Warrior Cats of the Forest
of the Forest
Subtitle
News
New Clans Planning
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Update: a formal poll regarding the new clan's name can be found here. Once you complete the poll, there will be an option to "see previous responses" that will let you see where everyone else is standing. If it's close or we get a bunch of "other" responses, we could potentially re-poll.
The vote on what to do about EarthClan closed yesterday, with those in support of keeping EarthClan and forming a new clan receiving the most votes. While this new clan won’t be able to actually come together until we have EarthClan moved into DawnClan’s territory, we should start planning for the new clan now so we know what they want to be when they are formed.
Please limit discussion of how we will form this clan to what immediately affect the clan’s identity. Keeping plot-planning to the actual Plot Planning Blog Entry will help us keep on-topic here as we focus on building up two new clan identities. As well, this is not the place to discuss who will be the leader of the new clan. I will decide who it will be using our usual criteria and announce the new leader and deputy closer to when the clan is formed. The best thing you can do now to increase your chances is participating actively in this blog and following the suggestions on the How Leaders and Deputies are Chosen.
I think the best way to go about this would be to see what the established clans are based on, and then use that as a framework for building EarthClan and the new, still unnamed clan. So, here is more or less what I believe each clan identity boils down to.
MoonClan
- Proud/arrogant, honorable, and courageous
- Conformist and the most nationalistic clan
- Moderately skilled hunters and fighters
- Highly value discipline; regimented day to day lives; strict clan hierarchy
- Suspicious of outsiders
- Strong belief in StarClan and The Warrior Code
NightClan
- Cunning, fierce, and ambitious.
- Individualistic
- Strong fighters but weak hunters, mostly scavenge for food
- Loose clan hierarchy and administration, with a low value placed on discipline
- Very accepting of outsiders
- Weak belief in StarClan and in the value of the Warrior Code
DawnClan
- Peaceful, compassionate, and forgiving.
- Individualistic with low value on discipline
- Moderate hunters and weak fighters, have the unique skill of fishing
- Paternalistic leadership style with a flexible hierarchy and a Leisurely day to day existence
- Moderately accepting of outsiders
- Moderate belief in StarClan and generally follow the Warrior Code
SunClan
- Cautious, intelligent, strive to embody “clan before the individual.”
- Value teamwork and place little stock in the individual; conformist
- Strong hunters but weak fighters
- Strict leadership style and hierarchy, highly demanding expectations of warriors
- Suspicious of outsiders
- Moderate belief in StarClan, but follow The Warrior Code to the letter.
Based on those facts, here’s one direction we could potentially go with the new clans, assuming that EarthClan ends up in DawnClan’s old territory and the NightClan rebels resettle in NightClan’s old territory and form the new clan.
New Clan (Possible names: EclipseClan, SkyClan, CometClan, GalaxyClan, NovaClan, MeteorClan, NebulaClan, please suggest more)
- Resourceful, fierce, domineering
- Individualistic
- Strong fighters but weak hunters, mostly scavenge for food
- Rigid clan hierarchy and administration, with each rank asserting themselves over lower ranks
- Moderately accepting of outsiders. Only accepts those who they deem strong enough, or alternatively, those who actually seem committed to their clan. Expect all outsiders to assimilate into clan life.
- Weak belief in StarClan, but a high degree of value in Warrior Code
EarthClan
- Tolerant, compassionate, and grounded
- Individualistic with low value on discipline, strives to encourage each cat’s strengths rather than make a uniform
- Moderate hunters and weak fighters, have the unique skill of fishing
- Paternalistic leadership style with a flexible hierarchy and a Leisurely day to day existence
- Very accepting of outsiders
- Extremely variable beliefs in StarClan and the Warrior Code
Of course, this is only one way to go about it, and I want to hear all of your thoughts on which direction we should head in to creating these new clans.
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79 Comments
spotthecat says...
Perhaps a names like Marshclan Murkclan, Fogclan, Cloudclan or Smokeclan? It sounds a bit soft, but clouds can often cover the sun. Just throwing out a bunch of clan names.
I vote for SkyClan, despite the canon references.
For my two cents, I think that StormClan would be even better than SkyClan. It would be repeating an original name from this site rather than one from the books, and therefore would eliminate any confusion new members might have in thinking that our SkyClan is the same as the books' SkyClan. It's also more specific, and possibly more meaningful/symbolic, than 'Sky'Clan.
The confusion point could be a huge issue. I can already imagine all of the hours which will be dedicated to explaining 'No, this is a different SkyClan! They live in a city!'. I don't think anyone could propose that continually re-explaining that is going to be fun. It's simply unnecessary confusion.
I really like the symbolism arguments River provided, and I would use that same argument to suggest that StormClan could also represent air in the quartet, OR it could represent another common element, energy. River also brought up points about chaos vs. stability in NewClan vs. EarthClan, and I think StormClan better represents that, too.
One final point in my argument about StormClan is that, while it IS repeating a name previously used on the site, there's nothing to say that it couldn't be a reference to that old clan, or simply an attempt to use something which has worked before.
No matter what the name is, I agree that it needs to be a monosyllabic prefix, so if StormClan doesn't go through, I would move my vote to SkyClan, or something which sounds somewhat like it. I wouldn't mind if the name didn't start with an S, though - We already have SC (SunClan) and SC (StarClan), so abbreviations would only become more confusing.
I kind of like CloudClan, except it has the same alliteration issue that EclipseClan does.
RainClan, anyone?
The confusion point could be a huge issue. I can already imagine all of the hours which will be dedicated to explaining 'No, this is a different SkyClan! They live in a city!'. I don't think anyone could propose that continually re-explaining that is going to be fun. It's simply unnecessary confusion.
I really like the symbolism arguments River provided, and I would use that same argument to suggest that StormClan could also represent air in the quartet, OR it could represent another common element, energy. River also brought up points about chaos vs. stability in NewClan vs. EarthClan, and I think StormClan better represents that, too.
One final point in my argument about StormClan is that, while it IS repeating a name previously used on the site, there's nothing to say that it couldn't be a reference to that old clan, or simply an attempt to use something which has worked before.
No matter what the name is, I agree that it needs to be a monosyllabic prefix, so if StormClan doesn't go through, I would move my vote to SkyClan, or something which sounds somewhat like it. I wouldn't mind if the name didn't start with an S, though - We already have SC (SunClan) and SC (StarClan), so abbreviations would only become more confusing.
I kind of like CloudClan, except it has the same alliteration issue that EclipseClan does.
RainClan, anyone?
AirClan or IceClan maybe? I agree with EclipseClan otherwise.
Now that Alien explains it like that, reusing at old clan name that over half of us were never here to witness would probably be less confusing than using a canon name from the books. Also, StormClan might be a better fit than SkyClan in terms of the proposed clan values/traits - storms are generally regarded as rather fierce and domineering, like this clan is suggested to be.
As for the 'reference to an old clan' idea, I think that could make a lot of sense. It could easily be symbolic, seeing as StormClan was formed after their old clan, RiverClan, was practically destroyed under Sharkstar's reign. Meanwhile, NightClan has also been destroyed, in a way, and the rebels could see this rebuilding of a clan as mirroring what happened at StormClan's birth. StormClan ultimately ended with the merge into MoonClan, which could reflect the DC NC merge into EarthClan. This could be a way of the rebels looking to redeem these clans - saying that this new StormClan will not die from another merge, as their namesake did, and as their former clan NightClan did as well (proving that they will be a better StormClan, and better than NightClan).
So, after all that, my vote could go to either StormClan or SkyClan, I think they have equally strong reasonings.
As for the 'reference to an old clan' idea, I think that could make a lot of sense. It could easily be symbolic, seeing as StormClan was formed after their old clan, RiverClan, was practically destroyed under Sharkstar's reign. Meanwhile, NightClan has also been destroyed, in a way, and the rebels could see this rebuilding of a clan as mirroring what happened at StormClan's birth. StormClan ultimately ended with the merge into MoonClan, which could reflect the DC NC merge into EarthClan. This could be a way of the rebels looking to redeem these clans - saying that this new StormClan will not die from another merge, as their namesake did, and as their former clan NightClan did as well (proving that they will be a better StormClan, and better than NightClan).
So, after all that, my vote could go to either StormClan or SkyClan, I think they have equally strong reasonings.
I don't think that StormClan makes sense, as historically they didn't have a good relationship with NightClan and I can't think of any aspects of their clan that the NightClan rebels would be trying to exemplify. First off, StormClan was actually against the creation of NightClan and eventually merged with MoonClan, who has faught against NightClan far more than the other clans. StormClan was also something of the predecesor to DawnClan, which the NightClan rebels are trying to distance themselves from in opposing the EarthClan merge. StormClan also just didn't exist for that long and their history was more or less one slow decline, from their establishment after the fall of BoneClan to their eventual joining with MoonClan. They just didn't accomplish much of anything.
Though, I'll admit to being biased against StormClan for personal reasons as well, though I'm the only still-active member who was around when StormClan existed.
I don't actually think there would be that much confusion over SkyClan, as well, since all of our other clans are original. The little blurb about each of the clans should help clear that up as well, and while I do think that a handful of new members might be initially confused, those would be the same ones who don't read anything and are confused about everything regardless.
Though, I'll admit to being biased against StormClan for personal reasons as well, though I'm the only still-active member who was around when StormClan existed.
I don't actually think there would be that much confusion over SkyClan, as well, since all of our other clans are original. The little blurb about each of the clans should help clear that up as well, and while I do think that a handful of new members might be initially confused, those would be the same ones who don't read anything and are confused about everything regardless.
Ah, makes sense. I was just basing all of that explanation off of skim-reading the history page a couple times xD
In that case, my vote goes fully back to SkyClan. The confusion could be a bid of a nuisance at times, but we'll get used to regularly answering the 'why SkyClan but none of the other originals?' question, and like you said, Ember, if new members are confused about our SkyClan, they'll likely be confused about half of everything else as well.
In that case, my vote goes fully back to SkyClan. The confusion could be a bid of a nuisance at times, but we'll get used to regularly answering the 'why SkyClan but none of the other originals?' question, and like you said, Ember, if new members are confused about our SkyClan, they'll likely be confused about half of everything else as well.
I like Eclipseclan. Although I had an idea, if it is going to be called Eclipseclan we should incorporate the solar eclipse that is going to happen on Monday into the site, to signify the upcoming formation of Eclipseclan. Although this is just an idea IF Eclipseclan is chosen.
Staghoove, we're talking about what to do with the solar eclipse on the Plot Planning Page. Right now it seems like we're not going to fit the in-game eclipse before/while the real one happens, but we could certainly incorporate an eclipse into the plot in the coming weeks or months.
I vote for Eclipse clan, unless Skyclan was given a different name such as something like Cloudclan or Fogclan because I feel like it would make me think of the cats in the books too much and play more off of that, instead of the clan characteristics given. .
Seeing a clan that is extremely strict with the hierarchy and the warrior code with a weak belief in Starclan is bound to create cool stories and drama. I'm in!
Maybe FlightClan? But thinking about that now it doesn't really seem like a city name with sort of a 'tough' connotation like StormClan or SkyClan
Similar to a past post of River's I'm going to be playing devil's advocate for a moment. When the vote was won for the new clan, I thought it to be a chance to where we can try out new things and such. But if we go with what the "EclipseClan" feature are, it makes me a bit upset. We have come this far, just to basically rename the same clans, with only minor changes. I get that we need to have some balance, but in my eyes, I don't like having the same characteristics as the previous clans, considering this is a chance to have new beginnings. I like the idea of Skyclan, and here are some ideas that we can consider when making this new clan, and more with the idea of Skyclan in mind, only because of how we are going with, " The name of the clan has symbolism." These cats can have a sense of freedom, knowing that war is not something they want, and rather they have a "free spirit." They can aim to live in an age of peace, and while they may not be great fighters, their teamwork and living style can put them in prosper. Also, these cats can be unpredictable, having a good pokerface when speaking to others. They can have the specialty of hunting birds, since it seems the clans need a go to with prey lol. As much as these cats want the free spirit, they are not generous to anyone besides them. They will not accept outsiders, unless they do something to prove themselves in some sort of task, or simply in the beginning, where the clan needs to have cats to become a clan. The general attitude of the cats in this clan can be optimistic, free-spirited, and outgoing, however they are selfish when it comes to their own desires, will easily lie to achieve something for the better of the clan, and will bend the rules a bit if it means that it benefits themselves and the ones they care about only, even if that means others get hurt in the process. I personally like this revision better, mainly because its different. We finally don't have to have the "ruffian" like clan. Its a chance to not have a carbon copy of Nighclan again, with only minor changes because of the territory and beliefs. What do you guys think?
Elm makes some very good points and suggestions, specifically about going to all this work just to have a clan that's quite similar to our clans of the past. The suggestions for clan demeanour which represent the name SkyClan make a lot of sense, and would provide a nice opportunity to change up the clan dynamics a bit. Elm's proposed clan values would also give a nice chance to bring a very different viewpoint into disputes between clans.
"Possible names: EclipseClan, SkyClan, CometClan, GalaxyClan, NovaClan, MeteorClan, NebulaClan, please suggest more"
I doubt the Clans would have any knowledge of most of these, the only vaguely linkable ones being SkyClan and EclipseClan. Based on the fact that there's already a SkyClan in canon, EclipseClan sounds good to me. It would also work well for any prophecies wherein they would want to fight SunClan, and speeches.
"We will fight with honour. We will scavenge with dignity. We will eclipse our enemies. Because we are EclipseClan." That kind of rule-of-three motto springs to mind quite easily.
Also the metaphorical connotations of an eclipse could work well for villainous character arcs.
I doubt the Clans would have any knowledge of most of these, the only vaguely linkable ones being SkyClan and EclipseClan. Based on the fact that there's already a SkyClan in canon, EclipseClan sounds good to me. It would also work well for any prophecies wherein they would want to fight SunClan, and speeches.
"We will fight with honour. We will scavenge with dignity. We will eclipse our enemies. Because we are EclipseClan." That kind of rule-of-three motto springs to mind quite easily.
Also the metaphorical connotations of an eclipse could work well for villainous character arcs.
Peanut says...
Seeing a clan that is extremely strict with the hierarchy and the warrior code with a weak belief in Starclan is bound to create cool stories and drama. I'm in!
Isn't that SunClan?
Isn't a storm something with potentially negative connotation?
I feel like, though River pointed out the different syllables, that it could still work out for Eclipseclan. Having two syllables make sit stand out, and like the other clans who are attached to Starclan, they all have one syllable, Having two syllables can make it seem like a "rebel clan."
Cloudflame says...
(quote clipped in places to separate information relevant to this comment) EclipseClan sounds good to me. It would also work well for any prophecies wherein they would want to fight SunClan, and speeches. "We will fight with honour. We will scavenge with dignity. We will eclipse our enemies. Because we are EclipseClan." That kind of rule-of-three motto springs to mind quite easily. Also the metaphorical connotations of an eclipse could work well for villainous character arcs.
This is one of my main problems with the name EclipseClan. The name doesn't hold much symbolism other than 'block out the set, destroy SunClan', and with this name, and the symbolism Cloud gave, they would likely just turn into the stereotypical 'evil' clan. Like Elm said, the whole point of this new clan was to introduce a new clan dynamic, and have a different type of clan, for a change. Even if we do want to have a more 'evil' clan, making it the new clan would just reflect NightClan even more, being the city clan. It would be much more interesting to allow MC, SC, or EC to descend into this more 'evil' type of clan, and watch their gradual development, rather than just have our new clan become a mirror of NightClan almost immediately. This same theory applies to Red's mention of a 'rebel clan'.
I personally think that by choosing EclipseClan with these villainous intentions that a lot of members seem to encourage is a bit trigger happy. Not only does the villain type of character not work for a clan, more so a gang, but it also doesn't serve in the correct spot as of now. We are trying to make a clan to last, so it wouldn't make any sense that more and more cats would join bloodthirsty cats, especially to make it into a clan. If that so happened, wouldn't the other clan's question the validation of Starclan? Not only would this Eclipseclan not believe in Starclan, but the other clans would start to loose faith. I really do think that by making this clan the way members are aiming for it to be, would make things harder and more difficult for everyone, and not in the good plot way. It would be more negative than anything.
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