Official RoW Leader Handbook.

If you're a new or veteran leader, or curious as to what the IC/OOC responsibilities are for leader characters, look no further for your one-stop-shopping list of your duties, expectations, and some brief walk-throughs of your tasks. Playing a Leader on RoW is a lot of work and the rewards are what you make of it. We have higher expectations of members that play Leaders because they are, in a sense, ambassadors to roleplaying and their activity and actions set an example for others. In this handbook you will find all the itineraries and items you need to make your pack run like a well-oiled machine...

The Important Stuff

First things first... With an established Leading character you now have responsibilities as an extraordinary member on RoW. You are now in charge of maintaining the following places on-site:

• Pack Guide (your pack's information).
  
• Pack Roster (see RoW's side navigation bar links).
  
• Pack Library Article.
  
• Pack Common Room.
  
• OoC Join a Pack prompt.
  

You will also be required to mind a new section on the site: The Leader Station. This is where you may interact with the Staff Team as well as players of other Leaders and also put in your two cents if and when there are discussions regarding changes with packs or Leadership.

As the name suggests, the role of Leader is appointed to the highest-ranking members of the pack. Though your character may not be the oldest or wisest member, they are usually the strongest and boldest. The role encompasses a few duties—not just one specific job—which can range from border patrols to hunting and keeping the ranks stable. They are the dominating force for the pack and it is important that they have the strength to keep the pack in harmony to defend and lead it. These wolves are typically the only members to breed within the pack.

Naturally we would like to see dynamic and influential Leaders - power couples, commanders, top dogs, kings and queens... Show us and the whole of Relic Lore just what you're made of! After all, any man who must say 'I am the King' is no true king... and a wise Leader knows what they know and what they don't.

Requirements & Activity

On RoW, we ask that leaders make three (3) posts per activity check (every 15 days) to preserve their rank. This is to encourage players to really commit to their lead characters so their pack flourishes, and in turn positively affects the RP of others in their pack. You may keep track of where you stand in the Leader Activity Log.

If Leaders are unable to make the minimum post requirement two activity checks in a row, then their characters are removed from Leadership so a more active character can step up. Being on absence does not excuse leaders from the leadership activity requirement.

If a Leader makes 1-2 posts two consecutive activity checks, they are demoted to the II. rank and must wait for 2 activity checks before they can challenge their way back to Leadership. If a Leader makes 0 posts in an activity check they will be removed from the pack. If they rejoin the pack in the courtesy 3 day period they will not be given the leader rank, and instead demoted to II. If they rejoin after the 3 day period they will start at the bottom of the ranks like a normal member To become a Leader again, they must work their way back up to the top of the ranks by challenging.

Your Role

Now that your character is a Leader, here are a few guidelines regarding your actual role:

• Wolves ranked I. are considered to have the role of "Leader". They may not hold other roles (ie. Healer, Hunter, Teacher, Medic, etc.).
  
• As a Leader a part of your responsibility is to make Join threads a priority in your threadlog. Keeping up with these threads in your Pack Forum allow for members to find out at their earliest convenience if their character will be initiated into or denied entry into your pack.
  
• A Leader can only gain the +15 LP for gaining the role of a Leader once per pack. So if you become a Leader of a pack, you get the +15, but if you lose Leadership and regain it at a later date, you do not get the +15 again.

Pack News (Making an Announcement in News Desk)

One of the neat things about being an active pack Leader is utilizing our Pack Announcement feature! To make an announcement that will go out to all your pack mates:

1. Head to the News Desk forum.
   
2. Create a New Thread, add a Thread Subject (and Description, if you'd like).
   
3. Specify your pack in the Prefix drop down menu.
   
4. Add your message and post!

Once posted, all your pack members will be given an Alert and your announcement will be visible in the upper left part of the site in the Current News section of the Announcements & Updates box.

Your Pack

As a Leader, your character is ranked as I. Leader or II. Leader there is no difference in power between the two ranks.. Beneath you and your co-Leader in rank, on the roster, are your seconds, subordinates and cubs. You may have an unlimited number of cubs in your pack (as long as your character and pack can realistically IC'ly take care of them all) as well as up to 14 subordinates; cubs will take up the "Pups" part of your Pack Page as the subordinates will take up the positions II. - VIII.

If your pack roster does not contain at least 4 adult members (played by 4 different players), your pack will be subject to disbandment by the next activity check.

Adding New Members and Editing Ranks

Leaders are only responsible for accepting members who wish to join their pack (not new RoW members wanting to join via the Join the Game forum). To add new members to your pack when their Join thread is complete:

1. Use the right side navigation bar to click on your pack name to view your pack's statistics page. In the top right corner of the roster, there is a link that says "Edit Pack Ranks".
   
2. At the bottom there is a field to add members to your pack. From this page, you may also change a member's rank, specify their role, or remove them from the pack. NOTE: If you're adding a user who is also a Staff member (their wolf shows up in the online list as a bold name), please let an Administrator know as the process is a bit different.

If pack members are bumped off the roster due to an Activity Check, as per the Activity Guidelines article, they have 3 days to reapply and be placed back into their original place within the pack. If they are gone for any longer than 3 days, they must formally thread or apply to Join the pack again and will be placed at the bottom of the pack roster (just as a new pack member would be placed); members in the roster are then moved up in rank.

* WARNING: DO NOT accept members into your pack before they are accepted into the game (technically speaking, doing so messes with user group IDs and causes trouble when actually adding/editing them into your roster).

YOU MAY rank members before their Join thread has been completed if your character has verbally accepted them. We would prefer you wait until the thread is entirely done, but we understand that sometimes threads take awhile and then the joiner is left in limbo for a while. This is something left to your discretion.

Meetings/Activities

A pack meeting — or pack activity — is something that the Leader (or an appointed member in the case of an activity) would start for the pack. How often you do a pack meeting, how you do one, which activities you do and so on are up to the pack Leaders themselves. However, to do some form of pack group activity occasionally can surely only make your pack look more active and fun to be in, right? This can be any number of events, for example: hunting together, sharing stories, enjoying the first snowfall, refurbishing the den, meeting puppies when they first emerge from the den, or a simple get-together to allow members to formally meet one another, etc.

To start one, simple make a thread where you intend it to take place (within Pack Territory is the most common, but not the only option!). It is recommend to at least put an OoC summary of what the thread is about above your first post (and make it clear its for your pack only). You can then tag each member, make a pack announcement in the News Desk, in your pack's discord channel, or post it on the gossip wall!

Pack Thread

Your pack's Pack Thread is a singular, ongoing thread that is set at the pack den (the hub and center of which you and your pack revolve around). It can always be found within your Pack Forum. This is the place where your Lead character first laid claim on their lands within Relic Lore or the site where your pack members generally catches up with one another. To read more about pack threads, check out the Pack Threads article.

Ranks

There should be little to no OoC influence when recruiting for your pack. You MAY NOT:

• Plan ranks and member placements within your pack - this should be based purely within In-Character developments alone. If a character/player wants to ascend, they must do so through either challenges or waiting for the activity checks to solve any problems of inactivity. Leaders are NOT allowed to interfere in their members' rank challenges (ie. Bob sees that their friend John is losing the fight and attacks Sam.).
  
• Recruit for your pack in discord, via Private Message, OR in the Grab a Plot board (or anywhere else that is 'open' on the site).
  
• Contact people OoCly and request them to step down from their rank.
  
• Intentionally throw or instigate a fight between pack members - this is a form of powerplay/god-moding.
  
• Assign an 'heir' or 'heiress' to your pack. Members who want to take charge must challenge up.
  
• Distribute ranks through OoC selection.

However you CAN move characters into the Lowest role/rank or kick them out of the pack. If the character you would like to kick out is the other leader it must be done via a rank challenge.

Roles

On Row we have 6 (sort of 6.5) Default Roles to choose from: Advisor, Hunter, Guardian, Teacher, Medic Scout (and Leader) along with 13 advanced roles. It's up to you as a leader to determine the requirements for obtaining roles. You can require a certain amount of demonstration threads or you can hand them out as you wish. We ask that you maintain a Pack Role Masterlist in your common room to keep track of everybody's progress and the various roles.

If the Default role names are not to your liking you can also make your own roles for your pack. If you do decide to do this, please put this somewhere in the Pack Library Article so that prospective members/other people understand what the different titles mean. If you need SoW to make another post in your Library thread in order to make space for this, just let us know!

Leadership Organization

When a pack is being set up the leader(s) will inform the staff whether their pack is a 2 Leader Opposite Sex (traditional), 2 Leader Same Sex, or 1 Leader pack. If you would like, at any point, to switch to a different organizational type your pack must vote in favor of the change in order to prevent a leader from taking advantage of shifting policies. More details on this can be found here.

Pups & Yearlings

For Leaders to promote pups to yearlings and/or yearlings into the "adult ranks," Leaders edit the pup's rank as they do with any other pack member ("Pup" into "Yearling" and "Yearling" into "Subordinate").

Note on Pups: However, if that character has not changed their "Physique" field from "Pup" to one of the adult sizes (Small, Medium, or Large), they will not show up in the adult ranks. This is not a bug and was designed this way on purpose. If you see that this has happened with somebody you're promoting, just send the character in question a PM to let them know. Once they've adjusted their size, they will appear in their proper place on the pack roster.

If there is no space to advance into the adult roster, prospective Yearlings may fight/spar each other and/or the lowest-ranking member in order to obtain a spot (loser forfeits and may be ousted from the pack) OR Yearlings may leave their birth pack and join another that has room for them.

Note on Yearlings:At 12 months (1 year) old, Pups should be ranked as a Yearling. At 22 months old, Yearlings should be ranked as Subordinates. Yearlings can have roles and can be made leader if there is no one available to step up.

Rank Challenges

Despite being at the top of the hierarchy, Leaders are not invulnerable. It is advised to stack up some Skill points to give your Leader an edge on potential challenges that may come their way (upon becoming I. Leader, they are eligible for +100 Skill LP for becoming the Leader of a Pack).

In regards to rank challenges between your subordinates, please refer to the "How to make a Fight Request" thread in regards to anticipating the loser, victor, and outcome of the scuffle or fight. PLEASE NOTE: Rank challenges are like a ladder; in order for a V. Subordinate to become second-in-command, they must challenge the fourth- and third-ranking members before being able to challenge the character in the II. spot for their rank. Subordinates below II. rank may not directly challenge a I. Leader for control of the pack.

Maintenance

Apart from the Library Articles and other important information potential members might want to know about your pack, you are also responsible for maintaining the following:

Your Pack Roster

A good pack Leader always has an updated pack roster at all times. No gaps in-between members and no petitions being made by current members... Ranks are doled out in a "first come, first serve" (chronological) fashion. IC threads started first are given a priority over OOC joins, though. For example:

• Sept. 24: Sam posts a Join thread in a nearby subterritory.
  
• Sept. 29: John posts a Join thread in a nearby subterritory
  
• Sept. 30: Bob posts an OoC Join thread in the Join a Pack forum.
  
• Oct. 1: John's thread finishes
• Oct. 3: Sam's thread finishes

Please note, as a pack Leader you are given the privilege to either accept or deny potential pack members. You do not always have to accept them, but sometimes quantity matters (if you fall below 4 adults - played by 4 different players - in a pack, your pack will be subject to disbandment). Additionally, it is your responsibility to let other players know if your pack is potentially full and cannot accept new members at that particular time (ie. If you have 13 subordinates and two join threads going on, one of the lone wolves is going to have to be denied).

Your Pack Common Room

All Pack Common Rooms may be found in the Wolf Central part of the OOC Forums. This is where you and your fellow pack members may post:

• Pack news and current happenings.
  
• Anything in regards to your pack (maps, timelines, physique/LP statistics, graphics, contests, etc.).
  
• Threads to bond OOC'ly - a pack thrives with members who keep one another on the same page.
  
• ...basically ANYTHING pack related!
  

By default, you may also find your Pack Role Master List here. Additionally, Leaders may: post threads, pin/sticky threads, make polls, and close/archive threads within their pack forum.

Your Pack Forum

Upon approval your pack is allowed a Pack Forum within the territory they have chosen to settle down in - this is the reason why upon applying for a pack, the name must follow the formula of "Nature-based feature AND landscape type." This is where all your pack members may post when "staying home." Typically, lone wolves who post within the pack forum are considered to be trespassing if they do not explicitly state their character is at the borders.

If you'd like, you may also have this part of RoW personalized with a thematic "skin" that features your pack's primary and secondary color. Submit your entry to the Pack Skins thread. Images must be 1500px wide and 300-350px tall with fades on both the left and right sides.

OOC Join a Pack prompt

Leaders are advised to keep an eye on the Join a Pack forum as Join requests come in. As per the forum instructions, prospective pack members are directed to title their threads with the pack they wish to join. However, please be mindful when ranking OoC Join threads if IC threads are also in-progress. Again, ranks are doled out in a "first come, first serve" fashion; make sure you have room!

Your Pack Library Article

Your Pack Library Article, listed in the Library Almanac under the Packs and Families section, is where you and your members can keep an account of your pack's:

• History of how it came to be.
  
• The official names of your pack colors.
  
• Notes and Trivia.
  
• Important events.
  
• Notable Leaders and members through the years.
  
• Current News.
  
• Pack Pride/Graphics/Profile Flair.
  
• ...and anything else you would like to include (ie. pack rules, what it takes to be a loyal member, etc.).
  

Miscellaneous

• Pack Leaders are considered to be characters that are "well established" within the game and may not be put up for adoption. In the event of their disappearance, they will be ousted from their rank.
  
• Want to update your pack forum's image? Images should fit within a 1200 x 100px space. Please PM SoW to have it updated!
  
• Pack Pride can be made by anyone at any time! Add and switch them out as you please.
  
• Want to display your pack name in pack colors? Add square brackets - [] - around your pack name (ie. Willow Ridge). Be sure to include the space between words.
  
• Leaders typically obtain their lofty rank for the sake of reproducing. Read up here: Starting a Family.
  
• Did you know that your pack could have an alignment of its own? Check out the Character Alignments article.