Canon

Canon is a term applied to most franchises with one or more possible storylines, and refers to which of them is the official one to follow. In RuneScape, canon may be used to describe the correct or official way the world of Gielinor functions, or how things or people in the game run and act. For example, an issue which players often dispute the canonicity of is whether or not Guthix created Gielinor, or whether he just shaped it.

Another issue would be RuneScape fan fiction or novels. Betrayal at Falador, for example, mentions a constellation called Saradomin. However, in the Observatory Quest, the player sees constellations such as Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, which are real-world constellations. Another point of debate, the FunOrb game Armies of Gielinor, directly contradicts established history at times; for instance, the Kinshra unit can be summoned by the player even though the Kinshra are known to have been established thousands of years later, in Fourth Age. This leaves the canonicity of new information presented in the game debatable.

Jagex tries at every possible opportunity to keep to the established canon, but there is still dispute about certain subjects, especially on sketchy and highly-speculated subjects, such as the history of gods like Zaros and the Menaphite Pantheon.

Usually considered canon

 * The RuneScape game itself is usually considered canon, although Scale Theory suggests that it may not represent the game's story with 100% accuracy.
 * Information found on the official RuneScape website. This includes sources like Lores and Histories, news articles, and Knowledge Base articles. Information released through sources such as the Postbag from the Hedge and God letters is more debatable; see below.

Debateable canonicity

 * The novel Betrayal at Falador. Although it generally does not contradict established information, its events are never directly mentioned in-game. In one Q&A session with Jagex, a moderator hinted that further in-game references to the novel would be made, suggesting that Jagex considers it canon.
 * The FunOrb game Armies of Gielinor. The game itself contradicts established history numerous times; locations that did not exist during the Third Age are referred to frequently, organizations and races not active at the time are present, technology not created until the Fourth and Fifth Ages can be used, and events and battles are often contradictory to other accounts. Because of this, it is usually not considered to be canon, although new characters such as Valis and formerly unnamed locations such as Hallowglade and Cave Canem are sometimes considered to be loosely canonical. According to a Q&A on the FunOrb forums on 18 February 2010, the Armies of Gielinor campaigns are considered canon.
 * Information revealed through both the God Letters and Postbags from the Hedge are almost always considered canonical. However, some responses to player letters are intended for humorous effect, and as such may not be intended to be interpreted seriously. For instance, in one Postbag from the Hedge an Isafdar tripwire responds to a player letter as though it was sentient.
 * Information revealed by official Jagex Moderators and staff. Usually information revealed on the forums by moderators is considered canonical, but responses received through Customer Support are less monitored and may not be official.