Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Reckoning of Hell?

As is obvious, I'm working on mini representations of the denizens of Hell, but a stumbling block for me is trying to determine when in Dale Reckoning the Reckoning of Hell (as described in A Player's Guide to Hell) took place.

I might want to incorporate A Paladin in Hell into my campaign, but want to know when in DR it would be appropriate. This has major consequences as to the form some of the transformed Devils would have if encountered, who the rulers of the different planes are and so forth.

I'm currently in DR 1368. Can any one tell me if the Reckoning has already happened, and if so, when? If it hasn't happened, when will it? I know that a fair rule of thumb is to check the release date of the product against the year in DR the product is set in...but does that work with non-Realms products?

For example, 1368 given as the "present day" for the revised campaign setting release and Prince of Lies and other products released in Real World Reckoning 1993.

A Paladin in Hell came out in 1998, and A Player's Guide to Hell came out in 1999, followed by The Apocolypse Stone in 2000.

Does that mean that the Reckoning of Hell begins with A Paladin in Hell in roughly 1373?

What's the buzz, tell me whats a happenin'--

Is Mammon a fat and bloated pit fiend or is he a Geryon impersonator in 1368?

Is Baazebul a bug eyed demon or a giant slime drooling slug in 1373?

Iquiring minds want to know. If possible, cite me a source if you have the information.

Thanks!

Though I hate Wikipedia when my students cite it as a source in their papers, it is pretty much the only source for collected information on RPG game settings.

Wiki Entry on The Reckoning

Unfortunately, it doesn't give a Forgotten Realms approximate date for any of the events.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Shandar the Ashen said...

Well, it seems as though in official canon the Reckoning took place thousands of years ago.

It is frustrating in terms of continuity because it is established in every source that demons and devils lie, spreading false information--an easy out for contradictory product information.

Also, when we moved to 2nd Edition from 1st, everything that was Hellish or Abyssal was renamed and changed around. Now 3E is bringing back some of the old words like Devil and Demon and has changed things around again in other ways.

I may just stick with the 1st edition devils and demons and have the Reckoning not happen in my world, or perhaps a less extreme version of it so that my miniatures can be based on 1st Edition descriptions.

I found a useful entry on the Planewalker.com encyclopedia.

I quote it here for reference only:

The Reckoning was a war in Baator where the lords Zariel, Belial, Moloch, and Baalzebul fought the alliance of Dispater, Mammon, Mephistopheles, and Geryon. Both alliances ultimately turned on Asmodeus himself before Geryon and the Dark Eight revealed the whole thing had been a trap.

In the aftermath, Geryon and Moloch were dismissed from their positions, and Mammon and Baalzebul were forced to take new forms. Belial was made to retreat into the shadows, making his daughter Fierana the official ruler of Phlegethos. The Hag Countess was given charge of Malbolge, and Levistus was returned custody of Stygia.

This happened thousands of years ago.*

Sources: A Paladin in Hell, Guide to Hell, Book of Vile Darkness, Fiendish Codex II

* The Dark Eight, who first began to rule after the Reckoning, have "ruled their race for millennia" according to Hellbound: The Blood War, "The Dark of the War," page 18.

* Bel's predecessor (Zariel) "was deposed thousands of years ago" according to Faces of Evil: The Fiends, page 30.

* A Paladin in Hell says only that the present day is "many, many years later."


Keywords: the reckoning

Last Edit: ripvanwormer at Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:01 pm

12:56 AM  

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