Timeline issues.

[Towel Ninja]

(/lurk lol)

Hey guys, me again (amazing i know.)

This time round though im having issues with my worlds timeline.

I really have no clue where to start currently. Im trying to flesh out the history before having current day fully fleshed out, is this backwards or on the right track?

I can come up with some vague outlines for my history like certain ages of time and the such but i lack content to these things. Is there any bookwriting methods or anything like that? Looking for any help. Thanks guys?

[Steerpike]

Not sure how much help this'll be, but when I plan timelines/histories of any sort (and I don't a lot), I tend to plot out what I think of as the big, world-changing events, put them in order, and then plot smaller events around them.

[Polycarp]

Steerpike's advice is the most important advice.  Figure out the big, pivotal events first, and fit the minor stuff in later.

*I find that using specific dates too early in the process isn't very helpful - you have to constantly go back and change years as your setting evolves.  It can be more useful to make a relative timeline that just establishes what events came after which other events without necessarily ascribing a year to them (this happened, then that happened, and then shortly afterwards the other thing happened).  You can always fix the exact dates later.

*Consider thinking about what the purpose of this timeline is - is it for your personal use in worldbuilding?  Is it for your players?  Is it for readers on the CBG?  A timeline that's useful for you is not necessarily the same as the timeline your players would be interested in.  The characters of your setting don't know what you know, and the timeline that's available to them should reflect that - you might know the exact year the world was created, but it's unlikely that any character in the world will.

[LordVreeg]

It helps to look at the timeline as somehting of an endless WIP.  I have been building one for decades, and it becomes really useful to be able to look back and make sure everything stays congruent.  Keep it in a format that allows easy change and movement.
I'd start it out with notes on the locale the PCs are starting in, and notes on the main adventure you are starting them with.  when history becomes consistent, it becomes another thing adding versimitlitude., but start inside and work out.If you get some real big picture stuff, add it in, but all on the same page/file.
(Tale of Years in Celtricia

[Elemental_Elf]

Something I've toyed with is expanding the Time Line to include more than just a Date Column and a 'What happened' column. Specifically, I like the idea of including an 'important figures' and an 'additional info' columns. I think those two additions would really flesh out a time line and give the readers a much better resource to peruse.

[Endless_Helix]

My timelines tend toward being chaotic and highly illegible, but I suggest Just drawing a line as a starting point. Then put 'x's in spots where you feel there should be major events. I rely on my design skill (which I don't have all that much of) to tell me where to put them. Then I start writing, and erasing and rewriting and... you get the idea. Fitting in the minor stuff is the fun bit, once you've got the world-changing events down.

[Age of Fable]

This might seem obvious, but bear in mind that you don't actually need to have a detailed history.

In fact it's very unlikely that people in a pre-modern society, including scholars, would have any remotely accurate idea of their own history.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Age of Fable has a very good point, but I do think it's a good idea for at least you (the GM/Creator) to know your setting's history - and that is for consistency's sake.  If you have one place (like a timeline) where particular details are written down, then you won't be telling your PCs one week that the "Battle of Awesomeness" happened in 131 T.E. (this era), and the next week, telling them the same battle happened in 235 T.E., and in fact, wasn't so much a battle as a disagreement over poker.

[Towel Ninja]

Hey, finally back again to reply..

Thanks for the responses guys. It seems ive been going about it pretty much right so ill stick to it. Im probably just terrible at coming up with history >.> ...

One question though, What is a good way to make "realistic" history? Just make it feel real and not just something that came from my head?

[Polycarp]

One question though, What is a good way to make "realistic" history? Just make it feel real and not just something that came from my head?

My advice would be to consider the characters involved.  When you write a conversation, you think about what your characters would actually say in that situation, and the same thing is true of writing history.  If you have well-developed races, states, rulers, and so on, you've won half the battle already, because you can anticipate how they might act and write your history accordingly.  When you understand the characters in your setting, it's a lot easier to write their story.

In other words, don't start with the event and then think about the people involved - get a good idea of the people involved, and then think about the event.  It's fine to say "I want there to be a big cataclysmic war 300 years before the present," but before you start detailing that war you should get a really good idea of how the world was beforehand.  What conflicts already existed, and between who?  What event sparked the war?  What did leaders and their people think of this event, and how did they act when it happened?  Conflicts don't exist in a vacuum, they arise from "states of friction" between peoples and nations, whether that means a contested border, contested history, a power imbalance, religious turmoil, or multiple such factors.  People do things for a reason, and your characters - whether they are people, races, or nations - should seem like they are acting based on their own histories, cultures, and needs.  If you don't know those histories, cultures, and needs, realistic history is going to be harder to achieve.

All that said, however, the fact that you are writing fantasy gives you a great deal of leeway.  Suspension of disbelief is part of the fantasy genre in general and roleplaying in particular.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't care about realism, but it does mean that you shouldn't pull your hair out worrying about whether some historic event seems credible enough.  Chances are, if you're confident that an event makes sense in your world for your characters and can explain why it makes sense, your players/readers will be satisfied.

[DungeonMaster]

Yes to all of the above...pretty much so, anyways.

Basically, it will boil down to how much work you are willing to do and how much you think is necessary for player's enjoyment.

Generally, the more you put in, the more "realistic" things feel to players.

As a starting point, you may want to really flesh out your players histories, which should include family/local stuff. This can really add to possible adventures and develop character's immersion.

As a minimum, you need to work out the 5 basic W's of history of the player's village/town/city. Otherwise, what good is it if you are Shep the farmer, if you don't know his father/mother/neighbors/rulers/local lore/ etc...

I'm not talking about full blown detailing...but the framework to hanging the rest of the player's "knowledge" on. Spending a few hours ahead of time, can lead to literally a "life-time" of player satisfaction...which is the only reason for a GM/DM/referee to exist anyways, correct?

I could blather on for hours...but mainly...keep ahead of your players for a least a month of "game-time" (even better, decades), and keep notes...anything said can easily come back and bite you.

And never forget...the game world does NOT revolve around your players (usually, until way HIGH levels). They are but the flotsam that bounces along the universes history just like all the other DM creations.

With that said, DMing is hard work. Only the best keep players coming back to roost. You are a god, keep that in mind.

Cheers,

PS: Don't take that last comment the wrong way...those of us that have played/run games for years, and years, and years know.

[DungeonMaster]

I have been thinking about this...and I realize that there could be alot of misinterpretation out there about my comment... (although it's usually from the boneheads).

Let me clarify.

You must know everything about your world, including it's history... At least as far as concerned, your player's questions.

Player's may ask you...Ok, so the bartender's name is Fritz...where does he come from? How long has he been here? Why is the Green Terbitriz the greatest slab of meat in the North?

It sounds foolish, but I can tell you..it could happen.

That's why I recommend that you are well prepared to deal with player's questions and the only way to be ready is to have a fairly well developed "regional" history.

I'm not saying writing a book. Just work everyday on sorting out the "advanced" basics of where your players are located.

In any case...start small and work big.  

[Nomadic]

I have been thinking about this...and I realize that there could be alot of misinterpretation out there about my comment... (although it's usually from the boneheads).

Let me clarify.

You must know everything about your world, including it's history... At least as far as concerned, your player's questions.

Player's may ask you...Ok, so the bartender's name is Fritz...where does he come from? How long has he been here? Why is the Green Terbitriz the greatest slab of meat in the North?

It sounds foolish, but I can tell you..it could happen.

That's why I recommend that you are well prepared to deal with player's questions and the only way to be ready is to have a fairly well developed "regional" history.

I'm not saying writing a book. Just work everyday on sorting out the "advanced" basics of where your players are located.

In any case...start small and work big.  

This depends. For the less quick on their feet DM having a well built up world is almost necessary for dealing with player questions like these. If you can think fast though and you have a general understanding of your world and where you want to go with it you can build and design on the fly without nearly as much information needed. This can actually be pretty enjoyable. I've run a few games where the only information I had was the starter paragraph and a general idea of the sort of game I wanted to run. All of them ended up as fleshed out worlds by the time I was finished. Heck I'd do this now with Mare Eternus but I don't have any players to do it with.

[Endless_Helix]

Just make sure that you write down your on the fly creations. I forgot a couple times, and it did screw up my campaigns on occasion. However, I find it a lot more effective to do spontaneous world building like that; off the cuff comments came make the whole world seem that much more realistic. Actually, a couple of friends and I built a world like that, just randomly. Picked up some stock stats we had lying around, then ran with it. It was one of the most enjoyable games I've ever experienced.

[Nomadic]

Just make sure that you write down your on the fly creations. I forgot a couple times, and it did screw up my campaigns on occasion. However, I find it a lot more effective to do spontaneous world building like that; off the cuff comments came make the whole world seem that much more realistic. Actually, a couple of friends and I built a world like that, just randomly. Picked up some stock stats we had lying around, then ran with it. It was one of the most enjoyable games I've ever experienced.

Yes writing down what you do is vital... especially when you have players with excellent memory >__>