- Jun 7, 2022
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This is a living document! if any changes to the rules are made, staff will make an announcement so everyone is aware and kept up to date.
1. NO POWER PLAYING OR GOD-MODDING UNLESS YOU GET EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM THE CHARACTER'S ROLEPLAYER FIRST.
Power playing or god modding is when you attack or control another player’s character.
──── Power playing can also extend to NPCs (like a badger or a dog) or the weather in a certain thread. It’s always a good idea to ask the thread’s owner before changing or controlling these types of things.
2. AVOID HAVING AN OVERPOWERED CHARACTER.
In the end, these are all just domestic cats. They should not be unrealistically huge or impossibly fast. Be sure to give your character flaws and weaknesses and to keep their capabilities in mind.
──── A character can weigh no more than 20 lbs. or be taller than 14 inches at the shoulder. Note: Staff will allow up to 2 additional inches for extremely skinny cats that will not be strong at all. You can trade power and body mass for height to make for a proportionate character that is not overpowered, but it should be noted these characters that exceed 14 in. will be unusually skinny with no bulk or muscle.
──── A cat cannot kill a predator by themselves. This includes foxes, badgers, dogs, and birds of prey. They could, however, defeat or drive off one of these by themselves if they’re skilled in battle!
3. GENETICS MUST REMAIN REALISTIC
If you are unsure if your character’s appearance is realistic or not, you can always ask a site geneticist for help either here or in the Discord.
──── Purebreds must be kittypet-born. Please note that purebreds will be for aesthetic purposes only; a moggy can still have traits of purebred cats such as a large size, folded ears, Oriental features, etc.
──── Hybrids are allowed, but must be at least F3. They will not have any advantage over domestic cats.
──── Stylized designs are allowed as long as they are technically possible.
──── Some rare colors will be limited to purebreds (i.e. golden, amber, etc.)
4. PLAY DISABILITIES ACCURATELY. IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO RESEARCH THE DISABILITY AND PLAY IT ACCURATELY, PLEASE DO NOT PLAY ONE.
These are not aesthetics; they will impact the way you play your character. Keep in mind there will also be roleplayers around you who may be affected IRL by disabilities; ensure you are playing characters with them tastefully and sensitively.
──── In addition, some mutations have negative side effects, like gigantism, dwarfism, albinism, etc. Please be sure you are playing these accurately. You may reference the Defect and Mutations Guide and/or ask a staff member for clarification if necessary!
5. REALISTIC ACCESSORIES ARE ALLOWED.
This includes things in nature, like leaves, fish bones, flowers, feathers, etc. Please keep in mind that only former kittypets should be wearing collars or bandanas, as a wild cat will not know how to put them on, nor should a wild cat want them on. Also, it will be up to their respective Clan leader whether or not twoleg accessories will be permitted within a Clan.
──── BloodClan-esque accessories such as dog-tooth claws and dog-tooth collars are not allowed due to the advantage those items give the wearer.
──── Please be aware of what accessories may be considered cultural appropriation. If something is considered appropriation, we may ask you to remove it from your character's design (i.e. feathers behind ears, bone piercings, the use of animal skulls, bone necklaces)
6. YOUR CHARACTER CANNOT HAVE ANY HERBAL KNOWLEDGE
To protect the job of medicine cats, characters cannot have any herbal knowledge unless they were taught by a trained medicine cat in RP. Basic knowledge such as poppy seeds and cobwebs is acceptable.
──── Medicine cats who step down or are otherwise forced out of their position should avoid performing medicine cat tasks. They are no longer a medicine cat nor is the roleplayer still a HP. Therefore, please avoid having your retired medicine cat heal or teach medicine unless plotted by a current medicine cat (i.e. needing help being trained in a certain area).
7. WARRIOR NAMES SHOULD BE KEPT TRADITIONAL
The Warriors world is set in a location that is a combination of the northern temperate United States, Canada, and England, so anything that cats in those areas would realistically know about is allowed and should be kept natural. Daylight warriors are the exception to this rule, and are only to be used in SkyClan by current daylight warriors. If you are unsure about a name, please ask staff.
──── Dividing a compound word to make a name is not permitted (i.e, Dragonpaw after a dragonfly is not allowed, but Dragonflypaw would be!). The general rule of thumb is the cat must know what the actual word in the name itself is. Seeing our Naming Guide for help.
──── Kittypets and loners may not want to take on a warrior name. This is up to the leader’s discretion whether they must change their name or not. While kittypet names can be anything (please keep it appropriate!), loner names should still remain more natural.
──── Marine names are not allowed! This includes names of sea creatures and tropical fish.
8. LEADERS CAN ACCEPT OR DENY JOINERS AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION
On TT, what is realistic of each individual character will be respected, so if a leader would not realistically allow joiners they do not have to accept them. If you feel you are being discriminated against OOCly, please do not hesitate to reach out to a staff member!
9. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO TERM LIMITS FOR LEADERS AND MEDICINE CATS
After a community discussion and vote, term limits for High Positions have been abolished. This means there is no longer any pressure to remain in these positions for a set amount of time, and there is no longer any limit.
──── If a leader steps down with remaining lives, we can plot with the next leader whether the former leader keeps those lives or gives them up. In the case of a leader going inactive before giving up their lives, staff will work with the next leader.
──── Roleplayers of medicine cats should have a medicine cat apprentice or fully-trained medicine cat in their place before stepping down. It takes approximately 10 full months to train a medicine cat apprentice to a full medicine cat. With term limits abolished, it is now possible to have more than one fully trained medicine cat in the Clan.
──── With term limits abolished, surveys will be held at regular intervals by staff to ensure the leaders are still ensuring IC and OOC tasks are done as they should be. If there are concerns a leader is holding a position and not meeting expectations, please voice your opinions in the surveys or open a ticket to discuss the issue with staff!
10. A LEADER MAY BE DEMOTED AFTER A MONTH OF LESS THAN 15 POSTS
Of these fifteen posts, at least three must be made each week, unless there is an inactivity warning to explain the gap. Staff will contact the leader about their inactivity, and may give a second chance to meet the post quota for the next month. If the quota is still not met, staff will demote the leader and the deputy will assume leadership.
──── One month of zero activity from the leader will result in immediate demotion by staff.
11. A LEADER MAY ALSO BE DEMOTED FOR EXTENDED OOC INACTIVITY
A leader's OOC presence is just as important as their IC presence! It is a leader's job to keep things running smoothly in regards to clan questions, plots, or even just helping your clan feel like a more welcoming place for newcomers. Staff will reach out to a leader when we feel that OOC activity is not up to par. Signs of this include leaving questions unanswered, channels in the clan's server not being made, important plots not being answered, and only posting in your own channel. Exceptions may be made for an amount of time if an inactivity notice is placed. Activity notices should not be retroactive–if you play a leader and must go inactive, please let your community know you are going to be harder to reach.
12. APPRENTICES CANNOT HAVE KITS OR MATES
A cat must be an adult and a warrior before they are able to bear or sire any kits or take a mate. Cats that have joined the clan as adults are exempt from this rule.
──── Please keep in mind the two-moon gestation period for cats, as a 12-moon old should still not be giving birth.
13. EXTREME CARE MUST BE TAKEN WHEN IT COMES TO SENSITIVE TOPICS.
Please make sure you correctly label your thread with a trigger warning for any content that might be considered sensitive. Roleplaying pedophilia, grooming, and sexual assault is not allowed on this site and will not be tolerated. Examples of things that are allowed but will be monitored heavily is suicide / suicidal ideation, extreme violence, abuse, and miscarriage. Please be tasteful and respectful when roleplaying sensitive topics. In almost all circumstances, these topics should not be discussed in detail. If you have questions about whether something is allowed or not, please reach out to a staff member!
14. TRY NOT TO TAKE THE ROLEPLAY PERSONALLY AND REMEMBER, THIS IS A STORY WE ARE WRITING!
It is important to remember that roleplayers are not their characters. A character does not reflect the beliefs, morals, or thought processes of their roleplayer. If someone’s character is mean to yours, that does not mean the roleplayer doesn’t like your character! What is a good story without conflict to make it interesting? Additionally, ensure that you yourself are not doing this with your character; your OCs should never act as vessels for you to push your OOC feelings.
──── Metagaming is not allowed. You may not use OOC knowledge to further an IC plot or have your character know about something they realistically wouldn’t.
──── Self-inserts are **strongly discouraged.** We cannot stop you from doing this, but we urge roleplayers to think about this before going through with it. You are writing as one character in a huge story full of other characters outside your control. Roleplaying as yourself or roleplaying out sensitive events in your life can lead down a slippery slope of hurt feelings and negative experiences.
15. STARCLAN INTERACTION REQUIRES STAFF PERMISSION
StarClan is meant to be a benevolent force and should be played uniformly in every plot. If you have an idea for a plot or interaction involving StarClan, reach out to a staff member for permission.
────EXCEPTION: When a cat dies, they may have a StarClan cat escort them to StarClan. The cat must be a StarClanner on the StarClan Census. The StarClan cat escorting the dying character cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise perceived by living cats. Both players must consent to this interaction.
────Interactions with medicine cats, medicine cat apprentices, and leaders are more likely to be approved as those cats are meant to have the strongest connection with StarClan.
──── This rule applies to any Dark Forest interactions as well.
16. POWERS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
We know the books had them, but there is no fair way to distribute this privilege without allowing every cat in the forest to have a power! At this time, there is no plan to implement powers.
17. CHARACTERS MAY NOT BE FLUENT IN OTHER LANGUAGES.
Majority users on this site are English-speaking, and while we are welcoming to those who are not native English speakers, roleplay should take place primarily in English for accessibility purposes. All characters should speak English, as at the end of the day, they are really just speaking "cat."
──── Kittypets are able to know a handful of foreign words or phrases that they could have picked up from their twolegs, much like they'd pick up on their name. They may have a general understanding of what the words/phrases mean, but they are not fluent in that language and may not know their literal translations.
18. BE MINDFUL OF LANGUAGE ON-SITE.
Swearing should be limited on-site. In IC posts, swearing should be kept to a low amount and shouldn’t fill posts, and only expletive swears are allowed (i.e. “fuck!” “damn!” “shit!”). Derogatory swears are not allowed; your character may not call others things like bitch, motherfucker, shithead, etc. Slurs are strictly prohibited. Please understand that if someone reaches out to you to edit a post, it’s because we want Tabby Tales to be a safe, inoffensive place to be.
19. REALISTIC HEALING TIMES AND PREGNANCIES ARE ENFORCED. KEEP AGE JUMPING TO A MINIMUM.
Please use our Herbs and Injuries Guide (link it to text) and/or consult with your clan’s medicine cat to determine when your character will be healed after an injury or illness. All pregnancies must be played out real-time (8-9 weeks/2 months). Angst overload and kit inflation are real things in RP; in order to try to keep these to a normal amount, we will not allow skipping the hard parts of these plots. Age jumping is also not uncommon in RP. While this is allowed, we require members to remain conscious of how often and how much they age jump, and to keep in mind how it affects others who are not age-jumping the same way. Kits that were just born cannot immediately become apprentices, apprentices cannot skip most of their training to become warriors, etc.
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