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The Arcana Wiki - Distilling the Real World for Gaming

Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
edited April 2009 in Critical Failures
I've recently started a new project which I hope will interest most gamers - the Arcana Wiki. Basically, the general idea of this project is: "Like a combination of the Wikipedia and the TV Tropes Wiki, but with additional notes for gamers."

I've often browsed through random pages on the Wikipedia and the TV Tropes Wiki, and thought to myself: "This would make for an awesome adventure!" But unfortunately (though understandably), neither wiki permits the addition of adventure and campaign ideas to their entries. But the Arcana Wiki does - each entry is divided into a "General Information" section where factual information and sources are listed, and a "Game and Story Use" section where everyone is encouraged to add game ideas to the entry.

The wiki is still fairly young, but growing rapidly, and more volunteers sign up almost every day. I hope some of you will give it a chance, too!

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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I should probably also point out that I'm currently running a contest for Wiki contributors. It runs for the duration of August, and the contributor who creates the best "Place of Myth and Legend" gets a $25 gift certificate for RPGNow/DrivethruRPG.

    Juergen Hubert on
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    DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    So it's sorta like wizards' "Steal this Hook" thing, except in Wiki form? Sounds pretty sweet. Maybe I'll toss my Stronghold of Falx up there when it's done.

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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Delzhand wrote: »
    So it's sorta like wizards' "Steal this Hook" thing, except in Wiki form?

    Not exactly. The goal of this wiki is to use "real world" concepts, ideas, locations, myths and so forth, and then show how to use them within role-playing games. Here are a few of the more comprehensive examples:

    Snoligoster - a mythical animal that allegedly exists in the swamps of Florida.
    Tunguska Event - a strange disaster in the wilds of Siberia
    Ferret Legging - a medieval British "extreme sport".
    Technisches Hilfswerk - a German disaster relief agency
    The Icelandic Phallological Museum - exactly what it sounds like.
    Transhumanism - a philosophy that advocates "improvement" of humans beyond their natural limits.
    Tree man 'who grew roots' may be cured - a news report about a man with a truly bizarre skin disease.


    All these can have relevance to role-playing games - sometimes in ways you might not have thought of before - but all of them originated in the real world independently from gaming. And that's what I want to do with this wiki - show how the real world can inspire gaming.

    Juergen Hubert on
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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Here's a recent entry with particularly obvious gaming potential:

    Palisades Rathouse

    Warning: Do not eat if you want to eat something within the next few hours, or if you have any rodent-related phobias.

    Juergen Hubert on
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    SUPERSUGASUPERSUGA Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I think this has some real potential for modern campaigns.

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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    SUPERSUGA wrote: »
    I think this has some real potential for modern campaigns.

    Indeed. I just did some research for a Dubai entry, and the possibilities are numerous. And I've been collecting interesting newspaper articles in the timeline like crazy.

    But I think it has equal potential for fantasy games - see the Mythology section for examples.

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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Well, the latest recruiting drive seems to have worked nicely - right now, the Arcana Wiki has 25 members.

    Let's hope that the number of contributions increase in the same way...

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    minigunwielderminigunwielder __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2008
    Tunguska= Rain of Colourless Fire.

    If I were not on my wii, I would dump my entire Dg campaign on your site.us

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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Tunguska= Rain of Colourless Fire.

    If I were not on my wii, I would dump my entire Dg campaign on your site.us

    Well, I do have plans for an Adventure Seeds section...

    Juergen Hubert on
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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Juergen Hubert on
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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I've added a new gadget to the Arcana Wiki - a Random Adventure Seed Generator. Basically, it selects three random pages from the Arcana Wiki, and allows the user to create an adventure around them.

    So far, four adventure seeds have been written for it:

    Revenge of the Cargo Cult
    The Hunt for the Dreamers
    The Fires of the Deep
    Lost Hippies of the Catacombs

    Feel free to add your own ideas!

    Juergen Hubert on
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    Juergen HubertJuergen Hubert Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    It's been a while since I last posted about this, and we have grown significantly since then - we probably have about 1,300 pages by now!

    Some new highlights include:

    and significantly more content in almost any category. Really, just use the Random Page function a few times to see a few examples.

    Juergen Hubert on
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