On the subject of GD....

[trico]

3 or 4 for me as well would work.

What everyone here said was very good. I think that to add to it, there should be a clutch on the sands when the new site opens, or continued one re-opens, that will definitely draw in new members and reward old ones *or in some cases newer old members that have yet to have a hatching like myself and a few others*. As someone who has had to move sites before due to plot and inactivity I will say if you're keeping much the same but majorly changing timeline and plot make a new site. It is much easier to adjust and choose what's staying when moving it over than trying to do it in the place where everything is. This would also allow more rp time for people who are getting bored during the wait.

As for clutching females I think it's a fabulous idea. Especially in the case of moving away from DRoP, biologically it would make sense that smaller females could clutch too, just smaller colors and less of a spectrum. I'd maybe think about the way they bond more too, adding in things that make it unique whether that be ritual or reasoning, and magic in general is fun but it has to be utilized in a good way otherwise it gets too Eragon. *not that that's bad*

I'd suggest maybe doing a future timeline where something has happened to rid most of the technology but steampunk has come forward slightly as well as a sort of alchemy/magic that is somewhat science based somewhat fantasy based. *think Full Metal Alchemist maybe or even Doctor Who with the tapping into a lifestream*.

So those are just a few ideas, you can even make a revolution between the old ways of more strict ritual and newer mecha-based rituals and way of life with the Simourves as a sort of in between area or something. >.<

*goes back into quiet corner*

[Para]

When we've mentioned magic before it's mainly been in the context of bringing in more elements from the videogame that GS was based on along with Pern. I don't really know what type of magic that is, but I've been thinking it would lean more toward being a background force, and not a significant part of the plot. Certainly not Eragon-y, anyway. Killy, what's the magic system in the game? I don't think any of the rest of us know.

[Lan]

I know that, like Cy, I've been wholly absent... but, if I can, I'd like to make my opinion as well.

Both 3 and 4 seem valid. Either way will give the administration a way of organizing their thoughts together in some cohesive way where there won't be contradictions and as many fuzzy gray areas as there have been--which I think has been the primary issue with the site, by my understanding. A time for the staff to sit down and organize something together, whether it be this site or a new one, would certainly be beneficial to all.

All I ask, though, is maybe some advance notice so I can get copies of my character sheets, mayhaps? Just a random concern...

[Kilnarak]

... yeah, I'd like to bring more Ico-verse stuff into the game, since the simourv were based on it. I don't know much about The Last Guardian, as it isn't out yet - but I do think it's meant to be in the same general universe as the previous two games (Ico and Shadow of the Colossus). While magic is present in the worlds of both games, it isn't really a major thing. Or rather, it doesn't appear to be readily accessible to humans - there are magical forces at work on the world that might be called spirits or gods, and in some cases they interact with humans - usually shamans/religious individuals, but it's also been shown that they can sort of possess humans and grant them abilities (like the control of shadows and lightning in the case of the Queen in Ico, or Dormin in SotC).

We could have that tie in with simourv - people who bond certain colors (or certain colors of simourv themselves) being more inclined toward having the potential to channel spirits of the world around them. I know we had been talking about naturally white simourv (rather than an albino) being more spiritual/shaman-like, as well as the possibility of rainbows being that sort of thing. Maybe blues and greens could also rarely show potential - but probably none of the colors larger than a tawny.

Does that help any with explaining the magic-stuffs we were thinking about? I actually haven't read Eragon (and I don't really want to >>) so I'm really not sure how magic is handled in that.

[Para]

It's been quite a while since I read Eragon, but Eragon magic seems to be more of the spellcasting variety; you have magic, and if you say the right words (orders in the Elven language, basically), stuff happens. Gods may or may not exist, but at least aren't needed for spells.

Is there anything you can think of that you'd like to bring in other than the magic?

[Kilnarak]

Possibly things for simourv to do aside from work as guards. Long-distance/overseas couriers, heavy lifting? Probably mainly smaller colors with this, again, blues and greens, because there's so many more of them than the other colors.

Also changing the look of Eyries away from just big caves - something with more structure, palatial maybe? And well, giving specific names to them, so that we don't have two places that are both called "The Eyrie". Like. I don't know. This one is "The Stoneridge Eyrie" and that one is "The Windsong Eyrie". I know at our first move, I suggested we have the southern one be "The Aerie" to at least differentiate spelling, but people didn't like that. x.x

Maybe change what happens to a simourv after the death of a rider - as I imagine naturally they live longer than humans. Maybe if the rider dies violently, yeah, they rage and lose all sense of self-preservation, but if a rider dies peacefully - say, of old age or maybe sickness - they might grieve, but they don't go crazy. Maybe adult simourv that have bonded once can rebond later - not as strongly as the initial bond? I'd also like for them to be able to bond people older than 25.

I'm not sure if we want to focus on one continent, or the whole world - if we do have more than one area to play in, we should make sure all sides have fully fleshed out forums. Umm. I'll add more later as I think on it more. Just got home so, that's off the top of my head.

[Para]

Changing the Eyrie would be good... I'm not sure what to, though; there aren't many things that could support a fully grown simourv's weight. Particularly if we keep koxi as the danger; living on the ground in the open doesn't seen like a good idea. And I've been referring to the Eyries as the Bazialan Eyrie and the Spiderland Eyrie when needed, but adding more that broke off or were founded could be good as a way to bring in characters and such, and would be pretty realistic in my mind, and they'd all need names.

I'd like to change what happens to simourv when the rider dies, too. I've been thinking of it as kind of more like a spouse or very close sibling dying? So tragic, and traumatic, and some simourv might go crazy or kill themselves, but it wouldn't be an automatic assumption. And how the rider died would make a difference there, I think, but not necessarily be everything.

And bonding... I've kind of thought of it as something only very young simourv can do, so maybe a simourv whose rider died could have a hatchling simourv or kamrov bond to it, but it couldn't pick a new human rider?

I... think I'd go with one continent, or at least not the whole world, just because people would end up really spread out if we used the whole world, and so would plots. I'd like to have a full world, but it just doesn't seem that practical.

[winged]

Well, maybe some of the bereaved simourv could hang on as assistants to the Masters and/or Masters themselves, or something like that? It'd make good use of the skill and training they have, and perhaps free up a slot for a riding pair for something else.

And then maybe they'd be in a good position to 'bond' again, should the opportunity present itself. If that's what the simourv desires - I respectfully disagree with the notion that there's a cut-off time for bonding.

[Para]

I've been thinking of there being a cutoff time for the simourv initiating a bond, not necessarily for a simourv to be bonded to... that's just based on the 'two month' limit we've been using, though; I have no objections to changing it for the new site. (Which, yes; we're pretty sure we're going with, since that's near-unanimously what people have wanted. Sorry, Azuli, you were outvoted, but at least the clutching greens and rainbows are a much more likely possibility this way.)

We're also planning to have a thread, or series of threads, to discuss one aspect of the new site at a time; magic system, map, culture, technology level, religion, simourv colors and clutching, what to do with kamrov, and Huma birds (a new, eagle-sized sentient species we'd been planning to introduce in the future), among other things.

[winged]

I think there'd be some interesting developments, should that rule be altered. That's all I'll say on the subject, though.

And sounds good.

[Meesh]

Maybe the magic could be gained as a result of the bonding between a simourv or kamrov? (Different types depending on the species/color). That strong a mental connection is bound to have tis side effects

For non-bondeds, they'll have a slightly weaker magic from being around so many simourv in the eyrie for so long, with the amount of magic you have directly proportional to how much time you spend with simourv/how long you've been in the eyerie

That would make the magic mostly mind-based kinds

[Kilnarak]

I'm for, if they have potential to bond and/or do bond they have more of an affinity to magic - they've got whatever mental framework is necessary to access a sort of empathic link to with the planet/things on the planet. I'm not sure about having it a common thing that everyone can access, 'though - there might be humans who are born with the potential who are never searched/don't bond, but I don't think it should be just anyone who lives around simourv, if that makes sense?

[Para]

I'm mainly concerned that, if we give magic to everyone, Pohono will become about magic, instead of about simourv.

*edits*

Alright, so. List of things we need to figure out for the new site:

• Simourv: colors (do we want to keep the colors we have, add colors, or just start from scratch with entirely new colors?)
  
• Simourv: clutching (probably going with all females clutching, I think?)
  
• Simourv: bonding (does gender or sexuality matter, and if yes, how so?)
  
• Magic: who has it, how it works, if we have it
  
• Steampunk: yes/no/in process of developing?
  
• Religion: does it exist; if yes, what is it, how strong is it, and is there only one main religion or are there multiple?
  
• Kamrov: should we make them intelligent? Change their size? Match their colors to the simourv (whatever those turn out to be)? Get rid of them entirely? Do something else with them?
  
• Other species: We'd been planning to introduce Huma birds; eagle-sized sentient beings, for which we were considering a Shinto-ish religion, and which lived on islands between the continents. Should we keep these? If so, should we have them around from the start, or introduce them later as a plot?
  
• Maps: Should we create a new map for Pohono, or keep the old continents and just update the cities and such?
  
• Koxi: do we even want to keep them? If yes, how much of a threat should they be? Should we keep the aquatic koxi, and get rid of the rest?
  
• Simourv jobs: especially if we deemphasize or remove koxi, what do simourv do? Are they couriers, racers, transportation, guards, all of the above? How are these jobs determined?
  
• I know there are more, but I'm not coming up with them off the top of my head. Remind me please?

Comments/thoughts/ideas:

• We've been leaning toward placing this new site a long time in the future; long enough for the simourv to evolve, Earth to be forgotten, magic discovered, and whatever other changes we choose to have occurred. Alternately, we could just make this an outright AU, but short of changing the continents that's unlikely to be needed.
  
• A white priest-type simourv (not the albinos) has been suggested a few times
  
• I can't stop thinking of Huma birds as the simourv equivalent of fairies.
  
• When GD was originally made, I wanted a nocturnal color/breed/subset of simourv (this was, in fact, the origin of the kamrov, as my idea got mutated). I, obviously since I'm bringing it up again, still want to see this. Does anyone else?
  
• Another idea of mine is to have a 'repeat' color; as an example, we'd perhaps add 'dark' (or 'night' or 'lesser black' or whatever) simourv; colored like blacks, but the size of greens, and which can be male or female. (Not melanistic, just another class of black simourv.) The same thing could be done with any color; black is just an example. This could provide some very interesting hatching drama, if no one can tell immediately which type of black a hatchling is, but could also cause some OOC confusion. (Also, technically speaking, you could argue that rainbows are already a repeat, as they can be either the male or female class.)
  
• Again, a thought of mine: a class of simourv which hatch one color, but change as they grow, such as purples hatching looking like blues, but then growing purple feathers when they fledge. (Or yellows looking like greens, whites looking like grays, oranges looking like reds, etc.)

[Kilnarak]

Before I start getting ready to leave... On Koxi: I think... we might want some sort of enemy/threat, however if we do keep them, we will need to occasionally run attacks/whatnot. Either way, they would probably need an update, just like simourv. And... maybe a name change? I'm not sure there. I... don't actually like the sound of "koxi" (I mean, say it aloud?) But maybe"Xymos" or. Something. If we don't change the name from Xymokoxi? I... don't have any concrete thoughts on that just yet. Mostly just: If we keep them, we need to do something with them occasionally. And yes.

I'm cool with nocturnal simourv, I'm cool with color-changing simourv (especially the blue to purple variety). I am... unsure about small class blacks. I think it might be interesting,, but I'm not really sold one way or the other just now.

[Para]

Small class blacks could also be large class greens/blues/rainbows/etc.. We could, also, make the second size classes the nocturnal sub-breed (assuming nocturnal is a sub breed and not a single color), and just have the colors shuffled around. That might be a way to make things clearer overall while still allowing the same IC effect on hatching.

So, say, the colors would go like this:
Day simourv:
-Gray
-black
-red
-tawny
-blue
-green
-rainbow
-(plus whatever others we add)

Nocturnal simourv:
-dark green (between tawny and gray, female)
-black (red-sized, male)
-purple (male or female, small tawny size)
-orange (male or female, blue-green size)
-red (male, rainbow size)
-yellow (female, rainbow size)

Then everyone would know what a nocturnal red/green/black was, and they could be easily differentiated from a regular/diurnal red/green black. I think, anyway? It makes sense to me, but that doesn't always necessarily mean a lot.