Serpent Kingdoms Appendix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Serpent Kingdoms Appendix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Vulpes
08-13-04, 11:01 PM Spoiler Warning (Just in Case)....

I'm really only mildly interested in the Scalyfolk of Faerun, so I just flipped through Serpent Kingdoms at the bookstore. It looked really good overall. One of the appendices, however, has a timeline of Faerun's macro-history. It's really cool, but I have to admit I kinda have some problems with it. For one, the dragons didn't reign supreme for more than three or four thousand years. That's not really that long, especially in dragon terms. And second, it seems Imaskar and Netheril were much more contemporary than I'd thought. I envisaged some overlap, but according to the timeline, Imaskar was only a couple of hundred years older than Netheril. It didn't last as long, either, but that can kinda make sense (they burnt hot for a short period of time). I don't know, that just feels... wrong. Anyone else notice it? Any thoughts?
warlockco
08-14-04, 03:28 AM That is just the recorded history according to certain resources.
I bet when Ancient Empires comes out, there will be differences between the SK timeline to the one that will be in Ancient Empires.
Cunning Linguist
08-14-04, 10:45 AM That timeline sounds about right with the rest of the known canon. I don't know where you heard diffrently, but I would think that source is the root of your problems.
Demetrios
08-14-04, 04:27 PM The Imaskar and Netheril dates are quite canon and have been so for a considerable time. The end date for Imaskar appears in the old 2e Old Empires accessory (published in 1990), while the Netheril dates have been set in stone since the 2e Netheril boxed set (published in 1996). The only new date IIRC is the start date for Imaskar. And Imaskar lasted over 1500 years - that's not "long" in your opinion?

The dragons has 6000 years of rule, which is indeed longer than any other group other than the elves. I agree that the lengths given for the rules of the various Creator Races, the dragons, and the giants does seem a bit short for each when compared to the 12,000 years for the elves, but then again, history doesn't always move in neat, predictable ways, does it?
Iakhovas
08-17-04, 11:24 AM The timeline included in the Appendix of Serpent Kingdoms was quite welcome.

To my knowledge it's the first time that several empires have been canonically dated.

As I mentioned in a previous thread, many people are surprised that many "Ancient Empires" are in fact quite contemporary. In the grand history of Faerūn, Human empires are the merely the most recent to rise.

When compared to the Sarrukh Empire (c. -35000 DR) or the Colossal Kingdom of Ostoria (c. -30,000 DR), the "Ancient Empires" of Netheril and Imaskar (c. - 4,000 DR) seem not so ancient after all.
Vulpes
08-20-04, 11:38 PM I've gone over the SK timeline once more since my initial post. Like I said, for the most part I think it's great. And it may very well be totally canon. The short reign of the dragons and the fact that Imasakar began several centuries after Netheril (not the fact that the human empires are so young; I expected that since human civilization is relatively young, though Calimshan is actually older than I'd realized) are my only real sore spots. *shrug* I guess it's just a personal thing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vulpes 08-13-04, 11:01 PM	Spoiler Warning (Just in Case).... I'm really only mildly interested in the Scalyfolk of Faerun, so I just flipped through Serpent Kingdoms at the bookstore. It looked really good overall. One of the appendices, however, has a timeline of Faerun's macro-history. It's really cool, but I have to admit I kinda have some problems with it. For one, the dragons didn't reign supreme for more than three or four thousand years. That's not really that long, especially in dragon terms. And second, it seems Imaskar and Netheril were much more contemporary than I'd thought. I envisaged some overlap, but according to the timeline, Imaskar was only a couple of hundred years older than Netheril. It didn't last as long, either, but that can kinda make sense (they burnt hot for a short period of time). I don't know, that just feels... wrong. Anyone else notice it? Any thoughts?
warlockco 08-14-04, 03:28 AM	That is just the recorded history according to certain resources. I bet when Ancient Empires comes out, there will be differences between the SK timeline to the one that will be in Ancient Empires.
Cunning Linguist 08-14-04, 10:45 AM	That timeline sounds about right with the rest of the known canon. I don't know where you heard diffrently, but I would think that source is the root of your problems.
Demetrios 08-14-04, 04:27 PM	The Imaskar and Netheril dates are quite canon and have been so for a considerable time. The end date for Imaskar appears in the old 2e Old Empires accessory (published in 1990), while the Netheril dates have been set in stone since the 2e Netheril boxed set (published in 1996). The only new date IIRC is the start date for Imaskar. And Imaskar lasted over 1500 years - that's not "long" in your opinion? The dragons has 6000 years of rule, which is indeed longer than any other group other than the elves. I agree that the lengths given for the rules of the various Creator Races, the dragons, and the giants does seem a bit short for each when compared to the 12,000 years for the elves, but then again, history doesn't always move in neat, predictable ways, does it?
Iakhovas 08-17-04, 11:24 AM	The timeline included in the Appendix of Serpent Kingdoms was quite welcome. To my knowledge it's the first time that several empires have been canonically dated. As I mentioned in a previous thread, many people are surprised that many "Ancient Empires" are in fact quite contemporary. In the grand history of Faerūn, Human empires are the merely the most recent to rise. When compared to the Sarrukh Empire (c. -35000 DR) or the Colossal Kingdom of Ostoria (c. -30,000 DR), the "Ancient Empires" of Netheril and Imaskar (c. - 4,000 DR) seem not so ancient after all.
Vulpes 08-20-04, 11:38 PM	I've gone over the SK timeline once more since my initial post. Like I said, for the most part I think it's great. And it may very well be totally canon. The short reign of the dragons and the fact that Imasakar began several centuries after Netheril (not the fact that the human empires are so young; I expected that since human civilization is relatively young, though Calimshan is actually older than I'd realized) are my only real sore spots. shrug I guess it's just a personal thing.