Timescape Wiki:Canon
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 universe.
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.
Searching for information and 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.