History and The Town Rules:
Whittier seems like an ordinary village nestled in a circle of majestic mountains and a fresh lake teeming with fish. It is not uncommon to see moose, elk and even wolves quenching lapping lakeside or bears feeding their young. Shortly after gold was discovered just outside of Whittier during the Gold Rush of 1849, the town Elders decided that when someone struck gold, they needed to determine how to distribute the wealth. The rating system was born.
Higher ratings means living closer to the mountains, and the gold mines. Whoever struck it rich in the gold mines sees a hike in their numbers on the Leaderboard. No matter where they live, all citizens have a direct view of the Leaderboard, the marquee where each citizen's ratings are posted.
The Elders are drawn from Whittier's founding families and have high ratings. There are five town elders and they are known as the “golden group” or the “gold ones.” Elders work diligently to determine ratings, with annual evaluations. The final rating is posted at the Festival on December 23. People of certain ratings are not allowed at the Festival unless they have a specific role at the festival. It's also the time when dropped ratings forces certain townspeople into the wilderness.
Ratings begin for the townspeople when they turn 10. People cannot be sent into the wilderness until after the age of 18, but if ratings get too low, they are stamped "Lowlings" and sent to work. Starting rank is usually the average of your parents' ratings or family rating.
Every person over the age of 10 is rated based on their birthright to the town’s wealth, their actions, and how well they are liked. Higher Rating = higher class, Lower rating = low class. Everybody in town is obsessed with top numbers, which breeds frenemies who pretend to be nice to each other in order to improve their ratings. In some cases, people manipulate others to force their numbers to plummet and drive a bump up in their own digits. The Lowlings have it particularly rough. If their scores sink too low, they can be pushed out into the wilderness at the end of the Festival on December 23.
Elders go into the backroom on December 19 and begin evaluating the ratings. The backroom is in a secret location.
A town circle features the rotating Leaderboard that continually flashes the scores of the highest ranking people in town and everyone else. Every business faces the Leaderboard.
Rating System:
Elders “Golden Group” or “Gold Ones” = 9 -10
Average = 8 - 5
Lowling = Anything below 5 is dangerously low
***The lowest 5 numbers will get kicked out to the wilderness
How to earn ratings?
Complimenting people--even insincere comments
Bribing people with compliments to spike ratings
Contributing to the good of the community
Hunting, fishing, and growing crops can increase ratings
Working shifts in the town greenhouse
Uncovering a secret detrimental to a member of the town
Identifying a criminal
Elders can assign ratings for no reason- or for suspicious reasons.
How to decrease ratings?
Wearing mismatching clothes
Wasting resources
Getting caught searching for gold
Poor customer service
Getting caught stealing, or in possession of gold that isn't in your catalogue
Criminal activity
Loving someone who has a lower ranking than you