The Rules

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General Rules

• Respect staff and fellow members. We are LGTBQ+ friendly, so please don't disrespect someone due to their gender or sexuality. Discrimination will not be tolerated.
• If a member of staff asks you drop a subject, you do it. We want everyone to feel included and respected here, and some topics only create division and offense.
• In the event any disagreements arise, please bring it to the staff's attention. If you have a disagreement with a staff member, please bring it to one of the Admins. (We will not break anyone's confidentiality, even to other staff members.)
• No spamming the chat or forums. Keep the IC threads separate from OOC threads.
• Advertising should only be done in the Advertising board, not in chat or other places on the site.
• If you are going to be absent for a while, please let one of the staff know just so you don't accidentally be considered inactive. Posting in the Absence board will ensure that your characters' positions will also not be challenged during your specified absence.
• Activity checks will be carried out randomly in order to prune inactive accounts. They could happen every month. If you miss two consecutive activity checks, your accounts will be considered inactive.

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Characters

• We are an account per character site. Please only have one OOC account. You can have as many IC (character) accounts as you can handle. Please note that leader characters will be expected to be active and may lose their position if they do not respond to challenges promptly.
• We are a semi-realistic fantasy site. This means that fur coloring and markings should be realistic.
  
  
  • This does not include melanism (an all-black animal) if it is seen in the wild more regularly. Ex. a black panther (which is really just a melanistic leopard or jaguar). If melanism does not occur more regularly in a particular species, then melanism does need to be bought from the Shop.
  • This does include albinism. While albinism can occur naturally in the wild, it is incredibly rare and does need to be bought from the Shop.
• Eye colors can be whatever color (or colors) you wish for your characters.
• Things such as wings, horns, extra tails, longer fur, longer tails, ect that do not naturally come with the species of your character need to be bought from the Shop.

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Posting

• There is a 100 word count for IC posts. This is so players have something to react to.
• In character posts should also be done in past tense and third person. It can get confusing if only a couple people are posting in first person or present tense or even script when everyone else is posting in past tense and third person.
• Please tag the proper accounts when posting in a thread. This can be done either in the post or on our Discord where a tagging channel has been set up.
• Please mark threads appropriately. There are several tags you can use:
  
  
  • AW - All Welcome, meaning anyone can join
  • E - Empire Thread
  • EM - Empire Meeting
  • K - Kingdom Thread
  • KM - Kingdom Meeting
  • M - Mature Thread
  • R - Raid Thread
  • W - War Thread
  • P - Private Thread. Note: Private Threads can be interrupted as long as another player character has an approved reason to enter the private thread. Please request permission before inserting your character into a Private Thread.
• If your character leaves a thread at any time, ensure that you include an "exit post" stating that they have departed. Their exit can be blocked by other characters, however, so make sure your character has exited successfully.
• Liquid time is allowed, but keep it realistic. For example, don't set a thread in a different IC month from the one we are in.
  
  
  • The date a thread is created is the date and time the thread happened. You cannot post in threads before your time, which means before your character was created.
• No powerplaying, godmodding, Mary Sues, etc. Allow other roleplayers to react to your characters' actions.
  
  
  • Example: He lashed out with one paw and scratched the old female's muzzle.
    In this example, the writer stated his character's attack was a direct hit, which did not allow the other person to decide whether their character was able to dodge the blow. Please take your turns and be respectful of other RPers.
• Ensure that your characters do not Meta-game. Meta-gaming is when your character knows something he or she shouldn't realistically know, such as a name he hasn't been told or a secret another character has withheld from everyone.
• Please don't use chat speak in posts. We should all want to put effort into making our posts engaging and fun as well as easy to read.

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Aging

• On DC, characters are not necessarily assigned a numerical age and are instead placed in an age range.
• These age ranges are based off of normal human developmental stages, with some adjustments. These stages, regardless of species includes:
  
  
  • Newborns, babies and toddlers
  • Children
  • Teenagers
  • Young adulthood
  • Adulthood
  • Middle Adulthood
  • Seasoned Adulthood
  • Later Adulthood (Elderly)
• All characters in the Babies and Children age range must have a parent or guardian if they are to survive. This is vitally important if anyone chooses to make a character in the Baby range. If no guardian is found at the end of two RL weeks, then the character will die.
• Characters are allowed to start being sexually active until they reach the Teenager age range but pregnancies will not occur until after a character has reached Young Adulthood.
• An RPer can choose to make any character at any age, just remember that any characters under the Teenager age range will die if a parent or guardian is not made or found within 2 RL weeks.
• Characters can age based on RL time as well as having a required number of threads to go on to the next age bracket.
• Any character in the Elderly range is subject to get a visit from Death at any time (This will mean that they will die).
• More information can be found in: HERE

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Powers and Abilities

• On DC, any character can have an ability. There are multiple avenues in which your character can develop powers or abilities.
• Any character that has any Elemental power must be born with one or later bought in shop in order to gain access to these powers.
• Characters that have no Elemental powers can still have and build abilities through our Unique abilities section.
• If any RPers wishes to create a completely ordinary character with no abilities at all, that is perfectly fine as well!
• Characters start out at certain ranks based on their age and skill level upon creation. Not every character will be considered a prodigy (highly advanced for their age; this can be bought at the Shop). (These are guidelines and are not necessarily set in stone. For example, it is entirely possible to have an Elderly character never get past the Beginner or Apprentice stages for any number of reasons).
  
  
  • Novice – from Birth/Baby to Later Adulthood
  • Beginner – typically anywhere from Baby to Later Adulthood, can be older if the character’s not very skilled
  • Apprentice – anywhere from Teenager to Later Adulthood, this one can vary greatly depending on skill level; this is also the most common power rank that a character can be made at
  • Advanced – anywhere from Young Adulthood to Later Adulthood, this one can also vary greatly depending on skill level; must have proof of being trained in character’s history at creation. (These characters require 2 staff member’s approval before being accepted. There is also a limit of 2 beginning Advanced characters per RPer).
  • Master – anywhere from Adulthood to Later Adulthood, also depends on skill level; must have proof of not only being trained but also explain why the character is considered a Master in character’s history at creation. (These characters require 2 staff member’s approval before being accepted. There is also a limit of 1 beginning Master character per RPer).
  • Grandmaster – are not allowed to be made at the start of a character’s creation; this rank must be earned
• Characters can level up their abilities as followed:
  
  
  • Novice – Beginner = must provide proof of two (2) complete threads (with at least 4 in-character posts in each thread) and purchase the level up in the Shop. (Can be done practicing or training with a teacher.)
  • Beginner – Apprentice = must provide proof of three (3) complete threads (with at least 4 in-character posts in each thread) and purchase the level up in the Shop. (At least 2 of these threads must be with a teacher.)
  • Apprentice – Advanced = must provide proof of four (4) complete threads (with at least 6 in-character posts in each thread) and purchase the level up in the Shop. (At least 3 of these threads must be training with a Master; the other thread can be done through teaching others.)
  • Advanced – Master = must provide proof of six (6) complete threads (with at least 6 in- character posts in each thread) and purchase the level up in the Shop. (At least 2 of these threads should be training with another Master or a Grandmaster; the other 4 threads can be done through teaching others.)
  • Master – Grandmaster = must provide proof of ten (6) complete threads (with at least 6 in-character posts in each thread) and purchase level up in the Shop. (At least 2 of these threads should include training with another Grandmaster or a God/Goddess; the other 8 threads can be done through teaching others.)
• Characters can begin training others when they reach the Apprentice level though these characters usually only teach children and occasionally teenagers.
• Characters can also branch out of their element and learn another element after the character has achieved at least an Apprentice rank.
  
  
  • This involves buying the new ability through the Shop. Any new Elemental power branch automatically starts at the Novice rank.
  • Characters are not limited to just one branching out, if desired, characters can branch out to all six Elemental power branches. (Reaching the Apprentice rank on all branches is still required before moving onto another branch.)
• Characters who have Elemental power abilities are free to also buy Unique Power Abilities through the Shop if desired.

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Empires, Kingdoms, and Leadership

• Any adult character can become a leader of a Kingdom or Empire, regardless of gender or species.
• The leader of a Kingdom does not have to be an Elemental in order to rule a particular Kingdom.
• How to become a leader of a Kingdom or Empire:
  
  
  • A character interested in becoming a leader must have at least 10 in-character posts before the character can make a Claim post.
  • Leaders of a Kingdom must be considered a Young Adult.
  • Leaders of an Empire must be considered an Adult.
  • The leader must complete a claim post in the Kingdom they wish to claim (this includes Empire leaders as well).
  • There is a period of 24 hours in which the possible leader can be challenged. If no challenge is given, then the Gods will accept the new leader in-character. (This will require a form to be filled out in the Claim board).
  • If there is a challenge, either the characters can talk it out or the characters can fight for who becomes leader.
  • All leader characters are required to post in the Leader Log to keep leaders active.
  • Once a leader is considered official/approved, the leader must post a thread detailing their Kingdoms/Empires ranking system, rules, details, ect in the sub-board of that Kingdom. Depending on the area that has been claimed, one or more of the Gods may visit the leader to speak to them personally if they so choose.
• Leaders can set up their Kingdoms and Empires as they wish; the ranks are guidelines in case anyone needs help. (Empires do need a Council however, it is up to the Emperor or Empress how that Council is formed however).
• Kingdoms and Empires can be expanded (adding more sub-boards) for every 4 members the leader gains (does not include slaves, prisoners, or hostages).
• Nomad groups can also be formed if a member does not wish to keep up with a Leader Log.
• More information can be found: HERE

• Fighting can happen anywhere at any time and for any reason that makes sense in-character. (Fights should NOT happen because of RL situations or because members are arguing; remember to bring any disagreements to a staff member).
• We do have Character Permission Settings for each character to specify how they view force breeding, maiming, and killing. Please refer to the Character Permission Settings for more information, found HERE.
• Characters cannot enter more than one battle in multiple threads. This means 1 fight per thread per character.
• A character can become a slave, prisoner, or hostage or anything the winner desires by force if the character loses. However, the captured character can attempt to escape. If there is no reply within 48 hours the escape is successful.
• We do have a Fighting System that explains what the Stats are, how they are given, and provides a step-by-step guide to how fights work ICly here on DC.
• Wars and Raids between Kingdoms and even across entire Empires can and will happen here. During these events it is likely characters may die.
• Leaders are at risk of dying in Wars and Raids. This includes Empire leaders as well.
• If a Kingdom leader dies and there is no one to take their place within 2 OOC weeks, the Kingdom will be disbanded.
• If an Empire leader is killed and there are no Heirs, then one of the leader’s Council members will be elected as temporary leader. (In OOC, there will be a vote among the site where members can choose between Council members AND Kingdom leaders to see who will be the next Empire leader). (In the event of a tie, the characters will battle for leadership).

• Graphic breeding is forbidden! Must fade to black.
• Breeding and birthing can happen in any season at any time.
• Pregnancies can only happen after a character is at least considered to be a Young Adult but a character can start being sexually active as a Teenager.
• Pregnancies will last 1 RL month from the date of acceptance of the form. So the parents will know exactly what they are having and the two members will have 1 month to find adopters for the babies. Any baby that is not adopted by the time the birthing thread starts will be announced as stillborn.
• Any adult character can adopt any character under the Young Adult age range, regardless of species. (Remember youth will die if they do not receive a guardian by the end of 2 RL weeks).
• Mothers (not adopted) can breed again after their babies have reached the age range of Children. Males can breed at any time without waiting.
• Inbreeding is allowed however there is an increased risk of deformities unless you buy a potion which guarantees none or go and speak to the God of Fate and he may aid you.
• Force breeding is allowed however it requires a battle (unless members agree ahead of time).
• More information can be found in our Breeding, Babies, and Growth page found: HERE.

• Once a character dies, they can become a spirit and travel around the spirit world.
• They can interact with the living, talk to them and provide information because they are able to see and understand a great deal more than they ever could while alive.
• Spirits do lose their powers and abilities from when they were alive.
• Spirits cannot possess or kill other characters.