Altering the rarity of Skinwalker/Purewalkers Answer Pg 3

[That Artemis]

I agree with StarieMichie, I don't think that purewalkers should be available in normal customs because of the lengths the shop has gone lately to make sure anyone who gets one is going to rp them in the correct way. Also agree to a concept contest without a premade prize sometime so perhaps more than one or two people can get chosen at once.

Otherwise I agree with the general opinion others have expressed that cursedwalkers should maybe go down in rarity and I liked that idea about parents cursing their children IC to explain the pelt passing down.

As for how that would work, a colorist could just roll for which animal the foal would have come across.  

[Syaoran-Puu]

/personal opinion/

While I have no objection to changing the catagory cursed skinwalker are in.... in a way I feel like we should also consider the other side.

I have bought two cursed walkers in customs, and when I did so I did it KNOWING that they wouldn't pass on their pelts. As have everyone else before me and since. So, would it be better to give them a 10% chance of passing on the curse over changing their rariety (just like you have 10% chance of getting paws from a purewalker and a normal soquili)? Or should we allow a guarentee of two cursed (or one cursed and one pure) producing a pelted baby?

Is the issue more that they don't get to pass on their pelt/curse rather than their rariety?

Would it even be possible to have the skinwalker information tweeked so that the cursed powder can sometimes be strong enough to carry down the line?
We should also consider that reducing the rariety might also mean a boom in cursed soquili, as anyone wanting to curse an existing pet would be able to do so at high rate than previously.

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Also, I do not believe we should introduce purewalkers (templated or not) into regular customs. It would however be nice to see more bribes and custom auctions that allow them. =D  

[Sabin Duvert]

As far as RP stuff, tbh, cursed walkers are supposed to be evil as well. Granted, ANY skinwalker can take their own shade of evil - manipulative, drooling crazy, playing a long con, etc. And new angeni who want domains have to have a justification listed on the custom form, too. Maybe just a very quick blurb included with a skinwalker (pure or otherwise) custom form that - even if it's copying a statement of "I know this soquili wil have to be evil to its roots, can't lifemate, and cannot be "redeemed" - enough to make the customer agree to it, I think it would be fine.

But yeah, at least as far as the RP terms go and "quality control", if anyone can custom a normal cursed skinwalker, I don't really see the difference between that and customing a purewalker.  

[Sabin Duvert]

TBH, I dont know if reducing the rarity of cursed walkers would produce substantially more cursed wlakers than there are now. People still have to compete for the slots versus everyone else (and there /usually/ are less people comparing for super rare slots), and they would be up against the choices of every other rare or uncommon (Depending on the rarity of cursed walkers if it was changed) in those slots as well.

Sure, I think there would be more, as the prices wouldn't be so prohibitive, but I think that you would find a lot more skinwalkers in general if they bred and produced more skinwalkers versus reducing the rarity in customs. Not that I think either of those things is necessarily a bad thing - just food for thought. I wouldn't be opposed to both or either of those things happening (reduced rarity as well as breeding options).  

[Andranis]

I really don't think dropping the rarity of Cursed Walkers and adding Pure Walkers to the Super Rare category of customs would do much to make the population explode. Like Sabin said, people would still have to compete with others for that hard-to-get slot. As far as Super Rares go, the only category anywhere near as tiny on participants is Minis, but that's still nearly double how many people try for Angeni and Ulun'suti. So any people trying for Pure Walkers would, yes, be in a tiny list compared to a Cursed Walker being customed as a Rare or Uncommon, but they're still competing in a slot category that only ONE is ever rolled from, and there's still no guarantee that only Pure Walkers would be picked by the dice for the next year's worth of customs. I've watched people try over and over and over for their Super Rare concepts, and there's people who are STILL trying. So I don't think that there'd be too terribly much impact.

I do agree with the idea of letting us customize the pelts a bit more, within reason - It has to be a familiar available in the shop, if we get a custom one, to not count as Mutant, so things like a Kitsune Walker, either Cursed or Pure, would be Mutant, where as Bear Walkers or Raccoon Walkers, as existing familiars in the shop, would be non-Mutant. It'd also allow people to get, say, custom wolf/fox/whatever skins, if they so desired, or tweaks to the existing pelt if they wanted that instead(Like, shorter cat tail, or raised wolf tail, or more of a puffy fox tail, etc.).  

[Jackariah Beckett]

I like the idea of more pures/cursed being offered in events. Or maybe having an event based on the breed. And if there are regs in the event, it could be soquili that are the pures/cursed slaves or prey.

I am not sure how I feel about them being added to SR slots. For me, its more I wish traits were passed down to kids more then getting one in custom.


It would also be great to see more types of pelts available =). I knw staff are super busy working on other things we have asked for, but just putting the idea out there won't do any harm nwn.

Maybe its just because I admire the jellyfish and bear walker I have seen that I would like to see them around =3.  

[~Kiana_Nala~]

So, I haven't decided yet if I'm against this or for this as I can see both sides and understand a bit of what everyone is saying. However, I would like to bring up the point that Purewalkers are supposed to be hard to obtain so limiting their "creation" to events makes the most sense to me and if people can obtain them in customs I think that aspect of it would disappear. In all honesty I think part of their allure is that they are in fact so hard to obtain. Meaning, when you finally get that Purewalker you've been wanting for years you appreciate it all the more.

However, if this was to be implemented I think the comment made previously would be ideal. That people could only get one once a year or something. Make it harder for them to try and horde PW's as has been the case with past customs (the same people winning customs every time, which just happens to be the luck of the roll but I think it would be nice to give others a chance at PW's if this was to be implemented.)

I think that's my two cents for the moment.  

[Pollack]

I agree and would love to see skinwalkers be able to be put in the rare slots, and pures in the super rare.

People have brought up the roleplay aspect of the skinwalkers. And yes, it is a issue. HOWEVER. Angenis are under the same strict line on how they should be with roleplay. I think contacting Uta if she would be willing to take on the work with your concept before you enter slots would fix this problem.

 

[ProphetOfProfit]

Sabin Duvert

TBH, I dont know if reducing the rarity of cursed walkers would produce substantially more cursed wlakers than there are now. People still have to compete for the slots versus everyone else (and there /usually/ are less people comparing for super rare slots), and they would be up against the choices of every other rare or uncommon (Depending on the rarity of cursed walkers if it was changed) in those slots as well.

Sure, I think there would be more, as the prices wouldn't be so prohibitive, but I think that you would find a lot more skinwalkers in general if they bred and produced more skinwalkers versus reducing the rarity in customs. Not that I think either of those things is necessarily a bad thing - just food for thought. I wouldn't be opposed to both or either of those things happening (reduced rarity as well as breeding options).

Well said I agree  

[JetAlmeara]

I see a lot of people arguing that purewalkers should be kept only for events due to the 'strict RP' requirements. I'm not sure that that is a very valid reason for keeping them out of customs to be honest (And I'm normally completely on the side of RP so this is a bit strange for me but..)..I mean I've seen them given out in raffles (Which is essentially the same thing as a custom slot with a different name, random dice generated winner)...how does a raffle ensure that the winner will RP the purewalker to the shops apparent strict standards? The dice are not magically going to choose a literary genius.

Rather I believe its up to the RP manager..just as its up to her to ensure the rest of us don't RP our Soqs reading or raping each other. I mean she reads the RPs to ensure those rules are not broken so why wouldn't it be the same for the purewalkers?  

[Ktns]

JetAlmeara

I see a lot of people arguing that purewalkers should be kept only for events due to the 'strict RP' requirements. I'm not sure that that is a very valid reason for keeping them out of customs to be honest (And I'm normally completely on the side of RP so this is a bit strange for me but..)..I mean I've seen them given out in raffles (Which is essentially the same thing as a custom slot with a different name, random dice generated winner)...how does a raffle ensure that the winner will RP the purewalker to the shops apparent strict standards? The dice are not magically going to choose a literary genius.

Rather I believe its up to the RP manager..just as its up to her to ensure the rest of us don't RP our Soqs reading or raping each other. I mean she reads the RPs to ensure those rules are not broken so why wouldn't it be the same for the purewalkers?

QFT this IS a huge part of what she gets paid to do....  

[Kamiki]

I've been reading the counter arguments and they are very legit, and deserved to be addressed.

RP-Restrictions: As some people have pointed out, there are already certain breeds and behaviors that aren't allowed to be RPed or acted on. I've already seen instances were the RP manager had stepped in for people not playing their Purewalkers "right" and I don't see why this would change. Its still in the RP Rules on how they are supposed to be, and it should still be enforced. MOST people don't get their Purewalkers via RP contests. They are most often gotten via staff credits, raffles, or breedings as it is.

If you want a breed to to strictly RP-exclusive then they should be strictly RP exclusive - which means they shouldn't be allowed to be obtained from staff credits, bribes, raffles, or breeding. Just saying, it seems like a double-standard otherwise to me.

Rarity: Purewalkers are supposed to be rare. Sure, I get that. But I still think that there are ways to keep them rare without blatantly just not having them be something you can realistically try to obtain. I've already mentioned a cooldown... at least a year but honestly I wouldn't mind if it was more restrictive than that, even. a (custom) Purewalker every 3 years. OR, setting a limit on how many CUSTOM (not Premade or breedingbaby) Purewalkers you could get...ever.

So, that's just my two cents on those. I love RP contests and all, and I think that would still be a GREAT way to get some Purewalkers out there. But ultimately, I don't think its fair to have a breed that you have be THE best RPer (RP contests) or THE richest Gaian (Bribes) to even have a chance at obtaining one day.  

[Mameha Otome]

I have to agree with Kamiki's points on this, as well as the others who mentioned that it is the RP manager's job to make sure things are understood and done right. I know of a couple cases at least where she's PM'd folks about their RP so we know something is happening in her position.

As for Purewalkers being given away like they are:

RP Contests - Have always put me off, even owner run contests for baskets. It's partially because I don't like putting the effort into creating and getting possibly attached to a character only to not win it. That's a lot of work, thought and process for something you have a slim chance at. Granted you can use the character you developed for something else, but I honestly have never done that since I base things on looks/family/etc.

Auctions - Leave a LOT of people out to be fair. Not everyone is so super rich to bid the hundreds of millions that I've seen go into Purewalker auctions.

Bribes - Same with auctions. I know not every colorist is the same and will go for concept over cost...but there's still the fact I've heard you should take the base price of whatever you want and add to that based on how much you want it. That means it's still ridiculously expensive to get a Purewalker through bribes for a lot of folks.

Staff Credits - Leaves -very little- room for hardly anyone to get them. To be honest, and correct me if you feel I'm wrong, I've always seen almost the same few people/friends of staff get things through credits. I have to say I like...I think it was Mindsend? (Or Mobbu o_o) who did a breeding/custom/bribe type raffle with their credits to give the general populace a chance at something special.

Events - ...seem to be okay? I mean in a game of chance/raffle/whatever like that, you basically have the same chance as everyone else. I just see that there's so few Purewalkers actually given out this way each year. (Hell I won my cursed skinwalker by pure chance, and I know a few others that have as well)

Overall I understand the rarity and RP aspects of Skinwalkers in general, but really...? Some other chances to get something special like that would be nice.

So perhaps putting them in customs, with obvious special slots and a limit to 1 custom every 1/2/3 years thing. As it is, a lot of the same people get lucky in customs, a lot of people don't. Anyone could win a Purewalker in a custom form, then want another and not win that kind of slot again by luck for several years. Just as long as people understand there are limitations on how many customs you could get, I think it would really be okay.  

[stella cinere]

Mameha Otome

Staff Credits - Leaves -very little- room for hardly anyone to get them. To be honest, and correct me if you feel I'm wrong, I've always seen almost the same few people/friends of staff get things through credits. I have to say I like...I think it was Mindsend? (Or Mobbu o_o) who did a breeding/custom/bribe type raffle with their credits to give the general populace a chance at something special.

Just to make this clear.

For staff to do a paid raffle that would or may possibly include a purewalker means they have to be senior staff, and it comes out of their staff credit. What I mean by that is they pay a certain about of staff credits to be able to do that raffle. The bonus is yea they get to keep all the money made out of it.

As for bribes its the same thing. Senior staff only and they pay a certain amount of credits to be able to do it. Same bonus they keep the money made.


As for staff using credits on others, I don't see why this is a problem or an issue. Yea I know it goes to friends of the staff and yea they are doing it for them as a gift but this also means that they spent their hard earned credits on someone they want to give it to. It's not fair to put this as an option for staff to have to do with their credits, they worked hard for them.  

[CheshireKttty]

It's late so I kind of mostly skimmed but here are my two cents.

1. I absolutely agree with what Kamiki has said in her first post. With the demand for customs it's not like the population would get out of control and not everyone is going to want to custom a pure walker anyway.

2. As for the RP issues I think it's been made clear on several occasions that this is NOT a RP required shop and that RP is really just for perks. As Jet said, when they're given away via raffle/dice/etc there is no guarantee that person will rp them as they should except for staff keeping tabs on them. (This could also be said for RP contest wins as well.

3. I do not agree with having them in more bribes/auctions/etc. As HG said, colorists have to pay for those and they're not going to be as willing to. Also, not everyone has a crap ton of gold to spend on those.

Basically... LOVE THE IDEA