Before I Impressed to Zivath, I had never ridden a dragon online anywhere. While it does instill a certain dedication to the game after all, it isn’t everyone who gets to ride a gold dragon it is also very, very hard on a person. There are many assumptions that are made about goldriders, and not just by newbies or those who simply have never ridden at all. By nature of the books, gold riders are the focus of the games in general. It is assumed they know all that is asked of them. While it is given that not even a veteran player on a game can know everything about the game, it is doubly difficult for a new rider, especially a new goldrider, when they pretty much have to ask and ask and ask about everything to try to get a handle on things. (If you don’t want to learn things, don’t ride at all.)

Your own worth will come in to question. If not by others, then by yourself. There are only so many goldriders. In all honesty, they are an unusual breed, because there can only be so many ‘allowed’ without appearing to be ICly inaccurate. No game ever ‘takes’ a dragon/rider away from a player unless they’ve done something reprehensible. However, there will come a time when you have to judge for yourself about keeping your goldrider, because of any number of questions. Do you simply not have the time? Are you contributing to your weyr? Is your presence preventing a new player from coming in as a goldrider staff member? Is it simply driving you so completely insane that going postal pales in comparison to what you really want to do?

When gold riders are chosen, there are standard things that are looked at. Are they active? Are they active in rp? Do they know tact? Do they have patience? Are they personable? And some things that the particular needs of the Weyr in Search asks that are pertinent to them then. There are many hurdles to pass, and even if you pass all of them, it may not mean a thing if they don’t ‘see your character as a goldrider.’ So once a player passes all of the conjecture and opinions, and that gold is theirs, they tend to be dropped from concern. ‘Oh, you’re gold, you knew what you were getting into.’ Something that every potential goldrider must be sure to have is a moral support group, and made of people outside their home area. Not just to complain to or anything, but to get an outside view of things. To talk to that other person, and discover, hey, it isn’t just here, is it? Even talking about each others whatever and not talking about the game has been known to keep people from just tossing a game because of stress. If nothing else, understanding... both giving it and receiving it, are paramount necessities.

Gold riders are often told that it’s all guts and no glory. When it gets to that point, it’s time to take a step back and look at the situation. If there is nothing to balance out all the work, no play at all, then things get hairy. A goldrider’s IC life is very unchanging, compared to any other rider. There can be no aspirations to be anything other than what they are. No wingleaders, weyrleaders, weyrseconds, wingseconds, or even weyrlingmasters. After a while, they start becoming dependant on rp to find the fun. But if the ‘soap opera’ life doesn’t appeal to the player... or to their home area, as what a gold rider does affects the weyr, no matter what... and there is not much else, an incredible amount of frustration can be encountered. The need to do something to get out of a rut can become overwhelming. It is more than having an NPC life of doing stuff, it’s having something that doesn’t need to depend on angst to enjoy.

Leadership is a key quality of a goldrider. Leadership and honesty. Every goldrider is considered for their potential to become a senior someday, in the event they are needed. Unfortunately, this can end up hurting the new goldrider after a while. Having been in the military myself, it is an aspect that few people consider at all. When you are in the military, you are trained and live the entire enlistment in a perpetual ‘waiting’ state, poised to take action... if it’s necessary. If it isn’t necessary, it doesn’t mean that one can relax at all. On the contrary, the tension of ‘waiting’ is usually increased. There is very little relief from it in the military until one either leaves, or starts slacking off (which of course usually hurts promotion potential, hence hurts getting better pay.) Whether or not they are told that the likelihood may be slim that they’d ever see senior, every gold rider starts focusing on that slim bit as happening, and that they’ll be called on. ‘Waiting.’

Is goldriding fun? It can be. Is goldriding a pain in the arse? It can be. Is it worth it? It can be. Is being a goldrider easy? Hell, no. From before the moment of Impression, a person must work to get that gold dragon. And then they have to work harder, not to ‘keep’ the dragon, but to keep that spark that made that moment of Impression a joyful experience. Goldriding isn’t about how many hours one spends online. It isn’t about how much they rp in large groups. Goldriding is about being there for people, friends and strangers alike. It is about responding to questions and requests, be it via mail or in person. It is about the greater good, of the Weyr, and of game in its entirety. It is about the players as a group and as individuals over self.

So when you look at what you are, and what you are doing, whether or not you are a goldrider, a hopeful, or any other player, ask yourself this. Is it worth it?