Name for "Dark Age"/Void Century

[Pandamonium]

Hi folks!

Need some help with a good name for a period of time in my current homebrew setting.
Those who have played the Exalted RPG can interpret it as a Usurpation like event, One Piece fans can see it as the void century.

Basically the old God Kings grew decadent and cruel due to a curse (but the curse is not known to most).
They vent from benevolent leaders to despotic tyrants, warring amongst themselves for fun and throwing their time into hedonism.

As a result The God kings servants rose up to remove them from power, kill them if need be.

As the God kings were beings of great power and who had the power of reincarnation the war lasted for many hundreds of years (closer to 1000-3000 years).
Finally the God Kings souls were imprisoned but much of the glory of their age is lost. Wonders lay in ruins and knowledge is lost & forgotten.

For some time there is no historic record available, in time the Second Age started

I need help in finding a good name for this period of war, upheaval, tumult and loss.
It is not a continuous war but rather a period with multiple wars, It didn't break the world as much as things fell apart.

I have tried multiple names but none fit my itch!
Void Millenium - not cool enough
Pandemonium - to vague
Pandamonium - not enough pandas
The Cataclysm - not really a world breaking event
The Dark age - to close to our history

Any suggestions?

[PraetorDragoon]

You can still call it the Godswar. In history there are various wars that are actually a series of conflicts seperated by truces (see: Hundred's Year War, Eighty Year War) so its still valid. You can also call it the Breaking, though that refers more to a single point.

[Vrock Bait]

In my world I called the period of disunity the Long Dark. Something like the Crucible or the Trials could also work.

[sktarq]

The Kingswar
The Fall
The Fall of Kings
The Fall of the Gods Age
The Kingfall
The Kingfall wars
the Crownwar
The Usuper war/wars
The Grand War
The Diecide
The Binding wars (where each godking was bound)
The Madness (to describe the actions of cursed gods)
Nemesis Wars
The Soul War (as the gods souls had to be targeted and it was a war between the immortal souled gods and mortals)
The Sargon/Gilgemesh/Loki/some-powerful-iconic-figure-that-triggered-a-key-stage-in-the-war War
Name it after a triggering or iconic event. Like the destruction or change of a well known thing. Like the killing of the two trees in middle earth or the like...so perhaps the sun turned red in this age of strife and name ot after that...or perhaps a mountain range was made, or a sea was created/lost or whatever and name it for those new/lost things.

[Xuc Xac]

As the God kings were beings of great power and who had the power of reincarnation the war lasted for many hundreds of years (closer to 1000-3000 years).

That's a huge number. 1000 years ago, if you pointed to a man in Britain and said "Look! Anglo-Saxon!", people would ask "Which one is he and where's the other one?". 3000 years ago, people in Greece were saying "Let's build a city here and call it Sparta" and a few people in the Middle East were saying "Iron is basically a garbage metal, but maybe we could use it for unimportant stuff to keep our bronze costs down".

Realistically, if your world just got out of a 3000 year long period of fighting against God-Kings, they would probably just call it "history" or "everything before now". Everything would be divided into before and after the god-kings were defeated. They probably wouldn't even know that there was a time before the god kings, so it would just be Time With God-Kings and Time Without God-Kings.

[Composer99]

Depending on how long the God Kings were in power, you might well really have three ages - the time of their rule, the Forever War (maybe a good name?), and this new postwar age.

You could either use a three-age chronicle of years, or a BC(E)-AD/CE-style reckoning with the transition happening at the end of the war.

Also...

Hi folks!

[...]

Pandamonium - not enough pandas

I know this is also your username, but I see what you did there.

[brian 333]

Age of Broken Crowns
The Godless Time
The Lost Dynasty
Age of Judgement
Age of Punishment
Time of Retribution
The Forgotten Age
The Time of Terror
Rule of Man
The Mortal Wars

Question: what happened to the god kings? My character spends a lifetime looking for them only to release one amd discover how weak it is. Their might and majesty was great in First Edition, back when level 10 was awesome, but today when you need to be level 22 just to begin the adventure, they are lame. With huge egos and demanding attitudes on top of everythig else.

My epic character permakills the rescued god king and says, 'I wasted my life!'

[Vrock Bait]

That's a huge number. 1000 years ago, if you pointed to a man in Britain and said "Look! Anglo-Saxon!", people would ask "Which one is he and where's the other one?". 3000 years ago, people in Greece were saying "Let's build a city here and call it Sparta" and a few people in the Middle East were saying "Iron is basically a garbage metal, but maybe we could use it for unimportant stuff to keep our bronze costs down".

Realistically, if your world just got out of a 3000 year long period of fighting against God-Kings, they would probably just call it "history" or "everything before now". Everything would be divided into before and after the god-kings were defeated. They probably wouldn't even know that there was a time before the god kings, so it would just be Time With God-Kings and Time Without God-Kings.

Anything more than 1500 years, really, is too long. Before that is fine. Antiquity is about 1300 years (Axial starts at 800 BCE or so and Late ends at 476 CE), while the Middle Ages were 1000-1400 years long, depending on who you ask. Modern period is 500 or so.

ETA: And oh yes, the ancient Greeks called the city Lacedaemon, not Sparta. Sparta was the valley of settlements. Do appreciate you pointing out the correct reason why the switch to iron was made, though.

[Pandamonium]

I know this is also your username, but I see what you did there.

;)

Question: what happened to the god kings? My character spends a lifetime looking for them only to release one amd discover how weak it is. Their might and majesty was great in First Edition, back when level 10 was awesome, but today when you need to be level 22 just to begin the adventure, they are lame. With huge egos and demanding attitudes on top of everythig else.

My epic character permakills the rescued god king and says, 'I wasted my life!'

Really nice suggestions! Well in this case they are bound, probably never to be released, but are pretty much what level 40 characters would look like in terms of power.

That's a huge number. 1000 years ago, if you pointed to a man in Britain and said "Look! Anglo-Saxon!", people would ask "Which one is he and where's the other one?". 3000 years ago, people in Greece were saying "Let's build a city here and call it Sparta" and a few people in the Middle East were saying "Iron is basically a garbage metal, but maybe we could use it for unimportant stuff to keep our bronze costs down".

Realistically, if your world just got out of a 3000 year long period of fighting against God-Kings, they would probably just call it "history" or "everything before now". Everything would be divided into before and after the god-kings were defeated. They probably wouldn't even know that there was a time before the god kings, so it would just be Time With God-Kings and Time Without God-Kings.

Well kinda this, but I imagine there are some old entities (dragons, elves and so on) who remember. Also, the current empire is ruled by longlived humans (who live for about 200 years a piece) that have been able to keep some knowledge intact.

Anything more than 1500 years, really, is too long. Before that is fine. Antiquity is about 1300 years (Axial starts at 800 BCE or so and Late ends at 476 CE), while the Middle Ages were 1000-1400 years long, depending on who you ask. Modern period is 500 or so.

ETA: And oh yes, the ancient Greeks called the city Lacedaemon, not Sparta. Sparta was the valley of settlements. Do appreciate you pointing out the correct reason why the switch to iron was made, though.

If we consider a fantasy setting with longer lived races, elves, dwarves etc. is it really too long?

[sktarq]

As for long lived races slowing history.
Meh.

They will probably remember history better but probably not have a massively slowed historical development. So you'd still be looking at bronze age societies. Sure you'd have outlier effects of social norms held for longer here, technologies driven to a useful point by a single/handful of workers who could invest the time to make their ideas work a couple centuries early there etc.

So it would still be about the same degree of wow that's another world. Just with better history guides. It would actually be more modern where even a generation or two back the world could seem different. My father would tell me of listening to Sputnick my nan told me of hearing about the flying machines as a kid (born in 1899) I'll tell my kids of when they added colour and pictures to internet as normal (we had Prodigy) and the like.
While we think of "ye olden times" as having a slower rate of technological or societal advancement to a long lived race it would probably be similar to what we humans have today.

So yeah. 1500 years is probably way more time than you need.

[Vrock Bait]

;)

Well kinda this, but I imagine there are some old entities (dragons, elves and so on) who remember. Also, the current empire is ruled by longlived humans (who live for about 200 years a piece) that have been able to keep some knowledge intact.



If we consider a fantasy setting with longer lived races, elves, dwarves etc. is it really too long?

The average lifespan of a state is around 200 years or so, 2-3 lifetimes. Stability usually comes with how long the first ruler lives, so I’d say that assuming hereditary titles states would probably exist for maybe seven or eight times longer with elves and three or so for dwarves.

That would certainly slow things down, especially because those are generally the species that keep records compared to humans. Though keep in mind that every culture has their own unique periodization, so the humans would probably still call it the Dark Ages or something. Elves and dwarves might see it differently, but they’re both too isolationist for humans to care, most of the time.

[Composer99]

So, I get the impulse to do so, but quibbling over how long this or that period ought to be, is really just being unhelpful.

The OP came in with a particular question - what to name some period of roughly indeterminate but considerably lengthy duration. Suggested answers to that specific question are all that are, in fact, needed.

None of us strangers on the Internet know the OP's game situation, so insisting on inserting our own ideas as to what extent a fantastic game setting ought to reflect our own Earth simply isn't germane to the assistance we have been asked to provide. Had Pandamonium wanted assistance with that layer of world-building, they would have asked for it.

[Quizatzhaderac]

The missing millennia?

Unsolicited suggestion: the period without historical record starts before the war of the god kings ended. Historians know a war started, and they know that there are no god kings anymore, and are just assuming the outcome: the god kings needed something from civilization, the war ground civilization away and the god kings, were killed/ sealed/couldn't maintain their immortality magic.

[jjordan]

No 2020 joke? No one? Okay. How about The First Age? The World That Was? The Dimming?

[brian 333]

Age of Unenlightenment
When The Gods Turned Their Backs On Humanity
Era of Unceasing War
Era of Fratricide
The Pandaemic

The sage Plutoc described the era as the time when mankind was reduced in number by ten percent every ten years, and thus named the era The Age of Decimations. The exact numbers of humans at that time was unknown and is now unknowable, but even in her day Plutoc was acused of exaggeration and unsupported claims.

But we still use her calendar and the abbreviations BC and AD to denote years Before the Collapse and After the Decimations. However, even the great sage of antiquity refused to give a number to the Unknown Era when humanity lost all pretense of civilation.

Quote from 'Notes on Wisdom of the Classical Era' by Nairb Bribi Ibn

[Rockphed]

The missing millennia?

Unsolicited suggestion: the period without historical record starts before the war of the god kings ended. Historians know a war started, and they know that there are no god kings anymore, and are just assuming the outcome: the god kings needed something from civilization, the war ground civilization away and the god kings, were killed/ sealed/couldn't maintain their immortality magic.

I like it! They have managed to piece together when things were from things like eclipses and oral histories, but mostly people have no idea what happened for most of the last 600 years. They just know that the last city turned into slag happened about 500 years ago.

Alternatively, "The Apocrylypse" as a portmanteau of "Apocrypha" and "Apocalypse". I stole it from Terry Pratchett.
"The Sundering"
"The Great Purge"

[thoroughlyS]

The idea that the God Kings kept reincarnating and starting trouble seems like the best place to draw inspiration. To me the constant resurgences evokes the mental image of ripples or waves... Doubly so because of the image of waves eroding the sands of time.

the Kings' Tides?

[Sam113097]

The War of Ruin?
The Age of Ruin?
The Godfallen Age?
The Godless Era?

[brian 333]

The idea that the God Kings kept reincarnating and starting trouble seems like the best place to draw inspiration. To me the constant resurgences evokes the mental image of ripples or waves... Doubly so because of the image of waves eroding the sands of time.

the Kings' Tides?

I like, 'The Tides of Kings.'

[Devils_Advocate]

What I'm wondering is whether historians regard this eon positively or negatively. Which, given that they mostly know what came before and after rather than the details of the period itself, probably comes down to how they view the god-kings' rule. Was overthrowing them worth the cost? Are things better now than at the end of their rule? If things only really got bad near the end, is their corruption viewed as the beginning of the decline, with most of their age regarded differently? (And how biased and romanticized is the popular conception of either non-recent era? Well, probably very for the one that they lack records for...)

I could see them using something like "the Great/Long Decline" or something like "the Great Remaking" or both being used if there's no consensus. "The Lost" might work for denoting that a period has been lost to history. "The Lost Eon of Dissolution"? Is there a snappier way to put that?

Regardless, history is probably primarily divided into everything before the restart of recorded history and everything after it. Unless tons of stuff from hella long ago is still super relevant, but I'm guessing that most things from way back then have been Lost to the World or whatever.

[Quizatzhaderac]

What I'm wondering is whether historians regard this eon positively or negatively.

I'd suspect historians to be prejudiced against unknown periods.

Historians like people who write and hate those who don't. Who wrote the history of the Peloponnesian /Delian war? The winners? No, the people who wrote more, wrote the history.

If historians dislike the god kings, they probably blame them for the history-less period.

[Onos]

So, I get the impulse to do so, but quibbling over how long this or that period ought to be, is really just being unhelpful.

The OP came in with a particular question - what to name some period of roughly indeterminate but considerably lengthy duration. Suggested answers to that specific question are all that are, in fact, needed.

None of us strangers on the Internet know the OP's game situation, so insisting on inserting our own ideas as to what extent a fantastic game setting ought to reflect our own Earth simply isn't germane to the assistance we have been asked to provide. Had Pandamonium wanted assistance with that layer of world-building, they would have asked for it.

Well said. Strange how many folks claim to know exactly how a world would unfold with things like magic, dragons and other planes of existence - and even stranger that it almost always goes precisely like our world! Gygax forbid we should use our fantasy game to get away from real world constraints...

Regarding Dark Age names:
The Ruinwar?
Sundering of Crowns?
Crownfall?
Thronebreaker War?
The Shattering (of Crowns/Gods/Realms/etc)?
Age of Madness?
Era of Fools?
Time of Strife?
The Eternal War?
Despots Fall?
The Forgotten Times/War?
The Lost Age? (Bonus points for having raptor-riding halflings!)
The Dawn War?
The Long Dusk?
The Blood Skies?
The Eclipse of Swords?
The Dead Years?
Age of Cataclysms?
The Banishment/Vanquishing of the Kings?

[Pandamonium]

Firstly I want to thank you all for the amazing input, I feel very inspired from all your suggestions and you bring up a lot of good points to consider!

The idea that the God Kings kept reincarnating and starting trouble seems like the best place to draw inspiration. To me the constant resurgences evokes the mental image of ripples or waves... Doubly so because of the image of waves eroding the sands of time.
the Kings' Tides?

I really like this, I'm considering some variant on this!

What I'm wondering is whether historians regard this eon positively or negatively. Which, given that they mostly know what came before and after rather than the details of the period itself, probably comes down to how they view the god-kings' rule. Was overthrowing them worth the cost? Are things better now than at the end of their rule? If things only really got bad near the end, is their corruption viewed as the beginning of the decline, with most of their age regarded differently? (And how biased and romanticized is the popular conception of either non-recent era? Well, probably very for the one that they lack records for...)

I could see them using something like "the Great/Long Decline" or something like "the Great Remaking" or both being used if there's no consensus. "The Lost" might work for denoting that a period has been lost to history. "The Lost Eon of Dissolution"? Is there a snappier way to put that?

Regardless, history is probably primarily divided into everything before the restart of recorded history and everything after it. Unless tons of stuff from hella long ago is still super relevant, but I'm guessing that most things from way back then have been Lost to the World or whatever.

Lore wise the period before the war was first filled with wonders under a glorious rule of God Kings that towards the end turned sour with their emergent Tyranny.
Overthrowing them was seen as the only option, it had to be worth the cost but they are aware that many things have been lost and the world is in a worse state for it, but not as bad as it would have been with the God kings around.

As a whole the First age is considered the age of wonders and now after the war is known as The Age of sorrows.

---

Again, thanks for all the input!

[thoroughlyS]

Age of Wonders, Tides of Ruin, Age of Sorrows?

[sandmote]

I really like this, I'm considering some variant on this!

I think "tides" might make it sound a bit slow and steady for an age where a bunch of things got wiped out. the age of tumult, maybe? the maelstrom? the age of tempests?

If the kings went mad, "bedlam," might fit as well.

[thoroughlyS]

I think "tides" fits if you're looking back over something that happened over such a long period. If the kings kept returning it may seem as inevitable and recurring as the tides on the shore.

[brian 333]

excerpt from the Book of Sorrows

Long and just was the rule of Binaldra Silvermane, eldest and wisest of all the God-Kings. But Jobbeta-see, the Deformed, inflamed by jealousy, consorted with ancient dark powers and brought Death to the deathless.

The Immortals, slain, would not remain dead, but with each incarnation grew more angry. As she was first to be born, Binaldra was last to die. When she returned her visage was as horrible as once it was beautiful. Her silver hair had become steel, and her heart beat cold. Her only passion thereafter was for revenge.

With each death, what goodness left to her halved, and her bitterness multiplied. In the end we had no choice. The broken branch must be trimmed, lest the tree grow hollow and die. We didn't realize we were cutting out our own heart.

Now the Valley of Empty Tombs is all that remains to remind us of what could have been.