Full Version: When was 4th world?
Does anyone know how much time has passed between the 4th world (Earthdawn) and the 6th world (Shadowrun)?
Several thousand years, possibly ten thousand, if I recall.
I don't think there's an official date anywhere, but I could be wrong.
I don't think there's an official date anywhere, but I could be wrong.
IIRC, isn't each world 5000 years long?
Yep.
From the internets:
"In the mythology of the Aztecs, the first age of mankind ended with the animals devouring humans. The second age was finished by wind, the third by fire, and the fourth by water. The present fifth epoch is called Nahui-Olin (Sun of Earthquake), which began in 3113 BC and will end on December 24, 2011. It will be the last destruction of human existence on Earth. The date coincides closely with that determined by the brothers McKenna in The Invisible Landscape as “the end of history” indicated by their computer analysis of the ancient Chinese oracle-calendar, the I Ching."
"Archaeologists claim that the Maya began counting time as of year 3114 B.C.
This is called the zero year and is likened to January 1, 1 AD. All dates in the Long Count begin there, so the date of the beginning of this time cycle is written 0-0-0-0-0. 13 cycles of 394 years will have passed before the next cycle begins, which is in year 2012 A.D. (13-0-0-0-0)."
"The Mayas overcame this problem by using a third dating system which enabled them to identify a day uniquely within a period of 1,872,000 days - approximately 5,125.36 solar years."
So about 5,125.36 years is a World, and the Fifth world began about 3114 B.C. Presumably the Fourth ended about then.
Source: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_3.htm#top (The most non-esoteric of the lot I found)
"In the mythology of the Aztecs, the first age of mankind ended with the animals devouring humans. The second age was finished by wind, the third by fire, and the fourth by water. The present fifth epoch is called Nahui-Olin (Sun of Earthquake), which began in 3113 BC and will end on December 24, 2011. It will be the last destruction of human existence on Earth. The date coincides closely with that determined by the brothers McKenna in The Invisible Landscape as “the end of history” indicated by their computer analysis of the ancient Chinese oracle-calendar, the I Ching."
"Archaeologists claim that the Maya began counting time as of year 3114 B.C.
This is called the zero year and is likened to January 1, 1 AD. All dates in the Long Count begin there, so the date of the beginning of this time cycle is written 0-0-0-0-0. 13 cycles of 394 years will have passed before the next cycle begins, which is in year 2012 A.D. (13-0-0-0-0)."
"The Mayas overcame this problem by using a third dating system which enabled them to identify a day uniquely within a period of 1,872,000 days - approximately 5,125.36 solar years."
So about 5,125.36 years is a World, and the Fifth world began about 3114 B.C. Presumably the Fourth ended about then.
Source: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_3.htm#top (The most non-esoteric of the lot I found)
Many thanks 
I couldn't remember if there was any canon or not.
I couldn't remember if there was any canon or not.
So has anyone ever tried to justify the lack of dwarf, orc and troll skeletons in the fossil record? If we're in the sixth world and each has been approximately 5,000 years long, what was going on before 28,000BC? Where did all the para-mammoths go?
Not seeking to attack the setting. I know it's fantasy. But sometimes justifying this sort of stuff can really enrich the setting and I wondered if there's anything ever written on this.
Sure. Ork skeletons - oops, we thought they were Neanderthals.
Dwarf skeletons - there have been plenty of dwarfs, pygmies, and short homo whatever to justify these.
Trolls. Ummm, this one's tricky. Maybe they've got some special stuff goin' on in their bones (like maybe lots more proteins or something) to help make them strong enough to support their frames, but after significant decomposition takes place and the bones become extremely brittle and crumbly. So it is very unlikely that troll bones would survive.
Dwarf skeletons - there have been plenty of dwarfs, pygmies, and short homo whatever to justify these.
Trolls. Ummm, this one's tricky. Maybe they've got some special stuff goin' on in their bones (like maybe lots more proteins or something) to help make them strong enough to support their frames, but after significant decomposition takes place and the bones become extremely brittle and crumbly. So it is very unlikely that troll bones would survive.
| QUOTE (Moon-Hawk) |
| Trolls. Ummm, this one's tricky. Maybe they've got some special stuff goin' on in their bones (like maybe lots more proteins or something) to help make them strong enough to support their frames, but after significant decomposition takes place and the bones become extremely brittle and crumbly. So it is very unlikely that troll bones would survive. |
Not a bad theory, especially as troll bones apparently survive on Mars just fine. Reduced bacterial count means no protein decomposition and the troll bones retain their structural integrity.
-Frank
According to Ehran the Scribe:
| QUOTE |
| "As the last Age of Magic came to a close, the citizens of Atlantis began to disperse from their homeland, carrying their sophisticated technologies and culture to their new homes thoughout the world. Only the magic of its inhabitants protected the isle fromt he forces of Nature, and the Atlanteans knew that as the level of magic in the world dropped, the day would come when their magical protections would fall and Atlantis would sink back into the depths from which it came. That day came on August 12th, 3113 B.C., marking the end of the Fourth World and the beginning of the Fifth." |
Incidentally, the remains of some paracritters and prehistoric human artifacts have reappeared or changed as the mana level has risen-such as that tomb-complex in Tír na nÓg where the human faces changed to distinctly elven appearance. This may or may not be connected to the sudden reappearance of supposedly extinct animals without a precursor species.
Have I told you lately that I love you? 
AH, where'd you get that quote?
It sounds like Ehran's speech to the Young Elven Technologists (YET). Try the original Harlequin adventure ... maybe?
It's been reprinted a couple times, and a longer, revised version was released by FASA at one point.
Dammit! I knew that it was a seperate release, but I second guessed myself when I didn't find it on your site. I blame you ... and America! 
That's fine. Because as everyone knows, Australia is entirely peopled by criminals. Who do criminal things with sheep.
Though I must admit the best breakfast I ever had was equal parts ostrich and kangaroo.
Though I must admit the best breakfast I ever had was equal parts ostrich and kangaroo.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| Who do criminal things with sheep. |
That's New Zealand! The rest is pretty much true though.
If they all do things with sheep, why do they outlaw those things?
~J
~J
I blame it on the English. Whatever group of people the English choose to look down on-the Welsh, the Scots, the Australians-the sheep thing always comes up. I think English people have this deep-seeded psychological need to know that somewhere, somehow...
Back on topic (hah), Frank you know you shouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet.
Back on topic (hah), Frank you know you shouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet.
| QUOTE (knasser) |
| So has anyone ever tried to justify the lack of dwarf, orc and troll skeletons in the fossil record? |
The great dragon's took a page God's efforts to place dinosaur bones here to confuse us and used ritual magic to destroy all evidence of the 4th world right before they went to sleep.
| QUOTE (Kagetenshi) |
| If they all do things with sheep, why do they outlaw those things? |
Misdirection.
| QUOTE (Ancient History @ Dec 27 2006, 07:50 PM) |
| I blame it on the English. Whatever group of people the English choose to look down on-the Welsh, the Scots, the Australians-the sheep thing always comes up. I think English people have this deep-seeded psychological need to know that somewhere, somehow... |
Well, FWIW Hunt's 1974 study suggested rates of "significant sexual experiences with animals" as being 4.9% for males and 1.9% for females, with a rate of about double that for both genders in 1948. I'm not sure what portion of the world's population the Welsh, Scots, and Australians make up…
(Kinsey pegged the rates as ~40%-60% for rural teenagers, but many of his studies are controversial and I don't know enough about them to evaluate)
~J
Heh, so an obession with sheep shaggers, and tea? Sounds like an old world empire. Here is a wikipedia link, just for shits.
Linkage
As i joked before, I have a little clock on my work desktop counting down to 12/24/2011. Im such a nerd.
Linkage
As i joked before, I have a little clock on my work desktop counting down to 12/24/2011. Im such a nerd.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| Back on topic (hah), Frank you know you shouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet. |
How true. That could have been any 2.85 meter tall horned hominid.
My mistake.
-Frank
| QUOTE (FrankTrollman) | ||
How true. That could have been any 2.85 meter tall horned hominid. My mistake. -Frank |
My money is on a very large mutant space cow.
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