Since there’s been some confusion I’ll edit and add this quick reference introduction with a rational definition and solid examples used as arguments for the sake of clarity. The definition and examples below come from Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 (which are what I used as inspiration) so please keep in mind some of them only work in their respective game systems.
A Birthday Present is a type of present that is awarded to each character every 12 months, counting from the day of creation. It appears in inventory the first time that character enters the game after reaching the milestone.
Guild Wars Birthday Present Rewards
These include
- Vanity Pets (not included as a system in ToS as of September 2015). Vanity Pets, or miniatures, are tiny cosmetic pets that follow you around looking cute. These could work in ToS as a form of custom cosmetic skins for the current Companions if they ever decide to implement them as a cash shop item, for example.
- Tonics (relative system in ToS as of September 2015). Tonics are items that change the player’s appearance to that of another in-game model, like a monster or animal. I say it’s a relative system because of Druids’ skill Shapeshifting. Of course the effect should remain purely cosmetic and not add to combat, like Shapeshifting does.
Guild Wars 2 Birthday Gift Rewards
These include
- Titles (viable reward for ToS as of September 2015). Self-explanatory. For each year, you receive a different cosmetic title (no stats attached, just like in ToS). Namely these titles for GW2 are: Loyal, 1st year. Veteran, 2d year. Faithful, 3rd year. The game launched three years ago, so the oldest a character can be due to creation date is three years old acquiring these three titles.
- Vanity Pets. Explained above.
- Boosters (not included as a system for ToS as of September 2015). Boosters are not a thing in ToS yet.
- Experience Scrolls (relative system in ToS as of September 2015). I say relative, because while Experience Scrolls in ToS don’t (and shouldn’t) exist, this reward could be replaced by EXP Cards.
- Side-Currency (viable reward for ToS as of September 2015). Reward in the form of a small sum (5 in the example) of Talt, the only currency existing besides Silver and iCoins right now. Its use is yet to be defined.
- Fun Sub-Weapons (viable reward for ToS as of September 2015). Sub-weapons like a birthday horn and other cosmetic items like these used for silly fun and recreational/social activities as seen here.
- Dyes (not included as a system for ToS as of September 2015). Dyes to change color of costumes, in case they decide to implement such feature.
- Finishers (not included as a system for ToS as of September 2015). This is a feature exclusive to GW2. The only equivalent I could think of for ToS is some special animation with a nice visual effect, which remains cosmetic. Maybe unlockable chat emoticons (Popolion with a birthday hat?) or poses from the F8 menu should they decide to implement additional ones.
- Teleport to Friend (viable reward for ToS as of September 2015). Self-explanatory. The item teleports you to a party member. This one, while viable, I wouldn’t suggest as a reward per se. It could be replaced by the already existing normal teleport scrolls in ToS.
Note that the reward examples listed above are suggestions based on an already existing system. These are in no way all the rewards that could be implemented for ToS if we consider the game’s own features and environment. These birthday rewards can be mix-and-matched in any way possible depending on existing features. Lastly, this thread’s main purpose is to suggest the existence of such system in the first place. Suggestions for rewards are optional, but welcome.
One feature I’ve seen (yes, Guild Wars) that’s really cute are birthdays gifts for characters. The development team (the automatic system actually, but why break the illusion) sends you a little present when your character has reached one or more full years since it was created. The gift itself could just be something cosmetic or a few iCoins.
This is really nice because, as stated, it gives you a feeling the team appreciates the time you’ve been with them playing their awesome game. Not only that, but it feels nice to receive a gift and think back on how much progress you’ve made (or not) with that character in a year.
I don’t think it poses much of a problem because:
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It’s only once a year come on.
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There’s a character limit so there’s only so many gifts you can
expect to get at once (not like it matters really) before spending
iCoins on bigger barracks. Or just make it Team based to keep it
simple.
Nobody hates themselves and their lives so much they wouldn’t want to receive a gift on their birthday, right? 