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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:18:44 GMT -5
A preface and disclaimer:
This is not the 'right way' guide to running a clan.
These are tips I've put together from running (arguably successful) clans on my own (and hopefully tips from others).
I do not pretend to be the Know-All Clan Roleplay God. Your mileage will vary with this guide, but I hope it does help to those who need it.
If you found this guide helpful, please leave a comment so that it stays bumped on the first page!
IndexI. Building a Clan - You Are Here- Audience
- Appearance
- Making Your Clan Stand Out
- Clan Leader
- Why did my clan fail?
II. Multi-Clan Roleplays- What is a Multi-clan Roleplay?
- Building your Multi-clan Roleplay
- Do's and Don't's
- Gatherings
- Keeping it Successful
III. Keeping Your Clan Active- Ranks
- Plots
- Cross-clan plots
- Moderators
- New members
IV. Your Feedback & Your Clans- Be a part of the Successful Clan Guide!
- Advertising Your Clans
"I want to make a successful clan, but how do I start?"
In my experience, when I built my clan (writing rules, territory, and other things) I had to know what kind of roleplayers I wanted to attract to my clan (your audience). Did I want active roleplayers, literate roleplayers, or did I only want as many people to join my clan as possible? FYI, this part of the guide deals a lot about rules and clan guidelines."Laws" of attraction:- You want to attract literate roleplayers? Your clan should have rules about lines and paragraphs. I've seen some with certain word counts (ex: 35 per character), line counts (ex: 12 lines per post), sentence count (ex: 7 sentences per character). Character descriptions, territory write-up, and rules are encouraged to be wordy. There should not be any typos in your clan's page at all, and yes, using big words make you sound more impressive. From what I know, "short-and-sweet" does not cut it.
- You want to attract active roleplayers? Your clan should have rules regarding activity in a way that rewards good activity. Active members may be chosen over non active members for plots and high ranks. Your activity rule(s) should require members to be on at least twice a week. I've seen clans with reqs of posting 2-3 times every couple of days, and hey, I think that works. Tell your clan that you do member cleaning every other week to every week and a half, and do it. Make sure to include lots of drama, like fox attacks, rogue raids, natural disasters, randomly dying clanmates, omens from the ancestors, anything to keep your clan on its toes!
- You want to attract advanced roleplayers? Advanced meaning - their characters have depth, and they typically are semi literate to literate to ultra literate. Your clan should have rules stating that cats should have one or more flaws listed in their description; and a rule saying that your cats cannot catch all the prey, be the best in battles, et cetera. A rule of "one in four" is good for this - every one in four battles is lost, one in four prey is lost, one in four cats are not healed, or more. Cats typically die more often in these roleplays, which isn't a bad thing. Cats have character, have fears, have flaws: aquaphobia, refuse to do anything the deputy says, have abandonment issues, will work with the Dark Forest to save their kin, etc. These kind of roleplayers always have room for their characters to grow. Here, your roleplay should encourage internal AND external conflicts.
- Do you just want to attract as many roleplayers as you can, regardless of literate ability or advancement? Your clan should be simple but with a lot of room to change and grow! Maybe your clan has two leaders, two deputies, and four medicine cats? This means that there can be medicine cats and those in authority online more so the clan won't get stuck and can keep moving, and will attract more people who want those positions. Additionally, you could have a rule stating that someone with a high ranked cat cannot have more than one or two high ranked cats (ex: a leader cannot have a deputy and a medicine cat, a medicine cat cannot also be a leader and deputy, etc). This will encourage lots of people to join in order to get those cool ranks. Your clan should not be bland, exactly, but in a familiar format (ex: forest clan) with no additional ceremonies or special ranks that the majority of roleplayers wouldn't be familiar with. Joining form and rules should be simple and NOT complex. When introducing your clan and/or rules, be friendly and welcoming, don't come off as a cranky clan leader. Embrace new ideas and new members - do your best to include them in already existing clan families.
So, think about who you want to attract to your clan. Is your clan going to be super exciting and fast paced? Or will it be slower and more casual? Do you just want your clan to be the biggest possible? Of course, you can mix 'n match all of these as you see fit.
"Are first impressions really everything?"Yes, they are. How your clan is presented decides if people will join or not. Most people (or at least I do) want to look professional.Unfortunately, this may include the use of a code (or layout). Can clans be successful with out fancy coding? Yes, they can, but if you want a fancy code, you should probably keep reading.An orderly, attractive clan layout is not too hard to edit on these new forums. In fact, there are two handy Preview and BBCode tabs for us to use! Additionally we now also have the Layout Planning and Graphic Design sub boards! In these boards, you can find free code for you to use, and banner shops that will take requests for you if you don't want to make a banner yourself.
Some Other Resources:Suggest a Coding Resource Link by tagging me (@ thrushpool) on a reply to this thread!"What makes my layout attractive and/or organized?"
We all know that what is attractive for someone is not always attractive for someone else.That being said, I do have some tips to keep your layout "reader- and user-friendly".- Use colors that do not clash. Red and white look good against a black background, but red and green do not. Pastel colors look good with each other. Light browns and coffee browns give a nice earthy look, and soft green is a good accent for those colors. Consider analogous colors with a complementary accent color for text or borders.
- Your layout should be organized in some way. An index of posts isn't completely necessary, but it helps make your clan look more orderly. Don't just slap everything in one post without any titles or division between the parts. Like sections should go together (ex: don't put territory smack with allegiances. Instead, territory should go with rules and introduction to the clan since this is all beginner's information).
- Your text should be readable. ιf уσυя ωнσƖє cƖαη'ѕ ραgє Ɩσσкѕ Ɩιкє тнιѕ ιт ιѕ нαяɗ тσ яєαɗ. ςλπ ψσυ гελd τнιs? Fιгεsτλг dσεsπ'τ lικε шλғϑғϑlεs.
- As humans, we are drawn to pictures (and movement). That means banners are always a nice touch! Spice your layout up with dividers that have something like pretty sparkles and leaves. Ofc, simple dividers will always work just as well. I would honestly avoid putting banners in strange places, like next to a block of text, because it may look weird to people with different computers and screen sizes to yours.
- Use different posts to separate parts of your clan. This is a really nice fad that has picked up in the last couple of years. One post for the informational part of your clan, another couple for allegiances, etc. Use the same layout theme each time. This helps especially when you are editing your clan, so you don't have to scroll through EVERYTHING, and helps readers to "break up" the information, much like turning a page.
- A member index is very handy for keeping track of who is who. Though this may be more for the benefit of the roleplay owner than the rest of the crew! You can use a symbol or color code to keep track of inactives, roleplay mods, and those who have strikes if you have a strike system.
"What should my clan have?"
Typically, clans have most of the following:- Introduction (Banner is optional)
- Clan Rules
- Map and/or description of clan territory and camp
- Clan history or clan attributes (optional)
- List of possible prey and predators
- Allegiances: Leader, deputy, medicine cat, warriors, apprentices, elders, cats outside the clan, Starclan, and the Dark Forest.
- Relationship track and key
- Member track and key
- Roleplay/Clan news
- A list of plots and prophecies currently in progress
Your clan does NOT have to have all of these things. The basic 'skeleton' is clan rules, territory, and allegiances, and then people build from there. The more information, the better for new members or for those who have gotten lost.
"How do I make my clan stand out?"There are a few ways you can do this.
- Have a really, amazing, stunning layout. This is not "go nuts with colors and banners". Make your clan beautiful with colors and glow text and shadows - but make sure it does not alter the information of the clan in a way that it is distracting or unreadable. You could use some extra banners too. This may take some time to build and may not be easy to edit, but remember that how your clan is presented determines if people join or not. Fireh's AetherClan is one of my favorite examples. (Remember kids, code stealing is not nice.)
- Special Snowflake-ness. Everybody wants to be special, and some like their clans to have powers, or wings! This would definitely make you stand out in Gatherings. These kinds of things can make way for certain plots that you would not normally come across in regular clans.
- Different ceremonies, ranks, or rituals. Out of the norm rituals or ceremonies can make a clan very unique. For example, before becoming warriors your apprentices could survive a week or a night in the clan territory alone, or even fight the leader for the right to earn their name. Your clan could even have a code of conduct different than the warrior code, or a rank system that is different from the norm (Captain in place of leader, lieutenant in place of deputy, so on).
- Raiders, Battleclans, and Kit Stealers. I know how unpopular kit stealing is nowadays, but a "raid clan" would be refreshing for those who like drama, conflict, and the thrill of a battle. You could also consider the other side of the spectrum, which could be pacifist clan groups, or even kit savers if you have a stealer army to fight against. Of course, if you consider this option you must also realize that the clan you are raiding must agree to the raid, or else you're just spamming them.
- Multi-clan roleplays. This takes a lot of effort, but can be lots of fun. Some people like to be a part of bigger groups and like going to Gatherings. Multi-clan roleplays have a post of their own below.
- A whole new world... A new fantastic point of view! Take your clan to the next level by placing them in a new world. Think about the beautiful flora and fauna found in the 2010 Avatar movie - would your clan live in a place like that? What kind of new predators are there? Are there three moons instead of one, or even two sunsets? Is your clan alone on this new planet? Has your clan adapted or evolved with wings, horns, immunity to certain poisons, or other attributes? A lot of writing work must be done here to make it understandable, but it can be amazing! - Suggested by Wolflover
Section suggested by Moonwing
"I'm clan leader! What now?"
A lot of effort needs to be put into running a clan to make it successful. If you are not active, your clan will not be active either. You should be online, checking your clan at least once every day. - If you think you cannot be online often enough: Do not start a clan in the first place. However, you could jump into someone's clan planning page if you still want to have a good part in the clan itself. Or join up with a friend to run a joint clan together (one person roleplays the leader, the other one actually runs the thread and adds members).
- BE FRIENDLY. If you are new to running a clan/don't have any friends that will join your clan, it's better to not come across as rude, cold, or judgmental when writing up your rules and other clan works. Clans can still be successful with a grumpy leader in charge, but it has the possibility of putting off newcomers. Just be welcoming, folks.
- Enforce your rules. ESPECIALLY your activity rules. 1) it shows you mean business about having fun here, and 2) it helps the roleplay go more smoothly.
- Be ready to pick up the slack. If the roleplay is going too slow, you should start a fox/badger/wolverine/whatever attack to get people interested. It could be a quick plot or omen, a forbidden romance, stuff like that. And if someone has been gone for a few days and the characters of their roleplay partner are stuck, you have the authority to say "Poof! All your cats are back at camp." or "Poof! The absent medicine cat has healed your cats and they are free to do whatever," to free them up and continue roleplaying. As clan leader, you pretty much have the authority to a lot more if the roleplay goes stale or gets stuck.
- Consider a strike system. A strike system can be used to keep unruly members from getting out of hand - every time they break a rule they get one strike. After 3 strikes, they can no longer be a part of your clan.
- Take a look at the Warriors Pawbook Guide and see if any of its information should be copied to your clan's page. Or you could link this guide somewhere on your thread! - Suggested by Winterbreeze
- Tip Here
- Tip Here
Suggest a Clan Leader tip by tagging me (@ thrushpool) on a reply to this thread!
"Why did my clan fail?" There could be a plethora of reasons why your clan roleplay flopped. Sometimes, it's not your fault, people just aren't interested. - Nobody was interested in what your clan was about or had to offer.
- You weren't active enough as leader.
- Maybe you were an active clan leader, but the members you had were too busy so your clan died.
- Your rules were too strict.
- Nobody joined your clan because it looked messy or unprofessional.
- The roleplay was too demanding.
I was going to post a tip here, but I forgot what it was. I'll remember later.
Disclaimer: You are free to disagree if you don't think I've written this correctly. This is simply MY experience. If you have any suggestions or see anything that should be corrected, feel free to quote the section you want and PM me. This is as always, a WIP.
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:18:58 GMT -5
IndexI. Building a Clan- Audience
- Appearance
- Making Your Clan Stand Out
- Clan Leader
- Why did my clan fail?
II. Multi-Clan Roleplays - You Are Here
- What is a Multi-clan Roleplay?
- Building your Multi-clan Roleplay
- Do's and Don't's
- Gatherings
- Keeping it Successful
III. Keeping Your Clan Active
- Ranks
- Plots
- Cross-clan plots
- Moderators
- New members
IV. Your Feedback & Your Clans- Be a part of the Successful Clan Guide!
- Advertising Your Clans
"What are multi-clan roleplays?"Multi-clan roleplays are when several clans "border" each other and have Gatherings, just like the clans in the books. They may also have border pages, which are threads where players go to rp their border patrols or border skirmishes. The clans may also have similar themes, such as the elements, colors, or emotions.
Or, your clans could be replicas / future generations of the original (o-4 or 5) clans of the forest and lake from the books.
"How should I start building my multi-clan roleplay?" All of the things you have read in the above post, I. Building a Clan, apply to building your multi-clan roleplay too, however there are now a bunch of new things to consider! First, you should head on over to the Clan Planning Pages subboard, where you can recruit people to help with your roleplay. A multi-clan rp is a big undertaking and may require other to people help out and lead clans."What do my clans need?"
Along with all the other things required to put a clan together, you may need: - Clan leaders (it is highly advised that you do not try to run all those clans by yourself)
- Banners or other graphics
- Info for all the clans (clan attributes, history, prey/predators, etc)
- Territory descriptions or maps for all of the territory
- A Gathering place and place to communicate with Starclan, including a Gathering schedule or time.
- A uniform layout for all of the clans. (below)
"What is a uniform layout? Do I need it?"A uniform layout is basically just a matching layout for all of your clans. You do not need it, but it makes you look professional as a whole. A matching layout set would have:
- The exact same set of rules, expectations, and organization for all the clans
- Different colors and banners for each clan. Ex: red and black for Bloodclan, blue and silvers for Riverclan.
Why would you do this? Having a matching layout among your clans is great because: - Your clans will be recognizable by others, and they will know that these clans are a set.
- Once one layout is made, you only have to change the colors, banners, and territory descriptions of the rest.
- Everything is organized the same way so information is super easy to find.
"What are some things I should do and some things I shouldn't?" DO:- Encourage other people on your Planning Page to become leaders, deputies, or medicine cats
- Encourage your clan mates to make one or two characters in one of the other clans.
- Make sure the people you are recruiting as clan leaders are active (you could do this at the end of the planning stages). These should be trustworthy people, like friends. Don't just accept anybody. - Suggested by Rookthorn
- Have at least 1 high rank open (deputy, medicine cat, medicine cat apprentice) in each clans when they open, so newcomers will be interested
- Have all of the links to the clans and relative threads (Gathering place, border page, and the place where your clans communicate with Starclan) listed on the first post of each clan. This makes navigation easier, especially if you have members who are a part of multiple clans.
DO NOT:- Attempt to be clan leader and/or run the threads for all the clans on your own. It will become too much for you to handle and will take some of the fun out of it for other people.
- Make too many characters in the other clans - imagine what it would be like showing up to a Gathering with 5 cats in each clan! It would be so confusing.
- Make your clan territories clash (Ex: a sunny beach side clan and one that lives in a snowy mountain). A snowy pine forest next to a windblown snow mountain would be better. - Suggested by Coral Mermaid
- Build your clans in such a way that one cannot be run without the other(s). It is very possible that one or more clans will flop, and if you want to keep your clan, you will realize that at some point you may have to run your clan without bordering ones.
- Make your multi clan roleplay have a ridiculous number of clans (honestly, more than 5 is too much). I've seen 17-clan roleplays, and let me tell you they did not last long at all. The more clans there are, the bigger chance your roleplay has a chance of flopping all together.
"What about Gatherings?"
Gatherings can be super fun, but also super hard to plan! Here are some tips on running a smooth Gathering: - The Gathering date should be the same for every month (ex: 1st of each month, or every other month), and at the same time (or all day).
- If your Gathering is held at a certain time, make sure you include times for other Time Zones (CST, EST, GST, etc) so no one is left out or confused.
- if you are leader, deputy, or medicine cat and have to make an announcement, know what you plan to say. You don't have to write it down, just think about it once or twice before the Gathering takes place.
- The cats or roleplayers that each clan leader chooses should be announced beforehand, and posted on the Gathering page. (ex: Thunderclan will be bringing Talonstrike, Whitefur, and Robinpaw; Windclan will be bringing Rabbitstep, Mooneyes, and Dimpaw). There should be a post or section by the page's admin specifically dedicated to this, so everyone can see it.
- The dates, times, and cats expected to attend the Gathering can also be posted on each clan's page. This way EVERYONE will know beforehand, and arrangements can be made for those who can't make it!
"How do I keep my multi-clan rp successful?!?"In all honesty, multi clans are harder to keep afloat than standalone clans. They really are. Try not to get bent out of shape if one or more of your clans flop. Instead, focus on the clan(s) left, including your own. If your own clan hasn't failed already, you can still have an amazing time with it, even if you have no bordering clans anymore! Maybe in the future you will have some friendly clans to border again!
Always remember that it's about having fun.
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:19:09 GMT -5
IndexI. Building a Clan- Audience
- Appearance
- Making Your Clan Stand Out
- Clan Leader
- Why did my clan fail?
II. Multi-Clan Roleplays- What is a Multi-clan Roleplay?
- Building Your Multi-clan Roleplay
- Do's and Don't's
- Gatherings
- Keeping it Successful
III. Keeping Your Clan Active - You Are Here
- Ranks
- Plots
- Cross-clan plots
- Moderators
- New members
IV. Your Feedback & Your Clans- Be a part of the Successful Clan Guide!
- Advertising Your Clans
"Okay, how do I use clan ranks to keep my clan active?"
Or, rather - How do I keep my ranks from becoming inactive?! ALL ranks are important here - imagine each clan cat as a gear that keeps the roleplay moving. If one gear gets stuck it can cause other gears to become stuck as well.High Ranks - Leader, Deputy, Medicine Cats (and/or Prophecy Cats)- Only give away these ranks to people who have shown themselves to be active/dedicated to your clan. If they are not active, do not give them an important role!
- Let them know it is okay to ask or start some drama or plot devices on their own (ex: dog attack).
- Let your clan know (in your Rules) that you may replace inactive high ranked characters. This should be a good enough incentive to stay active, and will allow you keep your high rankeds active if they get deleted due to inactivity.
- Start some drama that includes the switching out of one of the high rankers (a leader dying or a medicine cat retiring). That will prompt some others to challenge each other for the role.
- As mentioned in Post I - Building Your Clan, you could always add to your roles by having multiple medicine cats, deputies and leaders, so that 1) There is a higher chance of at least one high ranked cat being online when needed, and 2) More of these ranks means more drama.
Warriors and Apprentices - Lifeblood of the Clan- We've all been there - roleplaying a patrol in the territory, far away from the camp, when one player has to leave and the rest of the cats are stuck. You can utilize the ever-amazing POOF! feature to magically put your cats back in camp and "free them up".
- These are probably the most popular roles in a clan. More than 50% of your clan could be made up of warriors and apprentices - so how do you keep them all active/interested? The most easiest way is to do member cleaning every week and a somewhat stringent activity requirement.
- Include many people in lots of small plots. Maybe one or two big plots, but the more people there are the bigger the chance is of someone going inactive and the plot stalling. Plot devices will be covered in the next section.
- Activity Tip
- Activity Tip
Suggest a Warriors & Apprentices Activity Tip by tagging me (@ thrushpool) on a reply to this thread!
"What is a plot?"
A plot, in roleplay terms, is when some characters come together and do something important/dramatic/life altering. Examples: - A medicine cat falling in love
- One clan trying to take territory from another
- A warrior being injured so badly, they can no longer be a warrior and/or are not seen the same way by their clan.
- A Dark Forest cat promising a clan cat something in return for killing another clan cat or some other evil deed.
- A famine or plague striking a clan, and the clan must get through it.
- A clan cat struggling to accept themselves after they did something they regret, and other cats helping them through it.
- A clan cat trying to fit into a new clan.
- A clan taking a great journey from one place to another.
- A prophecy warning against evil, and the prophecy cats must find each other among different clans.
- An omen given by Starclan being interpreted incorrectly.
All of these are types of conflicts. Your conflict can be external or internal. - External: one or more characters struggling with outside forces, such as nature or another character. Ex: a patrol fighting off a band of rogues, or a great flood wiping away a clan's camp.
- Internal: one character struggling with something inside themselves. Not a sickness. Ex: the medicine cat deciding whether or not to act on their feelings for the clan deputy, or a warrior having regret for having killed someone in battle.
"What are plots and conflicts for?" Plots are basically what people roleplay for - they're super fun! People get excited about them. It's impossible to have a successful clan that does not have some kind of story going on! People like plots, and if you are a smart clan leader, you work with your clan members and their plot ideas so that they have something fun to do. This is how you keep your clan active. However, do not force a plot on your members straightaway - just let them develop naturally. :) "What happens if my plot stalls?!"
In my opinion this is the worst thing to ever happen to a good plot - it becomes slow and doesn't advance. This is usually because one or more players become less active or completely inactive. There are a few things you can do:
- Continue the plot without the absent character(s). This will not work for every plot out there, because, well, if there was a character a part of a plot they were probably important in some way. Just pretend "they are going along" with everything, or leave them behind entirely.
- Have the leader roleplay the character(s) in question. It is not really advised that the leader assign the character to someone else unless it has been discussed with the character's owner beforehand or was stated in your rules. Roleplaying someone else's cat is only done out of necessity, and you should not do anything that would alter that cat's future in any way.
- Replace the absent character entirely. Yeah, this is probably the best way to do it, even if the cat's owner has a leave of absence. Give their part in the plot to someone else who is more active. There's a good chance they'll be super flattered about being chosen for something cool!
- If none of these work, you can drop the plot entirely. While this sucks, it means you can A) Take time to revise and restart the plot in a way that doesn't include the absent characters, or B) Start fresh with something better and more interesting.
When doing a cross-clan plot (multi-clan roleplay), it may be impossible to do any of these at all. Do what you think is best for the interest of your clan.
Suggest a Moving Your Plot Forward tip by tagging me (@ thrushpool) on a reply to this thread! "Can you give some more examples? I need ideas!"
I have no interest in being someone's local plot shop, but I do have some ideas if you are really stuck! *- A famine or plague/sickness among your clan
- Medicine cat turning against Starclan in favor for the Dark Forest
- Twolegs, badgers, or bears destroying your clan's territory
- Clan leader falling in love with the medicine cat
- Kit stealers stealing or raiding for clan kits
- An omen or prophecy being misinterpreted
- A warrior accidentally killing someone in battle and being exiled
- A kittypet trying to join the clan, but running back to its home in the end
- An evil clan who worships the Dark Forest, cats who refuse to kill traitors or intruders are punished
- A clan cat who becomes friends with a fox, ocelot, or other animal
- A cat that comes back from the dead or is reincarnated by Starclan/The Dark Forest
- A cat that is the subject of a prophecy turning against the prophecy
- The Dark Forest sending an omen to a clan, and the clan thinks it has come from Starclan
- A clan leader being chased away from their clan by their own clanmates
- A clan having to change its traditions or way of life to survive
- Clan cats disappearing for weeks and then reappearing in the territory with no memories
- Rogues or rival clan cats infiltrating the clan to take it over
- A clan leader not being given their 9 lives
- Two different clan cats claiming they have been chosen by Starclan
- A cat wrongfully blamed for the death of another clan cat
- Clans battling each other constantly for territory, or another clan moves in and both clans have to share.
*Please do not post on this thread to ask me to help with your clan's plot. I have already written this whole guide for you to use! Suggest a Plot Idea by tagging me (@ thrushpool) in a reply to this thread!
"What about multi-clan plots?" While these are fun to do, I highly advise you to think hard before attempting this. Both clans should be aware that: - Multi clan plots take MUCH longer to play out.
- The more people that are a part of it, the higher chance there is of it failing.
- If the future of your clan depends on the other, it could spell disaster if the other clan becomes inactive. And vice versa.
- IT. WILL. BE. SLOW.
On the forums, we have lots of people with different time zones (some people with 5 or 6 hour differences). So your cats may be stuck for 5 or 6 hours until the other person can reply. By then your clan may have needed its leader or medicine cat, and are stalled as well.
"How can I use 'clan moderators'?"Clan moderators, also called deputies, are people who act as your second in command, or also act with the power you have as clan leader/admin. It is your choice if you want to use mods in your clan, who becomes a mod, and what powers they have.Moderators are helpful because:- They can accept new members when you are not online
- They enforce your clan rules
- Help make decisions regarding the roleplay when you are not available
- Break up fights, help members with joining forms, and other ways, etc.
- Depending on how much power you want to give them, they could also roleplay the clan leader or other important characters if you are away.
"Who should I make a moderator in my clan???" If you are considering adding moderators to your clan, it is up to you who you think has the best qualities to help run your clan. However, it is highly recommended that who you make a mod is:- Active - online once a day
- Has a level head and doesn't get into fights
- Is able to make small to major decisions regarding your clan's plot and/or everyday roleplay
- Is compassionate to people's problems and can work with them.
"Are clan mods necessary?" No, they definitely are not! But they are helpful if: - Your clan is getting too big/getting a lot of new members at one time
- You are becoming less active or cannot keep up with your clan all of the time.
- You want to include more people in your clan or need a small council-like group to talk to about clan decisions.
"I have a bunch of new members! Now what?" Congrats! The best way to welcome new members is to tell them you are really excited they joined your clan and get them involved in something. It doesn't have to be very big. A few good ways to include new members are:- Include them in an already existing clan family. If a queen has just had a litter of kits, maybe they would like to roleplay one of the kits? That way, their character(s) always have someone to talk to!
- Have one of their cat(s) lead a patrol. This could be a border or hunting patrol, or a search for a missing apprentice.
- Ask them if they would like to be a part of a small plot. This is good if you have already been considering a forbidden romance plot or something like that. Something small between one or two of your already existing members, so your new member can make some friends!
"How do I attract new members?" Sometimes it is really, really hard to get new members to join. It might not be your fault that people aren't joining your clan - some people like brand new clans, some like O-5 clans, some like already established (read: successful) clans, and some don't like joining "new generations". This is all a personal matter of preference and you cannot help that at all. HOWEVER. These are some things that you can try to do to attract new members.- Start a new clan thread entirely. Sometimes a fresh start with already existing members is what you need to attract potential clanmates, but this does mean that you ditch your old clan thread entirely and start anew.
- Revamp your front page. Maybe your layout isn't snazzy enough, or things need to be updated. A sparkly, updated new layout might help.
- Post 'New Member Plots' on your front page. Think up a small plot that has room to develop and advertise on your page that you will only accept new members for this plot! If people like it enough, they will join in hopes of getting to roleplay something interesting, specifically for them. Once you give it to them however, it becomes theirs, and they should try to develop it their own way. You could pair them up with an older clanmate or a newer clanmate to get everyone involved!
- Advertise to your friends. I'm not telling you to spam here - but if clans or whatever come up in conversation, you could ask them to take a look at your own.
- Add your clan name and link to your signature. Someone might get curious and click it!
I wrote these tips specifically with dying clans in mind, but of course they can work for everyone!
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:19:21 GMT -5
IndexI. Building a Clan- Audience
- Appearance
- Making Your Clan Stand Out
- Clan Leader
- Why did my clan fail?
II. Multi-Clan Roleplays- What is a Multi-clan Roleplay?
- Building Your Multi-clan Roleplay
- Do's and Don't's
- Gatherings
- Keeping it Successful
III. Keeping Your Clan Active
- Ranks
- Plots
- Cross-clan plots
- Moderators
- New members
IV. Your Feedback & Your Clans - You Are Here- Be a part of the Successful Clan Guide!
- Advertising Your Clans
"How do I help be a part of the How to Create a Successful Clan Guide?!?!?"
You can start by suggesting tips or other tricks for me to put in this guide! It can be absolutely anything! A new section, a clan leader tip, a roleplay tip, a multi clan tip, whatever you want! This guide will be of the most help when we have MANY people contributing their experiences to it!
To suggest something for the guide, tag me (@ thrushpool) on a reply to this thread!
If you suggest something, there is no guarantee it will be put into the guide, but it will still be helpful for building the guide in the future!
"Can I advertise my clans here?!"Yes, you can!!! ... under a few conditions though.. You can advertise your clans here if: - You used this clan guide as a reference while making your clan, OR
- You have suggested a tip to be put in the guide!
That's it! Make sure you are advertising/linking the clan you referenced this guide with, and not to spam. Use the best English you have available to you, and do not advertise the same clan more than once. Hope this guide has been helpful!
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:19:34 GMT -5
SAVE IV
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:19:44 GMT -5
SAVE V
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 22:20:08 GMT -5
SAVE VI.
You may now post.
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Post by d a y d r e a m ✪ on Aug 9, 2016 23:28:59 GMT -5
i really like this guide!! it probably would have been super helpful back in my noob days but then again fan clans has changed so much during the years you never know
nonetheless, this is super clear and well-explained!! i'm sure it'll help a ton of people
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 9, 2016 23:44:09 GMT -5
i really like this guide!! it probably would have been super helpful back in my noob days but then again fan clans has changed so much during the years you never know nonetheless, this is super clear and well-explained!! i'm sure it'll help a ton of people Thank you so much!! and yeah haha, maybe I'll save some newbies some trouble :') thank you again! This will be updated a lot in the future, there is so much more to add! |
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Post by The Noble Dragon on Aug 10, 2016 1:40:29 GMT -5
Hello yes as someone who spent like 4 years trying to get a single clan "successful" I can vouch that using layouts attracts people! My clan Fallenclan wasn't going anywhere for a few weeks till I got a nice layout and banner and then there were a lot of people joining! It got up to 142 pages on the WCF and is currently at 48 here! But still I'm gonna keep an eye on this bc you have some very nice tips that I'll use to fine tune my clan! Thanks for the guide!!
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Asexual
Ƈяσωѕσηg
Check Meowt! I'm purr-etty pawsome!
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Post by Ƈяσωѕσηg on Aug 10, 2016 6:38:22 GMT -5
And just as I was thinking of opening my own Clan RP (mind you I've not had successful RPs of any king created by myself but a few, which were never on the WCF).
If you'd like, you can put a link to my Warriors Pawbook guide, it gives a list of herbs, battle moves, Warrior Code etc. You don't have to, but in case you do you'll find it HERE.
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§Moonwing§
I was §Moonwing§ on the original forums!
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Post by §Moonwing§ on Aug 10, 2016 6:50:06 GMT -5
Ah hello! This is a very good guide so far, good luck on completing it!
I've put up a clan of my own- it's been almost a year since I first posted it on the WCF, (it ended due to irl issues) and now, in light of the forums closing and the fact that I've been wanting to reboot it for a while, I put it up just yesterday! (http://wcrpforums.com/thread/4030/wonderclan-er-nq-newly-open)
It seems to be doing well so far, and although we were never one of the fast paced clans, I'd just advise to be friendly and get everyone included. I should add that having something that makes your clan special and different from others is a good thing, like customs, special territory, clan attributes as a whole, etc.
For instance, in Wonderclan, I have Wonderkits, which are kits five moons of age, who can leave the camp. While that's not a big thing, it makes the clan more unique. I also try to make every cat have a family with different members (Ex: Person A's cat is sisters with Person B's cat) so that everyone is included.
Another thing to note is that admins and moderators should probably have more characters so they can respond to starters, as lots of members tend to post starters and not reply to them, therefore making an infinite amount of open cats and no one actually interacting with other people.
Of course, I'm in no way an experienced clan leader, and that's just my two cents. ^^
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 7:58:52 GMT -5
The Noble Dragon Thank you! Can I use your post if I ever add a reviews/quotes section - like supporting all the stuff I've written here? And if you ever have any tips, feel free to post them here if you want to! I feel like the best way this guide could improve would be adding the experience of other members too. Ƈяσωѕσηg That's a great idea! I'll make sure to add a Clan Resources section and include that! Thank you so much and I hope this guide can help : D §Moonwing§ That's some good advice, being friendly and including others! I've mentioned it a few times in the guide already, but I'll probablt write a part about it on the second post. Thank you! And about things that make a clan special, I didn't think about that! It sounds like a good thing to add on the first post under Building a Clan. I'll make sure to write something about that too ;)
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 11:16:12 GMT -5
Updated!
Keeping Your Clan Active was moved to post 3. Multi-clan roleplays now have post 2. A short write-up about making your clan stand out was also added.
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Asexual
Ƈяσωѕσηg
Check Meowt! I'm purr-etty pawsome!
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Post by Ƈяσωѕσηg on Aug 10, 2016 11:38:41 GMT -5
A crying Nidoking You're welcome! You're more than welcome to post it if you'd like to. Would you like me to put a link to your guide in mine?
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Post by Ƈσяαℓ Mєямαι∂ ღ on Aug 10, 2016 11:49:56 GMT -5
If I may give some input to the multi-clan RP...
One thing I feel is important when it comes to multi-clan rps is making sure all the territories can blend together fairly well. For example, one clan cannot be by the ocean while the other is in snowy mountains. I feel like that doesn't fit. |
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Post by The Noble Dragon on Aug 10, 2016 14:07:53 GMT -5
Yeah of course you can use that post! And if I think of anything to add or some tips I'll let you know!
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Post by ⭐ 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍-𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 on Aug 10, 2016 14:36:58 GMT -5
Thank you! This will help me remake one of my old successful clans uwu
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 21:41:22 GMT -5
Ƈяσωѕσηg I think that would be a great idea! Ƈσяαℓ Mєямαι∂ ღ You're right, clashing territories probably aren't a good idea for multi clans! I'll be sure to add that, thank you :) ⭐ 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍-𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 I'm glad this guide could help!! : D
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Post by Soαrιɴɢ Bloѕѕoмѕ ✿ on Aug 10, 2016 21:42:25 GMT -5
I came to capture the crying Nidoking.
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 22:04:13 GMT -5
I came to capture the crying Nidoking. You have to take me out to dinner first. |
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Post by Soαrιɴɢ Bloѕѕoмѕ ✿ on Aug 10, 2016 22:06:42 GMT -5
I came to capture the crying Nidoking. You have to take me out to dinner first. Touche. I'll see at McDonalds tomorrow 1 AM? The weird ones always come around there, and they provide quite the show. |
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 22:29:15 GMT -5
You have to take me out to dinner first. Touche. I'll see at McDonalds tomorrow 1 AM? The weird ones always come around there, and they provide quite the show. it's a date my guy |
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Post by ☆•–– ƒ. ѕcσтт ƒιтzgєяαℓ∂ on Aug 10, 2016 23:39:04 GMT -5
This guide is fantastic I can't wait to see more omg Definitely saving!
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 10, 2016 23:53:52 GMT -5
This guide is fantastic I can't wait to see more omg Definitely saving! Thank you! The multi-clan section will be written next, it should be the most helpful for you! |
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Post by ☆•–– ƒ. ѕcσтт ƒιтzgєяαℓ∂ on Aug 11, 2016 0:04:39 GMT -5
This guide is fantastic I can't wait to see more omg Definitely saving! Thank you! The multi-clan section will be written next, it should be the most helpful for you! A friend of mine offered a tip to me if you'd like for multi, to start with one of the clans and put info that'd you'd open the others if people were active/people were trustworthy enough to run the others if you're unable to keep track of multiple clans by yourself lol her username is Rookthorn |
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 11, 2016 13:23:23 GMT -5
Thank you! The multi-clan section will be written next, it should be the most helpful for you! A friend of mine offered a tip to me if you'd like for multi, to start with one of the clans and put info that'd you'd open the others if people were active/people were trustworthy enough to run the others if you're unable to keep track of multiple clans by yourself lol her username is Rookthorn That's a great tip, I'll be to add that! :D |
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 12, 2016 17:54:27 GMT -5
The Multi-Clan section has been updated!
if anyone has some suggestions, please let me know! Thank you all for commenting and liking it so far.
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Post by ☆•–– ƒ. ѕcσтт ƒιтzgєяαℓ∂ on Aug 13, 2016 9:04:09 GMT -5
Looking good! I really like your advice
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Post by A crying Nidoking on Aug 13, 2016 23:07:27 GMT -5
The guide has updated once again!
This by no means the final update, but I've run out of ideas on what to post.. so.. lol.
The new section includes information about contributing to the guide and advertising your clans here! Please make sure to read the last post before posting any clan links!
Thank you all for the support and contribution so far! If you found this guide helpful, please leave a comment so that it stays bumped on the first page :)
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