High Reaches Weyr . PernMUSH: April 2006, Color Blurbs Search Cycle: Summer 2007 Color Blurbs Jul 8, 2007
GOLD
SatietRiding gold, like all other colors, is one where people's mileage varies depending on their character as well as what they're prepared to handle OOCly. Someone I respect, recently commented to me that riding gold isn't as much something learned as a state of being: being able to juggle people and duties while keeping your cool, and being able to think of the benefit of the Weyr as a whole more than you think of yourself and your friends, all without stretching yourself into being someone else - because it is already part of who you are. Whether OOC duties are part of your goldrider responsibilities or not, it's hard to escape the OOC factors of riding gold: those times when you have to be careful of what you say and how you say it, or what you do because it will reflect on not just yourself, but the Weyr as well. Commonly called the fishbowl, some people will never see or feel it, while others will constantly feel scrutinized. Regardless of what pile you fall under, being instinctively aware overall is a trait that is more priceless in a potential goldrider than coding, building, etc... Those are the skills, along with running a Search cycle and building dragons, that can be learned or balanced out with the rest of your admin team if you become senior.

If you feel you have the commitment and patience, I'd advise you to talk things out with as many close friends and people as you can - figure out what your own strengths and weaknesses are, and discern just what it is about applying for gold appeals to you, and in particular at High Reaches Weyr. Love the people and the area you apply for gold in -- it'll make you shine. If you have any questions on riding gold, feel free to shoot me a page. :)
JosilinaEveryone - or nearly everyone - has heard the gold horror stories. Staying up late for nights on end, juggling more people and duties than anyone should have to deal with, and having your every move under a microscope. But in my experience, at least here at High Reaches Weyr, it never gets that bad. That said, there will be things you have to do. The very distinct thing about Impressing a gold is that rank is automatic. With any other color, even bronze, you can opt out of taking a position with IC and/or OOC responsibilities. And there are truths in the stories: if you ride gold you'll have to talk to people you don't want to deal with, and you'll have to work with them anyway, polite all the while. You'll have tough situations, and you'll have to lay down the law when no one else wants to. But we also have a strong administrative team in place and there'll always be people you can go to for advice and support, particularly as an incoming junior (but, really, at any stage: even as senior I've turned to fellow staff members for help; it's just not something you can do solo.)

I'm not trying to sway anyone one way or the other in regards to applying gold. I do, however, encourage any and all applicants considering it to make sure it's what they want. Before I made my final decision about applying for gold I had a couple conversations with Matheny, Yenne (a junior at the time), and even a couple non-goldriders, and it was getting to ask questions and have an actual conversation that made me confident in my decision. As I see it, you can become a huge, contributing part of the community without gold, maybe even contribute more since you're less in the spotlight. But if gold's something you really want, try for it. It's a fairly unique position and HRW is, I've found, a good place to take it on. We have a lot of knowledgeable, helpful people on staff and in the Weyr in general. But yes, the sum of my advice is: talk to people (personally I'll be glad to chat with whoever wants), and make sure it's something you're really willing to commit time and (a lot of) patience too.
BRONZE
I'daurHaving played, at this point, almost every color, I have to say, bronze is my favorite. I've had one brownrider, one bluerider, one greenrider--but bronze is the color I keep coming back to time and again. I'm not entirely sure why that is--something to do with the big shiny dragons and their big manly men, maybe. That said, there /is/ that stereotype: the flirting, rakish, arrogant, /man's/ man. And sometimes it's fun to play to that type, and a lot of times it's more fun to go against that grain. I've played womanizing jerks, bitter drunkards, worthless layabouts, driven leaders, and Machiavellian fakes, all on bronze. There's as much range to bronze as any other, and it comes with the added bonus of having the attachment of 'leader' to the stereotype, IC and OOC. People, IC and OOC, look up to the bronzerider, even if you're not actually the one in charge. IC be whatever you want to be; OOC, you have to be able to play nice at least long enough to point them at somebody who can help them better. What you do reflects more heavily on the Weyr and the people around you, and this only increases if you actually choose to take on more responsibility as wingleader, weyrlingmaster, or even Weyrleader. That said, it's still a wonderful color to play, and gives you a wide range of personalities and ranks to play--and in the end, I guess all of that is why I keep coming back to it.
B'yanWhile I haven't had the pleasure to play some of the other dragonriding colors yet, so far playing bronze sits very well with me. It's interesting because in the beginning I avoid playing bronze simply because I wasn't sure I could play up the typical stereotypes usually behind it, i.e the cocky stiff 'jock' of the Weyr. It seemed too one-dimensional to me, and for that I kept away. Something brought me to try out playing bronze, however, with my character B'yan. It was through him that I was finally able to discover the joys in riding bronze. Through him, I realized that you /don't/ have to live up to the common stereotype. What I enjoy about riding bronze is being able to play something close to the stereotype and yet carry traits that would suggest otherwise. I like playing his arrogance, which most would identify with a typical bronzerider, only to flip it on others that he tends to carry greenrider qualities too. I've also seen the quiet-and-shy types on bronze to the wild-and-loud types. It's a color that really puts out as much as you put in. It is true that there are IC expectations of bronzeriders since they are looked up to, and OOCly this somewhat applies as well when representing the Weyr and playerbase. You do have a plethora of positions that could be available to you, and I personally enjoy being able to fly goldflights with the possibility of being the clutch father. I enjoy Jaireth immensely, and enjoy how his personality and the IC status that comes with him affects my character. Riding bronze truly came as a surprise to me, and it is something that I would definitely do again and encourage others to try.

Any questions, please +mail!
S'ristAlright, riding bronze is an interesting position. Because of the dragon, there will be some expectations that you'll amount to something going forward. But in truth, you get out what you put into it. I've seen more bronzes given out and amount to zip than just about any other color. There is the one caveat that only a bronzerider can become weyrleader, but that's a very small slice of the dragon riding population. Something to think about in passing, but not make the end all be all of why you want to ride a bronze dragon. When it comes to a bronze in daily life, they require extra oil, their straps way ten pounds more than your average blue's, and if you ever want to participate in a lot of green flights, remember that they corner like jumbo jets. Which is, not very fast.
BROWN
V'hrynSo. Brown dragons. Some people love them, others can't stand them. Almost capable of doing everything else that a bronze can do (sans sire gold offspring) these guys are often under appreciated. Without brown dragons the Weyrs would suffer! We are their backbone - whether they want to admit it or not. Multi-talented, you'd be hard pressed to find a more diverse dragon than the browns. Our variations in size allow is to compete with both the blues and bronzes, meaning if wenching is your style then you've got access to both prize pools instead of being limited to only one! If you want responsibility, then you're eligible for it, and if you don't - well you don't have to take it up. But, but, browns just aren't as cool as bronzes I hear you say. Pfft! With great shininess comes great attention. If I wanted to live in an aquarium with everyone staring at me, it would have been better that I were a fish. But I'm not, and I prefer my laid back lifestyle outside of the Weyr's spotlight. There's also the matter of being able to describe what your dragon looks like - brown has a heck of a lot more descriptors than bronze ever will, not just in words but also in concept. With a bronze you'll always be stuck with a metallic in there, but with a brown you can go from being a gooey chocolate cake to a polished mahogany. To be brown is to be flexible in all aspects of play!
R'selBrown! The perfect color! ;) No, really. You'll get tired of hearing it, but it's just like any other color when it comes to how many ways it can be played, with just the few exceptions. Smaller than most bronzes, they lack some in endurance, but larger than blues and greens, they can out last the smaller colors. The trade off is more flexibility than the bronzes and less than blue and green. In mechanics, we're the middle of the road color. We can catch greens and golds alike, though have a harder time than most bronzes with the latter. So we can have the opportunity to have a clutch, or do anything but be a Weyrleader. Stereotypes, you can take them or leave them. Anyone that's been around me much knows I toss more than a few of those out the window. ;) But I find it a fun color, just for that. You can have a lot of fun, being what they expect part of the time, and then having a few quirks that they didn't see coming.
BLUE
L'senBlue is a scary color. I'm not entirely sure why everybody seems to think this--I thought it, too, myself, once. The general Pern consenus seems to be that because there aren't blues so much in the books, there aren't blue stereotypes, and because there aren't stereotypes, there's nothing to fall back on when you play one. And that is very much unfair to all the blues out there, because they're just as wonderful as any other color, even if--or because because--they don't have stereotypes. I wasn't sure about apping blue when I created L'sen, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't picture him on any other color, so I finally sucked it up and did it. In the end, I found the freedom of playing a blue the best aspect of them: oh, sure, you can have a frigid greenrider or a wimpy bronzerider, but there's still the consciousness of playing outside the norm. With blue, though, there's never that awareness; you're free to do what you want without regard for that, whether it's being a responsible wingleader or a screwball goof-up (like L'sen). And I couldn't be happier with Neiveth--what other color than blue could a dragon based on a mix of Gonzo and Evil Knievel /be/?
SpirielEvery color has something that makes them coolest. How can more than one color be 'coolest?' Because each color has something that makes them great. Blue is great for a few reasons. The reason I like it is because their male so you can chase in flights as often as you like, without the added responsibility of choosing who is going to win. It's completely out of your control, so you can just focus on having fun. You can't win a gold flight but icly you're a lot more likely to win green flights than the bigger dragons. I like that they're small too, don't ask me why. It's cute. ;) The thing I liked the best was there weren't really any set stereotypes on blues from the books, so it was a roleplaying challenge I couldn't pass up. While you aren't stuck to stereotypes on the other colors either, it attracted me to the color because I had nothing to fall back on but my imagination. Did I mention blues are cute? :)
MelataThe best color is blue. Easier to wash than a brown or a bronze (or gold!), much less tempermental than a green, this rider is not at all biased when it comes to color. A rider to one of the "smaller" colors is limited only by their desire, nearly any position is within their grasp: Wingrider, Wingsecond, Wingleader, Weyrlingmaster and staff, Weyrsecond... Okay, Weyrwoman might be a bit difficult, but face it, a blue would look a bit silly out on the sands, curled around an egg. True, a blue may not have the stamina to fly an entire Fall, but with their greater 0-60 acceleration over the larger males, they do tend to get those greens!
GREEN
ShanleeWhy green? Why not! The smallest dragons of the weyr, greens are the aerial acrobats. Agile and able to turn on a wingtip their use in the fighting wings indispensable. While not able to fly the length of a full threadfall, they have hearts of courage far bigger then their small size would indicate. Often overlooked as being the 'bottom' of the dragon chain of command, a green's only limitation is taking her rider to the rank of weyrleader or quite obviously weyrwoman. Kaylith in particular, has been a joy to both me and Shan. Her courage and determination far surpass her tiny size, a strong sense of compassion for fellow dragons, a boon to the trainee healer, and source of comfort to those that need it. When her rider has needed her the most, the little green has comforted, advised and helpfully interfered even serving at times to reprimand gently or remind the greenrider that life is meant to be enjoyed. While she'll willingly go out of weyr at her rider's request, Kaylith is always happiest at home in High Reaches Weyr - heart of the green pair's serenity.
AmilinAs you likely know, greens are the smallest and most numerous of the dragon colors. And while they are also shortest on endurance, (not always lasting an entire Fall) they are the most agile, making the tightest turns both in Fall and flights. And S'din would likely sit on me, if in regards to the latter, I don't point out that greens _always_ win. ;) The nice thing with green flights is that you can have them more frequently than a gold does, and without then getting tied to the resulting clutch golds have to deal with. You also get to find your own style of proddy that can be as close to or as far from the stereo types as you like. Anything from throwing knives at snowmen or hitting on anything that moves, to simply hiding from the 'crowd' in the LiC during dinner. And when it comes to that, you don't even have to RP flights at all. It varies from person to person how much of flight RP they enjoy. It's also perfectly alright to RP the flight, say who caught and then leave it there. We all know what happens next ICly, but some people get the idea that you have to play it out and that scares them from greens. But no one will push you to RP more than you like of flights.

As far as rank with in the weyr, it's conceivable to gain anything but WW if you don't like the 'easy' life of a wingrider. Of course, if you manage WL it's generally only in he 'acting' capacity between SR flights. ;) And as with any color, you can do as much as your willing behind the scenes too. The Weyr always needs people to set up and run events, desc eggs, greet new people and simply RP. And that can be done regardless of what you do or don't ride. :)