Running events tips~

[Rani]

So, this is mainly ripped from a talk I did on the rp chat thread in discord but I wanted to save it here for non discord users (and so it won't be buried). In my time I've run a decent amount of events, and participated in more, and have found there are some tips and tricks for making them work. It's not obvious information either and doesn't get mentioned a lot sooooooooo

Without further ado, here's a list of Rani's behind the scenes tricks for events!
If you have any questions/want further explanation just ask below, I'm here to help!

1. Introduce the event fully in the first post. It may be a hell of a lot of typing but at the very least ooc explain what's going on and the rules. This allows people to know if theyre interested before entering their cat in. Some people hate dice events and wont even join those verses the people who hate social events. If you dont explain what's going on in the first post you risk drawing in a lot of cats who will only go inactive in your event, and inactivity is the biggest event killer.
2. An easy way to do this is by doing a rules description even if the first post is only your cat calling others in. For example Here is a link to an old event I ran. As you can see I outlined what was going on in the first post, allowing cats to choose if they were even interested from the start. You don't need to do exactly what I did though. While it is pretty easy to have your cat explain IC the event if theyre not the talkative type you can have then think about the event explaining the basics non verbally. The easiest way however, is to have the rules for the event written below the event brackets. This makes it so if people want to check the rules again they can go straight back to the first post easily and spot it fast.
3. The official event brackets coding is [-EVENT] “Insert IC writing here” [/EVENT-] . Just remove the - from this text and replace the “” text in the middle with your text.
4. Speaking of event brackets..... People have mixed opinions. I personally use them sparingly only for my first post of the event thread. This is because a lot of people find brackets reduce viability. So generally something they'll be coming back to a lot (like the rules/explanation) for reminders before they post is something you dont wanna make harder for people to understand. HOWEVER. If you have a reason that your post needs to pop and be more visible, event brackets do that great. So if there's a major occurrence in the event the brackets may be a good choice. However, please please no weird fonts, impacts, or non default text colors. I can promise you it can get impossible to read depending on the chosen site theme.
5. Add a prize for the winners~ It can be anything slightly cool but people love things. Maybe the winner gets a bit of kk from your bank, maybe an art piece by you or someone you payed, it can even be a trinket your cat got in rp that might be worth something (I once used a rabbit skull Crowtooth dug up in rp as a prize and the winner dragged that thing back to camp and I think in rp kept it until they went missing.)
6. DO NOT SWEAT ABOUT EVENT MIMICRY! SERIOUSLY IT'S OK I PROMISE! There are only so many formats a person can do in an online text biased event that work so if you are freaking out your event feels too similar to an old one, dont. Ive never seen it be an issue. And if you are really worried just pm the person about it, if they bite tell star (or any staff) @/Starfall will bite back harder. Generally people will be happy to help out, give advice, or allow a total copy with a little bit of crediting given to them for the idea~
7. Inactivity.... the death of all events..... Here's generally how to avoid it.

   Have your cat personally touch on every cat participating at least for a sentence. If they seem un-engaged, interact. It can be a heckle in a social event to a tip/personal demonstration in a training event to anything they can react to. It gives cats something to 'bounce' off of and helps them if their partner dips. Inactivity fades less when cats aren't just left to their own devices, if they wanted just a plain rp they'd do it, events should be more. Give things to do/ react to and problems to solve in those activities. (A part of a demonstrated move that might be hard for smaller/shorter cats, a roadblock in a camp building, obstacles, ect)
8. Clan mentions..... Now this can be tricky to make a judgement call on but 3 clan mentions max please. I know it's easier to clan mention everyone for a huge event buuuuuuut it also seriously annoys people. Take the time to create a personal list of people involved, and keep it updated for people going inactive in the event. Generally; once to get the initial attention, twice for the full explanation if not enough cats are there, three times as a desperate last ditch effort to get enough participants. That is only an absolute last resort. Saves you from staff as well, do too many mentions and youll start getting hissed at.

   If youre desperate for cats try pinging the WCO discord in #roleplay-finder with the relevant clan(s). Or try using the Open Roleplays sidebar. Sometimes mentions get buried or people who are in the relevant clan arent subscribed to the clan mention, this way things are more visible.
9. When. Avoid events when a major clan event is occurring. (For example RCs current flood, wcs fire, thcs sinkhole or any multiclan battle) It's totally ok if your event predates it and the clan event starts midway through yours. Just henceforth treat your event as occurring before the major clan event and carry on. I recommend putting a hustle on it though, trust me activity on side events slips during major clan events....
10. Where. As it has been recommended before, generally you dont want to run an event in a clan with 3 running already, it splits focus too much. However if you know something is coming for a clan (IE: clan war or flood) throwing a quick event in to prepare for that event is GREAT as it doesnt detract from the event. These also turn out very popular. Hrs will kissu you for doing this. In these examples: A fighting training event before a clan war will prepare new apprentices and hone warriors, giving your clan an edge. If a swimming lesson is held before a flood less cats will drown and more can participate in helping. I recommend speed however, unless you know exactly when these major events are gonna occur they can happen suddenly.

    Simply avoid “meta-gaming”. If a battle is going to occur somewhere unless your cat would have good in roleplay reasons for knowing where it will happen them preparing defenses at that location is unreasonable/unfair.
11. Timing of type. Some clans get overloaded with certain types of events and it can get kinda boring. For example shc gets a lot of battle events. So, snoop through the clan events thread if you wanna run an event but dont know what/where. If you can find a clan with no aggressive battle training events (cough wc) it may be popular to run one! No social events? (cough shc) Maybe bonding would be useful/popular. Scarcity breeds interest, abundance breeds 'eh Ill just participate in the next one'
12. Event types. Now these categories are loose. Very loose. And an event can easily cross them, however here are the general ones that exist for furthering your knowledge.

    • Social events. These are the most loosely structured and the easiest to die so I wouldnt recommend for your first event running try. These are events with no iron clan rules or instructions that rely on a shared goal, obstacles, or occurrence to occur. They are mainly added to by personal interactions between cats, talking or working together with minimal drive from the runner. Do not be fooled however. Dont give cats enough to feed off of in these events and they can die hard, so something for them to do/react to can sometimes need to be added.

    • Dice games. These game’s progression is locked via the event runners dice! Using an online dice these events occur in ‘rounds’ with a participant posting and a event runner using that post to roll a dice and determine the results. These mean everyone is generally on fair footing regardless of rank/writing ability/purrks. These can be very popular if youre creative with the rules however require a TON of event runner activity.

    • Competitions. Most often having a crossover with dice games these event have a clear winner or ranking at the end with the goal to win. Be it by fighting, racing, hunting, or something else someone wins this and it is the event that suits a prize the best.

    • Training events. While basically all events further a cats abilities/training these events do so the most. Be it hunting, fighting, stealth, swimming, climbing, tunneling, or anything a knowledgeable cat will train a group in these events. This strengthens a clan and can really up your value in the eyes of the hrs and clan~
    • 
Major clan wide events. Not all events are avoidable, and these are not often so. Hr only run these events affect the entire clan, all at once. Often affecting the camp, borders, or even full territory these events always get the most participation and sometimes get awards given to participants. If you have an idea for one and are not a hr then pm your clans hr with the idea!
13. Customize by clan. Events can be the exact same in two clans but will have different spins because the clans are inherently different. A hunting event in rc will involve swimming and in wc will involve running. These simple twists in an event can sometimes be all one needs to make their event shine.

Disclaimer: I personally do not care about copy cat events of my old events, just credit my og event. If someone resurrects snakes ice race event with respect to him Ill do a happy dance (Edit: Abyssopelagic has claimed this for the winter apparently lol)


Anything you want clarified/expanded just ask below~

[HerbalTea]

Do I need permission or?

[Rani]

Originally Posted by HerbalTea

Do I need permission or?

nope! No one needs permission to run events (unless its a clanwide thing like a fire or predator attact ect)!

[Highsnow of Matterhorn]

Hello! Can you please summarize/TL;DR the 'Running Events Tips' just in case someone needs it? Some people would like a short version/'the main points' of it. Thank you!