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Just a little fun contribution of mine to this timeline; If it doesn't seem relevant now, it will later (hopefully). =P
Edit: After some thought, Hein no longer bears the Stormgunner name.
1974 A.D: Tactical Studies Rules Inc. (TSR for short) publishes the very first edition of the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, revolutionizing the tabletop gaming scene.
1989 A.D: TSR releases AD&D 2nd Edition, a more complex set of rules.
1997 A.D: TSR is purchased by Wizards of the Coast.
2000 A.D: 3rd Edition D&D is released, drawing even bigger crowds of roleplayers. D&D remains the best-selling and best well-known roleplaying game on the planet.
2003 A.D: Webcomic author Rich Burlew launches the D&D-based comic "the Order of the Stick".
2008 A.D: 4th Edition D&D is released.
500BCE: Past the transition of the Anno Domini millenium into the Before Common Era timeline, Wizards of the Coast becomes unsurpassed as the number one gaming company in the entire Earth Sphere, with more than 100 commercially successful published games and no less than seven editions of D&D.
470-466BCE: World War III. Wizards of the Coast opts to remain neutral, drawing scrutiny from the North American nations. Sales plummet, however, due to a number of key employees taking leave to join the war.
466BCE: The Earth Federation is founded. Wizards wisely becomes one of the Earth Federation's largest financial sponsors in its early years. Sales return promptly to Wizards' pre-WWIII levels.
465BCE: The Great Rehiring. With SNK Playmore as precedent, many employees (and a considerable number of new ones) who had left for World War III were rehired by Wizards of the Coast.
336BCE: First man made space colonies established in the asteroid belt and around the Moon’s Lagrange points.
335BCE: Wizards of the Coast establishes branch companies in Side 6, named WotC Colonial. 17th Edition D&D is released. The Newtype Theory begins circulation; In response, a study conducted shortly after the Great Rehiring is released, stating that gamers who had participated in the war proved more proficient and deep roleplayers than those who had remained in the company due to personal experience and forced heightened awareness.
330BCE: A second study conducted within the company suggests that Newtypes who game in any Wizards gaming system on a very involved basis seemingly develop variant powers based on the gaming system they are most familiar with and their familiarity with the concept of roleplaying. These variant Newtypes, named 'Gamers', are believed to be capable of growing stronger than normal Newtypes given time and experience with their gaming system; This report, for obvious reasons, never sees circulation outside Wizards of the Coast.
329BCE: Despite the two reports, Wizards of the Coast continues to thrive. Wizards again becomes a financial sponsor of the Earth Federation.
287BCE: Lunar sphere population reaches over 3 billion.
240BCE: First permanent settlement on Mars established.
224BCE: First permanent colonies in Jupiter Orbit established.
0BCE/CE1: Martian Colony declares independence from Human Federation, declaring themselves Martians and not subject to earth law. 1st Sol civil war ends swiftly with Mars being put under martial law. Key to the Human Federation's victory is the Viper Mk. II aerospace fighter produced by Lunar Corp.
CE20: In light of the nth anniversary of the foundation of Wizards of the Coast and the second decade of the Common Era, Wizards re-releases Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition. Due to its simplicity of rules, 3rd Edition surpasses all other editions in commercial success and draws extremely large crowds of fans, regaining its popularity.
CE20: That same year, Gary Gygax, descendent of the first Gary Gygax of TSR (later named Gary the Mad), becomes CEO of Wizards of the Coast Colonial.
CE29: Gary Gygax, much to the chagrin of the Earthbound Wizards of the Coast, releases the two Gamer Reports to the public. Citing examples from those reports, Gary establishes what would be known as the "Munchkin Theory" --- a type of Newtype far more powerful than any ever seen before due not only to the familiarity of the game system, but also seeing its relevance to the real world...and how a gamer can manipulate it in very much the same way. Gary also declares himself and many of the staff at WotC Colonial as potential Munchkins, given time. WotC Earth quickly denies these allegations, angering Gary and straining relationships between the Earth and Colonial branches.
CE30: Further denouncing Gygax's "Munchkin Theory", WotC Earth senior employee Hein Brittany --- descendent of "Order of the Stick" webauthor Rich Burlew --- establishes the "Roleplayer Theory" in retaliation, stating that while the study does show it is possible for Gamers to surpass Newtypes, Munchkins are not a definitive or even a correct way to achieve Gamerhood: Interaction and personal attachment, Hein states, are far more important than stats. Hein's allegations were neither denied nor supported officially by Wizards of the Coast Earth, however.
CE34: Jupiter and Martian Colonies rebel in a coordinated attack on their SPS garrisons. Both garrisons lost as SPS soldiers conscripted from local colonies turn their backs on the seemingly oppressive Human Federation’s foreign policy. Historians consider this the catalyst to the Fandom’s creation.
CE35: In response to a string of financial moves against WotC Colonial from WotC Earth and the independence gained by the Jupiter and Martian Colonies, Gary Gygax declares the WotC Colonial branch's independence.
CE37: Star Wars: the Roleplaying Game is rereleased by WotC Colonial, garnering great success in the colonies but being banned on Earth.
CE40: Hein Brittany dies. The Roleplayer Theory disappears temporarily.
CE41-CE79: The Great Flame War.
CE42: Gary Gygax and WotC Colonial declare themselves in sympathy with the then-warlord grandfather of Raven Sterling and becomes the Sterling Family's financial sponsor.
December 7, CE42: The "Day of the Munchkin". As a precursor effort from the Earth Federation to cut off the Sterlings' financial support, the Earth Federation's special ops forces --- with support from WotC Earth --- attempt to storm WotC Colonial's main headquarters in Side 6 to attempt to assassinate Gary Gygax and WotC Colonial's leading Board of Directors. To everyone's surprise, however, the attempt failed, and almost the entire Board of Directors not only survived the attack, but also apparently fought back. The few survivors of the EFSF Special Ops team (believed now to be delirious and shaken) cite Gary as cutting them down with 'Matrix-like' moves and a forbidden, previously-unseen weapon known as the "Lightsaber".
CE43: The origins of the Lightsaber draws the ire of the Earth Federation against both Wizards of the Coast branches. A mass embargo is ordered against all WotC gaming products.
May 15, CE43: As a result of the embargo, Gary and WotC Colonial officially declare war against the Earth Federation. The branch office in Side 6 is vacated and all operations moved to Mars.
CE44: Fearful of WotC Colonial's power and eager to study the practicality of Hein Brittany's "Roleplayer Theory", the Earth Federation's Strategic Naval Research Institute secretly begins studying Newtype Gamers and their relationship to combat prowess. Gary Gygax's Lightsaber designs are stolen and leaked to SNRI by a defector.
CE45: The Roleplayer Knights, a special peacekeeper unit within the SNRI Special Operations corps, is established in absolute secrecy and armed with the very first Lightsabers.
CE50: For an unknown reason, WotC Colonial (as well as Gary) disappears from public view afterwards and is never seen again. Many rumors emerged as to WotC Colonial's final fate and whereabouts: One theory said that "the DM simply retconned them out of existence", while a second theory is that Gary Gygax, being such a Munchkin, turned on his own Board of Directors after conflicting allegiances within the Flame War and destroyed his own company from within. A third rumor states that it was the work of two of SNRI's Roleplayer Knights who infiltrated the WotC Colonial HQ and killed Gygax in a Lightsaber battle.
Nonetheless, the Munchkin Theory disappears along with Gygax.
CE60: Still mistrustful of Wizards of the Coast, the Earth Federation begins massively restricting WotC Earth's financial power. The Roleplayer Knights are disbanded; All knowledge of their existence, Roleplayer Research, and the Lightsaber, are erased from Federation databases.
CE63: WotC Earth declares bankruptcy. Third-party distributors, however, maintain reduced circulation of D&D 3rd Edition.
CE80: Steve Livingstone, implied to be the descendent of former WotC Colonial CEO Gary Gygax, joins the Federal Forces' Strategic Naval Research Institute. He quickly rises in the ranks due to exceptional talent and tactical perception.
CE95: Fandom issues it’s declaration of war against the Human Federation, aiming to “Free Sol from the millennia old tyranny of the Human Federation Trolls.†In reality, their aim is to expand their fiefdoms and ruling plots to Earth itself. Many have said that they just did it for the lulz. Total Fandom military power now surpasses that of the Human Federation by 3 to 1.
CE97: First Fandom fleets sent into the Earth Sphere, Battle of L3 results in a sound defeat for the Human Federations seemingly antiquated Space Navy, uttering the battle cry “Trollan Trollan Trollan~†as they decimate the Federals. The weapon that turned the tide was something that the Federation thought little more than heavy construction machinery. Their underestimations would lead to their early undoing in the war.
The weapon in question: Mobile suits.
CE98: The Federation begins experimenting with Portal technology. During one of its first tests, it was cited that the portal maintained itself for a few seconds --- nothing emerged, but a sultry female's voice would be recorded by present Newtypes as saying in their heads "beware the Munchkin, for they're among you" before the portal disappeared. The test was not recorded officially.
CE98: The DC also begins experimenting with their own Portals (years before managing to steal a more stable version of this technology from the Fandom); one of its very first successful test subjects, managing to enter and exit a portal unharmed, was Colonel Morpheus. Morpheus, for an unknown reason, refuses to elaborate on what he saw within, only that 'there's greater threats out there than even Sterling's half-a**edness'. This test was also not recorded officially.
_________________ "MISSION 2: DESTROY AN ENEMY AIRCRAFT CARRIER. Alright. Fine. As long as I don't have to f*cking land on it!!!" -Angry Video Game Nerd, NES Top Gun review
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