Welcome to Gaia! ::

gaia_star What kinds of elders are there?
arrow There are currently three different types: RP and event elders, as well as herd leaders. There used to be growth elders, but there was no rhyme or reason to them, so we've discontinued the practice entirely.

gaia_star How do the three types of elders differ from each other?
arrow RP elders are earned through RPing your Star's stats up so that they're all at 100%. Of course, you do need to roll stats first, as you would in other shops with a stat system, otherwise, we don't keep track of your stats. Event elders are won through events or bribes or customs and suchlike. While RP elders have magic, event elders do NOT have special magic. Herd leaders become elders through starting herds and thus leaders in their communities. However, like the event elders, herd leaders have no special magic.

gaia_star Why do RP elders have magic while event elders and herd leaders don't?
arrow Two sets of reasons: RP elders are community leaders of a particular type, graced with special wisdom and magic. Also, RP elders are played by people who have demonstrated commitment to RP and character growth in DD as well as to the world of DD. While herd leaders show signs of this, too, RP elders, upon reaching elder lineart and elder status, are graced with the powers of one of the 13 Signs of Star legend/mythology. As such, they wield this power and are major figures in Star society.

gaia_star How does this relationship thing work between RP elders and the 13 Signs?
arrow Once an RP elder hits elderhood, that Star is blessed with powers connected to *one* of the 13 Signs. The Star may choose to follow this Sign, this Sign may choose them to receive a blessing...it's complicated, and will vary across the RP elders. However, once a Star is blessed with that Sign's favor, they receive powers related to that Sign's element.

gaia_star What are the elements of the Signs, and how does this affect the RP elder magic?
arrow This goes back to Western astrology. Elders under Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius have fire magic; elders under Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn have earth magic; elders under Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius have air magic; elders under Cancer, Scorpius, and Pisces have water magic; and elders under Ophiuchus (which is NOT part of Western astrology, but still follows the rules in DD) have light/darkness magic. A Star's breed does not matter, and the Star may possess breed-specific powers as well, but their elder powers ARE aligned with their Sign's element. Any additional powers will be linked either to specific gifts of that element or that Sign. In Western astrology, Fire is connected to creativity and leadership, Earth is connected to wealth and fertility, Air is connected to the mind and communication, and Water is connected to the heart and dreams. These additions are NOT to be abused.

gaia_star Do RP elders have to be connected to a Sign? What if I don't like the options or something?
arrow That's perfectly fine. However, if an RP elder isn't connected to a Sign, there is no blessing from any Sign upon them, and they have no special magic. The magic is granted by the Signs, and thus is gotten only through a connection to a specific Sign. You may, however, choose to wait. There may be other spirits who can act like the Signs back in Dreamspace, but be warned: they have other powers and aren't necessarily as caring individuals as the 13 Signs generally are. If your RP elder isn't connected with one of the 13 Signs, it is assumed that they do not *yet* have a bond with a Sign or other similarly mighty spirit as indicated by shop staff, and that this situation may change at your whims. Keep in mind that a lack of a connection only affects that RP elder's ability to do special magic.

gaia_star I don't want my Star to explicitly follow a Sign, but I want them to be blessed by a specific Sign. How does that work?
arrow What basically happens then is that the Star receives the blessing of that Sign, anyway. Afterward, the RP elder doesn't need to actively follow/believe in that Sign, or if they do, it doesn't need to be public. Secrecy is fine, though using your elemental magic may get others to speculating, anyway. The important bit is that the Sign still blessed the RP elder in question.

gaia_star I want my Star to be connected to the Sign ---, but that Star would totally never believe in/willingly/knowingly follow/worship that Sign. What happens then?
arrow Your RP elder can still have magic and a connection. What happens then is that the Sign basically chose to bless that RP elder for some reason of their own, possibly because it amuses them, or because they need them for some big task, or something. The Signs follow their own rules, really.

gaia_star What are the Signs? Are they real? You made it sound like they're some old fairy tale elsewhere in this subforum.
arrow Ooooh, that's something I can't tell you about just yet~! Staff secret. 3nodding What I can tell you is that the Stars who believe in the Signs consider them to basically be their gods, and that they are generally treated as gods. No Star, no matter their age, rank, breed, gender, or creed, is required to believe in the Signs, it's just that this is a core feature of the Stars' mythology. However, be that as it may, RP elders *do* know something about the truth of these legends, whether they like it or not. How much they know is currently a complex issue, and the RP elders themselves are disinclined to get into such theological debates, so if you have an RP elder who has been blessed by one of the 13 Signs, please feel free to contact the staff to talk about what they know. Please not that the answer to this question will change sometime this year, if everything goes well as planned on a number of fronts.

gaia_star Do Signs of the Chinese zodiac exist, since the 13 Signs are clearly of the Western zodiac? If so, how do they work?
arrow Oooh, another question we on staff can't answer yet. Suffice it to say that that's an ongoing discussion backstage, but if they're out there, they may work a little bit differently from our 13 Signs of the Western zodiac. Keep your eyes peeled. We may have more stuff on this situation forthcoming at some point in the (for now) distant future.

gaia_star I wanna make up a god among the Stars! Can I, and determine their magic and stuff?
arrow Absolutely not.

gaia_star Pretty please? I promise I'll follow any rules you want?
arrow My answer has not changed: absolutely not.

gaia_star What if I become a staffer? Can I do that, then?
arrow Not without consultation with me. Staff have taken time and energy to develop this stuff to the point where it's at now, and we're still constructing. We're working on building a consistent internal mythology and cosmology for the shop when we handle legendary spirits with the power to bless RP elders. Creation of new spirits, whether they really exist within the universe of the shop or not, affects shop rules, policies, and the over-arching metaplot of the shop. Please. Your Star may believe in a spirit they made up or heard about somewhere, but that does NOT mean that spirit will become part of shop mythology with effects on RP elders. If we like that spirit and feel there's room for them in the pantheon or something, we'll talk to you about it, but in the meantime, please leave this to the shop staff.

gaia_star What happens if my Star believes in some other random spirit or likes some other Sign better than the one who blessed them?
arrow It honestly depends on the relationship that RP elder has with the Sign that blessed them. We're not going to force you to spin the story in any particular direction, just keep in mind that the Signs move in mysterious ways. The same is true for if a Star doesn't believe in the Signs at all, actually.

gaia_star How do RP elders blessed by someone they don't believe in or isn't their favorite Sign handle their powers and their blessings?
arrow Again, spin this the way you like. One Star may choose to accept their blessing openly or privately, or they may publicly or privately deny a blessing from such a questionable/not preferred source. Keep in mind, RP elders *do* generally believe in magic. How else do they deal with their own magic powers and the fact that the world of DD is clearly a magical one where Arcturus horns have healing properties and there are genies?

gaia_star Where can I read up on shop mythology and the 13 Signs?
arrow Anywhere in this subforum. Anything not posted up is either staff-knowledge-only, or still under staff discussion while we sort things out. Suffice to say, one of the big things this year will be shop mythology and RP elders.

gaia_star How do powers like seeing the future and telepathy and explosions and stuff work?
arrow Mental abilities are generally under Air Signs, though please, don't do too much seeing of the future; there's a lot that can go wrong with that, your RP elder probably only gets unhelpful snippets at best, and there's stuff that your future-seer can see that is ONLY known by staffers. Explosions would be handled in connection to that RP elder/Sign's element; explosions are basically a sudden expansion of something in a dramatic and possibly dangerous way, like thunder (sudden expansion of air), lightning (sudden expansion of light), geyser-type stuff (sudden burst of water), flares (sudden burst of fire), or some earthquakes/volcanoes (sudden motion of earth, including molten earth). Please handle explosions logically. Other stuff that you may attribute to your RP elder should be handled similarly. Shapeshifting, however, should be taken through Alcor channels, or in a way that is connected to the appropriate element. There are said to be other abilities that are specifically tied to one of the Signs; however, what all these are have not yet been revealed. One old story is that Ophiuchan elders can change what they look like; some say it's due to their powers over light, and thus a trick of the light, and some say that this is an actual Ophiuchan power. Please keep your eye on the mythology, as new bits of lore that may/may not have anything to do with the Signs will show up there.

gaia_star I have a different question you haven't answered here!
arrow Please feel free to post it here, and someone on staff will answer. 83