Post by Aphelyon on Aug 10, 2016 20:38:09 GMT -5
There are four Clans that live in these parts, each representative of a different season. These Clans, as you can imagine, are called SummerClan, AutumnClan, WinterClan, and SpringClan. Each Clan reflects the season in their minds and bodies, and flourish when that season is dominant. Between them, the peace is kept by another group known as the Keepers.
The Season Clans have many strange traditions. When a litter is born, they stay with their mother only long enough to ensure they are strong enough to survive. Then, they are taken to the Keepers, who will raise the kits as their own for six to eight moons. The kits are taught at least briefly in the ways of all Clans and roles so that they may perform to their best ability at the Proving, which occurs every three moons at the start of each new season.
At the Proving, all kits of six moons or older go through a series of tests and contests to determine which Clan they will become a part of, or if they will stay with the Keepers and become one themselves. Their role, name, Clan, and future are all to be decided here, and so the Proving is not to be taken lightly. At the end, once the talents of all kits have been displayed, the Keeper Council and the leaders of the four Clans meet and choose the fates of the kits. The leader of the Clan of the current season gets first pick for kits whose skills, appearance, and personality could go to two or more different Clans.
Once the kits new roles have been assigned, the Clans take turns- following the order of the seasons, starting with the current one- welcoming their new apprentices, assigning mentors, and- most importantly- giving them their new names. Each Clan has a unique set of names that is reserved for them. SpringClan has names having to do with flowers and herbs, SummerClan has names having to do with animals, AutumnClan has names having to do with trees and weather, WinterClan has names having to do with stone and snow, and the Keepers have names having to do with virtues, skills, and attributes. If a kit's parents are a part of the Clan they join, the parents are allowed to choose the kit's new name. If they are not, the assigned mentor of the kit chooses their name.
The Clans have survived in this way for many generations, and as your parents before you, and their parents before them, you will take your place in the cycle of the seasons. Serve your Clan well and embody the best of your season. Make your Clan strong, follow the warrior code, and StarClan will honor your name for many moons to come.
No powerplaying, godmodding, spotlighting, etc. Also no trolling or anything. No kit-stealing, unless you ask for both mine and the roleplayer's permission and roleplay the heist accordingly.
Don't roleplay other people's characters, or otherwise control their actions in any way, without their permission first. Also, do not effect them in any major way (such as injuring, killing, or otherwise attacking them) without allowing them to respond first. Any instance where a character is injured or killed in such a way will not be considered "canon" unless the roleplayer of the injured/killed character deems it so.
No mary-sues/gary-stus, and no "-ests." Your cat can be very good at something, but it's difficult to say that they're the absolute best at anything. And they have to have some flaws. Otherwise, how would they get any character development? Inversely, don't make them so flawed that they are useless and annoying.
Obviously, keep things pg. That means no very graphic descriptions of violence, no foul language, and nothing else that would be considered inappropriate for children. Queer characters are definitely allowed (thought I should specify since some people would consider that 'inappropriate').
Try to be descriptive and original. Make replies long enough for others to reply to without making them so long that they get boring (unless, of course, the only way to relay an event is through a very long post. Then, go for it). Don't be redundant; try to change posts up, and give more than just "He walked to the fresh-kill pile and got a mouse" or "She padded out of the warriors' den and sat down in the sun." Describe how they did it, what they felt like or what they were thinking, what their plans for the day were, or anything else to spice it up and add some scope to the character.
Keep characters realistic please. This goes for behavior as well as appearance. In reference to appearance, obviously cats aren't always going to be 100% realistic in how they look, but try to keep it believable if nothing else. So nothing crazy, like purple eyes or perfect star markings on their cheek. As far as behavior goes, just try to make them three-dimensional. Give them emotions and motives for doing the things they do, and make sure you keep their personality consistent. Give them realistic strengths and weaknesses that allow them to contribute to the Clan and grow as a character without being too perfect or so flawed that it's annoying.
I reserve the right to reject any players that I don't consider literate enough or to remove players who don't obey these rules or contribute to the roleplay in an interesting and constructive way.
If you are gone for more than two weeks without prior warning, I will remove you and your characters will go to the inactive section. I will not go chasing you down; liking your posts should be reminder enough.
If you claim a high-ranking position such as leader or leading heir, you must be especially active (check & update at least 6 days of the week, but preferably more). Everyone else should still be active, but as long as you don't trap other peoples' characters and are on relatively frequently, I'm not too concerned about activity.
All major roles (leader, leading heirs, healers) must designate at least one other person who is online more frequently/at different times than themselves who they give permission to roleplay said leader/leading heir/healer if (and only if) they are needed in an emergency. This includes things like critical wounds that the healer need to heal now, or attacks to camp that the leader or heir must respond to, or anything else that needs prompt attention. These people will be listed as "alts." under the major character's claim.
As for everything else, it's just the usual: please don't leave and never come back; if you break the rules you may be deleted depending on the severity of your offense; please use () [] or something of the sort to separate in-character from out-of-character; no spamming unless you are requesting someone to go somewhere, etc. etc.
Elders and queens must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders and queens are eating.
Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.
A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.
Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.
The leading heir will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.
Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.
No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger.
The word of the Clan Leader is the warrior code.
All Clans have the right to remain independent, but in times of need, it is up to all Clans to preserve the five, for if one Clan falls, the cycle of the seasons is broken.
- [nothing yet]
(συϯ-σʄ-ςħαɾαςϯɛɾ)
8-10-2016 The Keepers is created and opened for joining.
Weather: Hot and sunny, but with a cool breeze that betrays the coming leaf-fall
Moon Phase: New Moon
In appearance, AutumClan cats tend to be dark, warm colors like fall leaves- dark oranges or creams, black, or gray. There are more tortoiseshells and calicos in AutumnClan than any other Clan. Their eyes are usually yellow or orange, and their fur is generally long and thick.
Like the other Clans, AutumnClan has some unusual ranks and traditions. Like other Clans, they also have some traditions that only they follow, reflective of their season.
Clan ranks are leader, heirs, shaman, healers, warriors, hunters, apprentices, and elders. Leaders, apprentices, and elders are fairly self-explanatory, with the only exception being that apprentices are further divided by their future ranks into a shaman apprentice, healer apprentices, warrior apprentices, and hunter apprentices.
Heirs are cats chosen from the time they join their Clan at the Proving to- possibly- someday become leader. Heirs are chosen based on skill and personality to be capable leaders, and from the moment they become heir they are trained by the leader to someday take their place. There are always at least two heirs, and no more than three. The leader chooses one heir at a time to be the "leading heir," who will become leader when the leader dies. The leading heir has the most authority of the heirs, and acts much like the deputy of a normal Clan. The leading heir can be changed arbitrarily by the leader at any time without ceremony.
Shaman are much like the medicine cat of a regular Clan, except they do not heal. Instead, a shaman's duties are to speak with StarClan and advise the Clan leader, as well as to remember the important stories and history of the Clan and pass it on to new generations. The shaman of a Clan is meant to be the embodiment of what that Clan represents, both in appearance and personality, and must also be wise and intelligent enough to advise the Clan and remember its history. Each Clan has one shaman at a time, and the shaman may have an apprentice.
Healers are, as their name would suggest, the healers of the Clan. Unlike medicine cats, there may be multiple healers at once, as they are not a ceremonial rank, though there tend not to be more than three or four full healers at once. Also unlike medicine cats, healers are allowed to take mates and have kits, though like any other cat, they must give up their kits at birth.
Warriors are the fighters in the Clan. They patrol the borders, fight off enemies, and protect healers or hunters when they go out on patrols. Hunters are just that- hunters. They feed the Clan, and tend to be the best trackers and sneakers as well, so they may also serve as scouts when necessary.
AutumnClan's traditions are based around change and retrospection, respecting the past but not letting it control the future. AutumnClan's unique traditions are called the Vigil and the Telling.
The Vigil takes place the day after the first snow of winter. From one dawn until the next, no cat is permitted to speak a single word, and for that day most cats go about their duties alone. At the end of the Vigil, the Clan gathers to watch the sun rise together, and once it is above the horizon, the oldest cat in the Clan will be the first to speak, naming one by one every cat in the Clan who has died in their lifetime. Only once the list is finished are the rest of the cats permitted to speak.
The Telling is an event that is called upon on two occasions. For the most part, it takes place on the last day of winter, when the snow begins to melt. Each cat has a protected alcove at Cloudwing's Cliff where, when the Telling occurs, each cat finds an item that represents something important to them- a feather, stone, bone, leaf, or anything of the sort- and stores it in the alcove without telling anyone else what it is. When a cat dies, before they are buried, their closest family and friends go to the alcove and one by one remove the items the cat had put there over their life. It is an extremely emotional ceremony, as each item represented what was most important to the cat at the time and serves as a summary of their life. At the end, the cat is buried with their items at the top of the cliffs overlooking the territory.
+ = had kits but are not currently mates
♦ = mentor/apprentice
♣ = littermates
♠ = siblings but not from the same litter
= = parent(s) of
/symbol/ = adopted relationship
[name] = dead
name = outside the Clan
(symbol) = secret/unknown relationship
To keep the roleplayers happy with their characters, I will allow some minor changes to the characters. Each character you claim, you are allowed two minor changes however you want (something small, like changing pelt color from dark ginger to light ginger, adding or removing tabby stripes, or changing eye color). You may not change major things like gender, age, family members, overall color, size, or any other major feature. Features you change must be similar to the original, though not the same (ie, you can't change a cat from gray to ginger, but you can change them from light brown to dark brown. You can change a cat's description from large to small, but could change it from large to muscular). If the cat's kit name does not fit their new description, you may also choose a new name. However, keep in mind that kit names are temporary, and are not supposed to be ideal, so don't be too picky about that one.
Finally, things like time progression and kits will be kept realistic. Time progression will be 8 days= 1 moon. 3 moons= 1 season. Each moon, cats will be aged up 1. As such, it would take approximately 7 weeks for a kit to go from newborn to apprentice age. A queen's pregnancy would be about 2 weeks. The average lifespan of a Clan cat would be about 137 weeks, or 2.5 years in real life.
As for kits, again, they will be realistic. When a queen announces pregnancy, a 4-sided die will be rolled for the number of kits. When the kits are born, a coin will be flipped for gender; then, the 4-sided die rolled again for the kit's features, such as pelt color and pattern, markings, and eye color. 1 = mother's color, 2 = father's, 3 = grandparent (with the die rolled again for which grandparent), and 4 = random. In some situations- difficult births, winter starvation, etc.- dice may be rolled again for the kits' survival.
So, to get started, just to the Keepers page and take a look at the allegiances. Find which kits say "Unclaimed" under their descriptions, and tell me you would like to claim them and what changes you would like to make, if any. I look forward to roleplaying with you!
