September Edition 2012

Letter from the Editor:

Hello Everyone!

As you might have noticed there are many more articles this month then last month. We have had several new faces join the newsletter and I hope you enjoy their articles as much as I did. We're hoping that there will be something for everyone, though if you would like to see something else please PM me or post in the thread. There is always a need for new ideas!

I hope you enjoy this issue!

~Snow


Hi Everyone! 

This is tufted here co-editor, and I wanted to apologize for the extremely late edition this month. We encountered some technical difficulties (literally!) and therefore, this issue was published way past it's planned date. Again, Snowy and I sincerely apologize for the long wait. 

Enjoy!
tufted

Forum Games

This month, there's been a forum game boom. Some new games include: "Would you Wear That?", "Be Punny", and "What would you say if..." These games seem to be popular due to the fact that people have to think about their posts. Mindless posts are forgotten, but it seems that the posters of these new games keep coming back!

The most popular games are ones that we've probably all heard of: "CPA", "How high can you count before a mod posts?", and "Count to 1,000,000!" "Change one letter" is also among the games with high post-counts.

Now, we all know that the CPA is the essential place to chat with friends and strangers. Almost every forum member has seen it and nearly all of those that have seen it are members. The thread it already at Volume Fourteen and has 13,479 posts and counting. Even if the CPA isn't on the first page, it returns in a few days at most. Since the CPA is the only place where off-topic and random chatter is encouraged, it is a central hub for compulsive posters.

Interview with Lagie:

DC Newsletter: How did CPA start and what were your thoughts?

Lagie: When CPA first started, Parakeet, Leap and I had been chatting in the Boys vs Girls thread about
compulsive posting. We decided we needed a place for people to share their experiences about compulsive posting and thus was born CPA. It opened on December 13, 2009, in the General Discussion Forum and was not originally a chat thread. It was just a place for people to talk about their compulsive posting. Gradually it evolved into a chat thread/support group and during Volume Two was moved into the Games Forum. We lost a few people with the move but have gained many more over the following volumes.

DC Newsletter: Did you foresee the reaction from DCF's members?

Lagie: I never expected CPA to take off the way it has. I certainly never expected it to still be around fourteen volumes later. We've had our ups and downs, and hiccups, but we continue, compulsively posting, chatting, supporting each other. Help from our awesome mods make the whole place run smoothly.


DC Newsletter: Can you tell us about furry handcuffs?

Lagie:  Furry Handcuffs began as a typo way back in Volume Two. Lady_Nightfox meant to say "Hell hath no fury..." and typed "Hell hath no furry..." AlicornsPrayer then stepped in with a comment about furry handcuffs. It became a running joke and somehow transferred to people who top pages. Dragons began to be named with 'Handcuffs' or 'Cuffs' in their names, freddyness was the first person to be cuffed with a dragon for topping a page back in Volume 3, and thus a CPA tradition was born.


DC Newsletter: What can you say about CPA now?

Lagie: Anyone out there remember the FRP (Fish Replacement Project), the Attack of the Zombie Werepickle, or the parties that used to be held regularly for each 100th page? If you've been a member, come back and visit us again. if you haven't checked us out, please feel free to do so. We'll welcome you with open arms, and maybe a brownie or two.

Next in post count is "How high can you count before a mod posts?" It's a stunningly simple game, but it is also stunningly popular. Perhaps because it only requires a number per post. Perhaps because of people's determination to beat the previous record of 477. Rubyshoes, a Site Discussion moderator, is frequently dashing people's hopes of beating the record. Still, the posters are quite determined to keep trying.

"Count to 1,000,000!" is another simple, yet popular, forum game. Again, counting games seem to be very popular. Maybe because there is clear goal of the thread, people find it very achievable, so the only obstacle is the hugeness of the number one-million.

So there you have it, my fellow DCers. The new, the popular, the simple. Keep in mind that if you plan on creating a forum game, keep it simple, have a goal, and keep it active.


By: Mousia

May 22, 2012 Dragon Release

As of May 22nd 2012, two brand new dragons were introduced to the world of Dragon Cave for its 6th birthday. Tsunami Wyverns and the Luminas, these two are a wonderful addition to the numerous breeds already released. The Tsunamis are the seventh type of Wyvern on the cave; I was very interested in the breed when I first saw the “small waves”. The dynamic poses and potential power of these dragons sends a thrill through my body.  While the tsunamis show me power and strength the Luminas remind me of a picky rich kind, always strutting around and wanting everything that’s “perfect”.  The Luminas are a beautiful looking bred with reflective scales, this new add on has a curious state. If you breed it with a water horse, turpentine, or an albino, the beautiful white scales will dull as a reaction to the oils.  

But, they were not the only ones released on May 22nd; a new only breed able bred joining the Blunas, Shallow Water, and Geodes. The UltraViolets. This new hybrid is the child of a Purple and Spitfire, with the Spitfires long tail and markings, with the Purples body type and long horns. Reminding me of a dog the UltraViolets are a friendly breed, if I could I’d want one as my companion. All in all I love these three, and have all on my scroll.

~By: GuardianProtector

July 22, 2012 Updates

If you have been on your Dragon Cave account lately you might have noticed some changes. Ever wished you could easily find one breed on dragon or all your BSA dragons? The new filter and sort buttons allow you to do that with a simple click. Just click the small black arrow and you can filter things such as; eggs and unfrozen hatchlings, your unnamed dragons, and any available for breeding and BSA. Or you can find a certain dragon by sorting out its age, name or breed.

Two other cool updates done to DragonCave are the action log and trade update. Under the account button, second down is a new option, Action Log. This new appearance on the cave allows you to view all your history. Forget which egg you influenced, or when you last used summon? Action Log helps you by holding all this info for you. Trading with someone for an egg with a certain lineage? The trade update is supper useful when doing this; you can now view the other eggs lineage and ID number.

These next two updates go along with the trade update and filter button. The breeding list has been updated, pairings of dragons will now appear on the list but on the bottom labeled rejected. While a mating pair that doesn’t produce any eggs will appear as successful. This is to prevent any confusion from not being able to find your dragons. When transferring eggs something has changed, if you click on a transfer link that is already taken or you accidently click it twice. Instead of the past used phrase of There does not appear to be any trade with the provided claim ID, newly and personalized wording tells you the same. 

Not having an easy time getting a Guardian of Nature? Well prepare readers of the Drag Cave News! A little update call Summoning Scaling is about to make that a lot easier, the more group of the trio you have the higher your chance. One last optional update is apparent, you can now share your eggs and hatchlings codes with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, and Google plus. But again this is just optional and as of right now you have to activate it in your account settings. All in all I personally love these updates. They allow me to easily find anything on my scroll, a more likely chance for a GoN. And share/brag about a rare egg I got to my friends!

~By: GuardianProtector 

Newbie Advice

When many people start playing Dragon Cave, they already know how forums work. Maybe not specifically the Dragon Cave Forums, but as a user, once you’re familiar with a forum you can work out pretty quickly how most of them work. What I’ll try to explain in the following text is how to use this forum in a way that can be understood by any user, no matter how much experience they have with forums. The most important thing to understand is that forums are divided in two parts: your controls and the forums.

CONTROLS You can access them by clicking on “My controls” (top right side). There you will see different options to change your avatar, signature, access your messages… You can also access your messages and see if you have unread ones by clicking (or just looking, if you want to know if you have new mail) “New Messages”. The number in front of it indicates how many unread messages you have.

FORUMS The Dragon Cave Forums are divided in several parts:

• Dragon Cave: everything that is about the games goes here. There are threads of fansites in “Fansites”. Maybe you find a new one you didn’t know about. Also, lineage threads are under “Breeding” and several trade threads and projects where you can win dragons, under “Trading”.
• General Discussion: this is the place to discuss anything that is not DC. You want to find members who like your favourite tv series? See if there is an existing thread or make your own. You want to see what other people are reading? Just click “Books”.
• Role Playing: all RPs are found here. If you like RPing take a look around and see if there are any empty spots in one of the existing games. Or, if you prefer, try to create your own.

No matter what thread you’re on, make sure you’ve read the OP (opening post) and the next few posts, if they have been written by the project account or by the person who make the first post (sometimes rules may be in the second or third post). If you still have any questions, there’s a list of thread-mods in most threads. They can answer any questions you may have. POSTS Once you’re in a thread you just need to scroll up to the top of the page or down to the bottom and click “Add Reply”. You will see a place where you can write your text and a box with options. If you want to write in bold, highlight your text and click “B”. “I” is italic and “U”, underlined. Also, if you want to insert a link, click on “http://” and follow the instructions. More about different colours, sizes and other options not present in the box will appear in future articles.

~By: Raistlin24

The winner of DC Photography Contest #57 is.... Aerouant!

This contest's theme was "Union."

Bumblebee and Lavender, Aerouant's winning submission!

DC Newsletter: Why did you decide to enter the photo contest?

Aerouant: I've been participating with the photography contest since the 12th contest (12: Travel Photography), which I won! So I tried to enter the following contests too, unless I did not have the right picture or did not manage to create one in time. This time I just returned from visiting my parents-in-law. I made pictures of the bumblebees and lavender, which I thought was matching the theme Union well. Not only because those two need each other to survive, but also because I mostly see bumblebees on the lavender, as a perfect match. 

DC Newsletter: Did you expect yourself to win?

Aerouant:  I did not expect to win, no. As there was a similar picture (bee on a flower) was entered earlier, I thought that one would get more votes, and the adorable lovebirds were popular too. Perhaps tikigurl91 could have won if the voting was open for a little longer. You never know what the others like.

DC Newsletter: What was your first thought when you found out you had won?

Aerouant: My first thought was: Yay I won! This is the seventh contest I host, sooo.. what theme shall I do this time?

If you are would like to see all the entries, here's the thread.

~By: sparkle10184

Viewbombing 101

Viewbombing is a term used to describe the act of posting growing dragons on multiple sites to obtain a lot of views/unique views/clicks for them in a small amount of time. You have probably viewbombed your own dragons before in hopes of forcing them to hatch, gender, or mature faster. There is nothing wrong with this – they are your dragons after all! However, this article isn't about viewbombing your own dragons. There are people out there who – out of bitterness, boredom, or whatever reasons – add others' dragons to various different sites with the purpose of sickening/killing them. This is not to say that it is always done with malicious intent – indeed there have certainly been people out there who have done it with the intention of helping. Regardless, it is against the rules to aid users without their permission.

Unfortunately, there is no real way of enforcing this rule as it is virtually impossible to catch the culprits. Unable to combat this menace offensively, we must go on the defensive. Instead of stopping it, we must prevent it. The big question is, "How?" Suggestions have been flying around for ages, but little has yet been done.

A lot of pressure was put on fansite administrators, as several of these suggestions were dependent on changes on their end, such as tying passwords to accounts or utilizing an API login. In order for these changes to be effective, all fansites would have to comply. Not only that, but it would not entirely solve the issue, since fansites are not the only way to viewbomb a dragon. Due to this, these ideas were eventually thrown out.

Fear not, for not all hope is lost! There are at least two perfectly viable suggestions left. One is adding a "whitelist" system to Dragon Cave. This would be an optional feature that would allow a user to choose which sites their dragons could be posted on. Sites not mentioned on the whitelist would not be able to display the dragons of that user. Another is a BSA that allows users to fog dragons currently tied up in teleports. The dragon would not be able to gain views/unique views/clicks, but it would still be tradeable. The BSA has been suggested for multiple dragons, including (but not limited to) Grays, Daydreams, and Guardians.

The biggest issue we face with viewbombing is getting support for a means of prevention. Despite the countless tombstones and eggshells whose untimely ends can be attributed to this pest, it always seems to get pushed to the backburner. There are plenty of people who haven't had it happen to their dragons often enough (or at all) to motivate them to push for a change. How much longer with these harassers go unhindered? Well, that is ultimately up to us.

~By: Chanilove

Lineage of the Month – Pictish Lizards

The Pictish Lizards is a lineage started by deblogan in early 2010. The idea was to use starting pairs of Pumpkins and Pygmies to breed even generations. The names of the dragons can be chosen by the player without the need of special suffixes, prefixes, themes… At the time the lineage was started, there were only original Pygmies available, so the main colour was yellow, but with the addition of the other Pygmy breeds in May 2011, all Pygmies are allowed, although the original lineage still remains of original Pygmies and Pumpkins only. As Pumpkins only breed Pumpkins once a year, true checkboards are very slow growing, but there is a new generation of real Pumpkin x Pygmy checkers every year. Deblogan likes Celtic mythology and the name of the lineage comes from the Picts, a small Celtic folk that lived in the Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval Scottish Highlands and the lizard size of these dragons. Also, the Pumpkin dragons reminded deblogan of a lizard crawling over the pumpkin, so she decided on calling the lineage Pictish Lizards. Thanks to deblogan for the information.

~By: Raistlin24

August 2012

Letter From The Editor

Dear Readers,

It's been quite a rush to get everything together after our short hiatus. But somehow we've managed to do it and here we are! Or most of us- unfortunately we bid a fond farewell to my co-editor FieryIsis who helped so much which everything. But stepping up to take her place is Tufted! Make sure you send her a warm welcome and if you have any questions you may contact her as well.

As always I'm looking for more contributors so please check out the
the original forum topic. and if you want to contribute post there. If you would prefer to not post in the thread PM me (Snowytoshi) or email Dragon Cave Newsletter at dragoncavenews@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

-The Editor

And the Dragon of the Month is...Pink Dragons!

Yeah, sounds pretty feminine. And the old, Bright Pink Dragons were all female, but as may or may not know, they’ve been discontinued, meaning that when they breed, they’ll either produce their mate’s breed or a Pink Dragon, the one we’re talking about here.
Well, what are they? Many people find them valuable because they have both male and female types (With different sprites too!) and because of that, have a BSA (Breed Specific Action) called Influence, which allows it to influence the gender of an egg. Of course, you can only use it once every 7 days, on eggs that have more than 3 days left to hatch. Just a quick tidbit, but this was actually the first BSA to be implemented in Dragon Cave.
If you are trying to find CB (Cave Born) eggs, please keep in mind that Flamingo Wyverns have the same egg description. (Pinks are found in all biomes). When trying to scour the AP (Abandoned Pile) for eggs, it’s helpful to remember that Pink Dragons have a pastel pink egg color while Flamingo Wyverns have a darker pink, almost magenta, roseate color.
There are no spriter alts but during Christmas of 2011, where all the dragons were festively decorated, the Female sprite was shown holding a present while the male had a ribbon tied around his neck.
They were released on April 22, 2009 and can be found in all biomes. However, their status is Uncommon, because of the fact that Flamingo Wyverns and Pink Dragons have the same egg description.

The winner of this month's Photography Contest is...Skypool!

Congrats to all the people who submitted!

Skypool's winning submission!

And here's an interview with Skypool:

DC Newsletter: What inspired you to enter the contest?
Skypool: Well, I used to be a Photography student, so when I saw it, I was like, "Hey, why not?" And if I'm being honest with myself, I entered a bit out of boredom as well. xP
DC Newsletter: Why did you choose that photo to enter?
Skypool: I chose the photo I entered because I think it captured the theme, 'Buildings', well.
DC Newsletter: Did you expect yourself to win?
Skypool: No. There were plenty of other amazing pictures out there! I was certain that I was going to lose.

Well, congratulations Skypool! If you would like to see all the contestants, here is the thread.

By: sparkle10184

May 2012 Edition

Letter From The Editor

Dear Readers,

It's only the second issue of The Dragon Cave News and already we have come so far. I have a wonderful co-editor, FieryIsis, who has been so helpful and has had great ideas. Of course the biggest change is the location of the newsletter, it's now neatly compiled into a blog! The original thread is still in Site Discussion and if you want to contribute post there or PM me! We are always looking for more contributors and interesting articles and if you can't contribute every month that's fine. Even one-time contributions are helpful. I look forward to hearing from you!

-The Editor

The New Release

Turpentines

by Snowytoshi

April 25 began just like any other day, I woke up and checked on my dragons. Then I went to the forums and saw the news- a new dragon! I practically fell on my face trying to find them in the Alpine and then in the middle of the day, the biomes switched. Suddenly they were popping up in the desert and they were nearly impossible to get. After all when there are 150 people in a biome all looking for the same thing, you don't stand much of a chance. And in the trading section people have been offering low or cave-born metallics and Neglected Dragons for them.

However I advise caution- Turpentines might be metallic worthy right now, but they might also become common as the thrill of a release wears off. Also if you look at the release banner, it says that they're more likely to refuse other dragons. This places their potential rarity as uncommon, think two headed dragons.

But who knows? They might become really rare or they might become the new cave blocker...

Thanks to TJ09 and spriter Nectaris for their release, and good luck catching them!

DorkfaceIdentity Crisis Strikes Dragon Cave!

by Tyra-Ice

Early on the morning of April 19th, Cave Time, aDC forums member by the name, brairtrainer, came across a startlingfact. While renaming her Tinsel dragon to show its Dorkfacelineage, she found that the beloved first Dorkface ancestor’s namehad been erased as well as his lovely mate and all other dragons onladiefare’s scroll. Yes, it is true; Midas Dorkface hasindeed lost his name. Now, that renowned name is found on anunlikely Flamingo hatchling, the last place you would expect. However, the owner of the Flamingo hatchling, Nine, is willing togive the original Dorkfaces back their names if ladiefare indeedcomes back, stating:

“Yes, I have the namesMidas Dorkface and Shallyna'ar. No, I'm not looking for bribes or anysort of trade, not looking for recognition, not looking to destroythe market value of the Dorkface name (lol?). I'm not into the wholefamous-named-lineages thing-- it's not something that particularlyinterests me-- which is why I picked up the names in the first place.Because I won't have any trouble giving them up should the originalowner return and ask for them. So yeah, if/when ladiefarereturns and wants them back, sure why not? I know I'd be bummed if Ilost my dragons' names, so when I saw they were available I figuredI'd hold them.”

When asked about how she came acrossthis tragic event, brairtrainer, who’s had her own Dorkface sincethe end of March, had this to say:

“Yesterdaywas probably my luckiest day on DC, caught a really nice evengenlineaged vine, and a leetle tree. I also discovered that my Tinsel(then named Messed up Mister was a Dorkface) I became very excited asmy plan was to breed him to a very messy lineaged Silver I got to payback the metalweavers thread (he misgendered though). This morning Ilogged on to the forum to find the No More Orignal Dorkface? thread.After checking that and Do you have a Dorkface V.2 I saw the lineageshot of the hatchling flamingo that now has Midas Dorkface's name.Apparently that person has already named a BBW after his mate aswell...” In order to remind myself who the real MidasDorkface was I attached his code to my Vamp (proofhere->http://dragcave.net/lineage/SS3rj). He hatched the daybefore Dorkface lost his name and I mean to describe it tocommarderate Dorkface and to preserve who the original Dorkfacewas.”

The proof is in the scroll which can be foundat this address. Upon further examination, ladiefare’s entire scroll was indeedfound to be wiped clean of every dragon name. How did thishappen? One possible explanation is that ladiefare neglected orforgot to visit her account within the time period of two months, forif a DC account is left inactive for two months, all the dragons onthat scroll will unfortunately lose their names.

Dragon Cavemembers from all over are devastated at this shocking news and manyexpressed their opinions on the matter. Member, CDM, says:

“Iam as shocked and saddened as everyone else. The one DorkfaceSilver that I have, now has a nameless lineage. But, these arethe risks we take, unfortunately, when it comes to lineages We all have lives outside of DC and they can take over. I dohope that Ladyfaire is okay IRL, and that she is able to come back tous in the future to start over. It would be so nice that thosepeople who grabbed the names of her starting pair, did so, so thatshe would be able to reclaim them if she ever returns.”

Member, fanficlover09, states, “This iscertainly a new occurance for me I'm actually stunned about the Dorkface crisis. I know the rule aboutbeing inactive and losing your names, but it's the Dorkfaces. Thereshould be a special line somewhere, ne? We can only cross our fingersand hope that somehow TJ cares about a lineage that is very popularand very dear to his users. Hopefully he (or the owner) will get itstraightened out.”


Member, Iside, remarks, “I'mvery sad that Midas and Shally lost their names. I'm not very muchinto Dorkface lineage, but nonetheless I'm proud of my few nice genDorkys. Yes, their ancestors are still alive, but it won't be thesame without their names.”

However, not all opinionsare the same. Member, Varekis, had this to say: “I'djust like to say firstly that I don't particularly dislike theDorkface lineage but I don't really understand the drama surroundingthe name purge. Yes, it was a long standing and well known line butwe really can't forget that all our dragons are created equal(excluding CB tinsels and HM prizes, of course) and therefore all aresubject to the same rules and ToM. I think it's a little silly toexpect that rules can be bent for a certain few - the originalDorkfaces are special, but that doesn't mean someone else's whiptailcalled "Flash 1928" or something isn't. How can you explainto someone else that their dragon wasn't well known enough to deservehaving its name restored?”

These are only a few of thenumerous expressed opinions over the Dorkface crisis. Many DCmembers are even going so far as to try and persuade TJ09 to restorethe original Dorkfaces’ names permanently, creating a petition forthe original Dorkfaces to reclaim their identities.

So justhow popular is the Dorkface lineage? Several searches wereconducted by DC members and the results are surprising. Whensearching “Midas Dorkface” on Google, member, dragongrrl foundapproximately 144,000 results. Searching “Shallyna'ar” -about 89,700 results. And searching “Dorkfaces dragon” -around 334,000 results. Not to mention when dragongrrl Googled“dorkface dragcave”, she found approximately 8,610,000 results! In The Book of DC Records, Midas Dorkface is recorded as the mostfamous dragon; Shallyna'ar as the dragon with the most descendents;and Dorkface as the largest lineage. One possible estimate ofhow many dragons actually were included in the Dorkface lineage cameto over 146,000 dragons.

Overall, do the original Dorkfacesdeserve to have their names restored? That is for you todecide. The big questions now are, “Where is ladiefare?”and “Will the noble Gold ever reclaim his true name, MidasDorkface?”


[Editor's note: Fortunately, this crisis has now been resolved, with the renaming of the Dorkface pair. Here's an example of what the lineage now looks like, with the 'original' Dorkface couple. Phew!]

HintsAnd Tips For A New Player

by FieryIsis

Here are some thoughts and tips ongetting started in Dragcave, from the perspective of a new player. Most of these tips were passed on to me from older and wiser playersof the game! Now that I've got my bronze trophy, I thought I'dpass them on to other new players, that maybe haven't been luckyenough to get the advice and tips that I did!

First of all,I'd find the thread that lists all the fan sites and have a lookthrough it. Its updated really well, most of the links are toactive fan-sites where you can grow your eggs and hatchlings. Don't get carried away and use too many – you don't want your eggsor hatchies to get sick! I'd advise trying three, to see howyou get on. Personally, I use more than three, but I'm alwayschecking for sickness. If one of your eggs or hatchies does getsick, you simply fog it, by going to actions and clicking on 'hide'. Keep it hidden until its no longer sick, at which point you can'unhide' it.

Secondly, get a DC mentor! They're great –they will answer all your silly little questions that you can't seemto find answers to anywhere. Or they'll answer questions youthink might be so obvious you're too afraid to ask publically! I had one, and she did just that for me. The DC mentors do agreat job keeping us newbies on the right path, so thanks so much tothem!

Thirdly, have a look at the DC wiki – its a must havereference as you learn which eggs turn into which dragons, what theirdescriptions are, and what they look like. It'll also tell youwhich biomes the dragons will drop in. Its an incredibly usefulresource for new players.

Fourthly, visit the Newbie Gifting Project Thread – the great people there gift eggs exclusively topeople with less than 50 dragons, who don't have a trophy yet. So make full use of them while you're still in that position! If you have a favourite sprite, just request that breed of dragonfrom them. Remember to read the rules before you postthough!

A good goal to begin with is to aim for 50 dragons, atwhich point you'll earn your bronze trophy, and your egg limit willincrease to 5 eggs! This makes it so much easier, believe me! So, in order to hurry things along, its a good idea to collect somered dragons. They have the BSA (breed specific action) ofincubate. Incubate takes one day off the egg growing time,meaning they hatch one day sooner using incubate. The New BSA Gifters thread is a great resource to help you along with that. There you can be gifted BSA dragons, such as reds, pinks, magis,until you have 5 of the breed on your scroll. Remember to readthe first post for their rules before you post!

That concludes my tips, from the point of view of a new player who's just received her bronze trophy! I hope they've helped you in some way, and good luck collecting your dragons!

DragonSpotlight: Guardian of Nature

Eggdescription: “This egg glows mysteriously.”

Limitedto only two per scroll, and only available via breed specific action,the Guardian of Nature (GoN) is a very unique dragon. Not only that,there's no abandon option for these dragons – they're meant onlyfor the person who summoned them. A dragon tamer can only attempt tosummon a GoN once every two weeks, assuming they have all three triodragons (Ice, Magma and Thunder) and space on their scroll for anegg.

Theartists who worked on the sprites were: Komodo Gallant, who worked onthe adult; Marrionetta, who worked on the hatchlings; and FionaBluefire, who worked on the eggs. Marrionetta said about the processthat she has her method for spriting hatchlings 'down pretty well' asshe's made a lot of hatchlings! She goes on to say, “Granted, it'salways a joy working with Komodo, she's a lovely person and a veryskilled artist! Unlike other dragon breeds which are artist-directed,the GON was an idea TJ09 had, and we worked to fill his request.Several artists submitted sketches, but TJ ultimately picked the oneyou guys now see on site.” Thanks Marionetta, for that greatinsight into the process!

Here'san example of a very special GoN - TJ's own

So,good luck summoning your very rare Guardian of Nature, andcongratulations if you already have two on your scroll!

Dragon Cave Poetry

by Varekis

Deathwould be sweeter, they promised
poison lacing the honey oflies.
Perhaps, it was this
fanciful lunacy that forcedmore
than we had bargained.

Foolish arrogance: nothingsoothes
fire like retribution. And now
alone and suffering fromthe
weight of my wrongdoing,
I share a room with regret.

Aworld of beauty and paradox,
where your memory lingers
like thefrost turning
breathes into phantoms.

• from the perspective of Dishonor, the story's in his description. x)

From Multimedia

Signature and Photography contests

Everlook in the Multimedia section of the forum? There's some great artgoing on over there – from digital art, to fan-fiction, photographyand music!

Everymonth there are two art competitions running – the signaturecontest and the photography contest. The competitions are similar inthat they both choose a theme, which the competitors have to use intheir photography/signature that they will submit. At the end of themonth a poll is held to vote on the winners.

Thismonth, the signature contest winner was Chiaki with a fantastic piececreated around the theme of 'underwater'.

This month's winning entry from Chiaki!

CongratulationsChiaki!

Thewinner goes on to host next months competition thread, which you canfind here. Thetheme Chiaki has chosen is 'Magic' – we can't wait to see whateveryone comes up with! Feel free to be inspired and submit anentry, or if you're not artistically inclined, go along and vote foryour favourite at the end of the month!

Wantto have a look at the past winners? There's a hall of fame thread here. Wehave some very talented artists in our forum!

Asfor the photography contest – it's still running for this month. You'll have to be quick if you want to vote, as the voting ends onthe 3^rd of May. Head over to the thread and vote for yourfavourite photograph here, butbe warned, it won't be easy to decide! This month, the theme of thecontest was 'the first letter of your username' which left the themeopen to each individual, as long as it matched their username. Themes varied from nature, to sheep and saxophonists, meaning eachentry is very different and choosing a favourite almost impossible!

Here'san example of some of the entries this month:

St Jimmy chose 'snow' for a theme and entered this photograph.

Casprrrentered this photograph under the theme of 'chipmunks'.

AndLagie chose 'lizard' as her theme, with this photograph.

Lagiecomments that, "The lizard was peeking out from acrack in the wall of our lunchroom at the school where I used toteach (outdoor lunchroom)." Thanks for the explanation Lagie - you must have been quick withthe camera!

Goodluck to all the entrants of the photography contest, and well donefor taking such fantastic shots!

Games Section

by Chiaki

The Games Section is a super fun place free from spam but abundant in awesome. By far the most popular and long standing thread is “Compulsive Posters' Anonymous” which is currently in its 13th addition. This is a thread for chat, chat about anything you like and not at all limited to DC topics. The CPA is presided over by the much loved, brownie providing, Mother Lagie.

Dragon Bingo is like regular bingo but with dragons! The host posts specific dragons (e.g. A green Stripe) and any player who has that dragon posts “BINGO!” and gets a point. The tiered structure to the game, based on your scroll trophy, means that anyone has a chance to win!

Username Says, currently hosted by evangeline5432 (aka Vang), is an online version of “Simon Says”. The host sets tasks which the players must race to complete, if you fail to complete the task in time you are eliminated. Last man standing. Tasks range from posting in the Games Section a certain number of times, to finding a specific egg in the AP, to solving riddles.

Mafia is currently accepting players, every player is assigned a role which they must keep secret. The Mafia is terrorising the village, killing one player every night, during the day the whole village must decide and vote who to lynch in the hopes they were a Mafia member. To make things more interesting there are different roles such as the ‘Fairy’ who must try and get themselves killed and the ‘Lovers’ who must protect each other as if one dies so does the other. Sign up now!

Authors Pick! One of my all-time favourite games is Post Baseless Lies About the Person Above You, a pretty self-explanatory game which is high in hilarity. If in doubt about what to post, just claim members as illegitimate children!

Off to the games section with you now! Time for some fun ^^

Musingsof the Pink Pimpernel

Dragon addict

Anotherday dawns, I wake up, don my pink eye mask, brush my teeth, and checkon my latest brood of eggs and hatchlings. Ok, ok, I check mydragons then I brush my teeth. Sheesh, you'll letnothing pass, will you? Everything being well, I proceed to theforums. Otherwise, I panic. Spotting the sick egg or hatchling, Irace to her page to look after her, while cursing the slowness of myinternet speed, heart pounding at the thought of losing one of mylittle Pimpernels. Finally, oncethe poor, sickly creature is hidden, I breathe again. I wonder howlong she's been sick, and berate myself for using so many hatcheries– why, oh why, must I be so impatient?!

So,on this fine morning, all is well. I proceed to the forums for mymorning DragCave fix. I browse my favourite topics, reading thelastest posts, then drive myself crazy over the even gen thread andall the pretties on offer when I'm completely scroll locked, asusual. I briefly debate letting one of my little ones go, forsomething better, brighter and even. Then I see sense, remember theloving care I've already invested in her and I stop reading the evengen thread.

Thisis a sliver of my DragCave life. I am the Pink Pimpernel, and Icould be you! Or could I?

Trivia - Test Your Dragcave Knowledge!

These questions were submitted by some wonderful anonymous people - thank you!

Howmany dragons have an alt form?

Howmany dragons have been retired?

Whatdragons requires killing it to get it?

Whichdragons do you only get via breeding (alts not included)?

Howmany eggs are sitting, according to their description?

How many eggs glow?

And these tricky ones came from Mew - thanks Mew!

Howmany eggs are "metallic looking?"

How many "metal"dragons are there?

How many hatchlings have nodescription apart from the usual bit?

Howmany dragons have no description?

Waiting for your eggs to hatch?

Try our wordsearch!

The words run in any direction: forwards, backwards and diagonally.

See if you can find the words: biome, alpine, forest, coast, desert, jungle, volcano, cave, abandoned, scroll, locked, egg, hatchling, dragon, frozen.

April 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

What you're reading right now is the very first edition of the Dragon Cave Newsletter. It's small, but I only had two weeks to make it (with the help of certain wonderful people) so what can you expect? If you like what you see right now then maybe you'll want to subscribe by PM? Or contribute? PM if you're interested! And I hope you enjoy!

Thank you,
Snowytoshi

Interview With A Mod

Today's Victim is... 

Thuban!

1. How long have you played Dragon Cave? I joined about a week after the yules stopped dropping, but do not have an exact date because i released the majority of my early dragons about a year into playing.
2. How did you find out about it? I used to be really into livejournl, and most of my friends belonged to the three communities specifically dragcave orientated.. so i decided to give it a try.
3. What is your favorite breed of dragon? Winters, hands down.
4. Can you describe your first dragon (breed, gender, lineage, etc)? First dragons were: cb winter female, 9th gen winter dorkface, cb magi and cb red.
5. How did you come up with your forum username (Thuban)? Thuban is a star. There's more to it than that, but its really hard to explain. The easiest explination would be that it was the name that was available when I first made my Final Fantasy 11 account. It was my second charector, the first was Regulas. Because Regulas was on my husbands account we could never level together, and I liked Thu as the nick. I have been Thuban ever since.
6. How long have you been a mod, and why did you decide to be one? I still have my original mod application. It was sent Jan 13, 2010. I got the mod hat about a month after, i believe. At the time, i was always in chat, and was already modding for another chat/forum. I liked the staff and the users i dealt with most were awesome. I'm still not comfortable on this forum though, so you guys will likely be safe from me for a very long time
7. Do you have any goals for DC and/or the forums?
To find a way to get the entire forum working more closely together. Right now it seems theres a strain between users and staff. Its hard finding good middle grounds for getting things done, but since im not a forum lurker, more of a spontanious visitor, its hard for me to weigh in on things sometimes.
8. What was the funniest thing you've seen in the forums as a mod?
In the forums? I dont think I can think of anything. However if we were discussing chat i would have to say the Lamp conversation was best of all. Its here on the forum somewhere.
9. What topic do you like to visit the most (off duty)? Dragon requests. Since im getting better slowly and surely, I have been trying to help the budding concepts out more. Due to the colorblindness though, I rarely offer coloring help. Basic lines sure, colors.. only if you want to laugh.
10. Can you name one fact that most players may not know about you?
Not one fact, no.    Until recently, not many users knew i was colorblind. Most also dont know i have kids... unless they follow my random signatures. So, disregarding those two facts.. When i joined the staff, i was the second oldest mod, but at the time i didnt know the ages of one of the mods so i was actually third oldest of the ones i knew. Mom of two married 6 years now.

by HollyTheColliegirl

Requests Section

By: Windnose

A few notes from the writer: There is a slight chance that over the few days that have passed since this was first wrote, some concepts may now need different things. If you want to help a concept that this article says, for example, is currently looking for new sketches, but you sprite, check out the thread anyways because the concept could now be at the end of the redlining phase!
If you currently have a concept and are looking for help with sketching, redlining, spriting, etc and would like a spot in this article on the next edition of Dragon Cave Newsletter, please contact me (Windnose) right away; spots are limited!

The quick breakdown:

Dragon name: Cherry Pygmy
Link to dragon request thread: http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=133702&st=40
What you need help with: Sketches, Sprites, Shading
Who spriters/sketchers should contact if they can help: Rekha
When you will need their help: Depends on when each section gets done.
Who is running the thread: Rekha
More details:
The Cherry Pygmy dragon is a cute and adorable concept created by Rekha. Rekha has given this concept a lot of thought and has provided an equal amount of descriptions, information, and reference pictures and sketches. This concept is currently in need of more sketches and will eventually need help with sprites and shading. This pygmy is incredibly charming and has a strong affection for the cherries it is named after. Rekha imagines this little dragon as being the size of a small cat with a serpentine like body to allow it to easily slip between branches to access the plump cherries, full of the juice they love to drink. With its leaf-like wings and scales, this herbivore easily blends into the cherry trees, where it spends most of its time. The Cherry Pygmy is a wonderful little concept that just needs a little help from the skilled members here. Please contact Rekha if you believe you can help!

The quick breakdown:

Dragon name: Thornless Rose
Link to dragon request thread: http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=134186
What you need help with: Redlining
Who spriters/sketchers should contact if they can help: superdude44
When you will need their help: ASAP
Who is running the thread: superdude44
More details:
The Thornless Rose dragon is a great concept that really needs your help! superdude44 just recently received some wonderful sketches of this beautiful dragon and is now in need of some redliners! This unique, clawless dragon takes after the hybrid thornless roses. The Thornless Rose dragon sports stunning rose and vine design on its wings, as well as, a moss-like growth that covers portions of its body. This dragon is a fairly large breed with long legs, a lengthy body, and a pair of long, flowing antennae. If you can help redline or want to help with spriting in the future, please contact superdude44 and help keep this stunning breed on track for competition!

The quick breakdown:

Dragon name: Lantern Pygmy
Link to dragon request thread: http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=108029&st=0
What you need help with: Redlines
Who spriters/sketchers should contact if they can help: Booo
When you will need their help: ASAP
Who is running the thread: Booo
More details:
The Lantern Pygmy is an interesting dragon concept by Booo. This pygmy’s special scales allow it to absorb the UV rays from the sun, causing this dragon to glow in the dark. This wondrous, green glow is used to attract mates, as well as, luring in prey along the forest floor at night. This radiant pygmy has the long, slender body of an eastern style dragon with spikes running down its back. Booo has already decided on an amazing sketch for an adult and already has an outline of a sprite. Booo is currently looking for a skilled redliner to help the sprite come to life!

The quick breakdown:

Dragon name: Dark Red Sorcery Dragon (Temporary Name)
Link to dragon request thread: http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=132408
What you need help with: Sprites and possible hatching red lines
Who spriters/sketchers should contact if they can help: LadyLyzar already did an adult redline but DragonKing1337 am not sure if she wants too sprite that or not.
When you will need their help: N/A
Who is running the thread: DragonKing1337
More details:
This dragon concept by DragonKing1337 depicts a deep burgundy and violet dragon. Being the bearer of great fire magic, this dragon brings forth flames from its paws, rather than its throat. These flames are typically used to defend themselves from attack or to ward off others. This dragon stands on its hind legs, but is able to walk on all fours when necessary. The most remarkable physical features of this dragon are its fearsome head coupled with its intimidating wings. The interesting design of this dragon is definitely worth checking out! DragonKing1337 has chosen sketches but is now looking for redliners for the hatchlings and spriters for the adult. The adult sketch has already been given wonderful redlines from LadyLyzar. However, LadyLyzar has not mentioned whether or not she wishes to sprite.