Ranks- Yes or no?

Okay, so do anyone of you really like ranks? Or care to use them? I'm not a big fan of ranks. No one really uses them from my experiences. I also feel that ranks can limit a character. Just because your wolf is a pupsitter, doesn't mean it can't hunt with the pack.

So I'm in favour of the idea of having 4 ranks only.
Alpha
Beta
Members
Pups

That doesn't mean that your charrie can't be awesome at story telling, they can still be better at that than being a healer, but it's not longer under a certain rank.

Please if you have an opinion, whether is agrees or disagrees with mine, just say it.

I think yes and no. The rank system we currently have lets people concentrate where their wolf's skills lie, and while it may restrict them a bit, I don't think it's necessarily too restricting. People also know where they stand with the rank system, like exactly what their wolf should be doing in a pack situation. It doesn't have to be the only job they do, just their main one.

However, having just the "Members" reduces the number of ranks, and is easier to keep track of. There's less worry about which rank people want to be in, what their wolf is suited to and such, since their wolf is just a member that can contribute their skills in an all round way to the pack.

There is also the issue with certain ranks not being filled. Let's say, for argument's sake, that the pack doesn't have any healers. If a wolf becomes sick, who do they go to? If there is just one "Member" rank, then there isn't this problem.

At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference. I am most familiar with having specific ranks, and people who feel the same way may be more comfortable with the ranking system. However, I've opted for "Yes", since the simplicity of having just one rank is good, and it also is less restricting for people if their wolf is just a "Member".

Also, might I suggest having a skills sheet? Like a normal character sheet, where people can display their wolf's skills on their profile, so if anyone needed a wolf with healing skills and good hunting skills, they could see at a glance which wolves possesses those skills from the character sheet.

I think I have to say yes and no for the same reasons Asha has listed. Yes, because it's where our wolf can really belong. Whilst they can participate within other activities, if anybody needed a wolf for a specific job that they were good at, then they could go to that wolf. No, because in my experience, not a lot of people keep to it and just having members would be easier and much more flexible. I like the idea of the character sheets, and I don't know if this is what you're getting at Asha, but I like the idea of having some text beneath a poster's rank to say what their biggest skills are and maybe even weakest if we go with the idea of just "members". That way, it's easier to tell who's who in skills.

Yup, that's exactly what I meant ^_^

The character sheet would certainly be very handy, and the option to display it on the forum profile is there.

^ Agree with Asha and Ailis. Personally I'm not a fan of ranks, mostly because none of my characters ever fit in a particular one, but I'm fine with them if other characters are. The skills sheet is a good idea though!

Before I can officially say yes or no to these, we need more votes as only 5 people have voted. There's more than 5 members of this pack.

Asha wrote:Also, might I suggest having a skills sheet? Like a normal character sheet, where people can display their wolf's skills on their profile, so if anyone needed a wolf with healing skills and good hunting skills, they could see at a glance which wolves possesses those skills from the character sheet.

Although this is a good idea, we wont be doing this as BlackTalon already employs this method and we don't want to take the idea. Though that being said, if you personally want to create your own statistics that's fine, as it's your characters and their skills. Though this wont be a pack wide thing.

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I voted yes for demolishing the rankS as it can be considered limiting to people to try and shape your character slightly to fit into a certain rank.

And though I can definitely appreciate that it can help someone create a character, they can still make a wolf that like to hunt and has a hunter personality without having a rank by their name.

What we aim to do if we take away that rank is to allow any character to do anything.

So, say a hunter character was created, they wouldn't necessarily be forced into hunting, they would be asked to perhaps heal a wolf when one is in need a help.

This creates a community aspect in the roleplay where everyone can get involved in something (if they want to) despite their wolves preferred skills.

So as another example, Rebby is a good storyteller, but that isn't all she is. And though she tells stories, that doesn't mean she can't go on a hunt, or she can't go fishing, or she can't try and help heal someone. Despite the fact that she may be really good or really bad at these skills.

So I'm for taking away the ranks. Though there will be skills like, storytelling, hunting, healing etc. that can be used to flesh out a character if you wanted some help or wanted to see what your wolf would like to do most.

I'm just saying, without ranks, it would be more of a community aspect for the small pack, and give everyone a chance to do a bit of everything in the role play.

The demolishing of the ranks doesn't take away any character traits that your wolf has. They can still be a hunter if you want them to be a full on hunter. But within the Roleplay, they wouldn't be exclusively a hunter unless their character was adamant against doing other things.

Hope this clears up what we're trying to do :3 Leave responses and let us know what you think.

Rebekka wrote:

Asha wrote:Also, might I suggest having a skills sheet? Like a normal character sheet, where people can display their wolf's skills on their profile, so if anyone needed a wolf with healing skills and good hunting skills, they could see at a glance which wolves possesses those skills from the character sheet.

Although this is a good idea, we wont be doing this as BlackTalon already employs this method and we don't want to take the idea. Though that being said, if you personally want to create your own statistics that's fine, as it's your characters and their skills. Though this wont be a pack wide thing.

I don't mean the specific table that Blacktalon has, I meant something more like a list of ranks that the wolf could do well in, for example, Asha's would look like: Warrior, Storyteller, Pupsitter. Just a list of the DDP ranks that the wolf would do equally as well in as well as their fixed rank. If you don't want to do that though, fair enough.

I agree with the rest of what you said. From my experience, ranks do restrict a bit, in that I had a healer character once that only went on a hunt to help anyone that got hurt. Whereas I'm sure there are some healer characters that would love to hunt.

Like I said, I'm for taking away the ranks, though I can appreciate why some people may be hesitant, like I was, or just against it, since it's what they're used to.

Asha wrote:I don't mean the specific table that Blacktalon has, I meant something more like a list of ranks that the wolf could do well in, for example, Asha's would look like: Warrior, Storyteller, Pupsitter. Just a list of the DDP ranks that the wolf would do equally as well in as well as their fixed rank. If you don't want to do that though, fair enough.

We may as well keep the ranks if that's the case. :3 If your wolf has a skill or talent, then that can be put in the talent, strengths and weaknesses section on ya bio, yeah? Though, you are welcome to put the ranks or whatever you want in you bios if you find it's easier for you. :3


Thanks for the comments. It does make it easier to see everyone's opinions.

You guys know it doesn't bother me when you use Blacktalon stuff, right? The whole mimicry-flattery thing.

It could just be the talents aspect too, where you choose two or three from a list to create more "balanced" characters, which was the goal on BT. I think that's why most packs use them - to make sure there are no "perfect" characters. But, some sites use it as a crutch too, and cookie cutter characters start to develop. I see a lot of complexities to the overall question of "rank."

Also, just because a character is ranked a "member" doesn't mean they don't identify with ranks such as "healer" or "hunter." Heck, ask Shelyn and she'll tell you she's a druid, which certainly isn't a rank in the pack now.

I abstain from voting on the issue at this time. Sorry folks!

I like the idea as well :3

Hmm. I like the original suggestion by Asha. It seems as though it could work smoothly. Yes, I'm in favor of removing the set-in-stone rank system and opting for a skill system idea. Almost like specialties. So, kind of like a wolf learns the basics of everything, but furthers their training in one field, their specialty. Or maybe wolves are put through a test when they first arrive to determine their specialty. I like.

^^^ YES YES YES FOR THE TEST IDEA! Don't get me wrong, I love the other ideas, but I think a test is kinda.. unique? I haven't come across any other wolf site with this idea!

Oh, I like Denali's idea! The whole test thing sounds really cool and unique. I think that her idea also kinda fits in with the pack's location and time-period.

I'm a bit unsure on the whole testing idea. I think while it seems very interesting, I wouldn't want new characters to come into the RP and go to the testing area to figure out their skills and what they're good at. I think that would slow down the roleplay and stop the progression of any plot, so that's why I'm not overly fond of the idea.

I also think, that if you bring a character in, you know what skill they have, and throughout roleplaying in general you get a feel for a character and what stuff they're good at. So I don't think testing would really be necessary. An example I have is Ginger. I played her in another pack, and as she was a pup she didn't have many skills, but through events that happened in the RP she actually had a little knack for healing.

Though this is just my opinion. And if people are really really fond of the idea, then I would suggest sub plots that could include a testing area where you could RP getting a feel for skills etc.

Though I'm still weary of that idea, because I wouldn't want any new member to be excluded from the actual RP and plot because they haven't found what their wolf is good at and is too busy in the sub plot.

These are just my thoughts. While it's an interesting idea, I think it would get old after a while of new members coming in.