Production of artifacts are on hold and will not be shipped out

Dragon Merit Points

The Dragon Merit System is designed to provide ways volunteers and other contributors to The Grey Tavern to show off artifacts, trinkets, and other reward objects based on what they’ve built, created, and done for and in conjunction with The Grey Tavern.

Dragons

The rewards for this system are dragon objects and artifacts - even dragons themselves can be rewards -  which are obtained through accumulating Dragon Merit Points. 

Dragons are projects a volunteer has had the pleasure of being a part of. They are games, stories, art, etc. that people volunteer to help create and put together. 

Imagine, if you will, that at the beginning of the month, you determine to obtain the dragon available for only that month, and, so, when you begin, the dragon is only a small, wee one that is very much dependent on its mother. Throughout the month, the projects and tasks you fulfill can be things (food) for the little one, lessons (skills) you teach or prepare for the little dragon, quality time (tavern volunteering) with the dragon, and friends and new experiences (community assistance and referrals) you bring to the little dragon. By the end, you and the little dragon are quite close, and the dragon, potentially, is quite developed. It truly is the project themselves that are the dragon.

So, every time an individual is assisting The Grey Tavern with a certain project during a certain time period, that individual can receive a Dragon Merit Point.

There are 7 dragon tiers that can be unlocked through accumulating Dragon Merit Points.

Using Dragon Merit Points and Unlocking Dragon Tiers

Dragon Merit Points can be used to create a dragon of a certain tier. It should be noted that Dragon Merit Points accumulated within a certain month go toward the dragon type for that month only.

Essentially, the Dragon Merit System is simply:

  1. You perform a task
  2. Submit your Order Veracity Report
  3. Earn a Dragon Merit Point, potentially (More on this under “How to Earn Dragon Merit Points below)
  4. Spend it on one Tier 1 dragon
  5. Repeat Step 1-4 per task you do with The Grey Tavern
  6. Combine dragons to create dragons of a higher tier

How to Combine Dragons

Combining Dragons is very simple but harder than it sounds.

  1. 2 Tier 1 Dragons can combine into a Tier 2 Dragon
  2. 2 Tier 2 Dragons can combine into a Tier 3 Dragon
  3. 2 Tier 3 Dragons can combine into a Tier 4 Dragon
  4. 2 Tier 4 Dragons can combine into a Tier 5 Dragon
  5. 2 Tier 5 Dragons can combine into a Tier 6 Dragon
  6. 2 Tier 6 Dragons can combine into a Tier 7 Dragon

How the Merit System is Beneficial to Volunteers

Dragons in the Merit System allow volunteer players to participate in a more fantastical experience of both roleplay as well as Merit-based respect.

Those within the Tavern who fulfill the most tasks within the parameters of the task and participate in the most activities earn the most reward, giving them draconic powers canonized within The Grey Tavern. 

However, dragons do not immediately translate to the immersive world. Dragons in The Grey Tavern are largely conceptual creatures that exist when players play a form of imaginative roleplay that takes part in a realm called the Dragon Realm. 

Dragon Realm

This realm is in development and certain volunteers may have the ability to help us create this Dragon Realm.

However, all rewards earned now, will manifest immediately in Dragon Realm gameplay once the Dragon Realm is released. So, earn them now! There are still ways to show case and show off your contributions to The Grey Tavern and your work on projects even before the Dragon Realm is released.

Rewards

Season Reward

A Season is about a month's time period. Within a particular Season, only 1 dragon type is available to unlock. And within each dragon type there are 7 evolutions of the dragon or 7 tiers.

Each Season has a different dragon scale model that is associated with the dragon type for that Season, and the Season a project or task is completed in determines which scale and dragon type a volunteer can get. This does not have to do with a volunteer’s sign up date. Instead, the Season Reward has everything to do with what Season a project or task was completed in.

Volunteers, if they’ve earned it, can have a dragon scale necklace for every dragon, if they desire. The dragon scale necklace represents that a volunteer put in a more-than-note-worthy amount of work and effort to earn the Dragon Merit Points necessary to acquire that dragon associated with the scale. The scale is a way to physically communicate what you’ve earned and accomplished with and within The Grey Tavern.

By completing projects and tasks within a Season, that Season’s dragon is unlocked for that volunteer to collect. The associated scales are available at a discounted price for that month.

How to Earn Dragon Merit Points

The Relationship Between Veracity and Dragon Merit Points

Veracity is used to determine the amount of Dragon Merit Points that can be assigned every single week. 

Who Awards Dragon Merit Points

Typically, Veracity is reported to an Order leader, usually the Master, on a weekly basis. Then once that Veracity report is given to an Order leader, the Order leader decides who is going to receive a particular allotment of Dragon Merit Points based upon the total amount of effort. 

Order Leaders Guidance

It is highly recommended that the Order leader follow the recommended Grey Tavern point distribution number (shown below). The only reasons why the Order leader should vary from this is if that leader suspects:

  • A person cheated
  • A number isn’t quite correct 

In such instances, an Order leader should also report infractions in this manner and process:

  1. First, they take up the concern, if appropriate, with the infractor.
  2. In cases in which it is not prudent to take up the infraction with the infractor, the infraction should be reported to a Sopher of the appropriate level. 

Additionally, a leader who repeatedly misattributes or misconstrues the number of Dragon Merit Points from the recommended amount without working to correct the discrepancy can and should be reported to a Sopher. 

Furthermore, infraction reports should be made known to the violators. In the case of minors being the violators, Guardians should:

  • Almost always be present when an infraction is stated against a minor
  • Know that an infraction is taking place

This is done to protect The Grey Tavern and the child as well as to help to create and/or continue to grow a developmental bond between Guardian and child.

Who Gets Dragon Merit Points

The number of Dragon Merit Points that are given to each Order largely is determined by: 

  1. The sheer number of Orders and
  2. The Veracity total of each Order/ by the total number of Orders 

This is to discover the average Veracity score per Order.  There are two outcomes for any Order at this point:

  1. Any Order that is found below the average Veracity score is not given any Dragon Merit Points that week for distribution. 
  2. Any Order above the average Veracity score will receive a number of Dragon Merit Points in relation to their contributions as compared to the other Orders that are above the average Veracity Score.

A Veracity Report to an Order Leader may look like this:


The minimum Dragon Merit Points that can be distributed is 1, except in the cases listed below.

What Happens when Order Merit Points are Less Than the Number of Order Members?

As family Orders and other Orders are set up slightly differently, this problem will be solved in 2 ways.

Family Orders

Guardians, there are 2 paths you can take:

  1. The top performer should receive the majority of points if those are rightfully theirs by average.

    For example, you have 7 people in the Order, have 5 Dragon Merit Points to distribute, and say only 4 of the 7 participated that week and 1 of the 4 went above and beyond. With that circumstance, you would give 2 points to the top performer and 1 to each of the others.

  2. All Order members in the top categories receive a participation trophy.

    This path would manifest as follows:

    If the number of Order Merit Points is less than the number of Order members, then the Dragon Merit Points would be given first to the highest contributor, or the one with the highest Veracity score for that week, then the next highest contributor, then the third, and so on until the Dragon Merit Points available for distribution for that Order runs out.

    When this is the case, even when the highest earner of Veracity for that week earns double the points of the next highest earner, each of the top earners equal to the number of Dragon Merit Points to distribute receive an equal number of Dragon Merit Points.

    For example, if you have 7 people in the Order and have 5 Dragon Merit Points to distribute, then the individuals within that Order with the 5 highest Veracity scores for that week each receive 1 Dragon Merit Point.

The first path is recommended by The Grey Tavern. So, it will follow that path for giving recommended Dragon Merit Point allocations unless a Guardian communicates with The Grey Tavern otherwise.

Other Orders

If the number of Order Merit Points is less than the number of Order members, then the Dragon Merit Points would be given first to the highest contributor, or the one with the highest Veracity score for that week, then the second, then the third, and so on until the Dragon Merit Points for that Order runs out. 

When this is the case, even when the highest earner of Veracity for that week earns double the points of the next highest earner, each of the top earners equal to the number of Dragon Merit Points to distribute receive an equal number of Dragon Merit Points.

For example, if you have 7 people in the Order and have 5 Dragon Merit Points to distribute, then the individuals within that Order with the 5 highest Veracity scores for that week each receive 1 Dragon Merit Point.