About Arhet



How do I sign up?
As mentioned at the beginning, you can only join the Arhet community by invitation. To obtain this invitation you must write to Luciano, the owner of the project, via email at luciano@geofictician.net. Once you are admitted, your login information (username and password) will be sent to you through the email you used to send the request.

Your username will be the same as OGF's by default, and we ask that you keep it that way (read Can I change my username? for more information).

Where are the rules?
The "rules" of the geoficticion project appear on the Arhet page of the Geofictician wiki. We encourage you to read the "rules" before joining the project.

On the other hand, the rules of this wiki are:


 * You must be a member of the Arhet community to join this wiki. We ask you to avoid editing with IP addresses, to avoid confusion around breaking this fundamental rule.
 * Do not edit the wiki-articles of other users without authorization to avoid editing conflicts and unauthorized alteration of community projects.
 * Avoid adding spam, vandalizing articles, and including content not related to Arhet or OGF. Let's keep this wiki focused on its purpose.
 * Avoid adding offensive or inappropriate content or comments. In this community all cultures, ideologies and religious beliefs are welcome in a peaceful environment.
 * Avoid editing the Main Page, documentation articles, help and collaboration without authorization or if it is not necessary to improve spelling or structure.
 * Let's keep the discussions peaceful in the forum and talk pages. We all have different opinions, and they must be respected.

We appreciate everyone adhering to these rules to keep the wiki focused on its objective, and to keep the Arhet project on the right track.

Can I change my username?
Although the site allows it (due to an option that we forgot to disable), we ask that you do not change your username and keep the one that was given by default (the same as OGF).

By keeping the original username, we can have a complete and easy-to-recognize record of each user's activity on the wiki and map.

Is there a channel to talk about Arhet?
Yes, we have a wiki forum and a Discord server to talk about Arhet. If you haven't already joined the Discord server, enter through this invitation link, and once inside write in # countries-and-territories your username in OGF / Arhet and the projects you are currently working on so that you can be assigned a role.

You can find more information about the wiki forum and the Discord server in the Arhet communication and updates section of this page.

Where can I get more information?
On this page you can find useful information about the map, the wiki, the wiki forum and the Discord server. Click on any of the buttons to go to its section.

How to start an Arhet project
Welcome to Arhet! We are glad that you are a part of this amazing community. You have already got your Arhet account and now you want to start mapping, but you don't know where to start. "I'll start by getting a country!" you say, "But I don't know how to get it", you wonder internally later. Here we tell you how to do it!

First, we must clarify that the Arhet project is different from OGF. In Arhet you do not need to make a request to obtain your own territory, you simply choose a location and map it. Keep in mind that there are areas that are mapped under a common canon, so we suggest you check How to incorporate my country to a canon before choosing the area where you will work. If you don't want to map under any of the canons, feel free to put your country in any other zone.

In addition to the own territories (mapped by a single person), there are collaborative projects, available territories and reserved territories coordinated and assigned under different standards. We invite you to read the introduction of Portal:Countries and collaborative projects so you can better understand how these other types of territories work. If you want to join a collaborative project, please read the next point.

How to join a collaborative project
In Arhet, a collaborative project is a territory mapped by multiple users under the supervision and leadership of one or more coordinators. For organizational reasons, in the List of countries and collaborative projects we will place the coordinators as countryowners. Below the coordinators, a link to the list of all contributors will appear on a separate page.

If you are interested in joining a collaborative project, you should contact their coordinators through Discord. All collaborative projects are handled internally differently, but we recommend that everyone have a page here on the wiki (using the format  Arhet:Collaborative name ) with collaborative information about it. If instead of joining a collaborative project you want to create one, you are free to do so. We only ask you to take into account the points that we already mentioned.

How to incorporate my country to a canon
As we mentioned you in How to start an Arhet project, there are areas where territories are mapped under a common canon. A canon, within the context of the Arhet community, are all the territories mapped within a context, timeline and/or plot line defined and own in relation to other canons.

In order for you to better understand the concept, we will explain it with the Imperium canon. This is a great empire based on its own interpretation of magic, and has a theme of a modern Roman Empire and Ancient Greece (which implies that its mapping is based on modern Europe, West Asia and North Africa). The countries within its canon are influenced by the concept of magic, the Magonian language (Latin), and the Greco-Roman theme of The Empire.

Because canons constantly make changes, we chose to list them in Portal:Canons. We invite you to review the canons and their themes, to see if any of them fit the vision you have for your territory. Once you have selected one, we encourage you to notify the Canon Board (via the canon channel on the Discord server) that your country will now be a part of it.

How to create administrative boundaries
You now have a location for your project (or you chose a collaborative project), and incorporated it into a canon or decided to create a new one. Next you will map your country.

To define the location of your country you must draw its border. Do not forget that the borders are mainly drawn following natural characteristics, which usually cause the borders to be not straight. Once you have drawn the border (it is recommended that you divide it into 2 or more sections based on its size), you will create a relation with the following elements:

Remember that all border lines must be marked as  and constitute a closed polygon so that the country is represented properly. Do not forget that the borders of your country (if it has a coastline) must cover the 12 miles (approx. 19.3 km) of territorial sea that corresponds to any country. Read How to make natural mapping before continuing with the administrative divisions within your country.

How to map the administrative divisions within your country
Using this same method you can map the national and lower subdivisions of your country. The most common admin_levels for subdivisions lower than the country one are:,   and. Do not forget that as the admin_level has a higher number the subdivision will be smaller (compared to those with fewer number). Thus,  must be a subdivision of   (country),   must be a subdivision of , and   must be a subdivision of. Keep in mind that if there is an enclave within your country (either an own country or part of another), the boundary of that enclave should be marked as  in its country relation, while it is   in its own relation (the relation of the enclave).

If you want to know how admin_levels work in any country in the world, visit Tag:boundary=administrative on the OSM wiki. You can also visit Help:Administrative boundaries on the OGF wiki for more information on how to map administrative divisions and how they are represented on the map.

How to make natural mapping
Great, you have already mapped the border of your country! Now is the time to map the main natural features before moving on to the administrative divisions within your country. As you surely know from OGF, the administrative subdivisions of your country usually depend on natural features (a river, a mountain range, a chain of lakes, a notable coastal feature).

We consider it easier to map natural features and then set limits than to set and then match them to natural features. We recommend that you start with basic natural features and then focus on details, for more efficient mapping. There are a wide variety of landuses that you can use to map your natural features (see Key:landuse, Key:natural for lists).

Take inspiration from your mapping in OGF, notable examples in OSM and also from the natural mapping present in Arhet. Natural features are also allowed in this fantasy world that would be unlikely in our world, so the only limit is your creativity.

How to make human mapping
With the natural mapping and administrative boundaries already mapped, it's time to work on human mapping. Human mapping involves cities, towns, villages, isolated houses, roads, highways, airports, buildings, space launch centers, inhabited underground caves, villains' lairs in volcanoes, and huge palaces amidst fantastic gardens.

You can find the most common landuses for developed land on the OSM wiki. Also in the OSM wiki you will find a table of values ​​for buildings, amenities and highways. You can take inspiration or trace from any OGF or OSM site to map your project. You can start with general aspects such as highways, main landuses, some amenities and important buildings, and then enter the details that will make your project something incredible!

How can I edit the map?
Great, you already have everything planned for your territory! But wait, you don't know how to add it to Arhet's map. You may have problems using the iD editor, downloading data in JOSM, or you don't even know what the Arhet API for JOSM is. In any case, here we present solutions for any of those problems!

Editing with iD
Although there is an iD editor for Arhet, which you can access with the "Edit" button at the top of the page, we recommend mapping with JOSM to avoid major inconveniences. However, if you prefer to use the iD editor we give you a quick guide on how to use it.


 * If you had not previously logged in, clicking Edit will take you to the Login section (https://arhet.rent-a-planet.com/login?referer=%2Fedit). If you don't have an account check How do I sign up? at the top of this page.
 * Don't forget to press "Remember me" so you don't have to log in the next time you edit.
 * If you have an error when logging in, update the page with Ctrl + F5. If it doesn't work, feel free to contact the community at #help on the Discord server.
 * Once you enter the editor, remember to replace the background with Arhet's map. The tile URL for the Arhet background is: . When you add the tile URL, click Save and the Arhet map should appear in the background.
 * Once you set the background, you must find the area you want to map and zoom in to edit. You can only edit zooms 16 and up with the iD editor.
 * Once you finish adding your changes, click Save. In the changeset comment indicate what you have done on the map. It is recommended to avoid comments unrelated to what you did, and instead indicate appropriately what you are changing.
 * As soon as the successful upload notification appears, you can close the editor and return to the map.

Editing with JOSM
As we mentioned earlier, we recommend using JOSM for editing in Arhet. If you don't know how to use Arhet visit the JOSM Guide on the OSM wiki.

To map in JOSM you must have the Arhet API. The API is. To enter the API you must go to Edit > Preferences > OSM server > OSM server URL. Don't forget to press "Use basic authentication", enter your username and password, and press "Validate" to make sure you entered the API correctly.

After configuring the Arhet API, you must set the Arhet background image with the tile URL. To set the Arhet background image you must go to Edit > Preferences > Images > Selected sources. Click on TMS and add the tile URL:. The maximum zoom for the TMS URL is 20; therefore, at the end the TMS URL should be. Name the layer as "Arhet".

Once you have done all this, you will be able to map without problems. Take into account the recommendation about the changesets comments that we made in the previous point, and make sure to upload the changes before closing the editor. Remember that you can also check the recent changes in https://arhet.rent-a-planet.com/history.

How to cooperate with my neighbours
A fundamental part of this project, as well as OGF and any collaborative project, is the cooperation. Cooperating with other users is essential for the proper development of your project and the community in general. Learn about the ways you can cooperate with your neighbors:


 * How to solve mapping conflicts
 * How to discuss worldbuilding with neighbours
 * How to discuss common mapping features

How to solve mapping conflicts
A mapping conflict occurs when two mappers with adjacent territories have different visions for their mapping, a user's vision produces a lack of cohesion between its territory and the adjacent one or the unauthorized mapping of other users in your territory.

If the first case of mapping conflict occurs, it is recommended that you talk with the user of the adjacent territory to define a plan that matches their visions for their territories. This discussion can be done in the channel #countries-and-territories of the Discord server or to that user's personal DM. If you don't reach an agreement, we recommend you to consult with the community so that we can give you a recommendation to help you make a decision.

In the second case, you must send a message in a friendly tone to the user who mapped in your territory and explain the situation for which should not map in it. If the user does not relocate their mapping to another location (as long as they have not requested assistance to do so from the community), you can remove that unwanted change.

In both cases we ask you to handle mapping conflicts in a friendly manner, ensuring the prevalence of coherence and the cooperative spirit of our community. If you need the help of the community in relation to these conflicts, do not hesitate to ask for it.

How to discuss worldbuilding with neighbours
As it will be explained to you in Developing your project worldbuilding, worldbuilding includes the history, government, commerce, diplomacy, military and sports of your country or collaborative project. Unlike the previous point, worldbuilding discussions mainly involve the development of these concepts on the wiki rather than on the map.

Therefore, the differences in the worldbuilding could not directly affect the map, but the general vision of the user for its territory. Taking this into account, any element of worldbuilding that involves them should be discussed with the corresponding users. When you start a worldbuilding discussion you should mention all the points that you plan to include in the common worldbuilding, so that they can be evaluated by the users involved and even by the community at large.

How to discuss common mapping features
Before the guide, we want to clarify the difference between this point and How to solve mapping conflicts (mapping conflict Type 1), since maybe they can be similar. This point is to give you a guide on how to define common mapping features (boundaries, natural and human border mapping) before they are mapped, unlike the previous point that talks about resolving conflicts when the idea is already developed on the map. In both cases, the solutions can turn out to be somewhat similar.

It is recommended that you discuss with the user in the adjacent country your vision for the mapping features bordering its country. If the user does not like the idea, they can dialogue until they reach an agreement that follows what both plan for your territories.

How can I present my project to the community?
Now that you have mapped the main aspects of your country, you know how to map properly and the ways to cooperate with other users, it is time to present your project to the community! Formally presenting your project allows the community to congratulate you on your achievements and make suggestions on what to change.

It lets you know what is okay, what needs to be tweaked a bit, and what shouldn't be there. It allows you to develop a good relationship with the community and for it to reward your achievements. Your mapping and the general idea of ​​your project can appear on the main page!

Go ahead and present your project on the Discord server (#arhet-projects)! Very soon you will be able to present your project on the wiki-forum! Stay tuned to the bulletin!

How can I join the wiki?
As mentioned in Where are the rules?, you must be a member of the Arhet community to join the wiki. If you do not meet this requirement, you cannot be part of the wiki. To join the wiki you must click on "Create account" at the top of the page. When creating your account you must use the same Arhet or Discord username, so that we can quickly identify you.

As indicated on the page, adding your real name is optional. Instead of your real name, we prefer that you use that field to indicate your Arhet / OGF username (if you use Discord's username here). If you use the same Arhet username for the wiki, then leave the "real name" field in blank. Please don't share your real name on this wiki if you aren't ok with it.

How do I create a wiki article?
Write the name of the article you want to create in the box, and click on "Create page" to create your article.

Guide to include pages of your project
Arhet Encyclopedia is a wiki open to all users of the Arhet community. As you saw in What's the general purpose of this wiki?, the articles you can include are:


 * Country wiki-articles of countries and collaboratives projects within the Arhet project.
 * Administrative subdivisions, cities, towns and villages of the countries and collaborative projects in Arhet.
 * Articles about geographic elements and infrastructure of the countries and collaborative projects in Arhet.
 * Biographies of important people from the countries and collaborative projects in Arhet.
 * Worldbuilding elements of the Arhet countries and collaborative projects (history, government, commerce, diplomacy, military and sports).
 * Information and coordination pages about canons and collaborative projects within the Arhet community.
 * Featured content, documentation, help and collaborative articles about the countries and collaborative projects in Arhet.

Feel free to create your articles about these topics and include them within this wiki. If you have any questions, please let us know via #wiki on the Discord server.

You must also take into account what is presented in Where are the rules?, and avoid including in this wiki the following content:


 * Articles containing spam or content not related to the Arhet community (mapped projects, planned projects or Arhet initiatives related to OGF).
 * Content that vandalizes wiki articles (false information, content with ambiguous meaning, and improper incorporation of copyrighted content).
 * Articles with offensive and inappropriate content: improper mentions of sensitive events from the RW history, content that incites hatred or misinterpretation of RW ideologies, religious beliefs and cultures. The inclusion of this kind of content can lead you to be indefinitely expelled from the Arhet community.
 * Articles that promote drama and/or conflicts between members of the Arhet / OGF community, or promote hatred towards someone outside the community.

How to edit on the wiki
Since you know what content you can include and what not, you must know how to edit correctly on the wiki. There are two editors, the Visual Editor and Source Editor.

You can use either of the two editors to work on your wiki article, but it is recommended that when working with templates or special HTML codes you use the source editor.

For more information on wiki editors visit: Help:Introduction to editing with Wiki Markup/1.

Organizing your articles with categories
All content on this wiki is essential for the community, worldbuilding and map of each of Arhet's countries and collaborative projects. Therefore, it is important that all articles within a specific context are interconnected. The most efficient way to interconnect and organize wiki content are categories.

The categories are placed at the end of the article, with the following format:. It is recommended to add the categories using the source editor.

Categories should be assigned to the main article (such as country or collaborative project articles) and to the secondary pages within the same context. Articles can have multiple categories based on the number of top articles linked to them. All article from a country or collaborative project must be interconnected with the category of that country.

How should I write my country wiki-article?
Now that you know what content to include on the wiki, how to add it to wiki, and how to interconnect it with related pages, you can start working on your country wiki-article.

We invite you to read the next section for more information on how to write your country wiki-articles.

Types of country wiki-article
Arhet Encyclopedia uses standards similar to Wikipedia for country wiki-articles from the Arhet community. The standards indicate that there are 3 types of country wiki-article (1 of which has a subtype) that can be created on this wiki:
 * Sovereign country article. It is the most common type of country wiki-article on Wikipedia, OGF, and (possibly) in this community. These include countries with full sovereignty or majority recognition (such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Kenya, and the People's Republic of China). It is not necessary to make any specification in the infobox and it is possible to fill in the historical data field with "independence or separation from any country".**Commonwealth countries articles. These are identical to articles from sovereign countries, with the exception that their government may be linked to a foreign monarch (such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands or Spain) or belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations or another similar institution.
 * Countries with limited recognition article. This class is not as common as the previous 2, but it exists in real life. Some examples are: Republic of China (Taiwan), Nagorno Karabakh or Western Sahara. In some wikipedias (like Wikipedia en español) an important clarification is made (at the top of the infoboxes, generally) about their sovereign status, and that distinguishes them from the others.
 * Current dependencies or colonies article. This class of articles generally does not have a specific visual differentiation, but they are from those countries that are not yet independent from others, but maintain their loyalty to the central government. Catalonia, Kosovo or Taiwan are excluded from this classification.

Adding the infobox-country template
It is recommended to all users to include Template:Infobox country to their country wiki-articles. This is done to maintain consistency between articles, as well as to ensure a better quality in their writing. Next, know the fields of this template and their uses:

How to organize your country wiki-article
On Wikipedia, country wiki-articles are organized differently depending on the amount of information available, the number of contributors to the page, and the community initiatives linked to it. At Arhet Encyclopedia, because worldbuilding and mapping-linked content is developed by users themselves, we have chosen to develop a standard to maintain consistency between country wiki-articles. The standarized sections for country wiki-articles on this wiki, based on The Empire article structure, are:

Finally, don't forget to add the technical sections of the article. In the Notes section you can incorporate the list of notes that you added throughout the article. Notes are content on a topic that, to facilitate understanding of the article, are added separately. The References section includes links to the bibliographic sources of the article (they must be fictitious or based on real sources). The Related pages section includes navboxes including articles related to the country wiki-article.
 * Etymology and terminology. Linguistic origin of the common and / or official name of the country, as well as the terminology used in the name (whether official or common).
 * History. Summary of historical events, divided by periods or historical turning points. It is recommended to add these important events as subtitles for an organized explanation.
 * Geography. Outstanding geographic features in the country or collaborative project. It is recommended to add subtitles to explain more specifically these geographical aspects.
 * The subtitles that you can include are: (1) Location and borders, (2) Geology, topography and hydrography, (3) Climate, and (4) Administrative divisions.
 * It is recommended to add links to the map of the mentioned natural features. Use  for this purpose (read Template:Arhet-coordinates for more).
 * Politics. Political and governmental worldbuilding of countries and collaborative projects. The subtitles you can include are: Government, Law, Foreign relations and Military.
 * Economy. Outstanding elements of economic and industrial activity. The subtitles that you can include are: Overview, Agriculture, Science and technology, Transport, Energy and Tourism. You can also incorporate other additional subtitles depending on their relevance to the economy of its country.
 * Demographics. Summary of demographics (mapping and human population data) within your country or collaborative project. The subtitles that you can include are: Ethnic groups, Languages, Religion, Migration, Education and Health.
 * Culture. Outstanding elements of the activity, traditions and human art in your country or collaborative project. The subtitles that you can include are: Arts, Cuisine, Philosophy and Sport. You can also incorporate additional subtitles depending on the content you have about your country in these aspects.

Which content from my country should be placed in separate articles?
The country wiki-articles of the Arhet Encyclopedia must present generalized information about the country or collaborative project (with some important exceptions, considering the relevance of a specific point for the country). These exceptions, which can be added in separate articles, are:
 * Administrative subdivisions, cities, towns and villages of the country or collaborative project.
 * Articles about geographic elements and infrastructure of the country and collaborative project.
 * Biographies of important people from the country and collaborative project.
 * Articles to expand content on worldbuilding elements of the country or collaborative project.

Where can I find useful information to develop my country's worldbuilding?
You can find useful information on how to develop your country's worldbuilding in the next section, Developing your project worldbuilding.