Throw opinions at me!! Just want everyone to be happy. GO GO GO.

I'd vote yes only so as to hopefully diversify the types of packs there are, part of why I have as many rogues as I do (I like having pack wolves) is having a lack of packs I feel they would fit well into. One more pack means one more different leader with hopefully different values.

I have chosen other but would have chosen no... the exception to this is if the new pack is truly different from the current ones

I think we should be encouraging pack challenges, therefore encouraging further activity, as opposed to going the easy way out and presenting another pack. Everybody who doesn't have a pack but wants one is probably going to vote yes to be more likely to get around challenging. If we want activity- encourage people! Don't frown upon it- hell, give them gems for challenging rather than taking them away. If you want new alpha's think of an exciting event or reward that makes people want to work towards leadership.

This isn't the answer to more excitement and activity, it's just an avoidance.

I think a new pack would make Ala more diverse in the aspect that the current packs may not suit some of the rogues well. Glaciem is evil, Seracia is neutral I suppose I dunno. Valhalla is in constant feuds with Glaciem now, and I hardly hear about Ludicael, Amenti, and Tortuga though a couple of those are constantly changing or not at all.

Introducing a new pack would be different, and hopefully give us something new to look forward to creating and building up as some of us don't have the patience to rack up 500 posts to start our own. On top of that, I would think it's hard for some people to challenge certain leaders of a pack because one, they would risk making the pack as a whole turn against the new leader, and some leaders should stay where they are because they are good and caring. While others who are power hungry or just don't care about the wolves within their pack or are not active as much as they should be well...the way I see it, once they are challenged they will go to whatever lengths they can to keep it, just to not do anythin' which is quite a bore and an annoyance.

Bring in the new pack, Alacritis needs a change.

I think we should have one more pack. BUT the pack leadership activity needs to be monitored more. I see alphas who only post here and there then alphas who post every day. its unfair to the people who want to play an alpha and have a pack and the members of the pack.

Do you not think the current guidelines are strict enough? (I just updated the guidebook last night so everyone can see.) We currently require 3 posts a week for the Alpha of a pack -- if this is neglected for 2 consecutive weeks, the pack is disbanded. We keep a pretty close eye on this, which is why Newt lost Tortuga. We also require Alphas do post weekly "updates" on what is going on (in a board only visible to Alphas and staff). So it might not seem like it, but we are keeping everything updated! :) - Nyx

While I like the idea of as many packs as we can handle, I also agree with what's been voiced already, each of our packs aren't at max activity, and by challenging, we get a chance to boost activity. Maybe give people a reward for actually challenging for packs, since they actually tried. I don't think one more pack would kill us, but honestly, I don't think it'll be active enough yet. I think we need to focus on getting the packs we have as active as possible then open up the idea of a new pack.

I really like rules as they are on the whole new pack thing. I think its if you reach 500 posts and have 400 gems, and followers you can make your own? It makes people work for it, and you know by the time their wolf hits 500 posts they're active. Everyone wants a pack, but not everyone can handle the massive amounts of activity required by one, and really six is enough right now, to me at least.

I mean, I won't say no to a new pack, but if we go that route... we need something new. Something honestly different or we should not allow another pack at all.

The next new pack should be one that's created by getting 500posts. I pretty much agree with Most everything being said and I dont think we need another pack thrown in Right now. What I would like to see is the rule about not changing the pack name after being taken to be dissolved.

I would like seeing a new pack that's different from what Alacritis has or has had before c: That's a bit difficult, I know - and with challenges it's hard to consistently create a pack that won't change again in the very near future...

The reason that Glaciem took off the way that it did is because Yumpy created something completely different with Isardis. <3

But I think that's something that can be recreated with a new pack, I like the idea of the members picking an anonymous pack from a bunch of different member created ones? It was mentioned in the c-box and seemed like a good idea that's been used before.

we have a lot of rogues that could use packs too. It's a bit unrealistic to have soooo many rogues during winter? But that's probably a different topic all together ehehe

Idk. I personally like the idea of another pack BECAUSE RAINBOW PACK because of the sheer number of rogues we have onsite. A great number of packs are essentially the same (no insult here, but Seracia, Valhalla, and Ludicael are incredibly similar in values and structure), which some might view as 'boring'. Glaciem is perhaps one of the most recently successful packs, because Yumps dared to do something different. As for Tortuga and Amenti, those packs never get a chance to breathe before they are challenged for. People need to have more incentive to challenge for longer standing packs, because although yes, constant pack challenges are fun, it also cripples smaller packs like Amenti or Tortuga in that it never gives them time to breathe and grow under a regime. I think there should be encouragement, therefore, to go for an older pack. At least in my time here, nobody has challenged for Valhalla or Seracia, while Amenti has been through four challenges, Tortuga through multiple disbandments, Glaciem through one challenge and a leadership switch, and Ludicael has had its beginning drama and a current pack challenge. TBH, it almost encourages me to make a character specifically to go after Seracia or Valhalla, because if challenge is good, it shouldn't just be challenge in every pack except those two. It should encompass, or at least try to encompass, every single pack.

Loving all the ideas. Nothing is set in stone, but we're just playing with ideas!

If this happens, it would be a one-time deal -- so don't expect packs to jump up all the time. Everyone else will have to get their 500 posts and have the followers to make their own pack.

It seems the consensus is that a pack is only a good idea if it's something different. And I completely agree.

IF this happens (it might not), my idea would be this: Have a basic "application" form, perhaps something like this:
Pack Name:
Ruled by: Which char of yours will be ruling?
Basic structure: What kind of ideals will the ruling wolf/wolves have? Have kind of alignment do they prefer? What is the "point" of your pack? What will make it different from other packs?
Anything else:

And then, I suggest the ideas can be sent to one admin, who will compile them and perhaps edit the text to make it so it's not obvious who wrote it (if necessary). Then! They would be posted anonymously, and everyone would be allowed to vote on the polls, except for the one staff who compiled the list.

Yumpy:
I like the idea of a fighting for a territory being something to work towards. But it seems odd to me to give gems out, when we take them away now. Give me more ideas and let's talk about it! I think the method sorta works now, because some people really dislike challenges (I, personally, am neutral -- I don't particularly love them), so I worry that too many would upset people. I know, they have to get over it, but it seems a gentle transition into a more fight-driven site is the best way to do things with the crowd we have on the site right now.

EDIT: I'd also say only reward members of doing challenges if they complete the challenge (i.e. dont forfeit from inactivity) and make a good faith effort to do it. It would be irritating to have someone doing half-assed posts just to earn gems or whatever.

Kat:
To be honest, the pack name change stuff is mostly not allowed because of coding reasons. We lost our original coder, and now I'm pretty sure only Lu and I know how to work that end of the site, and I know almost nothing. So, I think we'd like for it to be allowed but we need help coding it first!!

Seren:
I agree. My suggestion would be to pose a "dice roll" system during winter for rogues, which a low chance of a bad bad injury to happen (and encourage players to work it into their posts). If they don't like it -- get their wolf to safety! I'd love love love to add this realistic aspect to the site, since in the wild, wolves being rogues is very uncommon!

This is kinda turning into a more open-ended discussion of things you guys want to see on Ala, but keep going! I want everyone to enjoy this site even more!

If we are trying to encourage activity by bringing in a new pack, it would work for the new pack, but the old ones would still struggle. In order to encourage activity in all packs, I propose we bring back the system we had on the old Alacritis of limiting the amount of rogues allowed per person. As mentioned before, it would be extremely unlikely to have as many rogues as we do, because, no matter how strong a wolf may be, it is quite unrealistic for them to constantly be able to provide for themselves and still remain healthy.

I personally think constant challenges are okay. I challenged for Amenti because it was an IC good decision in canttina's mind. It was close to her home. She went for it. Also, it was a smaller pack and she thought it would be less drama at the moment so she could cause MORE drama in the future. You cant say there is to many challenges because that is how it is on any active site. Also, Vahalla and Sec are the two largest packs and the good aligned packs because they are more content, which is why many people dont go after them. Sure challenges are good, but for those packs they give good aligned characters a pack to join instead of being a rogue. You also have to think of the fact that these wolves are not like real wolves at times. Sure in the real world most Wolves would not be rogues much. BUT they also do not speak in italian or wear wolf skulls on their head. It is a semi-realistic rp site, not everything HAS to be spot on. On nearly every site rogues are very popular because well, they just wanna play rogues. A limit would be good to add in though, to incourage pack joining. A lot of our members hoard characters so it would be good to pat their bums and make them play pack wolves.

A form would be good for pack creation. We need something different. Good packs are kinda overpowering the bad ones. Amenti is currently kinda neatral but i dont know what to call it. It says the pack members can do whatever they want when they want and stuff. I dont know. It is not run like a pack much at all, but that is Shelbys choice and if someone greeted Canttina at their borders she would not be challenging for it right now. It is always good to have many different aligned packs. But, we now have four good packs. One bad and one neutral. If we are going to add in another pack its gonna have to be something completely different or its just gonnna be overlooked.


ALSO, drama is good. Its what rp is about. We should have more site wide plots. Like maybe Glaciem is effected by a crazy blizzard or something. Vahalla has a tornado or a horrible storm. Maybe add in some crazy wheather effects to put some danger into their lives? It is always good to mess with people haha. Pack wide drama is always lovely. It shouldnt always just be happy happy WAR happy happy challenge. that gets boring which is why most people play rogues.

I'm not saying challenges aren't okay, and I'm not questioning those who go after smaller packs. What I am saying is that it is no coincidence that the two largest packs are the ones who haven't been challenged for in months. And Tortuga, which has had at least five or six different leaders? And Amenti which has had at least five leaders? Small packs. Amenti's small pack status is admittedly partially my fault as I fell inactive with Medusa during a time that she had it (which was partially why I handed it to Shelbs, who did a great job of building it up). I'm also not saying drama isn't okay. My characters are the biggest drama whores ever, so I advocate drama, I just think that a few packs need a bit more time to grow.

I like the idea of voting on new pack ideas [: It will inspire people to be creative, and already I have a few ideas about what packs could potentially be made. ^^ I think it would be a great way to introduce the rainbow pack rainbow pack rainbow pack new pack xD

I would rather see more pack challenges to tweak current ones. On sites I've been on, more packs means wolves might not get spread out very well, especially if many are the same. New packs that just come out of the blue are often slow to get winding up unless some hype is being built up. Like Wolfie is doing, and Canttina. They're talking about it and trying to ramp up some followers.

The amount of rogues is a little crazy. Some characters, like Altair will probably always be a rogue, that's just his nature, he doesn't commit. Others just need time to find the one (Solaris). But I don't think more packs is the answer to that. Give a small incentive for joining? On my last sites, getting accepted into a pack, accepting a member, and gaining rank have you a small amount on our point system. Probably equivalent to like 5 gems here.

I dunno if it actually means anything to anyone, but I'd just like to point out that a new pack may not be the answer to getting present rogues to join packs. They may just encourage people to create new characters to fit the new pack's dynamic so they could mesh well instantly when they go to join their ranks (we did see some of this with Glaciem when it was first turned over to Isardis - quite a bit if my memory serves).

Not saying that this is bad, but it's just something I felt was worth mentioning since no one had stated this yet.

And, because people keep pointing out that Valhalla and Seracia see less animosity from challengers because of their numbers/their structural stability/etc., there's still no guarantee that they will remain the way they are forever. Glaciem was unexpectedly overturned once, and I don't remember them ever being a small bunch who looked weak or unstable in any way. It's just sort of the luck of the draw (and a bit of skill) that decides how things will go.

I'd like to suggest something and this is what Feniri did for Rogues that were running rampant on the site.

They did survival test for the site.

- Basically everyone was pushed to join a pack or to suffer a random event that they did. It would start in the early Autumn and into the early Winter.


1. Encountering a predator. (Bear, cougar, wolf, ect)

2. Completes a hunt of a large prey item with two or more wolves. (Must be completed and linked to maintenance.)

3. Your wolf gets ill with something and it can server effect them depending on what it is, boils, dementia, or canine distemper.

Edit; Maybe random dice rolls which will effect the said rogue and give them a % of how much of a chance they have surviving the winter for a week? The higher the less likely, the lower the more but still a chance of not making it.

You can't base the appropriateness of a new pack on how different to the others it will be. It can be changed to new leadership within weeks. Just as easily somebody can challenge to create a pack that's different, to transform a territory as simple as Valhalla into something we've never had before. Or to turn Glaciem into a woman-driven pack where no males are allowed. We don't need a new pack to make change, I think its silly to create a new pack if all you want is something different to the others. Tareq had Lentajin which was like nothing we'd ever had, it was great for activity for a while, but then Newt threw her from leadership and it became a pack nothing like it was before.

Tortuga and Amenti need more members. But if you reaaally want this new pack I wouldn't be upset wth that, I just don't think it's the answer.

I like the idea of bands, maybe with a controlled amount of members.

On the note of rouges-

We seem to have this notion that all of our rouges are in good health. Generally rouges don't do good on their own. I think we should have some kind of event that pushes our wolves into packs, but also, we should have maybe one or two slots per person for a constant rouge?

I think bands would be an interesting idea to explore. With just one wolf leading them, though not a whole ranking system. Maybe a limit of 5-6 wolves per band, so that, we can have constant challenges etc for band members? (Though at that point with so many challenges, you'd probably have to train more judges, so they wouldn't get over-whelmed) OR implement a dice rolls system for band challenges. IE if you roll two dice, with a computer generator, and get 6+ the challenger wins, and if the 6- the original alpha wins. (Something like that).

I also think that if we considered bands, we should have a post count rule. To prevent people from making a wolf just to have a band, but rather develop the band. Perhaps each wolf joining the band gives X number of gems to the band's leader? (A reasonable number, of course). To kind of keep the competition going?

Idek, that maybe making it way to complicated, but if we just bring in another pack to think that'll fix the problems it's only going to cause more.


I don't like the idea of forcing all rouges into packs. Uhm, personally, I'd be irked. IE- Creedance, c'mon, who in their right minds thinks he'd do well in a pack? Perhaps if he was leading it (and leading them all to hell) but, yeah, I'm all for making rouges more limited, but I would say negative to eliminating them. (in case anyone was thinking about that.)


Pack Challenges-

As to what Muse touched on, the two biggest packs here are never challenged for, perhaps we should encourage the challenges for ALL the packs, not just the small ones? Mouser also pointed out that it's because of the stability, which I also agree with, though personally, I think it would really shake some things up if they were challenged for. *shrugs* Glaciem went from the snow wolves, to a near brothel with one pimp. (No offense Isar <3)

But we also face this drama fit every time someone challenges for a pack so if we just bring in another, we're just going have that issue on yet another pack. So I think that maybe one thing that makes some hesitant to challenge, I mean, who wants to challenge only to get a hissy fit thrown if they win? (Idk how you would even solve that, other than telling peoples to STFU)

Summary-

I'm finding myself more on the negative end of just holding audits and votes for another pack. I think it'd be more fair if a member actually worked up to the 400-500 post requirement and their wolf developed. (YAY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT)
We have a lot of people just make characters for slots, rather than developing their current ones, which causes activity issues. I think another pack, given like that would hurt Alacritis rather than benefit.