The BearSkull Pack Stats

[Meoquanee]

Ranks

Alphas(Closed)
Storm Rage
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Heir(Closed)
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Betas(Closed)
-
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Delta(Open)
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Border Guards (Open)
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-
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Caretakers(Open)
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Stone Keeper(Open)
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-
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Retired Elders(Open)
Sharp Thistle
-
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Pack Members(Open)
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Pups(Open)
-
-
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Omegas(Open)
-
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[Meoquanee]

Rank Descriptions

Alphas - The top dogs, always a mated pair. Their word is law, this rank is really self explanatory. When submitting a profile, this is not an automatic rank. Your character must be chosen by the current Alpha (if there is only one) to gain this rank.

Betas - Second in command, up to two..one for each Alpha. Does not have to be a mated pair. They are in charge when both Alphas are not around and usually are the ones that lead and direct group hunts. This is not an automatic rank. Your character must be chosen by the Alpha/s to gain this rank.

Delta - Only one of these is allowed. This wolf is something like a police-wolf in the pack, keeping the peace among the pack wolves and ensuring that the are actively participating in the pack as well as is something akin to a 'war general'...this meaning that the Delta is the wolf that trains the pack members to fight and advises the Alpha/s when there is war. This is not an automatic rank. Your character must be chosen by the current Alpha/s to gain this rank.

Caretakers - Just another word for Healer. Up to four Caretakers are allowed within the pack, not counting students. The Caretaker rank is self-explanatory. These wolves use plants to help treat ailments as well as make a dying wolf's last moments more comfortable as much as possible and assisting in births if need be. A wolf can have the skill and knowledge to heal without holding the Caretaker rank, meaning a common pack member can have the skill but perhaps the Caretaker rank is full...but if a position opens up with the promotion from the Alpha/s then that wolf can move into that rank position. If there is an open position, the wolf simply need to approach an Alpha and ask for the position. The Alpha/s will have the other Healers judge the wolf's ability before either promoting the wolf or declining the request. This is not an automatic rank.

Stone Keeper - Only one wolf is allowed to be the Stone Keeper. This wolf must live in the Stone's Den and is responsible for caring for the stone bear skull and the Peacekeeper stone. Because of this, the Stone Keeper must always be in Camp where the den is in sight at all times. If, for any reason, the Stone Keeper must leave Camp they must assign a packmember to keep watch. Even then, if something happens to the stones the Stone Keeper is always the one who must answer for it.

Border Guards - There is no set limit to this rank because Border Guards need to be rotated throughout the day. These wolves typically have great patience as they have to stay out and dutifully patrol near the edges of the territory for a large part of the day without becoming bored and needing to stay alert. It is best for a Border Guard to be silent in his/her movements.

Retired Elders - There is no set limit to this rank. These wolves have retired from their previous rank and can enjoy the remainder of their life of lazing about the pack's Camp area if they so desire. Retired Elders are to be respected by other members of the pack, even the Alphas show some lenience towards them. This can be an automatic rank.

Pack Members - There is no set limit to this rank. The Pack Members should make up the bulk of the pack. Pack Members hunt and fight for the pack in general, as well as scout the territory either alone or in a small group. Pack Members may hunt for themselves, but it is strongly preferred that the wolves hunt for the pack as a whole. Within the Pack member rank is a hierarchy itself. More dominant wolves are treated with more respect and are ranked higher within the Pack member rank than meeker or less dominant wolves. Thus more dominant wolves take on a bit more of a leadership role (strictly) within the Pack member rank. Sparring for dominance is acceptable as long as no major harm is done otherwise demotion could occur.
This can be an automatic rank.

Pups - The childrens! This is an automatic rank.

Omegas - The lowest rank in the pack. These wolves are usually either being punished temporarily or permanently. These wolves have screwed up enough to be demoted to this demeaning rank. They eat last and are not allowed to leave the Camp without an escort, thus the job of puppysitting tends to fall to them. Despite being an Omega, it is not permissible to abuse these wolves! This can be an automatic rank.

A rank that is marked as Closed means that you cannot simply choose to have your character in that rank. To achieve a Closed rank, your character must earn it through rp and be promoted by the Alpha/s. A rank that is Open is a rank that you can just choose to place your character in.

[Meoquanee]

Law

1. Respect higher ranking members

2. No one may eat before the Alphas, Betas, expecting and nursing mothers and pups

3. Pups and expecting mothers get choice portions

4. Never question the authority of higher ranking members

5. All wolves must work together to keep the borders safe. Mark mark mark!

6. Lone pups that get accepted into the pack get to choose out of any of the members who will take care of them. They may also choose not to pick anybody and to care for themselves.

7. If a physical fight should ensue between two characters then either one of the Alphas or one of the Betas must be summoned (assuming there are witnesses to the fight). They will not interfere with the fight, but will allow the wolves to battle out their problem until a winner emerges. They will step in only if it appears that it will turn deadly. Ranks can not be attained through fights, if your character wants a rank it must be requested to the Alpha. However, fights that were started just to provoke the other's character and do purposely fight for no reason will be demoted and if it continues, banished.

8. If your character murders a packmember and gets caught, your character will be permanently banished with a kill-on-sight order to the rest of the pack. Permission by the player is needed for one packmember to murder another, and if given then the player of the murderer automatically agrees to having their character banished.

9. Torture is prohibited and punishable by the same acts the one who harms the other has done.
*Example: Wolf 1, for no reason, tears off the ears of another packmember. Punishment for Wolf 1 is getting his ears torn off.

10. Only Alphas and Betas may accept members into the pack though this should be a given.

[Meoquanee]

About

The BearSkull pack is named so for the unusually massive 'stone' (fossilized) bear skull that is kept safely away within the Keeper's den.. This skulls is the packs most prized possession as no other stone body parts of anything have ever been found by wolves, but more then that... This skull is a reminder of the Pack's history.
Long ago, the BearSkull pack were bear killers. Bears and wolves competed for land, water and prey; there had been so many bears and wolves that there wasn't enough prey on the land to sustain them both. The wolves, being pack animals, attacked and killed the bears one by one. The bears were going to be wiped out from these brutal and savage attacks.
Then one she-wolf came across a treasure. She uncovered a bear skull, with the bone seeming to be carved from the stone itself; this skull was bigger then any bear she had ever faced, greater even than the mighty grizzly. She took her prize to her den and that night she had a dream; a dream were a massive bear with an unusually short, blunt muzzle and long legs lunged at her. She was alone and defenseless and thought she'd surely be killed, but as she ran she turned and looked at her attacker. She was stunned to see that the bear had turned away from her. He was so huge and powerful that killing her would have been simple, yet he found victory in chasing her away. The she-wolf was entranced by this and she began to watch the bears, until she felt that she had come to reach an understanding.
This she-wolf rose up and fought, not to kill the bears as her pack was, but to protect them from her own kin. She spoke of mercy and justice; it took many moons but she was able to make her pack see the truth; to see what she had saw. From that day the wolves looked to the bears as their teachers and were able to become stronger from it. They adopted their entire way of life to that of the bears; their fighting strategies, their beliefs, and even their methods to survive during harsh times.
They would fight with courage and strength, but in a battle their first strategy is to intimidate; for they've found that a frightened enemy may retreat and they could win a battle without any wounds, while at the same time if a battle does occur then their intimidated opponents won't hold as much confidence as before and their victory is almost guaranteed.
During harsh times, the wolves of this pack are not above scavanging; they have seen how the bear forage for food and they will resort to this in order to gain as much strength as they can so that they will be ready for more bountiful hunts. During these times a common saying can be heard: "Pride can't keep you alive." By resorting to these methods this pack has become humble and realistic thinkers; they are also typically well fit and healthy all year round because of this.
If some thought this pack is a push-over then they could easily lose thier life with that sort of thinking. This pack is not a force to be feared during peaceful times, however they show a fierce and terrifying power and drive when push comes to shove. If they feel threatened and they decide to attack, they will not hold back; there are times when it seems that nothing can stop them.
Though the pack is not particularly religious they do believe in earthbound ghosts and spirits to a minor extent and they believe that the spirit of the Stone Bear and she wolf, whom over time has come to be known as the Peacemaker lingers in the area and they believe that Stone Bear causes misfortune whilst Peacemaker causes fortune and that the two are always in a tug of war match over what will become. Because of this, the wolves keep the stone skull safe and cherish it, in an attempt to make up for their past mistakes to the Bear kind. They had already suffered a great tragedy once, after the bears were nearly destroyed...
At first their prey seemed to flourish and thrive, but then they quickly began to wither away; for there was too many of them for food to go around for all the prey. The wolves nearly died, but thankfully things began to balance out and a proper environment was established.
The BearSkull Pack does not particularly lean any way towards a 'good' or 'bad' status as that depends solely on the behavior of the current Alpha/s. Alphaship is attained only through bloodlines, but that is the only rank attainable through bloodline.

Read more: www.theblackmountainsaga.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=pmview&view=2&id=20#ixzz1prou4MPb

[Meoquanee]

Rituals and Traditions

The BearSkull pack really lacks in any specific Rituals or Traditions. Some may come and go with each Alpha's time, but they really have nothing concrete..yet. Perhaps someday a ritual or tradition set in place by one Alpha just may stick.

[Meoquanee]

Religion

Unlikethe other packs, BearSkull has a very minor Religion. They do not believe in major Spirits or Gods, but rather they believe simply in earthbound ghosts and spirits to a minor extent and they believe that the spirit of the Stone Bear and she wolf, whom over time has come to be known as the Peacemaker lingers in the area and they believe that Stone Bear causes misfortune whilst Peacemaker causes fortune and that the two are always in a tug of war match over what will become...an order of balance so to say.