THE LURE OF BRONZE & GOLD

Gold fever. The must have for a metallic. The big shiny. And all those phrases in between that go along with the need to impress gold or bronze. Almost everyone who has role played Pern goes through the phase of wanting that gold/bronze dragon and all it entails.

Most people who write hatchings tend to look for people who can do the following:

• Write well.
• Write frequently.
• Can start their own notes/storylines, don't need to have notes started for them to interact.
• Allow us, the writers of the hatching, to know the character.
• That they (the player) are aware of the physics and canon of Pern and rp accordingly.

That can be the most important thing. To know the character. To know that Mary Sue is not perfect. That she's afraid of spinners and their webs. Or that she's unsure of the amount of sweetener she's about to put in the Weyrleaders birthday cake. The little details that make these characters more than just a puppet that wants nothing but gold/bronze. That they're actually humans with their own faults, hopes, wishes and problems.

Those writing the hatching also look for potential staffers while not saying anything. Why? Because that player may not attain that staff position. There are those who have role played a jr. weyrwoman for rl years on end. When they achieve that staff position and find out the reality and responsibility behind it, some of them disappear. Some of them decide they'd rather be 'just a jr. ww' or 'just a wingleader' and go back to have a lot more fun. But they're afraid to say anything, having waited so long to achieve that little icon that marks them as 'one of the top dragons' on the game.

Neverwinter Weyr used to hand out metallics willy nilly. And we watched almost all of those metallics disappear into the ether. The player had achieved their goal, they got the big shiny dragon. And they suddenly didn't know what to do with it or the character. They disappeared. Many many times the player disappeared completely off the game.

So, Neverwinter Weyr made it not quite as easy to impress that gold/bronze. We also stopped having double gold hatchings and fewer bronzes. You had to earn them. Guess what? The same thing happened. They disappeared after many hours on the game developing their characters. They got the big shiney and vanished.

It's possible things became too strict regarding those wonderful metallics. Maybe we can find that 'middle ground' where most everyone can come to Neverwinter Weyr, role play and HAVE FUN!!

Part 2

While a Lord/Lady Holder, CraftMaster or Weyrwoman is an IC figurehead, he/she is also the OOC administrator of that topic. He/she is supposed to look good, rp well, and generate rp. They also have to see that things get done. Things that can be quite boring, dull and unpleasant, leaving less time than they would like for role play.

Players need to know that by choosing to play a major ranking character, most especially metallic dragons, they are Expected to commit a lot of their time to ensuring their subject runs as smoothly as possible. Whether they are actually GM/Staff or not. While having that shiny metallic dragon does not automatically grant you OOC powers, the staff watches in hopes of seeing a future staffer grow as they role play. The players that impress metallic, rp minor holders or craftmasters, are watched as time goes by. Not watched as in every move and note is scrutinized, but in the rp they generate and in their ability to work with other players whether they like those other players or not.

Your characters are nothing more than what you make of them. Having this ‘ranking’ character will not suddenly catapult you into the rp you were not getting before. Being in charge (Jm GM/Staff/etc does not make you kewl, popular, give you fame or solve your lifes problems. Basically, what you were doing before your staff position will be what you are doing afterwards with a lot of extra tasks and responsibility attached. If you are frustrated with the way rp is going or the lack of rp, if there are things that irritate you about the game, or if you are unhappy with the game, GM/staff will not solve this. GM/staff will not fix your life, it is a time consuming responsibility.

No one on the staff of a game appreciates seeing players who collect metallic dragons, rp high ranking characters, attain their staff position and basically disappear after having achieved the 'prize' for want of a better word, but refusing the responsibility that goes along with that prize.

A staffer has to read all the notes in their subject and make sure characters are not going beyond the rules of the game or the basic physics of Pern. The hard part is letting a player know they need to either change something, tone it down, or pull it (retcon) from the note. But do it in a way that does not dampen the players enthusiasm for the rp or make them feel as if they are being lectured or scolded. This is probably among the hardest tasks a staffer has to handle. A staff member has to live with the fact that other staffers will not automatically agree with them, that they have to communicate with the other staffers to keep the game running smoothly and that they will be working with a vast variety of ooc personalities and opinions that are different than their own. You don't have to like someone to be able to work with them for the good of the GAME.

To those staff hopfules (and metallic candidates), this might seem overwhelming, but don’t despair. We are not trying to scare you away in spite of the above cautions. We just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into when you pursue your dream. In the end it is still your choice whether to stand the sands for that metallic, or apply for the Lord or Lady Holder or CraftMaster. Because you will have support and if you succeed, there will be a great deal of hope and joy that your subject succeeds.

Here are a few questions all potential metallic only/staffers should ask themselves. While the questions below are specifically for dragon hatchings, those wanting a Lord/Lady Holder or CraftMaster should ask themselves similarly related questions.

• The possibility of being a jr. weyrwoman or wingleader for a very long time.
• The possibility of never becoming a Sr. Weyrwoman or Weyrleader or seeing a jrww/wingleader/wingrider who impressed after you did become the WW/WL.
• You've become Senior WeyrWoman/Weyrleader. The person before you was extremely popular, and everyone is very unhappy to see her/him go. You overhear some people talking about what a loss that is, and how you'll probably never be half the Weyrwoman/Weyrleader she/he was.
• What do you see as the most important OOC concerns for any Weyrleader or Weyrwoman?
• If you didn't have any administrative duties at all?
• Your dragon is the dam or sire of the current PC clutch on the sands. There is a candidate played by a person that you have a personal dislike for but a majority of the topic staff (this includes those running the hatching) really wants to impress them. Can you make a fair decision regarding this candidate?
• Being worried about it is natural. Letting your worry about a game interfere with real life is going a bit too far. Knowing you can’t do it is very sane. But if you really think you can be on the staff, and do it well, then don’t be afraid to tell us so. We seldom need to be told more than once.