Fantasy World Timeline Generator

One press writes one age of a made-up world: its name, its length, how it began and how it ended.

Fantasy World Timeline Generator: 10 ages

The Age of Hollow Oaks lasted 150 years. It began when the first vote was held, mostly by accident. It is remembered for harbors dug where there had been only mud. It ended when the sea took back the low roads.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

  • Name of the ageThe Age of Hollow Oaks
  • Length150 years
  • Beginningthe first vote was held, mostly by accident
  • Legacyharbors dug where there had been only mud
  • Endingthe sea took back the low roads
Saved
History (0)

Every age you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.

    Age of the day

     

    1. The Age of Hollow Oaks lasted 150 years. It began when the first vote was held, mostly by accident. It is remembered for harbors dug where there had been only mud. It ended when the sea took back the low roads.
    2. The Age of Nine Bridges lasted 99 years. It began when the first ship came back from beyond the edge of the map. It is remembered for treaties that were actually kept. It ended when the oldest treaty ran out and was not renewed.
    3. The Days of the Hundred Chimneys lasted 700 years. It began when a comet was seen by day from every city at once. It is remembered for bells tuned so that each town knew its own. It ended when the forest crossed the line it had always kept.
    4. The Marigold Age lasted 94 years. It began when the guilds won the right to sit beside the nobles. It is remembered for a school in every market town. It ended when the great river froze for the first time.
    5. The Weavers' Reign lasted 140 years. It began when a wandering teacher refused to leave the capital. It is remembered for harbors dug where there had been only mud. It ended when the queen sailed west and sent no word back.
    6. The Age of Stone Gardens lasted 365 years. It began when a new metal was found in hills thought to be empty. It is remembered for canals that turned every town into a port. It ended when a fire in the archive burned every deed and title.
    7. The Quiet Flowering lasted 38 years. It began when a ban on travel between the cities was quietly dropped. It is remembered for a palace with more doors than rooms. It ended when the fishing grounds moved north and the fleets followed.
    8. The Wren Age lasted 840 years. It began when the sea drew back and uncovered an older road. It is remembered for portraits in which nobody smiles. It ended when a book was published that the court could not answer.
    9. The Quiet Flowering lasted 175 years. It began when the border lords agreed to share one seal. It is remembered for glass so clear that birds flew into it. It ended when the guilds quarreled and locked their halls.
    10. The Age of Crooked Maps lasted 38 years. It began when the mapmakers' guild won the right to name places. It is remembered for the taming of the hill ponies. It ended when the forest crossed the line it had always kept.

    Next step See the world as it stands todayHear what people say about it now

    How it works

    This fantasy world timeline generator builds history one age at a time, so a made-up world's past can be as long or short as the story needs. Ten ages in a row make a timeline to sit behind any map.

    Read the full guide

    Turn ten ages into a dated timeline

    Print 10 ages gives a numbered sheet. Read it from the top, oldest first. Call the first year of the first age year 1 and add each length to date the next: an age of 140 years, then one of 63, puts the third age at year 204.

    Join each age to the next

    Every ending is drawn apart from the next beginning, so rewrite one line where two ages meet. If an age ended when the mint ran out of silver, let the next begin with whatever people used for coin instead.

    • Mark the year your story opens, then cut any age your characters would never have heard of.
    • Give two neighboring kingdoms the same ages under different names.
    • If a name turns up twice on a sheet, keep it and call the later one the second.

    Questions and answers

    How do I make a timeline for a fantasy world?

    Work in ages before years. Decide which age your story is set in, then write the two or three before it that explain its ruins, borders and grudges. Keep single events for the age of the story. Each press here writes one age.

    Does the fantasy world timeline generator give dates?

    It gives every age a length, from 23 to 1,500 years, and no fixed dates, because the count starts wherever your world's calendar does. Choose a year 1 and the lengths do the rest.

    Is the history based on real events or a published setting?

    No. Every line is our own. No age carries the name of a real period of history, and nothing names a real country, a real ruler or a published world, so a result fits any setting and any game system.

    How many ages should a fantasy world have?

    As many as left a mark your characters can see. A ruin, a road, a law and a festival can each come from a different age. For what people say about those ages today, try the world lore generator.

    More tools

    Browse Entertainment

    Name of the age: all 121 names of ages

    Ages of something 40

    • The Age of Amber Trade
    • The Age of Borrowed Light
    • The Age of Brass Bells
    • The Age of Chalk Marks
    • The Age of Copper Coins
    • The Age of Crooked Maps
    • The Age of Deep Wells
    • The Age of Glass Towers
    Show all 121 names of ages (113 more)

    Ages of something, continued

    • The Age of High Lanterns
    • The Age of Hollow Oaks
    • The Age of Iron Keys
    • The Age of Lost Letters
    • The Age of Many Gates
    • The Age of Mended Nets
    • The Age of Nine Bridges
    • The Age of Open Ledgers
    • The Age of Painted Doors
    • The Age of Paper Crowns
    • The Age of Patient Clocks
    • The Age of Quiet Looms
    • The Age of Salt Roads
    • The Age of Second Chances
    • The Age of Singing Stones
    • The Age of Slow Rivers
    • The Age of Small Kings
    • The Age of Spoken Law
    • The Age of Stone Gardens
    • The Age of Tall Chimneys
    • The Age of the Blue Comet
    • The Age of the Heron Banner
    • The Age of the Honest Scale
    • The Age of the Long Table
    • The Age of the Second Harbor
    • The Age of the Twin Thrones
    • The Age of the Wide Road
    • The Age of Thistle and Thread
    • The Age of Three Markets
    • The Age of Wandering Courts
    • The Age of White Sails
    • The Age of Woven Walls

    One-word ages 28

    • The Anvil Age
    • The Barley Age
    • The Beacon Age
    • The Candle Age
    • The Chestnut Age
    • The Cobble Age
    • The Driftwood Age
    • The Ember Age
    • The Ferry Age
    • The Granite Age
    • The Heron Age
    • The Honey Age
    • The Juniper Age
    • The Kite Age
    • The Lantern Age
    • The Lighthouse Age
    • The Marigold Age
    • The Orchard Age
    • The Pewter Age
    • The Quill Age
    • The Saffron Age
    • The Sparrow Age
    • The Thimble Age
    • The Tinker Age
    • The Tollgate Age
    • The Weathervane Age
    • The Windmill Age
    • The Wren Age

    Named as years 10

    • The Bellfounders' Years
    • The Cartwright Years
    • The Chalk Years
    • The Copper Years
    • The Guildhall Years
    • The Harbor Years
    • The Loom Years
    • The Mapmakers' Years
    • The Stairbuilders' Years
    • The Tidewatch Years

    Eras, times and days 25

    • The Days of Green Wax
    • The Days of Honey and Slate
    • The Days of the Borrowed Crown
    • The Days of the Hundred Chimneys
    • The Days of the Last Ferry
    • The Days of the Painted Fleet
    • The Days of the River Guild
    • The Days of the Tall Hats
    • The Days of Thin Coin
    • The Days of Warm Stone
    • The Era of Lost Keys
    • The Era of Painted Sails
    • The Era of Quiet Courts
    • The Era of Two Calendars
    • The Era of Unlocked Doors
    • The Time of Loud Markets
    • The Time of Low Bridges
    • The Time of Open Windows
    • The Time of Red Ink
    • The Time of Slow Clocks
    • The Time of the Gray Banners
    • The Time of the Sleeping Bell
    • The Time of the Walking Court
    • The Time of the Wide Nets
    • The Time of Uncounted Sheep

    Other names 18

    • The Bright Interval
    • The Building Time
    • The Counting of the Coast
    • The Grand Repair
    • The Great Mending
    • The Great Replanting
    • The Great Settling
    • The Harvest Compact
    • The Lamplit Interval
    • The Quiet Flowering
    • The Reign of Ledgers
    • The Reign of Small Bells
    • The Second Sowing
    • The Stonecutters' Reign
    • The Turning of the Keys
    • The Unhurried Age
    • The Weavers' Reign
    • The Wide Wandering

    How this list was compiled: Our own list of 121 names for an age, written for this page on 2026-10-08. No name says how long the age was or whether it was a time of war or peace, so each fits any length, beginning and ending. None is the name of a real period of history or the title of an English Wikipedia article (each name was looked up there on 2026-10-08, with and without "The": https://en.wikipedia.org/). Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

    Length: all 40 lengths

    Shorter than a century 13

    • 23 years
    • 31 years
    • 38 years
    • 44 years
    • 52 years
    • 57 years
    • 63 years
    • 70 years
    Show all 40 lengths (32 more)

    Shorter than a century, continued

    • 76 years
    • 81 years
    • 88 years
    • 94 years
    • 99 years

    One to three centuries 15

    • 104 years
    • 112 years
    • 120 years
    • 131 years
    • 140 years
    • 150 years
    • 166 years
    • 175 years
    • 190 years
    • 208 years
    • 220 years
    • 240 years
    • 255 years
    • 270 years
    • 290 years

    Three centuries or longer 12

    • 1,000 years
    • 1,200 years
    • 1,500 years
    • 300 years
    • 330 years
    • 365 years
    • 400 years
    • 450 years
    • 512 years
    • 600 years
    • 700 years
    • 840 years

    How this list was compiled: Our own list of 40 lengths in whole years, from 23 to 1,500, chosen for this page on 2026-10-08 so that the lengths on a printed sheet can be added up into dates. They are made up and measure nothing real. Licence: own work

    Beginning: all 51 beginnings

    Crowns and councils 13

    • a child ruler asked a question no adviser could answer
    • a ferryman was crowned because nobody else would cross
    • a queen opened the royal roads to everyone
    • a stolen crown came back with a letter of apology
    • an exile came home with an army of clerks
    • the border lords agreed to share one seal
    Show all 51 beginnings (45 more)

    Crowns and councils, continued

    • the court moved to a new capital in a single spring
    • the first vote was held, mostly by accident
    • the guilds won the right to sit beside the nobles
    • the last heir handed the throne to a council
    • the old law was read aloud and found to be very short
    • three rival cities signed one treaty at one table
    • two crowns were melted down to make one

    Land, sea and sky 12

    • a comet was seen by day from every city at once
    • a drought ended in a month of gentle rain
    • a mountain pass opened that had been shut for generations
    • a new island rose offshore in one loud night
    • a spring broke through the floor of the old market
    • a star that sailors steered by changed its place
    • the border river dried up and nobody could say where it ran
    • the forest stopped at a line nobody had drawn
    • the ice went out of the northern bays for good
    • the marshes were drained and found to hold a city
    • the sea drew back and uncovered an older road
    • the winters turned mild and the harbors stayed open

    Trade and craft 13

    • a clockmaker gave the capital its first public hour
    • a new metal was found in hills thought to be empty
    • a recipe for mortar was found in a ruined wall
    • a weaver built a loom that needed only one pair of hands
    • the first bridge was built that did not fall down
    • the first ship came back from beyond the edge of the map
    • glassmakers learned to make a window with no bubbles
    • lighthouses were lit in a chain along the whole coast
    • maps were first printed instead of drawn
    • the mint struck a coin that every city would accept
    • paper became cheaper than bread
    • the salt roads were paved from end to end
    • traders agreed on one set of weights

    People and ideas 13

    • a ban on travel between the cities was quietly dropped
    • a census found twice as many people as expected
    • a festival ran a week too long and became a custom
    • a play mocked the old order and the old order laughed
    • a song mocking the old ways spread to every market
    • a wandering teacher refused to leave the capital
    • the calendar was reformed and nobody objected
    • the first school opened its doors to anyone who knocked
    • the hill people came down to trade and stayed
    • letters started to arrive from a country nobody knew
    • the mapmakers' guild won the right to name places
    • the old language was given an alphabet of its own
    • strangers arrived from the south with seeds and stories

    How this list was compiled: Our own list of 51 beginnings, written for this page on 2026-10-08 with no outside source, each to follow the words "It began when". No line names a real country, ruler or event, and none rules out a line of the other lists. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

    Legacy: all 51 things an age is remembered for

    Things built 12

    • a lighthouse on every headland
    • a palace with more doors than rooms
    • a tower that was never finished and never abandoned
    • aqueducts that still run without repair
    • bridges that carry their makers' names to this day
    • canals that turned every town into a port
    • the first paved square in every town
    • the great library, most of which survives
    • harbors dug where there had been only mud
    • market halls with roofs like upturned boats
    • roads so straight that carts still follow them
    • walls that no enemy ever bothered to test
    Show all 51 things an age is remembered for (39 more)

    Arts and customs 13

    • a craze for clocks that all disagreed
    • a fashion for writing letters in verse
    • a sweet course at the end of every meal
    • the custom of naming children after rivers
    • dances that took a whole evening to finish
    • festivals that lasted longer than the work between them
    • painted maps more beautiful than accurate
    • plays performed on barges
    • poetry that is still quoted and rarely understood
    • portraits in which nobody smiles
    • songs that every child still learns
    • stories told in the same order by every grandmother
    • very tall hats and very short speeches

    Law, trade and power 13

    • a coin so trusted that it is still hoarded
    • a hundred small quarrels over one orchard
    • a law code short enough to fit on one stone
    • a navy that never fought and never needed to
    • a postal service that reached every village
    • border disputes settled by footraces
    • cheap bread and full granaries
    • courts that sat outdoors so anyone could listen
    • rulers who retired instead of being overthrown
    • scales that no merchant dared to tip
    • taxes paid in songs when the coin ran short
    • trade fairs that drew ships from past the map's edge
    • treaties that were actually kept

    Learning and oddities 13

    • a calendar that is still in use
    • a dictionary nobody could agree on
    • a school in every market town
    • an almanac that was right about the weather
    • an unexplained fondness for geese
    • arguments between scholars that filled whole libraries
    • bad roads and excellent inns
    • bells tuned so that each town knew its own
    • the first complete map of the coast
    • gardens planted on every flat roof
    • glass so clear that birds flew into it
    • star charts that sailors still copy
    • the taming of the hill ponies

    How this list was compiled: Our own list of 51 things an age is remembered for, written for this page on 2026-10-08 with no outside source, each to follow the words "It is remembered for". Buildings, customs, laws and oddities of worlds that do not exist; no line describes a real period. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

    Ending: all 51 endings

    Crowns and councils 13

    • a law was passed that nobody could obey
    • a regent grew too fond of the chair
    • the border lords stopped coming to court
    • the capital was moved and the old court refused to follow
    • the council voted itself out of existence
    • the crown was pawned to pay for a wedding
    • the last ruler of the line chose a different trade
    Show all 51 endings (44 more)

    Crowns and councils, continued

    • the oldest treaty ran out and was not renewed
    • the queen sailed west and sent no word back
    • the royal seal was lost and nobody admitted it for years
    • the throne was left empty as an experiment
    • the treasury was opened and found to hold only receipts
    • two heirs were crowned on the same day in different cities

    Land, sea and sky 12

    • a winter came that did not end until midsummer
    • an earthquake rang every bell in the country at once
    • an eclipse lasted long enough to be argued about
    • the fishing grounds moved north and the fleets followed
    • the forest crossed the line it had always kept
    • the great river froze for the first time
    • the harbor silted up in a single generation
    • the mountain above the capital began to smoke
    • the pass through the mountains closed under a rockfall
    • the rains came late three years in a row
    • the sea took back the low roads
    • the wells in the capital turned to salt

    Trade and craft 13

    • a cheaper road was built that passed the capital by
    • a fire in the archive burned every deed and title
    • the clocks of the capital were allowed to stop
    • the coast lights were left unlit to save oil
    • the great bridge fell on a calm day
    • the guilds quarreled and locked their halls
    • the last master of the old craft took no apprentice
    • the looms fell silent for want of wool
    • the mines went deeper than the pumps could follow
    • the mint ran out of silver
    • paper money was tried, briefly
    • salt doubled in price in one season
    • the trade ships stopped coming and nobody learned why

    People and ideas 13

    • a book was published that the court could not answer
    • a new calendar was adopted and the old feasts lapsed
    • a rumor outran the truth by a full year
    • a traveling players' joke became a rebellion
    • the army was sent home and never recalled
    • the cities stopped sending students to each other
    • the great festival was called off and nobody minded
    • half the capital left for the new ports
    • the hill people closed the passes
    • the old language was dropped from the schools
    • people simply began to call it the old days
    • strangers arrived by sea with better maps
    • the young stopped learning the old songs

    How this list was compiled: Our own list of 51 endings, written for this page on 2026-10-08 with no outside source, each to follow the words "It ended when". An ending is a change and not a disaster scene: no line describes a death, a battle or an illness, and none names a real event. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work