More feedback

Hi Shurijo,

Welcome to Runes of Gallidon, and thank you for posting your questions.

Comparisons to Eberron:

I’m not familiar with the WotC world of Eberron. I've seen it but haven't done anything more than look at some of the cool artwork. Based on your posting, though, I want to clarify some things:

• Runes of Gallidon started with the idea of 'Divine Right' – the belief that those in power are fundamentally different from common men – descended from deities, wielders of magic, etc. We took that premise and began molding it to our world concept.

• Knowledge of how to nurture, improve, and ultimately wield sorcery is passed down by the Greater Noble Houses. “Magical bloodline” in Gallidon is a myth promoted by the nobility in the distant past that has become a commonly held belief, even by much of the nobility itself.

• Noble bloodlines come with the gift of a longer life-span, better education and privilege, but not greater magical power. Many people, not just the nobility, have the 'Gift' to some extent, but few are taught to utilize it except among the nobility.

• The seven kingdoms are the remains of the shattered Gallidon empire. The kingdoms are struggling to maintain control in the power vacuum left by The Destruction; no one at present is making efforts to claim the empire or conquer other kingdoms. As the Stewards of Gallidon, we greatly prefer the chaos and conflict of a shattered empire rather than the stability of a single governing structure.

• There are 17 Greater Noble Houses and countless Lower Noble Houses.

The world is large so that people have plenty of room to play. This allows an Artisan to create a group of villages, cities or even a small domain (realm-building) without compromising other Artisans' Works. All the areas of the map are open for Artisans to set their stories, illustrations, etc. Check out the Submissions Guidelines for tips on how this works and how to get your submission accepted.

Magic

You’re right on about magic needing a counterbalance. The magic system is deliberately vague, but we tried to emphasize that magic always comes at a cost. We have no wish to stifle anyone's creativity. Our only hard rule is that magic be mystical, mysterious and, well, magical!

Wiki

We share your concerns about the Wiki. We're working on a major face-lift and some functional changes to the Wiki to make it friendly (existing pages won’t be deleted after the update). In the meantime, any & all suggestions, observations, comments are welcome.

Content

We developed the logo to designate Official vs Alternate History too late to get it into the initial launch. An upcoming patch will place the official seals for the two categories at the top of each Work's individual page (and we’ll make high-res versions available on the site). Until then, Alternate History Works are only found under the Alternate History list.

Artisan Handbook

Apologies. The Handbook is in need of some love. Unfortunately, we're a small operation and haven't had a chance to get back to it in several months. The basics are still accurate, but it is in need of some updated material and a solid edit.

The money question: If we make money from selling your book, you get 50% of the money (half of every dollar that comes through our door). If you decide to print your book yourself, we ask you to share 10% of your gross sales with us – regardless of whether you've broken even. We tried to keep the money arrangement black & white and as simple as possible.

We'd love to have a team take ownership of the Artisan's Handbook – updates, editing, outlining recent events in the newest Works, including new maps, cultural notes and developments, etc. The idea of Kingdom/Region guidebooks isn't something we've thought of but could easily become necessary as the world continues to grow. This site is about just that sort of community action.

Thanks again for your interest in Gallidon, and feel free to contact me directly or post here with questions, comments or even the plans for your first novel!

I'm planning on writing a couple short stories or flash fiction for some of my characters. I've found that writing out short stories, or journals set in first person of the characters, helps me find the character's unique voice and perspectives. Almost as an addition to a character profile/sketch document.

The only thing that I've been a bit uneasy about is also one of the best aspects of the RoG concept. I'd like there to be a way to tag certain characters so that other authors should request permissions to include them in a story to prevent continuity problems.

For example, if AuthorA writes about John and Frank. Then AuthorB uses Frank in a short story in CityX, but at the same time AuthorA is also writing a story killing off Frank or having Frank be somewhere else.

I think the Wiki might be able to resolve some of this. Authors could keep a timeline for each person/main character and could tag the entry saying that there is a WIP with this character to indicate that other authors need to make sure there's no continuity issues before including them in their works.

Even if you don't have a booth at Comic Con, you should try to set some time and just get drinks at one of the bars. I hope to make it to this years event, but I've been waiting to see the full schedule before I decide which day to attend. Luckily, I don't need to pay for transportation or lodging, so I can go either day.

Excellent idea about character timelines on the wiki! Using the Wiki as a public organization tool for Artisans is something we're invested in, but that is a specific use we hadn't thought of. We realize coordinating efforts will be a major challenge in this project. We think the 'Play Nice' rule is a key:

• Be respectful of other Artisans. This means play nice with other Artisans' Ideas and be respectful of their creations. Do not kill, humiliate, degrade, or irrevocably damage another Artisan’s characters, places, things, etc. without their permission.

We're hoping serious Artisans take this message to heart because in any dispute over characters – places – things we, as the Stewards, will use two primary criteria for settling the issue: who originally created the Idea & which option is best for the world of Gallidon storytelling.

This discussion makes me even more eager to get the new Wiki up.

I frequently use flash fiction and short stories to explore and experiment with characters - their perspective, voice and how they interact with the world - on a regular basis. I highly recommend it. I've discovered this requires little more effort than a detailed character sketch/profile but is a more powerful indicator of whether or not I can write a longer work featuring the character.

ComiCon '09: We're planning on being there Friday and Saturday. A casual drinks or food meet-up one evening could be an option for us. We could try to organize something here on the forum as we get closer to July if there is interest.

The two year Shadow War (as it is increasingly being called) on the Imperial Isle began in the Year 5099 AG. The 8 days of the Destruction took place over the Summer Solstice in the Year 5101 AG. Given that it is such a recent event, there is no formalized day of mourning/celebration yet across the shattered Empire.

Clock technology: sundials, hourglasses, candle clocks, water clocks (some of intricate complexity) and even strange examples of automata (or possibly magical) clocks can be found throughout Gallidon. Every great city has at least one celestial observatory.

We haven't put a calendar in stone as yet. I, too, would prefer a lunar based calendar (we have decided on a single moon – we like tides) myself. Something simple – maybe along the lines of 13 months of 28 days plus one “Gallidon's Day” to keep it in sync with a solar calendar?

Interested in taking a shot at formalizing a calendar?