Saraphs on Lockdown

Let the panic begin!  Due to the overwhelming popularity of the Saraphs, the birbs will be labeled as a Rare Locked Rank starting July 1st.  What does this mean?  Any and all designs for Saraphs MUST have a completed reference submitted to the group as of June 30th.  Designs/character profiles approved via the Design Pool prior to June will be able to be submitted at your leisure since the rank was not yet locked.  Again, any designs submitted during the month of June must have a reference by the end of the month in order to be accepted/avoid the rank lock.  Reference can be as simple as a headshot if need be to get the character in but it does have to have a completed character profile - otherwise, we would have a bunch of people submitting designs for Saraphs and holding onto them under the guise of 'being before the lock'.  

The lock on Saraphs will remain until the other herds get their numbers up.  Might I suggest some Linx/Nombeko to join the upcoming Shadow dramas?

Regarding Divine Blessings

We have been getting a bunch of divine blessing/curse plots lately!  Yay, this makes my heart so happy!  However, please don't just submit Divine plots just because you have the token/Salamanders to do it.  Remember that we staff have to have in-depth discussions about how these plots can affect the world/other players.  If you are considering a Divine plot for your character, please remember:

• Completely fill out the DB/DC form.  If you aren't sure about some things that is fine (we are pretty good about getting together and providing suggestions) but if you simply leave a category as 'idk send halp' that tells us you haven't even bothered to think about a possible answer.  Not sure about a cap?  Put at least an idea down; if it doesn't work out or we can think of something better we will tell you!
• Be sure to consider the personality of the god/goddess you are seeking to get the blessing from.  What is their personality like?  Read their profile on the Divinity journal!  We've recently had some concepts come through for DB/DC that, while awesome, just would not fit in any way, shape, or form for that god/goddess!  Just because Divine tokens/'manders can give your character a bunch of awesome mutations/powers doesn't mean it would make sense.  We will be adding a 'magic alignment' to the Divine journal indicating which magic strains are favored by that god/goddess and which ones they aren't particularly fond of.  While not a hard-requirement, this will make it easier for you to decide which types you might want to apply to the DB/DC.
• Realize that, more often than not, changes will be required.  The benefit of having Anom chatrooms is that we can all talk/discuss possible divine plots!  However, please do not think that just because one of the staff members (including me) says an idea sounds awesome means that it is actually possible when we review the DB/DC.  The point of having multiple eyes look over the plot is to have a system of checks/balances so that nothing too OP/out of canon gets accepted.  You all know I fly by the seat of my pants most days so my staffers are my anchor to common sense.  Just something to keep in mind!

Regarding Dragons

There are a few mini-changes/updates to dragons on the horizon.  To make things easier on staff, here's how things will now go down with our divine pets!

• First off, it was never officially noted anywhere but there is no limit to how many dragons you can apply to a single character.  So long as you have completed the Training Milestones for each dragon individually, you are a go!  However, when it comes to battle, only one dragon can be used as bonus to the skill with which they align (ie, if you have a Magic dragon and an Agility dragon, you can only pick one to bring to the fight stat wise, even if you use them both in a battle RP).  Choose wisely!

• We will no longer have you tally skill points for the dragons individually.  It is time consuming and frankly we don't want to keep track of it!  In order to be used for battle, dragons must have their Training Milestones completed.  This also applies to training bonuses that can be earned by your character when training with the dragon.  Until these Training Milestones have been completed, the dragon is simply a pet and will not earn your character bonus points.  Once this is complete, dragon fight bonuses will be decided by the age of your character.  Characters below 10 years of age will be able to have up to a +5 point bonus to their battle stat; characters above 10 years of age will be able to have up to the +10 point bonus to their battle stat.