HRW:Search/Gold Policy

Gold Policy

What does HRW want in a potential goldrider?

This is possibly the most loaded question there is out there, but we'll try our best to explain.

What we look for in a gold Impression is consistent in what we look for in our other Impression decisions. There are, of course, always additional factors to consider - there can only be one gold (if that), and goldriders are far less easily disposed of or replaced than other characters. We are looking, therefore, for a player with commitment to the character and area, one who can hold her own with the personalities at High Reaches and take a lead rule in ongoing plot and story.

Goldriders are not automatically staff members at High Reaches; we will not be selecting a goldrider on the basis of her suitability for administrative duties. We will, however, still be considering OOC personality, attitude and leadership capabilities when making our decision. Goldriders are still considered by many Pern players to be the face of the Weyr both IC and OOC. As players, they are representative of the kind of maturity, ethics and responsibility as well as the general attitude of the Weyr itself.

There is no hard and fast rule as to what qualities we are looking for, in particular, but some thoughts are listed below:

• Someone with initiative, willing to jump in to plot and RP and put her own stamp on it.
• Someone with the strength of personality and writing not to get lost in the shuffle of a Weyr that has fairly charismatic characters.
• Someone with a character strong enough to turn the limitations of the Junior Weyrwoman role into ongoing, interesting RP. This does not necessarily mean 'strong willed' or 'loud'; simply, we are interested in complex characters with hooks and threads of their own.
• Someone able to maintain a consistent level of activity and presence within the area. We do not expect anyone to be available all day, every day, but regular RP is a must.
• If you're interested in gold -- though this is useful for any character -- something to think about is how your character's experiences and personality might complement, contrast, and/or reinforce those already at High Reaches, and what the motivations driving her might be.

What is HRW's gold policy?

Goldriders, and thus gold Impressions, are considered feature characters at High Reaches Weyr. With being a predominately roleplay-only gold comes the added responsibilities of being active in that capacity. While we encourage everyone at the Weyr to come up with storylines, plots, and general roleplay, we expect more consistent habits from our goldriders. This is not to say you can't go on vacation or that you have to be playing 24/7. (We also like our goldriders to have healthy RL-VR balances in their life.) Rather, should a goldrider (including the Senior Weyrwoman) go idle for more than three months, the OOC admin team will evaluate the situation and make a decision as to the character's fate.

Idling may include the following:

• Consistently logging in, but not saying anything before logging out again.
• Not logging in at all with no notification of vacation or absence.
• Not responding to +mail or pages.
• Not roleplaying with the Weyr-at-large on a consistent basis. Weyr-at-large means other than personal relationship roleplay.

Many times the solution to the situation will result in the reappropriation of the goldriding character to the OOC admin team, where they have the following options:

• Transfer of the character to an off-camera Weyr and closure of all overarching storylines regarding the character.
• Usage of a character in plots that may lead to death.
• Reassignment of the character to a new player, depending on stories and situations.

If you feel this policy is stringent or even unfair, please understand our point of view, that leaving a Weyr in a lurch can be more detrimental to the area as a whole; this is particularly true for a goldrider, who cannot be demoted or easily waved off into NPC land the way other inactive characters can. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact a member of the administrative team. You may contact the team as a whole by +mail hrwadmin on game, or email admins@hrweyr.net.