Guidelines

[Amandus]

Guidelines

"In every walk in nature
One receives far more than he seeks."

-John Muir

Overview-

• This is a PG-13, intermediate level RP. There are some instances of violence and thematic content that particularly involve minors.
• Show respect to your fellow man. Any major harassment or hate = instant ban. This RP is supposed to relaxing, peaceful place for those wanting to escape their real-life stresses. Any arguments and other issues should be settled privately.
• There will be no periodic activity checks in this RP. If you must take a hiatus from the site for a while, it is entirely understandable here. You won't have to worry about being banned in the meantime.
• If you have any questions or suggestions for the guidelines, or otherwise need help in creating a character or plotting, you may message a staff member to address the problem.

Role Play-

General-

• The rules every RP has: no god-modding, power-playing, meta-gaming, etc.
  
• This RPG is plot-driven, rather than character-driven. Major character development may be difficult due to the nature of this plot.
• Besides the Moonstone and the concept of SpiritClan, this is a hyper-realistic RP. Watch out for any details that may otherwise fly over your head. It may even be helpful to do your own research on the park. This site may be a good source. For reference of the geography, Google Maps is your best friend.
• This site does not use play-bys/face claims, but, an image depicting what a character may look like can be put in their application.

Character/Plot Creation-

• All characters in this RP are female. You might ask why, but this is only because it's the way it has always been since version I of the series. Unless this becomes severely problematic to members, this is never going to change. Transgender females are allowed.

• Apprentices can register starting in 2004. When registering your apprentice, their age should be in the 9-12 range. This is the typical age Outcasts look for when recruiting. Keep in mind the way that an 9-12 year old speaks, thinks, or acts as you RP.
  
• The suffixes Fur, Pelt, Whisker, Paw, Tail etc. are unavailable in this RP. "Claw" or "Fang"  may be used in context of an animal, such as "BearClaw".
• Like any other RP character, there is no such thing as a perfect Outcast. Every one of them has flaws, whether that's in personality or a physical weakness.
• Be realistic with initial appearance. Most of the canon Outcasts are ethnically white, since that is the race that visits the park most often, and after that come Hispanics or mixed races, but you can make your character any race you'd like. 
• You may have no more than 6 characters, 1 per Clan. This is to prevent overpopulation in the long run. If I see you trying to go above this limit, the application with the extra character(s) will not be accepted. All of your characters must be on one account.
• The required character registration form is stickied in the character creation board.
  
• If the idea of starting with an entirely clean slate freaks you out, you may take a look in the Adoptions board instead to find another member's unwanted character. They would already have a developed personality and established relationships in their Clan.
  
• As far as plotting goes, be consistent and aware of other plots going on at the time.

Time Frame & Schedule-

• Use the complete guide to look at the daily schedule for the Outcasts, found under the "Survival" section. You must RP in respect to this schedule.
• This RP is starting out in June, 2003 with the original Outcasts. From there, everyone comes into the Clans as an apprentice, and it will be determined in the future who will become the next leaders/deputies/nurses. This plot is an open-ended sandbox; you can't predict who will lead the Clans in the future, or what will happen to the Outcasts altogether. All of this will be determined based on how you RP.
• The current year, season and month will be kept track of in this forum's news feed. I will rollover them based on the members' best interests as they RP in order to move forward in the time line. I'll periodically take polls in the announcements board to determine this.
  
• This RP uses liquid time. Keep track of continuity between your characters' threads. You may not RP in 2003, and then skip over to 2012. You don't know who the leader is at that point, or who has died or joined between that time jump. You may solve any continuity issues in the plotting board.
• Yes, you can purposely get exiled or die if you no longer want to use one of your characters. However, make sure that your character's way out makes sense. If your character doesn't seem like the type that would commit treason or murder a Clanmate, then you can make her fall ill with pneumonia. After your character dies, you can create a new one, but she must belong to the same Clan. If your Outcast is exiled, it's also game over. You cannot RP as a rogue.
•  Don't ask for your characters or plots to be integrated into the canon story line. This is an entirely AU role play; that's why all of the canon characters and events have been removed.
  
  

Events-

• The Gathering: After the vote called for rollover goes through, instead of immediately moving on to the next month, an announcement for the Gathering will be created. During this, all role playing must take place in the Gathering Place board. The RP will begin when the Clans arrive there, and the leaders will begin to host the Gathering, reporting any news or deciding on a debate topic. Most of the Gathering will probably be back and forth dialogue between the leaders only.

• The Solstice Festivals: For this, an announcement will be made when the time seems appropriate as people normally RP. This festival takes place on June 21st and December 21st, but not in real life time. It is held in the same place as the Gathering.

Ranks-

• As an apprentice, your character should remain in that rank for 2 months RP time. Do not ask the leader to be ranked up. She should be keeping track of your rank for you, and she'll let you know when to RP with her for the warrior ceremony when ready.
• The mentor for a new apprentice will be chosen by the leader. A warrior cannot request to take the role.
• Warriors may not ask the deputy to be chosen to replace her position once she becomes leader. It is entirely the deputy's choice on who replaces her; there is no vote called for it.
• There is only one nurse per Clan. If this rank is already taken, and if that nurse already has an apprentice, your character may never use this rank. This is because of the time frame involved; your character simply will never live to become the next nurse.
• Your character's job as a deputy is to assist the leader in strategy and administrative tasks in the Clan. Unless the leader has gone missing or is absent otherwise, the deputy may not act as if she is the leader (exiling/suspending people, leading the Gathering, etc.)
• The leader is not invincible or all-knowing. Though her level of power in the Outcasts is equal to that of the queen in a game of chess, she may still be checkmated. They are responsible for their Clan's security, whether against Domestics or other Clans. Unless your leader character is particularly corrupt, she should be using common sense in her decisions.

Formatting-

• As you RP, specify which character you're using at the top of your post along with their Clan rank.
• I expect you to specify the exact date and time of day your RP takes place in the initial post of a thread. This is for the sake of continuity and organization within the time line. Use a format similar to this:

                    Friday, January 1st, 2016:

                    [12:00 A.M-]       
             

• Nearly all RP's on this site will be group threads. Unlike many other RPG's, especially those in the real-life genre, 1v1 interaction is rare in this plot. However, there is required no post order. Everyone should be included as the plot calls for, though, and people may post out of order in a thread for that same purpose. 

• Since this is an intermediate RP, posts should be at least a good paragraph in length. No one-liners, but I'm not requiring a specific word count. Write in third person, past tense.

Administration-

• A member may be promoted to a moderator if I see they are active in the community, friendly, and truly interested in the canon. They should be familiar with the rules and plot.
• Don't ask to be promoted. Most people that do this don't deserve the position.