Difference between revisions of "Wiki Tips"

Latest revision as of 22:40, 28 June 2018

If you wish to contribute to the wiki, please contact Luke to get an account set up. Only past and active players will be considered. If you are new to the wiki, please familiarize yourself with the conventions and wiki code by proofreading and fact-checking existing entries before creating new ones.

Placeholders

It's better to have incomplete information then none. When you can't remember the name of an NPC or a location while writing a synopsis of a session or a description of an item use a placeholder instead. Feel free to use the in-game nickname the players have given to this person (eg. Voltron instead of Elven High Mage V'altros). This will create an obnoxious yellow text that stands out like this ^(?). It's basically a bat-signal for proofreaders and fact-checkers who will swoop in and fix it in no time.

To create placeholder use the following code: {{placeholder|goofy nickname}}.

You can also use a placeholder to write notes to yourself or to the proofreaders, like fill in more detail later ^(?).

Dates

All dates should be Common Calendar dates. No real world dates please.

When writing a date, please use the date macro like this: {{date|3|rd|Cinder}}, {{date|27|th|Dust}}.

This will create a fancy date font like this: 3^rd of Cinder, 27^th of Dust.

This is optional, but highly recommended.

Tagging

Tagging is optional, but useful. In general, tags go on the top of the page, before any other content. A tag will create a gray bar across the page, indicating the tagged status of the article.

• Tag dead NPC's and enemies with the {{dead}} tag
• Tag destroyed items and artifacts with the {{broken}} tag
• Tag article stubs and work in progress with {{wip}} tag

One exception to this rule is the {{srd}} tag which goes on the bottom of the article, and creates a right-aligned copyright notice.

Categorizing

Categories are very useful for sorting. Please tag NPC's with, at very least an appropriate race and place of residence. See Characters for list of NPC categories.

As a rule of thumb, enemies should be sorted into Category:Foe and allies into Category:Friend.

All items should be in Category:Item and all spells should be in Category:Spell.

Quoting and Linking

Please don't copy and paste pages of stat blocks or rules into the wiki. More importantly, please do not post non-SRD content from the rule books or expansions. We don't want to get shut down or slapped with a copyright take-down notice. It's better to link or reference rather than to reproduce.

When referencing specific rules from the official books, use Template:See.

Use it like this: {{see|PHB|13}}. This will put a parenthesized reference like this: (see PHB, pg. 13).

When referencing SRD content, feel free to link to the Roll20.net Compendium using Template:Compendium.

Usage example: {{compendium|Shortsword}} or {{compendium|Adult Red Dragon}}.

This will produce an external link to the compendium site: Adult Red Dragon.

Make sure you click your link before posting to verify that it works. If it doesn't search the compendium manually, find the right article and then use it's exact title in the template code.

Original Rules and Mechanics

When posting original rules and mechanics you can use Template:Box to make a nice framed gray box.

Usage: {{Box|Rule Name|Rule text goes here.}}.

When posting magic items or stat blocks use specialized templates listed below.

Magic Items & Spells

There are several templates available to make posting rules for magic items easier, and more presentable. All the relevant template pages have syntax explanations, so consult them for more details.

• When posting weapon stats use Template:Weapon.
• When posting armor stats use Template:Armor.
• When posting stats for armor or non-consumable items use Template:Item.
• When posting stats for consumable items such as potions, or adventuring gear use Template:Gear.
• When posting stats for poisons use Template:Poison
• When posting spells use Template:Spell.

All of the templates above already include SRD disclaimer so you don't have to include it in the article.

People and Other Beings

Here are some useful templates for use in entries for characters, beings and creatures:

• When making and entry for player character use Template:Person
• When making an entry for a god or divine entity use Template:God

Stat Blocks

Stats and special rules of the NPC's are the business of the DM and they don't need to be here. Only paste stat blocks for non-standard creatures and characters directly controlled by the PC's and only when it is relevant to have the stats on hand. Good example here are mounts or familiars such as Treeodore.

When posting a full stat block, use Template:StatBlock.

The stat block template already has SRD disclaimer so you don't have to include it in the article.