(TFT) Back to Cidri... A Cidri Timeline.

["Charles Gadda" <cgadda@earthlink.net>]

Cidri Timeline

This information is derived from ITL and all of the TFT modules save Grail
Quest (which is obviously unrelated to Cidri).

Some abbreviations:

DT1: Death Test 1

DT2: Death Test 2

FLD: Forest Lords of Dihad

ITL: In the Labyrinth

LBTM: Land Beyond the Mountains

LOU: Lords of Underearth

MOA: Master of the Amulets

OQ: Orb Quest

SS: Security Station

TL: Tollenkar's Lair

WLD: Warrior Lords of Darok

YBP: years before present

Note that the majority of these dates are approximate. Dates derived directly
from the text (no matter how vague) are given with an "*" after them. All
other dates are estimated.

YBP         Event

2800-3300*  Jen Mnoren's first jump (ITL)

2500-3000*  Mnoren settlement of LBTM by the B'Orja clan (LBTM)

2000        Jas N'orn transports shelter ST119 to Cidri (SS)

2000-2500   Mnoren Abdication (ITL)

1500-2000   Mnoren disappear (ITL)

1200-1800   Founding of Chalasi (LOU)

1000-2000   Dirringar the Black creates the amulets & is destroyed (MOA)

700-1300    Battle of Silver Crossing. Askthor XI slain. (LOU)

600-1200    Orcs launch attack on Chalasi in 21st yr of Askthor XIV (LOU)

500*        Mikarth's expedition to LBTM (FLD/WLD)

400-800     Coming of Crythal the Amber & destruction of Chalasi (LOU)

400         City of Paska-Dal begins gem commerce via gate (ITL)

375         Gems found in LBTM; Kirsten Kalandai comes from Elyntia (WLD)

350*        Bruthe ascends throne in LBTM (WLD/FLD)

325*        LBTM fragments upon Bruthe's death-Y174 of the province (WLD)

300-600     Rise of Rodrom (LOU)

300-350    "High-tech" wars devastate Kel (WLD)

275-300     Darok brings in mercenaries & introduces Akhora Cult (WLD)

250-500     Founding of the Thorsz empire (OQ)

250-275     Purges of Arlen II in Darok (WLD)

248*        Landmaster Hall destroyed (TL)

200         End of war that devastated Elyntia (ITL)

200         Imperial College of Cartographers produce map of Cidri (ITL)

65*         Head of t'Bur clan executed for treason (WLD)

~40*        Muipocan forces make furthest advance into Darok (WLD)

~40*        Ziero Mhaddray murdered and his treasure buried (WLD)

40*         Reptile men attempt to storm Interris (WLD/FLD)

25          Umbar Cerdan joins the Dihadian Army

23*         Savin k'Raag wins Command of Darok (WLD)

16*         Arkintrodt becomes Count of Dihad (FLD)

13*         Petros wins Command of Darok (WLD)

8*          Darimenza tames Kaloth (FLD)

7*          Valnezbad appointed as Arkintrodt's Court Magician (FLD)

NOTES:

There are VERY few dates given in any of the published material, along with
few descriptions. Thus, there is wide latitude for interpretation. There are
some "fixed" (using the term loosely) points, namely the Mnoren settlement of
Cidri (strongly implied as being the same time as the settlement of LBTM), the
Mikarth expedition to LBTM, the fragmentation of LBTM (in the year 174 of the
province), the destruction of Landmaster Hall, and accession of the rulers of
Darok and Dihad. Supplementing this are some associated dates, such as the
conquest of 371 worlds and settlement of Cidri within 300 years of Jen
Mnoren's first journey, etc. All the rest is informed speculation.

With regards to Underearth, I presumed 50 year reigns for the first 10 lords
of Chalasi - though dwarves are not long lived like elves, I figured with
magical healing, Youth elixirs, and the implied wealth and stability of the
Underearth realm through most of its history that a 50 year reign was not out
of line; indeed, I may be *underestimating* to a degree. Askthor the XI was
slain in the 13th year of his reign, and then there are two more monarchs (XII
& XIII) and I assumed 100 years total between them. Askthor XIV endured an
attack on Chalasi by orcs in the 21st year of his reign, though it is not
stated whether or not he was slain (depends on how well you play the
scenario). Though no timeline is given for the attack of Crythal the Amber
(which destroyed the realm of Underearth) some length of time is implied; for
Underearth had become a wealthy and stable trade centre surrounded by a "sea
of disintegrating kingdoms." One would speculate that a minimum of two, and
possibly upwards of three or four centuries, had passed. The following
scenario involving the fleeing emissaries again implies at least a century or
two gap in time, perhaps longer. The very last scenario, which is implied as
present, states that at least a few and perhaps several centuries have passed,
since there is question as to whether or not the dragon even existed... Note
that one could easily extend this timeline, if desired. I have presented a
date range for each event, and one may choose a "high" or "low" chronology, as
desired, or choose a span of time in between.

Elyntia, Tanander, and wars:

The whole of Elyntia and Tanander (at least), has been devastated by years of
conflict. ITL specifically states that "Elyntia and its neighboring kingdoms
are still recovering from a devastating war that ended two hundred years
ago..." Warrior Lords of Darok mentions that the mercenaries recruited from
Kel "...brought with them a hatred of technology..." owing to the
"...high-tech wars that had devastated their own homeland..." However, the
timelines do not quite match up, for the wars that ruined Kel must have ended
before being recruited for the fighting in LBTM - the statement is clearly
past tense. And it seems likely that Kirsten Kalandai's expedition probably
took place in a time of peace, as it implied a search for a trade route, which
would be unlikely during such a devastating conflict.

Still, it is tempting to equate the conflicts - given the vagueness in dating,
there is some slight possibility of overlap, or, perhaps, that one or the
other source is simply wrong. One must also try to incorporate the evidently
predatory realm of Rodrom, ruled by the great wizard Sathal. Note that Chalasi
must be located in proximity of Elyntia, LBTM, et al, given that the "Duke of
Tanander" is mentioned as the victor of the Battle of Silver Crossing, and, by
extension, Rodrom must be in the same general area. Thus, the "high-tech" wars
ended by 300 YBP, while the destruction of Landmaster Hall might possibly
correspond with a second war, perhaps an invasion from Rodrom, though the
implication is that this conflict is much earlier than the 248 years ago
stated in Tollenkar's Lair. However, if one were to accept that
identification, then one may narrow down considerably the timeframe of the
Rodrom invasion (which, presumably, ended with the destruction of Rodrom;
otherwise Elyntia and Tanander would not exist at all). Note that the Rodrom
invasion and wars must have lasted a good 50 years (at least), in this
scenario, if Landmaster Hall was a casualty of this war. Of course, the
destruction of Landmaster Hall may owe nothing to the above possibilities, and
may have been destroyed by something else altogether. Finally, one must
consider the possibility of *three* separate, devastating wars: the war with
Rodrom, the High Tech wars of Kel, and the war which hit Elyntia and the
neighbouring kingdoms. One might even postulate a fourth conflict that
involved Landmaster hall, in particular! Not at all easy to sort out, but here
is all of the information needed to make a firm decision on the matter.

Regarding the Death Test series of modules, there is much less to go on. The
beginnings of the dynasty are described as having occurred "years ago". Not
very helpful, but it suggests that at least a few centuries have passed since
the founded of Thorsz' empire, so a range of 250-500 years is suggested.

As for Master of the Amulets, it simply mentions something about the "Ancient
Days of great magic". I have placed it somewhere around 1000-2000 years ago,
working under the assumption that this would have occurred after the Mnoren
abdication, but before more "recent" historical events. Note that this
presumes that the Lost Vale of Dirringar the Black is even located in Cidri,
something which is never explicitly stated. If not located in Cidri, than the
timeline can be whatever the GM wants.

While it is tempting to locate the "Security Station" module in the province
of Soukhor in the Land Beyond the Mountains, it is obvious that ST-119 must be
elsewhere, since clan B'Orja settled the Vale while the Shelter was
transported to Cidri by Jas N'orn - the implication given in the description
of Cidri in ITL is that there was considerable clan rivalry, so it is hardly
likely two different clans would occupy the same area in so vast a place as
Cidri. As for the dating, the first line in the Microquest description states
that "During the last days of the Great Empire."; so sometime around the
Abdication, it would seem.

At any rate, this information may be used by a GM to establish his own
timeline for his campaign. The players in your campaigns might be given the
vague outline provided above (or perhaps an even vaguer one) but GMs should
make some decisions and build an absolute chronology as a basis for
"historical" events.

APPENDIX A: CHALASI (UNDEREARTH) KEY EVENTS:

- Founded by Askthor I

- (PURSUIT) Defeated by Duke of Tanander at Battle of Silver Crossing -
survivors flee to Chalasi (13th year of the reign of Askthor XI, who was slain
at the Silver Crossing)

- (SURPRISE ATTACK) Surprise attack in the 21st year of the reign of Askthor
XIV.

- (DRAGONFIRE) Coming of Crythal the Amber and the destruction of Chalasi. For
centuries trade became the source of wealth in place of plundering and the
depleted mines.

- (PASSAGE OF UNDEREARTH) While Crythal slept, Sathal the wizard rose in power
in the neighbouring realm of Rodrom. Several Dwarf and Human kingdoms formed
an alliance to break his power, but Sathal's forces attacked their conference.
The leaders fled into Underearth to shake their pursuers.

- (GOLD!) Present day treasure hunt

APPENDIX B: DAROKIAN LINE OF SUCCESSION:

- Arrok

- Arlen I

- Arlen II

- Arlen III

- Arlen IV

- Al-Thedon

- (First trial by combat for elected commander)

- ***?Unknown number of combats?***

- Savin k'Raag (10 years)

- Petros l'Kamal (13 years - present ruler)

Assuming an average reign length of, perhaps, 25 years (for such a warlike and
turbulent bunch) the monarchy lasted perhaps 125 years or so (remember that
Al-Thedon died in battle at an early age); the remaining 200 years would have
seen around 16-20 different Commanders, assuming that they led for perhaps 10
years on average. This may overestimate things some, for in the text of WLD it
is noted that Petros' reign of 13 years made him particularly "long-lived".
Note that the line of succession is somewhat problematic, for it is not
explicitly stated that Arlen II is the son of Arlen I; depending on how one
reads the text, one might assume up to two generations between them. I have
chosen the most straightforward approach, and assumed a direct succession.
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