Guidebook

[Ahnkella]

ABOUT SYNDICE

Syndice is a fantasy play-by-post, literate, multi-animal roleplay game allowing playable characters in the forms of Canine and Feline. We have got a low minimum word count per post, sitting at just 200, however, we encourage our members to work towards making their posts longer and more descriptive. Syndice does follow a plot basis and have key elements at certain points that need to be met and performed, however, it is mostly determined by the actions and flow of the characters and roleplay. Syndice does not have a roleplay level, we allow roleplayers from all types, skills, and backgrounds, as well as those who are new to roleplaying. We offer assistance and 'training' to help mold new and existing roleplayers into better, confident writers.

We carry a loose plot that is used as a guide and prompt of activities and ongoings to the animals of Syndice which is set in a fictional planet known as Seliatia. Overall characters can live their lives as they please, but be aware that certain plot points may come into play and alter the outcome of some actions. Not every thread that is written on Syndice is or can be related to the overall plot of the site, as we do not require everything to be in direct correspondence of it. We understand that there may be multiple threads ongoing that are not at the current time or date of other major activities that happen, so 'liquid time' is observed. This allows our members to have their characters in multiple threads at the same time at different points in the timeline. There are a few restrictions that may need to have future posts altered.

Of the two families of animals we allow to be played on Syndice being canine and feline, we allow any of their subspecies to be played as well, as long as they are not extinct. We will be monitoring the numbers of each of those and may have temporary bans in place if any single unit has too many. during this ban, any new characters and joiners must choose from the other available species to be played. When it comes breeding we do allow cross-breeding between canines and felines, but we won't allow the creation of a new species. The parents must discuss the appearances of the offspring they may have combined appearances and traits of both parent species in them.

We offer opportunities for our members to become part of the staffing team at different levels in order to give everyone a fair chance at becoming a member of the team. As and when these staffing opportunities we will post threads and messages to let everyone know about them and then direct them to the listings to see what is available. Some roles may not be open for new recruits for long periods whilst others can have more frequent slots available, but all will be treated the same way.

[Ahnkella]

REGULATIONS

001. Be polite and courteous to all members of the site, and respect everyone no matter of character or role.

002. Do not blur the line between in-character and out-of-character. It's a fine line, and crossing it can cause a lot of unnecessary trouble and drama. If you have an issue, deal with it privately or ask a member of staff to help sort out the matter. Failure to deal with the matter respectfully will result in punishment all around.

003. Maturity. We do not tolerate childish, juvenile behaviour and bickering here. We are all adults, or close to it, I hope, so please act like it. Any childish behaviour will be pulled up and actions will ensue.

004. Activity. We do not require you to be on all day, every day. However, we do request that you pop on to check if you have a thread to reply to and to do so as soon as possible, to not keep other players waiting. Remember to keep track of your threads and when you need to reply. Any posts left waiting idle and unresponded after 2 weeks from the last post will be assumed 'inactive' and will be archived.

005. Disputes. Following on from the aforementioned In and Out of Character drama, we accept that there are times when conflict is inevitable and things may come to the point of an argument or fight. If it gets to this point then contact an Admin and we will find a way to resolve the situation if it is an IC or OOC matter.

006. Writing. All in-character posts must be written in third person and past tense. Ensure you proof-read your threads and have the correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. We do not need posts filled with a lot of typos as it frustrated people and takes too much time to figure it out.

007. Posting. In order to let others know when they're next to reply in a thread tag them by @accounthere. You can also use our Discord group to tag them for more instantaneous response. We require that threads maintain a posting order in which each person within the thread responds in the order that they replied originally. If a person does not reply within two weeks, (14) days of the last post their turn will be skipped and the next poster will then take their go. If that person then wishes to jump back in, they may, and establish a new posting order.
- That being said, if the next person in response to the thread feels they have been waiting too long, they can speak to the person who is due to respond and the thread creator and see if a skip can be permitted in order to speed things along.

008. Raiding / Challenges. As we are a multi-pack roleplay we allow raiding between the established packs on the island, however, these must only be done once a 'Raid Request' has been submitted and the reasons and grounds for the raid assessed by Staff. If the circumstances are relevant then it will be held as an event where we can put other things on hold to allow the raids to happen as smoothly as possible.
Similarly, challenges for rank, position or other reasons may follow a similar method. The outcomes of raids and challenges may be predetermined on certain grounds or dice-rolls, however, some can just play out.

009. Death / Killing. Characters are likely to encounter death and killing of other characters on the site from time to time, it's part of life. However, we do not want people choosing to go and kill-off their characters if they no longer wish to use them, or to go around have had a killing spree; it's uncalled for.
Any needs for death or a killing of a character will have to be authorised by staff and the threads monitored. Death through injury from hunting or fighting is going to happen, but if two wolves have got 'beef' and a death-fight us to ensure staff will set up an area for this to occur. Just don't go and kill for the sake of it.

010. Breeding / Birthing. Permission to breed is only to be granted by the Leaders as over-population is something that we would try to avoid. Interspecies pairing is allowed, however, the production of offspring is restricted and special permissions will be required if interspecies couples wish to sire litters.

011. Guilds. In order to create a guild of your own, there are requirements that need to be met; a number of 'followers', a predetermined area of land to start off territories as well as other things. See 'Guild Guide' for more information. 'Guild' is the relative term we use for any established congregation or unit of animals. We understand that naturally, felines are in 'Prides' and wolves are in 'Packs', but within Syndice they're both called Guilds.

012. 200 wpp. We require members to post a minimum of 200 words per in-character post to give some volume. There is nothing worse than single-lined responses when you're written paragraphs. If you're struggling to bulk out your posts try describing the appearances of things, your character's surroundings, how they are feeling and reacting to the situation. We like to see our writers flourish here, so try and push your boundaries.

013. Aging, Time Scale & Seasons When it comes to timescale and seasons, we pretty much keep it normal, in the sense of when it's Summer IRL, it'll be summer on Syndice, and when the year ends IRL, ir ends in RP also. That way it keeps things a bit smoother and people can keep track of when certain things like Summer/Winter solstice and other activities like tracking the moon for their roleplays also. The day-to-day ratio we will not control/

014. Registration Once an account is registered on the site, the owner has 3 days to start their joining process and show progress, and enter the Discord to communicate with the rest of the members. Failure to do that will result in the account being deleted.

[Ahnkella]

SETTING

Seliatia is an Earth-like planet in a thinly populated solar system with only eight or so other known planets. Seliatia is 7.5 times larger than Earth and its gravity is about 9.56 times greater than that of Earth. A single day lasts 47 hours and a year consists of 294 days in a variety of ever-changing seasons and weather. The planet is made up of 5 continents joined together by one central continent. which makes up about 40% of the planet's landmass. 2 moons orbit the planet while Seliatia itself orbits a red sun in a fairly circular orbit.

Seliatia is a world where anything can happen, creatures have unique appearances, abilities and mutations, some call it beautiful, others call it a curse. The planet's inhabitants used to have rather normal appearances, nothing out of the ordinary but something changed when a solar storm erupted. Since the storm, the inhabitants have been trying to come to terms with the changes and search for answers as to what is causing these once normal looking predators to mutate as well as search for some relics from the storm.

Site year: 01 April
Season: Spring 2019.
Location: Syndice is set on a fictional planet with a number of landmasses and biomes somewhat similar to that of Earth. Unless the animals have the ability to fly, are semi-aquatic or can swim great distances they would generally be isolated to those masses for their duration. There is a plethora of amazing plantlife that thrives on Syndice from brightly coloured plants to ones that glow in the dark; as well as some that have the ability to kill and absorb large animals. Many of these plants have varying defences from acid, poison, shooting darts or thorns and other such weaponry.

Era:

Breeding / Birthing:

Limitations:

Character Locations: