Original B3 - Proposed Timeline
by Demos SachlasFollowing up on some of the ideas presented in my previous post, I hereby submit the following for your collective perusal. However, a word of explanation first:
Having played each of the early modules roughly in the order of their publication, my group considered B1-5, and X1-5, X10 to have taken place circa 1200 AC (according to GAZ 1 the Karameikos gazetteer). This worked well, because changes to the Keep (B2) and Haven (B3) as described in GAZ 1 suggested earlier versions of the settings as put forth in the aforementioned modules. Our later campaigns were set during the gazetteer era, but all the gazetteers placed the War of the Desert Nomads 200 years after the gazetteer era. (WotI suggests "dusting off" your old copy of X10 and playing it during the Wrath, but there's no reason this initial invasion of the Master couldn't represent an earlier war, and that the actual war described in X10 does take place 200 years later (especially given the longevity of the Master).
So the events in the "green" B3 could also take place a few years before the War of the Master in 1200 AC. This makes sense, because the Valley of Haven is scarce mentioned in the gazetteer era. Hence:
AC 1000 Description of the Valley of Haven in GAZ 1, a secret place guarded by the Immortals (or Protectors?), and home mostly to the Vyalia elves.
AC 1010 First PWA after the WotI
AC 1142 The lawful magic-user Melpomene (Argenta's mother) becomes Baroness of Gullavia, one of the newer dominions in the progressive outward expansion of the Principalities of Glantri.
AC 1144 Lady Melpomene gains the fealty of the Vyalia elves of the Valley of Haven in Eastern Karameikos, (how this event came to pass is of course a tale in itself). She promises to grant the clan additional lands, while somehow allowing them to retain close ties with their ancestral home in Karameikos.
AC 1148 Melpomene becomes a Princess of Glantri.
AC 1152 Completion of the white marble palace by dwarves in the Moorfowl Mountains. Invocation of the Zebulon phenomenon, allowing the Palace to "appear" in Eastern Karameikos, coexisting at the same time on the Adri Varma plateau. Families from the burgeoning Vyalia elf population make the transition to the Adri Varma plateau, settling close to their Lady's Silver Palace.
AC 1160 Birth of Lady Argenta.
AC 1176 Disappearance (and presumed death of) Princess Melpomene. Argenta becomes Princess, but prefers to spend most of her time in the Palace, working towards the peace and prosperity of (both) her lands. Some hin and several groups of humans settle in the Valley of Haven in Karameikos, where the existence of the duality of the Palace of the Silver Princess is a closely guarded secret.
AC 1180 Setting of the "green" B3, a chance for PCs (from their homes in Eastern Karameikos) to rescue Argenta soon after the "red curse".
AC 1650 Start of reign of Lady D'hmis.
AC 1680 Setting of the "orange" B3. Argenta and Ellis have become corrupted after their long imprisonment within the ruby "eye of Arik". Bizarre creatures abound, having wandered into the Palace and unable to leave. Close proximity of Limbo results in prolonged longevity for those in the Palace itself.
Note, the preceding timeline could serve as an interesting time-travelling jaunt for the PCs. Any number of reasons to journey into the future could be envisioned, and the mutant creatures and evil reign of the Lady D'hmis make the perfect ingredients for a Mystara-style "dark futuristic thriller".