If you're a member of the Santharian Dream and would like to add stuff to our Places section, please post in the Places section of the Santharian Development Message Board. People will then comment on your new addition and if the entry is approved it will eventually move to the site in one of the coming updates.

However, in order to design cities, mountains, rivers, buildings etc. for the Santharian Compendium the following rules need to be taken into account. If you still aren't sure what you should put in certain sections, please read through some entries first and see how others have done their entries.

GENERAL RULES

• How to write names
  If you describe something, always write the first letter of the thing/being and in this case the person's full name including a possible title or surname in capitalized form (e.g. "Thar the Great", "King Redbeard", "Captain Dimeye Beringstin") throughout the entry. On the other hand always use lowercase letters if you mention other things/beings which are mentioned within the entry ("dragonfly", "ranlesh" or "black rose").

• Describe everything in "medieval" form
  Always remember that words like "vitamins", "chemicals", "genes", "fossils" etc. usually are unknown terminology to medieval researchers. So keep away from these things, and also don't try to explain everything in detail what researchers of the 20th century have found out. Researchers of the Middle Ages weren't really "scientists", but mainly investigated what they could see, watch and thus describe. We have alchemists in the "medieval" world of Santharia, no chemists, which is an important difference, as alchemists are still lacking the profound background chemists of nowadays have.
  
  In the same respect I guess we can't emphasize enough that though evolution and belief don't necessarily have to contradict each other in our world of today, it was impossible to think of such things 1000 years ago. Especially in a fantasy world like ours I think that we should forget about evolution in the Darwinistic sense completely. We have other explanations why the original landmass split into various parts (Gods/War of the Chosen) and a typical evolutionary theory doesn't fit too well to our mythical concepts.

• Keep it as Santharian as possible
  Also try to make your people as unique "Santharian" as possible. Try to use names which represent the culture they come from, not simply random, exchangeable names. Also if you describe a person there should be a reason why this man or woman got his/her own entry in the Compendium, so try to make clear why this person has become such a celebrity.
   

HOW TO DO GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

• Overview
  In the introduction and general overview you give a general description of the place. A few items should be included, such as geographical position (in what continent, what province/kingdom the place is located), inhabitants and maybe a particular item of history or legend which the town, kingdom, mountain etc. is famous for. The introduction represents a short overview for a quick reader, who only wishes to know the general things about the place.

• Description
  In this part you describe the place itself. What’s in it, who lives there, what the functions of the town, kingdom etc. are. Try at least to mention the following things:
  - landscape
  - general purpose
  - description of houses, natural surroundings
  
  Other items you could discuss (depends of course on what you describe):
  - religions of relevance at this location
  Anything can be in here if it relates to the place specifically.

• Location
  Purpose of this section is to describe the exact location of the place, including kingdom and continent, with adjacent places like towns and forests and possibly kingdom borders or tribes or special landscape objects. Included could be a map cut from the main map showing the place and it’s surrounding area, but this is Artimidor's work.

• People
  What kind of people/tribes inhabit the region? And approximately how many? In which part of the region do they settle and why?

• Coat of Arms (optional)
  If the place is a city or tower or a place similar to that, you should as well describe a coat of arms for it. The symbols and drawings on it should somehow describe the place or its attitude. If the description is done well, one of our artists may draw it for real to accompagny your entry in the Compendium. So make sure that this description is as detailed as possible.

• Climate (optional)
  It's always good to know how the weather conditions are in the region you describe (you don't have to describe the climate for buildings of course *hehe*): When does it rain in this region? And how often? Is there snow in winter? Is it stormy all day long? Are there good conditions for crops to grow? And so on. You get the idea, right?

• Mythology (optional)
  Often places have legends telling how the place was created or founded. To be original is sometimes difficult here, but a legend of a city can range from a city built on the fundaments of an ancient wizard’s tower, the battle that was won at that spot, two heroes who met there etc.

• Flora (optional)
  Plants, herbs, trees - put in details here! Not always required to add, e.g. if you're working on a town or village. But always good to have, though.

• Fauna (optional)
  Animals, beasts, monsters - put in details here! Same here as at Flora. Not necessary, but nice to have.

• Resources (optional)
  Describe natural resources and geological conditions here: Can there be found minerals in this region? Or do the inhabitants depend on fish they catch? etc.

• Myth/Lore (optional)
  If you can think of a story or two about this place/region you describe or about sayings, proverbs associated with it, here you go!

• History (optional)
  From the day the place was created to the day it was destroyed or to the present, a general outline of all events happening in between should be given here. It’s recommended to make some sort of table for the History and you should follow this scheme:
  
  Date (e.g. 10.000 b.S.), Caption (e.g. Battle at XYZ), Description (What exactly happened in this battle)
   

HOW TO DO BUILDINGS

• Overview
  Full name of the building, short summary on the most important things stated at the rest of the entry: where the building can be found, what's its purpose etc. Approx. 2 or 3 lines.

• Location of the Building
  Mention here the area of city/village, city/village name, province, continent where the building is located.

• Function of the Building
  What's it used for? Who works there? Why was it built in the first place? Are there different functions that take place? Is it single- or multi-purpose?

• Description
  Exterior appearance, height, size - in Santharian measurements of distance or area - material constructed from, architectural features, interior divisions and rooms, additions, areas of use, etc. - all that kind of stuff.

• History
  Brief list of dates or sequence - when built by whom, how long functioning, any important changes in its use, any vital events that happened on the premises or in the area, any renovations or rebuildings, etc.

If you follow these guidelines I'm sure developing cities, mountains, rivers, buildings etc. is much easier and will produce better results. - Happy developing!