Dorado Horse Herd

[Sohtoh]

( This is how many players we want! Or more! > )

At one point on the MUCK, there was a herd of Horses named the Sagebrush. Through whatever reasons, be it the players becoming too busy with real life or the interest just disappearing, the group was taken off of the @group list a while ago due to inactivity.

Well, now we would like to change all of that!

There is a small band of active horse characters that are all interested in reviving a group of horses. If you feel as if you might be missing important plot points, please be aware that we will try our hardest to get (important) scene logs up here, on the forum.

So, why create a horse character? Well, for one because they're made of pure awesome. Horses are fascinating creatures, with their social structure and their behavior, they're very interesting to learn about as well as to play. They're also very beautiful animals. It's not by accident that the horse is a symbol of majesty and whatnot. Just look at a galloping herd and say that they're not amazing. They're very fun to play as, as well. But they'd be even more fun to play as if we had more members! They also come in a great variety. You can be any breed (that meets with the Meadows standards, as listed on the website), and any color (that is associated with your valid breed of choice)! You could have humans in your past, or no humans in your past. The horse is a very versatile character to play as, along with all of the other aesthetic reasons involved.

We want active players, ones who are able to connect a few times per week hopefully, or at least give notice of when they are unavailable. Most of us are either in college or have a job, and so we understand completlely the duldrums of being unavailable. We don't expect anyone to be on once per day, but that'd be great too!

So, consider a horse alt! We would love you forever over in the prairie-lands, and you'd have a great time, as well!

HERD LEADERSHIP INFORMATION

Contrary to popular belief, there is not a lead stallion of horse herds. The stallions do not lead the herds. There are however, herd stallions. Currently, we have a herd stallion, but he is not however, a leader of the group. The leader of the group is always the lead mare. However, to avoid confusion for new and current members of the herd, here are some basic summaries of the two very different roles of the herd, just for info sake.

Lead Mare - The leader of the herd. Generally more mature than the rest, she determines where the herd goes, where they graze, what route to take when escaping from danger, and is also given the right to drink first at a watering hole. She is also responsible for the safety of the entire herd. When the herd moves, it is by her decision, and she is at the front.

Herd Stallion - The protector of the herd. He does not lead anything, but simply remains near the back end of the herd while travelling, and keeps the mares from any harm. Often, his position is the most vulnerable, but he has the stamina and strength to keep himself, and the mares he looks after, safe. He also gathers up straggling members of the herd, so as to keep them in a bundle of sorts, letting himself be the most vulnerable to weather, predators, and challenges from other stallions.

OTHER ROLES IN THE HERD

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Mares are the majority of any horse herd. Generally, there is one stallion to every ten to twenty mares, in thriving, large herds. With a herd as small as ours at the moment, it would be much harder to have a player's stallion character accepted than a player's mare character. Please keep this bit of realism in mind when you request a character. You're allowed to make whatever you want, but the chances of being accepted into the herd may suffer. For more on this, see the bit on bachelor bands below.

There is generally only one stallion to a herd, who is named the herd stallion. Original, eh? Often if a herd has a large enough number of mares, the herd stallion will allow one younger male to stay within the group, as a successor of sorts. Since the stallions run off their young come a certain age, this unrelated stallion is kept on board to make sure that the herd is in good hands.

If however, we get a sudden influx of stallion alts, there is the chance for what are called 'bachelor bands.' These are groups of rogue stallions who travel together. These include the colts sired by the herd stallion, other colts without mares or small herds of their own, or older stallions who've lost their herds in fights. In these bachelor bands, the stallions work together to enjoy the benefits of a herd, without the constant need for dominance displays, or fighting. However, there comes a time when some will split from these bands, and will seek mare-filled herds again.

HORSE BEHAVIOR

If you are new to playing horse characters, there are a few things that you should be familiar with as far as their behavior and body language goes. Instead of typing all that out here, I got lazy and decided to find a couple good sources and just link them instead:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_behavior
special.equisearch.com/downloads/charts/EQBodyLanguageChart.pdf

[Etenia]

Healer - Lead Mare and her backup. A list of herbs and what they mean to the herd will be placed up for reference. That way role play with healing will be consistent.

Advisor - Someone who has a keen eye on the long term affects of decisions made. Preferably someone who is spiritual or a good moral guidance.

Patrol Assistant - This is meant primarily for the future Herd Stallion. A younger stallion who the Herd Stallion will allow to be closer to the herd than the rest of the stallions.

*If a mare shows that she wants to patrol as well, she will likely need to just stay at the edge of the territory alongside the Herd Stallion.

Scout - Can be any horse that has one or two non-horse species with him or her to go scouting.

Explorer - This will be more of a full expedition quest of a group with one horse in the group. The rest of the group is best to be non-horse. This is good for any fast running mare or stallion. Plots will be rather long, likely a month if all party members are on often.

Jester? - Someone who brings comedy and a lighthearted feel to scenes.

Archival/Historian - Someone who wants to be the memory of the past. This could be played by someone who just wants to spew facts of the past. Also could work in conjunction with the Advisor. Means you'll likely have to reference older logs as well. Much more research intense.

Ambassador/Diplomat - Someone who isn't scared to chat with other groups as an informational liaison between Dorado and others.