How PC Threadfall Works
The first thing to consider is that every time we run a PC Threadfall, it is entirely PC. Every post you roll you must fill in with some sort of IC response to what's going on around you. The rolling is meant to simulate the unexpected during Threadfall -- nobody can foresee how Thread will fall, how the wind will blow, and how dragons around you respond to the high stress environment.
Please keep in mind we may not run future Threadfalls in this fashion, and things might change. We're just trying some stuff out to inspire drama and fun!
Hours: Threadfall is broken into hours. Thread will fall either in 4 hour or 8 hour increments. In some cases, Thread will reach a border, and be picked up by another Weyr's territory, or fall over the open water of the ocean. In those cases, the time spent fighting might be shortened.
Each hour fighting Threadfall is an equivalent of 2 IRL days. We chop each day up into half-hour increments, and announce each increment as a Round.
So we will announce Hour 1, Round 1; and then the next day it will be Hour 1, Round 2; and the following day will then be Hour 2, Round 1, etc. etc. We signify this because certain effects reset when a "Round" is up; also, whites, greens, and blues will have certain assigned shifts so might come in fighting the first two hours, and then have to know when to leave and a new wave enter. For four hour Falls, the smaller colors (white, green, blue) will only fly for two hours and then switch out. For eight hour Falls, the smaller colrs will fly two hours on, two hours off, two hours on, two hours off, etc.
Uta or Cheri will always announce when an Hour is up and a new Hour begins! Rounds will happen automatically based on when they began.
Rounds: Each round is 24 hours. There are two rounds per "Hour" increment--day one and day two. Once day two is up, that assigned Hour is over. Rounds will take place in 24 hour blocks, and usually happen automatically, whether Uta and Cheri are there or not.
For example, if Hour 1 began at 6:38pm PT, everyone would have until about 6:38pm PT the following day for Round 1 roles, and then at 6;39pm PT you could begin your Round 2 roles.
A round is considered approximately a half-hour of Threadfall fighting, ICly.
Roll Limits: Each player may roll up to 5 times a day/round per dragon. (So 10 rolls per IC Hour.) You must post a response to the prompt you get before you roll again-- so no spamming rolls. You also cannot roll multiple dice -- one dice, per dragon, per post.
If you do not want to risk your dragon, do not roll, and simply write IC responses. Writing IC replies or non-roll threadfighting answers does not count towards your allotted daily rolling. You can free-form write replies as often as needed.
If you roll you MUST take the damage/XP/follow the prompt. The only exception is if it's a death roll. If you roll something that leads to death, you may opt to take damage instead.
How to Play
- Decide which dragonriders you want to focus on. You do not need to roll for them all, though you can if you want! There will be many Threadfall games to come!
Weyrlings must be at least 10 months old to participate in fighting Thread/Ferrying firestone =or= Uta/Cheri must give an exception and allowance. We will let you guys know if weyrlings can (or cannot) participate! If they can't fight Thread they can just help bag Firestone or be assigned whatever chores/duties the Weyrlingmaster sees fit.
If you have a PC rider/dragon who is beginning the game injured or recuperating from something, they can opt to fly in the Queen's Wing instead of their fighting Wing. (Assume there is clearance from their Wingleader to do this.) Note that this is where they will roll the ENTIRETY of the game.
White, green, and blue dragons will fly on rotation. This means you must declare at the game start whether they are First Wave or Second Wave. First Wave flies the first 2 Hours then returns to the Weyr. Second Wave flies the last 2 Hours. First and Second waves rotate back and forth every two hours as needed until Threadfall finishes in the case of an 8 Hour Threadfall.
Each Hour consists of two IRL days and represents one hour total of Threadfall fought. So you'll see Hour 1, Round 1, and then Hour 1, Round 2. Once Round 2 completes, that "hour" is up ad Hour 2 begins.
White dragons will fly ONLY in the Queen's Wing or Low Altitude Wing. No exceptions! They will fly in the Queen's Wing until their usual assigned Wing is tapped to fly Low-Altitude, then they will join them! In some cases, they might wind up only flying in the Queen's Wing!
White, green, and blue Wingleaders & Seconds can only fly based on their dragon colors abilities! This mean green and blue Wingleaders can only lead half a Threadfall! Whites can only lead when their Wing is fighting Low-Altitude! To get around this, it is assumed their Wingseconds temporarily take over to lead while the Wingleader is unable to be present and that there is suitable leadership coverage in the Wing.
If all Wingleaders/Wingseconds are inactive or unable to fight, it is assume an NPC Wingleader or Wingsecond is assigned by the Weyrleader to cover. No Wing will be without leadership, even if it comes from an NPC.
Wingleader/Wingsecond rolls will also be affected! If your Wingleader/Second isn't fighting in the Wing then they can't roll saves or bonuses, sorry!
If you decide to roll from one of the grids, you must declare who you are rolling for in each post. No rolling and then deciding on the character.
Death Rolls: If you roll a death prompt, you can take damage instead. If you decide to kill off your character, it is permanent. Not taking it back.
You may choose not to roll and free-style RP Threadfall, but you will not earn any XP or benefits. Any previous Status Effects will remain in place until you roll. (So if you have a Fatigue Effect for 3 turns, consider those ROLLED turns. If you quit rolling after 2 turns of Fatigue, you will still suffer from it until you roll a third time, the game ends, or someone saves you from the effect. These effects WILL follow you into new Rounds.
Players may roll up to 5 times an IRL day/round, per dragon. Please do not roll for ALL your dragons in one post. Keep it one post per dragon since rolls can effect damage.
Any saves you make must effect your riders assigned Wing, only! You won't know what's going on in flights above or below you, so be sure to look for fellows in your own wing if you roll a save or some sort of boon!
You may hold onto a earned "Save" only until the end of the hour it was rolled in. After the Hour is up you'll need to earn another to use.
Bring characters in and out as inspired. Just because you start with one doesn't mean you have to keep playing that dragon. You can come back to them later, or bring in another character to develop.
Uta or Mr Cheri will announce when an Hour Ends and when a new Hour Begins! They will also let you know which grids your riders will use! Remember, those grids change each Hour!
This is kind of the honor system. A lot will be going on so we ask you don't delete your posts or declare one dragon and then change it to another. Wingmates will be looking out to aid you if you do roll damage, so deleting the post could mess things up! It's also cheating. Additionally, you don't have to follow the prompt 100%. Any damage, XP gain, or effects will happen, but it's meant more to springboard what's happening up there. i.e. if the prompt has a dragon taking Thread to the face, it could be the rider, or their leg, or wing instead. Damage will still be taken, but you can adjust it to fit your character.
Some Rules & Things to Keep In Mind
- Please keep things IC!
This is for Thread over a specific Weyr's territory. Only riders affiliated with that Weyr can participate! Those from other Weyrs or unaffiliated groups do not get to fight Thread! Unaffiliated Riders do not get to fight Thread -- no exceptions.
You are allowed to make up a NPC chromatic rider to participate in Threadfall but you don't get to keep the XP. Sorry!
Your dragon cannot leave the game just because they don't feel well or are injured. You must be KO'd in a prompt or drop out of the game with 0 HP. While you as a player might grow bored or tired, you may simply stop writing for the character and assume they finish without issue--you do not get to have them drop out or call it just because their HP is low.
This event will run approximately 8-10 days for a 4 hour Threadfall, and 16-20 days for a 8 hour Threadfall. Uta will announce when the current "hour" is up. Every hour change will result in a Wing Formation change -- meaning the riders will have it "easier" or "harder" depending on where their Wing goes. Green, blue, and white riders who start out fighting Thread will need to return to the Weyr after the Second Hour is up! Green, blue, and white riders who are tapped to relieve them will start fighting Thread during hours Three and Four.
If you play a white, green, or blue rider you must decide at the start of the game if you want them to be in the first wave or the second wave! First Wave dragons will play Hour 1 and Hour 2 before heading back to the Weyr. Second Wave dragons will play Hour 3 and Hour 4.
If you play a white dragon they will ONLY fight in the Queen's Wing or the Low Altitude Wing. They will fight in the Queen's Wing until "their" Wing is tapped to fly Low Altitude. Once there, the white dragons will join their usual Wing and fight with them! It is possible they will only get to fly in the Queen's Wing before tapping out, depending how the shifts change.
Western Weyr Wingleaders/Seconds If you are a white, green, or blue Wingleader or Wingsecond, your dragon must still follow the rules! Whiteriders can only assist their Wing while they are in the Lower Altitudes. Greens and blues can only fly partial Thread with their Wing.
You may RP characters in The Bowl, or non-dragonrider weyrfolk. You may make up NPCs to respond to other characters, such as playing a dragonhealer to help heal a hurt dragon, or a kitchen worker comforting a stunned wounded rider, or waiting on a loved one to return, etc. As Thread is not falling directly over the Weyr this time, daily Weyr activities are open.
Please note that the daily activities of the Weyr are different on Threadfall days. Healers and Dragonhealers of all levels are on guard both in the Bowl and in the Infirmery. Candidates are likely on hand helping in the kitchens, run water and food to workers, and helping bag firestone or roll bandages. They will NOT be asked to help heal riders or dragons or get underfoot in such a fashion, even if they are a healer! They will be well watched so they shouldn't just be standing around gaping at the wounded. There are things to be done while the riders fight and having them get in the way is borderline catastrophic.
New: Players do not get to ask specific players or characters to catch their dragon. When a dragon goes down, make the request. It is then up to those in the Queen's Wing to decide who is available.
That said, writers of Queen's should attempt to round-robin catches. If you've recently caught someone, it is better to ask your fellow gold riders if anyone is available instead of opting to catch again and again. Try to share the fun! If someone isn't immediately available, give it time. We can fuzzy time the catch. That said, we do understand sometimes a queen might catch twice in a row, or multiple times, so it's okay if it does happen just make an attempt to play fair.
Tasks the Candidates might be put on duty for Threadfall Days or outside of Lectures:
----Helping to bag firestone (usually with the weyrlings. Please note since we have no weyrlings of appropriate age, they might work with some older riders/volunteers)
----Helping to roll bandages with Apprentice Healers
----Helping to make up beds in the Infirmery
----Helping to peel and wash vegetables in the Kitchens.
----Helping to bring supplies from the store rooms
----Warming vats of numbweed as needed
----Running dirty and stained clothes to the wash
----Bringing clean sheets, clothes, and blankets to various stations
---Refilling water tubs at healing stations
---Running bloodied and soiled clothing, blankets, and sheets to the laundry
---Helping run refill redwort and numbweed jars at various Healer Stations
Threadscore is nasty and very deadly. It burns, it bleeds, it eats you and your dragon very quickly. While the cold of Between can stop it, beware Thread that doesn't die. If it gets (somehow) protected from the worst of Between you will come out of there with it continuing to eat at you.
Threadscore isn't the only problem. Ash burns are common. Tongue wounds are common from dragons biting them while chewing stone. Pulled muscles from over exerting a dragon. Whiplash and muscle wounds from sitting improperly or having your riding strap too loose or too tight. Strap burns on your dragon from improperly fitted straps, etc.
You will gain XP as you roll the dice. Keep in mind this is all cumulative but will not be granted until Threadfall FINISHES. This means if you gain 30 XP points, you don't get to apply it to your character until Threadfall ends -- but you should keep track of it!
It is up to you to keep track of your XP and HP as the game moves. Do not cheat the system. Do not delete your rolls. You must call out a character and keep that character, regardless of the roll you receive. i.e. If I roll for C'lusi & Macuith, I cannot change it to Zheria & Eveleth because that number on their grid works better for them!
You must place gained XP into its allotted slot. If your slot is maxed, the XP becomes Free XP. At the END of the game, you may take your total Free XP, divide it by 2. That number (rounded down if it's not a whole number) can be then distributed to your other skills as you see fit.
General Game Summary:
Staff will write a prompt kicking off Threadfall, and all you have to do is get in there with your dragonpair(s) and fight! You can fight Thread freeform -- meaning you control everything that's going on around your fighting pair and simply write whatever you want! You don't take HP loss, you don't earn XP, and you don't get any status effects if you do it this way. It also does not count for your daily roll allotment.
If you're hoping for some XP or just want some chaos, you can roll from one of the Threadfall lists! These lists grant you scenarios that your characters interact/respond to. Some of these scenarios are good and successful; some of these scenarios are awful and will leave and your rider potentially threadscored. If you're really feeling it, there are some that will kill your rider or dragon.... If you don't wish to kill your character, you may have them simply take damage instead.
If you roll from the list, you must follow through with its prompt! There is no opting out. It's a risk, just like Threadfall is a risk. If you don't want your dragon harmed then freeform RP with them so as not to risk it.
Staff will also periodically post thread or wind scenarios for individual riders and dragons or other forms of drama through various NPCs.
HP / Health Points
To make things even more complicated, we've given Health Points to dragons. Each dragon has a base minimum depending on their color and their actual size!
To figure out their HP, take their size in feet and divide by 2!
i.e. Eveleth is 102'. Divided by 2, she has 51 HP.
If a dragon loses all their HP from a roll they will fall from the sky and need to be caught by a queen and dropped off at the Weyr. At that point they are spent, exhausted, possibly badly damaged, and could even die if a player wished.
If a dragon falls from the sky, both rider and dragon are out for the rest of Threadfall.
To avoid this, a rider will need to periodically return to the Weyr to get checked out by a healer or to rest/recuperate. Once at the Weyr, you will need to make a Healers Roll. These prompts will either keep you at the Weyr for another turn, tell you what you need to do to get patched up, or have you keep rolling until you get a prompt that gives you the all clear. This can return you back to your wing with x-amount of HP re-instated.
Determining HP
Each dragon's HP is based 100% on their size. The larger the dragon, the bigger a hit they can take, is the current theory. If your dragon isn't a whole number, simply use the whole number, and disregard the rest. i.e. 31.5 = 31HP.
Weyrlings (or riders who are held back from graduating) will follow this scale:
White: 10 HP
Green: 14 HP
Blue: 18 HP
Brown: 22 HP
Bronze: 28 HP
Gold: 33 HP
This gives you a reason to want to actually graduate! Graduation unlocks some more HP!
Health Scale
Your rider can return back to the Weyr at any time to get looked over by a Healer and possibly regain HP. If you return to the Weyr, you MUST roll a successful Healer Roll before you return, or re-gain full health!
If your health reaches 0HP or they take a hit that puts them past 0 and no one is able to roll a save before the Round ends, they will collapse from the sky, and require a Queen to catch them. If there are no available PC Queens, feel free to simply have an NPC gold rise up to catch them! You could also claim at this point your dragon, or both dragon and rider dies, if you wish tragedy upon them. It's up to you!
Death is final. So don't choose this only to regret it later. Once you kill a rider and/or dragon, they are gone forever, so please don't do this lightly. You do not get to bring them back if you regret the loss later, nor do you get to use the dragon art for a twin or someone similar. Dead is dead, so think carefully!
USE THIS HEADER
To keep things standard, please post this Header and fill it out completely! This will make it easy for riders to know who is who!
Remember, if your dragon/rider has fought in previous Threadfall Events and/or has "won" XP in some other fashion, it is all cumulative! We suggest you keep the XP points logged somewhere and update them as soon as Threadfall wraps, so next time, it's just a quick copy-paste job!
[center][size=18][b]NAME OF WING[/b][/size]
[size=11][rider name] of [color] [dragon name]
[b]HP:[/b] (Remember to divide their size by 2!)
[b]Status Effect:[/b] If applicable.
[b]XP:[/b]
Target Accuracy:
Flame Length:
General Stamina:
General Agility:
Between Accuracy:
Pain Resilience:
Instinct:
Luck:
[/size][/center]
