Perimeter Keepers
Perimeter Keepers
Perimeter Keepers are the pets assigned to stand ready when the colony is threatened. They form the defense queue for hostile raids and other siege-style danger.
What Keepers Do
Perimeter Keepers are not ordinary decoration. Their job is to answer danger when something reaches the colony edge.
- They can be deployed into active defense slots during a hostile raid.
- They may be chosen from warriors, scouts, builders, or other eligible defenders depending on the system rules.
- Their order matters. The roster acts like a priority queue when the colony needs a replacement defender.
Active Slots
The number of active defenders can depend on colony size.
- Larger colonies usually have fewer active keeper slots per user at once.
- Smaller colonies may be allowed extra active coverage so they are not instantly crushed for being tiny and dramatic.
- Reserve keepers wait behind the active slot and can advance when a defender becomes unavailable.
Dynamic Eligibility
Keeper eligibility is checked when the pet is assigned and again when the queue advances. A pet who was valid earlier can become unavailable later.
A pet may be passed over if they are:
- Pregnant.
- Sleeping.
- Sick, injured, or quarantined.
- Exhausted, starving, or dehydrated.
- Too young, dead, or busy elsewhere.
Temporarily unavailable pets can remain visible on the roster with a reason. Dead pets should be removed automatically and must not block the queue.
Reserve Advancement
When an active defender leaves the slot, dies, or becomes ineligible, the system should advance to the next valid reserve. Invalid pets are skipped instead of freezing the defense line like a scared little spreadsheet.
Editing the Roster
Keeper rosters are normally edited outside active raid pressure. During an active raid, roster editing may be locked or restricted so players cannot shuffle defenders around every time danger blinks.
Related Pages
[b]Echo Note - Role priority is not eligibility</b]
Warriors and scouts may be prioritized for Perimeter Keepers, but they still have to be valid at deployment time. A sick warrior is still sick. A sleeping scout is still asleep. The queue must respect that.
~Echo