PathfinderWiki:Point of view
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This page is an official policy on the PathfinderWiki. In accordance with policy, this page has been protected. You can suggest changes by following the revision procedure or discussing it on the talk page. |
PathfinderWiki is written from several points of view (POV).
In-universe
PathfinderWiki's primary point of view is that of a character inside the fictional Pathfinder campaign setting – an archivist in the Pathfinder Society.
Pathfinder campaign setting articles should be written as if the described person, object, or event actually existed or occurred, exactly like in a normal encyclopedia, but with an omniscient writer. Think of in-universe PathfinderWiki articles as part of an encyclopedia that exists in the Pathfinder universe.
- Use
- Unlike the Shoanti barbarians-gone-native on the eastern Storval Plateau or the colonial Chelaxian immigrants of the south, Seoni is a native Varisian.
- Instead of
- Seoni is Paizo's iconic sorcerer and appeared on the cover of Pathfinder 2: The Skinsaw Murders.
Citing sources and background information
Due to its nature, background information, apocrypha, and citations of the sources used naturally occurs outside the POV.
Background information and apocrypha is considered to fall under the "real world" POV and, as such, should be restricted to the appropriate sections. In general, this sort of information is not applicable on in-universe articles. See the Manual of style for more information.
See Citing sources for information on how to cite your sources.
Undisclosed information
In some cases, information appears in Pathfinder products which is made clear to be highly esoteric, or entirely unknown due to the passage of time. While in theory these things are not known to anyone within the Pathfinder universe, PathfinderWiki's POV is all-knowing, just like a Game Master or reader of Pathfinder fiction.
Conflicts in valid resources
- For detailed instructions on resolving canon conflicts, consult the Canon policy.
If there are subjects that have conflicting references in official Pathfinder sources, simply add all the given information, and optionally add a background note explaining that there is a conflict.
Similarly, if two subjects have very similar names, that conceivably could have been meant to be the same, create both articles and hint at the similarity in background notes.
Citable clarification from Paizo editorial staff (and only Paizo editorial staff) can be used to clarify any discrepancies, but citations to non-canon errata and/or expansion of confusing topics must be included to verify its validity.
Publication point of view
The publication, or "real world", point of view applies to articles about the Pathfinder franchise and publications. This includes wiki articles on books, adventures, series, authors, artists, organized play, etc. that naturally are not part of the Pathfinder campaign setting itself.
All such articles should have the {[xt|real}} {{badges|badges}} template at the top. Tense should be the same as a standard encyclopedia in the present day.
Some examples of how tense should be used for production articles:
- Mike McArtor was a Paizo staff member until June 2008.
- Pathfinder Society Organized Play is an ongoing organized play campaign set in the Pathfinder campaign setting.
Meta pages
Articles concerning the functioning of PathfinderWiki fall outside of either point of view. These include the Main Page, portals, pages in "Meta:", "PathfinderWiki:", "Template:", "Help:" and "User:" namespaces, and all talk and forum pages.
Related pages
- Citing sources
- Manual of style
- {{Badges}}, a template to tag articles written from the real world point of view