Ivory in Mist 2023 Mega Update {MUST READ}

Hello, fellow members of Ivory. Happy 2023, and welcome to the New Year. We hope your holiday was fantastic and you are all in great health.

We have some significant updates and exciting inspirations coming to you. This will be a lengthy announcement, and we'll try our best to make it simple and clear to comprehend. If at any point you are confused by the updates, please reference our brand new FAQ page, and if you are still in need of assistance, please tag one of your fellow Admins. With that said, let's get into it.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ THIS UPDATE THOROUGHLY, AS IT WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE ROLEPLAY.

Admins

Speaking of admins, please warmly welcome our newest Royal Admin, ⚜Emily Mei, Princess of the Hybrids. Emily will now be our Head Treasurer of Ivory's Gold & Finance. Yup, that's right, we are adding the importance of Currency within Ivory. There will be more information on Currency and its functionality later, so please keep reading.

Ivory in the Mist Staff Admins

Princess of Hybrids Emily Mei

Head Treasurer of Ivory's Gold & Finance

The Vampire Prince Hendrix [Hendery]

Chief of Admissions and Director of FAQs

Shapeshifter Queen Tatiana

Co-founder & Head of Congress: Suggestions, Rules & Regulations, FAQ

King of Demons NamVo

Founder, CEO, FAQ & Graphic Design

Currency

There is a saying that Money makes the world go round. So why not implement that in our world too? We decided to do this to encourage characters out of their bubble, inspire new ideas, move plots forward and bring more realism to the RP.

So what is the Currency within Ivory in the Mist, and how do you use it? Well, your points, of course. Heleo runs on the profit of Gold in your character's personal account - and for Royals, the amount of Mist produced in your realm each month. [See the Royal section below for more information.] see below for information on the game-changer of Ivory - TAXES! :)

Citizen Tax

• A Citizen Tax to your Kingdom MUST be paid no later than the last day of the month through the Central Bank and Finance.

• Taxes may vary from Kingdom to Kingdom depending on the Monarch. The minimum tax is 5 points, and the maximum possible tax is 25 points.

Property Tax

• All Businesses and Homeowners MUST pay a Property Tax of 50 points (per business AND home that is owned) no later than the last day of the month through the Central Bank and Finance.

Official Crowned Royalty Taxes / Exemptions

• Official Crowned Royalty [♕] are exempt from Citizen Taxes AND Property Taxes

• Official Crowned Royalty [♕] are responsible for paying their contribution of Mist Tax no later than the last day of the month to the Central Bank and Finance. (←See Heleo Grand Council Room for more details)

• Kingdom Mist Tax evasion/bankruptcy will result in loss of royalty and Jail time until the balance is completely paid in full (see the Tax Evasion section below for further information).

• If your character should ever have a balance of fewer than 200 points, it will result in your immediate arrest and enslavement REGARDLESS of status. If your character is a royal, they will immediately lose their Royalty status. In order to become a Free Citizen again, your character must pay the balance due to Central Bank and Finance.

• Former Royals who have been enslaved due to bankruptcy will NOT be returned to Royal status after paying their balance and will have to pay the Royalty Fee again to have their status returned.

Tax evasion

You may elect to have your character evade taxes. However, the Bank will keep a record of your tax evasion strikes.

• 1st Strike: The bank will issue a missed payment notice.

• 2nd Strike: A warning will result in your character(s) arrest until your debt has been paid.

  • While arrested, your character will have their assets frozen - meaning they will not receive monthly payments from businesses they own or their places of employment (this includes freelance work). They are also unable to make any purchases (housing, slaves, character changes, etc.)

  • Your character can STILL post in said businesses/places of employment as well as their accepted location(s) around Central and the Kingdoms while arrested.

• 3rd Strike: This will result in the loss of your character's freedom…

SEMI-/HIATUS - If you are on Semi-/Hiatus, these tax rules do NOT apply to you. However, all of your assets will be frozen. No points will be acquired on any characters until you return from your Hiatus.

Earning Currency

With all these new changes to Money working its way through Heleo, you might wonder how your character(s) will keep up, right? Time to get a job! That's right; we are adding more interactive ways to earn money for your character, build new connections, and of course, more ways to stress your character(s) out. There are more opportunities than ever to earn points regardless of social status in Ivory now, whether your FC is earning that hard coin through an honest day's work in Central or Freelancing to expand entrepreneurship in the underbelly of the Black Light District. More to come about The Black Light District & its functionality later, so please keep reading.

Employment:

To apply for a Job, tag an admin to request the job. If you are applying for a Boss/Owner/Manager position, you have some requirements before being accepted, as listed below.

Management/Ownership

• To apply to be a business manager/owner, you MUST pay a one-time fee of 100 points to Central Bank and Finance.

• At the beginning of the first week of each month, you MUST pay 50 points for Business Property Tax. (Official Crowned Royalty are exempted from Property Tax)

• You will get paid 40 points at the end of the month (10 points per week)

• You MUST have TWO active posts to qualify for this payment. We define an active post as a post within the calendar month that is at least 2-3 sentences long.

  • Example of a single active post: "Character A turns on the lights in the shop, finding everything as they'd left it the night before. "Time to start the day," they say to themselves."

• Please Tag an admin if your character(s) resign(s) from their position.

Employee/Freelancers

• You will get paid 20 points at the end of the month (5 points per week)

• You MUST have ONE active post to qualify for this payment. We define an active post as a post within the calendar month that is at least 2-3 sentences long.

  • Example of a single active post: "Character A walks into work, clocking in at the time clock. They sigh, hoping that the day moves quickly."

• Please tag an admin if your character(s) resigns from their position.

Royalty

We know many of you wanted to have more roles and opportunities for your Royal characters, and we're working on that. You worked your off to get the title, so you might as well start seeing some benefits (and consequences), right? After all, Kingdoms are known to rise and fall depending on the leadership (or lack thereof). Heleo Grand Council Room will have all Royals meet to discuss Kingdom updates, Form alliances/enemies, and pay the Mist tax contribution. There is a list of Benefits and Responsibilities located within the room. Please click here for more details. For more questions, please feel free to PM an admin.

Room Updates

Welcome Home Hybrids

Finally, it happened. Hybrids have a place to plant their feet and get a fresh start. A place that accepts them for what they are. Though one of their future Monarchs (Emily Mei) currently remains ignorant of her birthright to the throne, that doesn't mean they can't build up this No Man's Land to call their home.

Black Light District

We noticed missed opportunities for our less-than-law-abiding citizens to interact and establish their underground empires. As a result, we will be introducing the new Black Light District.

• This part of Central is notorious for its highly illegal activity, including but not limited to: Gambling, Black Market Merchandising, Illegal ion, and an Underground Fight Club.

• Here your character(s) can earn points as an entrepreneur without paying those damn business taxes or working at a 9-5 job as Criminals. Entrepreneurs of the Black Light District do NOT pay a Business Property Tax or a fee to purchase a business; however, they do not receive the monthly income/wages that the businesses/employees receive in Central. You are responsible for hustling your own coin.

• PLEASE NOTE: The Black Light District is completely 100% Rated M, and will be home to plenty of potentially triggering content. By choosing to RP in these rooms, you agree to be subjected to such material. These rooms will be RPed in the same amount of care as the Dark Room (which is now located in The Black Light District as well), so user discretion is advised.

• Please keep in mind that the RP's main rules should still be followed - you MUST receive OCC consent from your RP partner before posting there.

New Rooms Available:

Heleo's Grand Hall Council [Location: Central]

Central Bank and Finance [Location: Central]

Black Jack Casino [Location: Black Light District]

Brothel The Foxhole [Moved to Black Light District]

Black Market [Location: Black Light District]

Blackout Brawl [Location: Black Light District]

Black Lotus Lounge [Location: Black Light District]

No Man's Land [Location: World Map - Home of the Hybrids]

World Map Name Changes

Angels>Crystal Citadel

Hybrids> No Man's Land

Kitsune> Kirins Peak

Fairies> Fiddlers Meadows

Vampires> Lioncourt De Sovereign

Werewolves> Pythian Desert

Mages/Humans> Marteria Highlands

Shapeshifters> Mystique Rainforest

Dragons> Bahamut's Summit

Ghouls> Undead Wastelands

Merfolks —(Same) The Forgotten Island

Demon —(Same) The Underworld

Cyborgs–(Same) Circuit City

Closing Statement

If you're still hanging in there with us, thank you, and we greatly appreciate your patience. We know this is a lot of new information, and we don't expect it to be perfect immediately, but we will grow and adjust as needed. So if you have any comments or suggestions, please tag the appropriate admins in the FAQ room, and we'll try and get back to you as soon as possible. We are going to do some small room revamping in the next coming days, so be sure to save your work. Welcome to the new and improved Ivory in the Mist, and thank you for being a part of this chaotically weird family.

Sincerely, Your Royal Ivory Staff

~King NamVo, Queen Tati, Prince Hendrix & Princess Emily~

All new changes will go into effect as of Jan 4th, 2023 midnight PST!

To ensure you've read the information thoroughly, please state the year you joined Ivory and the first character you joined with.