While it’s easy to think of a new era of history (real or fantasy) as a distinct and specific time or year, it’s usually in hindsight that we view the end of one epoch and the start of another as a demising event. In reality, such times are more muddled and gray, with the facts of history written by the victor.
It’s that confusion that drives me to start the 4th Era after a plausible lapse of time; I’m just not sure what that time span should be! From a human perspective, a decade or so could suffice, but Shadow World deals with longer time periods and often measures history in centuries or millennia; a understandable framing in a world of immortal Elves and beings.
I’ve broken down my time-lapse options into 3 basic frames: immediate, short-term or medium-term. I’ve eliminated a longer term option out of pragmatism; I don’t have the time or patience to build another expansive timeline!
Immediate: Under this scenario, the 4th Era begins right after the “final battle”. There are some in game benefits to this option as the flux of events would create a number of adventure opportunities. However, I feel like it wouldn’t create enough of a space to truly reset the setting and make the 4th Era distinct from previous material.
Short-term. 5 years. I’m leaning towards this option as it gives enough time for things to settle down, but not too much. There will still be parties vying for party, locations to explore and loot and enough flux to make Shadow World new, even to experienced players.
Medium-term. 20 years. I like this option for establishing a new setting baseline. Realms and leadership have been sorted, things are settled down into a “new normal” with some rebuilding already accomplished and there is a through line for establishing the new professions that RMU introduced. There are a new slate of big baddies to challenge the players but still enough conflict to drive adventure plotlines.
Per my previous post, I may end up pivoting on this once I have the 3rd Era ending locked in and some of these choices are more determinative. How much time do you think is needed to establish a new era of Shadow World?