Rules

[Administrator]

OUT OF CHARACTER

You have a week after registering to post your bio—and it must be completed. If you cannot finish it at one sitting, save it in a document or email draft or PM it to yourself. We do not want to guess at who is finished and who isn’t.

Inactivity will not be tolerated. If you've been gone for one month without any notice you are simply a deadweight and we shall relieve ourselves of you. There is no specific number of times you have to be on per week; just use common sense and don’t disappear off the face of the planet for our sakes.

One account per member.

Know proper grammar and spelling and utilize that knowledge. If you constantly make mistakes that a second-grader could catch, be prepared to have a talk with the administrators.

Don’t use chatspeak. You have a full keyboard in front of you; use it.

Use common sense with what is a large image (signature or posted) or what is inappropriate and refrain from posting these things. Images will be deleted if they are offensive or linked if they are stretching the screen.

You can have up to four characters; more can be purchased with admin approval, and the first extra character you adopt is free as long as you do not already have more than four.

Be respectful to others. Insults toward another member regarding appearance, religion, sexuality, race, or personal beliefs will result in a ban without warning. Swearing, as long as not aimed at someone, is fine.

IN CHARACTER

Your character must be accepted before you roleplay them.

Do not take control of another person’s character without their permission.

Do not make your character invincible and perfect.

Keep a posting order if there are more than two roleplayers in a thread, if you can. If one is going inactive, you may skip over them. If you are going to be inactive, indicate if they should go on without you in the thread or wait up.

The minimum post length is two solid paragraphs. A bit more would be nice, but two is the minimum. I trust you can all interpret the meaning of solid. As a rule of thumb, less than 200 words usually does not qualify as two solid paragraphs.^Updated!

Use proper spelling and grammar. There is a spell check for your convenience. You will be banned if you do not check your posts when you ask, and if your grammar is really lacking, you may be subject to critiques from the administrators so that you can improve. Know this before you join, and check to see if you paid attention in middle school English class.

When formatting, no center-align or right-align posts or posts blockquoted more than twice. You can have different colors as long as they look good with the skin. Spoken words must have quotation marks, and thoughts should be in italic.

Indicate which character you are posting with somehow, whether with post header or a certain color. Post in past tense and third-person.

Do not assume that your character knows everything. If it was kept a good secret, they do not know the enemy is about to ambush their camp. They do not know if someone is betraying them. Unless they can find evidence or reason for suspicion within reason, do not assume they know.

Swear within reason; these are cats. Have fun with made-up tirades and curses.

Relationships add fun to sub-plots but should never be the main focus. Make it realistic, following in love over the course of several threads rather than in one. “Forbidden” relationships are technically allowed but will be punished accordingly in character, so only pursue it if you want the risk of a banished warrior.

No “roleplaying words” such as pillars for legs or audits for ears.

Liquid time is allowed, just make sure you can keep track of and keep active in all your threads.^Updated!

No graphic breeding or birthing or junk like that. Sex can be referenced, but these are warrior cats and not hormonal teenagers, so they will not be having bondage fantasies or trying to get laid by every tomcat walking by.

CHARACTERS

You may have four characters, more able to be purchased. Only one high-ranking cat is allowed, for fairness’ sake. Only exceptions are for members whose cats joined WindClan and became high ranking. If you adopt a character, it does not fill a character slot.

Do not join as a queen (pregnant or nursing female) or as a kit.

No cats with disabilities such as blindness, deafness, or muteness will be accepted unless they are elders; they cannot be apprentices or warriors. No cat would realistically survive in this setting with a completely crippled side or lack of sight. Mental ailments are not accepted. You make schizo cat, we laugh at you.

No odd markings or colors are allowed, including eye colors. Male tortoiseshells/calicos are considered unusual, as they would not survive in this setting. Also unusual are markings that “happen” to look like stars, anything you cannot provide a non-Photoshopped picture for, or scars in irregular patterns.

“Breeds” of cats such as Siamese, Sphinxes, or Havana Browns are not acceptable, as it makes little since for them to be pure in the wild. Most of the warriors would be mongrel breeds and may have a motley of markings, but solid colors other than black or white should be very rare.

No perfect characters—like the slim, pretty white she-cat with blue eyes who is kind and gentle and loving, or a simply brave and loyal warrior. Realistic characters are balanced and have flaws. However, do not make a bloodthirsty black cat who wants to kill everyone he passes. We do promote ambition or jerkfaces, but not a cat whose only motive is to gain a rank or prove that he is the most badass of them all.

Don’t make all two-year-old cats. Ages need to vary. Old characters will be more respected than the young and hotheaded ones, though both are fun to play. If you are looking for a high rank, your character had better have some years of experience under its pelt.

Your character should be descended from Clan cats, not loners or kittypets. This is due to the old prejudices incited by Tigerstar and Brokenstar when they reigned over the forest. Exceptions may be made for loners at the admins' discretion. No kittypets at all.

FIGHTING

The outcome of a fight is determined by its participants. They will, however, be moderated in case a rule is broken, and you can ask the administrators to judge for you.

No auto-hitting. For example, instead of “He clawed the enemy’s side,” you should write “He aimed a swipe at the enemy’s side.” The other player decides whether or not they have gotten hit. An exception to this rule is playing, such as batting someone with sheathed claws.

To go along with the above rule, your character is not invincible! You can dodge a few attacks, but do not spring out of every one. An apprentice should also not be evenly matched against an experienced warrior. Take into consideration your possible weaknesses (such as fragility if you are fast, or lack of agility if you are muscular).

Do not kill another person’s character without permission.

[Administrator]

Updated as of 12/2/09.