[Xanth]

It's here! The new Housing system is up and ready to go!

What does this mean to you?

If you already have a house:

Please read the new Housing page. You'll notice that things have changed dramatically, and unfortunately this means that while your character will be better off (or should be), you have a bit of updating work to do.

With the new housing comes a new Inventory section for your profile (you can find this new Inventory in the Application Template and information on how to fill it out in the Character Creation Guide.

You'll also need to reclaim your character's house using the new form. I've tried to work the new system so that descriptions shouldn't need to change (very much, at least), but you do need to check over your old description and update it if need be.

Housing is now less reliant on cash, and while is itself mandatory doesn't require a thread so if you don't want people to be able to visit your character at home, you don't need to post in the Housing forum. With that in mind, you can have your old thread archived (just ask me in the shoutbox or post in the Moderator Requests thread).

You can get a full refund (as opposed to the usual 80% refund) on your old house if you claim this refund before December 31st (this year). You don't have to do anything extra to get it, just fill out the claim form for your new house and (assuming you aren't upgrading at the same time) I'll do the rest. However, you can also use that refund money to upgrade your character's home if you want (to save money going back and forth). If that's the case please make a note that you want to use your refund to pay for the upgrade and then send any extra as required, or I'll send you any leftover.

If you don't already own a house:

The good news is you have it much easier, because you don't have to go around updating stuff. All you have to do is post a claim (and upgrade, if you can afford it) form, and update your Inventory and Current Residence sections in your profile. (You can find this new Inventory in the Application Template and information on how to fill it out in the Character Creation Guide.)

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I apologise profusely for the great inconvenience this means, but like I said, I aimed to make this new system much more friendly in-character so hopefully we shouldn't be as limited now in terms of where and in what characters can live. I think it'll also be friendlier out of character (after the initial changeover) since new characters won't have to post in the claim thread - they'll just post their housing info in their application.

And no one is forced to post a house thread they don't want, unless they want it.

List of updated pages:

• Housing - must read
  
• Application Template (added new inventory and full form option) - must read
  
• Character Creation Guide (added new inventory, info about the various types of possessions allowed, and tweaked other sections to tidy up) - reading the inventory section is very strongly recommended, but you probably don't need to look at the rest unless you're creating a new character
  
• Skill Packs (explaining which pack buys what tier and cleaned up "this pack includes" lists) - recommended
  
• Housing on the website now just redirects to Housing on the wiki
  
• Character FAQ, specifically, "What possessions can my character own?" - recommended
  
• House claim thread (edited forms and info) - must read (since you have to claim a house )

I hope you like the new system, but if you have any questions or comments, you can either post here or PM me.