Character Creation

Things To Remember

With the server being as old as it is, there are a few important lore details to keep in mind. While these shouldn't stop you from creating a character to your liking, and you don't need to 100% adhere to lore, they may be helpful guidelines!

• These Clans don't interact with twolegs at all. If your character was a kittypet or had a kittypet background, you may need to change some things around to make sense of how they got to the Vale

• CaveClan is a relatively new Clan and is basically the only Clan who will 100% allow outsiders to join their ranks. Cats older than 50 moons would have been former outsiders, or from when CaveClan was Underground

• Please check the Available Ranks channel prior to submitting a character. This will save you the effort of making a cat you can't yet use

• Many cats here already have established family bloodlines, so be feel free to check the Relationship Search channel if you're looking to be apart of a family! However, this is not required

 Naming Guide

The Vale has a pretty loose naming system that gives a lot of creative freedom to those who prefer non-traditional names. Names used in canon are allowed here (given you aren't writing a carbon copy of the canon cat), as well as names you've made up yourself. Though, this server still has some rules regarding names, so keep these guidelines in mind while naming your character:

• Names that are allowed or not allowed is subject to change. Previously unacceptable names may be allowed if mods feel it isn't lore-breaking upon further review. If you'd like to make a case for a name you really like, we'll hear you out and try our best to make everybody happy.

• Outsiders who join a Clan can request to keep their name as part of their warrior name, or even forgo changing their name altogether. However, it ultimately the Clan leader's decision whether they'll be allowed to do that or not.

• Names in this server are strictly formatted as Prefixsuffix - names shouldn't be separated with hyphens or quotations. For example, we will not allow names spelled as Storm'Paw or Storm-paw. Stormpaw is the correct spelling in this setting. The only exception will be names with double lettering, such as Mink-kit or Swoop-paw. In this case, it's up to the roleplayer how they format the name.

• Keep The Vale's setting in mind while creating a name. They live in a mountainous forest region, so try to keep your name in the realm of possibility to what these cats know.

Age Progression

Moons, in regards to aging, are rather arbitrary for the sake of people not rping a kit for half a year, and are referred to as "Age Moons" (easy enough). One (1) IRL month is equivalent to Two (2) Age Moons.

Kits:

• A kit will remain a kit until they are six moons old, or about two months. They may be apprenticed a little later due to plot reasons IC, but we'll almost never apprentice kits earlier than six moons. If you'd rather apprentice your kit later for any reason, let your Clan leader know before their ceremony.

Apprentices:

• Characters will usually become warriors at around twelve moons. They can also be made warriors a little later than their peers, as twelve moons is basically the minimum age. Ranking up an apprentice earlier than that is rare, and you'll have to put in some extra threads to prove your character is ready to be made a warrior. This decision will ultimately be made by your Clan leader.

Warriors:

• Warriors can stay a warrior for however long you want them to, but typically, they may be pushed to go to the elder's den once they get above 130 moons or so. You can retire any cat you want for whatever reason.

Pregnancies

• As cats are only pregnant for roughly 60 days, a cat may give birth One (1) IRL month from the date of their pregnancy announcement.

Relationships

Many cats in this group already have a long lineage of kin behind them, but you can always have a chance to be a part of it! Familial relationships such as children or siblings are commonly searched for in the #relationship-search channel, but this section will talk about romantic relationships and how they'll be played.

Kits:

• Kits six moons and under will not be allowed to develop romantic relationships. Small crushes may be allowed, but no kit will have the capacity to fall in love. Mods will keep a close eye on these particular instances, but it's never usually a problem.

Apprentices:

• As characters get older, they'll be able to develop stronger feelings and even an adolescent version of love. Serious romantic relationships will still not be allowed, but you'll be able to more openly develop a relationship and explore deeper feelings. 

Warriors:

• Adults cats are now able to enter romantic relationships. Depending on how young your warrior is, they may not be allowed to have a litter right off the bat. But you can officially start pairing your cat off with others.

Medicine cats:

• The age requirements for medicine cat relationships are the same, with the added requirement that there must be at least one other fully trained medicine cat in the Clan before your medicine cat can find a mate.

Litters

The Vale keeps litter-making simple and fun - you can audition others for kit slots of your litter, or keep the kit slots for yourself and a select number of people. 

Rules for litters are very lax. They don't need to necessarily model after their parents, as genetic rules are flimsy both in The Vale and in canon. Kits can look however you'd like them to look, as long as they follow the established rules. 

One serious rule the mods enforce is litter size. If your litter consists of more than three kits, you'll be subjected to dice-rolling. The specific rules are detailed in the Roleplay Rules page if you want more information, or a mod can more properly explain it to you.