Help:Writing an article about a creature
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The term "creature" refers to any species or race in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting. Articles about a specific or named member of any species or race should have a person article, even if they are of a monstrous species, such as a dragon or goblin. For help with this, see Help:Writing an article about a person. You should begin the article by using the {{Creature}} template. Visit that template page, and copy the text from the usage box. You can just paste this at the beginning of your article and fill in the blanks. The template automatically knows only to display the information that you fill in, so if you leave any of the fields blank, they will just not be displayed. See the example template for White dragon on this page. You might also want to refer to the policy on citing sources to provide references for the statements in your article.
Sections
There are no hard-and-fast rules on what sections should and should not exist within an article, although there is some logic to the convention that has built up with the creation of many articles about creatures. Typically the sections for a commonly playable race are different from those of a creature which serves as cannon-fodder for adventurers. You might consider using, but are not forced to use, the following sections in your article:
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- Appearance
- A physical description of the creature. Listing here coloration, body shape, size and defining features of a typical member of the species or race, as well as any variations among subspecies. If these subraces are too distinctive, though, it might be best to create a different article for each one, such as is done for dragons.
- Abilities
- Without delving into "crunch", describe the capabilities of the creature and its defining abilities. This would include special attacks and defenses, but should not present any quantifiable information that would allow someone to use these abilities without the source material.
- Ecology
- The environments, behaviors, and .
- Known Examples
- If specific examples of the creature exist in the setting, this is an appropriate place to list them, along with a brief description of their characteristics. It should provide a link to the relevant person article for their full information.
In the case of a race (rather than a species), the following sections are appropriate, though not required.
- Appearance
- Similar to the appearance section for any creature, this should describe the physical qualities of the race and their defining features.
- Society
- For races with complex societies, describe the workings of their civilization here.
- History
- Some races have distinct histories which are separate from the general history of Golarion. Describe any major historical events or eras here.
- Beliefs
- If the race has specific religious beliefs, detail them here.
- Inhabitants
- Since most races will have far too many specific examples to list, simply providing a link to the related racial category should be sufficient.
Categorization
Although the following list is not exhaustive, generally an article about a creature should be categorized according to:
Type
The creature type (and any subtypes) should be included. This allows for easy searching for a specific type of creature. For example, a creature with the humanoid type and the goblinoid subtype would belong in the Category:Humanoids and Category:Goblinoid subtype creatures categories.
Challenge Rating
All creatures have a base challenge rating, and this should be noted both in the {{Creature}} template as well as through inclusion in a category. A slurk would thus be included in the Category:CR 2 creatures category.
Alignment
Include the creature in the related alignment category or categories based on its normal alignment. A creature which is always evil, but has no inclination toward law, neutrality or chaos would be included in three alignment categories: Category:Lawful evil creatures, Category:Neutral evil creatures, and Category:Chaotic evil creatures
Environment
Be sure to include the article in a category that reflects its natural environment, unless it has the "Any" environment descriptor. An example of this would be placing the example white dragon in the Category:Cold mountain creatures category.
Template
If the article is on a template that can be applied to another creature, include it in only the categories that apply to the templated creature, not the base creature. Also, add the article to the Category:Creature templates category.
Unsure about Categories?
If you have written an article and are unsure about which categories to apply, or simply want your categories double checked, then please feel free to add this text at the bottom of your article in this format:
[[Category:Please check categories]]
This will flag to others that the article's categories need checking or adding. We hope that, soon thereafter, another wiki member will be along to help.