The Campaign Builder's Guild

Lexicon:The CBG Experience
  Article Count: 22
 [ooc] This is the new discussion thread for the Lexicon game happening on the CBG's very own wiki. For a rundown on what Lexicon  is see links below. This game is open to anyone and is a great way to get involved more with the community and the wiki.
  Any discussion on new articles should be directed here. Need some help with this weeks letter? Ask a question here. Need help navigating the wiki? You can talk about that here too.
[/ooc]
  Words of Wisdom (or) a general aesthetic of the World:
   
   This is in regards to a conversation participating members had in the old discussion thread(see links below) about what the world was about. Often you will hear mention of an event called the Ascension, or for the elves..the Fall. Think Biopunk,horror, and fantasy.  Also, check out the inspiration pics in the spoiler box below.

    *  The evil is universal. It's not particular to any one culture or philosophy, and effects the entire world.
    * The manifestations can take virtually any form imaginable, and thus easily mesh with any local aesthetic. You could see vampiric warlords laying waste to one land, a monstrous jungle of flesh-eating flora overgrowing another, and a madness-inducing plague sweeping across a third - and they could all be empowered by the same faceless cataclysm.
    * The effects could also be mythical in feel, such as droughts, great floods, the wombs of the women becoming barren, the sun no longer rising, or all manner of vices settling in the hearts of men.
    * Making the source of the troubles cosmic can keep it beyond the means of mortals to deal with. They cannot hope to stop it any more than they could hope to make death disappear.
    * The intentional vagueness of the cause leaves it open for interpretation. While astrologers and the like may be able to identify that some horrendous doom has befallen the world, they might be unable to truly explain it. Scholars from different cultures and religions would then be likely to come up with very different theories about the nature of the disaster, and whether or not there is hope for better.

 These are not strict guidelines, but a general feeling for the setting. We're looking for a mixture of fantasy/horror, but ultimately the world will be shaped by the collective work of the participants!

 Useful links:

  Lexicon Game Explanation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicon_%28game%29)
  Lexicon at the CBGWiki (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lexicon)
  Old Discussion Thread (http://thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?142940)
 

 Currently writing articles beginning with the letter A until Monday, February 7th.
 



[ooc=Week One]
Well we've all been introduced. With such a diverse group (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Scholars_%28Lexicon%29) of intellectuals I can see this will be an interesting project.

This week we learned Elves are extinct (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Athelon%2C_The_Fall), a frickin Meteor (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Aadamite) has struck the planet, my home city was once enslaved by horrible Ab-Men (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ab-Men), Socialist revolutions usually do not end well for monarchs (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Amaru_Abrola), Avarice Vines (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Avarice_Vine) are deadly and tasty, one should take caution in reading certain old musty tomes (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Abariad%2C_The), and Cemirian politicians (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Adaddak_Galanyi) are not all that they seem.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week!
[/ooc]

[spoiler=Inspiration]
 One (http://macfantasie.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/kekai-kotaki_gw2_riven-earth.jpg)
 Two (http://fantasyartdesign.com/3dgallery/a-digital/3D-images/0612jgarrid/3d-dark-fantasy01.jpg)
 Three (http://www.tuomaskorpi.com/site/?p=15&i=95)
 Four (http://www.tuomaskorpi.com/site/?p=15&i=81)
 Five (http://www.tuomaskorpi.com/site/?p=15&i=128)
 Six (http://www.kirsisalonen.com/surrealism.htm)
 Seven (http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/videogames/guildwars/guild_wars_7.jpg)
 [/spoiler]
Orphaned Links
 [spoiler=Orphans]

Linked from Aadamite:
Moros     (geographical location)
Meteor    (event/object)
Ascension (the event)
Lumarians (extinct race)
Borograves (race-type of Gravehaunt)
Gravehaunt (general term for group of monsters)

Tindarious (great volcano)
Ptolemy Augustus (scholar?)
Magnificent Magma Extrusion (expedition of sorts)

Monks of Bloodscar Bight
Meteor Society
The Foundations of All Known Knowledge (history text)
Mandarin Dawes (scholar?)
Blackwell Journal of Ancient History (literary work)
Magazine of Magnificent Places (literary periodical)

Linked from Ab-Men
Andromeda Strange (scholar)
Desdemona Israfel (scholar)
Ab-Cess (geographical location)
Volta Range (mountains)
Slabs of Ab-Cess (related to Ab-Men see Ab-men)

Westin (city state)
Journal of Survival (lit. work)
Horatorium Universal Overview (lit. Work)
Journal of Aqueous Archaeology (lit. Work)

Linked from Abariad

Plains of Gemen-Kol (geo. location)
ur-kings (despots of Abarion)
Abarion (city in myth?)

Linked from Adaddack Galanyi
Cemir (city)
Noble Crimes (bio. of Adaddack Galanyi)
Tagius Ector (noble of Cemir)
Pontifex of Cemir (ruler)
Augmentation (science of)
Olwin Tarn (scholar)
Barglekrest Prison (Cemir prison)

Linked from Aetherghasts

Athelon (ruined city of elves)
Aether (chemical? magical? substance)
Professor Morin (deceased scholar)
Lucidium (fungus of sorts)
Shutterbox (contraption used for picture taking)


linked from Amaru Abrola
Edhazia (city)
Glorious Peoples Revolution (socialist movement)
Abrola Dynasty (last monarchs of Edhazia)
Dhar Calendar (system of time measurement)
Edhazian Assembly (political body)
State Security Bureau (of Edhazia)
Osmothan (resort town)
West Rekka (resort town)

linked from Argent Lantern
Terratic Continents (geo. location)

Linked from Asperdene
Thaumaturge (profession)

 
linked from Athelon,the Fall
Prince Val of Cemir (cemirian noble)
Legion Six Sixty Six (think this one is claimed!)
Eustace Therm (scholar)
Blackwell Journal of Ancient History (lit. Work)
Elves (extinct? race)
Bartolemi Lightly (scholar)

linked from Avak Kraw
Urfu (geo. location)
Dontorian (race or location, depending on context)
Outer-Mere (geo. Location)
Dala (title for kings of Urfu)
Praxagma (goddess of Urfu)
Bamptu (a type of tree)

linked from Avarice Vine
Dontorian Jungles (geo. location)
Trade Way (major trade road. Passes Asperdene.)
Terratic Continents (major Geo.)
Once-Forgotten Empires (geo. location)

Linked from Bauble Troll
Classical Age (of Lumaria)
Lumaria (ancient empire of sorts)
Fall of Lumaria
Shutter Box
Mrithri (race)
Street Philosophers
Corpse Artists
Verdigris Street (in Westin)

Linked from Burnt Bread Revolutions
Thaumaturge
Peat Kingdoms

Linked from Cemir (island)
Carnite (thundersteel, element? or mineral)
Hellfire Flares (geological happening)

Linked from Cemir (state)
Fire Blower (ships)

Linked from Choke Ash Ward
Frozen Strait
New Volyar
Encyclopedia Edhazia (publication)

Linked from Corusca
Black Tortoise Pen. (geo. location)
Frescun Bay (geo. location)
Peninsular College
High Magus Erdonican
University of Helgrav
Corusca Incident

Linked from Counter-Revolutionary Philosophy
Edhazian High Commissar, Yasilo Thenen
[/spoiler]
   Thanks to Luminous Crayon for his wiki wizardry!
   Thanks to Lath for his logo design work!

I added an artical. It should be noted that I extincted elves (from common knowledge). Something like that I felt I should point out.

http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Athelon%2C_The_Fall

Nice entry Lath, and hilarious at parts. You really worked everyone into your piece!

No complaints about harassing elves.

It might be a good idea if people could post here when they write a new article.

Mentioning that, Sparkletwist wrote an article as well; so the project has about 6 authors currently.

So I'd love to throw in, but I have no clue where to even start on the Wiki. I'm afraid to do anything that may mess up someones stuff. Can anyone give me the quick and dirty low-down on where to start?, as I can probably figure it once I know where to start.

Basically go into one of the lexicon articles and edit that page. Copy that, then go to your browser's ADDRESS bar and type in a new article that starts with the letter "a".

Then paste the old article in there. Delete everything except for the templates, and start writing your article.

Your article should have at least 2 links to article that do not yet exist, so that people can "fill in the blanks" later.

Your article may, but does not need to, incorporate references to some of the already existing articles or scholars.

Basically, all your articles will be written under a scholar's "pen name". When you write an article, sign it with your pen name. Then after you've written it, on the Scholar's page, you can do a short write-up about your Scholar's personality.

I hope that helps.

Quote from: LeetzSo I'd love to throw in, but I have no clue where to even start on the Wiki. I'm afraid to do anything that may mess up someones stuff. Can anyone give me the quick and dirty low-down on where to start?, as I can probably figure it once I know where to start.

First of all, you are not going to mess up anyone's stuff.

Second of all, in the event that you do somehow mess up someone's stuff, stuff on the wiki is easy to fix. So don't worry.

Here's the how: Copy and paste the following into your address bar:
www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=YOUR_PAGE_NAME_(Lexicon)&action=edit
Obvs, change "YOUR_PAGE_NAME" to whatever you want the name of your actual page to be. The page will keep whatever capitalization you use in the URL here, so mind that.

Now, copy and paste the following into your page, one bit at the very beginning and one bit at the very end:

Quote{{Lexicon_Banner}}

your text goes here
text, etc.

{{Scholar|YOUR CHARACTER NAME|SOME COMMENT YOU WISH TO MAKE}}

This puts the banner with links at the top of the page, automatically categorizes your article and adds it both to a general index and to a specific index of articles by your scholar character, and does some other minor housekeeping that makes the wiki run smoove.

That taken care of, it's time for you to just go nuts with the content. Have fun!

I'm having a hard time formatting my entry correctly...I don't have time at the moment to play with it more, but the info is posted. Specifically, the blue boxed text just appeared randomly, I can't get the text to align left (it just runs on and on) and the Lexicon banner is not showing up correctly. I'm Wiki-impaired!

I just edited the GALANYI ADADDAK article. The page was too wide to be displayed in my browser due to some odd wiki syntax (spaces in the beginning of new paragraphs apparently create wiiiiide boxes), which I removed. Some paragraphs were also starting with :: 's, which caused them to be indented to the right. Feel free to rollback my changes if you don't approve of them.

Thanks Ghostman.
 I'll put some work into the article tomorrow.

Worked on the Galanyi article. It details a noble man from Cemir who leads a life in the criminal underworld and later writes a book about it.

Won't someone do an 'Augmentation' article?

Oh, don't forget to sign it with your scholar name code. You can cut and paste that from another page's and edit it to reflect the name of your scholar.

Thanks LD.
 I added another article...

For the record, I just posted my article on Aetherghasts.

I did have one problem: I was unsure how to link entries to other articles. Could anyone assist me with that?

Also, I wasn't sure what the tech level of this world was, but I introduced a camera-type device called a shutterbox. I left it intentionally primitive in case it was out of place.

Hi Weave, thanks for building off my link.

Links are like this- {{L|Aadamite}}

The L| should be in front of every article title to categorize them as lexicon articles.

From how I've been writing things, a shutterbox at least segues with my view of the world. Personally though I think this world is more Biopunk than Steampunk, and I think that the eventual entry for shutterbox could reflect this. It sort of seems that the world is a very 'organic' one in the physical sense.

>>I managed to capture one inside a membrane of Lucidium, a strange, bubble-like fungus that grows along the ruins of the elven civilizations. Aetherghasts seem incapable of 'gnawing' their way through the material.

Favorite Line.

Thanks for the help, LD! I believe I have successfully linked all the things.

Also, glad you liked the line. :)

Ah, that reminds me: I need to put my professor under the listed scholars.

Another quick question: I just added my scholar to the list, but I couldn't get his article to link from his name. Well, I sort of did. It's colored in a dull red and brings you to my entry but also to an editing page.

Is there a way to fix this?

Hows this?

(//../../e107_files/public/1297052689_729_FT150319_untitled_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1297052689_729_FT150319_untitled.jpg)

Lath that's awesome!

posted an article on the city of Asperdene. hope it worked. "Axalarinox, the Cult of" coming soon.*

*hopefully.

as much fun as Lexicon has been thus far, I have one small worry. Now, most of us, some more than others like myself, are notorious for starting projects/ideas/WIPs but never finishing them. Playing Devil's advocate, I'd be really surprised if we, as a forum, can keep enough interest in Lexicon to create 26 weeks of consistent material.

What if we did something like have a week designated to A, B, and C? Followed by D, E, and F? Have three, or even four or more letters in a week, it would keep the focus, but still keep Lexicon within a reasonable time frame. I already want to see what will happen with the land of Urfu, but frankly, the prospect of waiting until late summer is off-putting. - Thoughts?

Other than that, the articles thus far have been great.

That's not a bad argument, Leetz. I sort of went into this expecting it to fall flat and for people to disappear around the letter G; but cutting it down to 13 weeks by doubling up on letters- like B,C then D,E then F,G may be more workable. Unsure what anyone else thinks.

Anything that gets me closer to the legion six sixty six I am all for!

I'd push for 3 or even 4 letters a week. 13 weeks is still ~3 months. I'm trying to recall how long the Topic of the Fortnight went strong for, but I don't think it made 13 weeks.

On another note, would it be possible to compile a list of articles that have yet to be done? Since every article is supposed to have a few open entires, it would be handy to have them all in one place as they go in case anyone wanted to go for one.

Granted it would require some maintenance, but so long as people remembered to add their new ones to the list and cross off covered ones, I don't think it would be that bad. Thoughts?

Quote from: The_Weave05On another note, would it be possible to compile a list of articles that have yet to be done? Since every article is supposed to have a few open entires, it would be handy to have them all in one place as they go in case anyone wanted to go for one.

Granted it would require some maintenance, but so long as people remembered to add their new ones to the list and cross off covered ones, I don't think it would be that bad. Thoughts?

I have tried (without success) to figure out a way to make an automatically-updating list of red links, the same way I can get a category page to act as the index of actually-completed articles. Unless Sparkletwist or some other resident wiki genius knows a trick to do this, I think it'd have to be done manually. (In an ordinary wiki, you could use the Wanted Pages (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Wantedpages) link to show all the red links, but on our shared wiki, the wanted pages from all settings are all mixed together; I see no way to eliminate all the non-Lexicon wanted pages.)

If we collectively decide we want a list of all the red links within Lexicon (with the understanding that we'll have to manually update it when we write new links and when we create new pages), I'll be glad to add a link to that list in the top navigation bar on all the Lexicon pages.

Leetz, I love Asperdene.

 If we can get 10 articles a week that would be great. Part of me wants to be 100% against doing more than one letter a week. But if that is what most of us want-then that's fine.

As for wanted pages, I would be more than happy to take over that job of updating the wanted list.

I don't really think that a wanted pages list is really needed. It seems like a lot of work for little...people can just skim the pages that already exist and build off the references there, correct?

I posted an article dealing with geography, taking the liberty to nail down some information as to the relative locations of many of the places named so far. If you think there's cause to make changes to this, let me know!

[spoiler=Ankhelarian Sea]
Widely considered to be the deepest of all the world's seas - though such claims are impossible to reliably verify {a} - the Ankhelarian is also one of the most intensely trafficked. It is a warm sea, spanning from the boiling tropics in the south over to more temperate latitudes in the north. While it provides little in the way of fish and other such bounty, the Ankhelarian is crucial to the wealth of the kingdoms that reside by it's sweltering coasts. Maritime trade routes crisscross the dark, winelike waters connecting myriad ports and harbourages, and thousands of ships dare each year the perils of piracy, storms and mercilessly scorching rays of the sun, hauling untold riches in merchandise.

The eastern quarter of the Ankhelarian Sea is home to such notable lands as Tughama-by-the-Abyss, the plutocracy of Moros where the famed Meteor (1) fell in the wake of the Ascension, the hedonistic city of Golden Khel which overlooks a desert, and the now-abandoned Black Tortoise Peninsula where of old was a thriving confederacy of mercantile cities, but which later fell to a hideous plague that left the people fossilized and the land haunted by mad howling ghosts {b}.

My own homeland, the eminent Pontificate of Cemir, occupies the sizeable island of the same glorious name some sixty nautical miles off the coast of Moros. As the busiest port of the eastern quarter, Cemir forms a natural hub for shipping lanes. Uncountable galleons and dhows and carracks find anchorage in her harbour, carrying such things as precious extract of the purple lotus from Khel, high-priced aadamite from Moros, striped terror cat furs from Edhazia, and excuisitely decoreted Bamptu-wood furniture from Avak Kraw. Regrettably, some smuggling of illegal augmentations materials also takes place, but the most exalted Pontifex (forever acclaimed be His Name) will surely make a fitting example out of the wretched smuggler-gangs and their criminal contacts as soon as they are caught.

As regards the other quarters, in the north one will find the harbours of the Republic of Edhazia along many other lands; to the west is the Urfu coast, with it's famed cities such as Avak Kraw and Outer-Mere (2); while the southern quarter is host to such wonders as Corusca, long-decayed old Lumaria, and the steaming jungles of Nim. The central quarter has no shores nor islands of note, and is avoided due to it's unnatural dangers.

To this day the greatest hazard on the Ankhelarian remains piracy. Admittedly, the terrible and enigmatic yellow storm continues to ravage the central sea, occasionally attacking ships closer to land, and there has been an alarming increase in reported sightings of the cloud-scraping, alien shapes in the horizon known only as the misshapen colossi, whose very forms drive to the verge of madness those who behold them (3). Thankfully, these bizzarre menaces are still rare encounters. What I have observed of the talks of sailors, the old-fashioned dooms of death by drowning or by the blade of the cutlass are far prefered over an unknown fate in the face of these unwholesome horrors.
Footnotes

* {a} While the strange and repulsively monstrous subaquatic races can be communicated with to varying degrees, they have forever been notoriously aloof and inscrutable in their dealings with civilized earth-spawned peoples, volunteering nothing but cryptic hints as to the details of their murky sea-floor kingdoms. The few substantial descriptions that have been recorded over the ages are wildly extravagant as well as mutually contradictory, rendering them practically worthless for any serious academics. What's more, ever since the Ascension these underwater beings have been turning ever more reclusive and unapproachable.
* {b} The ghosts are supposedly infected with the plague and capable of transmitting it upon the living. While this theory has never been confirmed, it is known that one archaeological expedition to the area, launched by the University of Helgrav, met a grisly doom amidst the ruins of a haunted city. A team of rescuers found them all dead - fossilized in the manner of plague victims.
[/spoiler]

(Link) (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ankhelarian_Sea)

I think it's good, except the part about not using {{L}}-style links. I fixed that, though. ;)

Ok, having read the rest of the thread, I'll chime on the timetable, too. I fully agree with the push to accelerate things a bit. It seems like the usual way things go around here is that there is some initial zeal, but then people get distracted or busy, real life interferes, and projects just fizzle. Might as well strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

Topic of the Fortnight only lasted 3 editions, and few people submitted to the third... so 6 weeks.

Ghostman-
I like how you imagined the Plutocracy of Moros :)

I was thinking that the People's University would be in Edhazia, while the Republican University of Helgrav would be in still-to-be-developed New Volyar. but that is confusing, i'll change that.

Ah, thanks for the clarification! After typing my comment I looked at Sparkletwist's scholar's entry above yours, and I started to think that might be what you meant; so I added 2 words to that sentence and deleted my post here. I apologize if that stepped on any toes.

--
Weave, also to be noted, I managed to work your father, the old cautious curmudgeon, into something: http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ab-Cess

Let's do B,C,D this coming week?

Ok. I think 2 letters would be better but it seems that the majority prefer 3 letters.

I prefer 2 as well, LD, but I don't mind doing 3 if everyone is for it.

Leetz: "The term was inadvertanly coined by Amaru Abrola II, Crown Prince of Edhazia, as he expressed his concern about who would be watching the bread if all the bakers were revolting."

That's a cute detail. :)

Quote from: Light DragonLeetz: "The term was inadvertanly coined by Amaru Abrola II, Crown Prince of Edhazia, as he expressed his concern about who would be watching the bread if all the bakers were revolting."

That's a cute detail. :)

a little Marie Antoinette reference. Ftw.

Posted some articles today.

In the Bamptu article, did you mean to write "Westin" or are you placing the city of "Westin" in the country of "Westion"?

If I understood correctly, the Argent Lantern is in Volyar.

New article up. Please correct me if I got my geography wrong.

Eustace Thurm at his most peevish. http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Choke-Ash_Ward

yes, the Argent Lantern is a newspaper in New Volyar. as is the Choke-Ash Ward.

I took to the liberty to swap out Edhazia for New Volyar and the Glorious People's Revolution (which I think is exclusive to Edhazia) with the Burnt Bread Revolutions, which is a catch-all term for any related revolution. anyhoo, I hope I'm not over-stepping here.

Well, it does lead to some confusion, because the Choke-Ash Ward article now claims that Amaru Abrola ordered the burning of the city... which doesn't make any sense, any more.

Sohana fires back: http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Counterrevolutionary_Philosophy

I think this game is the most fun when you use your articles primarily to make fun of your fellow scholars. :P

Could it be possible that Amaru was accused of ordering New Volyar to be burned?

What I'm wondering is if New Volyar/Old Volyar was sort of a satellite state of Edhazia like a Duchy- in which case that would make sense. If it was independent, then I should alter my entry.

Your changes to my article are good Leetz. I just may need to change the Amaru citation pending sparkletwist's response to this question here.

Also, does Radavel contribute to the Edhazian Encyclopedia? Given Sohanna's recent comments, I'm a bit unsure if I should alter my statement regarding that proposition?

Re: Sohanna's newest article... That was to be expected- the retort went well. Haha :D

I like the Bauble Trolls, especially the darker aspects of them. Hope to see an article on the Corpse Artists!

Quote from: Light DragonIn the Bamptu article, did you mean to write "Westin" or are you placing the city of "Westin" in the country of "Westion"?

Just a typo. Fixed.

Well, I do like the tie-in to Amaru Abrola's trial. Of course, I see no reason why the royal families of the various states need not be quite intertwined and intermarried, even if they are not formally vassals or satellites. Medieval Europe comes to mind. In that case, I'd think they were be in consultation, and the citation could easily be changed to something like:

"Transcript, Trial of Citizen Amaru Abrola, pp. 3-7 (detailing the burning of the city, allegedly carried out by the King of Old Volyar with the enthusiastic support of Amaru Abrola). It is this author's belief that the flames were spread by ignorant revolutionaries rather than by the military of Old Volyar."

As for Ravadel, in his background, it said he had been exiled from Edhazia. So I assumed that anyone who was spouting the official Edhazian dogma, as Sohana does unfailingly, would have nothing good to say about him. So I'm not sure about that.

Ah, good idea. That works. Thank you.

"(detailing the burning of the city, allegedly carried out by King-Emperor Edvin the Last of Old Volyar with the enthusiastic support of Amaru Abrola). It is this author's belief that the flames were spread by ignorant revolutionaries rather than by the honorable military of Old Volyar. "

so I'm loving the political-philosophical pseudo-steampunk route that Lexicon has taken. However, with no offense towards those who thought of it, I feel like the Ascension, at least in my articles, feels a bit forced. Already at letter C does Lexicon have a great vibe and sense of self to it. Am I alone in thinking that the whole Ascension thing is unnecessary?

also, "Ravadel Blackworm While he claims to share the goals of the Glorious People's Revolution, he is truly nothing more than a decadent, capitalist stooge" - I may be decadent, but I'm no-ones stooge.*

Unless we're talking Iggy Pop here.  

Quote from: Leetzso I'm loving the political-philosophical pseudo-steampunk route that Lexicon has taken. However, with no offense towards those who thought of it, I feel like the Ascension, at least in my articles, feels a bit forced. Already at letter C does Lexicon have a great vibe and sense of self to it. Am I alone in thinking that the whole Ascension thing is unnecessary?

These are not strict guidelines, but a general feeling for the setting. We're looking for a mixture of fantasy/horror, but ultimately the world will be shaped by the collective work of the participants!
[/quote]Ascension[/i] seems forced, let's remove it. Although it's been worked into quite a few articles....

That's the way these things are destined to go, I think. They define themselves as they progress. I think the way the project is taking on a life of its own-- outgrowing our preconceived targets-- is a good sign.

It's a new week. We get to move onto letters 'D' & 'E' until next Monday. Make any last minute entries for 'B' and 'C' today.

Just added my article on the Black Tortoise Peninsula!

I had a few hiccups though: First, I accidentally made a duplicate of my old Aetherghast entry and can't seem to delete the old one (titled Aetherghasts (Lexicon)). Not sure what to do with that.

Secondly, I have a hard time piecing together bits of history for entries. I don't want to end up contradicting any other entries, but it would be nice if we could formulate a basic timeline or possibly a really, really vague and crude map of where things are as we go. That way when I say something like "The Black Tortoise Peninsula is near _______." I can be confident that such a place could likely exist nearby there or that the author had no intentions of defining where it was. Even something as simple as "Far north lies ______," or "In the southern tropics, one can find ______." Otherwise I assume everything is just floating around and up for grabs as to its placement, correct?

Thirdly, I added quite a few links in my entry. They kind of came out naturally, but I didn't want it to seem like I was overcomplicating things. Should I dial it back to risk flooding the place with too many unanswered entries?

It is time for a map!

I placed Athelon close to, if not connected to, the Black Tortoise Peninsula, for what it's worth.

If that doesn't work it's a simple fix.

Lath, ah, when I had a few hours of free time I was going to convert a freehand map that I started (in order to make sense of things) to Inkscape and digital format, but since you're the professional map drafter I'll be glad to trust that you'll do as good a job at the task if not better than I would have done (assuming that I read your intentions correctly). :) Good idea.


Weave- "Thirdly, I added quite a few links in my entry. They kind of came out naturally, but I didn't want it to seem like I was overcomplicating things. Should I dial it back to risk flooding the place with too many unanswered entries? "

I have no problem with that, though personally, in future articles I'm attempting whenever possible to either cite entries for under-represented letters "Q,X,Y,Z etc." and/or to reference places that other people have linked to (even if later in the alphabet).

Quote from: Kaptn'LathIt is time for a map!

I second this!

Quote from: Light DragonLath, ah, when I had a few hours of free time I was going to convert a freehand map that I started (in order to make sense of things) to Inkscape and digital format, but since you're the professional map drafter I'll be glad to trust that you'll do as good a job at the task if not better than I would have done (assuming that I read your intentions correctly).  Good idea.

I also did  a quick sketch of a map. Maybe we should have a show and tell to see how different our interpretations are! Could be fun.


I've also compiled a list of 'orphan' links in the first post of this thread. These are articles mentioned in articles already written but are not actually written. (I'm sure there is a better way to say that; I'll just leave it as orphan articles.) This list was compiled about a week ago with only a few minor additions since then. I also listed it by article so anyone can check to see what was mentioned about the article for continuity.
               I urge anyone to take a look at it if your not sure what to write about!

show me your guys maps, let everyone give their two cents and i will whip one up, i can use my new techniques!

formatted the orphans area to be easier to read and removed a reference to corusca as an orphan as it now exists :)

Here's my sketch of the (known) world:
[spoiler=Map]
(http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/images/6/60/Lexicon_map_sketch.png)
[/spoiler]

Sarisa- Nice list. However, Ab-Cess is not an orphan article; it has its own links as well.

Lath- Okay. In that case I won't digitize it, but I'll work on finding a scanner and redrawing it in ink. Hopefully I will get it up at a decent time.

I think it will be fun to make a map based on a couple different maps and the descriptions on the wiki

looking forward to it

I seem to be having trouble uploading the file, which is 2MB. (Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 20112 bytes) in /home/thecbg/public_html/e107_handlers/resize_handler.php on line 117)

I have a version that is only 750 KB, however, and I will attempt to upload that.

Assuming that it uploads, here were my accompanying comments
---
Here is my conception

Complications
-Asperdene and the Trade Way were difficult to place.
-The northern cities of Ulfgast Bay, next to the Peat Kingdoms could potentially go on the other side of Edhazia. I strongly considered this.
-I had no idea where to place Westin
-Maybe Cemir should be closer to Westin than Moros is located to the city.
-Avak Kraw seemed like it was NOT a sea-port. I don't quite see how it can be a center of trade though, given its location, despite its description. I figure that Asperdene trades to it and Avak Kraw is the center of trade in Outer Mere. All Outer Mere goods flow along the trade way to it, and Outer Mere isolates Asperdene from trading with anyone else.

Further Thoughts?
-Abarion, which is now gone, should maybe be closer to Tindarious- maybe it was destroyed by the volcano's eruptions? No one knows.

-We have too many cities by 'bays'.

Smaller File.
[spoiler](//../../e107_files/public/1297894245_929_FT150319_img001_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1297894245_929_FT150319_img001.jpg)
[/spoiler]

anyone wanna comment on the general location of their posts in the above maps, i can take the maps, with adenddums from the locations creator to create a map. If no one has anything to add or change to the maps posted i will use them and start on the map. It can take some time to do a good one. ;)

ok unless some says stop, i am going to start this over this weekend.

...Somehow I'm the first D article. http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Dispatches
--
Lath, 2 additions for you:

1. Isfahan is mentioned in my article.
2. I think I also omitted Corusca's sister city Urcis on my map.

Good luck.

...And I'm the second, with the Dontorian Jungles!

I've added the Dontorian Jungle to be placed on the map... somewhere, Lath.

It's an amusing entry. :)

And I just built off it... Here are... Emberskates http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Emberskates

Quote from: Light Dragon...Somehow I'm the first D article. http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Dispatches

QuoteIt published irregularly for its first ten volumes until an intrepid editor, Dr. Darwin Livingstone, made his first excursion to the ruins of deadly Lumaria and escaped into the jungles of Khel, where he disappeared and his "Dispatches" ceased.

I spot a problem here. Khel is supposed to be situated by a desert, on the eastern shores of the Ankhelarian. Lumaria is supposed to be somewhere in the south. Sending the intrepid dr. from Lumaria to (supposedly) nearby jungles, they would be better named either Dontorian or Nim.

Posted an article on the Devi (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Devi).

Ghostman, thank you for the correction; however, if you look at my map above, Khel could feasibly work since I placed it east of (and next to Nim).

Still, whether it works depends on if Khel has jungles or not. Assuming that it does not, given your comments and given that a transition from jungle to desert would be a little strange (although not unheard of if the desert was due to deforestation IE Brazil), I'll change the description to Nim... but in my map above I placed the two next to each other and that still seems feasible unless they absolutely need to be on different landmasses.

ok wtf is going on with Westin, no real idea where it is, and its suffered what three different calamities? this is harder than i thought....

Well... I placed it on my map. There may be a better place for it, but my placing was a bit arbitrary since Westin is never described in space relative to anything else, so I put it on a trade route area.

The design concept in my map was to have Cemir at the center of trade. Any map that makes Cemir and Moros the best two sea-trade destinations will probably be good.

hows this for the overall land mass shape? I know its not perfect for everyone but hopefully good enough for most?

http://lathorien.deviantart.com/art/Lexicon-step1-198223925

ok, so here are some of the contradictions i need sorted out.

Urfu coast, Avak Kraw and Outermere are listed as west in Ankhelarian Sea artical. In the Asperdene artical, asperdene is the most east place in the known world, just to the north-east of (near) Avak Kraw, Outermere, Urfu. Trade now goes through there because Asperden fell.

The rest of the areas are ok... but i need to know where to put this group of places?

I think it looks good.
One suggestion though...Perhaps Edhazia should link up with the polar ice caps- otherwise it's too easy to get to the AbCess. Eustace had to cross through mountains and go out of his way to get to the AbCess,skirting the Edhazian empire.

---
And a possibility: I sort of imagined Asperdene at the precipice of a vast western desert that just went on and on... IT needs to be inaccessible b/c the trade routes to it apparently broke down and few reach it these days.

I would vote for making Asperdene in the West rather than the East if it needs to be near the Urfu Coast... since the Urfu Coast can't easily be placed on the continent with Moros.

ok... i am hand crafting this then... I had a saved fractal terrains saved and a section of it looked like it might work... will hand craft one with a highter resolution. Will take more time tho.. i will start with Cemir in the middle and spiral my way out.

Cemir should be just one major island with a few clearly smaller ones. It should also be closer to the eastern continent (~60 nautical miles from the coast; ~110 kilometres or so) and not in the middle of the sea (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Ankhelarian_Sea) - that is supposed to be a dangerous no-go area where the yellow storm rages.

Should the edges of the map be water? or land?

just went over all of the articals, this thread, and the maps to come up with locations of things in relation to each other. kinda creates a large south-west continent, and a smaller eastern and northern continents... i think...

I was thinking of putting Aberion to the east, as the west has lumaria and oviim and asperdene as old fallen empires while the east only has Black Tortios Penninsula as a fallen empire, maybe Tughama by the abyss. More room for Aberion there 1000+ years ago. Asperdene is north of Avak Kraw, as i have word in the wrong spot.
(//../../e107_files/public/1298330041_729_FT150319_word_map_.png) (//../../e107_files/public/1298330041_729_FT150319_word_map.png)

Well, Old Athelon's also in the East, as far as fallen lands go.

It is possible that we'll make up another fallen kingdom to go in the East, so I don't think it's necessary to move Aberion if someone already stated that it was in the westerly direction.


Good luck!

i never put Athelon anywhere but was thinking north. The real question with Athelon is where do you want the legion of the six sixty six as it still roams whatever land mass its on. Aberion has no real description to its location, its even more ambigious than westin the thrice sundered.

Ah, didn't realize that Aberion wasn't specifically placed.
-
"its even more ambigious than westin the thrice sundered."
-Haha.

thanks to the ascension people where smashing stuff in week 1, and westin and cemir where the first two cities mentioned. Westin got three calamities and cemir became the center of the world.. lol. There is something special about Westin...

also what kind of scale should this have???

Everything ok so far?
(//../../e107_files/public/1298434099_729_FT150319_draft_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1298434099_729_FT150319_draft.jpg)

Could maybe expand the bump of coast-land west from Oviim and place Lumaria there?

huh? I dont get what you mean by your description.

Quote from: Kaptn'Lathhuh? I dont get what you mean by your description.

I mean that this:
(http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/images/7/70/Lexicon_map_suggestion.jpg)
would look like a good place for where Lumaria is/was. It would be even better if the coast could be expanded slightly to the east (I accidentally wrote west in my previous post, that must have confused you).

I like what you did with Edhazia's continent!

I think that Ghostman was suggesting that Lumaria should go on the continent with Oviim. Personally I'm neutral to whether it is on the same landmass as Moros.

If you did put it on the continent with Oviim, however, I'd suggest to make a hook up on the eastern side of Nim and place Lumaria on the isthmus there.

Aesthetically, your solution to isolate Asperdene works. I'm not sure though about it being the gateway to the eastern desert or why it would be so isolated now, but it doesn't seem that there is any good solution to that. As it is, your solution seems to work fine.

Westin could go where you put it- I'd prefer it be in the East, but it seems that it could work where it is.

Spelling issue "Avarice Vine" not "Advarice Vine"

I thought lumaria was in the jungles of Nim so they are on that continent, and really i already flipped the two jungles (and their ancestor states Oviim and Lumaria) a couple times now. Description just puts them south of the Urfu Coast, I assumed the Tradeway led all the way to Oviim and Lumaria. Lumaria apparently used the metal from the Meteor. But the only one mentioned landing is in Moros. On the eastern landmass. Asperdene was described as north of the Urfu coast ("goods where rerouted south along the Urfu coast"), and the Urfu coast is north of two jungles. A desert that far north of Jungles is... not likely. Blasted wastedland works.

I was thinking of maybe putting Asperdene on the Island near the planes of Gemen-Kol, turn the planes into desert, and put the planes and Old Alberion where Asperdene is now. And edit the affected articals.

That Island was also a possible home for Westin. Where i have it now, i imagine Westin being the only survivor of Asperdene, and its advanced tech. I will be editing the Old Athelon artical, the Legion Six Sixty Six never attacked Westin, Old Athelon is in the north.

Ok.. Is outer-mere the region or a town? Descibed as both in articals.

"Old Voylar" is gone.. I miss read the articals and thought part of the nation stayed a Kingdom.

Outer-mere was a region when I wrote it up. Think a later article described it as a city tho. Not much of a city name.

outer-mere as the name for the landmass then? with the Urfu coast, Jungle areas, wasteland of Asperdene as the major areas?

more fuel for the fire...
(//../../e107_files/public/1298511912_729_FT150319_draft_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1298511912_729_FT150319_draft.jpg)


should i just cut off the bottom of the east landmass?

Is Cimir too north? Estefan just sounds like a place that would be south of moros, could switch them..

Looks nice, though the black tortoise peninsula probably needs to be turned into an actual peninsula. Otherwise the layout looks sound to me.

Both Cemir and Moros should be shifted south - perhaps just north of the Frescun Bay, where Isfahan is currently placed on the map. This would also move the Meteor somewhat closer to Lumaria.

Tughama-by-the-Abyss is definitely located by the central sea, not on the eastern side of the continent: "The eastern quarter of the Ankhelarian Sea is home to such notable lands as Tughama-by-the-Abyss" (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Ankhelarian_Sea)  Isfahan would be by far the better candidate to be there, especially if you do shift Moros southward: "Isfahan, located just to the east of the Plutocracy of Moros" (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Dispatches)

Quote from: GhostmanBoth Cemir and Moros should be shifted south - perhaps just north of the Frescun Bay, where Isfahan is currently placed on the map. This would also move the Meteor somewhat closer to Lumaria.

Tughama-by-the-Abyss is definitely located by the central sea, not on the eastern side of the continent: "The eastern quarter of the Ankhelarian Sea is home to such notable lands as Tughama-by-the-Abyss" (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Ankhelarian_Sea)  Isfahan would be by far the better candidate to be there, especially if you do shift Moros southward: "Isfahan, located just to the east of the Plutocracy of Moros" (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Dispatches)

Thanks, this is the type of feedback i was looking for.

If anyone was wondering:
Apologies guys, my internet has been temporarily cut off and my only access is a hotspot about 20 minutes from my house. (or college about an hour away) Yea, I live in the boonies.


EDIT:

Kapt, I really like that map btw.

Bump b/c people were mentioning the game.

It keeps coming up...should this be revived or a new version started?

My internet is back. Revive? Forget? Restart? Thoughts?

I agree, lets try to get this thing rolling again.