WRITING GUIDELINES

Doctrina Malum articles are observational and research documents belonging to the Emperor’s Holy Inquisition. Field agents and researchers alike will make use of these documents in their missions, so proper procedure is of the utmost importance. Agents can write Articles for any Ordo, regardless of which they have pledged fealty to.

Heretical cults, xenos fauna, Warp-born entities: these and everything in between are all suitable subjects for documentation. The cosmos is vast and uncertain, and the Archivists welcome all manner of subjects into the Athenaeum.

Articles consist of the following:

• Title: Simply give your article the desired title, and the site Archivists will affix the appropriate three-digit designation to it.
  • E.g. “OX-005 – Hakka of Hakachack” is the fifth article within the Ordo Xenos archives. “OH-003 – Wolfpack” is the third article in the Ordo Hereticus archives.
• Ordo: The submission form will require you to select an ordo for the article to be filed under. This is necessary for the servitors to properly sort the archives. Descriptions of each ordo and the subjects that fall under their purview can be found in the Ordo tab.
  
  
• Threat Level: Similarly to the ordo designation, agents must categorize their articles by threat level. These can be found in the Threat Levels tab.
  
  
• Content: The body of an article must remain professional, concise, and objective, as it is to be used by a variety of Inquisitorial agents in their field work or research. Please refer to the Example Article to see how this should look, and to the templates for an easy copy+paste to help get you started.
  • At minimum, an Article should include these three sections in its content:
    • Subject: a line that states which Ordo the subject fall under, along with its numerical designation.
    • Threat Level: a line that states the subjects threat level — Nullus, Minoris, Majoris, or Extremis.
    • Description: a straightforward account of what the Inquisition knows about the subject (its appearance, its observed behaviors or phenomena, its significance to various cultures, beings associated with it, etc.)
  • Further information may be included, such as audio log transcripts and first-hand accounts. Please refer to the Templates on this page to see how this should be formatted. *Note: these additions must support an Article that already has a subject and Content. (i.e. interviews and audio transcripts cannot be standalone Articles.)
    
    
• Review Process: Archive staff will review your submission for formatting and content before publishing it. This process is generally finished with 1-2 days. However, due to the occasional Warp anomaly messing with astropathic messages or the subject of an Article breaking the mind of the assigned archivist, this process may take longer.
  • If more than two days have passed since you submitted your article, please feel free to contact coldopenstorieseditors@gmail.com in order to check on the status of you submission. 

The body of any article should be formatted like the following:

Subject: OX-002 – Groundskeepers

Threat Level: Minoris

Description: 

OX-002 is comprised of a series of semi-autonomous machines, located on the barren world of +++++, in the +++++ system, Segmentum Pacificus. Appearing as floating chrome spheres, instances of OX-002 can be found in each region of the planet. Adepts estimate that as many as 10,000,000 of these machines may be present on the planet’s surface. The machines appear to be impervious to hostile environmental conditions and small-arms fire, and do not respond to verbal communication.

The spheres move around the planet’s surface, reshaping the terrain. A sample of the reformed terrain revealed that the previously barren soil had become nutrient-rich. Furthermore, atmospheric scans revealed that the planet was rapidly becoming more suitable for habitation. It is believed that OX-002 is in the process of terraforming +++++. However, it is unknown how long OX-002 has been terraforming said planet, or why it is doing so. 

Currently, OX-002 and the planet +++++ are not believed to present a threat to the Imperium. However, a research outpost has been established to facilitate continued observation of OX-002.

Entries must state be categorized under one of the ordos:

• Ordo Hereticus: Articles about the Lost and the traitorous individuals, renegade ex-Imperial groups, and other heretical subjects should be filed under the Ordo Hereticus.
  • Ordo Hereticus articles should received the prefix “OH-“ before their numerical designation.

     

• Ordo Malleus: Articles focusing on daemonic entities, Chaos infestations, and other Warp-based phenomena belong under the Ordo Malleus.
  • Ordo Malleus articles should received the prefix “OM-“ before their numerical designation.

     

• Ordo Xenos: Articles concerning the artifacts, cultures, and biology of alien species fall under the purview of the Ordo Xenos.
  • Ordo Xenos articles should received the prefix “OX-“ before their numerical designation.

Entries must state the subject’s threat level. This is used both for categorization by the Archivists, and to give readers an idea as to the nature of the subject. These threat levels are drawn largely from the Ordo Calixis, and are as follows:

• Nullus: For subjects that have been exterminated, rendered intert, or become dormant.
  
  
• Minoris: Threats that are dangerous only in larger numbers, and are generally left as local issues.
  
  
• Majoris: Considerable threats that may endanger entire cities, or an entire world if left uncontained.
  
  
• Extremis: Threats with the potential to endanger entire worlds, along with affecting the greater Imperium if not contained.
  
  
• Terminus: +//RETRIEVAL ERROR. ACCESS UNAUTHORIZED.//+
  
  

Changing threat levels:

• It is possible for subjects to be escalated or deescalated on the Threat Level scale. (I.e. An Extremis-level subject may be terminated and become categorized as Nullus).
  
  
• In the case that a shift in Threat Level is necessary, please cross out the former Threat Level (Shift+Alt+D), and add the new designation after it. Do not delete the former designation. (E.g. “Nullus Majoris.”)
  
  
• Be sure to add to the Article, stating the reason why the subject has had its designation changed.

Simply copy and paste the following:

Subject: [Insert subject designation here – the initials of the ordo it is categorized under followed by it subject number (e.g. OX-002, OH-135).]

Threat Level: [Insert threat level here – Minima, Minoris, Majoris, Extremis.]

Description: [Write a detailed, objective description of the subject – either in first-person or third-person.]

*[Bracket] = Your text

*Note: Interviews are not standalone Articles, but are instead a way to flesh out or give more narrative structure to a pre-existing subject. Before submitting an interview, please ensure that you have a basic Article filled out.

Simply copy and paste the following:

Transcript: [Insert transcript title (e.g. Interrogation of +++, Testimony of +++]:

Interviewer: [Name and description (may be blocked out using “+”.)]

Interviewee: [Name and description.]

Foreword: [Short description of circumstances surrounding interview.]

Begin Log (Optional time and location info)

Interviewer: [insert dialogue]

Interviewee: [insert dialogue]

<[Optional – Insert descriptions of actions – e.g. Interviewer gazes longingly into interviewee’s eyes.]>

[Repeat until finished.]

End Log (Optional time and location info)

Closing Statement: [Short summary of events following the interview.]

*[Brackets] = Your text

For reasons of organization, data classification, or simply personal taste, agents may wish to use collapsible portions of text in their articles.
To do so, copy and paste the following shortcode in the text box of the Article Submissions page, switching out the “Section title here” and “Your content here” portions accordingly:

• Section title here

  Your content here

Simply write the desired information in the “Your content here” section, and readers will need to click on the spoiler section’s title in order to read the hidden text.


Here’s an example of how it should look:

Please consider the following when writing an article:

• Keep your descriptions clear. While field recordings and interviews may get messy, the document itself should have no trouble conveying its ideas to the reader.
  
  
• Remain professional. While our foes deserve only ruination, biases will only dampen an article’s usefulness. Righteous zeal should be saved for the Imperium’s enemies, not one’s paperwork.
  
  
• Consider the reader and adjust accordingly. While a menial may need large amounts of explanation as to the terminology used by the Inquisition (followed by a requisite memory wipe), fellow agents of the Ordos will not require such explanations. Explanations should be saved for more obscure terminology or phenomena. This will save space and allow the entries to flow more smoothly.
  
  
• Articles are formatted using the ancient noospheric cant known as “HTML.” Agents well-versed in it use may use the cant to enhance the visual appeal of their articles.