History of Gameality

As with any respectable fantasy world, Gygaxia has a history consisting of a series of ages.

First Age (1A)

Most of the information dating back to the first age has been gleaned from studying the period’s fossils, as well as the remains of its copious dungeons. Based on this evidence, it appears that the era was chaotic and primitive. Monsters were populous; dragons were truly pervasive. The humanoid races were, by and large, tribal and independent of one another. When they encountered each other, war was the usual result. Much of the world was covered in plains and jungles, temples, and immense underground labyrinths. Archaeologists of later eras have argued as to why these labyrinths were built, but modern scholars generally believe that their purpose was to be really cool (and sometimes to store treasure).

In this time it was discovered that certain enigmatic methods of speaking, when combined with specific esoteric deeds, produced immensely useful effects. These effects were dubbed “magic.” The development of sorcery followed soon after. Spellcasters exploited these methods for their own purposes, making up their own religions in the absence of facts about the nature of gameality.

It is also believed that the neanderthals of the period died out at the hands of the other humanoid races, and that the giant nonmagical lizards which roamed the world became extinct due to a combination of inability to compete with dragons for resources and an abundance of large meteors striking the world. Metascholars believe that was in this time in which the laws of gameality were established, and Gygaxia’s nature as a fantasy world was defined. Even in these simpler times, the laws of gameality defined Gygaxia as a universe of storytelling rather than a strictly logical one, resulting in the beginnings of a decidedly odd twist to the universe.

Second Age (2A)

The second age began when the gods made their presence known to mortals (what the gods were doing before this time is unknown, though some believe they were at war with one another). Once the gods appeared (and after mortals got over how startled they were as a result of this sudden arrival), a new form of magic (prayer) came to be, and the old forms of magic began to acquire a reputation as ungodly and sinister. Monsters were driven out of the areas settled by the humanoid races, and people gathered in increasingly large groups. Civilizations appeared as learning flourished and cultures became more sophisticated. This era saw the creation of the Mighty Equestrian Crusaders of Incorruptible Righteousness, later the Evangelical Validators of Immorality and Loathing, and finally the Keepers of the Omnicodex.

By the end of the first few centuries of this age, the inherent weirdness of fantasy roleplaying games in general was in full force; every gaming bromide was in operation, and every strange fact of fantasy life had come to be. By the middle of the age, most of the clichés of fantasy roleplaying games and storytelling in general had been enacted tens of dozens of times, placing a great deal of strain on gameality in certain areas. It was also early in this period that a series of strange and unexplained disappearances (some called them “abductions”) occurred.

By the end of the second age, some mortals had become increasingly dissatisfied with the role of gods in their existence. The divine dominated large parts of mortal life, resulting in an atmosphere many considered asphyxiating. Indeed, the second age ended when a small group of mortals overthrew a pantheon of gods, heralding an age sometimes called the Renaissance.

Third Age (3A)

In the third age, the mortals-now-gods set precedent for the nature of the universe by making strange new monsters and magical items, giving literal meanings to clichés and hyperboles, tormenting their followers with obscure instructions, and deluging their theurgists with bizarre visions and new spells. The strangeness of the world reached its height during this period, and is generally believed to have since stabilized. To this day, it continues to operate at more or less the level of bizarritude which came to be in the third age.

It was within this age that it was discovered that the world was flat, and that most of the rest of the organizations which today are common parts of Gygaxia were founded. It was also in this time that stressors on the fabric of gameality first began to lead to cracks and tears, letting in elements from other gamealities and even from reality, contributing to an increasingly odd world.

Eventually, having achieved a sort of bizarre equilibrium, Gygaxia then settled into more or less stable period of strangeness for many generations. The third age finally ended when a vastly powerful ring was brought into Gygaxia, triggering (though a complex series of events) the Well-Nigh Apocalypse. This ring, though created long ago in an entirely different universe by a hideously evil “dark lord,” was retrieved by members of EVIL. These diabolical individuals used a series of sinister copyright-defying rituals and the sacrifice of several lawyers to enter an alternate realm, where they just barely prevented a pair of hobbits from destroying this ring by chucking it into the volcano in which it was forged. The members of EVIL then returned to Gygaxia — ring in tow — with bloody consequences.

Fourth Age (4A)

In the fourth age, the ring was again lost, and over the course of the next millennium Gygaxia returned to what passes there for normality. Tears in the fabric of the universe continued to wreak occasional havoc, and the bizarre continued to reign in many circles. Petroleum alchemy was pioneered in an obscure magical process, leading to the creation of a rare and precious material known as plastic. The remaining major organizations, such as the Troll Scouts, the Justice Guild, and ICTMS, formed.

As of year 999 of the fourth age, rumors of a new kind of magic developed in isolation by a group of rogue theurgists have been circulating, and high tech devices called hot-air balloons are rumored to have been invented. As to what, if anything, these things will amount, time has yet to reveal.

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