Welcome to the Canon Submission Guide, your definitive handbook for world building on Althanas. Canon is the official lore of Althanas, including important locations, people and events. In other words, it is the foundation upon which our interactive world is based. You can find what and what is not Canon by looking at the FAQ.
Much of our canon, especially region and historical information, has been compiled over the years by numerous content moderators, and developed by the writers of Altga as. Some lands, such as Dheathain, were added through contests, and some events were added following major featured quests, like To Rule All Flesh, the Xem’Zund Saga.
In the past, it was very difficult for individual players to affect Canon, but now it is easy. All you have to do is have a strong idea, and submit it using the form under, "Lore."
Canon is split into two categories
Althanas Legends – Any material that pre-dates the End of all Things featured quest will be canonised as “Althanas Legendsâ€. This includes, but not is limited to, the Judge's Choice section, featured quests, tournament outcomes and places, groups and events that are generally widely accepted as existing in the Althanas timeline. There is no need to submit an application for canon for anything that falls into this bracket, as it already qualifies as canon.
Official Althanas Canon – All post-End of all Things material is eligible to be submitted as Official Althanas Canon, and all "at a glances" in each region will be updated accordingly with events from each region that qualified for this.
In both cases, it is our intention to update the wiki with Althanas Legends and Official Althanas Canon content over time. This will ensure that your creations are enshrined in the almost twenty years of Althanas’s history.
Canon submission will be judged on a common sense basis. Generally speaking, a staff member will be able to approve changes to canon without a need for a vote, but anything that borders on world changing will need a majority administrator vote. Please note that material in the canon is subject to use and change by other players.
Affecting Canon
So, how do you affect Canon? The short answer is to immerse yourself and your character in the Althanas setting. The long answer is to submit Canon for moderator review. Keep in mind that not every idea, wiki entry or storyline you submit will become official Canon, and that’s okay. Everyone can have his or her own private storylines on the site, and that will always be encouraged.
What can be submitted to Canon? Basically anything. Some common examples include:
1. Flora
2. Fauna
3. Races
4. Religions
5. Cultures
6. Locations
7. Cities
8. Subregion
9. Regions
10. Historical Events
11. Current Events
This is not an exhaustive list. We’ll even consider the more niched material, including songs, ales, or anything else you can come up.
All Canon submissions will be reviewed by the moderator staff, then will be approved or denied accordingly. There are no set rules for the process, as all Canon submissions are unique, but we will give fair consideration to everything we receive. Before evaluating the submitted material, the moderator will run a conflict check to ensure that there are no conflicts with existing Canon. For example, if you submit the official tree of Corone, we’ll make sure no one has previously submitted it. Then we run a 3 three factor review to determine what submissions will become Canon. This is our standard for review.
The factors we use to determine what submissions will become Canon are:
1. Severity
2. Scope
3. Permanence
Severity measures how much of an affect the submission will have on writing of other player characters. For example, killing the Jya’s fourth cousin is less extreme than assassinating the Jya herself. Similarly, sowing political unrest in a city is less severe than inciting race riots against elves, which might prevent someone else's elf character from being in that area.
Scope measures the size of the submission’s affected area. For example, adding an entirely new region or subregion, which would require major changes to the map, is larger in size than the addition of a small mining town in Salvar. Similarly, a border skirmish between fiefdoms in Salvar would be smaller than an all out war between Corone and Raiaera for control of Lornius.
Permanence measures the length in in time of the submission will last or remain effective. For example, a quest where characters discover, reveal and destroy an ancient evil in a closed fashion, would be less permanent than a meteor falling from the sky and permanently destroying a portion of Concordia.
The Three Tiers
Canon submissions are broken down into three tiers. Tier 1 submissions are generally mild in severity, scope and permanence. Tier 2 submissions are generally moderate in severity, scope and permanence. Obviously then, tier 3 submissions are generally great in severity, scope and permanence.
Submitting Canon
Now that you have the basics, here’s how to submit Canon:
1) Click the Canon Submission link, which is located by clicking the "Lore" tab at the top of your screen.
2) Once you’ve arrived at the Canon Submission Link, choose a type of submission from the drop down list. If you do not see your type listed, please select “Otherâ€.
3) Choose your anticipated tier: 1, 2 or 3.
4) Add required information, as indicated below.
Tier 1 submissions will include simple additions to the current regions, like discovering a new plant or animal. Submissions for tier one will require the following information:
1. Name of item
2. A Brief description including any special features
3. Location
4. A link to a completed wiki entry (stub) with all relevant info with suggested edits on core wiki pages
Typically, provided tier 1 submissions do not conflict with existing canon, we will almost always approve them. They generally only require a change or additional link to the core wiki pages.
Tier 2 submissions will include additions to the current regions that provide expanded information, like races, minor events, small cities, specific cultures, and religions. Submissions for tier two items will require the following information:
1. For a new race, information on the history, appearance and any special traits
2. For culture/religion, information on the history, core beliefs, important rituals, holidays, area of influence and major gods
3. For cities, the location, landmarks, unique features, population & any other information that may set the city apart from others in the region
4. For a historical event, information regarding the event, important participants and relative dates
5. For current events, a link to a completed and judged thread incorporating the change with an attached summary
6. For all, a link to a completed wiki entry, with all relevant info with suggested edits on core wiki pages
Our goal is to also approve as many tier 2 submissions as possible, though with greater discretion. When considering events, factors like number of participants in the thread and the score will also be considered. However, they are not dispositive factors, so do not be discouraged from submitting no judgment or workshopped threads as canon events.
Note: Tier 1 and 2 submissions VIA wiki (i.e. those that do not require completed and judged threads) are first come, first served. They can only be changed thereafter VIA quest. For example, if someone has submitted the official flower of Raiaera as a tier 1 submission, a second player cannot submit a change to the flower without a related quest.
Tier 3 submissions will include major changes to a region or the world as a whole. This will include the deaths of any major figures as well as the discovery of a new region or continent. Purifying the Red Forest is an example of a recent major Tier 3 canon change. Submissions for tier 3 items will require the following information:
1. For a new region/continent- Size, location, population, history, dominate races, cultural and religious preferences, technology level, terrain, major imports and exports, weather conditions
2. For a historical event, information regarding the event, important participants and relative dates
3. For current events, a link to a completed and judged thread incorporating the change with an attached summary
4. For all, a link to a full wiki entry, with all relevant info with suggested edits on core wiki pages
Tier 3 approvals will be rare, as they require quite a bit of input from content moderators and other staff members on how to properly incorporate them into the world, but again, do not be discouraged from submitting them. We will try to find ways to turn tier 3 submissions into multiple tier 2 submissions if there is no way to incorporate it as a major change.
5) Click submit. Please allow about 7 days for a submission to be reviewed and an additional 7 days for approved content to be added in important places.
Rewards
So what does submitting canon get you? Other than instant recognition and a permanent spot in Althanas’ history, you’ll get a few extra neat perks:
1. All of your wiki entries will receive the official canon marker.
2. The wiki entry you create will be locked for editing and will forever state, “Submitted by [Your Name].â€
3. If you submit an event, you’ll be featured in the permanent timeline threads in each forum and the master regional timeline in the wiki.
Note: Tier 3 event submissions will receive a permanent spot in the master Althanas timeline, as well.
If that isn’t good enough for you:
Approved Tier 1 submissions get you 400 EXP AND 250 GP
Approved Tier 2 submissions get you 800 EXP AND 500 GP
Approved Tier 3 submissions get you 1500 EXP AND 750 GP
This is an addition to any bonuses received in the thread, if submitting an event.
You now know all you need to get started, so go out there and write your own legends! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.