Merlin's pants, can you believe it? We've somehow made it through another year here at Vault 713. In just a few days, we'll be kicking off our eleventh year in the running! It's been a long year - we've had a lot to go through as a community, but we're still here, bigger and better than ever!
We have just a few announcements for you all to round out the last of 2011 - these are extra, extra important, so please pay extra close attention. Things will be operating a little differently for the next few days as we prepare to release brand new content on January 1, so we don't want to catch anyone off guard!
There's still time to send holiday cards! If you haven't sent a card yet, there's still a few days left to do so! We will be sending them out as frequently as possible this week, with the last batch being on New Years Day. You can click here to visit the form or find it in the Story Planning forum.
Character Creation will be suspended on Wednesday, December 28. The staff needs to do a bit of a census before we can release some new content on January 1, so we need to suspend character creation during this time. New accounts will still be able to be registered and those wishing to create new characters can do so in the Character Workshop forum in the mean time, and then re-post their character sheets in the character creation forums on Sunday, January 1st.
The Vault will be closed on Saturday, December 31 for upgrades. We will be adding our new content during the day on December 31 to be released around or after Midnight CST on January 1. Our sister sites - Roleplay Hub and Second City will remain open for those wishing to continue chatting, role playing, or hanging out. We will also be having a New Years Eve Celebration on the Hub all day in the chatbox - come stop by and celebrate the New Year with us as we ring in Midnight all around the world.
Credits will no longer be sent to users without Roleplay Hub accounts, effective January 1. To make things easier on our staff, credits will no longer be sent to Vault members who are not also registered at http://roleplayhub.com. We apologize for the inconvenience, but this is an effort to streamline things for all of our members and staff members and have credits sent quicker so that you can use them sooner!
Did you join before November 15, 2011? You could be a Vaultkeeper! The Vault team is desperately looking for a few good witches and wizards to fill our ranks. We have a lot of new features coming for 2012, so we're gonna need a few extra hands on deck! If you think you're interested, please click here to visit our hiring page, fill out the form, and send it off to *Admin Manda. While there is a lot of work involved in being on staff, it can be a fun and rewarding opportunity, and you get a first glimpse at what is coming up next for the site. Give it a shot - what have you got to lose?
Roleplay Hub is also looking for staff members! If you think you like the idea of being a staff member but don't feel up to the demand of the Vault, consider applying for a spot on the RoleplayHub.com team! Anyone who's been a member of the Hub for at least one month is welcome to apply, and we are adding a ton of new features to the Hub in the New Year as well, so we'll need the help! You can click here to find out how to apply.
Plot Update - What's In Store for 2012 To kick off the new year, we're going to be "fast forwarding" our plot a little bit. The Vault has been operating a little behind where we actually should be for the books come January, so we're going to catch everything up rapidly. When you log on for the first time on January 1, expect to see a slew of new Educational Decrees that will have been "posted over the last few weeks," a Dumbledore's Army meeting that insinuates that "several meetings have already taken place," as well as some new plots being kicked off all around the globe.
Keep Yourself In The Loop Whether you're a fan of social media or not, it's always handy to bookmark the Vault Facebook Page and Vault 713 Twitter. Both sites can be accessed even if you don't have a Facebook or Twitter account, and we often do promotions there and give updates while the site is closed or inaccessible. This has been a valuable resource for us in the past during server moves and other such events, and we highly recommend at least bookmarking one or both.
![[YEAR BAR] 2nd Year](./images/ranks/NewBars/SCHOOL_Year2.png "[YEAR BAR] 2nd Year")
![[JOB TITLE] Auror](./images/ranks/NewBars/MOM_Auror.png "[JOB TITLE] Auror")
![[YEAR BAR] 7th Year](./images/ranks/NewBars/SCHOOL_Year7.png "[YEAR BAR] 7th Year")