Character designs should be appropriate to the natural world. The island is magical, but the wolves who live there are physically normal.
Your characters cannot have unnatural colours (purple, green, blue) or markings (zebra stripes, zig zags, leopard spots) that do not occur naturally in wolves.
Dog markings like piebald, brindle, spotting, etc are also not permitted.
Characters may not have “hairstyles”, or wear accessories/talismans of any kind. You are of course welcome to stylise your character and interpret their natural markings as you see fit. If you have any concerns, please note the group to submit your design for review.
Svajone does not allow identical twins. Research suggests that twins being born in canines is exceedingly rare, and from an OOC standpoint, there can be issues in terms of design ownership. Non-identical / fraternal twins are permitted, with the two characters having designs that are similar but not identical.
Some stylization is okay, and it’s fine to use other species as inspiration as well, but try not to deviate too far from the source material. Your wolf should still look like a wolf, even if you based it’s design around a Himalayan bumblebee. If you need help, ideas, or inspiration, literally just look up photos of wolves! There are so many unique wolves with beautiful coats to use as inspiration.
Permitted eye colours include shades of: blue, green, brown, yellow, orange, red or grey. Heterochromia (bi-coloured eyes) are not permitted. Eye trauma resulting in any eye colour or eye defect not listed within the snowflake traits is not permitted, including but not limited to: differently sized pupils, pupil colours other than black, differently shaped pupils, pink eyes on any wolf which does not have the albino mutation.
Certain unique physical traits are restricted and must be purchased from the shop, in order to keep the population of ultra edgy, special, otherwordly or physically unique wolves to a realistic proportion to the overall population of the island. These traits are colloquially referred to as Snowflake traits. A wolf can have any number or combination of Snowflake traits, but each individual trait must be paid for. Visit the SHOP for more details.
If a trait or mutation is not listed here, that means we do not allow it in Svajone.
Entire blindness means the character is blind in both eyes and has no sight at all. This could be from birth, due to injury, or due to magic. Remember that a blind wolf will struggle with certain tasks, particularly hunting and battle, for while they can indeed use their other senses to good effect, they cannot see changes in body language or direction. Please play your blind characters realistically - they should not be going about their lives completely unaffected by their lack of sight.
Partial blindness means the character is blind in one eye, or has limited vision in both. This could be from birth or due to injury. A partially blind wolf can probably function relatively closely to normal, but may have reduced depth perception and a 'blind side' that could be exploited.
In both cases, blinded eyes cannot be removed through injury. A wolf likely would not survive the blood loss or the infection. Please be aware that one character who appears to be exempt from this rule, Morgur, was grandfathered in from a time before these rules regarding eye injuries were adjusted.
Blind eyes are permitted to be stylised and represented visually in the following ways:
Lighten the original sclera colour, up to and including pale grey; and/or
Maintain the original sclera colour, and lighten the pupils, up to and including white.
Deafness includes characters who are totally deaf, or partially deaf / hard of hearing. This can only be from birth. Deaf wolves cannot hear others speaking and so must find other ways to communicate. Wolves do not have a universal sign language so please do not fall into that trope. Deaf wolves may also encounter difficulties hunting, or noticing if they are being pursued.
Mutism covers both characters that cannot physically speak, and those who have the ability but choose not to (selective mutism) or do not due to trauma (traumatic mutism). If they physically cannot speak due to mutation or injury, then they cannot make any noises, such as barking or howling. If they have selective or traumatic mutism, they are able to make other noises, at the players discretion. In all cases of mutism, these characters must find other ways to communicate.
Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin. Individuals with albinism are white / pale in colour, with pink nose/skin/paw pads, and red or pink eyes. DVASIA is an example of albinism.
Leucism is only a partial loss of pigmentation. Individuals with leucism can be white / pale in colour, with pink nose/skin/paw pads, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected. YAOTYL and KVIIR are examples of leucism.
A wolf who is white / pale in colour, but with black or brown nose/skin/paw pads, is not classified as either of the above mutations, even if they have red eyes. DEIMOS is an example of this.
All the classifiations above are as close to realistic as possible while being clear cut enough to not be confusing or misleading. We could go on for days about what does and does not classify as albino or leucistic in the real world, but for ease of gameplay, we have to define a cut off point somewhere. If in doubt, look at the skin/extremities colour and the eye colour to determine if a pale coated wolf falls under either mutation.
Missing body parts covers legs, ears and tails! Only ears that are FULLY removed/absent will fall under the restrictions - torn ears are fine and don't take up a space. FULLY missing, or "bunny" tails fall under this restriction. ZEVI is an example of a bunny tail, and ODILIO is an example of a fully missing tail. Any percentage of missing legs also falls under the restriction. Missing legs are only permitted as a birth defect and not due to injury. While Svajone wolves have some primitive healing abilities, they do not have any medicine that can cope with a limb that is torn away. If blood loss and shock don't kill the injured wolf, infection probably will. Crippled / atrophied limbs do not fall under this trait and will not take a slot.
Remember that the wolves of Svajone are largely ordinary animals living in an extra-ordinary world. Your character should not be propped up by or entirely rely on a physical mutation to bolster their personality or their past.
Furthermore, if you give your character a trait that impacts their lives, you must ensure you approach it realistically. These traits are not just for #aesthetic and you should show the difficulties your character experiences due to their trait or mutation.
Once a character design is approved, it should not be significantly changed without consultation with the staff.
Very small changes to the design of an active character are completely fine, and do not require any feedback from the staff. We would define small changes as edits so small that they do not change the overall appearance, and the character is still clearly recognisable as themselves.
Scars may also be added whenever they are earned during roleplay and there is no need to consult with staff when adding them.
If you would like to completely redesign your character or change a large detail, such as eye colour, you must purchase the Transfiguration from the Soul Shop.