History Main / UniverseBible

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' famously had a massive one, and it was a recurring entity in on-line discussions. It was essentially a detailed overview on the basic stories and characters, powers, items, etc. of any given year. It was in fact so detailed that the written fiction had to ignore many of its facts out of sheer necessity, but it also severally expanded upon it with new info. Due to these hasty updates, several external story sources (like Franchise/{{LEGO}} set catalogs) came with strongly outdated, incorrect facts.

* There is also a ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' [[http://5years.doomworld.com/doombible/ bible,]] made by Tom Hall. This version was scrapped, however. To famously quote John Carmack: "Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but [[ExcusePlot it's not that important]]."

** Creator/MilestoneComics' ''Dakotaverse'' line (home of ComicBook/{{Static}}, ComicBook/{{Hardware}}, ComicBook/{{Icon}}, and ComicBook/BloodSyndicate, among others) has a universe bible that described Dakota (the line's CityOfAdventure) in great detail, explaining its history and geography. It also had the sketches and basic descriptions of all major characters.

** [[https://old.he-man.org/cartoon/exclusivefeatures/exclusive-heroseriesbible-intro.shtml This bible]] was written for an unmade SequelSeries about He-Man's son, He-Ro.

** [[https://www.he-man.org/news_article.php?id=4227 Another]] was a precursor to ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan'' which would have had He-Ro journeying to the planet Primus instead of He-Man.

* Alluded to in one of the DVDCommentary tracks for ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'', where John Francis Daley says of the set, "I opened the drawer of the nightstand, and there was a notebook, with journal entries ''by Sam Weir'' [his character]."
** [[http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Freaks_and_Geeks/Freaks_and_Geeks_Bible.pdf Here it is.]]

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' apparently does not have a normal series bible. Instead, its bible is said to be a rigorous, correct-to-every-detail timeline of ''every single event on the show'', even ones just alluded to.
** Actually...you can read the ''Lost'' Writer's Guide [[http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Lost/Lost_Writers_Guide.pdf right here...]]

* Interestingly, Nate Morgan, a prominent supporting cast member of Creator/ArchieComics' later ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' comics, was culled from [[http://www.sonicsatam.com/?s=bible#bible an early series bible]] for [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the animated series]]. Seemingly it also utilized original plans to adapt game badniks Crabmeat and Caterkiller as recurring henchmen of Robotnik, as well as other details such as Rotor's prototype name "Boomer" for a short while.

* Instruction manuals of many games give details that the game doesn't. For instance, in ''Bomberman 64'' it says that Hades was a machine for mining remodeled into a fighting machine by Orion, and in ''Star Fox Adventures'' it says Krystal is the only survivor from Planet Cerinia.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' has one.

** The [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002 2002 series]] had two this [[https://www.he-man.org/cartoon/document.php?id=54&mid=40 2001 draft]] which was superseded by [[http://www.hemanworld.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-myp-cartoon-series-bible-2002-2004/ this one]]the following year.

* ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' had a few.
* The original 1983 ''[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe]]'' had one written by Michael Halperin in 1982. It was included on one of the [=DVDs=] and can be read [[http://mysteriesofgreyskull.tripod.com/Articles/MOTUbible.htm here]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' had one written by Michael Halperin in 1982. It was included on one of the [=DVDs=] and can be read [[http://mysteriesofgreyskull.tripod.com/Articles/MOTUbible.htm here]].
** The 2002 animated series also featued a series bible, a copy available for viewing [[http://www.hemanworld.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-myp-cartoon-series-bible-2002-2004/ here]].

* The entire ''Franchise/TransformersAlignedUniverse'', which includes ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', has one.

* Interestingly, Nate Morgan, a prominent supporting cast member of Franchise/ArchieComics' later ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' comics, was culled from [[http://www.sonicsatam.com/?s=bible#bible an early series bible]] for [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the animated series]]. Seemingly it also utilized original plans to adapt game badniks Crabmeat and Caterkiller as recurring henchmen of Robotnik, as well as other details such as Rotor's prototype name "Boomer" for a short while.

** Creator/DarkHorseComics' ComicsGreatestWorld line had one of those as well.

** Creator/MalibuComics' ComicBook/TheUltraverse is the most elaborate comic book example of it -- the line described the verse's mythology, setting, major characters, and plotlines in considerable detail, allowing the creators to use it as a guide for several years. Notable because some of the more elaborate parts of the backstory never made it into actual comics (thanks to ExecutiveMeddling on the part of their new owners, Creator/MarvelComics).

* Interestingly, Nate Morgan, a prominent supporting cast member of Franchise/ArchieComics' later ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' comics, was culled from [[http://www.sonicsatam.com/?s=bible#bible an early series bible]] for [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM the animated series]]. Seemingly it also utilized original plans to adapt game badniks Crabmeat and Caterkiller as recurring henchmen of Robotnik, as well as other details such as Rotor's prototype name "Boomer" for a short while.

* Part of a series bible for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' found its way online at one point. Oddly, it lists Gentleman Ghost among the characters, despite none of the writers actually using him. He would be used for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. Despite the character later being revealed as a lesbian in the comics, the series bible also stated that Renee Montoya because a cop after her husband died. ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had one, [[spoiler: including an entry on Hawkgirl that the creator admitted was [[LyingCreator fake]], to keep from spoiling the Season 2 finale reveal that she was [[TheMole a mole]] for Thanagar.]]

* For ''Franchise/DragonAge'' Bioware has apparently lost sections of the bible including the elven language and several developers admit to using the fan made wiki when convenient. Quite a bit of it has been published in the ''World of Thedas'' books, including character background info that never made it into the games and the full text of the literal in-universe bible the ''Chant of Light''. No spoilers for future games, though.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series has its own bible, available [[http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Fallout_Bible here]] among other places.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' series has had two bibles focused on the first two games, [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s1/ Siren Maniacs]], which focuses on the first game in the series, and [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/ Siren Maniacs 2]], which focuses on the second game. Both books contain a more in depth look at plot, character, setting and answers to info left either vague or unanswered in the game, as well as interviews with the development team.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' series has had two bibles focused on the first two games, [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs]], which focuses on the first game in the series, and [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs 2]], which focuses on the second game. Both books contain a more in depth look at plot, character, setting and answers to info left either vague or unanswered in the game, as well as interviews with the development team.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' series has had two bibles focused on the first two games, [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs]], which focuses on the first game in the series, and [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs 2]], which focuses on the second game, both contain a more in depth look at plot, character, setting and answers to info left either vague or unanswered in the game, as well as interviews with the development team.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' series has had two bibles focused on the first two games, [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs]], which focuses on the first game in the series, and [[http://fftranslations.atspace.co.uk/s2/index.html/ Siren Maniacs 2]], which focuses on the second game, both contain a more in depth look at plot, character, setting and answers to info left either vague or unanswered in the game.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' had one written by Michael Halperin in 1982. It was included on one of the [=DVDs=]. The 2002 animated series also featued a series bible, a copy available for viewing [[http://www.hemanworld.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-myp-cartoon-series-bible-2002-2004/ here]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' revealed it relied on a series bible at least as far as character and setting designs went. Revealed in the [[AllThereInTheManual Art Of Avatar: The Last Airbender Artbook.]]
* Part of a series bible for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' found its way online at one point. Oddly, it lists Gentleman Ghost among the characters, despite none of the writers actually using him. He would be used for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. Despite the character later being revealed as a lesbian in the comics, the series bible also stated that Renee Montoya because a cop after her husband died.
** Interestingly, he became one of Batman's recurring enemies in ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]''.
** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had one, [[spoiler: including an entry on Hawkgirl that the creator admitted was [[LyingCreator fake]], to keep from spoiling the Season 2 finale reveal that she was [[TheMole a mole]] for Thanagar.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' had one written by Michael Halperin in 1982. It was included on one of the [=DVDs=].
** The 2002 animated series also featued a series bible, a copy available for viewing [[http://www.hemanworld.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-myp-cartoon-series-bible-2002-2004/ here]].

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' famously had a massive one, and it was a recurring entity in on-line discussions. It was essentially a detailed overview on the basic stories and characters, powers, items, etc. of any given year. It was in fact so detailed that the written fiction had to ignore many of its facts out of sheer necessity, but it also severally expanded upon it with new info. Due to these hasty updates, several external story sources (like {{LEGO}} set catalogs) came with strongly outdated, incorrect facts.

* Several versions of the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Bible'' have been leaked online. The Sonic Bible was written by the American localization team, who had nothing to base it on other than a prototype of the game itself. Considering games back then just dropped you in on the action with only the faintest outline of a plot, [[SoBadItsGood the bible ends up being quite humorous to anyone who is familiar with the character today]].

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* The Series Bibles for a number of Creator/{{Sunrise}} anime, including ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', were actually published and sold.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Most ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series have some form of "series bible" made by the head writer as a guide for the other writers. This can be as simple as the "thumbnail sketches" outlining each character's basic traits, used in the casting process. Series Bibles for all of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series -- including the never-made ''Star Trek: Phase II'' -- are available for purchase through both legitimate and not-so-legitimate outlets.

** The writers became increasingly flippant and casual about "continuity" and "established rules" as the series progressed, particularly the noted break in tone and quality before and after the season two finale. At the beginning of season three, Ron Moore and David Eick wrote a second "series bible" of a sort, but meant a a "Cylon story bible", called "''Life on a Cylon Basestar''". The whole thing was never publicly released but screen-captures have been taken of pages that were flashed on screen during behind-the-scenes videos. The idea was that moving in season 3, they were going to start revealing the inner workings of the Cylon world a lot more, which until then had been quite a mystery. Moore and Eick developed a "Cylon bible" about how their race functions, day-to-day behavior, value sets, etc. then gave it to Cylon actors like Grace Park (Boomer) and Tricia Helfer (Number Six). ''However'', when Grace Park was asked about this in an online Q&A featurette on the Scifi.com website, she explained that she and Helfer spent days trying to memorize it...then when they bumped into Moore several weeks later, he almost absentmindedly explained that he and Eick just dashed the whole thing off in a brainstorming session during a lunch break, then told the actresses to disregard it. Needless to say, when they started revealing more about "the inner workings of Cylon culture" in season 3, it became incredibly inconsistent as a result.
* The series bible for ''Series/BabylonFive'' was sold by the official fan club as a collectible. It's no longer available, but copies can sometimes be found on eBay. No doubt it's extremely detailed, since as noted above, Creator/JMichaelStraczynski had worked out the entire 5 year arc of the show before a single scene was shot. Things got a little hairy in Season 5 due to the show being UnCancelled, but on the whole, everything happened as JMS had planned it.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' creator Creator/LarryDavid famously stated that the show had two rules: "No hugging, no learning." The former was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the series finale when Jerry and George nearly embrace, then say "Oh yeah" and back away from each other.
* If you want to actually read one, here's a reproduction of the [[http://series.airwolf.tv/briefings/bible.html one used by]] ''Series/{{Airwolf}}''.
** Speaking of 80s series, ''Series/KnightRider'' [[http://www.knightriderarchive.com/krtos/features/bible.html had one too.]]
* Alluded to in one of the DVDCommentary tracks for ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'', where John Francis Daley says of the set, "I opened the drawer of the nightstand, and there was a notebook, with journal entries ''by Sam Weir'' [his character]."
** [[http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Freaks_and_Geeks/Freaks_and_Geeks_Bible.pdf Here it is.]]
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' apparently does not have a normal series bible. Instead, its bible is said to be a rigorous, correct-to-every-detail timeline of ''every single event on the show'', even ones just alluded to.
** Actually...you can read the ''Lost'' Writer's Guide [[http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Lost/Lost_Writers_Guide.pdf right here...]]
* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' had one, which was where the idea of Zordon coming from an alien planet called Eltar came from; it's just [[Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangers the movie]] used it first.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* WordOfGod has said that the Literature/WhateleyUniverse has a universe bible for the {{Canon}} authors that's three or four hundred pages long. So far. And is also infamous amongst the canon cabal for being incomplete by now.
* The Nasuverse has a massively complex universe bible that dictates all the rules of the verse, explains every character's powers, and gives backstory and introduces characters who may not have even appeared in the written text. However, finding these facts is a whole other matter in itself, as they only exist in untranslated art books and interviews with Kinoko Nasu.
* You wanna write a ''Franchise/{{Star Wars|Expanded Universe}}'' novel? You'd better get used to long conversations with Leland Chee. Then get Abel G. Peña to fix any mistakes you made. And that's if [[WordOfGod George Lucas]] doesn't Joss your idea himself. It's even got a cool name: [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Holocron_continuity_database The Holocron]]. However, several official writers have admitted to consulting the fan-maintained Wookieepedia for obscure facts. Then the whole shebang was declared non-canon as ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' following the Creator/{{Disney}} purchase of Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}; continuity across the franchise is now coordinated by a special committee, the Lucasfilm Story Group.
* ''Literature/FactionParadox'' has a couple of examples. The Book of the War is a universe bible framed as an in-universe encyclopedia of the first fifty years of the titular Second War in Heaven, and thus a good reference point for the 'default' status quo of the setting, but the series' creator has also released a more straightforward essay on the setting intended as a set of reference points for other writers.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Each ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' setting has a MASSIVE bible called the "style guide" that details the specifics of that setting. The purpose of the style guide is to give the artists a mold to follow when making the card art, and to have a strict formula for which cards can't be allowed because they violate the flavor of the setting. Cultures, environments, clothing, sentient creatures, wild animals, religions and holidays, what time the residents have their tea; with detailed writings and drawings on the subjects. Anything that ''could'' be in the style guide already is. The overwhelming majority of this information never sees the light of day to the general public, sadly.
* The last supplements released for all the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' lines (Gehenna, Apocalypse, Ascension, and Time of Judgment) occasionally refer to the fact that universe bibles once existed for each of them, and that at some point they were all thrown out.

[[folder: Toys ]]

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' famously had a massive one, and it was a recurring entity in on-line discussions. It was essentially a detailed overview on the basic stories and characters, powers, items, etc. of any given year. It was in fact so detailed that the written fiction had to ignore many of its facts out of sheer necessity, but it also severally expanded upon it with new info. Due to these hasty updates, several external story sources (like {{LEGO}} set catalogs) came with strongly outdated, incorrect facts.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Several versions of the ''SonicTheHedgehog Bible'' have been leaked online. The Sonic Bible was written by the American localization team, who had nothing to base it on other than a prototype of the game itself. Considering games back then just dropped you in on the action with only the faintest outline of a plot, [[SoBadItsGood the bible ends up being quite humorous to anyone who is familiar with the character today]].
* The development team for the MMORPG ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' have mentioned the existence of a universe bible for the games' storyline several times.
* Instruction manuals of many games give details that the game doesn't. For instance, in ''Bomberman 64'' it says that Hades was a machine for mining remodeled into a fighting machine by Orion, and in ''Star Fox Adventures'' it says Krystal is the only survivor from Planet Cerinia.
* For ''Franchise/DragonAge'' Bioware has apparently lost sections of the bible including the elven language and several developers admit to using the fan made wiki when convenient. Quite a bit of it has been published in the ''World of Thedas'' books, including character background info that never made it into the games and the full text of the literal in-universe bible the ''Chant of Light''. No spoilers for future games, though.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' has one.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' had one written by Michael Halperin in 1982. It was included on one of the [=DVDs=].
** The 2002 animated series also featued a series bible, a copy available for viewing [[http://www.hemanworld.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-myp-cartoon-series-bible-2002-2004/ here]].
* In "Slimer Won't Do That! The Making of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''", the creators of the show listed all the things Slimer could never do.
* The bible for ''WesternAnimation/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' is included as a PDF extra on Creator/ShoutFactory's DVD release.
* The season 1 bible for ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' can be found at [[http://www.angelfire.com/rings/katsaris/garbible.htm Lost Tales: Gargoyles.]]
* Interestingly, Nate Morgan, a prominent supporting cast member of Franchise/ArchieComics' later ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' comics, was culled from [[http://www.sonicsatam.com/?s=bible#bible an early series bible]] for [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM the animated series]]. Seemingly it also utilized original plans to adapt game badniks Crabmeat and Caterkiller as recurring henchmen of Robotnik, as well as other details such as Rotor's prototype name "Boomer" for a short while.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' revealed it relied on a series bible at least as far as character and setting designs went. Revealed in the [[AllThereInTheManual Art Of Avatar: The Last Airbender Artbook.]]
* The entire ''Franchise/TransformersAlignedUniverse'', which includes ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', has one.
* Part of a series bible for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' found its way online at one point. Oddly, it lists Gentleman Ghost among the characters, despite none of the writers actually using him. He would be used for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. Despite the character later being revealed as a lesbian in the comics, the series bible also stated that Renee Montoya because a cop after her husband died.
** Interestingly, he became one of Batman's recurring enemies in ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]''.
** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had one, [[spoiler: including an entry on Hawkgirl that the creator admitted was [[LyingCreator fake]], to keep from spoiling the Season 2 finale reveal that she was [[TheMole a mole]] for Thanagar.]]
* Creator/LaurenFaust developed one of these while working on ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. It's unknown whether the rest of the show's writers and producers continued to maintain one after Faust left the show.

->''And the gods said, "Fallest not into the temptation of [[MirrorUniverse parallel universe]] subplots. For therein lies the realm of [[EvilTwin evil twins]]. And you shall see [[BeardOfEvil their goatees]] and know them to be unclean in my sight. And woe be unto thee that assumest all extraterrestrials would [[RubberForeheadAliens appearest as humans save for a bumpy forehead]]. Thinkest thou outside the box, for this is my commandment." Takest thou these words and go forth that you may multiply scripts and have them on my desk to review by Monday.''