmaps/Vantanas10-map.gif" .

 

Continent of Vantanas

 

Second Edit: What do the purple and the turqouise areas stand for? Heaths and swamp respectively, or something else? I assumed the grey areas stand for mountains and the brown one are forests.

[Zharrad]

Feel free Arancaytar to do Vantanas (I was gonna do this one last as I didn't have much Idea), If you think you can then do one, though you would need to send it to me, for inclusion in the World Map, and so I can make them all look similar. But Go ahead. Hmm, Photoshop, I rememeber seeing a disk with the full version lying around. Looks like its a search and rescue mission (I lose CDs on a regular basis only to find them 2 weeks later).

 

What company makes Photoshop, As this would really help my search.

 

Also your link dosn't work

 

And I created a map for use with BOA (I think it was said you could use external Files), But I have no way of sticking it on the web, It looks OK, Bearing in mind it only took me a minute to create.

[Aran]

Geocities, Tripod and Yahoo be damned.

 

Well, I guess they only disallow image linking, not html pages. Go to thie page: Map.html

 

I guess your maps are colored though. Not sure what to do then... . When you patch them together you should remove the banner and signature though.

[Zharrad]

I'm also doing Black and White AND color ones. By the way is your photoshop full version, I'm stuck with the demo for a few days, so you may be ahead of the game.

[Aran]

You asked earlier by what company it is, it's Adobe. It's $600 usually, and the lowest price I've seen on the web is $350.

 

But I know there are sites on the web that offer the full version for download. I don't think they're legal though, so I won't give links. Do a google search or something.

[Zharrad]

Thanks but I dont need the link, I found the CD.

[Zharrad]

Thanks but I dont need the link, I found the CD.

[Aran]

If you want to see the tutorial btw, click here:

Santharian Map-Making Tutorial

 

It's pretty easy, but it requires a lot of practice before it'll look nice. This is my fourth attempt with it, and it's still very rough.

 

Btw, Arti doesn't specify on how to draw the trees. It's easy though: Just select a brush color from 70-75%, brush size 1 pixel, zoom in and draw a short vertical line; then make a simple circle at the upper end. When you have the lower edge of the forest (the side with the tree trunks) done, just add fuzy circles at the top of the thing. You'll get the hang of it.

[Donald Hebb]

Zion I was the first "Emperor". Of course, he was also ancient. This is because he was the first person to unite Aizo. Before him, I'd imagine that there were many different factions with many different leaders.

[Djur Revolutions]

The explanation for wanting the Empire to have fallen is because without the Empire collapsing, you can't have the Arena timeline.

[Zharrad]

I've looked at the tutorial it seems easy enough just looking at it. There are some areas that look difficult but I don't think they're be a problme, thanks for the link.

[Aran]

Okay, now that we're back on topic (with emperors), I got one question: If Zion I was the first real Emperor of the Aizonian Empire, and Baltimore I followed after him and was the last, does that mean that there were only TWO emperors in all the history of Aizo? I didn't imagine it's existence to have been that short, but if you insist...

 

Whoops, Zharrad posted in between here.

 

If you find the thing being too vague in some point, ask, I've tried it a few times and I may be able to explain.

[Imperial Dervish]

I noticed an Anama War listed during the reign of the Ironclads. If memory serves, Ahonar established and founded the Anama on the continent of Valorim during the reign of Prazac many years later. Out of curiosity, how could a war between the Empire and Anama have occured before the Anama was founded?