What is the Guild Wars Realm?

[noggieca]

We have Tyria and Cantha .... but ..... they are contenants on what planet/realm?

Any thoughts or evidence?

[Cyberman]

The planet itself is named "Tyria" as well, as far as I know.

[OrionH]

I dont think that was thought about when GW first came out... the land of Tyria was at first look all there was. Perhaps the planet/realm will get a name as more continents are 'discovered'

[Elvin Drude]

after all, the world, minus the monsters, would only take about 3-4 hours to walk across, and thats only about the same size as a large country, so there must be more to be found.

[ShadowSword]

The planet itself is named Tyria. Yes there must be other continents but at the moment I don't think that the Lore Forum is considering the continents on a real world scale. It's just about the one area where everyone accepts it as just a game mechanic.

[False Visage]

We have no evidence Tyria is, in fact a Planet. It could simply be some kind of plane of existence; we assume that it is a Planet since that's all we know it could be. However, given the nature of the Guild Wars universe and the fact it's set in a Fantasy setting, other possibilities do exist.

[Quintus Antonius]

We have Tyria and Cantha .... but ..... they are contenants on what planet/realm?

Any thoughts or evidence?

There is plenty of evidence, besides the simple fact of NPC's talking about two distinct continents and developers refering to them as such, you can also travel from one to the other on a ship. Not a spaceship, not a starship, a seafaring vessel.

Also there are healthy and active trade routes between the two, as well as other socioeconomic relations and emmigrations.

There is absolutely no doubt that they are on the same planet and continuity.

We have no evidence Tyria is, in fact a Planet. It could simply be some kind of plane of existence; we assume that it is a Planet since that's all we know it could be. However, given the nature of the Guild Wars universe and the fact it's set in a Fantasy setting, other possibilities do exist.

That's a bit premature don't you think? There is an abundance of evidence to support the Tyrian planet. First off, we have Gaile and other developers publically saying that Tyria is both a continent and the namesake of the planet. The Manuscripts speak of Lord Odran travelling to different planets via the Mists. Ships are able to sail and there is a compass (which means there must be a magnetic north) which also leads credience to the fact that this is a planet. In areas such as the Ring of Fire, there are upswellings of magma from beneath the surface of the planet (lava). Finally, the presence of a moon means that this must be a planet. A flat "plane of existance" would not have the necessary gravitational pull to keep a moon in orbit as it would not be spinning and would not be a ball.

One last undisputable piece of evidence: gravity. The fact that we can stand on the ground without floating off into space proves, for a fact, that Tyria is a spinning planet with a gravitational force keeping things on the ground.

Now, is the planet Tyria in the same universe as Earth? That can be disputed, and probably never proven or disproven. The Manuscripts do talk of the "mutiverse", which suggests parallel universes do exist.

That is largely irrelevent though, as it does not change the planetary fact that is Tyria.

[lavenbb]

then it would be incorrect to call prophecy made characters "Tyrians" while the factions characters "Canthans" as Gaile and the rest kept mentioning. since everyone are Tyrians, there're only the distinction of Ascalonians, Krytans, Canthans etc.

[Quintus Antonius]

then it would be incorrect to call prophecy made characters "Tyrians" while the factions characters "Canthans" as Gaile and the rest kept mentioning. since everyone are Tyrians, there're only the distinction of Ascalonians, Krytans, Canthans etc.

Not techinically. When working with symantics like that, you have to take context into account. Because Tyria is a planet and a namesake continent, it is important to consider how you are using the word "Tyrian".

In the event of an encounter with extraplanetary or extradimensional beings, the people who inhabit the planet Tyria would all be considered "Tyrians", however when interacting with people from the same planet, it is fine to divide that into further categories and say if you are from the continent Tyria you are a Tyrian, while if you are from the continent Cantha, you are a Canthan.

It's all about the context.

Think of it this way: If I live in New York City in New York state (which I don't, I live in Pennsylvania, but let's suppose for the sake of argument), I am a New Yorker, both by city and by state; however, someone else who lives in Albany, New York, is still considered a "New Yorker" because they are still from the state of New York. In the scenario of the two of us meeting, because we are both "New Yorkers", we default to the next classification which seperates us--our respective cities--making me the contextual New Yorker in that situation.

Understand? It's all rather confusing, but if you think about it in terms of "levels" of classification and not just the title itself, it makes more sense.

[ErikkuWorisu]

So Tyria is a continent and the name of the Planet? That's like saying we live in Earth, Earth. :p

[Laibeus Lord]

yah. in fantasy worlds, it is common, especially in virtual worlds like online games where the name of the planet was not thought of originally.

quick example I can think of is (pardon me on this one) Warcraft:
Planet: Azeroth
Continents: Azeroth, Kalimdor, Lordaeron (now plaguelands)
Countries/Kingdoms: There is also an "Azeroth" Kingdom in Warcraft.

^_^
Guild Wars fell to that loop hole. And a planet's name is usually the most ignored name in a medieval-fantasy world/genre.

[Santax]

Tyria is the name of the planet, and the continent in which Prophecies takes place. In Factions, you'll see Tyria referred to more as the "namesake continent" or the "northern continent".

[JohannusEricksson]

On the matter of walking across the continent in a matter of hours I think that we should look at our avatars as being grossly enlarged as with all monsters and NPCs as this would then make the 'continents' truly continents.

It would also explain why 'cities' are so small and why they put up with hordes of monsters just outside gates since this would hamper trade and daily life quite considerably. Ascalon city is actually smaller than Ashford if you take into account the number of dwellings they have there.

Just my idea really as I like to think of the planet as a true planet rather than a small moon :).

Anyway, sorry if this is slightly off thread, I'm pretty certain it's my first and I'm truly blown away by the work that you guys are doing here :)

Sorry edited: My first proper theory as opposed to the wing thing.

[Quintus Antonius]

I'm not quite sure I follow you, Johannus. Can you explain what you mean a bit better for me?

[JohannusEricksson]

I'm not quite sure I follow you, Johannus. Can you explain what you mean a bit better for me?

Sorry, a lot of people have talked about how it can take a few hours to walk across the continents (especially Cantha) and I've always thought just how small 'cities' like Rin and Ascalon are, especially compared to the size of Ashford.

It also bothered me that these cities had monsters prowling around outside their very gates and so i started to think that what was actually the case was that our Avatars were actually grossly out of proportion to the actual environment, as were the cities. Bit like 10/1 wargaming where 1 figure represents 10 actual troops.

Hope that's a bit clearer :)

[The Pointless]

Yeah, probably taking a page out of Stargate's book here, but with some of the talk of races from other worlds (I'm sure there was a thread somewhere discussing the Mursaat and where they originated) and Tyria's disturbingly small size, what if the intelligent races of Tyria never originated from Tyria?

(I'll shut up now. Lore ain't my speciality)

[Zion Farbow]

mm now that i remember..wh is it that the towns have only NPcs to support Players and the towns actual size in any measurement is soo small to be actually a town or city or outpost..

For Instance the capitol Cities for Kryta (LA), for Shiverpeaks (Droknars), and Ascalon( Rin or Ascalon city).

Plz ANET MAKE IT MORE LIVELY!! like in in Cantha..make at least some travelers goin around >>

[nubnub]

I always likened Tyria (the planet thus far) to a feudal continent. I also have taken to calling the northern continent "Ascalon" because that's where my character came from and that's good enough for me. One thing that confuses me, though. Apparently, Elona and Tyria are part of the same land mass. So are they 2 separate continents, or one super-continent? If so, what would be the super-continent's name?

Half the time, I think the writers are just making these story lines up by throwing darts at a story board. :grin:

[Quintus Antonius]

Ever heard of Europe and Asia? =P