LORE WRITING FOR DUMMIES

[Islamadon 9158]

 

 

 

GENERAL

When writing Lore Submissions, it is important to abide by a few general concepts that significantly will aid you in crossing the finish line. These tips ought to be consistently followed throughout a Lore Submission for the greatest chance of success. 

 

First, it is helpful to both the Story Team and Moderation that a Lore Submission be written without verbose and gaudy language. Oftentimes we have to refer to lore pages to make rulings; language fluff and filler only adds to confusion. Similarly, LT will often fatigue if a Lore Submission stretches its content with unneeded padding. lengthy Lore Submissions can often manage with only half the words, and the added review time only leads to crankier Lore Reviewers.

 

Second, it is greatly beneficial to make use of proper formatting. When writing a Lore Submission, please reference the Lore Criteria for the standard sections that are expected to be included. Modern Lore Submissions will oftentimes include custom borders, well-conceived color palettes and well-cropped PNGs. The greater the appearance of your Lore Submission, the greater the first impression among the LT. Proper formatting also deters other players from proposing rewrites or reformats, thus saving the LT time down the line while also ensuring that your authorship is not replaced.

 

Third, please use affirmative words when authoring abilities. Phrases such as “Can”, “Could” or “May” invoke a sense that the effect is optional or mitigable. Players have a tendency to underplay their misfortunes, and given an out they will seize it. Using affirmative words such as “Will” or “Shall” will help Mods to enforce the effects of spells and determine whether a player is powergaming, as well as definitively instructing the recipient how they ought to respond. 

 

Here is a link to our required format threads:

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/forum/1162-submission-criteria/

 

 

BACKGROUND AND ORIGINS

When writing a Lore Submissions, the Background and/or Origin ought to be the first thing considered when putting pen to paper. When reviewing, the LT ties every single ability back to the Origins which acts as a thematic core to the lore. Ultimately with lore, theme and flavor are king, and should be placed above all else.

 

First, no matter the source, do not invoke your OCs when drafting the origins of a Lore Submission. The LT hates when players include their own personal character or some custom lore-figure to be the discoverer, first beneficiary, or source of the proposed lore. To achieve the greatest level of success, omit references to characters that are not mentioned by front-faced lore or who are not historically significant. Rather, keep the recipients vague and tie it into the mission of the Lore Proposal. For example: “Xan bestowed his blessing upon his Paladins, mortal agents who would now administer his wroth upon the Draconic.” Legends should be secondary to the primary lore, and can serve as a great piece of culture and theme that help build the community into something interesting; oftentimes even becoming confirmed canon.

 

Second, please keep your Origins simple, though detailed. The Origins section ought to be relatively short (1-3 paragraphs) while providing the basic theme and call to action. Rather than devoting seven paragraphs to lengthy filler, one need only explain in a few why, in the modern day, the lore is needed and what aim it seeks to tackle; this will define its niche and set its purpose. To further avoid criticism, take a moment to consider whether the niche of your proposal is already filled by another magic. For example, when both Templar and Paladin existed simultaneously, it was very difficult to justify the addition of a third Holy Magic. This also can be a double edged sword, and is advised you don’t cast a wide net as to what you write. Too much diversity or versatility harms a lorepiece in both allowing itself and others to exist simultaneously. This was a broad part of the problem, as Paladinism had absorbed both Cleric’s and Ascended’s niche into it, making it over bloated and too well rounded. 

 

Third, keep your Power Source on brand. It will serve your Lore Submission greatly if you stay within the bounds of your chosen power source and avoid stretching its purview into undesirable territory. The best way to choose a power source is to make use of the Canon Energies, front-faced Aengudaemons or World Lore. Like the first tip, using custom power sources or OC entities such as “the Undermaster” with no basis in lore is a sure way to get your proposal vetoed prior to review. Lastly, keep in mind the limitations of your Power Source and its interactions with other lores; playing within these bounds provides the LT security that the Lore Submission will fit together with the rest of the server. Keep in mind things of what a certain power source is capable of, such as disconnection often being limited to only deific magics.

 

Fourth, if making use of tenets, please ensure that they do not contradict the theme of the lore. Tenets are most commonly associated with Deific Magics and the number one criticism levied is that the tenets contradict the intent of an Aengudaemon. Further, Tenets should not be an enforced rule of the magic, but rather a cultural norm of the magic-users. The LT do not wish to step in or moderate as to whether a player is using the magic in the Aengudaemon’s intended way - that is for fellow magic-users to decide via disconnection mechanics. If you wish to have enforced behaviors, include these in the Physicality or Mentality section.

 

More on Power Sources here:

 

More on connection/disconnection here:

 

 

MAGIC EXPLANATION

When writing Lore Submissions, the Magic Explanation section serves to explain how the proposed lore will function in a CRP and Passive scenario. This section can make or break a magic from the get-go because all other abilities hereafter hinge upon the proposed system. If the Magic Explanation is flawed or confusing, your abilities too will be flawed and confusing. The following tips will help to ensure that your Magic Explanation is well developed.

 

First, please keep your ability system simple. When drafting your Magic Explanation, it will be greatly beneficial to decide upon one of two ability systems: “X per CRP” or “X Units”. “X per CRP” refers to abilities that limit themself into being casted X times per CRP scenario. “X Units” refers to a quantifiable ammunition bank that the spellcaster can pull from, examples being Liturgies, Inner Flame and Malleus. Regardless of what system you choose, you will find greater success if it remains consistent throughout the Lore Submission.  That said, both systems have their own pitfalls. “X per CRP” systems are often criticized as being bland and uninspired. To make the most of this system, consider keeping the times an ability can be cast rather low, and ensure that the abilities are well redlined and do not scale with tiers. “X Units”, while interesting, tend to be risky because any overcomplication in the math will cause the Lore Submission to sink rapidly. If choosing “X Units”, please make sure that there are minimal variables and avoid designing a dual-unit system.

 

Second, consider adding thematic weaknesses. When reviewing lore, LT are always searching as to whether a Lore Submission has a definitive counter. As has been the norm, Holy Magic tends to be weak to Void whereas Dark Magic is weak to Holy. CAs should also have a swathe of outlined weaknesses that enable counter play for the players they are hunting. The more weaknesses a proposal has, the more balanced it will be perceived; though, don’t nerf it too much lest it become unusable. Lastly, consider adding unique interactions with World Lore or other Magics so that the proposal may benefit from interesting RP encounters or self-imposed limitations. For example: Kani vs Dense Objects, Templar’s Touch of Jophiael, Afflicted fear of Voidal Heaths, and Nephilim Corruption.

 

Third, clearly define what your proposal would be compatible with. It is a good habit to consider how your idea might be abused by those who would use it for entirely self-serving aims. If your magic can help them win CRP at no downside, they will try and stack it no matter their archetype. It is recommended that Lore Submissions cast broad strokes of incompatibility because it helps to future-proof the lore, as well as deter stackers. For example, barring “Lesser-Souls” and “Dark Magic” from compatibility would ensure that no Beastman nor Evildoer has access to your Lore. That said, always keep in mind the nature of your Power Source. If it is a neutral source akin to Genus or Anima, it will have significantly more compatibility than a deific Holy Magic. Play to your Power Source, not your biases. Lastly, if you feel that your proposed magic is very strong yet can’t justify broad incompatibilities, consider increasing the slots to [3] or more since it would lock out most major magics.

 

Fourth, Connection Rituals should be rare - not gatekept. When connecting players to a Magic, the LT favors systems that enable players to strike out on their own rather than maintaining a hegemony. For example, the LT will always prefer an individual to connect a student rather than necessitating a group of three perform the ritual. The freedom of a teacher to connect others and to make their own communities is vital to the longevity of a lore, to ensure it does not become bogged down by inactive players or bad-faith cabalists. To safeguard against excessive spread, a well-liked precedent has been classifying the connection ritual as “rare” and having it be taught independently to would-be teachers; this would then be marked on their MA prior to writing a TA. 

 

Fifth, keep your magic’s tells clear and consistent. The LT generally dislike tells that overlap with other magics, though this is not outright forbidden; play to your Power Source. Excessive overlap reduces the individuality of the Lore Submission and may result in criticism that it borrows too much from other magics. An example of a tell that has been overused is fire, given that bar the variances in color, Azdrazi, Templars, Fire Evocationists, Kani Oscillits, Naztherak and Darkstalker Paramounts can all use fire as a telegraphed tell. It is also worth having your tells manifest in unique ways amongst the abilities to differentiate them from one another. In the past, some players would decide to stop charging a high emote-cost ability and, rather than nullifying it in good faith, they would instead launch a low emote-cost spell due to their identical tells.

 

Sixth, ensure that your submission’s Physical and Mental changes build upon the lore rather than bloating it. Oftentimes submissions will have mental or physical effects that are “optional”, in that the lore-user may simply opt to ignore them outright. If this is the case, the section is meaningless and should just be cut. Physical Changes should consist of notable changes to the body and kept standard for all lore-users. Mental Changes should provide the loose framework for how lore-users ought to behave ingame; a well developed Mentality section will ensure that characters aren’t ruined or forced into behaving the same way. While the LT often prefers universal traits, lore-writers who would like to give options can simply provide a well-outlined table of choices.

 

 

ABILITIES

When writing Lore Submissions, Abilities comprise the meat of the content and subsequently face the greatest amount of scrutiny during Lore Review. Many submissions have been denied from just a few terrible abilities. The following tips will help to ensure that your submission stays on track, remains balanced and avoids the pitfalls of other lorewriters.

 

First, keep your abilities as simple and straightforward as possible. When writing and reviewing lore, I often put myself in the shoes of a new player who wields only an iron sword and plate armor. If the proposed ability is too oppressive or confusing to deal with, it will be too problematic to implement and force upon others. It is fine to have strong abilities, but there should always be some degree of counter play such as stunning the caster, line of sight breaking, telegraphs to enable dodging, or an ability to adequately block. Similarly, it may be worth avoiding AOE mechanics since they tend to be critiqued as overpowered and will oftentimes be nerfed into affecting only a few players anyways. If insistent on a broken ability, consider raising the emote cost as to enable players to either flee or break the magic-user’s concentration during its charge. Further, try to avoid using strength comparisons such as “Orc”, “Olog” or “Golem” given that this tends to spur crankiness among Lore Reviewers; quantify your abilities from the standpoint of a standard human with things like “Hard Shove” and “Hammer Swing”. Lastly, try and avoid designing broken psychic or illusory spells; these abilities should only simulate the effect rather than the true, overt forcing of it.

 

Second, please keep your Abilities on theme and as unique as possible. Abilities should always tie into the Power Source and overall theme of the lore; for example, Earth Evocation should not deviate far from rocks and dirt, and Holy Magic should not be capable of imposing evil, soul-afflicting curses. Jarring detours oftentimes make LT reviewers cranky and any ability that needs to be cut will significantly increase the chance of a denial. Further, it is a good habit to conceive of new abilities that are not found in other lores to maximize LT favorability. If a Lore Submission is filled with reskinned or powercrept spells from other magics, the LT will begin to feel as if there was no niche to begin with. If having difficulty in finding new ideas, at the very least try to apply a twist to existing concepts so that it would feel different.

 

Third, it may be worth having your abilities build upon each other in new ways. While not necessary, following this notion may help you to stay on theme while also developing your Spell Tiers. For example, Templarism begins with a torch-light spell that then builds into flares, projected flame, imbuements and even lore structures. Be warned, a pitfall lore-writers tend to fall into is that they do not make subsequent abilities varied enough. A higher-tier ability that solely seeks to add an increased range or modifier like “combustion” unto a prior ability is not separate in of itself, and most often is told to be merged. When spells are cut, the chance of denial increases.

 

Fourth, keep your spell ranges coherent, reasonable and simple. LT reviewers, when providing feedback, most frequently request reduction in spell ranges due to a perceived lack of counter or an endless ability to kite. Action and Movement Economy is vital to CRP and the LT do everything in their power to ensure an unbreakable loop does not occur. To achieve the greatest chance of success, simply have your spells require line of sight, or have the ranges be comparable to existing ranged mechanics found in the Techlock and other Magics. For example, a conjured lightning javelin should probably have a range of [16] blocks (like Techlock) rather than [100]. Lastly, though not forbidden, avoid quantifying ranges as “Quiet”, “Normal”, or “Shout” distance given that they lack an obvious numerical value; just say “[X] blocks, or if you must, [X] blocks (quiet, roleplay, etc.)”. 

 

Fifth, avoid “OOC Consent” abilities as much as possible. “OOC Consent” spells are often fundamentally flawed or strange to begin with, and lore-writers think they can bypass criticism by including said clause. In my personal opinion, these abilities serve to pressure players into being powergamed with the notion that they’d be a good-faith roleplayer if they accepted it. Yet still, the spell would not be able to stand on its own legs without this clause and is therefore improperly designed. The same critique can be levied onto “ET Consent” abilities that seek to justify immense powergame during events. Though not forbidden, your lore will see a higher chance of success if these abilities are limited to a singular ritual or entirely omitted.

 

Sixth, try to avoid an overreliance on the ST to implement your lore, be they ST Interactions, ST Signs, Management Implementation, et cetera. The LT is inundated with story requests as it is, and item farming magics/feats are generally frowned upon because they primarily foster self roleplay. Should something truly require an ST Signature, it is recommended that the requirements to attain such necessitate some degree of meaningful roleplay with other players. Doing so not only makes the lore more fun to engage with, but it also cancels out much of the criticism for a needed “cost”. Lastly, when designing lore structures, ensure to notate its durability so that players can be assured as to how many hits it would take to break it.

 

Seventh, and I cannot stress this enough, include redlines! Most concerns LT Reviewers may have towards a spell can easily be dissuaded by the inclusion of well-written redlines. When writing, I recommend that you place yourself in the shoes of the greatest moron imaginable and conceive of ways in which they can accidentally or maliciously misinterpret your lore for their own benefit. By providing safeguards that effectively balance the ability and address the dumbest of questions, the LT Reviewers are saved from having to tack on their own, and their opinion towards the Lore Submission will increase greatly. The biggest piece of advice with redlines to offer is to write your limits, rather than what it can or cannot do.

 

Eighth, and though this is not required by any means, it may be worth including an “OOC Note” following the Redlines for each ability. OOC Notes are effectively small sections included by the author that break down an ability and explain to the LT its overall intent and power from an OOC standpoint. I have found that these inclusions have helped to ease LT nerves while also relating your submission to relative interactions. For example, when I wrote Kani’s “Kinetic Strike”, I included an OOC Note that argued that the ability was simply a warhammer reskin for unarmored monks. Be warned, whataboutism holds little weight amidst Lore Review; all because another magic has a similar approved ability or that a mundane person COULD do something, does not mean the LT has to accept yours. 

 

More on ability types here:

 

More on ability components here:

 

 

RITUALS

When writing Lore Submissions, Rituals serve to provide unorthodox means to perform interesting feats and/or interactions with the World. Rituals tend to be powerful, communal and above all else - flavor. As a reminder, rituals are often the last section to be scrutinized by LT Reviewers. If what you propose comes across as bad, you may inadvertently sour the opinion of the LT and fumble the landing. The following tip may prove useful.

 

First and only, try to have your rituals be simple and functional. On a day to day basis, rituals that opt to be self-aggrandizing “ET Consent” spells find practically zero use. I instead recommend that your rituals be designed around the core mechanics of the Lore Submission, such as Resurrection, Magic Connection, CA Ascendancy, Lore Structure Crafting, Item Creation, and so on. Rituals that devolve into soul-obliterator doom circles or “talk to the dead” abilities are often critiqued as being weird and necessitate far too many redlines than the ability is actually worth. Lastly, MArt Production should be thematic and relic-based rather than custom OC spellforging; though, that is a topic for MArt criteria and a separate discussion altogether.

 

 

Here is a link to all Lore Criteria threads with short summaries of each thread’s contents if you have any questions or seek further reading.

 

 

[wowj 9747]

hi

[Dyl 2088]

first

[wowj 9747]

 

2 minutes ago, Dyl said:

first

hey unhide my comment i was first WTF!!!11!!

[Fishy 2709]

erm... is this allowed?

[Unwillingly 18113]

1 minute ago, wowj said:

 

hey unhide my comment

the power of the sun in the palm of my hand

[StingyParrot 1595]

Very based post

[subatomic 1498]

Putting this entire post into GPT and telling it to make lore

[Agy 756]

EXTREMELY helpful guide! I freaking wish I had access to something like this in the past :'>

It explains all issues in a detailed manner and actually goes the extra step to also elaborate on the "why", seriously well done!

I'm really curious to see how future pieces will be affected by this

 

[Scatmanpro 275]

Usefull post, thx a lot 🙏

[BUNNAYA 55]

[Narthok 10416]

Would be really helpful if a list of locked lore was included. I would like to write about / expand on approved lore that I have written but I am hearing conflicting reports of said region of lore being locked.