DragonRealms
DragonRealms is an immersive online roleplaying game set on Elanthia, thousands of years further into the future than GemStone IV. It is set after a cataclysmic event does drastic damage to world geography, spoken of as a "world dragon" hatching out of (supposedly) Makiri that almost destroys the world. They refer to the Arkati as "the thirteen immortals" who battled the dragon and are trying to keep it asleep in the center of the world. (This is curiously similar and possibly related to the theme of Shadow Valley.) It is not clear where the setting is relative to the continent of Elanith.
The game has several races in common with GemStone, as well as others which have not been encountered yet. These include Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Elotheans (Erithians.) The Kaldar are more or less human, and Gor'Tog are reminiscent to Giantmen. However, the S'Kra Mur are lizard people, the Prydaen are cat people, and Rakash are shapeshifters.
There are similar professions as well as a few novel ones. DragonRealms has Barbarians (Warriors), Bards, Thieves (Rogues), Rangers, Paladins, Clerics, and Empaths. Warrior Mages are essentially Wizards, and Necromancers would be Sorcerers. There are also Traders and Moon Mages, which are seers who use mana influenced by celestial bodies.
Comparisons
Moons
While the Shadow World moons have direct correspondences to the moons of GemStone IV, with some changes in details, Liabo is the only one that is unambiguously supposed to exist in DragonRealms as Katamba. Lornon is probably Yavash, but it is not quite obvious. The closest moon in the time DragonRealms is set is Xibar, which has nothing resembling it in GemStone IV.
| Distance | Shadow World | GemStone IV | DragonRealms |
| 1st (least) | Varin | Liabo | Xibar |
| 2nd | Charon (Lornon) | Makiri/Tilaok | Katamba |
| 3rd | Orhan (Liabo) | Makiri/Tilaok | Yavash |
| 4th | Tlilok (Tilaok) | Lornon | N/A |
| 5th (most) | Mikori (Makiri) | N/A | N/A |
Lornon is regarded as fairly large but distant in the modern lore for GemStone IV, whereas Charon was tiny and closer than Orhan in Shadow World. In the Red Forest release it was established that Lornon and Liabo rarely conjunct, which was true in the Shadow World setting because Charon was on a polar orbit. Varin was larger than Charon, but still only the size of a very large asteroid.
| Size | Shadow World | GemStone IV | DragonRealms |
| 1st (most) | Orhan (Liabo) | Liabo | Katamba |
| 2nd | Varin | Lornon | Yavash |
| 3rd | Charon (Lornon) | Tilaok | Xibar |
| 4th | Mikori (Makiri) | Makiri | Grazhir |
| 5th (least) | Tlilok (Tilaok) | N/A | N/A |
There is an OOC note in the GemStone IV documentation claiming thousand of years into the future Makiri was Grazhir, Lornon is Yavash, and Liabo is Katamba. This moon lore for GemStone III did not exist until about half a decade after the launch of DragonRealms and the end of the I.C.E. Age, which probably explains the inconsistencies with Tilaok making more sense as Grazhir.
| Moon | Game | World | Orbits Other Moon? | Atmosphere? | Color | Other Information |
| Liabo | GSIII/GSIV | Elanthia | No | Maybe | Silver-white, craters | Home of Thirteen Lords of Liabo |
| Katamba | DR | Elanthia | No | Yes | Blackened | Home of Thirteen Immortals |
| Orhan | GSIII | Kulthea | No | Yes | Clouds | Home of Thirteen Lords of Orhan |
| Lornon | GSIII/GSIV | Elanthia | No | Yes | Pale white, sometimes red | Home of the Dark Lords |
| Yavash | DR | Elanthia | No | Yes | Red | ? |
| Charon | GSIII | Kulthea | No | No | Silver-grey, sometimes red | Home of the Dark Lords |
| Makiri | GSIII/GSIV | Elanthia | Yes | No | Dark | Rumored to be slowly growing. Does not exist in DragonRealms. |
| Mikori | GSIII | Kulthea | No | No | Gleaming mote of light | Most distant. Does not exist in DragonRealms. |
| Varin | GSIII | Kulthea | No | No | Mottled orange | Closest. Does not exist in GemStone IV. |
| Xibar | DR | Elanthia | No | No | Icy blue | Closest. Does not exist in GemStone IV. |
| Tilaok | GSIII/GSIV | Elanthia | Yes | Yes | Reddish-orange | Second smallest moon in GemStone IV. Does not exist in DragonRealms. |
| Tlilok | GSIII | Kulthea | Yes | No | Multi-hued grey, craters | Smallest moon in Shadow World. Does not exist in DragonRealms |
| Grazhir | DR | Elanthia | ? | ? | Pearlescent white | Former smallest moon in DragonRealms. Destroyed supposedly by World Dragon. |
Gods
The Kermonian pantheon in DragonRealms consists of the Thirteen Immortals, which are taken to be extra-planar in origin and were associted with the equivalent of Liabo. There are thirteen Lords of Orhan / Liabo in Shadow World and GemStone IV. However, these gods are taken to have light and dark aspects, with the Dark Lords of Charon / Lornon not acknowledged as a pantheon. In the Shadow World setting there are 13 planets in the solar system, while in DragonRealms there are only 12 and each has an associated immortal. Their solar system confinement is rooted in Shadow World.
| Immortal | Neutral | Light | Dark |
| Kertigen | Kertigen (Eonak) | Divyaush | Zachriedek |
| Hodierna | Hodierna (Imaera) | Berengaria (Oleani) | Asketi |
| Meraud | Meraud (Fash'lo'nae) | Firulf (Jastev?) | Kerenhappuch (Eorgina / Ivas) |
| Damaris | Damaris (Ronan / Onar) | Phelim (Tonis?) | Dergati (Sheru) |
| Everild | Everild (Kai) | Kuniyo | Trothfang (V'tull / Amasalen) |
| Truffenyi | Truffenyi | Alamhif (Lorminstra?) | Huldah (Luukos?) |
| Hav'roth | Hav'roth (Luukos) | Peri'el (Eonak? / Leya?) | Ushnish |
| Eluned | Eluned (Lumnis) | Lemicus (Niima) | Drogor (Charl) |
| Glythide | Glythide (Cholen) | Seamaus (Voaris) | Be'ort (Laethe) |
| Tamsine | Tamsine (Imaera) | Albreda (Oleani) | Harawep (Arachne) |
| Faenella | Faenella | Murrula | Idon (Phoen?) |
| Chadatru | Chadatru (Koar) | Rutilor | Botolf (Onar) |
| Urrem'tier | Urrem'tier (Gosaena) | Eylhaar (Lorminstra / Gosaena) | Aldauth (Luukos) |
The direct comparison of immortals and gods is slightly complicated by the fact that the gods lore has changed multiple times in GemStone during the existence of DragonRealms. They are fundamentally non-corporeal beings who have preferred manifestations, but can in principle take on any form they wish. In GemStone the "Arkati" have allowed various cultures to interpret them very differently.
Behind The Scenes
It is usually assumed that DragonRealms is set in the future relative to GemStone IV. However, the "smallest" moon that shattered was "pearly-white" in the DragonRealms lore, whereas Makiri is dark in the present of GemStone. It is worth considering that the moon lore has changed over the years. In the I.C.E. Age history Tlilok (Tilaok) was the smallest "moon", and Mikori (Makiri) did not orbit Orhan (Liabo). Mikori was the smallest and farthest moon orbiting the planet, Orhan was the largest, and the closest was the second-largest fifth moon called Varin. In the contemporary GemStone IV history Lornon is the furthest, Liabo is the closest, with Makiri and Tlilok orbiting Liabo. In DragonRealms Yavash is the most distant and perpetually red colored, Katamba is the largest and blackened, while the blue Xibar is the closest and does not orbit Katamba. While Yavash and Katamba could be taken to be Lornon and Liabo, Xibar does not resemble Tilaok, and Katamba has no satellite moons at all.
It would be easy to interpret this as a perverse argument for Makiri and Tilaok being captured asteroids, while Xibar was ejected somehow in the past with GemStone actually occurring later in history. The idea would be that the pantheons had not formed yet, and some gods were killed in the Ur-Daemon War. On the other hand, with the DragonRealms is later perspective, some of the gods may be dead.
References
- http://www.play.net/dr/ - Official DragonRealms website.
- DragonRealms Wiki