What are the Murrah? The Murrah are an extensive adoptable that are created and run by Shayrah, creatures that are specifically designed for owners to be able to do a lot with. There are many items and traits and variations available to the Murrah, as well as opportunities to roleplay with them and build their characters. Roleplaying and writing is certainly not required in order to enjoy the Murrah, however. If you just like collecting and displaying your adoptables, 'dressing them up,' or even making little character pages for them, that is still perfectly fine. Like many of the more complicated adoptables, the Murrah can both breed and grow, with the right items and forms. More information on this can be found in the Library. In short, the Murrah are a race of refugee creatures, who are escaping their home world of Pelmei in order to escape their enslavement by another race of creatures called the Urhein. The Murrah are slowly escaping through a dangerous portal Tunnel with the help of the Runners: a group of Murrah who are dedicated to helping others make it through the Tunnel safely. On the other side of the tunnel is Haurah, a new world that the Murrah hope to make a safe home out of. There are darkly magical beings already living there, however, so the Murrah have opened another--much more unstable--Tunnel to the human world. Through this constantly-collapsing tunnel, they can reach part of the way through and bond with a human guardian. With the human's soul helping the Murrah defend itself from the dark magic of Haurah, the Murrah are beginning to make a successful attempt at settling there, and making a new life for themselves. The Murrah never actually travel to the human world however, and a human has never set foot in Haurah. All communication and interaction between a Murrah and its Guardian is done through dreams, feelings, and/or thought-speech. This place has been established so that you can learn all you need to know about the Murrah, their world, and how you can become a guardian. There is quick and important information offered below, but if you really want to learn about the Murrah, be sure to visit the Library. The Forum is another important place that every prospective Murrah owner should visit, as that is where all interaction, communication, and roleplaying takes place. Also, be sure to join the PI mailing list, by sending a message to Shayrah, requesting to join. Welcome to Haurah! Quick Murrah Info The following is a bit of quick, but important, information about the Murrah, so you can better understand the Murrah as you start your quest in understanding them. It is suggested that you become familiar with this information, especially if you plan on roleplaying or writing about your Murrah. The information in the Library is important to peruse, but these are some very key points that really should not be missed. These are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, and are vital to understanding the Murrah. --Murrah are mammals...sort of Most Murrah are considered something akin to 'cool-blooded.' They are essentially warm-blooded, but they take extra energy from outside warmth and sunshine. Too much cold or darkness can put them into a state of torpor, or hibernation. Each Murrah is very individual in how much this effects them, and how sensitive they are to it. There are some variations of Murrah that are highly resistant to cold, and some that are much less. --They can make animal sounds, but communicate through mind-speak Outwardly, Murrah primitively communicate through a crude, but widely varying, system of animalistic sounds. Growls, hoots, purrs, shrilling, howling, chirping, and knickering are only a few of the sounds that Murrah can be caught making. However, they have a fully-functional language sense, all through telepathic communication. They can communicate with both Murrah and humans in this fashion. The farther away the connection, the harder it is to 'hear.' However, family members, extremely close friends, and bonded humans, all have a greater connection with each other, and can use mind-speak with each other at greater distances. Also, how loud a Murrah's mind-voice, and how well they can hear the mind-voices of others, varies between individuals. Murrah cannot, however, communicate with the Urhein using mind-speak. It is for this reason that the Urhein believe the Murrah to be more like animals than sentient creatures. --Yes...their eyes glow, and they can hold and manipulate objects in their hands Murrah eyes have a dim illumination to them, only visible in shadow and darkness. Some things, such as some blindnesses, can alter the amount of glow one way or the other. Also, some of the darker colors glow less than others. As for their hands, the little 'thumbs' on either side of their hand are flexible and dexterous enough to grip even small objects. Their larger middle hoof-fingers are more flexible than they look as well, and the fleshy pad on the underside of the hoof part helps to grip. They're about as dexterous with their hands as higher primates are. --A Murrah can feel its human guardian If a Murrah has been bonded with a human guardian, then it is almost like having an invisible friend...who sometimes isn't so invisible. Murrah can mind-speak with their guardian, feel their presence, and sometimes even more. Some Murrah report seeing glimpses of their guardian, feeling a touch, and even dreaming of traveling through the human's world. These manifestations vary, but generally stay on the low side. The humans are not actually in Haurah of course, they are just soul-bonded to their Murrah. --Most Murrah use cervid (deer) terminology Like so... Male -- Buck, Stag Female -- Doe Young -- Fawn Group -- Herd Nearly all Murrah use this system, though some rogue clans or groups may use the feline, canine, bovine, equine, or some other type of terminology. Roleplaying and How it Affects the Murrah The Murrah are designed for roleplaying and story-building, but you do not need to do these things in order to enjoy your Murrah. Roleplaying just opens a huge window of opportunity to add and change things about both your Murrah and the world of Haurah. As clans rise and fall, and new territory is conquered and explored, your Murrah become integral characters in a massive story. If you don't want to roleplay (which I highly suggest trying anyway!), you can still become involved in the story. By messaging me and talking about your Murrah and your ideas for them, or writing about them in other ways, a more static and shorter story develops. You can make a little page for your Murrah on your own site and write about their personality, or write short stories if you prefer, and post it on the Forum. All of these things will count toward getting your Murrah items, titles, or places in a clan that work with the story you're building. There may be a more formal system of points acquired through story-building, but for now, things are decided and awarded more casually. Interested in roleplaying, but feeling a bit intimidated or confused? If so, then please check our handy little Murrah RP for Dummies article. There really isn't any need to feel overwhelmed about jumping into the wide world of Murrah roleplay, and I'm hoping that this little page will help some of you who feel that way. Please check it out! --> --Murrah RP for Dummies!-- The Cert So, to clear up some of the phrases used on the cert, and what they're for, here's a handy little guide to the more unusual ones. More information on each of these things can be found in the Library. Clan -- This is what clan your Murrah belongs to. A Murrah automatically takes on the clan of its mother when born, unless it actually lives with the clan of its father instead. If your Murrah has just arrived from Pelmei, it is probably clanless. Acquiring or changing clan affiliation is usually done through roleplaying and story-building. Murrah hold prejudice against other Murrah who stay clanless for to long, and most clans have some sort of rivalry between them. If your Murrah has a (P) next to the name of its clan, that means that its clan (or at least its clan leader) is still back on Pelmei. So, in Haurah, they are still essentially clanless. Bio -- Your Murrah's Bio is what best describes where your critter places in Murran society. This can change throughout your Murrah's life, depending on how its character is developed. Your Murrah's Bio is very important, and each one comes with its own benefits and drawbacks, and means different stigmas and stereotypes, for your Murrah. This is more than just your Murrah's 'job.' It is how the rest of Haurah views and judges your Murrah. History -- This is a word or short phrase that best describes how your Murrah came to be, or what it once was. This is usually what it was before coming to Haurah, something about its birth, or the most important Bio that is has had in its past. This really doesn't ever change, except for very particular cases. If nothing has really changed about your Murrah since its arrival, then its Bio is usually the same as its History. Traits -- These are a few overwhelming personality traits, skills, abilities, or secondary status titles. Any of them can be positive, negative, or both. The things listed here mostly have to do with character-building and roleplaying. Some Murrah have Traits, and some do not. All listed traits need to be remembered and kept in mind, especially during roleplay. For example: if your Murrah has "hot-headed" or "obsessive" listed here, you better darn well incorporate that into your roleplaying somewhere. If your Murrah has no Traits, do not despair. That just means that there are no predetermined things that you need to remember when defining your Murrah's character. So, any Murrah can be played with a bad temper if the owner chooses, but those that have "bad tempered" as a Trait need to be played that way. ©2007 - Shannon Legler