Nation Page Template

*This page is meant to be used as a template for standard wiki formatting, specifically for the creation of a country. Please follow the standards used here, but feel free to break from the format if necessary. Leave sections without information blank.*

**Nation Page Template**, officially the **Imperial Republic of Nation Page Template**, is a country in the southeast of the continent of Terria. (The first paragraph should be a general overview of the nation's culture, history, geography, and notable characteristics.)

Users do not need to use the page title text, as a page title will automatically appear on the page. A page should have its name in the first sentence, in bold. This should be the only bold text used in the article. The introduction paragraph, or paragraphs, should also refrain from using any headings such as an "intro". A table of contents usually generates automatically from having headings, though it can be toggled manually in page settings.

When making an infobox, one does not need to include all information if it does not exist. If it is unknown, or has not happened, leave it blank. Use asterisks for bullets, <br> for line breaks, and double brackets around page names to add links.

## Etymology

The name of the page should refrain from using parentheses, special characters, overly long titles, the word "the", or unnecessary descriptors. If there's one single word that the nation can be called, use that. Make sure that the page title uses proper title case when creating a page. The article, if it is long enough, should be separated by headers as seen below. Subheadings can be used as well; they do not need to be bolded or italicized.

Every nation has a name. The name of the nation in its common form can have an origin story, or it may be simply lost to time. It may also have several names in different languages. When adding text in other, non-English languages, it should be italicized.

The name of a nation should reflect the culture it belongs to, and may coincide with the name of its culture and language if it has a primary one. If it is a multiethnic state, it may have several names all in official use. The name should in some form or another make sense, and not be a joke, meme, or direct reference to a real-world place or thing.

## History

*Note that some nations may have a "Full article: History of [Nation]" if their history is particularly exhaustive.*

### Prehistory

If there is any prehistoric evidence of habitation, it may be relegated to a prehistory section. Note that prehistory does not exactly mean lore from prior to the nation's ingame existence; that is simply lore. Anything regarding ancient fossils, geologic events, the arrival of the first peoples, and any notable ruins or archaeological finds can be mentioned here.

### Early History

The founding of the nation itself, or any history that occured prior to the founding. May generally involve migration, ethnogenesis, founding myths, and any early written history. This is confined within the historical record, and not usually derived archaeologically unless the writings were lost and later found.

### Recent History (or not)

Any recent, disorganized events can be relegated to a temporary categorization so long as the page is regularly updated. They will eventually belong to an era of their own, but historians are often not aware of what era it is they live in until it has already occurred and gone.

### Further Dividing History

Use as many subheadings as is necessary to organize the nation's history into something legible. Wars, governments, eras, reigns of certain leaders, etc. can all be used to break up the long and often winding story of a nation. Wars in particular often warrant their own articles, so adding a full page link at the top of the section on said war is a good thing to add.

Writing histories is one of the primary goals of Terra Tales, and thus the history section may be the page's largest.

## Geography

A nation's geography is also an important thing to consider. Describe the overall land layout.

### Physical Geography

If there are a lot of different areas to cover, they may warrant a section dedicated to physical geography alone. Describe the major rivers, mountains, peninsulas, and other landforms that define the countryside. Consider which continent or region the country lays in, as well as the biome(s) present.

### Biodiversity

A good way to expand a nation's lore is to describe the local flora and fauna. Creating names for local plants and animals can be a great way to make the country feel much more alive and immersive, and if done right, can allow for interesting roleplay regarding hunting, safaris, ecological crises, interesting pets, herbology and potions, zoology or botany roleplay and literature, bizarre animal or plant products- and much more. Perhaps even a national animal.

### Climate

Describing the climate of the region can also make the country feel more immersive. Does the area get a lot of rainfall, or only a little? Is it warm year-round? Is it a wet-dry climate, or does it have four distinct seasons? What kinds of extreme weather may be found there- cyclones, tornadoes, flood-causing rains, sandstorms, magic weather? It is useful to describe average highs and lows, preferably with °C (and °F in parentheses, not everyone uses Fahrenheit) at least until a canon temperature system is developed.

## Government and Politics

Describe the government and political systems present in the nation. Is the nation a monarchy or republic, or something else entirely? Describe how leadership works, how laws are passed, how order is kept, and what political groups may exist and are competing for power within the country.

### Political Factions and Parties

If the nation is a republic, there may be different groups within it that make up the legislature. Feel free to list and describe each party or faction, and provide links to their pages if they exist. Tables showing electoral history may prove to be useful as well.

### Political Subdivisions

A nation that is large may have multiple provinces and regions, often based around a large regional town or group of towns with a shared identity. Smaller nations and city-states may conversely not have subdivisions.

### Law and Judiciary

Describe the nation's legal system and constitution, if desired.

### Foreign Relations

A brief overview of the nation's allies, enemies, and other relationships in recent history can be kept here. It may be useful to record active pacts and treaties here as well for common reference.

### Military

The army and possibly navy of the nation and its organization. If the country has a navy, feel free to post pictures of any ship builds.

## Economy

Describe the nation's economy and how it runs on a day-to-day business. Describe major industries, labor divisions, infrastructure, technology and inventions, and other economic activities. Most citizens in-lore will be actively involved in farming, fishing, animal husbandry, or other food-collecting jobs in a pre-industrial rural society, so keep that in mind unless the nation is a city-state that imports its food from elsewhere.

Discussion about banking, taxes, and what internal currency the nation uses can also be written here. Feel free to organize this section to fit the nation best.

## Demographics

Describing the peoples of the nation. Generally split at least into language and religion, but different ethnic groups and demographic histories can be added too.

### Religion

Describe the major faith or faiths of the nation. What gods do they have, and how do they worship? Are there religious conflicts? How does religion affect culture and daily life? It may be necessary to make further subdivisions for multiple religions. Add links to each religion should the religion have a page.

### Language

Describe the language(s) of the nation. What is spoken, and where? Which language is dominant, and which are minority tongues? Provide maps of distribution if possible, and remember to add in-text links to the page for the language itself if it exists.

### Race

In the world of fantasy, various different species and groups may coexist. Some countries will naturally have different groups in different areas, or mixing together. Describe which peoples live where, and how they interact.

## Culture

Culture is an important part of a nation. Any extra cultural tidbits that don't fit in with the politics, economics, or demographics sections may fall here.

### Media

#### Art

There is no doubt that there are plenty of talented artists in the community. Feel free to show off and describe the nation's art style and some of its most famous works if possible.

#### Literature

Writing books in-game is a fun way to produce some tangible cultural artifacts. Describe the most well-known written works and authors, or perhaps ancient in-lore literature from eons past.

#### Music

What kinds of music can be found in the nation? What instruments are played, and are there any famous tunes or traditional songs?

#### Newspapers

It is not uncommon from players to write regular newspapers updating on current events in the nation. Describe local and national journalism.

### Architecture

What kinds of materials are used for building, and why? For what climates and other conditions are buildings in the country built? Are there any special features of architecture here? Elaborate on different types of buildings, and feel free to flaunt the nation's best builds. However, don't use real-life terms to describe the architectural style (e.g. Victorian, Gothic, Japanese, Arabic, Mediterranean, etc.)

### Education

Describe the state of education in the country. How many people are literate? How long do they go to school before they must go work? Keep in mind typical medieval standards for this.

If there are any museums housing artifacts, or any major universities, feel free to mention them too.

### Holidays

Describe local festivals and national holidays. They may be religious in nature, or completely secular.

### Fashion

Are there any particular clothing styles that are worn by the people of the nation? Which cultures wear what? Show off some silly hats.

### Cuisine

What do people in the country usually eat? Name some national dishes, and what foods are considered local staples and delicacies.

## Extra Tips and Pointers

Here are a few ways to make a country's page easy to read and look good.

* Use of proper grammar and spelling. Don't be afraid to check.
* Use the third person. Do not use "I", "we", "you", or anything of the sort, unless it is a direct quote.
* Read up on Wiki rules and guidelines, as to not violate any rules.
* Use links, but only for the first time a thing with a page is mentioned. Do not make links for pages that do not yet exist.
* Add images with captions. They can be sized manually.
* Feel free to copy and paste formatting from other articles; just be sure to replace all information that isn't code. Plagarism can lead to penalties, and nobody likes having their work copied without permission.
* Be as neutral as possible when discussing events. Do not use overly emotional language, or be biased; bias can add flavor for ingame books and canon texts, but not Wiki articles.
* Refrain from referencing real-life terms and meta information (languages, countries, architectural styles, Discord servers, etc.) unless the article is specifically referring to non-canon meta events.
* Use in-lore dates, not real-world ones.
* Do not leave sections blank to complete later; if it will be completed later, the headings can be added later too.
* If all else fails, look at some preexisting articles on the wiki or at real-world Wikipedia pages for inspiration and examples.