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Guide to StarRise/Igen Weyr
Rev. 3/9/01 *****StarRise Weyr is a non-profit organization created to give the fans of Anne McCaffrey a place to safely play Pern. Pern and Dragondriders of Pern are trademarks and copyright of Anne McCaffrey, 1967. No violation of her copyright is intended.*****
StarRise/Igen Weyr You've encountered dozens of clubs. You've read an endless number of guides. What makes StarRise any different than the other clubs? The people. The setting.The possibilities. The proven longevity. No age limit. The people are your fellow club members. Warm and caring, honestly interested in you. Our general chat mailing list is as often used to share what's going on in our lives as it is to discuss the club itself. We're there to offer moral support when you need it, and to help lighten a bad day. We want to share your good news, and your bad.We're family and friends, and we value each other.Let us know you're there, and you'll never be forgotten. And better yet -- we encourage you to join it before joining the club so you can get to know us before making your decision! The setting is also unusual. Two Weyrs in one club, and you can play at both. Both StarRise and Igen are active with stories and personas and frequently interact with each other, as well as the other active clubs in the timeline. The possibilities are endless. StarRise Territory is mostly made up of islands. There's a whole, vast sea out there to be explored and exploited. Igen flies over a desert. What kind of people live there? What creatures lurk on and under the sands? Let your imagination soar over what you could do on an island, and in the desert.
But most importantly…StarRise has proven itself. Many clubs today haven't been around very long. A few months. A couple of years.The enthusiasm of the original leaders hasn't quite vanished yet.There are, of course, exceptions to this. But not all that many. StarRise, however, has been around since 1987. We've weathered almost all of Anne McCaffrey's sudden pronouncements that have shaken her fandom and closed down clubs. We've survived a period of time in which zines were not produced but the club was still active in other ways. More importantly, and the hardest test of all, the club has survived a change in leadership without any adverse affects. Our history is not manufactured. Everything that happened in our timeline actually happened, and wasn't created from whole cloth.We have the fanzines with the stories to show it. StarRise is here to stay. You don't have to worry that with waning interest we'll dry up and blow away.
There is no member age limit at StarRise. We figure if you're old enough to read the books and enjoy them, then you're old enough to play. StarRise does not publish anything that exceeds the boundaries set by Anne McCaffrey in her own books. We do require that members at least have read the first three books simply so they understand the world that we're playing in.
What We Do Since its beginning in 1987, StarRise's focus has been writing stories and producing a fanzine on a regular schedule. But with the years, things change and old dogs can learn new tricks. As more and more people have gotten online, the instant communication permitted by email has changed what Pern fans most want. Many still want the stories and the fanzine. But an increasing amount more want the instant interaction and gratification of role playing. StarRise will continue with its primary focus of writing stories. But we are in the process of establishing a system of email Role Play that we hope the membership will enjoy. The goal of these Role Plays will be to give a basis for one or more stories, and therefore each RP will be themed.In this way, we hope to satisfy both desires in our members: the stories, and the play. On the Web StarRise does have a presence on the Internet. Our website can be found at http://www.starriseweyr.com and contains our most up-to-date information. You will find a listing of Personas at Hold and Weyr for both clubs, as well as clutch charts and timelines. There's also information about our shared timeline, the leaders of those other active clubs, and general information for playing at StarRise. Keeping in Touch StarRise Weyr also maintains an Internet discussion group. It can be found at http://forum.starriseweyr.com. This is where the majority of our communication and interaction take place, outside of the fanzine, Out of the Blue. Publications StarRise has a bi-annual fanzine called Out of the Blue. Published at the beginning of March and September, Out of the Blue contains the stories that have been submitted by our members. The fanzine itself will published digitally, but it in a format ready-to-print for members that have to have hardcopy. The membership will be notified via the message board when the zine is ready and where it can be downloaded from. Our Timeline Fictionally, StarRise Weyr takes place in the 10th Pass. That's the Pass after the one in the books by Anne. We are in an alternate Pern, one where they found AIVAS but it didn't work. Thread still falls, and the dragonriders are still a necessary feature of Pernese society. We are part of a shared timeline, which has gone through incarnations known as the Mainstream Tenth Pass and the Shared Tenth Pass. Now we just call ourselves Tenth Pass Pern. StarRise is the only active Weyr in the timeline at present, but all the NPC Weyrs are playable and members are welcome and encouraged to play there, too. Because AIVAS did not work when it was discovered, many of the technological advances achieved in Anne McCaffrey's books never happened.Fandarel's long distance machine was never pursued due to lack of time and resources. Life of the Tenth Pass is perhaps slightly less technologically advanced than it was during the Ninth Pass. There have been some improvements, however. Parchment and paper are more easily available, but hides remain the most popular way to record things.
Anne McCaffrey's Rules Every active Pern fan club exists on Anne McCaffrey's sufferance. Legally speaking, we're breaking the law by violating her copyright. However, because we have her permission, we are allowed to play. Anne McCaffrey has requested that we abide by a few rules.
In addition to Anne McCaffrey's rules, StarRise has some of their own. Nothing too strict, we promise. You'll read about them in the New Members Pack if you decide to join us. You'll find that some clubs are conservative, allowing nothing that Anne McCaffrey hasn't done to happen in their club. Other clubs are quite liberal, fully exploring the "What if…" question and allowing things that others would find questionable or unacceptable. Those are the two extremes. StarRise walks a middle-of-the-road path on this issue. We use the happenings of the books as a basis, not a bible. We encourage members to explore possibilities. Our rule is: if it makes sense that it can be done, then we'll do it. If, however, it doesn't make sense, then we won't allow it. You never know if you don't ask - so ask!
Location StarRise Weyr itself is located on the Eastern Ring Islands. If you check the maps drawn on the inside cover of any Pern novel, we're that chain of islands stretching down from the upper right corner, just east of Benden. Our flight territory stretches from Horizon's Holdings in the northernmost penninsula, all the way down to the StarRise Holdings in the islands at the equator. Needless to say, there are a lot of climate fluxuations between the islands. The lifestyle is also a bit different from the rest of Pern. Most travel is done by boat, unless you happen to have a dragon, and most folks have pretty independent personalities. We've also got some rather uniquely-developed wildlife, including a friendly amphibious snake-like creature, and small, furry critters called "hoppers."
Becoming A Member Of StarRise Weyr Online membership to StarRise Weyr is free. All you need to do is provide the Weyr leaders with a valid e-mail address and you're in. You do this by joining our message board. If you need help creating a persona, or just want to find out what's going on, jump right in on the message board! You'll find our members to be welcoming and eager to meet new members!
[Membership
| Weyr Guide | New Member's
Pack | |
Play is restricted
to members only. Stories, art, poems, ect that are specifically Pernese
in nature cannot be shared with people who are not members of the club.
Only the club leaders can distribute the collected works of the club
members. Any member caught violating this rule will be asked to leave
the club. There are no second chances.