DragonRealms

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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 the exact 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 associated 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, though in DragonRealms our world is 6th rather than 7th and each has an associated immortal. This 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.

Time

In the Shadow World setting there are 350 days in a solar year, with subdivisions based on the lunar cycles of Orhan and Varin. With GemStone IV there is a one-to-one correspondence with Earth time, with Elanthia keeping the same hours and months in a year. However, when the world is in the time DragonRealms is set, Elanthia is spinning four times faster on its axis. With same direction (prograde) orbits and planet revolution, this would require DragonRealms to be in the distant past, whereas with retrograde orbits it would be in the future. The latter would require the moons to get closer over time, which appears to be false for Liabo, which would have the largest effect. Since Xibar does not exist in the time of GemStone IV, Liabo's mass and relative distance should dominate over Lornon.

Time Earth GemStone IV DragonRealms Shadow World
Seconds 1 sec 1 sec 1 sec 1 sec
Hour 1 hour 1 hour 15 minutes (0.25 Earth hours) 1 hour
Day 24 hour 24 hour 24 hour (6 Earth hours) 25 hour (25 Earth hours)
Week 7 days 7 days 4 days (24 Earth hours) 10 days (250 Earth hours)
Month 4 weeks 4 weeks 10 weeks (10 Earth days) 70 days (73 Earth days)
Year 365 days 365 days 400 days (100 Earth days) * 350 days (365 Earth days)

(* - 1 solar year for Elanthia is presumably 3.65 years under the DragonRealms calendar, or else the planet would end up boiling.)

The pink highlights indicate orbital distances calculated assuming Newtonian gravity with Elanthia is 1 Earth mass. The Shadow World numbers for period and distance are given in the source books, and are reasonably accurate without accounting for complications from flows of essence, except for Orhan whose observational behavior and nature is significantly altered by the magic of the moon gods.

Moon Game Orbital Distance Orbital Period Tidal Acceleration Tidally Locked? Other Information
Liabo GSIII/IV 96,000 miles 7 days (7 Earth days) Prograde? (+) ? Barren / cratered. Tilaok and Makiri as satellites.
Katamba DR 121,840 miles 40 days (10 Earth days) Retrograde (-) ? Scorched by World Dragon. Has no satellites.
Orhan GSIII 270,000 miles 70 days (73 Earth days) Prograde? (+) Yes Forests, oceans, clouds. Tlilok is only satellite.
Lornon GSIII/IV 250,000 miles 1 month (30 Earth days) Retrograde? (-) ? Blood moon 1x/year. Rarely conjuncts with Liabo. Assumed to not be polar orbit.
Yavash DR 129,830 miles 45 days (11 Earth days) Retrograde (-) ? Permanently red. Not polar orbit.
Charon GSIII 190,000 miles 21 days (22 Earth days) Polar Orbit ? 144 days per blood moon at location. Perigee/Zenith blood moon coincide 10.2 years.
Makiri GSIII/IV ? ? ? ? Makiri orbits Liabo, no details. Orbital period around Elanthia roughly equals Liabo's.
Mikori GSIII 520,000 miles 88 days (92 Earth days) Prograde? (+) ? Barely distinguishable from a star or planet. Orbits planet, not Orhan.
Varin GSIII 125,000 miles 10 days (10.4 Earth days) Prograde? (+) ? Volcanic from tidal forces.
Xibar DR 96,053 miles 27.7 days (7 Earth days) Retrograde (-) ? Blue from being ice covered.
Tilaok GSIII/GSIV ? ? ? ? Tilaok orbits Liabo, no details. Orbital period around Elanthia roughly equals Liabo's.
Tlilok GSIII ? ? ? ? Conjuncts with Orhan in over a given spot once per several thousand years.
Grazhir DR ? ? ? ? There is no information other than its color. Destroyed.

(* - DragonRealms orbital periods are assumed to be retrograde, or else the orbits will be so close the moons are colliding. Green highlights are calculated from given rising times.)

The orbital periods of Liabo and Lornon in the GemStone IV astronomy lore imply that they will become more distant from Elanthia over millions of years. In contrast, the rising times of the three moons in DragonRealms are faster than rotational period of Elanthia, requiring the orbits to be in the opposite direction or else extremely close to the planet. Over time this would make the planet spin faster, and ultimately they would break up and/or crash into the surface. Lornon would have to become closer and Liabo further away, implying they are revolving in opposite directions, even though they must be in the same direction in the time of DragonRealms. This requires some unknown magical intervention on the scale of the gods, which makes the moons useless for figuring out their historical order.

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.) It is worth considering that the days are synched with Earth time in GemStone IV, but there are four Elanthian days per Earth day in DragonRealms. Tidal forces are inconclusive in this situation.

References

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