Post by InsidiousFlair on Jul 9, 2018 17:10:14 GMT
These are the rules of the RP that you must follow.
Unlike the Warrior Cat code and general Clan "rules," these cannot be broken.
Please read at least the main statements of each rule. The rest is just for details & clarification.
If these rules are broken, Steel Skies' staff may give you warnings, strikes, and/or ban you from the group. Three strikes automatically equals a ban.
1. Make all characters at least semi-realistic.
⊹ All names must be realistic to a Warrior Cats RP. Prefixes must be a name that would sensibly be given to a kit or cat. A parent would not realistically name their kit something cruel, such as Deathkit, or something fantastical, like Dreamkit/Wishkit/Amazingkit. Additionally, prefixes like Star, Moon, Sage, Ridge, and Haze may not be used because they are of significance to these cats.
⊹ All appearances must be as realistic to cats as possible; if you are unsure, check with staff. Cats cannot have entirely unrealistic coats, markings, patterns, or eye colors (no reds, intense violets, or rainbows). There can be some variation from typical markings, but if you could not imagine a real cat with a similar appearance, it is unrealistic. Likewise, male calicos/tortoiseshells must be very rare and infertile. If you wish for a character to have some kind of genetic mutation, PM one of the staff members.
⊹ No powers, mary/gary sues, or big cats. Characters must have strengths and weaknesses, and, again, be realistic. If your character seems to have too many strengths with too few weaknesses, a staff member/Clan leader may ask you to change the character, or remove it all together if you refuse to change it. Some "wild" cat breeds are allowed in small quantities, but there will be a maximum of five of these cats in the entire RP at a time, and they must have exceptional backgrounds as to why they are in this unusual terrain/climate (think North America) instead of their natural habitat. PM a staff member.
2. Be somewhat active.
⊹ Please try to show activity at least 2 days a week. Significant roles, such as Medicine Cats, Deputies, and Leaders, must show activity at least 3-4 days, with a tiny bit of leeway, a week. For vacations, long absences, etc. please post in the absence board in advance. These absences are excused. (If you have a high rank and this happens often, you may still be removed from the position.) If you are not active to this extent, your character(s) will age (slowly, but nonetheless aging) without you, and it is possible that relationships with other characters will fade. If you become too inactive, your character(s) will be moved to the "inactive biographies" section. Do not apply for high ranks if you know you cannot be this active. Any high ranks showing unprecedented inactivity will be removed from their positions.
⊹ Characters will age 2-4 moons per week. This rule is in place to keep the RP from going stagnant or moving too quickly. The only exceptions to this rule are in the case of vacations/absences (they must still age 1-3 moons per week.) or if a site-wide time-skip/action occurs that calls for aging differences. Once again, please PM a staff member if there are issues with your cats' aging process.
3. Attempt to be semi-literate.
⊹ Use proper spelling (no text talk), grammar, and punctuation to the best of your ability when role playing. Having small and/or occasional errors in these categories is fine, and it's also okay if your writing is a work in progress, as long as it is showing significant improvement. But if your role playing/writing is not meeting a standard of legibility and skill, you will not be allowed to role play with us. Please try your best.
⊹ Make at least 3-4 sentences per post the majority of the time. You may have brief exceptions, particularly for writer's block, posts waiting for someone to RP with, or situations that do not allow for extra writing. However, frequently missing this mark will lead to you being removed from the role play.
4. You must be 12+ to join this role play.
⊹ If you are younger than 12, or one of us suspects that you are/finds out that you are, you will not be allowed into the role play, or you will be removed from it. This rule is in place because this role play can include low levels of violent/possibly "adult" themes which are not suitable for children. If you think that, regardless of your age, these are not themes you can handle, please do not join the role play.
5. Be polite and thoughtful
⊹ Do not use excessive, or offensive, profanity. Damn/damn it, hell, crap/shit, and related words are acceptable if not over-used. Some words, like the F-word and B-word, while they should be used more sparingly, have site-wide censors in place to make them less serious. However, any racial, sex-based, or otherwise offensive profanity is unacceptable and can result in a warning or an immediate ban if staff feel it is necessary.
⊹ Any triggering material is unacceptable in the forum or public chat rooms, even as a joke or personal experience. Regardless of your life experiences, not everyone wants to/can handle being reminded of some subjects. It can be very harmful for them and will be taken seriously. If you are seen publicly discussing *trigger warning!!* anything involving to intense gore, detailed sexual information, sexual assault/rape, mental illness, domestic abuse, actual war descriptions, self-harm, "dieting," abusive language, or sharing intense flashing visuals/images that could trigger visually sensitive individuals, you will either be warned, given a strike, or immediately banned without notice, depending on the offense. If you have something that isn't one of the above-mentioned triggers, but could be lightly triggering, please put a *TRIGGER WARNING* before you write it.
⊹ Be kind and respectful. This one's pretty self-explanatory! Just be welcoming and friendly. Any bullying will result in severe consequences. If you're at least generally respectful and polite to everyone, regardless of situation, you're fine. Any serious issues or arguments can be brought up to a staff member.
6. High ranks must live up to their requirements. This includes leaders, deputies, medicine cats, med. cat apprentices, and outside organization leaders.
⊹ Those wishing to play a significant role must go through the appropriate application process, if applications for the roles are open. You will be asked about your activity level, required to give a role play writing sample, among other things. This is to make the process fair and assure the quality of important positions' characters. Deputies will be chosen by their leaders (with additional admin approval), medicine cat apprentices will be chosen by their leader, medicine cat, and with admin approval.
⊹ You must be prepared to act out the work of the role you apply for. Leaders must be willing to enforce rules, relay information to staff if rules are broken, and be active enough to properly act their part. Deputies should be prepared to do the same. Medicine cats and their apprentices should be prepared to do similar work OOC and IC if the leader/deputy isn't around or doesn't catch a problem.
⊹ You may have a maximum of 1 high rank per organization/Clan (exceptions are only if the staff members are unable to find someone suitable to play a role), and no more than 1 leader at a time. This gives more people the opportunity to play significant roles, and also keeps any one individual from having the work, responsibility, and power of being the leader of every Clan.
7. Play fairly.
⊹ Make actions with possible consequences in mind. No cat is immortal, and every specific character has strengths and weaknesses. If your character bites off more than they can chew, expect for them to face the consequences, whether that's getting a swat to the ear, public ostracism, a lecture from their mentor/leader, an injury, or, if serious enough, exile, or even death.
⊹ No auto-hitting or constant dodging. If you wish to make an action that affects another character, your post must write that the character attempts that action. For example, Bluestar attempts to tackle Tigerstar. Not: Bluestar tackles Tigerstar to the ground and gives him a long scar across his face. Additionally, a cat cannot dodge every action. Even the most agile cats aren't ninjas, and if a small, agile cat misses a dodge on an attack from a bigger cat, expect them to get their small, fuzzy bottom whooped.
⊹ If a cat is injured, expect to have to deal with it. If a cat is lightly injured, expect a visit or two to the Medicine Cat's den. Severe injuries constitute 4 OOC days within the Medicine Cat's den, or more if it is nearly fatal, and possibly a delayed warrior ceremony for apprentices, or even an early commitment to the elder's den.
8. Stick to the RP.
⊹ Listen to the admins and moderators. The staff members have been given the specific job to take care of issues and enforce rules. If they correct you on something, fix it. If you feel that a staff member is treating you unfairly or is abusing their power, please screenshot (if possible) and bring it up to another staff member, preferably an admin.
⊹ The roleplay dictates what does and does not exist in this Warrior Cats universe. You cannot make up another Clan, organization, or plot outside of what is said to exist by the roleplay. (For example, your cat cannot have been from a distant or ex-Clan). The only exceptions are the legends already present in the Warrior Cats universe, LeopardClan, LionClan, and TigerClan, just as myths. If you need help in finding if your character's background is acceptable, message a staff member.
9. There are also in-character rules, not just out-of-character (OOC) ones
⊹ You may have a maximum of 3 characters for the first 3 weeks you role play. Afterwards, you may have up to 5, including 1 elder/out-of-Clan character. StarClan/Dark Forest characters are unlimited because they are not active in the RP, and if they ever are, it will only be for specific individuals in specific plot situations. This assures that no one has more characters than they can decently play. Staff, however, are exempt from the 3-week-waiting time. If you have an inquiry about this/a conflict (such as, you have 5 with 1 elder already but want to play a kit), you may have to get rid of one of your characters; ask a staff member for assistance.
⊹ You cannot share a prefix with anyone within your Clan except between a kit and an elder. For example, if there is a cat named Oldcat that is an elder, if you wanted to have a kit named Oldkit (don't actually use that name please), you could. But you could not have a kit named Oldkit if there was a warrior with that same prefix.
⊹ You may claim a maximum of one image per character. Basically, no hoarding mass amounts of images and not letting other people use them.
⊹ You must have at least one Clan cat before making an out-of-Clan cat unless that cat will soon transfer into a Clan. The Clan cats should outnumber the number of out-of-Clan cats in the RP at all times, and the Clans are the focus of the role play, after all.
⊹ You must ask a staff member before having a character do something that breaks the Clans' rules or could possibly disrupt the Clans. This includes apprentices wandering out on their own, forbidden romances/mates, out-of-Clan cats entering a Clan's actual camp, etc. Also, be ready for any possible consequences for your character because of their actions.
⊹ Only two queens per Clan may give birth within two moons of each other. Others must wait at least 4 moons after the most recent litter's birth. This prevents overcrowding and having 50000 cats all born at the same time.
⊹ For a couple to have kits, both must send a request (it may be copy + pasted) to a staff member. This request must include both parents' names and the number of kits (maximum 5 kits to a litter; if you cannot find a player for any number of them within a week of the request, you must lower your number and notify the staff).
⊹ Cats must have been mates, in an affair, or at least interactive for at least 10 OOC days before one becomes pregnant, unless the character was pregnant/a queen when you made it. Likewise, pregnancies must last at least 8 OOC days. No *poof* magically born ship babies, as much as we might wish for them.
⊹ Kits must be RP'd at least 4 times before becoming apprentices, and apprentices must be RP'd at least 7 times with at least 4 training sessions before becoming warriors somewhere between 12-20 moons.
If there are ever any issues where you are unsure of a rule or are having difficulties with someone related to rule-breaking, please do not hesitate to contact a staff and screenshot, if necessary. Also, if you think any changes/additions should be made to this page, send me a message!