Rules
General
Flaming, disrespect, harassment, and drama are all outlaws here. Don't bring them in.
For overly mature content material in posts, please mark as such in the subject line of your post.
Questions can be directed to an admin, mod, or by email to vv.rapier@gmail.com. Use of the boards is preferred.
Rules can be changed at any point, and any changes that are not grammatical or simple rewording will be noted to members via Out of Character Chat.
Joining
All characters join as "normal" wolves. All playable characters must be wolves or lupine in nature (such as werewolves). All "fantasy" wolves are restricted from being joined; for special cases, see "special"
As this is loosely semi-realistic, wolves can speak in human tongues and be personified in certain ways. Most wolves will be expected to speak in varieties of English. Exceptions can be made.
Natural coat colors include silvers, greys, blacks, whites, tawnies, ochres, browns, rust-reds, etcetera. Please use this as a guide, as natural colors are expected for all that are not approved as special characters. Wording will not be punished or requested to be altered unless it implies a specific points-only color/marking that has not been purchased.
Markings should not 'resemble' anything, as natural markings are much looser in resemblance. Vague shapes are allowable, as are mixed coat colors. If you would like to purchase more direct or obvious markings, these can be bought with points. Special cases are allowable.
Eye color is not limited, however 'color-changing' eyes are considered a restricted trait, as are 'glowing' or otherwise altering eyes. Pure red eyes are also restricted to high-ranking devilish wolves or bloodlines specifically carrying the red gene.
Please wait to be accepted by an admin, mod, or acceptor before posting.
Please join only how many characters you can keep relatively active. There is no join limit at this time. This may change at any time.
If you wish to join your character with something that requires points, please see the point board for current prices and/or speak with an admin. You may then add a new sample post to your join to earn the points needed for the requested items. This sample post needs to deal with at least one of the lands of Vanguard, and needs to be written in-character for the specific character in question. Your sample post may be posted again in the appropriate place on Vanguard, however no additional points will be earned. All points from sample posts in joins will apply
solely to the items being purchased in that join- no leftover points from this will be received.
Hunting
Prey are played by moderators; the larger the prey, the more power is needed to take them down. Rarer prey also exist, but are incredibly difficult to obtain. Characters with powers are typically allowed to use them to aid in taking down prey.
Some prey are designated as "not for eating"- these prey are usually kept for other purposes, such as pets or to be useful in some way. Most prey that can be found, however, is for eating.
Prey that are significantly smaller and less difficult to obtain may be npc played by players in their own posts, such as an adult wolf taking down a rabbit, rat, or other small prey. Please be reasonable with this, your sick/injured 3 year old isn't going to catch a rabbit all on their own. If this is abused, administrators may tighten this rule.
War
The factions are there for a reason-- just like the legendary Hatfields and McCoys, they were once at peace with each other. They war against each other often, and for no apparent reason. If this does not make you comfortable as a player, just remember that it is merely a game mechanic to make things more fun, and does not have to affect your characters if you don't want it to. Even when two sides are at war, individual viewpoints and perspectives vary.
There is a board specifically for faction-against-faction battles, however the only awards you get are the glory of winning for your faction and points
Breeding
Breeding is reserved for mates. The exceptions to this are cases of forced breeding (rape) and the rare Lothario, who is able to breed with up to three different wolves in a season. If a player would like to join their character specifically as a Lothario, speak with an admin or mod.
Male-Male and Female-Female relations will always be sterile unless one of the involved players earns a Favor of the Gods, Devils, or Game Administrators.
Mates are chosen by character co-consent, and are not assigned by the admins. Mates can be of different genders, or even of the same gender. A character can have multiple mates, even at the same time.
To be designated as mates, both players must acknowledge the status on the updates board of their characters. Players are asked to keep a single couple's mating update to a single thread.
Graphic breeding is allowed under the condition of marking your posts in the subject line with "mature".
Breeding is allowed in any season, and successful breeding lasts for 2 seasons. Please note pups born to a late fall-/early winter-born liter are born at a disadvantage.
To clarify the difference between a Lothario and having multiple mates, a Lothario has no emotional connection to those with whom they procreate. "One night stands", as it were. Having multiple mates, on the other hand, implies a certain degree of emotional attachment to each of them. This is what sets the two distinctions apart.
Litters with more than 2 parents are allowed, however even if it is a litter with two or more females, only one will carry the pups in that litter. These stats must be provided to you by an admin.
Puppies
When breeding, most litters contain 2-6 puppies; this may be increased or decreased by administrative decision on a case-by-case basis, usually due to priorly arranged plots, age and health of the prospective parents, and/or number of puppies already born to a couple.
Players are allowed to make small to moderate requests concerning puppy stats (number of puppies within a litter, gender of one of the puppies, or one or two certain markings), however it is the statter's discretion as to how often these requests are integrated into the stats given.
Puppies who do not have at least one adult wolf or at least two adolescent wolves protecting and nurturing them must find one within a week's time. If they do not, they must roll the dice versus the admin for survival rate. This extends the time they have to find parents. In this manner, it is possible, if unlikely, for a puppy to survive to adulthood alone. If a player is unable to post their characters during the above time frame, please leave a note of being away. Your characters will not age during this time.
Aging is at player disgression, but please be reasonable with the amount of time a pup stays a pup.
Other
Suggestions and comments are welcome.
As of now, each season is approximately 2 months, leaving a full game year at 8 months. Season changes should be updated on the about page for your writing needs!
The first year of a wolf's life, they are considered a puppy. Wolves are allowed to start breeding at 3, however they will not sexually mature until around 4 and a half years.
The site runs on liquid time, allowing for a character to be posted in multiple places at once.
Excluding special allowances made by the administrator, reserved names are not allowed at this time; there will be a vote at a later date concerning the inclusion or lack thereof of allowing names to be reserved. These special allowances exist outside of this rule.
A character name can be shared between two characters on the conditions that both players agree, their colors (in html etcetera) are different, and something is used in player conversation to differentiate (for instance, a "middle name", as it were, that is only used for player interactions; this must be recorded)
Characters brought from other sites are to have no background with any characters in Vanguard at the time of their joining; the only exceptions to this would be littermates joined at the same time, or parent/child joined at the same time, for obvious reason. Please do not try to bring previous character conflicts, love interests, history, or other factors into this game without playing them out in-character in Vanguard. Preferably, also leave your characters open to their new development in Vanguard.
Please see "special" for special cases concerning this rule.
Vanguard is an entire world, and is not currently accessible to other regions. Special case permissions will be listed under "special".
Plots involving fantasy elements are welcome to be brought to the attention of the site administration, but please state inherently why the requested power/trait/restriction is necessary for your plot when introducing it.
Player points are player-specific, not character specific, and cannot be transferred to another player at this time.
Gods, Vanguards, and Devils
The Gods, Vanguards, and Devils are large, kingdom-like networks, and each consists of multiple packs that work together within their individual alignments.
The Gods and Devils are enemy factions. They do not interbreed. Those that are willing to make peace with the opposing side become Vanguards, the in-between faction.
The Gods allow for breeding within their faction, as well as vanguards and loners. The Devils allow for breeding within their faction, as well as vanguards and loners.
Just because one is a God does not make them "good". Just because one is a Devil does not make them "evil". These are merely the titles the factions have taken upon themselves. Each pack has separate rules and society that are individual to the pack despite the faction to which they belong.
The Vanguards as a group are on generally good terms with both the Gods and the Devils; those that defected from one group or the other to the Vanguards are no exception.
If you, as a player, do not wish to have your characters personally involved in the inter-faction wars, it is perfectly acceptable to join them as a Vanguard and just not bother with the factions.
Special
As a special case for all those with whom the administrator played on a certain other wolf rpg not to be named at this time, all characters, including their respective bloodlines, will be allowed to be joined on The Vanguard. You may choose to join your characters with full memories, partial memories, or no memories from their previous sites. Alterations are allowed, so long as they take into account the rules of Vanguard (ie: you can bring your character that was white, but you can't make them pink without utilizing points for that). If you would like to join any of your characters to a faction, please do since that's exactly what they're there for. Name reserves are also allowed in this instance.
Those under this certain circumstance will also be allowed to submit magical bloodlines to be approved. These can be the exact same as you have submitted to other sites, as they will be associated with your player name, not with The Vanguard. An admin will also offer a Vanguard variant of other known specials to make things fair.
As a special case for all those with whom the administrator played on a certain other wolf rpg not to be named at this time, all characters will be allowed to be joined on The Vanguard. You may choose to join your characters with full memories, partial memories, or no memories from their previous sites. Alterations are allowed, so long as they take into account the rules of Vanguard. Characters are welcome to be joined to factions, as that's what they're there for. If a character had a trait[s] considered "special" on the certain other wolf rpg, they are welcome to a fitting "special" trait on Vanguard, whether non-hereditary or hereditary, if that is the most appropriate. Please contact the administrator (as well as the owner of whatsoever bloodline you are requesting for your character, as appropriate) for more details and clarification on individual cases.
Points and Events
Events will be held at the discretion of the game administrator. Moderators can suggest a game or event to the administrator, and if a consensus can be met will run an event of their own.
There can only be one prize per event. If there is a second or third place winner, they will receive instead points toward their character development. A tie will result in a special prompt given to the tied parties, whose results will determine the winner of the event.
The prize for the event will be told in advance if it is a Moderator event; Admin events may or may not have the exact prize listed. Possible prizes include, but are not limited to, varying coat colors, obvious markings, a male-male or female-female puppy litter, wings, horns, various element-related powers, or other restricted in-game goodies.
Prizes can only be gifted to a different character under the conditions that the event did NOT specify the prize to go specifically to the winner, the prize was not already put into use by a character (assigning it to the character counts as long as the admin has already approved of the update), and in the case of gifting the prize to a different player's character, both players also must approve of the gifting of the prize.
The points system allows for the strengthening, conditioning, and otherwise giving your character "perks", such as social rank or edits such as glowing/color changing eyes or faction-related powers or traits involving a character's point ranking. Characters may also open their bloodlines to being purchased with points, please speak with staff concerning the matter if you would wish to do so.
As the points system is expected to evolve with Vanguard, there is a possibility that things may change in the future. All finalized points sales will be considered final, and all point-gathering, exchanging, or use after the change will assume the updates in the points system.
The point system is based on post length. Only posts over 200 words are considered for the point count. Points for a single post's length are capped at 10, every 100 words earning 1 point (after 200 words; for instance, a 335 word post would earn 2 points).
Character points are only to be used in 3 ways: for the character that earned them, toward the purchase of a magical being for the player, or exchanged for player points. Character points are non-transferrable. Player points may be used by a player for any of their characters, but are also non-transferrable. The current exchange rate for character points to player points is: 5 character points = 1 player point.
Threads nominated as the Thread of the Month earn all involved characters up to 5 points; this rule does not count for threads involving more than four characters (up to five if one is a newborn played in the same post as his or her mother; the mother and pup will split their share of points in this case).
As a prize for an event, a player can choose to forfeit the attained prize in favor of points for their character. The maximum prize in points a character can earn for winning an event or contest is 20.
Points do not expire, and a character cannot win two non-designated prizes at a time.
Background image credit to Lukas Furlan
