Rules

[Zenyatta]

General Rules

• By registering on this forum, you are agreeing to all of these rules and you are expected to follow them. I suggest you read them thoroughly and if you have any questions about them ask. It's better safe and sorry because everything you need to know is right here or somewhere close by.
  
  
• There's no reason to be a dick about stuff. Especially if you don't understand something. Respect is key here and I live by the phrase "You have to give respect to earn it" so if you're polite and don't flip your shit, we'll all get along fine here.
  
  
• Going off that rule, if you and another member start an argument with each other, take it to PM or get over yourselves. We don't want to deal with your drama. Also, if you have a problem with a member (i don't know or really care why you would but let's just go with it) try your hardest to at least be cordial in the cbox and whatnot. We don't need you stirring the pot just because a person you don't like is online. But if you absolutely think there's a problem (you're getting harrassed or find out a person's doing something totally jank) then PM me and I'll see what I can do. But I don't want PM's over every stupid little thing. I'm not a counsellor.
  
  
• Here at TLK we go by the Account per Member rule. It's just a lot easier to deal with than Account per Character and keeps everything more organized and makes it easier to keep track of.
  
  
• I'm going to call Activity Checks whenever I feel that they are necessary. I will PM everyone and you will have one week to answer with a link to an in-character post you've done within seven days of receiving the PM, either seven days before or seven days after. But if you miss that week (or don't provide an in-character post) your characters will be archived.
  
  
• Until your characters are accepted, do not post unless in the OOC boards.
  
  
• We have a warning system here, though you shouldn't even have to be concerned with it unless you break the rules. Though if you reach 100% you will be banned forever.

Characters

• There is no gender limit, nor do we care which gender you make. There is also not a character limit, just make as many as you can handle.
  
  
• This game is realistic. So no funky colors, horns, wings, powers, anything of the sort at all. We have genetic standards that you will abide by. That means no solid-colored horses with blue eyes unless they have the proper genes, paint horses will be labelled (i.e. tobiano, splash or frame overo, etc.), no just "grey" horses, and heights roll over at .3 instead of .9 (so 15.0, 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 16.0).
  
  
• If you think you have a picture that contradicts me and my ruling, feel free to show me and I'd be happy to learn and fix my mistakes if that's the case. Though you show me a mustang in the wild that's lime green with hot pink hearts pasted all over it and I'll be hard-pressed to believe you and may even slap you.
  
  
• If you have any questions about colors/patterns/whatever, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be happy to help you.
  
  
• Breeds are not required here, nor are they preferred. In fact, we prefer to go by body types. If you want to go through the hassle of finding breeds to fit the colors you want and the height and everything, go right ahead. But if you want to take the easy way out, go with body type.
  
  
• Orphaned foals are not allowed unless they are under the care of another horse, which must be stated in their application.
  
  
• There are no alliances here, so I don't want to see mention of a horse being "light," "dark," or "neutral." Zen will not be a happy Zen if she sees this.
  
  
• You will notice that there are Canon characters to adopt. Please take a look at these. They're important to the plot.
  
  
• Speaking of which, make sure you read the plot and understand it before spewing off how your character is the daughter of the king and how everyone loves her and wants to get with her.
  
  
• Mares and stallions are not fully mature until they are three years of age.

In-Character Posting

• There is no minimum or maximum posting amount. Just think before you post. Don't give your fellow role players one line, but also don't give them 5,000 words of nothing. Be conscious of the other member(s) in your thread.
  
  
• I hate that we still have to say this to people, but as per usual, no power playing, meta-gaming, or god modding.
  
  
• Feel free to post wherever you want, but be conscious that lead stallions, mares, or herd members can reply to that thread if you made it in their territory. It's your responsibility to label it if it's for someone specifically.
  
  
• Liquid time is allowed on this forum. Put each of your characters in as many threads as you can handle.
  
  
• There will be no wolfspeak/fancy role playing language on TLK. We don't say "banner," "pillars," "orbs," etc. You will say mane, legs, eyes. If you post like this, you will be given the chance to change it. If you continue to post with wolfspeak, you will get a warning.
  
  
• **I will not have people posting in threads about how their mare is in heat or how she desperately wants to have a foal and will have sex with the first stallion she meets to do so. This is a totally childish thing to do and it honestly shows your true age and proves you aren't a serious role player. Oh, and your character is a whore.

Timing

• Seasons in-character will last three weeks, so one in-character year lasts twelve weeks.
  
  
• There are no set breeding or birthing seasons.
  
  
• It is natural that in the wild, horses live to be twenty to twenty-five years old, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say your horse WILL die once it reaches twenty-five years old and has before its twenty-sixth birthday to pass on.
  
  
• If your horse does not die in-character, I will kill it (aka move its profile to the dead characters board and archive all of its threads, no matter when you make them).

Breeding

• Mares and stallions reach sexual maturity at three years old.
  
  
• Gestation lasts two weeks real life.
  
  
• When your characters are expecting a foal, post their stats using the form provided in the correct board and I will post your foal using the dice roll and this color calculator.
  
  
• Any graphic breeding will result in extreme warnings on both ends if not banning. It will not be tolerated at all ever. Don't do it. Another way to make a not happy Zen.

Territory Claiming Rules

• For a stallion to be able to claim a territory, he must have at least one mare with him. This means you must have had a thread with said mare(s) or have stolen them.
  
  
• If all of the territories are claimed, you're out of luck. No extra territories will be made. If you want a territory, you'll have to fight for it.
  
  
• Depending on the lead stallion, there may be high ranking positions in his herd, if your stallion isn't one to fight.
  
  
• Open territories will be unlabeled, whereas claimed territories will have their lead stallion's name.
  
  
• Mares may own and fight for territories, but they cannot claim open territories.
  
  
• Your stallion may own as many territories he wants, but he must also protect all of these territories from intruders and challenges.

Fighting

• Fights will be judged upon grammar, spelling, and realism. However, unless the writing skill is so far in the favor of one writer or one writer made severe mistakes (i.e. power playing, breaking the set rules of the fight, etc.), realism is key. In other words, unless one player makes an extreme mistake or one's writing is exponentially stronger than the other, judging will fall on the characters themselves and how old they are, what injuries they may have, or the fighting experience of the character (we usually assume an older horse has participated in more fights when it is created at an older age).
  
  
• Fights may be over anything that you so choose.
  
  
• Fights may also occur wherever the confrontation between the characters begins. It doesn't make sense for stallions to wait however long to travel to a designated spot after a challenge has been issued. That doesn't happen in the wild.
  
  
• Challenges must be done in-character, just as the fight would occur in-character. If there is no in-character challenge, a fight cannot and will not occur.
  
  
• After a challenge has been issued, you must create a new thread where the fight will occur.
  
  
• Fight stats must be posted somewhere in the fight thread so the judge may see it and know whether a writer has broken the rules.
  
  
• If the outcome of a fight cannot be decided between the two fighters, PM a staff member to judge it.
  
  
• Mares and stallions can both fight for things. Read that? MARES and STALLIONS. Foals cannot fight for anything that matters until they are mature. They may play fight or have disputes with each other, but no judged fights or any of the sort until they're older.
  
  
• Fighters have two weeks to complete a fight thread. If two weeks passes without a reply for over three days from the fighter that needs to reply and said fighter hasn't posted an absence, the other fighter wins.
  
  
• If a participant in a fight posts an absence for whatever period of time, the fight can be carried on for one week after that participant's return.
  
  
• If the fight should go over the two weeks (I don't know why it should unless you make a ridiculously huge amount of attacks and dodges, but this is just in case) with both parties posting regularly, you can either agree to ask for an extension or ask the fight to be judged as-is.

Bachelors

• A bachelor is any single colt or stallion at least 2 years of age.
  
• If your stallion is a bachelor then he must live in the Badlands.
  
• Bachelors may visit other territories, but they run the risk of being run out/attacked by herd-members and kings.
  
• Once your bachelor has claimed at least one mare, he may ask a king for a slot in his territory.
  
• If your bachelor loses his mare(s) (i.e. theft, affairs, whatever) he has one in-character season to win them back before having to move back to the Badlands.
  
• There will be slots available for stallions to lead bachelor herds. These slots will be limited unless the current bachelor herds reach five members.

Mares

• A free mare is any unclaimed female horse at least two years of age.
  
• Free mares must live in the Misty Plains until they are claimed by a king or bachelor. They may wander but then are at risk of being claimed by the stallion whose territory they trespassed on.
  
• When a free mare is claimed, they must go with that stallion until they are released or stolen.
  
• If a mare is claimed and then released, she is instantly a free mare and must return to the Misty Plain unless she is claimed again on her way home.
  
• ** Any mare that participates in a thread in the Badlands, no matter if the thread is specifically labelled, runs the risk of their thread being over-run with stallions that want to steal her or breed with her.

Kings

• In order for a stallion or bachelor to be king, he must have at least one mare claimed so he can challenge or claim a free territory.
  
• Kings may enter any free land they choose and claim any mare they wish from that land.
  
• Kings are allowed to have other stallions and their bands within their territories if they wish.
  
• Kings are also allowed to make their own policies on how herds should be run.

** = New Rule