As compiled by Mint for SouCon Mush, with corrections and additions by
.
Updated: May 18, 2001.
Version 1.2
All feedback, corrections, and additions are eagerly welcome.
The FL Czar is currently
.
The Code Wizard is currently
.
Please contact the appropriate people with your questions and requests.
In all cases, NEWS FIRELIZARDS, NEWS CANON, and NEWS WIZARDS takes precedence over any material contained within this document.
WHO DO I ASK?
The Firelizard Czar is in charge of deciding what clutches are run, who runs them, and how frequently they occur.
WHO MAY RUN A CLUTCH?
SouCon relies upon its players to run hatchings at regular intervals. Volunteers are always welcome, although preference will be given to volunteers who have impressed a firelizard on SouCon and/or are experienced players.
CURRENT INFORMAL CLUTCHING SCHEDULING GUIDELINES
A maximum of 18 eggs total per month. This is 1 full green hatching (6 eggs) + 1 full gold hatching (12 eggs). If fewer eggs are requested per clutch, or there is gold hatching scheduled, then more than 2 hatchings can occur in a given month.
No more than 1 gold hatchling
per month.
No more than 1 clutch per
knot area per month. Ideally, a knot area will not host 2 hatchings in two back-to-back
months. This helps to spread the hatchings around the mush. You may wish to
consider running a hatching in an area next door to where your character lives.
(Example, a Southern Weyr resident might hold a hatching at Southern Hold.)
These are guidelines only.
HOW SHOULD I ASK FOR A CLUTCH?
If you do not supply any important information, you will be asked for it before your request is approved or denied.
You will need to ask for either a green hatching or a gold hatching.
You will preferably ask for a hatching from a PC firelizard, although wild hatchings are also permitted. The firelizard does not need to be your own, as long as if you already asked for permission to "borrow" the firelizard in question and have the owner's full cooperation.
If you wish to run a hatching in a particular month, you will need to specify this information in your request.
You will need to request a certain number of eggs for your hatching. The fewer you request, the more likely your request is to be granted. Keep in mind that greens can have a maximum of 6 PC eggs, while golds have a maximum of 12 PC eggs.
Please read the current clutching guidelines. The FL Czar will likely follow these in giving clutches permission. If you ask for an unrealistic clutch for whatever reason, you will be informed and given options for alternative ways to proceed. (Example: If you ask for a green clutch with 10 eggs, you will not be granted it since the normal maximum number of permissible PC eggs in a green clutch is 6.)
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PROCESS CLUTCH REQUESTS?
If it has been at least a week since your request was submitted, you may wish to send a reminder. All requests should be dealt with within two weeks of submission.
Flights should be held at least one RL week before your hatching in order to give the Firelizards time to lay their eggs and have them harden.
As with dragons, golds may be caught by bronzes and browns, greens may be caught by blues, browns, or bronzes.
Flights may be roleplayed or else held off-camera.
Firelizards must be at least one turn old before their first flight.
CLUTCH DISTRIBUTION
Clutches are composed of different colored hatchlings depending upon who the sire and dam are. The following table shows the maximum possible number of hatchlings which are permissible in a clutch, depending upon the colors of the sire and dam.
Gold:
Brown Sire: Max of 8 green, 4 blue, 1 brown, 1 bronze
Green:
CLUTCH CODE
There are several clutchers available for your use. More information on each of these is available in the Code Laboratory. (@tel #101, CL). The clutchers currently include:
A firelizard pot. You give the pot to the person, and every so often they have
to turn the egg in the pot - just like Robinton did in the book with his egg.
If they do not, the egg dies, and it doesn't hatch. Kinda fun in some ways.
(Parent Object #418)
A virtual hatcher. All data is stored on your master clutching object. The Firelizards
are created during the hatching. (Parent Object #417)
A firelizard hatcher. You control all the Firelizards and puppet each one of
them. Only you can puppet them. You will not be able to hand them off to others
until after they have impressed. (Parent Object #416)
See "Hatcher Code" for attributes required on the hatchlings.
See "Hatchling Code" for attributes required on the hatchlings.
THEME
Themes are optional, but many people find they are a convenient way of generating a series of egg and firelizard descriptions.
Do not use non-Pernese words in the descriptions or names of either eggs or Firelizards. This particularly needs to be kept in mind when a theme is non-Pernese.
Non-canon colors are acceptable in the egg and hatchling descriptions.
Many Firelizards will come with an attribute explaining the theme and how a particular firelizard is a part of it. Because this attribute is not visible in roleplay, it can contain all the necessary out-of-character information.
CLUTCH LOCATION
Clutches should be held in publicly accessible locations, preferably ones which are Tel_OK.
You may wish to contact your area administrator if you would like your clutch hidden away in a temporary room attached to that area, or include hints for finding a hidden clutch in the room.
Clutches do not need to be hidden. The eggs may be handed out individually or the clutch may be set up obviously in a room.
If the permission you received to run a hatching specified that it should be in a given knot area, you will be expected to hold it there unless you request a change.
CLUTCH DESCRIPTIONS
Descriptions should use only Pernese words. (For example, goat = caprine, sheep = ovine etc.)
Clutches may be described as either an anonymous mound of eggs or else you may wish to have the egg names, and perhaps egg descriptions viewable by anyone looking at your clutch.
Clutching code objects all permit for variations in degree of detail.
The best run clutches will normally provide the full range of information: names of eggs and descriptions of eggs.
Clutches may be roleplayed, but there is no requirement to do so, and most people do not. Roleplaying a clutching only makes sense if the firelizard is a tame one. Wild Firelizards would be scared off by human presence during a clutching.
Clutches should be at least a RL week before the hatching in order to give eggs time to harden.
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR RUNNING A HATCHING?
You will need at least the following for the hatching:
Also useful are the following:
HOW DO I ANNOUNCE AN UPCOMING HATCHING?
'+clutches' may be used for firelizard as well as dragon hatchings.
Bboards are an appropriate place to advertise your hatching.
If appropriate, include the hatching in your roleplay in the weeks leading up to the hatching. (Examples: Roleplay finding the clutch. Mention the clutch's existence in your roleplay. Gossip about the clutch. Witness the mating flight.)
Hatchings are usually intended for the benefit of the mush, although some hatchings may be targeted at particular groups. (Example: Eggs as contest prizes.) Announce your hatching appropriately.
HOW SHOULD THE HATCHLINGS BE DESCRIBED?
Descriptions should be at least three sentences long.
Descriptions should not include non-Pernese concepts. (Example: The description "The mottling on the side of the hatchling resembles an image of a spaceship in flight." is completely inappropriate.)
Hatchlings should not be referred to as being any of the following colors, as they are not canon: red, silver, white, black, gray.
Hatchlings may have personality traits included in their description.
Descriptions should be proofread to avoid spelling and grammar errors.
Some hatchings may only be approved on the condition that the descriptions are proofread before the hatching by one of the wizards.
Hatchers automatically do much of your "paperwork" for you. They will generate impression messages for all attendees to see. They will set hatchlings @unlock and CHOWN_OK once you have impressed them to someone. They will @pemit the impressee with information on how to take, @chown, @lock, @set puppet and so on their new firelizard.
If you do not provide this information for new impressees automatically, many of them may specifically request this information from you. Be prepared to deal with it! Not all impressees have dealt with coded objects or even owning objects on a mush before and will thus need assistance.
You may how to control a firelizard. Be prepared to deal with questions of this nature.
Consult the Code Wizard
or the FL Czar.
All hatchling objects need at least the following attributes:
You may also wish hatchlings to have the following attributes:
BEGINNING A HATCHING
Make a general announcement that the hatching is beginning, and where it is occurring, if appropriate. (Use +drum)
Tell people what you are expecting from them, i.e., any limits in the length of poses, canonical treatment of the hatchlings (ex. not offering them cookies), the IC time of day, what the weather is like, etc.
EMITS
You may wish to ask the participants in your hatching to limit the length and style of their poses. (Example: Page the participants to ask them to limit their poses to no more than four lines and no more than one per hatchling pose.)
If you have prepared your hatchling emits in advance, you will find that hatchings are less stressful and will contain fewer typos.
WHO MAY IMPRESS A FIRELIZARD?
Any PC who has not already impressed two Firelizards may impress a firelizard. (i.e., Guest characters may not impress) The person running the clutch is responsible for checking to see if hatching attendees have already have two Firelizards. Wizards will NOT set the race on a firelizard impressed to someone who already has two.
'+flwho <Name>' will show how many Firelizards a character has impressed.
You may NOT impress a firelizard to your own alternate character.
HOW FIRELIZARDS ARE IMPRESSED
A hatchling impresses when it poses that it has impressed. Although eye contact might be made, food is far more important when it comes to impressing Firelizards. Firelizards will demand to be looked after (through actions, not words), by the person whose food they have chosen.
Firelizards do not come with knowledge of their own name and will not communicate in words with the humans, but looks and emotions.
You will need to @unlock an impressed firelizard and @chown them to their new owner. Clutch code can deal with this automatically for you.
Be prepared to field basic questions from the people who impress. These may include how to use the firelizard parent, how to make the firelizard work as a puppet, and other such code questions. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with this _before_ you run a clutch.
Email the FL Czar with
the dbref # and color of each of the hatchlings.
Remember to remove any code or clutch objects from the place where the hatching
was held.
