» Animals on TOC, Can I get everyone's opinion on this?

[Adrasteia]

Alright! So, TOC started out with the aspiration that this forum would be so huge that it would encompass many different types of roleplay -- human, fantasy, wolf, cat, etc. However, there's been close to zero interest in the animal spectrum, and the wolf pack consists of only Vitauni.

So, I was thinking, or rather, brainstorming aloud with Tauni.

I am pretty certain that although there is no marked interest in wolves, there will be an interest in werewolves, as we already have one. So what I'm possibly proposing is a slight plot-twist concerning the wolf pack, in which Adrasteia (in the course of the thread between Vasilissa and Vitauni) gives the wolves in the pack the ability to shift to human form at will.

They will have free entry to the city via a gateway in the wall on the fifth steppe, although as packmembers, they will have the steppes remain as their territory and where they hunt and such. The ranks will stay the same.

What does everyone think of this idea?


(And for those curious about the cats, I'm thinking of simply getting rid of them as a community of cats -- although people can RP cats if they'd like, it'll probably be less common without a Clow for them to belong to).



ETA: I'm moving this to the upkeep forum so that guests may comment, if they so choose.

[Daemyn]

I like that idea. :-) I wouldn't be interested in only an animal character, but one that is both animal and human would be more appeasing. So yeah, I like the idea.

[Morsigil]

I like the idea, especially since the animals can't speak, that's really the main issue, I think.

[Vasska]

Well this would have made my life easier when I first joined I like the idea though, but I want to speak to you on MSN if possible 'bout it Ashy-poo ~.^

[Kyne]

I vote for anything involving werewolf or werewolf-esque characters! *obsessed glint inside twitching eyes*

[Aleksey]

A good idea to get more interest in that position, but aren't werewolves supposed to be dangerous? You're bitten by one, and you turn into a werewolf too, right? Or die, but you can't die in the Country. You can change the way werewolves work in the Country, but you can't change how people will feel about them. Most wouldn't trust them and be afraid of them, if they knew they were werewolves.

Also, do they replace the guard that Anastasia uses? Are all werewolves under her jurisdiction? Perhaps not, but limits should be put up or else we'll be overrun with them. It's not a bad thing to have a small set of races and species to play, because otherwise it can get too big.

[Adrasteia]

I think I would tweak the rules of werewolves a bit. My thoughts are that wolves coming INTO the October Country simply gain the ability to shift into people (and I think it would exclude Anastasia's pets unless they get players and they want it to include them, as well).

However, those who come INTO The October Country (like Kyne), would enter as werewolves rather than regular wolves. They can still join the Pack (which the First of the Pack still has control over, not Anastasia) if they so choose, but they do have the option of just trying to live as normal citizens and etc.

The thing about TOC is that people can't be turned into anything here -- you can't become a vampire here, or a werewolf, because you're dead. There's no living tissue to turn. If you were bit by a werewolf, you'd probably die and then respawn in the Lands of Mist and then walk back to Zenith.

This is mostly to garner interest in the Pack, so I'm presuming that the werewolves who are part of the pack will spend the majority of their time in the packlands rather than in the city, it's just that they also have the option of going into the city (something I think will be good for new RPers that join the pack, when there might not be a lot of other wolves to RP with -- that can be boring).

Vitauni, as First, would be a sovereign in her own right, but only over wolves who have committed themselves to her pack. Wolves that choose to live in Zenith and not in the pack are subject to Anastasia by default of living in her city and not having any rulers themselves. Whereas elves/Faery who live in Zenith are sort've half subject to Anastasia -- they have their own rulers, but it is assumed that Anastasia acts as their ruler when they are within her city -- although afforded some diplomatic immunity, for the most part they are subject to her laws and will until they leave. Werewolves wouldn't have this privilege, because they are technically subject to no First.

Werewolves that enter the city just to socialize or whatever, but really belong to the Pack, are treated much the same way as visiting elves and Faery -- they are afforded some small amount of diplomatic immunity, but for the most part they have to follow the laws of Zenith.

Loners that choose to live outside of Zenith and the Pack are technically subject to no one, but I don't see that as a huge problem because those ones will be too boring to play over a long period of time.

Of course, if I do start seeing an imbalance in regards to werewolves, I will definitely put a cap on the amount coming in.

[Anastasia]

*Makes note to self to read upkeep topics more often especially since I see my name mentioned*

Horray for wolves...and I am fine if Anastasia's pets don't get to change - unless someone has this urge to play them and give them the transforming ability in which case it would be fine by me and that person can even change her personal guards names for that matter. I figure any normal wolves who live in the city pretty much work for the palace and work for Anastasia or her wolves in some way and they might keep any eye on werewolves and wolves with transformation abilities since when both are in the city they have to follow the laws of the land to some extent (I did read that last post right I hope).

Ohh! How do you know if a person is a wolf with the ability to shift or a werewolf or are they the same thing and I just am terrible at reading or better yet does that not matter? Any tension between city and pack wolves? And just for clarification there are independent wolves/werewolves, pack wolves/werewolves, and city/guard wolves?

oh dear now my head hurts - must not try to over think wolf politics.

This post has been edited by Anastasia on Feb 9 2008, 08:56 AM

[Kyne]

As far as I see it, there would really be no way to tell the difference between a shape shifter wolf and a werewolf when in their human forms. However, I think the wolves have their normal wolf form, and werewolves have a humanoid wolf form. So there's the difference there, at least as far as the werewolf I play is concerned. I think he's still the only werewolf on here, right? And I have him independent from packs, the city, and all that whatnot for the moment, so I think that is okay too.

[Vitauni]

And I bet that a wolf (who can shift into a human) can tell the difference between his kind and a werewolf, but as Mindy said I dont think humans would beable to tell the difference.

[Adrasteia]

The two main differences between werewolves and the Pack Wolves is that the Pack Wolves were originally wolves, where werewolves were originally human. I think the Pack will accept werewolves as one of their own, though, or something.

Pack wolves fall under Vitauni's jurisdiction, but loners that choose to live in Zenith would, by default, fall under Anastasia's jurisdiction (if they did not owe allegiance to Vitauni). There might be tension between city and pack wolves, depending on the wolves involved in any given situation or whether or not Vitauni decides that her pack doesn't like city wolves (the wolves within her pack may hold different opinions, but it would be highly unlikely they'd disagree openly with her). So wolves that enter TOC have the choice to go be mostly human or mostly Pack, and if they choose the former they can definitely live in Zenith and be, technically, a "loner" by wolf standards, but join the Guard/Law Enforcers or have whatever job they want.

We could make your two wolves as "Canon" characters that people can choose to play or not (just so that they will notice that the characters are needed), and we can leave it open for a name change or not. If you'd like!

And yeah, the werewolves themselves could probably detect the difference (scent lol) between wolves and werewolves, but I don't think humans would be able to tell -- unless it was a wolf fairly new to TOC, in which case it might act weird and animalistic rather than humanly, but hey, Kyne acts weird, too.

[Vitauni]

Hrm, Vitauni would be fine with a werewolf as long as it respected her and was loyal, for that is what is most important to her. Lol She has, in her past, dealed with halfbreeds (wolf/coyote) and was, after awhile, perfectly fine with her.

[Anastasia]

Sounds good and horray for not over complicated wolf politics! Anastasia won't mind what the wolves do so long as the pack doesn't threaten her city/subject in which case she will get a bit perturbed. As for the cannon guard wolves please do give who ever applies for them the option of a name change - I pretty much opened my copy of edith hamilton (the book of roman myths for latin nerds) to the index and threw my finger down at random and I would hate for someone to be stuck with the results of my finger throwing.