Rules
Please familiarize yourself with all the rules listed here, as they serve as an important guide to the group. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact staff or ask in our #questions channel (located in the Discord server).
Purposely or frequently breaking these rules may result in a permanent removal from the group.
Don't let this daunt you — accidents happen, and you will naturally learn more about the group and its rules as you experience it for yourself.
General Rules
• Treat others considerately •
Harassment, hate speech, and disrespect are not tolerated in RoL. The group is meant to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone, so please do your best to get along with your fellow members!
• No mature content •
RoL is rated 13+. NSFW content is not allowed in RoL. Refrain from posting anything with sexual themes.
Take care to tag and "spoiler" anything that contains blood, injury/gore, or heavy profanity.
Avoid discussing sensitive topics such as rape, abuse, assault, dysphoria, and politics, as these discussions are not suited to a roleplay group.
• Be mindful of server etiquette •
Don't spam the server or post content in the wrong channels. If a conversation is leading into a new unrelated topic, please move it to the appropriate channel.
Don't swear excessively and avoid saying any slurs entirely.
Venting is not allowed. A public roleplaying server is not the appropriate place for venting.
When using voice channels, avoid raising your voice, making other loud noises, or singing.
• Be respectful of staff •
Meeting members' wants is a priority, but compromises can't always be made. Try to be respectful and cooperative nevertheless.
Be patient; avoid rushing staff for work to be done. RoL is administrated by adults who have real life obligations to attend to. Turnaround times will vary from a few days to a couple of weeks, for character applications. An announcement will be made if major delays are expected. Give lots of lead time for time-sensitive events or applications to be reviewed.
• Theft is not tolerated •
Tracing, plagiarism, and art/character theft will not be tolerated. You must always credit any artists or writers who have contributed to the creation of your character, colony, plotlines, etc.
PluralKit Bot Etiquette and System Rules
PluralKit is a bot used strictly for systems (DID or OSDD) in Roots-of-Life.
Don’t be disrespectful toward PluralKit users, and avoid asking why they’re using a bot to talk. PluralKit is used by DID/OSDD (dissociative identity disorder/otherwise specified dissociative disorder) systems to differentiate alters. Now that you roughly know the “what” of this, at least enough to look up the details if needed, please do not poke and prod for the “why” of DID/OSDD, as it’s often very personal.
Basic system accountability is implemented; if one alter of the system breaks a rule, that reflects on the entire system.
Systems can only have one roleplay “account” in RoL; having multiple banks or bypassing colony limits is disallowed.
System littles aren’t allowed in Roots-of-Life because it is a 13+ space.
No insensitive typing quirks, like stuttering. No hard-to-understand typing quirks without a translation, like leetspeak.
System tags are required in the nicknames so you know who’s system is speaking. Clear tags only; please do not use emojis to differentiate. Even though this information can be identified through the bot, having it clearly displayed helps to prevent misunderstandings.
PluralKit is never to be used for roleplay; it is strictly limited to systems.
Sensitivity Rules for Histories & Roleplays
In line with our rules about mature content, RoL has some rules about sensitive topics for the purposes of character and colony histories, and roleplays.
• General Sensitivity Rule •
Sensitive topics must be done with care and respect. Do not go into detail about these topics. These topics must have a content warning (CW) before them wherever they are present.
Roots-of-Life is a lighthearted group with a 13+ age rating, and we keep sensitive topics to a minimum so that everyone can enjoy the group.
• Specific Rules •
Abuse, assault, domestic violence, familial violence, rape, pedophilia, and dysphoria are never allowed. Excessive amounts of general violence will be denied.
Miscarriages, affairs, grief, and psychological bullying are allowed with a content warning (CW) if care is taken regarding their depiction.
Refrain from graphic descriptions and language in histories. "She lay in a pool of blood, the life leaving her eyes" is an example of this.
This is not an exhaustive list. Please ask staff if you're unsure about a topic. Staff can collectively use their discretion to deny a topic if it does not seem like a good fit for the group.
Character Rules
• Realism •
Characters must reasonably pass as realistic. Unrealistic eye and fur colors or patterns aren't allowed. Cats cannot read, or thoroughly understand human speech.
Stylistic choices can still be made for designs, but please be ready to make changes to heavily stylized or unrealistic cats.
• Character applications •
Characters require a completed written application, and application art.
For art, bases aren't allowed. Please contact staff if you're unable to draw your character; there is a very good chance you'll be able to get them drawn!
• Redesigning characters •
Redesigns must follow the character's existing genotype and phenotype, and shouldn't make the character unrecognizable.
Redesigns (including adding scars or accessories) should be approved by staff first.
• Characters below 12 months old must be updated •
If your character's age is below 12 months old when submitted, they'll require an updated written and drawn application when they reach 12 months of age.
You'll be given a month to finish their updates. If they aren't completed by then, they'll be killed off. Staff will check with you to offer an extension once you've run out of time.
• Characters have an age limit of 200 months •
Characters must be killed off at 200 months old (~16 years). Staff will notify you once your character has reached this age to figure out a cause of death, if not old age.
Besides failed mandatory updates and the age cap, staff will never kill off characters without permission.
• Joining colonies •
Characters can't be retconned into colonies. Characters who haven't been born into colonies will always start off with an outsider history and canonically join the colony at their time of approval.
If your cat is denied from joining a colony by the colony owner, you can edit them to join a different one instead.
All character creation-specific rules can be found on the Character Guide page.
Disability and Intersex Requirements
To give your character a physical disability or make an intersex character, you’ll have to write a research note and have it approved by staff. This is to make sure you have a solid understanding of your character's disability or intersexuality when writing them.
Our requirements for research notes are linked below.
Colony Rules
• Colony owners •
Staff will check with colony owners when a character is submitted to their colonies. Colony owners may deny applications for any reason (population control, wanting to keep it limited to their characters only, believing the character isn't a good fit for the colony, etc.)
Thus, colony owners must remain contactable. Please let us know if you are going on hiatus. Owners who we cannot contact for multiple months will have their colony disbanded.
• Colony tickets, reservations, and cooldown •
Members may have one colony ticket open at a time.
Members may reserve one territory on the map for a colony at a time. Territory reservations are indefinite, and only require the name for the colony.
After a colony is accepted, members must wait 2 months before they can reserve a new territory or submit a new colony.
• Co-ownership and ownership transfers •
Colonies can be co-owned. The lead owner will have a colony slot used, and will be the main point of contact for staff. It is their job to disseminate information to any vice owners.
Colonies can be transferred to other members, provided the new owner has an open colony slot.
All colony creation-specific rules can be found on the Colony Guide page.
In-Game & Event Rules
• OOC ≠ IC •
"Out-of-character doesn't equal in-character". Be careful to restrict your character's knowledge to what they would realistically know! Characters won't always be able to read each other, nor will they know others' pasts and secrets.
• Major plots, character events, and in-game consequences •
Major events like fights, wars, and so on must be approved by staff first. This applies to both characters and colonies. Long-term events may require a timeline.
Major character injuries or deaths need to be accepted by staff before they happen.
Characters who engage in plots that are immoral or dangerous may face IC consequences. This may include being wounded, or being exiled or punished by their colony's leader.
Characters can only engage in a fight when both parties have consented and staff has approved of the event. Keep the fight realistic and avoid powerplaying. Consider your character's strengths and weaknesses, and how much experience they have with fighting.
• Mateships require staff approval •
Cats may only become mates if they've been accepted by staff first. Submit an event ticket with the involved characters and a brief description of their dynamic for approval.
Characters must be at least 12 months old in order to take a mate. While there are no official rules about age gaps between characters, please use common sense and discretion when deciding what is appropriate. A cat age chart can be found here for reference.
Characters must have been in the group for at least a month of real time to become mates. Characters cannot already be in a relationship when joining Roots-of-Life, though they can be "courting" or have feelings for each other.
• Litters must be bred for •
If you'd like for your character to have a litter, create an Event ticket and ask for a litter roll. Please provide a link to the applications of all involved player characters. NPC or player character surrogates/donors may be used if your characters are unable to have kittens. You can also request to adopt a litter.
The number of kittens will be rolled on a 6-sided die, and they will be assigned random sexes. Genetics of the kittens will also be rolled for, but these genotypes are optional. As long as the kittens are plausible with the given parents, then anything goes.
Individual cats can have a maximum of 12 player-controlled kittens. This usually means that the soft limit is two litters per cat. However, in cases where cats had two litters with lower kitten counts, a third litter may be allowed. This limit also applies to characters who were brought in with older player-controlled children.
• Character tryouts require staff approval •
Character tryouts require staff approval before they're made public. This is to ensure that no genetic or story errors will slip through. Please submit all tryouts in a Character ticket.
FAQ
Character FAQ
"How much should I write for my character's personality or history?"
There isn't a limit to how much you should write in your character's personality section. There should at least be enough written to understand the basics of their personality. Usually, a paragraph is required, but you may be asked to add more if, for example, they only have three personality traits described.
Your character's history doesn't have to be detailed, but it should make sense for their age. For example, a kitten's history doesn't have to be long at all, typically only including who they were born to and where. But a senior cat's history should usually be at least two paragraphs long.
"Can I edit my character's personality or history later on?"
A character's personality is allowed to change over time, so long as it's understandable and a canon development. Be sure to open a ticket so staff can review any changes.
A character's history can't be retconned, but it can be rewritten or reworded.
"What all can I include in my character's history? What topics are banned?"
We ban heavy sensitive topics, such as abuse, assault, domestic violence, rape, pedophilia, and dysphoria.
"Milder" sensitive topics such as miscarriages, affairs, grief, and lots of violence are allowed with a content warning (CW), provided they are handled with care and don't go too far into detail.
We don't have an exhaustive list of topics. If you're unsure about a specific topic or plot point, just ask!
"How does time progress?"
2 months in-game = 1 month real-time. However, seasons and moon cycles still go by real time!
"Can characters die of old age?"
Yes, the age limit is 200 months.
"Can my character die without my permission?"
Only by missing a mandatory character update (for characters < 12 months old) or by hitting the age cap (200 months). However, you will be repeatedly warned before this, and a preferred death will be asked for.
If you need, you can get an extension (which will be offered once your month is up) and get some help from staff. There's no shame in giving yourself more time and asking for help.
If we can no longer contact you for some reason, or you leave the Discord server, all of your characters will go missing. Missing cats can be recovered later on if you rejoin. Please notify staff if you'd like to take a hiatus from your accounts, so that we can keep your characters alive and well.
"Is there a character limit?"
There is no character limit. You also don't need to purchase character slots in Roots-of-Life.
"Are purebreds allowed?"
Most purebreds are allowed, with wildcat hybrids being the exception.
"If my character's genotype is outdated or has an error, can I change it?"
Yes, just confirm with staff first!
"Can I use AMAB or AFAB for my cat's sex or gender on their application?"
No. To break down the reasons why:
We require gender and sex to be listed explicitly. Gender is to know your cat's identity, sex is so we can confirm biological litters are possible if requested in rolls.
Assigned gender at birth designators do not tell you a cat's sex. The two are often correlated, but not always. Intersex folks are often assigned a gender at birth, but their sex isn't male or female. Thus, sex should be listed as male, female, or intersex. Intersex cats can list their AGAB alongside their intersex label (ex. AMAB intersex) if they want.
Assigned gender at birth does not tell you a cat's current gender identity! Therefore their gender should be listed as their gender identity, not their AGAB.
You're still welcome to use the terms AMAB and AFAB for your cat in conversation around the server! It just can't be used for those fields of their application.
Colony FAQ
"Can a colony be co-owned?"
Yes. Be sure to let staff know that your colony has a co-owner so that the colony's ownership permissions can be sorted out.
"Do I have to submit my colony information with my characters, or can I turn them in for review at different times?"
You can turn them in at different times.
"How many ranks can I make? What are the rules around them?"
You can make any number of ranks. So long as your rankings don't perpetuate any offensive ideas, such as offensive names or traditions, you're free to explore any ideas you'd like.
"How many characters do I need to start a colony?"
At minimum, a leader and two commoners. Ideally, these two commoners will be non-high ranking, but an exception may be made for certain high-ranking cats. This rule exists just to prevent a colony from being populated only by leaders, or something similarly unbalanced.
"How much should I write for my colony's information?"
Basic information such as territory, common physical attributes, types of prey and predators, abilities, traditions, and ranks should be covered. You also need at least one landmark. Otherwise, there is no true minimum or maximum to how much you should write about your colony.
"Can my cats form a wanderer group that isn't an official colony?"
You may have up to 5 wanderers that stick together informally. If you want to make a larger group, they will need to either form a colony, or something called a "wanderer group". These groups are temporary, plot-relevant groups of wanderers. They must be approved by staff in an event ticket.
"Where should I submit Colony founders?"
The staff prefers it if you put all Colony founders in the Colony ticket, this makes it easier to keep track of! Exceptions can be made for founders created by other users.
Other FAQ
"Where is Roots-of-Life set?"
Roughly, the Pacific Northwest, along the border of the US and Canada.
"Is Roots-of-Life connected to Warriors?"
Roots-of-Life is separate from Warriors. This is why we don't use Warriors' vocabulary (moons, twolegs, kittypets, etc.) unless it's character-specific.
"Am I required to use the application templates?"
So long as you include all the required information provided in the application forms, you can change the style of the template or even use a different site for your character's/colony's application. Make sure it is public for others to see, though — characters and colonies should be accessible to other members.
"Can I ask for genetics help with my non-RoL related characters in the Discord server?"
Yes, you can ask in #non-rol-genetics.
"Am I allowed to vent in the Discord server?"
Please do not use the Discord server as a way to vent. RoL just isn't a good outlet for these private details, since:
The server is public to anyone and everyone. Roots-of-Life is not a closed server, meaning it's a possibility that somebody who doesn't have the best of intentions can join and use the information you share against you.
Anything personal you post to the server is at your own discretion. While staff can take action against harassment within Roots-of-Life, there is nothing we can do if it ever leaves the server. Be sure you're only sharing information that won't leave you vulnerable to any potential attacks, and do not share any identifying information.Sensitive topics should be avoided in Roots-of-Life. Do not extensively talk about any of the topics mentioned within the general rules or about any common triggers. While these topics deserve to be talked about, these conversations are not suited to Roots-of-Life. Roots-of-Life is ultimately meant to be a lighthearted server based around a pleasant hobby, and it can easily no longer feel like a place to escape to when sensitive topics are the choice of conversation.
Other than that, please use spoiler tags when touching on topics that are potentially sensitive to some. Warnings for those sensitive topics are appreciated. And, respect the wishes of anyone who asks to drop a topic.