Dragonriders of Pern manual
T H E D R A G O N R I D E R S O F
P E R N
Copyright 1987-1991 Everlasting Software
Based on the novels by Anne McCaffrey
IBM VERSION
The Dragonriders of Pern Series
Dragonflight
Dragonquest
Dragonsong
Dragonsinger
The White Dragon
Dragondrums
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
Nerilka's Story
Dragonsdawn
The Renegades of Pern
All the Weyrs of Pern
I N T R O D U C T I O N
RUKBAT, IN THE Saggitarian Sector, was a golden G-type star. It
had five planets, two asteroid belts, and a stray planet it had
attracted and held in recent millennia. When men first settled on
Rukbat's third world and called it Pern, they had taken little notice
of the strange planet swinging around its adopted primary in a wildly
erratic orbit. For two centuries, the colonists gave the bright Red
Star little thought. Until the path of the wanderer brought it close
to its stepsister at perihelion. When such aspects were harmonious
and not distorted by conjunctions with other planets in the system,
the indigenous life form of the wanderer planet sought to bridge the
space gap between its home and the more temperate and hospitable
planet. At those times, silver Threads dropped through Pern's skies,
destroying anything they touched. The initial losses the colonists
suffered were staggering. As a result, during the subsequent struggle
to survive and combat the menace, Pern's tenuous contact with the
mother planet was broken.
To control the incursions of the dreadful Threads -- for the
Pernese had cannibalized their transport ships early on and abandoned
such technological sophistication as was irrelevant to the pastoral
planet -- the more resourceful men embarked on a long-term plan. The
first phase involved breeding a highly specialized variety of
fire-lizard, a life-form indigenous to their new world. Men and women
with high empathy ratings and some innate telepathic ability were
trained to use and preserve these unusual animals. The dragons --
named for the mythical Terran beast they resembled -- had two valuable
characteristics: they could instantaneously travel from one place to
another, and, after chewing a phosphine-bearing rock, they could emit
a flaming gas. Because the dragons could fly, they could intercept
and char the Thread in midair before it reached the surface.
It took generations to develop to the fullest the potential of
the dragons. The second phase of the proposed defense against the
deadly incursions would take even longer. For Thread, a
space-traveling mycorrhizoid spore, devoured with mindless voracity
all organic matter and, once grounded, burrowed and proliferated with
terrifying speed. So a symbiote of the same strain was developed to
counter this parasite, and the resulting grub was introduced into the
soil of the Southern Continent. It was planned that the dragons would
be a visible protection, charring Thread while it was still skyborne
and protecting the dwellings and the livestock of the colonists. The
grub symbiote would protect vegetation by devouring what Thread
managed to evade the dragons' fire.
The originators of the two-stage defense did not allow, however,
for change or for hard geological fact. The Southern Continent,
though seemingly more attractive than the harsher northern land,
proved unstable. Before the colonists knew that had happened, one of
the mountains they had made their home close to erupted in a sudden,
gigantic blast, destroying the plateau colony in a rain of lava and
ash. As a result of the catastrophe, and because of other sismic
disturbances, the entire colony was forced to seek refuge from the
Threads on the continental shield rock of the north.
On the Northern Continent the original Fort, Fort Hold,
constructed on the eastern face of the Great West Mountain Range, was
soon outgrown by the colonists, and its capacious beasthold could not
contain the growing numbers of dragons. Another settlement was
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The Dragonriders of Pern
started slightly to the north, where a great lake had formed near a
cave-filled cliff. But Ruatha Hold, too, became overcrowded within a
few generations.
Since the Read Star rose in the east, the people of Pern decided
to establish a holding in the eastern mountains, provided a suitable
cavesite could be found. Only solid rock and metal, both of which
were in distressingly short supply on Pern, were impervious to the
burning score of Thread.
The winged, tailed, fire-breathing dragons had by then been
bread to a size that required more spacious accommodations than the
cliffside holds could provide. The cave-pocked cones of extinct
volcanoes, one high above the first Fort, the other in the Benden
Mountains, proved to be adequate and required only a few improvements
to be made habitable. However, such projects took the last of the
fuel for the great stone-cutters, which had been programmed for only
regular mining operations, not for wholesale cliff excavations.
Subsequent holds and Weyrs had to be hand-hewn.
The dragons and their riders in their high places and the people
in their cave holds went about their separate tasks, and each
developed habits that became custom, which solidified into tradition
as incontrovertible as law. And when a Fall of Thread was imminent --
when the Red Star was visible at dawn through the Star Stones erected
on the rim of each Weyr -- the dragons and their riders mobilized to
protect the people of Pern.
Then came an interval of two hundred Turns of the planet Pern
around its primary -- when the Red Star was at the far end of its
erratic orbit, a frozen, lonely captive. No Threads fell. The
inhabitants erased the signs of Thread depredation and grew crops,
planted orchards, and thought of reforestation for the slopes denuded
by Thread. They even managed to forget that they had once been in
great danger of extinction. Then, when the wandering planet returned,
the Threads fell again, bringing another fifty Turns of attack from
the skies. Once again the Pernese thanked their ancestors, now many
generations removed, for providing the dragons whose fiery breath
seared the falling Thread midair.
Dragonkind, too, had prospered during that Interval and had
settled in four other locations, following the master plan of interm
defense.
Recollections of Earth receded further from Pernese memory with
each generation, until knowledge of Mankind's origins degenerated into
a myth. The significance of the southern hemisphere -- and the
Instructions formulated by the colonial defenders of dragon and grub
-- became garbled and lost in the more immediate struggle to survive.
By the Fourth Pass of the Red Star, a complicated
Sociopolitical-economic structure had been developed to deal with the
recurrent evil. The six Weyrs, as the old volcanic habitations of the
dragonfolk were called, pledged themselves to protect Pern, each Weyr
having a geographical section of the Northern Continent literally
under its wing. The rest of the population agreed to tithe support to
the Weyrs since the dragonmen did not have arable land in their
volcanic homes, could not afford to take time away from nurturing
their dragons to learn other trades during peacetime, and could not
take time away from protecting the planet during Passes.
Settlements, called Holds, developed wherever natural caves were
found -- some, of course, more extensive or strategically placed than
others. It took a strong man to exercise control over terrified
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The Dragonriders of Pern
people during Thread attacks; it took wise administration to conserve
victuals when nothing could be grown, and it took extraordinary
measures to control the population and keep it productive and healthy
until such time as the menace passed.
Men with special skills in metalworking, weaving, animal
husbandry, farming, fishing, and mining formed crafthalls in each
large Hold and looked to one Mastercrafthall where the precepts of
their craft were taught and craft skills were preserved and guarded
from one generation to another. One Lord Holder could not deny the
products of the crafthall situated in his Hold to others, since Crafts
were deemed independent of Hold affiliation. Each Craftmaster owed
allegiance to the Master of his particular craft: The Master Craftsman
-- an elected office based on proficiency in the craft and on
administrative ability. The Master Craftsman was responsible for the
output of his halls and the distribution, fair and unprejudiced, of
all craft products on a planetary, rather than parochial basis.
Certain rights and privileges accrued to different leaders of
Holds and Masters of Crafts and, naturally, to the dragonriders whom
all Pern looked to for protection during Threadfalls.
It was within the Weyrs that the greatest social revolution took
place, for the needs of the dragons took priority over all other
considerations. Of the dragons, the gold and green were female, the
bronze, brown, and blue male. Of the female dragons, only the gold
was fertile, and subsequently the only colour to be ridden by female
riders; the greens were rendered sterile by the chewing of firestone,
which was just as well since the sexual proclivities of the small
greens would soon have resulted in overpopulation. The golds were the
most agile, however, and invaluable as fighters of Thread, fearless
and aggressive. But the price of fertility was inconvenience, and
riders of the golden queen dragons carried flamethrowers to char
Thread. In theory the great golden fertile queens were mated with
which ever dragon could catch them in their strenuous mating flights.
Generally speaking, the bronzes did the honour. Consequently the
rider of the bronze dragon who flew the senior queen of a Weyr became
its Leader and had charge of the fighting Wings during a Pass; the
rider of the senior queen having the charge of managing the Weyr
itself, making sure that it was fully stocked and that the dragons and
their riders were at their peak -- both during a Pass and its
subsequent Interval.
Over time, through man's natural curiosity, he began to
rediscover parts of his world that had long been forgotten. During
the Sixth Pass of the Red Star, the crew of the Windtoss, a ship from
Igen Hold, landed on the Southern Continent, bringing back a strange
feline they had discovered during their three day exploration of the
land. The feline proved to have been infected with a deadly plague,
however, and the Northern Continent suffered horrible losses before a
cure could be found. Because of the terrible disease, and in fear
that it could happen again, the Weyrleaders of Pern declared the
Southern Continent Off Limits and forbade all travel there. Memory of
the Southern Continent quickly receded from memory and was forgotten
again.
It was not until the Ninth Pass of the Red Star that the South
was rediscovered again. Because of the preceding Long Interval, the
dragon population had dwindled to an alarming level. So shortwinged
was the last surviving Weyr, that T'bor - rider of bronze Orth, and
Kylara - rider of gold Prideth; Benden Weyr, established Southern Weyr
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to breed the desperately needed dragons. Also, because of the growing
number of Holdless boys and to forestall blood duels for land to Hold,
the Lord Holders of Pern, under the guidance of the Weyrleaders,
allowed the Southern Continent to be colonized, and the first Hold,
Southern Hold, was established by Toric of Ista Hold.
During the Ninth Interval, life again returned to normal, saved
as always by the gallant dragonriders. Overpopulation was now a major
concern to the Lord Holders as the Northern Continent swelled under
the burgeoning population. The Weyrs, which once saw it prudent to
restrict access to the South, now opened the doors for free migration,
and the Southern Continent became filled with those looking for
adventure and the ruggedness of unexplored territory.
Now that man had settled the South, the dragonriders determined
that one Weyr alone could not protect such a vast amount of land. And
since the Pernese had discovered the original settlement of the
ancient colonists and had taken to Hold around the Two-Faced Mountain
-- the same mountain which once sent the newly-arrived colonists
scurrying for the protection of the North but was now long extinct --
the dragonmen had decided to establish a Weyr in the heart of their
old foe. After the core of the mountain had been cleared out, T'mos -
rider of bronze Anneth; Igen Weyr, and Jorem - rider of gold Demolth;
Fort Weyr, established Ancients' Plateau Weyr to protect the eastern
third of the Southern Continent from the deadly Passes of the Red
Star.
Today, as you enter the Tenth Pass of the Red Star, eight Weyrs
protect Rukbat's third world: Fort, Benden, High Reaches, Igen, Ista,
Telgar, Southern, and Ancients' Plateau. Your duty as a dragonrider
is as it always has been: to sear the ancient enemy from the skies
before it can suck the life's blood from your world. Not many can do
what you can, though many wish that one day they, too, could be taken
on Search for the chance of Impressing a young dragon and flying the
unfriendly skies, charring Thread midair upon the neck of a flaming
beast. And if, one day, your bronze dragon should fly the senior
queen, making you the Weyrleader, you must remember that it takes
courage, determination, strength, and the willingness to take risks to
keep your Weyr prosperous and ready -- as it always must be -- to
protect Pern.
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The Dragonriders of Pern
O V E R V I E W
(Old record hide dated 8.3.101 Ninth Interval - Ancients' Plateau
Weyr)
Greetings to you and your dragon.
I, T'mos of Ancients' Plateau Weyr, congratulate you. It is not
many who can become a dragonrider. It takes a strong spirit and a
certain purity therein for a dragon to choose to Impress you over
another. And even fewer can make it to the rank of Weyrleader as you
have. For such an accomplishment, you have my admiration. Whether
your proud beast has outflown his rivals in a mating flight or you are
Weyrleader-default does not matter. The gold dragon rank symbol is on
your collar, and you would not have it there if you did not deserve
it.
The challenges before you are great; more so if you are here
during a Pass. As one who was before you, I feel it is my duty to
pass on what I have learned to my worthy successors. May it bring you
good fortune and swift Wings.
As Weyrleader, you will have two primary duties. The first
should be obvious: duty to your Weyr. You must keep your dragonriders
at the peek of fitness, from their health to experience down to their
very morale. A dragonrider with a low morale is a poor dragonrider,
indeed. Keep Wing strength up. When a dragonrider dies (as surely he
will), be sure that the weyrling you replace him with has a
sufficiently high Training Level to allow him to take over the vacant
spot without a tremendous loss of experience points. And especially
don't allow gaps in your Wings. A Wing that is short one or two
dragonriders will have dangerously large holes for Thread to fall
through. And that must not be allowed at any cost!
Your second duty as Weyrleader is not so obvious, for there is
more to leading a Weyr than just being a good Threadfighter. You must
also be a good diplomat. Remember, your world does not end at the
boundaries of your Dragonweyr. There is a whole planet of people to
deal with. Lord Holders who tithe support to you (and even those who
do not), Weyrcraftsmen who directly assist your Weyr, Master Craftsmen
who lead your Weyrcraftsmen, and your Weyrleader counterparts will all
require your constant attention. Their opinion of you as Weyrleader
will tell you exactly how good of a job you are doing. If you do bad
in Threadfall, expect world opinion of you to be low. The opposite
will be true if your Threadfighting abilities are good. But this is
also where your negotiating skills will come in. Even if you fly
well, if you are personally a vile wretch, then the personalities will
still tend to see you in a dark light. And if that happens, then your
position as Weyrleader will be in dire jeopardy. And don't think
that, if you are here during an Interval, that negotiations will be
any easier. The Lord Holders and Craft Masters will feel that they
don't need you any longer, and keeping on their better side will be
even more difficult. Especially with the Lord Holders who must still
tithe to you (and who will resent it since they believe that they
don't need you -- after all, there is no menace in the sky).
The Weyrcraftsmen are not personalities to be negotiated with.
They are there to assist your Weyr. From helping to sustain morale to
protecting the very skin of your dragonriders, each functions
according to the best of his ability. And the ability of each is
determined by his rank. The higher his rank, the better the job he
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The Dragonriders of Pern
will do. But remember to keep their morale high, also. If your
Weyrcraftsman's morale is low, then he will not do as effective a job,
and word will get back to the Mastercrafthall and to the Master
Craftsman himself. So keep a sharp eye out on everybody.
Do not neglect you own Weyrwomen, however, for they ride the
golden queen dragons and are your assistants when it comes to Leading
the Weyr. You must do your best to remain in their favour; for they
will spread their opinion of you throughout the world as they go
visiting Hold and Craft.
Remember, though, that everything requires a sacrifice.
Negotiations and Weyrcraft duty requires the use of dragon Wings. And
if a dragonwing takes time out for one of these duties, they will not
be able to train/rest/recuperate or whatever. Will you sacrifice some
of your Wing's fatigue to change the opinion of a Lord Holder, or will
you allow him to keep his own while you prepare to fight Thread? The
choice is yours. Good flying!
May your Weyr prosper!
T'mos - rider of bronze Anneth
Weyrleader
Ancients' Plateau Weyr
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The Dragonriders of Pern
T H E P E O P L E O F P E R N
There are 166 different personalities you will have to deal with
directly during your tenure as Weyrleader. They are as follows:
DRAGONRIDERS - Characters 0 through 119
The army of Pern, these gallant men and women keep the Great
Scourge from destroying land and beast. Ancients' Plateau Weyr has
the capacity to accommodate 100 dragonriders and 20 Weyrlings
(dragonriders in training). The dragonriders are divided up into 10
Wings of 10 riders each (except for the weyrlings who are placed in
the single Weyrlings' Wing). Each Wing has one Wingleader and one
Wingsecond. The Wingleader is generally a bronze dragonrider because
of the bronze's longer staying power in a Fall, and the wingsecond can
be either a bronze or a brown. The rest of the Wing is made up of any
of the four colours of the dragons. (The gold queen dragons make up a
special Queen's Wing separate from the regular fighting Wings and are
not directly under the Weyrleader's control, but are rather the Senior
Weyrwoman's responsibility.) Although the Wingleader and/or
Wingsecond does not have to be their specified colours, you will
notice a decline in the performance of the Wing if you misassign a
dragon and his rider.
The Weyrleader is also a Wingleader; and except to the rider's
own imagination, there is no special significance on being assigned to
ride in the Weyrleader's Wing (Wing 0).
Threadfighting, negotiation, and Weyrcraft duty each require you
to use dragonriders in Wings. (ie. a Wing of dragons will negotiate
with Lord Crom Hold, three Wings of dragons will fight Thread at level
2, etc.)
Each dragonrider has four different attributes that a Weyrleader
must concern himself with. His morale will determine how well he will
work with Weyrcraftsmen and in negotiations. His fatigue tells you
how tired he is. Experience show just that - how good of a
Threadfighter he is. Finally, there is his health. The higher the
number, the better that attribute is. Numbers range from zero to
nine. (Weyrlings' training levels are from zero (untrained) to
ninety-nine (fully trained).
Along with a dragonrider, there is his dragon. The dragon has
but one attribute: his (or her) health. Dragons don't die as easily
as their riders, but there is more of them to injure.
Should a rider die, his dragon will immediately go Between,
unable to bear life without his weyrmate. Before, if a dragon died,
the rider usually continued life, but in a state of extreme
depression, lost in a pool of grief until death gave him relief.
Today, however, the rider will take his own life if his dragon should
die. There are no more unmatched pairs anymore. Know that if a
dragon or rider should die (except in Threadfall), the morale of the
entire Weyr will be affected.
You may also assign particular dragonriders certain duties.
Search, Weyrlingmaster, etc. are all done on an individual basis.
WEYRWOMEN - Characters 120 through 122
Ancients' Plateau Weyr is the home to three golden queen
dragons. The queens are responsible for propagating dragonkind, and
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The Dragonriders of Pern
the female riders of those dragons share the Leadership of the Weyr
with the Weyrleader.
The Senior Weyrwoman (denoted "Weyrwoman") is the Weyrleader's
counterpart. While the Weyrleader tends to the fighting Wings
directly and is the military part of the leadership, the Weyrwoman
sees to the domestic side of weyrlife. She is the organizer, healer,
liaison, mediator, and also the leader of the Queen's Wing during a
Fall. She is the rider of the oldest (senior) gold dragon, and the
rider of the bronze who flies her dragon in a mating flight becomes
Weyrleader.
The Junior weyrwomen (denoted "weyrwoman") are subordinate to
the senior Weyrwoman, and are essentially her tutorlings -- training
for the time when they will become Weyrleaders themselves when the
current Weyrwoman dies, retires, etc. Other than this, though, they
are superior to all other dragonmen in the Weyr except for the
Weyrleader himself.
Like the other Weyrleaders of Pern, the Weyrwomen have their own
opinions of Threadfall, dragons, violence, and you, the Weyrleader.
(See WEYRLEADERS for further explanation.) However, they are not
characters to be negotiated with. Their opinions of you can only be
changed by observing you in action, and by the cooperation they
receive from you. (Remember, they are your counterparts.) Your
cooperation comes in the form of the number of Weyrseconds
(assistants) you assign to them. The more dragonriders that you
assign this duty to, the better the Weyrwomens' opinion of you will
be.
It is a good idea to stay in favour with the Weyrwomen, for they
have a good deal more to do with the rest of Pern than you will have.
Remember that they Weyrwomen are the liaisons of your Weyr. When they
visit another Hold or Craft (or even another Weyr), their opinion of
you will directly and noticeably affect the opinion of whom they are
visiting. For good or bad. So treat your Weyrwomen with respect. To
do otherwise would be folly.
WEYRLEADERS - Characters 123 through 129
These are the leaders of the other seven Weyrs of Pern. In
order:
Fort
Benden
High Reaches
Igen
Ista
Telgar
Southern
Weyrleaders are characters to be negotiated with. Unlike the Lords
and Craftmasters, each Weyrleader take the same view of Threadfall,
violence, and dragons as the other. (See MASTER CRAFTSMEN for further
explanation.) Put into term of Lords, they "View Threadfall with
apprehension" since they don't like to see any of it burrow into the
ground. They of course fancy dragons, and, since they are
Weyrleaders, they tend toward moderation when it comes to violence,
and are honourable, trustworthy people.
Like the Lords and Craftmasters, they will either "hold you in
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The Dragonriders of Pern
very high regard", "respect you", be "indifferent toward you", "hold
you in disdain", or "despise you and the dragon you ride."
WEYRCRAFTSMEN - Characters 130 through 134
Each Weyrcraftsman is assigned to your Weyr by his particular
Master Craftsman and may be recalled at any time. There are five
different Weyrcraftsmen that are assigned to Ancients' Plateau Weyr
that you must be concerned with. They are:
Weyrsinger (Harper)
Weyrhealer
Weyrtanner
Weyrherder
Weyrminer
The Weyrsinger looks to the Master Harper and will help improve
the morale of your dragonriders.
The Weyrhealer is the of the Healer craft and will speed up the
recovery of injured riders. Dragons heal at their own rate and do not
depend on assistance from the Weyrhealer.
The Weyrtanner makes the dragonriding leathers your riders wear
into battle. The more experienced your Weyrtanner is, the better the
leathers he will make and the more they will protect your riders from
the score of Thread, thus shielding them from injury.
The Weyrherder comes from the Herder craft and tends the animals
tithed to the Weyr, keeping them healthy and fat until the time comes
for them to be slaughtered. The better the quality of the victuals,
the more energy your dragonriders will have, and thus the less
fatigued they will be.
Finally, there is the Weyrminer of the Miner craft. The
Weyrminer is responsible for acquiring firestone for the Weyr to use
during Threadfall. The dragons use this firestone to produce the
flame to sear Thread with. Obviously, the better the quality of
firestone the Weyrminer is able to procure, the better/longer/more
effective your dragon's flame will be. Only a Masterminer is able to
distinguish the best firestone from the second best, and the better
the firestone, the more likely it will be that you will catch that
clump of Thread about to burrow into the ground.
Although each craftsman will do his duty to the best of his
ability, it can at times be onerous work. Wouldn't it do his morale
the world of good if he, at times, had some help? Wouldn't it be even
better if that help came in the guise of dragonriders? You can boost
the morale of your Weyrcraftsmen by assigning a Wing of dragons
Weyrcraft duty to assist a Weyrcraftsmen. And a Weyrcraftsman with a
high morale will do a better job than one with a low morale and will
also report good things about your Weyr to his Master Craftsman. And
a Master Craftsman who has a good opinion of you will be more likely
to assign a higher ranking Weyrcraftman than one with a low opinion.
Leave it to say that requesting a better Weyrcraftsman requires two
things for approval to be given: a high morale on the Weyrcraftsman's
part and a good opinion of you on the part of the Master Craftsman.
Your Weyr will start out with Weyrcraftsmen of varying rank
ranging from Journeymen-apprentices to Masters.
Journeyman-apprentices will do an adequate job, but remember that they
are only a step above Apprentice Craftmen. Masters are the best of
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The Dragonriders of Pern
their craft and, of course, will be the most desirable for your Weyr.
MASTER CRAFTSMEN - Characters 135 though 139
These are characters to be negotiated with. Each personality
has five different attributes you will need to concern yourself with.
Four of them are how each views Threadfall, dragons, violence, and,
lastly, you. The fifth is the type of character the person is.
For Threadfall, there are some who take a light look and some
who are terrified of it. Those who take the latter view will react
more strongly should you let some Thread slip through your Wings, or,
conversely, will be more grateful if you keep it off the ground. In
order, each will...
- see Threadfall as an annoyance (weak)
- view Threadfall with apprehension
- dread Threadfall
- be horrified by Thread (strong)
When negotiating, you will be sending a Wing of dragons to do
the job. Each personality will take a different view of dragons also.
Of course, each will be in awe of the great beasts since they are
dependent on them for their very survival, but seeing a gigantic
dragon up close is far different from seeing them flying high in the
sky. When sending a Wing to negotiate, be sure to send one which will
do that particular personality justice. Don't send a Wing of hulking
bronzes to one who is terrified by dragons; likewise, don't send a
Wing of greens to insult a Lord who fancies dragons, either.
In order of preference...
- frightened by dragons (prefers greens)
- nervous around dragons (prefers blues)
- respects dragons (prefers browns)
- fancies dragons (prefers bronzes)
The average colour of your Wings will be used to determine how
well you did matching your Wing to the taste of your personality,
rounded down.
Violence is more aptly described as how one reacts to death. Of
course, during a Fall, you must expect some casualties. How many will
determine how each personality will react to you. A timid fellow will
react more strongly to death, while one who respects strength will
understand the need to sacrifice and not be so hard on you should you
lose a rider or two (or five). In order...
- timid fellow (reacts strongly)
- abhors violence
- tends toward moderation
- not afraid of strong action
- respects strength (amiable)
Also, you will need to know any special characteristics of the
personality. You will find most to be honourable people. However,
there are some who may tend to have the odd quirk. Each character can
have one of the following traits (with its appropriate
consequences)...
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The Dragonriders of Pern
- honourable, trustworthy person. (Most people fall into this
category)
- vile wretch. (A difficult person to say the least. Most
people loathe to even be in the same room with him. When negotiating,
he may react unpredictably. Negotiating Wings will be noticeably more
depressed after dealing with this type of personality than with
others.)
- steadfast in his beliefs. (More opinionated. Less likely to
change his mind.)
- has a tenancy to be undependable. (May react unpredictably
when negotiating.)
- well known for his generous spirit. (A great person to be
around. Negotiating Wings may actually leave with more morale than
they started out with.)
Lastly, there is how each personality regards you and the job
you are doing as Weyrleader. Strive to remain in as many people's
favour as possible, for without Pern's approval, you will not last
long in your position. In order, each will...
- despise you and the dragon you ride
- hold you in disdain
- be indifferent toward you
- respect you
- hold you in high regard
When negotiating, it is as important to send a Wing with a high
morale as well as one which will do the personality justice as to the
dragon colour (size). A Wing with low morale could do great damage
negotiations and turn the personality against you instead of for you.
Master Craftsmen have one more important attribute you must know
about. They are the ones who decide whether or not to assign a higher
ranking craftsman to your Weyr. If the Master thinks highly of you,
then the better the chance of your request being approved.
THE LORDS AND HOLDERS OF PERN - Characters 140 though 165
The Lord Holders and Holders of Pern are the ones who control the
economy. They own the land you defend and produce the food you eat.
They are also characters to be negotiated with. Although only seven
Holds are Weyrbound to you (look to you for protection), you must not
ignore the rest of the planet, for other Lords will try to influence
your seven -- for good or bad, depending on their opinion of you.
These characters also have the same five attributes that the Master
Craftsmen have that you must watch: Threadfall, dragons, violence,
personality type, and you. Know these when sending a Wing to
negotiate.
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L O A D I N G T H E G A M E
The Dragonriders of Pern requires an IBM or compatible computer.
A colour monitor is recommended. An Ad-Lib music card is also
supported for the title music.
It is recommended that you place The Dragonriders of Pern onto a
separate disk or into a separate sub-directory so the files won't get
confused with others.
Type PERN at the DOS command prompt to load the game.
When prompted, enter the name you wish to go by as Weyrleader.
Name must be no longer than eight characters and must be in the
correct dragonrider honourific. (Apostrophe in the second or third
position. ex. F'lar, Sh'gall, T'bor, etc.)
Next, enter the name of your dragon when prompted, allowing only
ten characters here. Correct dragon names end in "th". (ex.
Mnementh, Kadith, Orth, etc.)
Finally, enter the Turn at which you wish to start the game.
Time is referenced from the beginning of the Tenth Pass (0.0.0 Tenth
Pass). To begin at the beginning of the Tenth Pass, enter zero or
press . To begin at the beginning of the Tenth Interval,
enter fifty (as Pass lasts fifty Turns). To begin before the Tenth
Pass, enter a negative number. Range can be from -10 (0.0.190 Ninth
Interval) to 50 (0.0.0 Tenth Interval); fractions are allowed. Note
that the closer you begin to the beginning of the Tenth Pass (but
still in the Ninth Interval), the more difficult the game will be,
since your dragonriders will not be prepared to meet the impending
Fall of Thread.
After the game has quickly loaded some data, you will be
prompted to press . Do so, and you will begin on the date
specified at Ancients' Plateau Weyr.
NOTE: If you wish to resume a previously saved game, simply type
"RELOAD" when prompted for your dragonrider name, and game play will
continue from where you left off after your game data has been loaded.
To end a game session, you may hit - to end the
game immediately, or, alternately, press the key. Pressing
the key will quote you a ballad from the Harper Hall before
exiting the program.
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C O M M A N D I N G T H E W E Y R
The following commands will allow you to interact with or find
out about the people of Pern:
COMMAND 1 - CHARACTER PROFILE
Entering a character number from 0 to 165 will give you a
profile of the character you have chosen. (Whenever you see the
prompt "ENTER A CHARACTER NUMBER OR FOR LIST:", you have the
option of entering "999" to abort whatever you are doing and return to
the main menu.) There are four different types of personalities, each
generating a different profile.
- Dragonriders (Characters 0 through 99)
Command 1 will give all the vital statistics of the dragonrider
chosen. Name, dragon name and colour, rank (wingrider, Wingsecond,
Wingleader, Weyrleader), current status of dragon and rider (on
Search, Active, Weyrlingmaster, weyred, etc.), and the current level
of the dragon's and rider's attributes (morale, fatigue, experience,
health, dragon health).
- Weyrlings (Characters 100 through 119)
Your Weyr has the capacity to hold twenty Weyrlings, but that
does not necessarily mean that you will have that many. Weyrlings are
reported as name, dragon name and colour, and current dragon and rider
status. For attributes, the rider has but three: morale, training
level and health. Morale and heath is as the dragonriders: 0 through
9. Training level is 0 through 99; the latter being fully trained.
Dragon health is also reported here.
For rider status, in addition to weyred, will also be reported
as "In training" for weyrlings with a Training Level less then 99, and
"Active" for fully trained graduates.
- Weyrcraftsmen (Characters 130 through 134)
Weyrcraftsmen are reported as name and rank
(Journeyman-apprentice, Journeyman-C, Journeyman-B, Journeyman-A,
Master), and their morale. Morale is their only attribute that you
need concern yourself with.
- Weyrwomen, Weyrleaders, Master Craftsmen, Lords, and Holders
(Characters 120 through 129 and characters 135 through 165)
Except for the Weyrwomen, these are the people you will need to
negotiate with; therefore, a profile of them will produce their name
and rank (Weyrwomen and Weyrleaders will also have dragon name and
colour), and their views towards Threadfall, dragons, violence, and
you. Their particular personality trait will also be listed here.
(Both Weyrwomen and Weyrleaders will only have their opinion of you
listed here, since all Weyrleaders feel the same way toward Thread,
dragons, and violence as well as all being honourable, trustworthy
people. Weyrwomen will also have their health and dragon health
listed.)
COMMAND 2 - DRAGONWING PROFILE
This command will report the current, average attributes of
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entire Wings, Each Wing will be listed by Wingleader and their
attributes under the following categories:
MOR - Morale
FAT - Fatigue
EXP - Experience
HEL - Health
DGH - Dragon Health
This is useful when deciding which Wing to send on negotiations,
or whenever you need to examine Wings or the Weyr as a whole. This is
the same report that will be generated during Threadfall.
COMMAND 3 - TRANSFER DRAGONRIDER
Use this command when you wish to reorganize your Wings into
more efficient fighting/negotiating units.
You may transfer any dragonrider to any position with the
following exceptions:
- You may not transfer the Weyrleader.
- You may not transfer a Weyrling to rank status (to Wingsecond
or Wingleader position).
- You may not transfer someone into the Weyrlings' Wing.
- You may not transfer someone within the Weyrlings' Wing.
There are no Weyrling Wingleaders or Wingseconds.
- You may not transfer a wingrider in a Wing to another
wingrider position in the same Wing. (Such transfers produce no
effect, therefore are not allowed.)
To transfer someone, enter their character number. You will see
[Name] - rider of [colour] [dragon name]
to
Now enter the destination character number. The character will
then be transferred to the new position, juxtaposing him with any
character that happened to be in the new position.
For example: to transfer T'bef (character 54) with D'sal
(character 51) -
Enter 54 at the first prompt. Computer responds
T'bef - rider of brown Bilogoth
Wingrider to A'bosh
to
Next, enter 51. Now you will see
to Wingsecond to A'bosh
transferring D'sal.
Transfer results in rank change.
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The Dragonriders of Pern
Note that whenever you transfer someone, experience will be
affected. If it is a Wing to Wing transfer, the character will be in
a Wing in which he is not (or no longer) familiar with, so expect a
slight decline in this attribute. If it is a promotion, experience
will go down because the character is in a more difficult position.
Conversely, demotion will increase experience. Promotion and demotion
will also affect morale, with promotion increasing the attribute and
demotion decreasing it.
Transferring a weyrling to a wingrider position is a promotion.
COMMAND 4 - ASSIGN DRAGONRIDER
This command will individually assign a dragonrider a specific
kind of duty. You may also ask for a detailed individual Wing profile
or request a Weyr detail based on rider attributes or status. Issue a
duty from the submenu and then choose which character you wish to
assign the duty to.
Weyrlings can only be weyred, grounded, or returned to active
duty.
Except where noted, assigning a dragonrider a duty will not
exclude him from negotiations, Weyrcraft duty, or Threadfall.
Subcommand 0 - Active duty
The standard mode for all dragonriders.
Subcommand 1 - Weyrsecond
Weyrsecond is a relatively new duty to the Weyrs, begun during
the last Interval for reasons which will be discussed. You will
assign Weyrsecond to the dragonrider(s) whom you wish to assist the
Weyrwomen. This is much the same as assigning a Wing to Weyrcraft
duty, except that the morale of the dragonrider does not affect how
well he will perform his job and how it affects the opinion of the
Weyrwomen he is assisting.
Basically, the more Weyrseconds that are assisting the
Weyrwomen, the better the Weyrwomens' opinion will be of you. This is
the only way of changing the Weyrwomens' opinion of you directly.
Such duty, however, can affect the fatigue and morale of your
dragonriders, so use only those who are rested.
The duty of Weyrsecond came about after Ancients' Plateau Weyr
was established. The Weyr was such a large one that it became obvious
that the Weyrwomen, who oversee the well-being of the Weyr, were
simply overwhelmed by the magnitude of the responsibilities involved.
A Weyrsecond will assist the Weyrwomen with her duties, lightening her
workload so she can spend more time tending other needs (healing,
collecting tithes, diplomatic duties, etc.). By not assigning
Weyrseconds, the message you are sending is that you feel that the
Weyrwomen are unimportant, and that is far from the truth, indeed.
Subcommand 2 - Watchrider
This command stations a dragonrider to, literally, watch for
Thread. When a Watchrider sees Thread approaching, the Weyr is
mobilized and meets Thread in the sky before it can reach the ground
and destroy the land. The more warning a Weyr can get of approaching
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The Dragonriders of Pern
Thread, the more ready is can be to meet and effectively destroy it.
The more Watchriders a Weyr has, the better the chance of meeting
Thread prepared (as opposed to "unprepared"). An unprepared Weyr will
have a more difficult time coping with Threadfall.
Being a Watchrider requires discipline. Long hours are spent
alone watching the sky for signs of Thread. Such duty, although no
actual manual labour is involved, is a drain on fatigue.
Subcommand 3 - Weyrlingmaster
A Weyrlingmaster is the trainer of the Weyrlings. To be a
Weyrlingmaster requires the same effort as being a teacher, such that
fatigue and morale are affected. Although it is an honour to teach
future dragonriders, it can be very taxing (and sometimes
exasperating).
The more Weyrlingmasters you assign, the faster your Weyrlings
will be trained, and the more their morale will improve. Small
classes taught by many teachers are much better than a large class
taught by one.
Subcommand 4 - On Search
Whenever a clutch of dragon eggs sits hardening on the Hatching
Ground sands, dragonriders begin the task of scouring the lands,
looking for suitable candidates to present to the baby dragonetts when
they Hatch. Such a task is called a Search.
When Searching, the dragonrider and his dragon look for
prospective candidates who have that special something that will make
them dragonrider material. That something could be personality or
spirit. To this day it is a mystery why dragons choose who they do.
Sometimes, a candidate who looks weak and easily dominated is chosen
while a strong boy in mind and spirit is left standing on the Grounds
Hatching Day. Despite this, Hold and Craft boys are eager to be taken
on Search, since Weyr life is easier than what the rest of Pern has to
offer, and at least to be chosen for Search is considered a great
honour.
The object of a Search is to present to the hatchlings as many
candidates as possible to allow them as wide a choice as possible.
Naturally, this will require a good number of dragonriders to do the
Searching. When selecting which dragons and riders to send on a
Search, remember that brown dragons are better at Searching than their
contemporaries. They seem to bring in candidates at a 2:1 ratio,
allowing a better selection come Hatching Day.
Searching is taxing on the fatigue, though, so send only those
who are well rested.
Subcommand 5 - Off duty
Weyrlife is generally easier compared to Hold and Craft life.
The dragonriders themselves have it the best. Manual labour such as
tilling fields and carving holds is unheard of. But there are
different strains on the dragonfolk. They must be ever ready to
protect pern and keep it safe. Nonetheless, a break from such duty
every once in a while can do wonders for low morale. But you must be
careful. Off duty dragonriders do tend to carry on a bit, and can
actually fatigue themselves while out on the countryside seen how far
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The Dragonriders of Pern
their dragon can fly at a time, exploring (holds or women), etc.
Experience can also suffer since off duty dragonriders do not spend
time in training exercises. And occasionally, and injury or two can
bring down health in some of the more aggressive riders.
Subcommand 6 - Restrict to Weyr
Use this to order a tired dragonrider to stay within the Weyr
proper whenever possible. No flying off to wherever. Fatigue must
be regained. Such confinement, however, is telling on the morale and
experience.
Subcommand 7 - Extra training
Some dragonriders will lose experience for a variety of reasons,
or newly commissioned weyrlings will be low on such. When this
happens, extra training may be in order. But the strain will affect
fatigue, so the wise Weyrleader will know when to assign this duty and
when to allow regular training to make up the difference.
Subcommand 8 - Restrict to weyr
Not to be confused with Subcommand 6, a "Weyr" is the Dragonweyr
proper, while a "weyr" is the home, as it were, of the rider and
dragon themselves. To weyr a rider is to restrict him to his room.
Do this when the rider's health is failing, especially when he is near
death. However, such a restriction will diminish morale, fatigue (it
is actually tiring to be bedridden), and experience (weyred
dragonriders can not spend time training).
Weyred riders can not take part in negotiation, Weyrcraft duty,
or Threadfall, and they will not be counted in Wing Profiles.
Subcommand 9 - Ground dragon
This command will weyr a dragon for the same reasons you would
weyr a rider. However, the rider is still up and about (unless you
weyr him also). But since the dragon is confined, a rider's morale
and experience is hindered.
The riders of weyred dragons can not take part in negotiation,
Weyrcraft duty, of Threadfall, and they will not be counted in Wing
Profiles.
Subcommand 10 - Return dragon to active duty
Same as Subcommand 0 for riders, this will return a dragon to
regular duties.
Subcommand 11 - Wing profile
This is the same as Command 2 from the main menu, except that
instead of profiling the entire Weyr, you will choose a specific Wing
to detail. Each rider in the Wing will be listed along with his
morale, fatigue, experience, health, dragon health, and his status (as
seen on the Command 4 submenu ) under the heading "S". Bronze and
brown riders will also be identified by an asterisk or plus in front
of their names, respectively.
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You will identify the Wing to be detailed by the character
number of the Wingleader. (Character 20 to detail Wing 2.) This will
work even if there is no Wingleader for that particular Wing.
To detail the Weyrlings' Wing, enter character number 100.
Subcommand 12 - Detail by attribute
With this command, you can detail your characters based on their
particular attributes or their status. This can be especially useful
for quickly identifying deficient attributes in riders and dragons.
If you wish to detail by attribute (morale, fatigue, experience,
health, or dragon health), then you may enter the parameters you wish
to search for. For example, you may detail any dragonrider who has an
experience level of less than 5, greater than 3, or equal to 9, etc.
Note that parameters of less than zero or greater than nine are not
allowed.
If you wish to detail by status, simply enter the status number
as your parameter and any dragonrider with a matching status will be
detailed.
Subcommand 13 - Return
Returns you to the main menu.
COMMAND 5 - DELEGATE WINGS
Use this command to send a Wing of dragons to negotiate with the
leaders of Pern, or to work with the Weyrcraft. Both negotiating and
Weyrcraft duty are taxing on the mind and body, so whenever such duty
is completed, you will note a decrease in morale and fatigue. Also
know that when negotiating or on Weyrcraft duty, Wings will not be
engaged in regular training exercises, so experience will also be
affected.
Dragonriders who are negotiating or on Weyrcraft duty will be
noted in the Character Profile by stating that they are "Negotiating
with"or "Assigned to" followed by the character's name.
When sending a Wing out of the Weyr, note that the morale of the
Wingleader and Wingsecond will have an influence on the average morale
of the entire Wing. The better the morale of the two leaders, the
better the overall average of the Wing itself. High morales here can
make up for deficiencies or aggravate the morale of the entire Wing.
Subcommand 1 - Negotiate individually / Assign to Weyrcraft
This is the option used to send a Wing to negotiate with
Weyrleaders, Master Craftsmen, or (Lord) Holders; or to assign a Wing
to Weyrcraft duty.
When negotiating, what you are trying to do is show the
character whom you are negotiating with is that you, the Weyrleader,
is worthy of their respect. This is the ultimate goal of any
negotiation. The better the general opinion of Pern is about you, the
more secure you are in your own position. Negotiating is one way to
boost someone's opinion.
For Weyrcraft duty, your goal is to bolster the morale of the
Weyrcraftsman whom you assigned the dragonwing to so they will be able
to do a better job in their craft for your Weyr.
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NEGOTIATIONS
When negotiating, it is a must to send a Wing with a high
morale; the better the morale, the better the job they will do at the
negotiating table. Also, try to match the Wing size to the particular
taste of the personality you are dealing with. People who are afraid
of dragons may not think kindly of a Weyrleader who sends a Wing of
hulking bronzes to his doorstep. He might think you are trying to
intimidate him. Also, do not insult someone who fancies dragons by
sending a Wing of puny greens. As Weyrleader, you know the value of
"puny" greens, but you can not expect such wisdom from non-Weyrfolk.
By sending a Wing of the correct average colour (ie. a bronze and a
blue will make a brown) and good morale, successful negotiations are
almost assured.
There are five possible outcomes to negotiations:
- disastrous (worst case)
- difficult
- productive
- successful
- highly successful (best case)
Depending on the outcome of negotiation, the character will alter (or
not) his opinion of you. The better the outcome, the better the
chance that his opinion will improve (though that is not always the
case). Likewise, the worse off the negotiations came, the better the
chance that he will lower his opinion of you. (Again, not all the
time.)
WEYRCRAFT DUTY
Although Weyrlife is easier, Weyrcraftsmen still find help
necessary at times. Especially when morale is low. It would be a
great boost to morale if that help came in the guise of dragonriders!
Be sure to assign a Wing with high morale (dragon colour does not make
a difference). Dragonriders with low morale are no help at all, and
the better the help, the better the job the weyrcraftsman will do, and
the better the report that Weyrcraftsman will make to his Master when
transfers come (See Command 6 - Request Crafthall).
* * *
First, select whom you wish to negotiate with / assign a Wing
to. Then choose which Wing you wish to do the duty. Wings are
designated by Wingleader and can not be the Weyrlings' Wing.
You will be informed when negotiations / Weyrcraft duty is
complete.
You may not delegate Wings which are too fatigued.
Except during the Ninth Interval, you may not delegate Wings
which are too inexperienced.
Subcommand 2 - Recall Wing
This command will recall a Wing who is either negotiating or
assigned Weyrcraft duty back to the Dragonweyr.
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Subcommand 3 - Cancel
Aborts command and returns you to the main menu.
COMMAND 6 - REQUEST CRAFTHALL
Use command 6 to request a particular Master Craftsman to
replace his particular Weyrcraftsman with a higher ranking craftsman.
In simpler language: "Ask (say) the Master Harper to replace the
Journeyman-apprentice Weyrsinger with a Journeyman-C Weyrsinger."
However, this command can be used to request any of the Crafthalls to
replace their Weyrcraftsman.
Prerequisites for transfer approval: a high morale on the part
of the Weyrcraftsman and a high opinion of you, the Weyrleader, by the
Master Craftsman. Based on the Weyrcraftsman's opinion of you and his
opinion, the Master Craftsman will decide whether or not to approve
your request for a higher ranking Craftsman or not.
Note that you can not request the replacement of a
Mastercraftsman. That is as high as the ranks go. To be a Master of
a Craft is to be as best as can be. (Note also the difference between
a Mastercraftsman and the Master Craftsman. The Master Craftsman is
the "Leader" of the Craft, elected from amoung the Mastercraftsmen.)
Should a request be denied, the morale of the Weyrcraftsman will
decline, knowing that you did not feel that he was adequate enough for
the job.
Whenever you make a request of this sort, the Master Craftsman
may change his opinion of you, feeling that you are taking advantage
of him and his Hall. Do not be surprised is the Master who once held
you in high regard, after approving a request for transfer, now is
only indifferent toward you. When this happens, you must negotiate
with him again or alter his opinion in some other way.
COMMAND 7 - WEYR COMMAND
A general command given to the entire Weyr. Each of the
subcommands (except for Subcommand 4) will affect a different
attribute of the dragonriders. Use this command only when absolutely
necessary, though, for you will always lose more than you gain.
Subcommand 1 - Weyr Gather
A Gather is like a fair, where all the people gather together
for festivities, games, and the buying and selling of goods. To call
a Weyr Gather is to have a Gather at the Dragonweyr itself. (In times
past, Gathers were only held at Holds.)
A Gather will do wonders for battered morale, but it can be
extremely tiring, and the aggressive dragonrider can occasionally
injure himself with too much indulgence. You will note a decline in
fatigue and health.
Subcommand 2 - Rest Day
This has exactly the same effect as Subcommand 6 in Command 4.
You are essentially restricting all dragonriders to the Weyr Proper
for rest to regain spent fatigue. But like Subcommand 6 in Command 4,
such a restriction will depress morale and experience. Nobody likes
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The Dragonriders of Pern
to be cooped up with nothing to do, and even rudimentary training is
halted for the day.
Subcommand 3 - Spring Games
The Spring Games are of particular benefit during an Interval.
It is when the entire Weyr gathers together in the sky and practices
Threadfighting techniques as a whole; testing old tactics and trying
out new ones. It kept the Weyr battle ready at all times. Even
during and Interval it is important if you expect to pass on valuable
experience to the next generation who may have to fight real Thread
with only the Spring Games as any true practice. During a Pass, the
Spring Games are used mostly to quickly boost flagging experience
which has lapsed for any number of reasons (an influx of Weyrlings to
dragonrider status, too many dragonriders coming from furlough, etc.).
Spring Games will improve the general experience of your Weyr,
but the games are strenuous at best. Overall fatigue will take a
beating, as will morale, since drill is always dull and boring.
Occasionally, health will diminish since firestone is used and riders
and dragons can be singed sometimes.
Subcommand 4 - Cancel
Do nothing and return to the main menu.
COMMAND 8 - DRAGONRIDER CONCLAVE
See Events on Pern - Dragonrider Conclave for full description
of the Dragonrider Conclave.
This will allow you to call a special Dragonrider Conclave.
You, yourself, will host the Conclave and choose the agenda. But
remember that, by calling a special Dragonrider Conclave, you are
admitting that you are not handling the situation well and that things
are deteriorating. The world of Pern will see this in a dim light,
and opinions of you by the Characters will drop. Like Command 7, use
this one sparingly.
COMMAND 9 - SAVE GAME (NOT LISTED)
Saves the game currently in progress to the current drive and
subdirectory. When prompted, choose which slot you wish to save the
game under. Slots are labeled from A to Z.
If you choose this command by accident, pressing by
itself will take you back to the main menu.
COMMAND 10 - LOAD GAME (NOT LISTED)
Loads a previously saved game from the current drive and
subdirectory. When prompted, choose which slot you wish to load the
game from. Slots are labeled from A to Z. Once the game data has
loaded, play will resume from where you left off the last time you
saved that particular session of The Dragonriders of Pern.
If you choose this command by accident, pressing by
itself will take you back to the main menu.
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The Dragonriders of Pern
E V E N T S O N P E R N
As you go about your routines as Weyrleader, time continues to
flow, and things will happen around you. Here is a list of what might
occur during your tenure as Weyrleader.
PASSES AND INTERVALS
The Pass of the Red Star lasts approximately fifty Turns.
During that time, Threads fall to threaten all life on Pern, and the
populace turns to the dragonriders for protection. But a Pass does
not last forever. Soon, an Interval comes, and the hearts of the once
grateful Lords and Masters sour. They will no longer need your
protection from the Threads and they will feel that you are becoming a
burden and a nuisance. After all, even though the Pass is over, they
must still tithe to the Weyr that they are bound to. Why should they
tithe to dragonriders who no longer protect them?
You will find that opinions of you will change for the worse,
and that negotiations will become more and more difficult. Even your
Weyrleader counterparts will retreat to the solitude of their Weyrs.
Keeping the opinion of Pern will not be easy.
WEYRCRAFTSMAN RECALL
Every once in a while, a Master Craftsman will recall from your
Weyr the craftsman assigned to you and replace him with another of
varying rank. This is not done out of anger or revenge. Masters
assign and recall for their own reasons and we dragonmen do not
question their wisdom, for they do not question ours. We must put up
with their whims and, when someone is recalled, do our best to cope
with the new situation.
The lowest ranking craftsman you can have assigned to you is
Journeyman-apprentice, for Apprentices of any rank are not allowed to
Journey.
SICKNESS AND PLAGUE
Although Weyrfolk generally take better care of themselves, even
the most hardy of dragonriders can become ill. You will know if this
happens only by seeing a radical decline in a rider's health. Other
than by chance, you will not be informed when a single rider gets
sick.
Sometimes, however, the entire Weyr will be stricken by a
plague. The Weyrhealer will inform you when this happens. Should
this event occur, note that a radical decline in everyones' health
will take place. Like Thread injuries and such, only time will
eventually cure this illness.
THREADFALL
The scourge of Pern, Thread falls less on the Southern Continent
than it does in the North. Instead of an attack every sixteen hours,
during the worst of a Pass you can expect Thread every few days.
Although Thread falls in an East-West manner, Threadfall will be
identified as attacking a particular Hold. Whenever and wherever it
falls, though, you MUST be ready to meet it -- no matter how tired,
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The Dragonriders of Pern
routed, inexperienced, unprepared, or injured you may be.
For complete details on how to command your Weyr during
Threadfall, see Threadfighting: Tactics and Organization.
CLUTCHING AND THE HATCHING
To "Clutch" is to lay eggs in draconic terms. Whenever the
queen dragon clutches, she is laying her eggs in the Hatching Grounds.
About fifteen days later, they will Hatch. After a Clutch is laid, it
is a good time to begin Searching for candidates for those eggs.
When a Hatching occurs, all the candidates collected on Search
gather around the eggs and wait for them to Hatch. Hatching will
happen all at once, and the baby dragons will look around the
candidates for the one whom they wish to Impress, or become their
symbiotic partner for life. In times past, every dragonet found his
or her partner from amoung the presented candidates. Not so now. Now
that the dragons have reached their full stage of development, the
hatchlings have become more choosy about whom they Impress. In order
to further improve the breed, hatchlings who can not find a suitable
match will choose death rather than partnering with an inadequate
candidate. Such deaths are frequent (about fifty percent of a clutch
goes unpaired) and are unpleasant to watch, but it is necessary so
that only the cream of the crop go on the become dragonriders, and
such deaths do not tell on the morale to a noticeable extent.
The morale of the new Weyrlings is variable since they tend to
take on the personality of the dragon they have Impressed. Training
Level always starts at zero.
If you should be fortunate enough to have a queen egg laid, it
will be the last to Hatch. When it does, the hum of the dragons will
increase to an almost intolerable pitch, welcoming the new queen into
the world. The candidates for the queen egg are always girls, and
when the candidate it chosen, she becomes a weyrwoman. Whomever Hold
the chosen candidate comes from will almost always change his opinion
of you, the Weyrleader, for the better, for it is an honour of the
highest to have someone from your Hold so chosen.
DRAGONRIDER CONCLAVE
A Dragonrider Conclave is a meeting of the minds. All the
Weyrleaders of Pern gather together at the hosting Weyr to discuss
means of improving Threadfighting tactics and other topics of
importance. This gathering occurs roughly two times a Turn, but can
be called for specially by one Weyrleader.
As a rule of thumb, there are three main topics covered at the
Conclaves: how to improve...
- Morale
- Fatigue
- Experience
When it is your turn to choose the topic, indicate which one you wish
to cover by entering a 1 for morale, 2 for fatigue, or 3 for
experience. If it is not your turn to choose, an agenda will be
chosen by another Weyrleader.
Information you gain at the Conclaves will be put to use at your
Weyr to improve that attribute which was discussed. The amount of
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The Dragonriders of Pern
practical information you garner, however, will depend directly on how
each of the Weyrleaders feel about you. Naturally, a Weyrleader who
likes you will be more apt to help you improve your Weyr than one who
does not. Therefore, it is a good idea to stay on the good side of
the other Weyrleaders of Pern.
LORD HOLDER CONCLAVE
This is the same as a Dragonrider Conclave, except that the
Lords and Holders of Pern meet. Weyrleaders are excluded from such
meetings and its agenda will not concern you save one part.
During a Lord Holder Conclave, the Lords and Holders tend to
discuss their Weyrleaders with one another and try to influence their
opinions on their counterparts. If a majority of the personalities
dislike you, they will try to influence those who do to think
otherwise. Be wary to changes of opinions about you after a Lord
Holder Conclave.
DEATH
From time to time, a personality, whether dragonrider of
commoner, will sicken and die. This may be from disease or natural
causes. But whatever the case, any death amoung the personalities is
important. Sometimes the death is sudden. Sometimes not. Dragons or
their riders who have low health are in danger of such. Ordering them
to weyr can help, but not all the time. They can, however, also die
quickly, allowing you no time to react. You will be informed when any
personality dies.
When a dragonrider or his dragon dies, his (or her) partner will
take his own life (rider by ritual suicide; dragon by going Between).
If this death occurs at any time other than Threadfall, the morale of
the entire Weyr will be affected. To see your comrade-in-arms die is
most distressing, indeed.
Should any of the other personalities die, he will be replaced
by a successor almost immediately. If it was a Lord Holder who
succumbed, a Lord Holder Conclave will be held to decide who will be
made the new Lord Holder. (The Conclave of Lords has final say over
who will succeed the late Lord from amoung the deceased's sons. Such
duty does not automatically fall upon the firstborn or next-of-kin.)
Master Craftsmen are simply elected from amoung the Masters of the
Craft. Minor Holders are appointed by the Lords. You will almost
always find that the new personality will think differently from his
predecessor, and re-negotiations may be necessary.
VISITING DELEGATIONS
Every once in a while, a visiting delegation from a Hold, Hall,
or Weyr will make the trip to your Dragonweyr. At this time, you are
honourbound to host them, and it provides an excellent opportunity for
a quick negotiation. However, you must quickly decide who's Wing you
wish to host the delegation without the aid of character or Wing
profiles. It is the wise Weyrleader who knows the attributes of his
Wings by memory rather than having to look them up each time he need
to find out.
Sometimes, however, the visiting delegation will specifically
request an audience with you, the Weyrleader. At this time, you will
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The Dragonriders of Pern
have no choice but to host them yourself, regardless of how morally
depressed you are or whether or not your Wing matches the taste of the
particular visitor.
Once negotiations are complete, you will be informed of the
outcome in the same manner as if you had instigated them yourself.
If a Wing already assigned out of the Weyr is called upon to
host a visiting delegation, they will abandon their original duty and
return to the Weyr to host. You will need to redelegate a Wing to
fulfil the hosting Wing's original duty.
As part of their function, Weyrwomen are also the liaisons of
your Weyr to the outside world. As that, they will go from Hold to
Hall to Weyr, spreading their opinions of you to those whom they
visit. It is therefore highly recommended to stay in good standing
with your Weyrwomen, for they can greatly influence opinion. You will
want to recheck the opinion of a personality after they receive a
visit from a Weyrwoman.
DECELERATIONS
If a personality feels strongly enough in his opinion of
someone, he may make a deceleration of such. It is not uncommon for
his peers to take such announcements to heart, therefore when one is
made about you, you will note a shift in opinions. If someone lauds
you, then it will be for the better. If it is a denouncement, then
the opposite is true.
Any Holder or Craft Master can make such a deceleration, so you
must try to stay in the good graces of as many people as you can.
MATING FLIGHTS
All female dragons of a Weyr fly to mate (mating is done
on-the-wing), but we are only concerned with the mating flight of the
senior queen dragon, since the outcome of this flight will determine
who shall lead the Weyr.
It has been long standing tradition that whoever's dragon flew
the senior queen during a mating flight would become Weyrleader. How
one's leadership ability correlated to the flying strength of his
dragon is a mystery, but ever since the first dragon was shelled, this
has been the way it was done, and it always seemed to work. Weak
Weyrleaders were always replaced during a mating flight, and a
suitably strong dragonrider was promoted after his dragon (always
bronze, though there is no restriction on other dragon colours trying)
invariable flew the queen. The dragons seem to know who is best, and
we do not question their wisdom, either.
The first sign of an impending flight is that the queen will
blood her kill. Instead of eating the flesh of her victims, she will
only suck the blood out so she may fly high. The longer the flight,
the larger the clutch is. Next, the bronzes will blood their kill.
Once the queen has blooded enough so that her golden skin begins to
glow, she is off.
The dragons fly further off into the distance. The hum of the
remaining dragons increases to an almost intolerable pitch. Then,
suddenly, silence. The dreadful pause. The queen has been caught.
By...
The outcome of the flight determines who will be Weyrleader.
Whomever's bronze flies the queen will get (or continue) that duty.
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The Dragonriders of Pern
If the mating flight at another Weyr results in a change of
Weyrleaders, you will be informed, and re-negotiations may be
necessary.
If the flight is at Ancients' Plateau Weyr, you will be given a
score after the queen has been caught based on the opinions of you of
the personalities of Pern. 138 is best score. People who have
exceptionally low opinions of you are counted as a negative. Along
with your score will be the number of Turns you have completed as
Weyrleader.
The better your score, the more of a chance you have of your
bronze flying the queen. But remember that even if you have an
exceptionally high score, someone's beast may still outfly yours. You
may be a good Weyrleader, but that other rider may be a better one!
Only a score greater than 129 will insure your continued position as
Weyrleader. And such a score, however, is difficult to attain at
best!
If your beast has flown the queen, play will continue. If not,
the game is over. Good flying!
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The Dragonriders of Pern
T H R E A D F I G H T I N G : T A C T I C S A N D
O R G A N I Z A T I O N
Thread - mycorrhiziod spores from the Red Star, which descend on Pern
and burrow into it, devouring all organic material they encounter.
At dawn, when the Red Star is bracketed between the Star Stones
situated on the rim of each Weyr on Pern, a Pass has begun and
Threadfall is imminent. Dragonmen must fly, when Threads are in the
sky. So, too, must you be ready when Thread falls on the Holds
Weyrbound to you.
For Ancients' Plateau Weyr, your weyrbound territory extends
from Mineshaft Lake by the Western Barrier Range, through the
Two-Faced Mountain (Ancients' Plateau Weyr), and up the Great River to
Cove Hold and Harper Peninsula. Those Holds you are directly
responsible for are Ancients' Plateau, Meadow, Cove, Mineshaft,
Paradise River, Lost, and Palisade, as well as innumerable small
Holdings and Cotholds. Although Thread falls in an east-east pattern,
Holds here in the South have been established so that Thread will
attack roughly a single Hold in a Fall, so you will be answering to
only one Holder as to your success or failure to keep Thread off the
ground. Do not misconstrue, however. Although you are DIRECTLY
responsible to one Holder, ALL the eyes of Pern will be watching you
to see how well you do your job.
Unlike the North, Thread has not been charted to a great degree
for the Southern Continent, so you must rely on Watchriders and signal
fires to find out where and when Thread is falling. The more
Watchriders you have stationed throughout your territory, the better
the chance you will have of your Weyr being prepared to meet the Fall
(as opposed to "unprepared", which can hinder the fighting
effectiveness of your riders).
Threadfall is fought in Wings; that is to say, a Wing of dragons
will fight on level 3, two Wings of dragons will be on free flight,
etc. As Weyrleader, you will determine which Wings will be placed
where, when, and for how long. Remember, as Thread falls, your Wings
will begin to get hurt and tired, so a strategy that worked at the
beginning of a Fall might not work toward the end.
As Weyrleader, you must know which dragonrider will be able to
fight Thread more effectively than others. To determine this, a
rider's effectiveness can generally be summed up by the following
formula:
(Experience*3+fatigue*2+morale+dragon health*2+rider
health+Wingleaders' experience)/10
where the Wingleaders' (Wingleader and Wingsecond) experience can vary
range from 0 to greater than 9 depending on their individual
experience level and if you have put the right colour dragon in the
right leadership position.
The higher the rider's effectiveness, the better the chance he will
have of destroying that piece of Thread about to burrow into the soil.
Your rider's effectiveness, however, will depend on a number of
factors:
1) Wind - The heavier the wind, the faster your rider will tire, and
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The Dragonriders of Pern
the harder it will be to catch that clump of Thread.
2) Weather - More accurately described as fog condition. Dragons have
the ability to see through fog, but since the dragonrider can not,
there is that innate fear that the dragon will miss that Thread or
slam into another dragon or whathaveyou. A rider should trust his
dragon's instincts, but human nature will not allow that, it seems, so
you will find that more injuries will occur the foggier it gets.
3) Level - The higher a dragon flies, the more tiring it is to stay up
there, and the more likely Thread can be missed since it falls faster
at higher altitudes.
4) Weyr preparation - If your Weyr is caught by a surprise Fall,
firestone will not be stocked, your riders will not be mentally
repared enough, dragons will not have warmed up their muscles, etc.
An unprepared Weyr will find its effectiveness greatly hindered.
5) Defenses - You must keep your Wings fully staffed when it comes to
Threadfall. Should a rider be sick and not fly (weyred riders or
grounded dragons can not fly Thread), that will leave dangerously
large holes in your Wings. If a rider is not present to attack a
clump of Thread, another must fly in quickly to catch it lest it
should slip through. This will put an added strain on that particular
rider and he will have more of a chance of missing it than one who
should have been there in the first place. The same can be said
should an entire level of the sky be vacant of dragons. Be sure to
space your Wings out so that every level is covered.
6) Status of the Weyrminer - This is where your Weyrminer comes into
play. Remember, he is the one who acquires firestone for your dragons
to chew and flame with. The better the quality of that firestone, the
better your dragon will flame, and the more effective he/she will be
at destroying Thread.
7) Status of the Weyrtanner - Again, the Weyrtanner makes the
dragonriding leathers your riders will wear into battle. The better
those leathers are, the more protection your riders will have should
they get singed by a stray piece of Thread. Dragons, however, are on
their own.
8) Wing maneuver - The particular Wing Maneuver you have chosen will
affect how fast your riders will fatigue, how much of a chance they
have of getting injured, and how effective they will be at destroying
Thread. (See Threadfighting: Tactics and Organization - Organization;
Command 3 for details on Wing maneuvers.)
10) Type of Fall - Thread can Fall in many different ways. Some Falls
may be sparce, allowing dragons an easy time catching Thread, while
some can be sheeting, which cause your Wings to scramble after the
rapidly falling clumps. You will also find that your attrition will
increase when Thread falls faster.
11) Firestone level - Before a Fall, riders stoke their dragons with
firestone, the phosphane-bearing rock which produces the flame. As
Fall continues, firestone must be replaced, which the rider feeds the
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The Dragonriders of Pern
dragon while in flight. But they carry only a limited supply. When a
Wing runs out of firestone, their effectiveness diminishes until a
fresh supply is brought to them.
12) Dragon colour - When assigning Wings to levels and deciding
between different Wing maneuvers, remember that bronze dragons have
greater stamina due to their size, and therefore do not tire as easily
as other dragon colours do. Note also that green dragons, because
they are so small and agile, have a better chance at catching Thread
than their larger brothers.
Remember, there are no hard and fast rules during Threadfall to
go by. Your riders may be the most experienced, rested, happy,
healthy people on Pern. Your Weyr may even have the next Master Miner
as its Weyrminer and the most perfect fighting weather imaginable, but
then a rider might look left instead of right, forget to duck, or come
out of Between too soon, so you must be on guard at all times when
Threadfighting. Situations can change very fast in the heat of
battle, and riders do tire quickly during those long Falls.
Thread begins at level 3 and falls until it is grounded.
Thread, unlike the image it conjures up, falls quickly, and you will
have only one chance to sear it for each level it is on. Once it
passes level 1, consider it grounded, and that must not be allowed at
any cost!
Grounded Thread is destroyed by ground crews carrying agenothree
and are not under the command of the Weyr. The Queens' Wing will
direct the ground crews, and you will not have to worry about this
aspect of Threadfall.
ORGANIZATION
When Thread is sighted (either by Watchrider or signal fire),
the dragons scream at their ancient enemy and the Weyr claxon rings,
reverberating against the walls. You must mobilize your Weyr to meet
and destroy the Threads immediately. The life of Pern depends on it!
Once the claxon rings, you will be informed of which Hold is
under attack (the Weyr itself never comes directly under attack -- it
is considered part of Ancients' Plateau Hold), what the wind and
weather is like, the type of Fall you will be fighting against, and
whether or not your Weyr is prepared.
Next, you will see a report similar to that or Command 2, except
that preceding each Wingleader's name will be a "3". The number
indicates which level the Wing is assigned to. (1, 2, 3, or "-"). A
typical report would look somewhat like this:
ANCIENTS' PLATEAU WEYR
Threadfall at Meadow Hold
Wings - Moderate Weather - Dense fog
Weyr prepared for attack
MOR FAT EXP HEL DGH C S
3 G'nabru - 5 8 3 7 4
3 H'posh - 2 9 4 7 8
3 A'ragen - 9 2 9 1 8
3 Sh'well - 7 6 8 4 8
3 L'lak - 7 3 7 9 5
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The Dragonriders of Pern
3 R'marrie - 1 6 8 7 3
3 Q'lough - 6 4 6 3 9
3 W'marsh - 8 4 4 3 0
3 A'donal - 0 8 5 4 2
3 U'cater - 5 3 0 2 8
The "C" column indicates how many holes you have in your Wing --
that is, how many riders you have who are out of action/killed/missing
in that particular Wing. Weyring riders or dragons, returning them to
active duty, or death all can affect this number. An asterisk
indicates that the entire Wing is empty.
The "S" column is your Wing status indicator. An "F" will
appear whenever a Wing requests a firestone run.
Subsequent to this list will be the following information:
Fall - Sheeting
LEVEL 3 - Wing maneuver -
LEVEL 2 - Standard
LEVEL 1 - V
GROUNDED - Flight
The left column of information indicates how many clumps of
Thread are at each level of flight. And remember that Level 3 is only
the highest level that you can FIGHT Thread. Just because there is no
more Thread at Level 3 does not mean that there is no more falling.
It will eventually come ... sometimes at startling speeds. You will
know (and get the feel of) when Threadfall is truly over.
The right side of information indicates the type of Fall and
what Wing maneuver your Weyr is in, respectively.
As you can see, when you first go out to meet Thread, all of
your Wings are at level 3. They need to be organized into a fighting
plan. To leave all of them at level 3 only invites disaster as no one
is available to go after any Thread that evades the dragons' fire and
gets to a lower level.
At the very bottom of the screen, you will see the prompt,
"COMMAND:". There, you can issue the commands necessary to mobilize
your Weyr into an effective fighting force.
Here is the list of commands you may issue:
Command 1 - Delegate Wing
With this command, you will "DELEGATE WING #" by the number of
the Wing, NOT the number of the Wingleader. So, to delegate Wing 3,
enter a 3, not 30. Then you will delegate "WING x TO LEVEL". Now you
must tell the Wing which level you wish them to fly at.
To tell Wing 3 to fly at level 1, first enter a 3 at the
"Delegate Wing #" prompt. Then, at the "Wing 3 to level" prompt,
enter a 1.
After you assign the new level, the number to the left of the
Wingleader's name will change to the level number you have assigned
the Wing to. You may delegate Wings to fly at levels 3, 2, 1, or 0.
Zero is considered free flight and will be indicated by a dash ("-")
next to the Wingleader's name. Free flying Wings will only go after
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The Dragonriders of Pern
Thread should no one else be available to attack it. (ie. Thread is
at level 2 and there are no Wings assigned to level 2, etc.)
Command 2 - Firestone run
As Threadfall continues, the dragons will need their firestone
supplies restocked. Weyrlings perform this duty, flying up fresh
sacks of firestone to the riders. All weyrlings must face Thread for
the first time; there is no way around this. If a Wing has no
firestone, their effectiveness is diminished, so when the call comes,
it's not a matter of IF you will send someone, but rather WHOM.
When selecting a weyrling for this duty, be sure to choose
someone with a high training level. Sending a green (untrained)
weyrling invites disaster. In truth, sending ANY weyrling is
dangerous, but by sending one who is at least trained to a degree
increases his chances of coming back alive.
Firestone runs are a good way of giving practical experience
against Thread, so weyrlings who do the runs will gain in experience
faster than those who do not.
You will first indicate which weyrling you wish to do the run,
then which Wing you wish him to run the firestone to. The more
experienced the weyrling is, the less likely he is to get scored along
the way. But is does happen. Especially when Weyr strength is down
and you have fewer weyrlings to choose from. Sometimes, the young
pair do not come back. Hopefully, they will have completed their run
before they meet their end or you will have to send another one to
finish the job. As one Weyrlingmaster put it, "It's bad enough to see
my wingmen and mates die, but to see a flock of my boys and dragons
come back scored, dazed, and forever haunted, some never to come back
at all..."
But Dragonmen must fly/When Threads are in the sky.
Grounded dragons or weyred weyrlings can not make firestone
runs.
Command 3 - Wing maneuver
This is the command you will use to change the Wing maneuver of
your Weyr.
As you can see on the above chart, each Wing Maneuver is broken
into three parts. The first part affects how fatigued your riders
will become. The second affects attrition and the third how effective
the Weyr will be at flaming Thread. With different Wing maneuvers,
you can augment certain attributes to make up for bad weather or heavy
winds or low experience or a variety of other combinations.
To change one part of a Wing maneuver, however, you must
downgrade another. So, to augment your effectiveness at destroying
Thread, you must fatigue your Wings more or accept more attrition.
Indicate your choices as a 1 for fatigue, 2 for attrition, or 3 for
Thread effectiveness.
Each attribute can be augmented or downgraded by four levels.
Command 4 - Status change
If you find that one of your riders or dragons is too hurt to
fly Thread anymore, or if you need to call back a grounded pair, use
this command to change their status. With this command, you may only
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The Dragonriders of Pern
ground dragons, weyr riders, or return each to active duty.
Indicate which rider you wish to change status, and then the
status number you wish to give him. The status numbers are the same
from the Command 4 submenu.
When you change the status of a rider or dragon, the new Wing
summary will be displayed on the chart with the appropriate number in
the "C" column.
You can not change the status of a Queen rider.
Command 5 - Profile
Use this command to profile any rider in your Weyr. This can be
extremely useful to find out who is badly hurt and needs to be
grounded.
When you select a rider to be profiled, his data will appear at
the bottom of the screen, a number in the appropriate column. The
status of the rider will appear in the "S" column should the dragon or
rider be grounded. Weyrlings have no fatigue attribute displayed, and
Weyrwomen have only their health and dragon's health reported.
Remember, although Wings fly together, Thread is fought
individually. That is to say, one dragonrider will go after one clump
of Thread. Which dragonrider that is and to who's Wing he is assigned
to is reported at the very bottom of the screen as they attack. (ie.
"G'ralt of Wing 3 (37)", where "37" is his particular character
number.) Should the unfortunate occur and the rider die, the same
message will appear with a "dies" added to the end. The dragons will
also briefly utter tribute to their fallen comrade.
Queen riders and dragons can also be injured or die while
fighting Thread.
When Threadfall is over, you will be told how many Threads have
grounded and the number of casualties you have sustained. World
opinion will be altered (for good or bad) and play will continue.
You will note that the morale of your Weyr (including the
weyrcraftsmen who are more in tune with Weyrlife) will increase should
you have flown a good fall and decrease if it was a bad flight. The
opinions of the Lords, Weyrwomen, Master Craftsmen, and Weyrleaders
will base their opinions on how well you flew the Fall, what their
general opinion of Thread is, and how many causalities you sustained
(violence). Some might not alter their opinions at all. Some might
like you better and some worse based on exactly the same performance,
just differing opinions of different actions (how they feel about
Threadfall, violence, etc.)
TACTICS
(Old record hide dated 16.12.185 Ninth Interval - Ancients' Plateau
Weyr)
J'son - rider of bronze Quareth
Weyrleader
Ancients' Plateau Weyr
Day 16.12.185 Ninth Interval
RE: Dragonrider Conclave 5.11.185 Ninth Interval
Also Present: At'ri of Fort
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The Dragonriders of Pern
Melsa, Senior Fort Weyrwoman
I'mari of Benden
F'rent of High Reaches
U'len, Wingleader of Igen Wing 3 for W'kile
L'trent of Ista
S'len of Telgar
A'leob of Southern
TOPIC: Impending Tenth Pass
I envy he who shall succeed me, for I do not believe in my
wildest dreams that I should live so long as to see the coming Pass.
It is probably for the best, though. Too toothless old to flame and
too slow to get Between, I am. But as the oldest of the Weyrleaders
of Pern, I do believe I had something to contribute at yesterday's
Conclave. Before Rackath Searched me, I used to be an apprentice
Harper and kept the Records of Pern at the Harper Hall. I know Pern's
history and how the dragonmen fought Thread throughout the Turns.
Perhaps that knowledge will help ALL us weyrlings during the coming
Pass, for we ARE all as good as weyrlings in the eyes of Thread at the
beginning of a Pass.
You who are reading these words I hope will gain insight from
our knowledge. Remember that we have only had the Spring Games to
keep us going for the last one hundred and seventy-five Turns. A lot
of practical experience has been lost over that time. So take heed
and learn well. May your Weyr prosper!
Threadfighting tactics have changed over the Turns both due to
simple evolution and experience. It truly wasn't until the Third Pass
of the Red Star that any read strategy came about to fight Thread in
the air. By that time, the dragons were finally big enough and strong
enough to last a Fall, and the Weyrleaders confident enough in their
own skill and knowledge of Thread to combat it effectively.
When the Sixth Pass came around, Weyr strategy was to send your
entire Weyr up, meeting Thread full force with a saturated sky. This,
however, tended to tire the Weyr unnecessarily and allowed too many
reckless injuries from one beast accidentally flaming another. This
strategy also did not allow for errors in judgement, forcing the Weyr
to scramble in case of a secondary Fall or a missed tangle of Thread.
By the Eighth Pass, Wings were layered in much the same way you
will probably be fighting Thread in the coming Tenth Pass. The number
of layers depended on the preference of the Weyrleader. Too many
layers and the Weyr was spread dangerously thin; too few and you have
the same problem as you had in the Sixth Pass. The Ninth Pass saw
Wings flying up to meet Thread instead of waiting for it to come, but
still staying in their layered ranks.
Yesterday's Conclave sought to find a practical way to meet
Thread for the coming Pass based on the knowledge we have from
previous Passes. Of course, I have not listed every single tactic
dragonmen have used over the Turns. That would take more record hides
than hides! What is here is general tactics that were modified to
meet certain Falls as you will have to modify YOUR overall tactic to
meet certain types of Falls.
Of course, only Southern and the now-disbanded Eastern Weyrs
have fought Thread in the South, and we actually have only about
thirty-six Turns or so of records on that, since the Weyr records were
not kept up to date until about 34.14 Ninth Pass, so we have limited
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The Dragonriders of Pern
information for Ancients' Plateau.
Because of terrain and climate conditions Ancients' Plateau must
fight over and in, it is more difficult to fly Thread at higher
altitudes than it is at lower ones. There are many updrafts that help
dragons glide at the lower levels and help to slow down the decent of
Thread, so, on the average, flying it will be easier both in
destroying Thread and on the fatigue of your riders if they are placed
at levels closer to the ground.
Wind, weather, and type of Fall will greatly affect your Weyr
strategy. There are generally four different kinds of each you will
have to concern yourself with, each occurring at any Hold Weyrbound to
you. Winds can be: calm, light, moderate, or heavy. Weather is
either: clear, misty, foggy, or dense fog. Fall is classified as:
sparce, medium, thick, or sheeting. The windier it gets, the harder
it will be to fly, and the greater the chance you will have of missing
Thread. Fog increases attrition, so watch the weather condition and
the health of your riders closely! The type of Fall affects both
performance AND attrition. The thicker Thread falls, the less time
your riders will have to react, and the more injured they will become.
The worst case you can fight is a sheeting fall on a windy, foggy day
with an unprepared Weyr. Be ready!
Of course, even under the best of circumstances, your Weyr will
have to fight Thread before they can recover their spent fatigue and
heal their wounds. As the Pass continues and Threadfall gets longer,
your Weyr will not have enough time to recuperate from one Fall before
they must go out to meet the next. When this happens, you will have
to make some tough decisions. Don't be afraid to send a tired Wing to
fight at the highest level. Remember that good experience can
overcome fatigue (generally speaking, of course).
Level one, the last level before Thread is grounded, should be
saved for the Wing(s) which have the most experience and are the most
well rested. On this level, you can not afford to take chances. It
may be the easiest level to fly, but it is also the Level of Last
Chance!
Weyr strategy will have you flying an overall Wing maneuver at
three levels. A top, middle, and lower one. This should not spread
your Wings too thin, and in an even particularly bad Fall, you should
be able to keep each level well enough protected from Thread.
Remember that since you should be keeping your best for the lowest
level, there is no need to keep too many Wings there.
The Wing maneuver you choose should work to offset particularly
bad weather or falls or to compensate for low experience. If you
should be flying a sheeting Fall in dense fog, it may be wise to
accept more fatigue in order to preserve dragonhide. Or, if fatigue
is already an issue, you may decide to downgrade rider effectiveness
rather than further deplete exhausted Wings. Carefully chosen, you
can make up for bad weather or low experience without sacrificing
another attribute.
The Weyr will always start out in a Standard V Flight. Each
time you change the Wing maneuver, the new formation will be
displayed. You can never augment one attribute without downgrading
another, so do not make any rash decisions, or you may have a
disastrous Fall.
One final note: At the beginning of a Pass, Threadfall will be
relatively light, but that will quickly change. You must get your
Weyr experienced in a hurry. You can not afford to be lacking when
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The Dragonriders of Pern
the heavy Threadfalls come. And they will come close to the end of
the second Turn of the Pass. And Threadfall will stay that way until
the very end. Keep those dragonriders rested and experienced! Morale
will do little to help in a Fall. Remember your attrition formula!
Be ready! Dragonmen must fly/when Threads are in the sky!
Clear skies!
J'son - rider of bronze Quareth
Weyrleader
Ancients' Plateau Weyr
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The Dragonriders of Pern
L I F E O N P E R N
If it wasn't for the Threads, life on Pern could be said to be
peaceful. And during the Intervals, it generally was.
The common folk of Pern lived in what were called Holds -
something like city-states. Each Hold has a Holder who was the leader
of the Hold, and who organized its people for purposes of farming,
fishing, repairs, or whatever that needed to be done to ensure the
Hold's prosperity.
Almost without exception, several small Holds would each look to
a Major Hold which was run by a Lord Holder who would run his Hold the
same way a Holder would, but would also oversee the minor Holds that
looked to him. He, however, did not own these small Holds, but they
vowed allegiance to him for whatever reasons people vow allegiance to
others (money, power, land, et al). These allegiances, from time to
time, change, with and sometimes without the consent of the Lord
Holder.
Holders, especially Lords, are chosen not specifically by
firstborn rights. So that one person could not set up a power chain
within several large Holds and thus rule the entire continent, each
Lord Holder must be confirmed to his duties by the Conclave of the
Holders of Pern. This conclave is called the Lord Holder Conclave.
It operates in much the same way as the Dragonrider Conclave does,
such that information is exchanged; but, also, new Lords are
commissioned. The Lord Holder will spread his seed amoung many women,
hoping that one of his offspring will grow up strong enough (in both
wisdom and spirit) to please the Conclave so that they will confirm
him to be the Lord of his Hold when he dies. If the Conclave does not
see this in his seed, his nearest relative that pleases the Conclave
will be confirmed. This ensures that no one Lord could get too much
power and establish a monarchy.
Within the Holds, there are, of course, different classes of
people, the lowest end of the class getting the worst work (the
drudges). Once in a class, it is difficult to get out of it, save by
marrying up (marriages between seeds of Lords must be confirmed by the
Conclave), promotion by the Lord Holder, or by being Searched by a
Weyr.
Amoung the Weyrs, there are the dragonriders and the
non-dragonriders (generally called the "Weyrfolk"). The Weyrfolk
occupy what is called the Lower Caverns which is run by a Headwoman
who acts much in the same way as a Lord Holder, except that she
answers to the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader. She organizes the Weyrfolk
for cooking meals, sometimes harvesting from a nearby weyrbound Hold,
celebrations, and Threadfall. Weyrlife even in the Lower Caverns is
generally easier than Hold life in most respects.
Finally, there are the Crafts. Situated in all Major Holds,
Crafthalls are independent from the Hold, and the people of the craft
answer to the Mastercraftsman of the Crafthall. They do not farm
(except for the Farmer Craft), for they buy their food from the Hold,
but they do cook (non-craft people and drudges do this work) and keep
up the Hall (Apprentices mostly do this). Generally, they are there
to learn their craft. Menial labour is saved for the holders and
craft drudges, apprentices getting this duty as punishment and simply
because they are apprentices.
With the Southern Continent opening up more and more, it will be
interesting to see what life will be like in the Tenth Interval and
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The Dragonriders of Pern
beyond. What new frontiers will be discovered? Dragonmen have a hand
on that, since they can teleport anywhere they have been to before or
seen a good enough picture of, so exploration is in the hands of the
dragonriders. Will a ninth Weyr need to be established? What will
dragonmen be like by then? And how about the Twelfth Interval? or the
Thirteenth?
Whatever occurs, though, Pern will always need its dragonmen.
For
Dragonmen must fly/when Threads are in the sky!
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