How do you play?

[FennecFyre]

I was feeling curious about the various ways people play Magistream, so I decided to toss up a quick survey/discussion. Obviously you don't have to answer every question, and if you think of any other talking points, feel free to suggest them as an addition.

General

• How is your Keep organized?
• Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
• What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
• Do you do creature armies?
• Do you do quests?
• Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?

"In-Character"

• Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
• Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
• Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?

[Mathcat]

Organization - Loosely by creature type, though I also have a couple of lineage tabs and have started making tabs for my characters (because one of these years I might post/re-post a few stories). It's all a work in progress now that I'm doing some extensive pruning.

Naming - Ideally all, but some creatures have been in my Names Pending tab for years. I used to do thematic naming, but now I tend to use name-generating sites. Occasionally I also name based on parents as well. For creatures that belong to one of my characters, I've been moving toward names that make sense in universe (nothing named based on things/people/mythological figures that don't appear in Magistream, though I've made an exception for the orchard of Seades named after apple types) or that come from a name-generating site.

Collecting - I collect a lot less than I used to, but still have a fondness for pygmy crystalwings/gemdragons, winged cats, and Silvian alphyns. I was never really a completionist and am now even less of one.

Armies - Not really (but see above).

Quests - Yes. I've also toyed from time to time with the idea of a small collection of short stories about my characters and their quest experiences (where relevant or substantially different from the official quest text), but haven't really done much with that. I treat the official quest text as more of a general story than as an exact account of what my character did.

Lineages - I used to have a lot of families (my own and other people's), but gave most of them away. I figured they might as well go to a collector rather than sit around collecting dust.

Magisona - No, but I have a few magi characters. I've been using Ekaira a lot lately, but I wouldn't consider her a magisona. She has aspects of me (as do most of my characters), but she's not me.

Creature Personalities - Yes, especially if they've appeared in a story or RP. There's also a few not-supported-by-canon oddities lurking among my creatures, especially where gryphons and hippogryphs are concerned. Kestrel Lightclaw[url] in particular is far more than she seems.

Keep Guardian - It's probably still [url=http://magistream.com/creature/2214582]Braeburn Seade. I think there used to be another creature as well, but it's been years since I rearranged my About Me and I no longer remember. This atramentum would be the unofficial recorder, I guess.

[FennecFyre]

...I only just now realized I forgot to add in my own reply. Feck

How is your Keep organized?
I don't do much commercial breeding/trading, so I tend to organize by habitat (ex one tab for Silva Forest creatures, one for oceanic creatures, etc). I also have a Nursery tab as a temp spot for eggs/hatchlings, another tab for allies, and one for my direwolf pack because I'm diehard wolfaboo trash.
Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
Every creature gets a name, usually shortly after they hatch. If not then, then they're always named before they leave the nursery tab.
What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
I have a soft spot for canines, gryphons, and anything really out of the ordinary/weird-looking.
Do you do creature armies?
Nah.
Do you do quests?
Currently working on trying to knock them all out!
Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
I have a few, but I haven't done much with them recently. Might start giving them away again later.

Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
I guess I did back when I wrote a story for that halloween event, but it's a bit outdated, and the whole story in general is fairly cringe-y. I'd like to resurrect the character some day, though, with a few tweaks to make her more interesting.
Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
Ohhhhh yeah. Not for all of them, but there are a few that stand out. Fenris is the typical gruff-but-caring papa wolf, Lightstep is mischievous and stubborn, but well-meaning, and Chupi is a big fuzzy sweetheart, but not that bright.
Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
Fenris, who should be down in my sig, as well as a pair of Fortis Beetles I picked up recently because their design/concept is kickass.

[birdiebeeps]

How is your Keep organized?
Right now? Not at all. I've been trying to find a good style of organization that fits me. I fancy the idea of species, like: horse, bird, hybrid, cat. But I also like the idea of sorting them by the place they reside: water, air, snow, graveyard. I think I'm actually going to organize by colour, though! I feel like it'd have a nice visual appeal to it.
Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
I don't really follow any naming conventions, although I may begin giving my creatures two-to-three word names and follow show naming conventions for their offspring. Ex: Glass Desert + Undead Revolver = Glass Revolver (or something similar to the words used; like Mosaic Pistol)
What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
I have a heavy preference for equines, deer, canines and any hybrid type animals, as well as anything with more of a certain appendage than normal i.e. eyes, heads, legs and so on. Hippogryphs, Capricorns, Hydras and the like are creatures I'm quite fond of. I definitely would like to complete the Bestiary one day, be it a far off dream.
Do you do creature armies?
As stated above, I've more of a completionist's mindset than a collector's. If I did collect anything though, it'd be a doni, quest creature, or hybrid. For sure.
Do you do quests?
Yes! I love them! I wish I could work on more than one at a time most days, the lore is so interesting and the stories well-written. Plus the critters you get are always worth it.
Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
I'm actually unaware of what exactly lineages entail. They seem like something I may be interested in, as someone whom loves breeding. I'm definitely gonna have to look deeper into them sometime!

Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
Not at the moment, but I may. I definitely would like to start getting involved in RP here; I'd love to be able to play out my magi completely and entirely as if they were really the ones writing the show here haha. Imagine if your character ran your shop and whatnot; it sounds fun to me! Then again, I've always been a big fan of really mundane situations in DnD.
Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
Not in particular, but I've definitely thought about it. Again, I'd love to RP.
Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
Nope! I may use my Hippogryph as one, or my Vogelhond.

[CinnaminDraconna]

General

How is your Keep organized?
LOTS and LOTS of tabs. I'm a very committed breeder and do a lot of gifting for events, and for lineages. So I have tabs for all sorts of different hybrid producers, tabs for extra creatures to use as mates for lineaged creatures and LOTS and LOTS of lineages.
Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
Naming my creatures is pretty random. I tried to name everything in the beginning, but when I got involved with lineages, it didn't make sense to name things until I actually bred them. So these days, things get named as they get bred.
What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
Excluding Donation creatures, I'm pretty sure I have at least a male/female pair of every creature. Allies are also an exception, since you can only have 1 of each. But I have LOTS of some creatures, particularly lineaged creatures and lots of extras to be mates for lineaged creatures.
Do you do creature armies?
Just one. I hold the record for the most Ashevor eggs frozen at 0%.
Do you do quests?
Yep.. I've completed every quest released so far. Wish they'd release more too.
Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
ROFLMAO.. I'm the lineage queen and hold the records for both number of families owned and most lineaged creatures owned. My goal is to collect at least one member of every publicly available family on MagiStream. Will probably never happen, but it's fun collecting them.


"In-Character"

I don't RP online any more. I get too annoyed with different timezones, different languages and players not taking the story seriously. Sure it's 'just RP', but if you don't commit yourself to the story, why bother?

[TheNewBlack]

General
How is your Keep organized?
I organize my Keep by value.

Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
I usually don't name my creatures because it decreases their value, but I do name ones that I intend to keep because they're special to me, and I'm thinking about naming my breeding pairs once I start breeding them to keep it more organized. I have a pair of Hellhounds, for instance, the female is named Hellena and the male is named Hades.

What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
I'm a completionist. I have almost all the non-doni creatures now, so I'll be moving on to trying to collect all of those.

Do you do creature armies?
I didn't until the Pumpkin Wars. xD Now I have an accidental Hollowjack army of over 4k and I hold the current record, plus my spider army, so I'll probably be trying to keep those records.

Do you do quests?
I haven't focused on the quests yet just because I'm so busy collecting eventborns, but once that is finished I intend to finish all the quests, which I love.

Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
I've never gotten into the lineages thing.

"In-Character"
Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
Not really.

Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
Kind of had a vague idea of what a creature's personality is like, but never anything detailed.

Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
Well, I have some favorites here and there. Somebody gifted me a Foxfire Skulk recently and I named him Victor, and put him in a seperate tab, so I suppose he's kind of like my keep guardian.

[Ryutana]

General

• How is your Keep organized?
  So. Many. Tabs. So many. Um, the main tab, then my hatchlings tab. Then THREE DIFFERENT tabs for sorting creatures. Then I have tabs for my favorite creatures, those that share my birthday, gender swaps I need to do, tabs for any sort of quest eggs I've gathered that I still need to get the rest of, and so on and so forth. Just, look in my keep if you want to see just how many tabs I have.
• Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
  Some! Any that I plan to later breed are named so that instead of remembering creature numbers, I can use the names. The naming convention actually changes randomly. Most of my creatures have fandom based names, but others are random. Eventually I plan to go through and figure out names for all my creatures,. Some day. Names are usually paired, simply because its easy to keep breeding pairs together. Of course, I don't even consider naming any creatures I eventually plan to sell or give away.
• What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
  So, I'm collecting everything! I'm trying to gather a full family of all the different creatures (male/female adults, male/female hatchlings frozen under 1%, and an egg frozen at 0%). Mostly I'm focused on the stream creatures because those are easily enough gathered, but eventually I'll be moving to focus more heavily on the creatures from other origins later.
• Do you do creature armies?
  Yes! Telvian Panthers and Mist Stalkers, specifically. They both live in my "Panther Lair" tab. For now I'm keeping just a BUNCH of hatchlings with one adult breeding pair, but I might get more adults eventually.
• Do you do quests?
  Occassionally. Mostly just to be able to complete my collection.
• Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
  I do! I have four of my own personal lineages: Sombra Oscura (Telvian Panthers), of Stargate Command (Thunderbirds), dans la Renaissance (Sonerus Dragons), and of Oz (Direcores). I also collect other lineages,
  so I have several critters in my 'collected lineages' tab from other users' lineages.

"In-Character"

• Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
  Not, really? Like, I see myself wandering with Maerad and/or Cadvan (the adult Telvian Panthers of my Panther Lair), but I really just see myself? Perhaps dressed in clothing better suited for being a magi, but that's about it.
• Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
  Some of them! Tad Cooper definitely has a bit of a personality to him, and its based on TV Character his name comes from. (If you haven't seen Galavant, you should! He's only in the second season, but is adorable) He may be fantastic as inducing fear in others, but for the most part he is one of the calmest creatures in my keep. When I get around to naming everyone, I'm very likely to decide on personalities for more of them.
• Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
  Most of my Donis, really. However, my absolute favorite right now is one of my two Keep Guardians. He's one of my male Eldritch Dragons, Tad Cooper. He wasn't much to look at as a hatchling, and didn't inspire much fear, but nowadays ignores everyone.
  
  And of course, Helios the Solar Fox was my first Donation pet so he's one of my favorites too!

[CondorFlight]

This is a really good idea! I can't wait to read everyone's responses!

How is your Keep organized?
I have my eggs and hatchlings that I'm growing in my main tab, and then I have my "Collection" tab which I am slowly compiling full families of as many creatures that I can get my hands on... and other than that I sort of put large groups of creatures in their own tab, and then group animals in ways that make sense in my head... hahaha
Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
I wish I named them more, I name my donis... and my allies, but other than that it can be hard to think of that many names.
What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
I am such a completionist hahaha maybe someday I'll get there. Other than that, I just sort of vaguely collect as many creatures of many types that I can get my hands on? But I love birds, felines, wolves, foxes, bears... and dynastis
Do you do creature armies?
Not really... no
Do you do quests?
I try to do them all! For the creatures, and just for fun
Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
Ehhhhhh I go back and forth on this one. I usually avoid them though

"In-Character"
Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
Kind of? Like... I see myself as a magi? Like... magi clothes and stuff...
Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
Sometimes haha especially pets I particularly like.
Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
My Akhlut, most definitely. But I need to save up to change his name...

[freakazoid]

GENERAL
How is your Keep organized?
By the general areas creatures can be found in the MagiStream world! Mostly. I have individual tabs for: donis, eggs, hatchlings that I'm trying to grow, creatures I haven't sorted yet, extras, frozen eggs to send to Belmos, lineaged creatures, winged cats, and koi fish.

Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?
I only name some of my creatures, mostly because I have so many that naming them all something different & meaningful to each individual would be an enormous task I'm too lazy to embark upon. I also don't give my Pokemon nicknames, but I name almost every small knickknack I obtain in real life.

What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?
CATS. Specifically, winged cats, but ANY AND ALL FELINE CREATURES. I love any cats that aren't frozen eggs. And no, I'm not a completionist. I only keep creatures that I enjoy, whether I enjoy their art/their description/or just having them (ex. event creatures).

Do you do creature armies?
WINGED CATS. I used to army Stream koi, and still buy them on occasion, but mostly winged cats.

Do you do quests?
I try to complete every quest available to me, yeah. I like them - they make me think of games like Dragon Age & Skyrim. c:

Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?
I have acquired a large number of lineaged creatures & I try to breed the ones I particularly enjoy (and are easy to hatch lmfao). Mostly, though, I focus on my own Spindlewick direwolf lineage.

"IN-CHARACTER"
Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?
... yes. It's basically me as a magi, but yes LOL. There's a picture of her(/myself lolz) on my profile, but I haven't gotten around to fleshing out any specific details like area of study, constant creature companion(s), etc.

Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?
I've definitely attempted to, but I can't decide which ones I want to detail as individuals!!! I love them all!! It's too hard to choose which ones I want to be my persona's companions, haha.

Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?
I really, really like my male kuras tiger named Axl (after my real-life cat). c: But I also really like SO MANY OTHERS. If I had to pick one, though... it'd probably be him. He (along with at least one of my other tigers) was a gift from a super awesome person about five months into my MS "career" hahaha

Typing this made me a bit nostalgic, oddly enough. I was in like... sixth grade when I started on MS. I'm so stoked it's still around and doing so well!

[PeterCamenzind]

General

How is your Keep organized?

Mostly based on how much I like a certain creature. I have tabs like "Faves", "Loved Creatures" etc. I keep my Donies together, too.

Do you name some/all/none of your creatures? If so, what kind of naming conventions do you follow, if any?

I really don't have the time to name all of my creatures. I name some, mostly those I prefer over others and I try to name all Donies. I name them after things I like - fictional characters, for instance. (there's more info on this on my profile page)

What kind of creatures do you collect? Do you have any preferences, or are you a completionist?

I collect only creatures that I like. Otherwise, I collect 0.00% frozen eggs, one from each species.

Do you do creature armies?

I'm not a big fan of hoarding the same creatures. I have just a small raven tab and more owls since I am a big owl fan.

Do you do quests?

If I have the time. It depends on RL.

Do you create/breed lineages, or avoid them?

This aspect of the game is completely uninteresting to me.


"In-Character"

Weird question, but do you have a "magisona" or sorts, or some other kind of avatar you imagine yourself as in-game (like when doing quests or whatnot)?

I just imagine my avatar - a dark mage necromancer - who is more socially awkward than anything else. And a book-nerd who likes travelling. That's pretty much all the thought I've put into it.

Have you ever made up personalities for any of your creatures?

Not really. I kind of view them as familiars and not as characters that speak and have personalities.

Do you have a keep guardian/mascot/favorite creature?

Yes, my two Dreamcatcher Amphitheres. They are my favourite creatures on the site.