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 reminiscent of Giantmen. The Gor'Tog are larger than them and colored green. 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. When the history for DragonRealms was being developed GemStone III was transitioning out of the I.C.E. Age, where in contrast to the current lore Mikori was larger than Tlilok. Grazhir was the smallest moon.

Size I.C.E. Age GemStone III Post-I.C.E. GemStone III GemStone IV DragonRealms
1st (most) Orhan (Liabo) Liabo Liabo Katamba
2nd Varin Lornon Lornon Yavash
3rd Charon (Lornon) Makiri? Tilaok Xibar
4th Mikori (Makiri) Tilaok? Makiri Grazhir
5th (least) Tlilok (Tilaok) N/A 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 possibly helps explain the inconsistencies with Tilaok arguably 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. This poses no difficulty in a calendar sense because there are 25 hour days, resulting in a 365 Earth day year for the orbit around the sun. On the scale of years the Shadow World and Elanthian timelines proceed at equal rates. In the I.C.E. Age of GemStone III this was not actually implemented, it was only part of the background lore for the world setting. Slightly before the GemStone IV transition the day and night mechanics were introduced, and GemStone was given a one-to-one correspondence with Earth time, with Elanthia keeping the same hours and months in a year. The situation is complicated in DragonRealms because of the compression factor to speed up the flow of time.


(A) Time Acceleration Interpreted As Real

Since there are only 15 minutes to an hour, meaning 900 seconds instead of 3,600 seconds, the physical quantities calculated based on time require interpreting the reality and cause of the time compression. If there really are only 900 seconds in an hour, as opposed to pretending every second is really four seconds, Elanthia would need to be spinning four times faster on its axis. With same direction (prograde) orbits and planet revolution, this requires 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
Minute 1 minute 1 minute 1 minute 1 minute
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 Kermorian calendar, assuming time is due to a faster rotation, or else the planet would end up boiling.)


The pink highlights indicate orbital distances calculated assuming Newtonian gravity with Elanthia as 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: Assuming Fast Spinning Elanthia
Liabo GSIII/IV 96,053 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. Presumably off axis with Katamba, or else yearly almost impact.
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 95,366 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 rise and set times require the orbits to be retrograde as well. The given sidereal months in the lore are averages of 25.9, 37.57, and 40.42 days due to multi-body gravitational interactions between the three moons and Elanthia. This slightly pulls the orbits closer with distances of 91,000 miles for Xibar, 117,000 miles for Katamba, and 123,000 miles for Yavash. Yavash and Katamba are almost impacting each other.)


The orbital periods of Liabo and Lornon in the GemStone IV astronomy lore suggest 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 the 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.


(B) Time Acceleration Ignored As Unreal

The preceding was assuming that seconds and minutes ("roisan") are to be taken on face value as corresponding to Earth time, but that the larger units of time are different for natural reasons. If the time is supposed to instead just be accelerated by a factor of four for gameplay purposes so that a roisan is really "supposed" to represent four minutes on Elanthia, it would seem that their month is based on the lunar cycle of Yavash or Katamba, with weeks and years defined by powers of ten from the days in a sidereal month. The Kermorian and Gorbesh calendars have the same weeks, months, and days in a year, but different multi-year cycles. It might make sense to use a 400 day calendar if the moon impact cataclysm changed the tilt of Elanthia and so throwing the seasons slightly out of synch with the solar year. It would take trillions of years for the solar orbit of Elanthia to change by enough distance to actually gain 35 days. This is assuming the absence of enormous outside intervention.

Moon Orbital Distance Orbital Period Difference: Assuming Uniform Time Compression
Liabo 96,053 miles 7 days
Katamba 294,450 miles 37.57 days 200,000 miles more distant from Elanthia in DragonRealms.
Lornon 253,430 miles 30 days
Yavash 309,050 miles 40.42 days 50,000 miles more distant from Elanthia in DragonRealms.
Xibar 229,780 miles 25.9 days N/A

If the time compression in DragonRealms is interpreted as a purely out of character mechanic, such that an hour is really 60 minutes within the game in spite of being 15 minutes in real life, the orbital periods would literally be the given values and the distances would be very different. The trouble with calculation is that the multiplier is discontinuous. The orbits must be four times faster, or the planet rotates four times faster, or the multiplier has to be uniform. In the last case the orbits are much more distant. This falsifies the in-universe 24 hour day because Elanthia would spin much slower.

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.) If the orbital periods are used on face value with the time compression discontinuity ignored, the distances are much greater, requiring the days to be longer with DragonRealms set in the deep past.

References

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