Guidelines

Most character creation will be treated with a sense of suspended reality, wherein if you have a plausible explanation of why they look like that/have that accessory, it will be allowed. However, here are the few rules I have for this Campaign's characters:

Each member will only have 1 character for the duration of the campaign. If that character dies, then that's it. There's no making another character. This means you should make someone you'll enjoy playing for an extended period of time.

Characters can be anywhere from 2 months old to 16 years old. In general, most cats tend to live to be 8 - 10 years old, so older cats are more rare than younger ones.

That said, I won't penalize the creation of older cats. Make oldies. Have fun!

Additionally, ages can be written solely in months, in a combination of months and years, or in moons (which is just another word for months). So a character can be labeled as 3 years, 5 months old or 41 months, or 41 moons. All translate equally.

All characters must be domestic cats, or established wild-domestic hybrid breeds (bengals, chausies, savannah cats, toygers, etc).

All sexualities and genders are allowed! This campaign is LGBTQIA+ friendly.

Names cannot be derogatory, discriminatory, or explicit in nature.

As long as characters are using coat colors that can be found in cats (no bright green or pink characters), I won't be overly picky on patterning. However, please don't use extremely unnatural symbols that look more like tattooing than actual patterning, such as perfect letters or numbers, a biohazard symbol, etc.

That said, cats CAN utilize "makeup" in small doses. Just make sure that it's something they can find, since plants and safe water in general are relatively rare.

Characters can have "hairstyles" if you want, including things like ponytails, braids, etc.

Adult characters should be no bigger than 16" (40 cm) at the shoulder, and no smaller than 5" (13 cm) at the shoulder. Kitten characters (< 8 months) can be as small as 3" (8 cm), but will have to grow to be bigger than 5" (13 cm) over the course of the campaign.

Accessories are generally up to your own discretion, but just keep in mind what your character would be capable of creating/finding/crafting in this setting. Plant-life in general is very sparse, but things like human trash, stones, fragments of animal bone and petrified wood are all in abundance.

That said, feathers are not allowed on your character's head, neck, or shoulder area for any reason, and characters built upon indigenous stereotypes will be asked to change or modify certain aspects to make them less so. Additionally, the following accessories are no longer allowed within the campaign:

- Dreamcatchers
- Bone piercings though your character's nose or ears

Backstories that deal with sensitive subjects (as outlined in the Rules) need spoiler tags/trigger warnings (tw), both in written histories as well as when these backstories are being discussed in public chats and during the campaign. If you think something may need a spoiler tag/trigger warning, but are unsure about it, always err on the side of caution and add them anyway.

All forms of colonies, Clans, groups, etc. are allowed, but note that this environment isn't conducive to groups larger than about 20 cats, except in human cities.

Characters can also be human pets if you want!

Your character can be from any sort of location you'd like, but keep in mind that the world is in advanced decay, and most natural life has been depleted. Places that are lush and green, or filled with clean, fresh water and ample prey, just don't exist anymore. There are some small areas that still have short, dry grass or a small splash of greenery, and some other areas do still have freshwater streams or creeks, but ~95% of the land isn't like that.

Any and all illnesses and disabilities are allowed (even debilitating ones), and should be portrayed sensitively, respectfully, and as accurately as possible for the duration of the campaign.