So, you want to join the pack, but you don't have a character? Perhaps you already have a character, but you want to make them even better and don't know how? Maybe you just want to know what is allowed in characters, biographies and backstories around here? Well, first up, let's note a couple of things:
- We have only realistic animals here, which basically means no crazy coat patterns, rainbow pelt colours, super powers, horns, wings, super size, etc. You can, however, have any eye colour in existence except pitch black.
- Some unusual markings are allowed, only specific shapes, stripes, polka dots, stars, and such are not acceptable. But pretty much any marking a animal in real life can have [dogs, cats] your character can have, too. The pelt colours red-brown, blue-grey, and pure white are acceptable here. Unrealistic markings are bought from a Shaman or Tattooist in RP.
- You are allowed up to 2 accessories upon joining: You may buy more later on at the Port Markets.
- Please remember there are no humans, domestic dogs or other domesticated animals in our worlds and never have been. Please remove all references to them and avoid mentioning them.
- Keep your character's genes, species and origins in mind when making your character. (See Wolf Species for more)
- Keep in mind that your character has to have a nationality. Please choose a wolf species from that part of the world or explain how your character is that breed but from that part of the world.
- Unrealistic elements such as accents, beards [longer fur around the mouth, such as on a Schnauzer dog] and accessories are acceptable here.
- It is recommended your character comes from the current location the Fleet is passing through, otherwise you must explain how your character got to that area.
- Albinos must have pink noses and paw pads, red, pink or white eyes, and white fur without markings [unless stained or tattooed over].
Names and Origins:Okay, so now you know the basics, it's time to move onto the first step: Choosing your character's origin and name. It's a good idea to choose a name from where they come from. For example, you choose Russia for their homeland, so if your character was male you could call them Luka, which is a name with russian origin meaning "light." This would be good for if your character had a pale pelt colour or a joyful personality, or even if they were a fast runner. Sometimes, you can't find a fitting name until you finish creating your character. If so, just do the naming last.
When choosing origin, be sure to note the religions, cultures and how they will affect your character, their history, and the way they speech [accents, languages].
Example of piratey names:Hook
BlackBeard
RedBeard
Seaspray
Genders:Male or female; the gender of your character. You should take careful attention to this since paterfamilias and gender roles are still taking place in the world and the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen is yet to be recognised [do your research!]. You should especially take note to this if you are planning on having your character come from a british colonised area. Gender roles are ignored onboard the Fleet, since it's founder was female.
Only a male and a female can have pups together.
Species:Species, subspecies and "breeds" take a huge role on our characters. Only specific breeds come from different places, the common builds, colours and markings of a particular breed, fur texture, etc. Be sure to read through our guide of breeds that are allowed and how many are allowed.
Vocal:The accent, language and vocal pitch of your character can make all the difference in the RP. If your character comes from a different place that speaks a totally different language it's a good idea to have them speak that language and the accents from that area, or explain how they learnt english/other languages.
TIP: Use google translate if you don't speak it yourself.Personality:This is probably
the most important step in making a character; plotting up how they act around others. The RP normally takes a big part in shaping your character's personality as do their personality shapes the RP. Their history, too, may also have shaped how they act today. Your character can be any combination of traits, for example: Stubborn, cautious, loner, aggressive, loyal and determined. That would probably create a wolf that is so stuck in their ways [stubborn] that they refuse to trust anyone [cautious] and has isolated themselves from them [loner] and are extremely aggressive if they come near them [aggressive], but once proven that they can trust them they will follow them to the end of the world and even die for them [loyal and determined], just for an example. You don't have to go very in-depth, just give us a idea of who your character is, even if it's just a couple of traits.
Markings and Colours:Moving onto appearance. Your character can be any shade of brown, cream, tan, grey, black, white and even a soft shade of red-brown such as
this or orangey like
this or
this. They can have pretty much any marking a real furred animal [dogs, cats, bears, etc.] or hoofed ungulate [cattle, deer, etc.] can have, and all eye colours. You can make pretty crazy, original characters with their appearance alone. Look below for a original, acceptable character and one that is not.
Builds and Size:This is a big part of creating a character. Their size varies depending on their species, one of the biggest being Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf, the tall Tundra Wolf coming close in height, and one of the smallest being the Arabian Wolf.
Keep your character's build in mind when determining your skills, strengths and weaknesses: A tall, long-legged Tundra is much faster than the stouter but stronger Mackenzie Valley Wolf. A light Mexican Grey is obviously faster than a Eastern Timber Wolf, but the Timber might be stronger or has more stamina than it's smaller counterpart.
See
Wolf Species for more on the size, range, general skills and builds of the different subspecies and breeds
Backstory:Every character needs a history! This is one of the things that affect RP the most and even how your character acts around others. So how do you write a good backstory for your character? Simple, give them something interesting and different: Maybe something drove your character to piracy? The loss of a loved one, maybe they were an orphan and had no other way to feed themselves, or perhaps they wanted revenge or were just plain fed up with their government/home/country? Perhaps they had the good life, but decided it was not for them and left to explore the world? Maybe they have always dreamed to be as free as only a pirate can be? There are almost unlimited stories to make your character's past interesting, and even more are unlocked with the wars, nations and cultures of our world. You could even have a rebel that fought in the French Rebellion but fled prison and the country!
A past doesn't have to be dark, sad and gory nor long and action-packed to be good. Your characters doesn't have to be a huge hero that saved the world, nor the dark villein that killed their entire family. In fact, the more peaceful ones can make the most interesting. A pup that ran away to the circus? That's exciting and interesting, and could affect your character so that they are more agile than most, being raised on the tightrope and such.
You can choose if your character's history affects their lives and how, though it is a lot of fun having a backstory to how they were shaped into the wolf they are today.
BiographiesSo you have a rough idea of what your character is going to be like? Good, now you can write a biography. What is a biography, you say? Well it's basically a description of who your character is, explaining what they're like to others. It normally lists their name, gender, origins, current rank, current crew and ship, their appearance, history and a general sum up of their personality. Around here, it is required to have a accepted biography before you start to RP.
Look below for the basic code/template for biographies. All fields must be filled.
- Code:
-
[color=#336699][b]Basics[/b][/color]
Name :
Gender :
Age :
Origin :
Ship :
Rank :
[color=#336699][b]Temperament[/b][/color]
Personality :
[color=#336699][b]Appearance[/b][/color]
Build :
Pelt Colour and Markings :
Eye Colour :
Scars or Injuries :
Accessories :
[color=#336699][b]Past[/b][/color]
History :
[color=#336699][b]Skills[/b][/color]
Attack : __ / 100
Grace : __ / 100
Curative : __ / 100
Special Talents :
Strengths :
Weaknesses :
[color=#336699][b]Family[/b][/color]
Mate :
Pups :
Parents :
Siblings :
Family Within Fleet :
So you might be thinking, "how do I fill this out? What does it mean?" It's relatively simple, but it may be a little hard to understand for first-timers, so look below for a quick look over the fields and what they mean.
- Name : The name of your character. They can have a surname and/or a middle name if you choose, but it's up to you.
- Gender : Male or female.
- Age : The age of your character. Two years and over is considered an adult, eight years and over a elder, one year is a yearling or juvenile, and anything below is a pup. Pups can't fight or hunt.
- Origin : The original nationality of your character; where they came from.
- Ship : The current ship your character is apart of the crew of.
Rank : The current rank of your character, and perhaps the one they desire in the future as well.
- Personality : The general behaviour and nature of your character. Are they shy, or are they aggressive? Etc. A short summary of how they act.
- Build : The build of your character: Strong, tall, short, muscled, small, large, etc.
- Pelt Colour and Markings : How your character's fur looks [what colour it is] and any notable markings on it.
- Eye Colour : The colour of your character's irises.
- Scars or Injuries : Any wounds that your character may have, healed or not. [No mortal wounds that would've killed them already, such as half their face ripped off]
- Accessories : Any items your character may wear. You can start off with two and buy more later.
- History : The previous life/story of your character; their past and any notable events in it.
- Attack : One of the skills. Attack determines how hard your character can "hit." Divide 100 skill points among these skills.
- Grace : One of the skills. Grace is how fast your character is and such. It can also help to resist some damage when being attacked.
- Divide 100 skill points among these skills.
- Curative : One of the skills. Curative is your character's medical/healing skill. Divide 100 skill points among these skills.
- Special Talents : Read more on the Skills and Talents Guide.
- Strengths : Your character must have at least two strengths and the even amount of weaknesses.
- Weaknesses : Your character must have at least two weaknesses and the even amount of strengths.
- Mate : Your character's "spouse" in the RP.
- Pups : The offspring of your character.
- Parents : The mother and father of your character.
- Siblings : Any siblings your character may have.
- Family Within Fleet : The characters that are related to your own by blood that are in the RP.
So that's how you make a character. Thank you for reading through this guide, I hope it was helpful to you. This guide was created by
Beta Head and is copyrighted to me [Beta Head]. Do not recreate or copy.
See the post below for a example of a good biography.
