Common Rooms (Player Houses)
Join a player-created House, access your Common Room, and bond with fellow students. Press the secret levers, turn the secret knobs, and enter your sanctuary.
What Are Common Rooms?
Common Rooms are private gathering spaces for player-created Houses (called "clans" in the code). Think of them as guilds with a Harry Potter flavor - each House has its own Common Room accessible only to members, complete with intricate locks, private chat, leadership hierarchy, and customizable identity. This is separate from the four canonical Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor, Slytherin, etc.) - these are player-run organizations.
The system centers around a "great marble lobby filled with pillars" where doors lead to various Houses' Common Rooms. Each door has "intricate mechanisms which are obviously elaborate locks designed to be opened only by those who have been educated on how to operate them." Watch other wizards "glance about nervously" before "touching various levers and knobs" - with a metallic "Chunk," the lock disengages and admits them to their sanctuary.
The Common Room Lobby
The Setting:
When you visit the Common Room area (accessible from location navigation when in Hogwarts):
- Location: Great marble lobby filled with pillars
- Doors: Various doors around walls leading to different Common Rooms
- Locks: Each door has elaborate mechanisms opened only by educated members
- Other Wizards: Watch nervous glances, secret lever-pressing, metallic "Chunk" sounds
- The Registrar: Karissa sits at highly polished desk in center of lobby
- Her Role: Takes filings for new Houses, accepts applications to existing Houses
House Ranks
The Hierarchy:
Newly Sorted (Applicant)
Status: Applied to House but not yet accepted by leadership. Can withdraw application anytime. Cannot access Common Room yet.
Member
Status: Full House member. Can access Common Room, chat with housemates, view House info. Cannot modify House settings.
Prefect (Officer)
Status: Trusted member with administrative powers. Can update MoTD (Message of the Day) and House description. Can manage membership applications.
Staff Member / Head of House (Leader)
Status: Highest rank, full control over House. Can promote/demote members, accept/reject applications, modify all House settings, disband House.
Creating a New House
Starting Your Own House:
Requirements and process (configurable by admin):
- Gold Cost: Config::goldtostartclan (default varies, typically 1000+ gold)
- Gem Cost: Config::gemstostartclan (default varies, typically 5+ gems)
- House Name: Maximum 50 characters, displayed on player bios and overview pages
- Short Name: Maximum 5 characters, shown next to player names in commentary (e.g.,
) - Color Codes: NOT permitted in House name or short name
- Your Rank: Automatically become Head of House upon creation
- Approval: May require admin approval depending on server settings
Application Process:
- Visit Common Room lobby, talk to Karissa
- Fill out New House Application Form (name + short name)
- Pay gold and gem costs
- Wait for admin approval (if required)
- House created, you're automatically Head of House
Joining an Existing House
Application Process:
- Browse Houses: Ask Karissa for listings - she points to marquee board showing all Houses
- House List: Shows House short name, full name, member count, sorted by size
- View Details: Click any House to see description, membership details, leadership
- Apply: Submit application from House detail page
- System Mail: House leaders receive automatic notification of your application
- Wait: Status becomes "Newly Sorted" until leader accepts/rejects
- Withdraw: Can cancel application anytime before acceptance
Withdrawal Process:
If you're "Newly Sorted" (applicant status): Tell Karissa you're no longer interested. She reaches into desk, withdraws your application, tears it up: "You wouldn't have been happy there anyhow, I don't think," as she tosses the shreds in trash can.
Inside Your Common Room
Common Room Features:
Entry text: "Having pressed the secret levers and turned the secret knobs on the lock of the door to your House Common Rooms, you gain entrance and chat with your house mates."
Message of the Day (MoTD):
- Display: Shown at top of Common Room in special formatting
- Purpose: Announcements, welcome messages, House news
- Edit Access: Prefects and above
- Formatting: Supports color codes and formatting
Commentary System:
- Private Chat: Only House members can read/post
- Section: "clan-{clanid}" - unique per House
- Display: Shows 25 recent messages
- Custom Say: Houses can customize the "says" verb (e.g., "whispers", "announces")
- Action: "Speak" to add message
House Description:
- Display: Shown at bottom of Common Room (collapsible)
- Purpose: House lore, rules, values, recruitment pitch
- Edit Access: Prefects and above
- Public: Visible to non-members viewing House details
Membership Details:
- Breakdown: Count of members at each rank
- Format: "Newly Sorted: 3, Member: 12, Prefect: 2, Head of House: 1"
- Auto-Promotion: If Head of House account expires, highest-ranking member auto-promoted
- Visible: All members can see counts
Common Room Navigation
Available Options:
- Update MoTD/Description: Prefects+ can modify House messaging
- View Membership: See detailed member list with ranks
- Online Members: Quick link to see which housemates are currently online
- Module Hooks: Various modules can add House-specific features
Managing Your House (Leaders/Prefects)
Leadership Powers:
MoTD & Description Editing:
Prefects and above can update the Message of the Day and House Description. Changes are credited to your character name.
Membership Management:
- Accept Applications: Approve "Newly Sorted" members
- Reject Applications: Deny entry to applicants
- Promote Members: Grant Prefect status to trusted members
- Demote Members: Remove Prefect status if needed
- Remove Members: Kick troublemakers from House
Head of House Powers:
- All Prefect Powers: Plus additional administrative control
- Appoint Prefects: Promote members to officer status
- Disband House: Delete entire House (warning: permanent!)
- Custom Say Verb: Change how members "speak" in commentary
Strategy & Tips
House Strategy
- Choose Carefully: House membership affects your social circle - pick one aligned with your playstyle
- Short Name Matters: 5-character limit shows everywhere - make it recognizable
- No Color Codes: House names can't use colors - keep it simple and readable
- Active Houses: Check member count and online members before applying
- MoTD Updates: Keep it fresh - shows House is active and cared for
- Description Polish: Public-facing - make it compelling for recruitment
- Prefect Selection: Promote active, trustworthy members who enhance community
- Application Review: Check applicant profiles before accepting
- House Identity: Develop unique culture, traditions, inside jokes
- Commentary Etiquette: Common Room is private - more relaxed than public areas
- Module Integration: Many modules add House-specific content - explore thoroughly
- Auto-Promotion Risk: If Head of House leaves, oldest highest-rank inherits
- Empty Houses: Houses with zero members auto-deleted by system
- Withdrawal Freedom: Can leave House anytime (except during application phase)
- Creating vs Joining: Creating costs resources but grants full control; joining is free but starts at bottom
Admin Configuration
Configurable Settings:
- Creation Cost (Gold): Config::goldtostartclan - how much gold to create House
- Creation Cost (Gems): Config::gemstostartclan - how many gems to create House
- Registrar Name: getsetting('clanregistrar','Karissa') - NPC who manages Houses
- Rank Names: Customizable via clanranks hook
- Commentary Limit: 25 messages default
- Custom Say Verbs: Houses can set custom action words
- Module Hooks: clan-enter, clanhall, footer-clan for extensions
- Auto-Delete: Empty Houses automatically removed
Canon Reference
The Common Room system draws heavily from Harry Potter's House system:
- Hogwarts Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff - students sorted into Houses that become like family
- Common Rooms: Each House has private common room with password/puzzle-protected entrance (Fat Lady portrait for Gryffindor, eagle knocker riddles for Ravenclaw, barrel tapping for Hufflepuff, password for Slytherin)
- Prefects: Canon position - students with authority, maintain discipline, guide younger students (Percy Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy)
- Head Boy/Girl: Similar to "Head of House" rank - highest student authority (comparable to Staff Member rank)
- House Unity: Members support each other, compete for House Cup, share dormitories and social space
HogwartsLive's implementation captures the essence: private spaces with elaborate locks, hierarchical ranks from new members to leaders, sense of belonging and identity, and the social bonding that makes Houses feel like home. The "secret levers and knobs" directly reference the various magical entrance mechanisms from the books. Karissa the registrar is original, but the marble lobby atmosphere evokes Hogwarts' grand architecture.
The "Newly Sorted" rank cleverly references the Sorting Hat ceremony from the books, though in canon you're sorted by the Hat, not by applying to join. The progression from Member to Prefect to Head of House mirrors the student leadership structure at Hogwarts, maintaining the hierarchical feel of the wizarding world.
Common Room Info: Player-created Houses accessed via clan.php. Lobby features marble pillars, doors with elaborate locks, Karissa the registrar at polished desk. Create House: costs Config::goldtostartclan gold + Config::gemstostartclan gems, max 50-char name + 5-char short name (no color codes). Ranks: Newly Sorted (applicant), Member, Prefect (can edit MoTD/description), Staff Member/Head of House (full control). Entry text: "Having pressed secret levers and turned secret knobs." Features MoTD , commentary (25 lines, section clan-{id}, custom say verb possible), House description , membership breakdown. Leaders manage applications, promote/demote, update settings. Auto-promotion if Head of House account expires. Empty Houses auto-deleted. Commentary private to members only. Can withdraw from House anytime.