Beginner's Guide
Hello! This is an in-depth guide to The Celestial Council, to help the current and any future new people.
What is an ARPG?
ARPG stands for Art Role Playing Game.
"An art roleplay game, or ARPG, is a specific type of roleplay that encourages the creation of art...In an ARPG, visual or written art of ones characters allows for those characters to level up and/or gain currency, which is what makes it stand out from traditional roleplay," (fanlore.org).
The Communities
TCC is run out of three communities, an Amino, a set of threads on Chicken Smoothie, and a Discord server.
Can I join multiple of TCC's groups?
Yes! Of course you can. Just be sure to let a Staff Member know so we can make sure you're registered properly in the Archive.
Who Runs TCC?
TCC is run by two groups: Staff and Helpers. Staff are the people in charge, while Helpers, as their name suggests, help keep the community active and running.
A list of these people can be found here.
Can I become a Staff/Helper?
Under each role, there'll be a little thing that says "Applications?", this shows what roles are currently available to apply for. If it's available, there should be a link to where you can apply.
Species Information
All the information on Kahvmas, the Species TCC is focused around, can be found here (written information) and here (visual guides).
How to Get Started
Everyone starts out at Level 0, in order to get to Level 1 and officially join The Celestial Council, you need to do two things: obtain a Founder and create a page for your Pack.
Obtain a Founder
You can get a founder by Adopting one, getting a Founder MYO, or getting a Founder Custom. For Adopts you’ll want to look for Adopts that are labeled specifically as “Founder Adopts.” Founder MYOs and Customs are free and will be Tikrys or Sivks, will be Healthy (no Diseases), and have no Mutations (General and Specific). Whether you get a Tikry or Sivk will be determined by this wheel. Founder MYOs will be added to your Items List in the Archive when your order is approved and removed from your Items List in the Archive once used or if you Adopt or get a Custom instead. If participating via CS and you want to do your MYO on Oekaki, you'll be added to the MYOs/Customs page.
Founder Customs will be done by Staff Members, Artists, and Rights Holders who volunteer to. Once you get a Custom you can not get a MYO or Adopt instead unless it has been at least 5 days and no one has claimed your Custom. Then you can get a MYO or Adopt instead and only after you've told a Staff Member you want to retract your order. Your Founder MYO/Custom expires once you have a Founder, and you can't get another once you have a Founder, even if you get rid of your Founder. You can only get a Founder MYO/Custom if you haven't gotten any Kahvs yet and are just starting out or if you're starting a second Pack once you're able to. Founder Adopts can be adopted by people just starting out and people who have already started (unless started otherwise by the Artist).
Your Founder acts as the Leader of your Pack. They don’t have to stay as the Leader/Founder if you want to give another Kahv that position later on, but when starting out they’re the Leader/Founder.
You can obtain a Founder in one of these four places: Amino, CS, Discord: #pack-founder-orders, or TH World.
Create a Page for your Pack
A page for your Pack could be anything. A thread on CS, a Website, a Wiki on Amino, a Channel in the TCC Discord, etc. It just needs to be visible to other people and be able to store all your Pack's information.
All Packs will be listed in the Archive with a little bit of info about them. Please make sure the name you want for your Pack hasn't already been taken by looking there, Pack names are FCFS if more than one person had the same idea for the name. And when your Pack is added there please make sure to check the info to make sure everything is correct.
Gameplay
Gameplay affects your setup and adds some information to your Pack. There are two Gameplay Options, two Pack Classifications, and three Pack Ranks.
Everyone is automatically set to Single Planet with an Aligned Classification. Rank is not assigned. These can be changed at any time, though some are Level-specific.
Single Planet Gameplay
Your Pack will have either Kaviirdia, Rethippe, or Cehiri be their home. Since your Pack only has territory on one planet, you'll follow the already established system with ranks: 1 Founder, 1 2nd-in-Command, and a number of Healers and Members that increases with your Level.
Interplanetary Gameplay
Your Pack will be split between Kaviirdia, Rethippe, and/or Cehiri for their home. Your Pack will have territory on either Kaviirdia and Rethippe, Kaviirdia and Cehiri, Rethippe and Cehiri, or all three. With this gameplay you have 3 Options for how your Pack will be set up:
Permanent Stay - 2 Territories: Your Pack will have two territories and different members will permanently stay in either location.
Permanent Stay - 3 Territories: Your Pack will have three territories and different members will permanently stay in either location.
Migration: Your Pack will move between their territories however they'd like.
These all affect how your Ranks are set up.
Pack Classification and Rank
Classification is if your Pack is in alliance with The Celestial Council (government pack) or not, while rank is how powerful your Pack is.
Under each classification and rank on the Gameplay Options page there is status of Open, Semi-Open, or Closed. These indicate if the public can make it at free will, if they need to ask permission beforehand, or if they can't make it at all unless a slot or two opens up per the Owner’s words.
Additional information on all of this can be found here, and to update your Gameplay you'll need to go to one of these places and fill out the appropriate forms: Amino, CS, Discord: #gameplay-updating, or TH World.
Leveling System
Everyone has a Level in TCC, and everyone starts out at Level 0. Your level goes up as you complete prompts and expand your Pack. Levels 0-5 have set prompts you need to do, but after that you get to pick what prompts you do.
Your Level is directly tied to the amount of Kahvs you can own. At Level 0 you can only own 1 Kahv, but that number will increase as you Level-Up (ex. Level 1 = 2 Kahvs, Level 5 = 10, Level 10 = 30). Levels 0-5 have a certain amount of Kahvs you can own at a time, going up by 2’s. Each Level you gain after Level 5 will add +4 Slots -- 1 Healer and 3 Members.
For Level 6 and up, you need 400 Points in order to Level-Up. If you get more points than needed to Level up the extra points will count towards your next Level. There is no maximum number for how many Levels you can have. There’s 3 categories for the prompts, focusing on 3 different things:
Pack Development: Developing the Pack's information (location, history, culture, etc. ) and the relationships between the Members
Member Development: Developing members individually
World Development: Developing the Pack's place in their world and relationships between your Pack and other's
There’s 4 set ranks within your Pack: Founder, 2nd-in-Command, Healer, and Members. You can customize the titles and add more, however it will always boil down to these 4.
There’s also technically a 5th: Rogues. Rogues aren’t technically a part of your Pack, but still take up Slots (specifically those from the Member rank). For example: if you’re Level 5 and have 1 Founder, 1 2nd-in-Command, 2 Healers, 3 Members, and 1 Rogue, you’ll have 8/10 Slots filled, with 2 Slots open (2 Members). As another example: if you’re Level 5 and have 1 Founder, 1 2nd-in-Command, 2 Members, and 1 Rogue, you’ll have 5/10 Slots filled, with 4 Slots open (2 Healers and 3 Members, 1 Healer and 4 Members, or 5 Members). You could even fill all your Slots with Rogues if you wanted, just as long as there’s still a Pack Founder.
More information on the Leveling System and the prompts can be found here.
To Level-Up, you'll need to go to one of these places and fill out the appropriate forms: Amino, CS, Discord: #leveling-up, or TH World.
Adopts and Selling Kahvmas
Adopts
Adopts can only be made by Staff Members, Artists, Guest Artists, and Rights Holders.
There's two important terms used for Adopts here: Founder Adopt(s) and Normal Adopt(s). Founder Adopts are Adopts anyone can obtain, even people at Level 0 who don't have a Pack Founder yet. Normal Adopts are Adopts only people Level 1 or higher can obtain, and can't be used to start a Pack.
Selling Kahvmas
If you have a Kahvmas, you can sell/trade/give them away, as long as the designer's ToS is followed.
Kahvmas can only be sold to other people in TCC, and you have to fill out the appropriate form since the Archive will need to be updated to transfer ownership: Amino, CS, Discord: #archive-updating, TH World.
Kahvmas Health
There are a few diseases specific to Kaviirdia, which can change how the Kahvmas affected by it look. Depending on the disease, they may or may not be allowed in a Pack.
A full list of diseases, whether or not Kahvs with them are allowed in a Pack, and how each are transmitted can be found here.
Kahvmas with Figurine Disorder are allowed in Packs.
Kahvmas with Nychta Disease are not allowed in Packs, and this will be enforced, since it would be enforced in their world. Kahvs with it will be Rogues and cannot be a part of your Pack, however they’ll still take up a Slot. Kahvmas with it cannot be used as Founders.
For example on the Slot thing: if you’re Level 5 and have 1 Rogue and 6 Members, you’ll have 7/10 Slots filled.
The only time Kahvmas with a disease that aren't allowed in a Pack could be in a Pack, is if they join a Rogue Pack. Rogue Packs currently cannot be made. Information on Pack Classifications/Rankings can be found in the Species and World Information.
The Shop
Everyone here starts out with 50 Gems, the currency used at the Shop. At the Shop, you can purchase MYO Tickets, Mutation Tickets, Breeding Tickets, Health Potions, Accessories, and even Rights to the Species.
You can also convert other currencies to Gems, like AC and C$, at the Shop. More Gems can also be obtained by trading them with other people for things like art or Kahvs.
The Shop can be found here, and you can purchase Gems and Items in one of these three places: Amino, CS, Discord: #shop-orders, or TH World.
Frequent Mistakes/Misunderstandings and Questions
These are all phrased like questions, to not draw attention to a specific instance/place blame on someone for something that was very likely a mistake, and for ease of understanding.
Why can’t I get any more Kahvmas?
This is a common question and problem, with a simple answer: you don’t have enough Slots. You must have an open slot Slot to get an additional Kahvmas.
There’s a few ways to get open slots:
1. Leveling-Up. This automatically gets you more Slots, and increases the space in your Pack.
2. Getting rid of a Kahvmas in your Pack. This opens up a slot you already have. To get rid of a Kahvmas, you could sell/trade them, give them away, turn the character over to the Staff, or return the character to the designer or previous owner (if they’re willing to take them back). Be sure to check the designer’s ToS to see if they have any rules about reselling characters.
Why can’t I get this Kahvmas?
There could be a few answers to this: not enough Slots, Blacklisted by the Designer, and/or incorrect Level.
Not enough Slots is explained in the question/section above. Blacklists is something we, the Staff, can't control. There's some things we can do to step in and defuse the situation if it's brought to us and has become a huge problem, but we can't say "hey, this person on your Blacklist really wants this design you made, so you have to give it to them." That's unfair to the designer, who has their reasons for you being on that list.
As for incorrect Level, that means you've tried to get something not available at your current Level. For example, Nychta Disease Infected Kahvs cannot be obtained by people at Level 0, since they have to be Rogues and can't be used as Founders.
Why can’t *age* be *rank*?
Some ranks have a minimum for how old they must be to be a part of that rank. This is because some people don’t pay attention to the Age System, and it makes sense for there to be societal limits on ages. Can’t have a 3 year old (a Kit) running a Pack, they aren’t mentally or physically able to handle it.
Newborn Kits are 0-1 Years, Kits are 2-10 Years, Youngsters/Children are 11-25 Years, Teens are 26-50 Years, Young Adults are 51-200 Years, Adults are 201-500 Years, and Elders are 501+ Years.
Founders must be at least Young Adults (51-200 Years) or 3 years within that range (so a teen that's 48 or older would be fine, but not a teen that's 47 or younger). There is no maximum age for Founders.
2nd-in-Commands follow the same age rule as Founders.
Healers must be at least Teens (26-50 Years). There is no maximum age for Healers.
Members can be any age.
Why can’t I have a Kahv with Nychta Disease in my Pack?
Another societal rule. Kahvmas affected with Nychta Disease are cast out of Packs due to how infectious and dangerous the disease is, and it’s one of their government’s rules. Not following it will get both the infected member and their Pack in trouble.
For Lore reasons, it's alright if you want to make them a part of your Pack in the past, but they must leave the Pack after getting infected and currently be a Rogue.
The only time they’re allowed to be in a Pack, is in a Rogue Pack. This means the entire Pack has gone rogue and isn't in alliance with their government anymore. The Kahvs in the pack are declared wanted fugitives and will be attacked on sight by Packs still ruled by the government. These packs normally don't last long and are always hiding. Rogue Packs are closed, meaning no one can make them. They may open up in the future, however that’ll be a long time coming, likely for a member goal (probably something like 50 people at Level 1+ – 30 people or lower would be too easy, since if the 19 people currently at Level 0 were to Level-Up we’d already be there) or a certain number of Kahvs being created (100 Kahvs maybe).
Why do Rogues still take up Slots in my Pack?
There's a difference between the ARPG side of things and the story side of things. Just cause in the story side they're not a part of the Pack doesn't mean they aren't still your character and part of your Pack on the ARPG side.
We can't have Rogues taking up no Slots, because then people could abuse the system and make all their Kahvs Rogues except their Founder, getting around the limits on how many you can have at a time