The wiki
Overview
This page is part of our introduction to Empire, explaining more about the game. It is intended for people who are new to live roleplaying as well as experienced live roleplayers who have never done Empire before to give you information about the Empire wiki, and how to get the most value out of it.
What is the wiki
- Use the wiki to find specific stuff, links to important concepts on a page. It's fun to just read it but it's just not required.
The wiki is a living document that details the rules and setting of the Empire game. It contains information about the Empire itself, its neighbours, and the world in which it exists. It also records important game information such as the properties of magic items, the know rituals of Imperial lore, and the religious ceremonies used by priests as well as the actual rules of the game itself. While it can appear daunting at first, it's not intended that anyone should memorize it, or even read all of it.
Unlike many wikis such as Wikipedia, the Empire wiki is not public access. It's primarily written and maintained by the game team, with a number of player volunteers who help maintain quality and identify errors and inconsistencies.
The Search Function
Picture of search bar "Your most powerful tool for finding something out is to put the term into the search" - just like Wikipedia. It is meant to be searched for answers not read like a book.
Truth
How the wiki establishes the truth and how we won't lie to you directly? Where things are more vague, and may or may not be true, the wiki will highlight this with phrases like "many historians believe" - in these circumstances we are intentionally leaving it vague.
Reality is malleable in a live roleplaying game. The wiki helps to establish the shared facts of the game and the setting.
Common Knowledge
There is no secret information on the wiki. Everything here is available to players, and there is no problem with your character knowing something that is mentioned on the wiki. It's entirely up to you what you know as appropriate to your characterisation.
Everything available
What's on the wiki is everything that is available to the players. You can't e-mail in and ask for further information out-of-character. Further information exists as part of the game but must acquired in character - through historical research for example.
Winds
As well as helping lay the foundations for the game, parts of the wiki are dynamic and change over time - the wiki also chronicles the campaign and the player actions that shape it. The best examples of this are the Winds of War and the Winds of Fortune. Before every event, the game team updates the recent history page. The Winds of War recount the events and outcomes of the Empire's military campaigns against their enemies. The Winds of Fortune lay out opportunities, challenges, and events that have happened since the end of the previous event and are relevant to the coming summit.
These two groups of pages combine in-character information and out-of-character information. For example, a Wind of War will begin with a narrative that explains what has happened in-character during a given season, and be followed by a short game information section that explains what that means in out-of-character terms such as whether a territory has changed hands or if there is an opportunity for players to have their characters directly affected by the events. Likewise, the Winds of Fortune are usually laid out in in-character language, with sections explaining what this means from a game mechanical point of view.
Nobody needs to read all of the Winds of War or Winds of Fortune. As much as possible, we tag the Winds with keywords suggesting which characters might find them most interesting. It is perfectly fine to turn up to an event having read none of the Winds of War or Winds of Fortune and find out about them in-character. It's also perfectly acceptable to read and digest all of them before the event, or to create in-character documents continuing them to reference in the field.
Don't need to read it all
- Read the bits that are relevant to your character - if you're a ritual spellcaster you should know how rituals work for example.
Nobody needs to read all of the wiki. There are some key sections everyone should be aware of - specifically the pages covered by the rules dropdown in the bar at the top of the page and the recommended reading for your characters' nation. Reading more of the wiki can improve your experience but it is not a requirement to play the game.