Template:Location/doc

This template is for use in any article about a physical location or political state within the Forgotten Realms. This is a general template for use on locations and states, but be aware that there might be a more specific template available for the type of location you are editing. See the list below. This template has been through a few iterations with new parameters added at various times, not to mention the merge with the State template. Therefore, there are a few different ways to use this template depending on how much historical data there is for a particular location and how you want it presented. Please read the explanations of the parameters and view the examples below.

Please add wiki links to articles for the relevant topics. All date fields that ask for a year will be linked to the Roll of Years in Dalereckoning, so please enter an integer year, like 1358, and it will be linked to 1358 DR for you. There are other date fields that are free-form so you can specify ranges of dates, approximate dates using circa, and so on. Use the parameters that best fits the available information.

Example
Examples are shown to the right.

Parameters

 * image : Optional. An image that describes the location, or a map showing the location. Just list the name of the file. For backward compatibility,  and   tags should still work. The image will be resized to fit the infobox.
 * caption : Optional. A description of the image, if necessary. This field will be italicized for you.
 * name : Required. Name of the location.

Geography
These parameters are for things you might find on a map of the location.
 * alt spelling : Optional. Any alternate ways to spell the name of the location.
 * aliases : Optional. Any nicknames, slang names, or names in other languages for the location.
 * type : Optional. Geographical, topological, architectural, or political description, e.g., Desert, Lake, Mountain, Bridge, City, Kingdom, Country, etc. If the location is a building or a habitable structure, then you should probably use Building.
 * region : Optional. The region of Toril, e.g., the Western Heartlands or Maztica. If its not on Toril then put the plane of existence and/or a realm for this.
 * size : Optional. Square area, or something from Category:Settlements by type or Category:Settlements by population, if applicable.
 * elevation : Optional. The height above sea-level of the location.
 * depth : Optional. The depth below sea-level of the location (for undersea or Underdark locales or the deepest point of a body of water.
 * capital : Optional. Capital city, if applicable.
 * largest city : Optional. If no capital, or the capital is not the largest, you can use this.
 * georefs : Optional. You can place &lt;ref&gt; tags here and they will go in the Geography subheading rather than clutter up the infobox.

Society
If the location was inhabited by sentient beings, then these parameters describe aspects of society that might be useful for a traveler to know.
 * demonym : Optional. The name used for the inhabitants of this location.
 * population : Optional. The latest population figure for this location. Please add the date, as in "12,300 in 1370 DR". Note that the History section below has two more ways to present the population, so you may use one of those if you know past census data.
 * races : Optional. The races of the known inhabitants. Use a percentage table if the proportions are known.
 * languages : Optional. The predominant languages spoken in this location.
 * religion : Optional. List the deities worshiped or the name of the religious organizations operating in this location. You may separate them with commas or with &lt;br /&gt; tags, whichever looks best.
 * alignment : Optional. The general alignment of the inhabitants of this location. For any edition except 4th, you may use an alignment grid if specific alignments are known.
 * socrefs : Optional. You can place &lt;ref&gt; tags here and they will go in the Society subheading rather than clutter up the infobox.

Commerce
If the location has an economy, then it likely trades with others. Some states will even issue their own currency.
 * imports : Optional. List the goods and services imported by this location.
 * exports : Optional. List the goods and services exported by this location.
 * currency : Optional. The name(s) used for currency in this location. Use a currency table if possible.
 * comrefs : Optional. You can place &lt;ref&gt; tags here and they will go in the Commerce subheading rather than clutter up the infobox.

Politics
If this is a state or country, then it must have some form of government. Many of these parameters will be unnecessary or redundant. Choose the ones that best fit the location.
 * government : Optional. The political system governing the location, e.g., City-State, Feudalism, Dictatorship, Theocracy, Mageocracy, Matriarchy, Monarchy, Tyranny, etc.
 * rulertype : Optional. A title, like King, Queen, First Sorceress, Mayor, High Imperceptor of the Sacred Bovine, etc.
 * ruler : Optional. The name of the current ruler, if applicable. If you specify rulertype then it will be used as the label for this field. Please add the date, as in "Azalar Falconhand in 1375 DR". Note the History section below has two more ways to present the leadership of a state or country, so you may use one of those if you know past rulers.
 * head of state : Optional. The title of the head of state. You may use this and leader1 instead of rulertype and ruler if it is more appropriate. This is also used to distinguish between a figurehead (like a queen) and the head of government (like a prime minister).
 * leader1 : Optional. The name of the most recent person who was the head of state. This combines with head of state just like rulertype and ruler. Please add the date just as for ruler, if you can.
 * head of government : Optional. If some other entity actually runs the government, put their title here, otherwise leave it blank.
 * leader2 : Optional. The name of the most recent person who was the head of the government, if different from the head of state. Please add the date just as for ruler, if you can.
 * executive : Optional. Yet another way to specify a person or persons in power, if there are separation of duties and responsibilities where this makes sense. Give title and name here.
 * legislature : Optional. The governing body charged with making laws, if applicable.
 * judiciary : Optional. The court system where points of law are adjudicated, if applicable.
 * allegiances : Optional. List allies, trade pacts, or whatever fits.
 * govrefs : Optional. You can place &lt;ref&gt; tags here and they will go in the Government subheading rather than clutter up the infobox.

History
All the parameters above are for the most recent information about the location. Here is the place to document past rulers, population growth, and major events that shaped this location in its past.
 * established : Optional. The date this state, country, or territorial entity came into being. This is a free-form field so you may use terms like circa for approximations.
 * start event : Optional. If the establishment of this state was marked by something particularly noteworthy that you feel merits mentioning, then enter the name of the event, preferably wikilinked.
 * start date : Optional. The date of the auspicious event. Please use Dalereckoning.
 * event1, event2, event3, event4 : Optional. The names or brief descriptions of any major events between the establishment and disestablishment of this state, country, or territorial entity.
 * date1, date2, date3, date4 : Optional. The dates associated with those events. These are free-form fields so you may specify a range of dates, e.g. 1223 DR–1226 DR, approximations like circa &minus;3000 DR, or whatever is appropriate.
 * disestablished : Optional. The date this state, country, or territorial entity came to an end. A free-form date field.
 * end event : Optional. If the ending was particularly glorious or ignominious and deserves to be noted, then wikilink the name of the event here.
 * end date : Optional. The date of the end event in Dalereckoning.
 * predecessor : Optional. What was at this location before the subject of the article? Was it a lonely trading post before it became a thriving metropolis?
 * successor : Optional. What did this location become after the subject of the article came to an end? Did it become a haunted swamp after a great flood?
 * population1, population2, population3, population4, population5 : Optional. This is another way of describing the population growth of the state, country, or location over time. Please specify population numbers in chronological order (earliest first) and use commas to denote the thousands and millions, e.g. 1,340,000 for one million, three hundred forty thousand.
 * popyear1, popyear2, popyear3, popyear4, popyear5 : Optional. The years for population1 etc., as an integer (no commas) in Dalereckoning. Do not link the year, it will be linked for you. Dashes will be converted to minus signs.
 * poptable : Optional. If you have more than 5 population items, or you want to specify ranges for the dates, or you just want to format it your own way, then use this parameter. This will place a small bold heading of "Population history" above your input and give you the full width of the infobox to use. Typically a Split table is used to make a nice two-column presentation.
 * ruler1, ruler2, ruler3, ruler4, ruler5 : Optional. Similar to population1 etc., You may link the names of up to five past rulers of this state, country, or tavern. If you specified a rulertype above, then it will be used here also.
 * ruleryear1, ruleryear2, ruleryear3, ruleryear4, ruleryear5 : Optional. The years for ruler1 etc., as an integer (no commas) in Dalereckoning that the ruler assumed office or control. Do not link the year, it will be linked for you. Dashes will be converted to minus signs.
 * rulertable : Optional. Similar to poptable&mdash;an alternative to ruler1/ruleryear1 etc. that allows you to format the data as you wish. Typically a split table is used to list the names and dates or date ranges. Dates are NOT automatically linked. Example:

Navigation Links
Links to categories that pertain to this location can be added to the bottom of the infobox using the following parameters.
 * usethe : Optional. Modifies the generated category links described below: Set this to any value (typically yes) if you want the category links to use "the" before the name, e.g., "Settlements in the Moonshaes" instead of "Settlements in Moonshaes".
 * useon : Optional. Modifies the generated category links described below: Set this to any value (typically yes) if you want the category links to use "on" instead of "in" before the name. E.g., "Locations on Mount Ieldroun" instead of "Locations in Mount Ieldroun".
 * linkname : Optional (not shown above). If the name is different than the one used in the categories, you can specify the correct category name here. For example, "Locations in Ysgard (layer)" instead of "Locations in Ysgard".
 * inhabitants, locations, organizations, settlements, roads, mountains, bodies of water, forests, events, food and drink, items : Optional. Set these to any value (typically yes) to have the template automatically generate a link to the category.
 * nocat : Optional (not shown above). Set this to "true" if you want to suppress auto-generated categories. Typically only used on documentation pages like this one.

Standardized Sections
These are the typical section headers for an article about a location, as discussed in this forum thread. You can easily cut and paste it from here and delete the ones you don't use:

Other Location Templates

 * Template:Body of water
 * Template:Building
 * Template:Celestial body
 * Template:Road
 * Template:Mountain