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 Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:09 am
This guide offers detailed information, both OOC and IC, about hatchings and the process of impressing.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:47 am
Impressions: IC In Pernese terms, the word Impress is the joining of minds. On the moment of hatching, or shortly there after, a dragon seeks out and finds the one with whom it wants to bond.
This is not only a choice but a necessity. Impression goes very deep with a dragon. The instinct to Impress is quite literally built into a dragon's genetics; a dragon is incomplete without its lifemate, and cannot survive if it does not find one. When a newly-hatched dragon cannot find a suitable match, that dragon goes between to die.
The emotions, thoughts, desires, wants and needs of both dragon and human are known to each other. The dragon knows his or her name, and so tells it to the human counterpart, and would be surprised to learn the human did not know its name at birth. For a dragon and a human, Impression is more than merely the melding of two minds together. They literally become one being with two bodies, their souls intertwined to the extent that there is no way for them to tell where dragon begins and human ends. Thus, it surpasses the familiar concept of telepathy.
Though a human can live with the loss of his or her dragon if they choose, if the human partner dies the dragon will instantly go between as it cannot comprehend or fathom life without its human counterpart. In the case of Gold dragons with unhatched eggs the maternal instinct can prevent the dragon from committing suicide until her eggs have safely hatched and the hatchlings have themselves impressed.
Dragonets may choose a rider who is their opposite to help balance them out, or pick someone similar and follow the old birds of a feather saying. Regardless, a dragon and rider pair usually must have some common ground, be it a particularly strong feeling toward something (such as loyalty) or a goal (such as to become a Wingleader). There are some exceptions; it isn't unheard of for a dragon to Impress the someone rather than go between because they were 'good enough' rather than ideal.
Hatchings are different for different Weyrs. Ghenza, for example, is infamous for having exceptionally headstrong dragons that are instinctively picky with their riders. It is not surprising that they are also the Weyr with the highest mortality rate among hatchlings. How It Works Again, hatchings are different depending on the Weyr. Generally, though, things stay the same. For simplicity sake, we'll explain the most common means. If a Weyr should differ in their practices, it will be mentioned in their guides and during / before their hatchings.
Things begin with what are commonly known as 'search dragons'. All dragons have the ability to sense those with the potential to Impress a dragon. Some potential candidates come from the Weyr itself, but others are taken from Holds after they are discovered and brought to the Weyr.
There is a practice in which candidates visit the eggs known as 'touching' (see next section). This is the only time candidates interact with eggs prior to the hatching.
When the eggs are ready to hatch, all the dragons of the Weyr produce a low humming noise. This alerts their human counterparts of the upcoming event. The time can be day or night, morning or evening, and candidates are expected to be up and ready no matter the hour. Wearing plain, white robes that are identical to each other, candidates shuffle down to the sands where the eggs are.
Meanwhile, onlookers fill the stands to observe. Although dragons mostly Impress to those 'on the sands', it is possible for them to Impress people observing the event - or even people who are not near by. (See 'Stands Impressions' and 'Between Impressions' for more information.)
Dragonets are often clumsy, and some can be out of control. Fatalities do occur. The dragons have mental access to every person around them and will seek out the perfect person for them. Some take their time while others hatch and somehow immediately know who 'theirs' is.
The dragons 'Impress' upon their chosen person, forever binding them.Touching 'Touching' is not practiced in all Weyrs, but it is practiced in most of them. The point of a touching is to allow candidates to familiarize themselves with the dragons. Touchings occur before hatchings, when the dragons are still in their eggs; however, eggs have a certain 'aura' around them that may hint at their personality. Even the position of an egg could be relevant.
Only official candidates attend the touching, along with the rider of the gold responsible for the clutch and some kind of guardian (usually either the Weyrleader or Weyrlingmaster.)
Candidates are taken to the eggs. They bow to the gold (who must be carefully restrained by her rider as her instincts will be maddening). Then, they are allowed to touch the shells, speak to them and attempt to predict the colors or personalities of the dragons inside. Stands Impression When a dragon hatches and Impresses to someone who is watching the hatching from the stands, this is known as a 'stands Impression'. These occur more frequently than they once did, but are still fairly rare. How often they happen varies from Weyr to Weyr. (Note that some Weyrs do not allow observers outside of the selected candidates, thereby making these Impressions impossible.)
Typically, a dragon will settle for someone in the stands only after the candidates on the sands have been deemed unsuitable. But there are instances of dragons preferring someone in the stands to the candidates. Between Impression Between Impressions, as they have come to be known, are very, very rare and not easily understood. It is unknown if all dragons possess the ability to sense their ideal partner from far away or if only certain ones can.
Between Impressions occur when a dragon either a) decides no one around them is suitable or b) decides the person they want is not nearby and goes between to reach them. (For more information on going between, see the dragons guide.) There have been no instances of dragonets traveling farther than their own Weyr to Impress. Some speculate dragonets who go between to die were actually attempting to find someone and didn't make it. Going between without training is extremely dangerous, no matter what age the dragon.
A between Impression has not occurred in decades. Which Characters Are Eligible? The requirements for dragons are as follows:
12-30 turns (years old).
No significant mental disorders (exceptions may be made depending).
Only heterosexual females may Impress a gold.
Only heterosexual males may Impress a bronze.
Female brown Impressions are VERY rare, but can happen in the case of homosexual or asexual riders.
Blues can Impress to anyone.
Greens can Impress to anyone.
Note: In the past, the age requirements were 12-21 and their were sexuality restrictions similar to cannon. These have been lifted and the age has been bumped up. Things to Note (1) Dragons that are from the same clutch are not considered brothers and sisters. The dragons have no concept of what having siblings even is, so it is not considered incest for two clutchmates to mate. Some are even known to have minor crushes on each other before they hatch.
(2) In the Pern series, dragons frantically (often mindlessly) scramble around and do nothing until they have Impressed. To make for more interesting RP and to help develop the dragonet's characters early on, DRoP: B/C differs a bit.
The dragons in the shop still find 'theirs' right away, but they may partake in other, brief tasks along the way. For example, a blue may sit and wait for another clutchmate he is particularly close to to Impress before he does.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:13 pm
Impressions: OOC Hatchings are a unique sort of roleplay celebrated by Pern RPs all around the internet. To participate in a hatching, one must submit a candidate to the Character Submission subforum (here in the guild!) and have them approved.
Dragonets will be premade with personalities and looks all their own, and then matched to submitted candidates based on how well they fit. There are exceptions, such as in the case of customs or hatching raffles (see below).
Dragonets may choose a rider who is their opposite to help balance them out, or pick someone similar and follow the old birds of a feather saying. Regardless, a dragon and rider pair usually must have some common ground, be it a particularly strong feeling toward something (such as loyalty) or a goal (such as to become a Wingleader). There are exceptions (see the above post for more IC info.)
Hatching Raffles A Hatching Raffle is basically what it sounds like. All candidates entered into the hatching will also be placed into the hatching raffle unless, for some reason, the player of that character designates they do not wish to be entered. When the staff are done matching dragons and candidates together, they will put the remaining candidates in a raffle and roll a dice. The winner will have another dragon made for their candidate. This dragon will, like it's clutchmates, be premade. It is not a custom. But the candidate is guaranteed a dragon.
Sometimes there will be a hatching and no hatching raffle. Most of the time, however, the hatching and hatching raffle will be unified. The staff leading the hatching will specify if there is or is not a hatching raffle. To keep things more of a surprise, winner of the hatching raffle will not be announced until after the hatching RP.
If a person enters more than one candidate, the candidates will occupy two numbers on the list. Players will not be allowed to choose which character gets the dragonet should they win. The candidate rolled will be given the dragon. How It Works OOC, there will be an announcement a week (or longer) in advance to a hatching. Players will then submit their approved candidates into a designated thread. Staff will match each dragon with a candidate OOC, and then the hatching RP will begin. The length of a hatching varies, and will most likely span at least two days to provide everyone ample time to post. Players will not know who is getting which dragonet--or even what the dragonet's personality is--until they have hatched and Impressed in the hatching RP. Customs being the exception.
Prior to the RP, eggs will be on the sands. The eggs will give hints at the dragon's color, size, personality and sometimes even relationships with some of it's clutchmates. (See 'Touching' in above post for more info.)
It is important to note that if there are absolutely no riders matching a dragonet, that dragonet will go between and be taken out of the game. This rarely happens, but should it for any reason, players are expected to conduct themselves maturely and not whine that the dragon did not simply settle for their candidate. Some dragons may be intended to go between from the beginning for plot reasons.
In addition to the hatching RP, both characters and players alike will be opened to participating in a game in which they guess the contents of the dragons inside the eggs. Winners will be given firelizards OOC; IC prizes vary, but usually include firelizards as well.Touching 'Touching' is not practiced in all Weyrs, but it is practiced in most of them. The point of a touching is to allow candidates to familiarize themselves with the dragons. Touchings occur before hatchings, when the dragons are still in their eggs; however, eggs have a certain 'aura' around them that may hint at their personality. Even the position of an egg could be relevant.
Only official candidates attend the touching, along with the rider of the gold responsible for the clutch and some kind of guardian (usually either the Weyrleader or Weyrlingmaster.)
Candidates are taken to the eggs. They bow to the gold (who must be carefully restrained by her rider as her instincts will be maddening). Then, they are allowed to touch the shells, speak to them and attempt to predict the colors or personalities of the dragons inside. Things to Note (1) People may enter as many characters as they'd like, but only dragon per player will be given out. The only time this rule is void is if every other PC who entered received a dragon, in which case it is possible for someone to obtain more than one.
(2) Customs must fit into the 'theme' of the clutch.
(3) Not all hatchings allow stands Impressions. The sign-up thread will state in advance whether the following hatching will or not. If it does, characters who are not candidates may be submitted.
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