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Lore Clean-Up: Timeline, etc.

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AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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(20) To see how this might play out, here's a list of dates and events from the 4th age:
first centuries - rise of druids, (rise of conservative mystical school,) attack of dragonkin, death of Robert the Strong, return of gnomes, life of Scorpius, destruction of Saranthium
196 - foundation of the Order of Ascension
~ 300 - foundation of elven kingdom in Kandarin
700 - foundation of Avarrocka
~ 1000 - attack of Garak, Garak slain by Camorra, increased cultural development, discovery of summoning
1225 - descent of Bilrach into Daemonheim
1669 - end of the dwarven monarchy and foundation of the Consortium
1777 - settlers move into Morytania
1930 - 1935 - elven civil war, invasion of Hazeel and Khazard
1937 - foundation of Lumbridge
last centuries: Thorobshuun-Gnome War
unknown times: Battle of the Plain of Mud, invasion of sea slugs, blessing of the Salve; the civil war in the Feldip Hills lasts many centuries.

04-Oct-2017 22:08:46 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:15:02 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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(21) If we cut the 4th age to 1000 years and employ the common calendar, here is how it looks:
first centuries of the 4000s CC - rise of druids, (rise of conservative mystical school,) attack of dragonkin, death of Robert the Strong, return of gnomes, life of Scorpius, destruction of Saranthium
4196 CC - foundation of the Order of Ascension
4225 CC - descent of Bilrach into Daemonheim
~ 4300 CC - foundation of elven kingdom in Kandarin
*~ 4350 CC - foundation of Avarrocka
*~ 4500 CC - attack of Garak, Garak slain by Camorra, increased cultural development, discovery of summoning
4669 CC - end of the dwarven monarchy and foundation of the Consortium
4777 CC - settlers move into Morytania
4930 - 4935 CC - elven civil war, invasion of Hazeel and Khazard
1937 CC - foundation of Lumbridge
last centuries: Thorobshuun-Gnome War
unknown times: Battle of the Plain of Mud, invasion of sea slugs, blessing of the Salve; the civil war in the Feldip Hills last many, but probably fewer, centuries.

*Except for these two dates, I simply added a "4" or replaced a "1" with a "4" to convert the date to the common calendar.

(22) Finally, we can fix the dates of the 5th age to the common calendar by adding a "5", so that many of the quests occur in the year 5169 CC - though I will further complicate this in the next section below. Note: I have not attempted to solve any problems this creates with the rituals of the Mahjarrat here - I don't think those problems are difficult to solve if we're willing to tinker with the lore.

04-Oct-2017 22:08:50 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:15:17 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Part 3: The Canonical Order of Quests/What Year is it?

It was 2013 in our world when the 6th age began. Time has passed in Gielinor at the same rate as it has in our world. So year 2013 = year 1 of the 6th age. If we wanted to convert this to Gielinor's common calendar, following all of the considerations above, then 2013 = 5170 CC.

My question is this: What if all the previous quests were (for the most part) canonically set in the year in which they were released?

This is a real question - I have no idea how much trouble it might create for the lore. But it has some neat advantages: it spreads out our adventures so that they're not all loaded into V.169, and it helps developers treat each quest in its original context. This would mean that Player Character's story has a canonical order - this could detract from a certain charm of RuneScape, i.e. that we can play through many of the quests in whatever order, but on the other hand it does provide some desirable structure.

Based upon the following quests - Quests from 5158 CC:
A Shadow Over Ashdale
Cook's Assistant
The Restless Ghost
Stolen Hearts
Diamond in the Rough
Imp Catcher
Ernest the Chicken
Vampyre Slayer
Gunnar's Ground
Demon Slayer
Shield of Arrav
The Knight's Sword
Black Knight's Fortress
What's Mine is Yours
Goblin Diplomacy
Pirate's Treasure
Dragon Slayer

04-Oct-2017 22:12:01 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:16:00 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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- we could, for example, reconstruct our year in the following way:

In the year 5158 CC, Player Character left her/his home at Ashdale and journeyed to Lumbridge, helping the local people overcome many challenges. Most remarkably, this included rescuing Prince Ali of the nearby town of Al-Kharid and dispatching the evil Count Draynor in Draynor Manor. Having settled affairs in southern Misthalin and the northern Kharidian, s/he headed north to the capital city of Varrock, where s/he banished the demon Delrith, restored the legendary Shield of Arrav to the Varrock Museum, and brought peace to the village of Gunnarsgrunn. Next, s/he headed West to the Asgarnian capital of Falador where s/he aided a forgetful knight, foiled a dastardly plot of the Kinshra, healed a dwarven family feud, and brought peace to a goblin village. Finally, s/he took to the seas, returning to the mainland to find buried treasure in Falador Park and to search out the way to Crandor where s/he slew the dreaded dragon Elvarg, earning a place in the Guild of Champions.

This could make for a fun update: Varrock Museum hires an oral historian to keep a record of all the historic adventures of Player Character. Player Character regularly updates the historian.

The Player Character might say, "I don't remember that taking place in 5158; I thought it happened in 5169!"
Historian: "That's bound to happen after so many knocks to the head!"
If Player Character hasn't completed a certain quest, "I think there's more that happened that year, but I can't seem to recall it..."
Historian: "Maybe visit Draynor again and see if it brings back the memory."
Or, Player Character: "Yes, I think that's a complete account of my adventures that year."

04-Oct-2017 22:12:07 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:16:27 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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The same could be done for each year of RuneScape, from 5158 to the present day. It would take some research to avoid problems with the lore, mostly with the lore from the novels. But I think it could be done. Quests could be moved into another year to avoid contradictions, as I have done with A Shadow over Ashdale and Diamond in the Rough, or simply because a particular quest might fit better in the summary of another year's adventures.

Every 5th age quest still to be developed could be placed in 5169 CC. 5169 will still remain a packed year, but not nearly so packed as it currently is. I haven't worked out all the subsequent years, but I'd love to get feedback on this proposal. What do you all think?

Finally, let's say all this was accepted - the common calendar, the shortened history, the canonical order of quests. It need not be instated by correcting all the dialogue in game. It could be corrected largely through a single update to Varrock Museum. The shortened history and conversions to the common calendar could have been the doctoral project of the particular oral historian assigned to record Player Character's adventures. A few display boxes could be changed. Otherwise, most of the dialogue can stay the same or be edited in a piecemeal way if the Jmods find this paradigm to be advantageous. Beyond that, there is only the vexed problem of the rituals of the Mahjarrat...

Thank you for reading!

04-Oct-2017 22:12:13 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:17:04 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Appendix: Most Visible Features in Each Region

Asgarnia: Mt. Trollheim, Mt. White Wolf (alternative: Mt. Apertar), Mt. Ice (Mt. Lassar), Burthorpe Plateau, Burthorpe Castle, stone circle, Captured Temple, Miazqra's Tower, Hagg Manor, dwarven camp (which I have called Vana), Falador Castle, Dark Wizards' Tower, Lake Crystalmere, Mudskipper Point

Feldip Hills: Cliffs of Gu'Tanoth

Forinthry: Kinshra Fortress, Dark Knight Fortress, Bandit Camp, Wilderness Volcano, several regions of lava flow, two chaos temples, Kolodion's Arena, Bandit's Castle, Rogues' Castle, Ruins of Carrallanger, Dareeyak, and Annakarl, the northern volcano, the Trollweiss Mountains, Mt. Daemonheim

Fremennik Isles: castles upon almost every island, lighthouse, Trollweiss Mountains in the east, lakes and rivers in the south

Kandarin: Galarpos Mountains, Baxtorian Falls, River Dougne, Grand Tree, Glarial's Tomb, northern rivers and lakes, Sinclair Manor, Mt. White Wolf, Camelot Castle, McGrubor's Woods, Plain of Mud, Keep Le Faye (alternative: Sorceress's Keep), Sorcerer's Tower, Temple of Ikov, Chaos Druids' Tower (alternative: Urvalite Tower), Ardougne Outpost, Witchhaven, Ardougne, monastery, clocktower, Tower of Life (alternative: Alchemists' Tower), Necromancer's Tower, thick forest on the east bank of the southern Dougne in which is hidden the gnome village, Port Khazard, Shrine of Scorpious, Observatory, Yanille Watchtower, Yanille, Cliffs of Gu'Tanoth, Islands of Hazelmere

Karamja: Mt. TzHaar, Musa Point, Shilo Village, sunken temple of Ah Za Roon, Kharazi Ridge and Kharazi Jungle

Kharidian Desert: Shantay Pass, Monastery of St. Elspeth, River Elid, Dominion Tower, ruins of Uzer and Ullek, Uzer Mastaba, Pyramids of Jalsvrah, Jaleustrophos, Jaldraocht, and Jalkabir, the mid-Kharidian crags, Terraces and Swamp of Ullek, Menaphos and Sophanem, Rock Island Prison

04-Oct-2017 22:12:41 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:17:50 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

Posts: 1,792 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Misthalin: River Lum, Edgeville Monastery, Gunnarsgrunn, Varrock, Varrock Castle, stone circle, River Salve, Paterdomus, Hills of Silvarea, Culver Manor, Dignsite of Saranthium/Senntisten, Lumbridge Castle, Lum Bridge, Lumbridge Swamp, dense forest on the Lum's western bank, Draynor Manor, Wizards' Tower, Ashdale

Morytania: River Salve, Paterdomus, Hills of Silvarea, Mt. Daemonheim in the north, Viggora's Tower, Castle Rologarth, Port Phasmatys, the Salve's rocky bay, the forest of Hallowgale/Haunted Wood, the forest/swamp of Humblethorn/Mort Myre, Temple of Flamtaer, the Barrows, mountains and valleys of Sanguinesti, Castle Drakan, the Great Vyre Wall, Efaritay's Palace

North: Mt. Trollweiss, Mt. Trollheim, Fortress of Ghorrock, Fortress of Zemouregal, Camp of Lucien, Ritual Marker, Temple of the Lost Ancients

Piscatoris: Gnomish River, Eagle's Peak

Tirannwn: Prifddinas, Galarpos Mountains, Pass of Arandar, Underground Pass, Port Tyras, Poison Wastes

04-Oct-2017 22:12:47 - Last edited on 04-Oct-2017 22:18:18 by AttilaSquare

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