- Keep in mind that
I am no expert. I have never created a pack with other people on any website, nor have I ever been a part of one.
This is a simple guide for users who want to create their pack -- whether it be for their characters, role play, or just "gathering" some friends. Enjoy -- and
feel free to add your own tips, comments, etc.
Step One: Research.Unless you're using creatures
you made up, do a little bit of research. Does this species even live in a pack? How do they hunt -- alone or as a group? How do they behave? Hierarchy? How far do they travel, and how big is their average territory size?
If you created your own creature type, make all of this up. It may not seem important,
but it is. It's vital to know these, which tend to be the "basics."
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Step Two: Creation. What'll be your pack's name? (Take into consideration for this its location -- marsh? Prairie? Forest?) Is the pack protagonist (good), antagonist (evil)?
Of course, pick where your pack lives. It's territory range. (Example: Northern Montana; forest range of 50 sq. miles.)
Then establish your hierarchy. Obviously, you will be the alpha fe/male. Will you have another alpha? (This isn't a requirement; it's
your pack.) Create your other ranks, and "advertise" to have them filled by other users.
If you're using other characters that are yours (lets say, for fan art/fictions), take their personalities into consideration. Is such-and-such likely to be pushed around? Are they aggressive/dominant, or submissive?
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Step Three: Recruiting (If you're involving other members and friends.)
First and foremost, you have to have some sort of "appeal." Of course you're not going to have "benefits" for each user who joins. (And no, giving the ranks a "first come, first serve!" status is
not a good idea.) Approaching members in the shout box and saying, "Will you be in my pack?" is actually a turn-off (if you ask me) to your pack's future.
Instead, post somewhere on the forums -- a topic such as, "Alpha Looking for Packmates." Post information about your pack -- that you should have created in the first two steps -- and tell people why
your pack is special. Am I telling all users, 'run out and create yourself a pack'? No, I'm not. However, it would make better sense. Especially for those fan fiction writers and artists out there who have multiple pack-compatible characters.
Predictably, you can also have other peoples' characters in one of your characters' "packs." You don't have to limit yourself on anything.
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Step Four: Put Your Pack to Use. Now you can "rally" your members, and role-play, draw, or write away! By having everyone in a central area, it limits any "pack fans" from having to bounce from page-to-page, which could get annoying. (For example, make a topic in the General Fan Art labeled: "Such-and-Such Pack's ART." Or "Links to our pack stories." Or whatever, the boundaries are endless.)
Set up a time and storyline for you and your friends to get together and role-play, show off your skills and pack unification.
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Step Five: Adversaries? Of course, there is
always conflict in the animal kingdom for food, territory, mates, rank, etc. Maybe find members of another pack to have "spats" with (that abide by the site's rules and won't actually enrage the other members -- keep in mind that it's all fantasy.)
I suggest that, should a "battle" occur, don't make any character deaths permanent. Who wants to lose a hard-created character, anyway? That, and ask the characters' owners before you attack/kill their creations. Set up, in some sort of private setting, how this-and-this should go. Of course, you need a private place for ALL of the packs' members to meet and discuss these things, and post their characters so you can "get to know" them, what they look like, their biography, et cetera.
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Step Six: HAVE FUN!
Again, keep in mind that I'm no expert and they are, in fact, your pack(s). But these are suggestions to make them more understandable for everyone, including yourself. (After all, who wants to create a wolf alpha who acts like a Chihuahua around other wolves? Not very alpha-like behavior.)
