Special Breeds
As Vanguard now accepts special breeds full of magic (under special consideration, at the very least), the administrator has deigned to produce some magical speciae specifically for utilization on Vanguard. To play any of these breeds on another site, please seek permission both from the Vanguard admin and the admin of your other site.
Luster Wolves
Luster wolves have a wide history of being shown as any color, both the natural and unnatural. These beautiful wolves have coats that quite literally sparkle and
shine with the light of sun, moon, and stars, thus awarding them the title of "lustrous", or "luster" wolves. Though you're far more likely to find unusual coloring in a luster than natural coloring, it is possible to find wolves with natural colors of this breed, though they will still have the shining coat. The greater the positive emotions welling up inside of them, the greater the luster wolves shine, as though polished by good feelings. They are wielders of luck and love magic, able to aid in matters surrounding the heart such as opening communication lines, blessings new parents with good fortune for their children, and other matters.
Players of luster wolves must remember that all of their powers, though incredibly powerful, should be used with discretion and with respect to the other players in their threads. After all, one wouldn't wish to use a love spell against a character who's already offered their heart fully to another, and likewise, all plots concerning these powers should be confirmed out of character for best in character enjoyment of all parties. Luster wolves are able to hybridize with any breed of wolf that can hybridize.
Valkyries
The warrior wolves, valkyries are known far and wide in legend for their speed, dexterity, and ability. Their strength and the warrior senses are heightened, which gives them a general advantage in combat, if small. The valkyries embody the elements of force and pure magic, allowing them to build force fields around themselves as well as others, push back opponents without touching them, and this is also what gives them the extra buffer to their attack power and such. Born with the Mark of the Valkyrie on their right flank, they are typically ordinary colors and color patterns otherwise. This marking protects their body from some injury. The Mark of the Valkyrie does not necessarily show up on their body, as it is a genetic marking that will only be
guaranteed to show with their evolution or their player's purchasing of it in a different color for it to stand out. For all normal colored possibilities, the current price of the Mark of the Valkyrie (to make it show, if it isn't already showing) on a valkyrie or half-valkyrie is 1 point (cp or pp).
The valkyrie have a special evolution known as the Valhallans, whose information is below. Valkyries are able to hybridize with any breed of wolf that can hybridize. The players of valkyries should remember to keep in mind player respect and fight rules/guidelines in their character interactions.
Miko
The priest and priestess wolves, these wolves have special talents. They are able to commune with deities, even in the tongues of the deities, and also have the powers of exorcism, divination, and healing. Most of the Fireflies, who can heal those seeking their aid, are actually former miko who have exercised their priestess arts well in life. This has given said Fireflies a far increased ability to heal others. Miko healing powers grow as they utilize their priestess arts, as all of these are considered purifying for their souls and will help them become excellent Fireflies if they so choose at that time.
Players of mikos should be aware that all future-sight, exorcism, and some communications with deities (if these deities are played on-site, specifically) are restricted to interactions agreed upon by all involved parties, such as plots and
mutually accepted powerplaying. This is to keep in mind player respect and thoughtfulness.
Clockwork
The time mages, Clockworks are a one-of-a-kind sort of breed. They do not typically produce heirs, as there is about a 10% chance of conception- and a 20% chance of healthy pup[s]. However, to make up for this relative impotency, these rare wolves are intricately connected into time itself. They utilize the element of time, able to change, alter, and even reverse the flow of time. Most clockworks look like normal wolves, though any that descend from special-appearance lines such as the luster wolves may have a different appearance. All clockworks are completely immortal, and while they can obtain horrible and even mortal wounds, they
will not die from them, marking them as uniquely untouchable by death. Clockwork wolves cannot hybridize powers, only appearances.
Any player lucky enough to receive a Clockwork wolf will be required to only utilize any time abilities with full written consent of all players and characters involved in that which they intend to do. If a player of a Clockwork wolf does not follow this rule, they will be stripped of the character and the slot offered to another, as this is a very serious rule that is set-in-stone for a reason. If a Clockwork wolf and/or the player of a Clockwork wolf intends to alter the results of a battle using time powers, administrator and the fight moderator that issued the results will also both have to approve of the action.
Valhallans
The berserker hero wolves, valhallans are a step up from valkyries, as they are the evolutions of the valkyrie. Upon becoming a valhallan, a valkyrie's Mark of the Valkyrie will begin to glow, becoming visible even if it previously was not. The Mark of the Valkyrie will now protect from mortal injury. They become stronger, swifter, and everything that makes the valkyries strong makes the valhallans even stronger. They don't have to appear buff to be strong, even though they can, and they are also the elementals of quintessence- or life energy. Marked with one of three specific markers of the Valhallans, a valhallan can either have a super-tough body, working wings, or a set of 4 horns on their head (two small, two large, one of each size per side). This mark is the show of their vallor, as it were, and proof of their status as a valhallan. Valhallans have a sort of "magic buffer" that leaves them less affected and/or less likely to be affected by things such as love spells, luck charms, feeling enhancers or inhibitors, and other similar types of magic that are more "felt" than "physical". They can also "shield" themselves or any they are directly shielding from magical attacks made against them (such as elemental attacks).
For a valkyrie to become a valhallan, however, is not very easy. They have to have a high moral standard, so much so that they wouldn't even think of violating it. They have to train, raising their abilities to the highest level they can. But, most of all, they have to learn both to put others before themselves and to weaponize their own life force. To truly become a valhallan, they must then be ritually initiated into the valhallan ranks, at which point their valhallan marks begin to expose themselves and their element is altered to quintessence.
Because of the relative rarity of valkyries who can attain all of the qualifications necessary to become valhallans, they are looked up to as heroes. For valkyrie players wishing to evolve their valkyries into valhallans, they must contact an administrator to make it clear that most of the conditions have been fulfilled. For the weaponization of life force, the administrator will roll a series of dice to determine how accurately the character has weaponized their life force.
The rolls are such that, if your character gets severely bad rolls, they may sustain horrible injury or possibly die, as they are working with their own life force. If you, as the player, wish to avoid this possibility, you will be allowed to purchase a "life force pack" from the points store to guarantee survival, at the bare minimum. Life force packs come in 2 sizes, but only severely
good rolls are considered to grant the ability of utilizing one's own life force. All valhallans are born as valkyries, and likewise do not parent valhallans, even if both/all parents are valhallans. This breeding rule is set in stone. All valhallan powers save the Mark of the Valhallan and the Mark of the Valkyrie are to be nerfed in all combat situations, as unfair battle is against the code of the valhallans. As per other special breeds, do take into account thoughtfulness and respect for other players in your character interactions. As these are incredibly highly powerful wolves, if one is shown to be abusing this power, said character will be forcibly demoted by administrator or approved staff and the player punished accordingly.
Sundials
A very rare and, in fact,
legendary breed of Vanguard, the Sundials are the children of pairings between Clockworks and Valhallans. There are no Sundials currently on record, so all information about them comes via Word of God and the whispers passed around from wolf to wolf. They say that the Sundials are the beings that first brought magic to Vanguard, instilling it via their particular culminated set of abilities. These wolves are incredibly powerful, both magically and physically; marked with the Valhallan mark of the Four Horns; and their tails have an odd shape (like you tied an invisible ribbon around the middle of the tail to make the outline look kind of like an "8"). They can rip apart the very fabric of space and time, and some say that those whose colors change for no apparent reason, or other odd happenings of the like, that these wolves have been touched by Sundials (but this is usually just written off as superstition). As of this time, Sundials are a completely unplayable race that only exists in lore, as even if a Clockwork successfully bred with a Valhallan, the pup[s] would take on one or the other (clockwork or valkyrie) race. Sundials
cannot be born from a clockwork and a valkyrie.
Vores
The name whispered in the depth of night in dens, a name passed around in fear throughout packs and loners alike, is the Vore, wolves of carnage and devastation. These wolves have been infected with a sort of virus that takes over and completely annihilates their internal body structure and system. Those that are born with this virus sleeping dormant in their bodies awaken it upon consuming the flesh, blood, and/or bone of their lupine kin. Whilst the virus is dormant, prior to the "first feed of the voracious ones" as some call it, these wolves are like any other, looking for all the world like they fit into the rest of the populace. They can breed and reproduce. They can live full lives. But, on the inside, there's always a
hunger, which hunger can be small and innocent as a child asking for a candy bar after school or as voracious as a man stepping into a buffet for his first meal in 9 days. The moment they feed this hunger what it's searching for, their bodies begin to change, and they can no longer reproduce, as their bodies will consume their virility from within. The illness will activate, multiplying in their stomach acid and giving them the ability (most of the time; if they do not have the enzymes at birth, these can be purchased for points) to consume flesh, blood, and bone of their brethren. Dormant vores can hybridize with all wolves that can hybridize save luster wolves, however if ever the vore in them is activated, it will overrule any powers and non-physical special traits (such as elemental abilities, glowing eyes, etcetera). Activated vores have eyes that can be either fully blood-red with a black core or streaked heavily with blood-red.
For a non-vore wolf to be turned into a vore, they must consume the upheaval of the vore. This upheaval can be the vore's bile, blood, and/or flesh, but it
must come from inside their stomach or intestinal tract, as this is where both the cannibalistic enzymes and vore virus rest. As such, an admin or moderator will roll to see if either party is injured. While the vore character cannot be killed by an attempt at turning another, they
can become incredibly ill or incapacitated. The non-vore being turned, however, has a chance of mortality from this act. The players of vore characters should keep player respect in consideration in character interactions.
This page may be changed and updated at any time, and if a new breed is listed, that breed will typically be announced to the players on the Out of Character board.
Background image credit to Lukas Furlan
