Timescape Wiki:Canon: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:49, 18 August 2024

This page is in flux, and is subject to change as our policies are more strictly defined.

The Canon policy defines what lore and sources are allowed on the Timescape Wiki, and how to resolve contradictions between them. "Canon" is the term given to a piece of information that establishes its status as an official part of the Timescape fictional multiverse.

Contradictions

Despite fact checking and documentation at MCDM Productions, discrepancies in the canon exist. This is the nature of fictional universes. As such, in order to maintain some cohesiveness in this wiki, we have defined a hierarchy to help guide what information is more "true" than others.

Hierarchy

The wiki uses a hierarchy to determine which source is preferred when there are contradictions. See Help:Citing sources for more information on how to reference a given source.

Generally, the hierarchy is:

MCDM Productions published material (sourcebooks, adventures)
MCDM Productions online posts (Patreon)
Online posts from MCDM staff
Livestreams & videos

Age

If two sources contradict one another, the more recently published should be considered preferable.

Common Sense

These are simply guidelines and common sense is also valued when making decisions about what is canon or not.

Actual Plays

Events that transpired during MCDM Productions' Actual Plays, such as The Chain of Acheron and Dusk are not canon. However, any worldbuilding and lore released for them can be considered canon, so long as the subject existed before the campaigns in-universe start date. For example, the Riojan calendar was released in worldbuilding notes for the Chain of Acheron, and given there is no conflicting contradictions higher in the Hierarchy, it's safe to assume that information is canon.

The modern Timescape

Given the Timescape has existed online for decades, there's a natural desire to search for information about it in places Matt used to discuss it (RPG Forums, Obsidian Portal, Squaremans). These sources are unreliable and reflect an older incarnation of the Timescape than this Wiki covers. Do not go searching for them. Sources for this wiki should only include things published since MCDM Productions founding.

The New Recruit

Around the time MCDM was created, Matt released a pdf titled: The New Recruit. This document gave a detailed description of various regions of Orden and the Timescape, and proved to be a bedrock for the community to build up their understanding of the setting. The pdf was originally distributed to players for Matt's D&D games, but was later released to the public when their Actual Play, the Chain of Acheron aired to help give viewers context.

This document was later removed from both Squaremans and MCDM Productions websites, as it was largely written 20+ years ago and doesn't reflect the modern Timescape setting.

Yeah I'd say that stuff [the New Recruit] is like 82% accurate, but where it's wrong it's wrong because it uses language I wouldn't use now, or references (or...just IS) because of some core 3E or 4E design I felt the world needed to reflect.
—Matthew Colville

As such, it is not a valid source for this wiki.

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 # Livestreams & videos
-==Age==
+===Age===
 If two sources contradict one another, the more recently published should be considered preferable.
-==Common Sense==
+===Common Sense===
 These are simply guidelines and common sense is also valued when making decisions about what is canon or not.
-==Searching for information and the modern Timescape==
+=== Actual Plays ===
+Events that transpired during MCDM Productions' Actual Plays, such as ''The Chain of Acheron'' and ''Dusk'' are not canon. However, any worldbuilding and lore released for them can be considered canon, so long as the subject existed before the campaigns in-universe start date. For example, the Riojan calendar was released in [https://www.patreon.com/posts/tonights-notes-25516079 worldbuilding notes] for ''the Chain of Acheron'', and given there is no conflicting contradictions higher in the Hierarchy, it's safe to assume that information is canon.
+==The modern Timescape==
 Given the Timescape has existed online for decades, there's a natural desire to search for information about it in places Matt used to discuss it (RPG Forums, Obsidian Portal, Squaremans). These sources are unreliable and reflect an older incarnation of the Timescape than this Wiki covers. Do not go searching for them. Sources for this wiki should only include things published since MCDM Productions founding.
-===The New Recruit===
+===''The New Recruit''===
 Around the time MCDM was created, Matt released a pdf titled: ''The New Recruit''. This document gave a detailed description of various regions of Orden and the Timescape, and proved to be a bedrock for the community to build up their understanding of the setting. The pdf was originally distributed to players for Matt's D&D games, but was later released to the public when their Actual Play, the Chain of Acheron aired to help give viewers context.