Thread:Roleplayy/@comment-36195412-20190614233310

Deep within the woods of an alpine region, there lies a small, yet sheltered, valley. Inside here is where a pack of wolves make their home, with dens inside several caves cut into the side of the mountains, and abundant prey roaming through the forest. Life isn't easy—nothing is, when it comes to the wild—but it's surviving, and the wolves of the pack are happy to live in their woodland home.

But nothing stays perfect forever.

This winter, the snow and biting cold have been much worse than anything the wolves have seen before. Multiple pups and elders have already died thanks to illnesses that have struck the heart of the valley, and it is theorized that the hunters and fighters won't be far behind. Not only this, but prey is nowhere near as plentiful, and the pack is scraping to get by. It has never been abundant in winter, but nowhere near this.

Be it by stealing from passing humans or killing bears, the wolves must survive. They have to get through winter. They have to stay alive.

Or else, all is lost.

General Knowledge
Note: The wolves weren't based on real-life wolves, hence, the healers, alphas, and betas.

The territory consists of a "bowl" sort of valley, formed by rocky mountains that surround the wolves' home. First, the caves will be explained.

In the side of the mountains are several caves at varying heights, with the largest being the caves where the wolves sleep. Entrances to the caves poke out of the sides of the mountains. Entrance sizes tend to vary. Typically, the caves are pretty easy to climb up to and easy to defend, with rocks piled on the slopes that lead to the entrances. Some of the caves have tunnels; most don't, to avoid anyone getting any ideas. The majority of the slopes are unusually gentle, and even the weakest of pups could probably climb them.

At the highest elevation, about twenty feet off the ground and at the top of a very gravelly part of the slope, is the Nursery Den. The entrance is shaped like a semicircle, but a bit taller, and is about seventeen feet tall at the highest point. It would, in warmer weather, typically have vines trailing in front of the entrance from the top all the way to the ground, to keep it sheltered from the elements—however, in the cold, all the vines have turned brown and brittle. The cave itself is fairly medium-sized and spacious, with the floor being littered with rocks of different sizes. The largest rocks are smooth, and are used for sleeping on, while the smallest are merely to be stepped on. Near the back of the cave are a few small stalagmites, which may be climbed on for fun, and the ceiling has few stalactites. From the inside, it looks a bit like this cave. This cave is where mother wolves and their pups sleep.

The next cave is for the hunters/fighters of the pack. Hidden away at ground level, the entrance is shaped a bit like a circle, about ten feet by ten feet, and is in a bit of a "bottle" shape. A short tunnel leads, from the entrance, to a cave with a ceiling up about twenty feet and is circular-shaped, about twenty-five feet by twenty-five feet. The ceiling is littered with stalactites, which occasionally drip water onto an unlucky wolf's nose while the wolf is sleeping. The floor, upon entering, dips down until it reaches the middle, and is shaped like a shallow bowl. The most senior hunters/fighters sleep in the middle, and the wolves sleep on the floor. The entrance resembles this photo, and the cave itself is properly known as the Hunters and Fighters' Den.

We then have the Elders' Den, which has an entrance that's a few feet off the ground and is a bit strange. There is really no good way to describe the entrance perfectly, but this image should do a nice job. Inside, the ceiling is seventeen feet up, and the floor is similar to that of the Nursery Den, with differently-sized rocks and the large ones for sleeping. The ceiling holds no stalactites, but small and medium stalagmites are present at places closest to the walls.

There is then the ground-level, easily-overlooked entrance to the Healers' Den, which is shaped a bit like an upside-down "U" and is twelve feet tall at the highest point. Like the Hunters/Fighters' Den, the cave is in the shape of a "bottle", with a short tunnel leading into a circular, twenty-feet-by-twenty-feet cave. The ground is fairly level, and a small group of stalagmites on the left side creates a place to store herbs between the relatively small gaps in the stalagmites. In the back of the cave, a shallow underground stream (five feet across to a short, impractical to stand on piece of land against the wall) runs from a hole in the back right of the cave to disappear in the back left of the cave. Smooth rocks are in the bottom of this stream, and it water level has dropped significantly due to the snow. On the left side are no stalagmites; instead, several three point five foot by three foot moss rectangles serve as beds for the sick. The ceiling has multiple stalactites. The entrance resembles this image.

Next comes the Alphas' Den, where the Alpha Male and Alpha Female stay. The entrance, at ground level, is shaped like a wide upside-down "U", and is thirteen feet at the highest point. Like a bottle, a short tunnel leads a bit upward to a small, yet cozy, cave. The ground is fairly level, and the ceiling is very high, to the point where the water dripping from stalactites looks like stars. There are no stalagmites, and the cave is circular-shaped, about thirteen feet by thirteen feet. The Alphas each sleep on one large, round, flat boulder buried in the ground, his on the left side, hers on the right. The entrance resembles this.

Lastly, we have the Prisoners' Den, though this isn't to say there are no more caves—rather, this is the last inhabited cave. A small hole in the side of the mountain, about five feet off the ground and circular-shaped (eight feet by eight feet), the shape doesn't lie. Once knocked unconscious and thrown inside, prisoners are greeted with a small, slightly cramped, roughly spherical den, with a shallow-bowl floor and an upward-rounded ceiling. It's about ten feet from the lowest part of the floor to the ceiling, and ten feet from one wall to the other. Needless to say, there are no stalactites/stalagmites. As the pack doesn't often hold prisoners, the best defense for not getting out is rolling a boulder in front of the entrance. This is what it looks like.

Smaller caves also litter the mountainside.

The territory spans a large expanse, enough for it to take a quarter of a day to run from one side to the other (in any direction; it's circular). Several lakes, rivers, and ponds litter the rugged landscape, and the most notable is a large lake near the valley, where most wolves who are old enough to explore on their own go to drink water.

Prey ranges from moose and bear to mice; pretty much anything found in western Canada.

Wolves don't often come across humans, and when they do, they stay far away.

Naming System
When a pup is born, it isn't assumed it will survive (this is the wild, after all), and it is typically named after a characteristic—a color, for example: Brown Pup—or an animal/thing of nature it resembles—Snow Pup, Leaf Pup, Mouse Pup (this is rarer). The name, in this style, always ends in "Pup".

Upon becoming a Hunter/Fighter In Training, their name is changed to something else. This name often follows the Adjective Noun pattern—Bright Flame, for example—or, rarer, a possessive format, such as Noun's Thing Belonging to Noun—example: Storm's Wind, Fox's Tail.

The guideline isn't strict, however, and wolves can be named just about anything (within reason, so long as it isn't man-made).

Upon becoming an Alpha/Beta, the name is made so that the name has "Alpha/Beta" in front. Note that "Alpha/Beta" is not a name part, but a title, much like King George. Healers don't have "Healer" in front, as they're lesser than Alphas and Betas.

Hierarchy
Somewhat obviously, the Alpha Female and Alpha Male come first in the hierarchy. Not only are they mates, but they lean on each other for counseling and discussing important decisions regarding the pack. However, without the majority of the pack's approval with a large decision, the decision isn't valid.

Slightly lower on the tier are the Beta Male and Beta Female. While these aren't necessarily mates, they are a bit like the Alpha Male and Female in that they can make changes to the pack (however, it is advised that the Alphas take the larger choices). Betas also organize border patrols (groups of wolves that mark the border with their scents and chase away intruders) and hunting patrols (groups of wolves that hunt for the pack). They also function as guards.

Next come the Healers, who make choices regarding the health of the pack after consulting with the Betas and Alphas. They also heal the wolves of the pack when they are ill or injured. While they can have mates, only one of the Healers may be in the Nursery Den with pups at the time, and the other must wait until the first's pups are six months old to have their own pups (then, the other parent can take over the teaching). Healers may not be mates with each other (possible plot idea). Here is a general guideline for medicine that the wolves use, with the exception of things obviously using words from Warrior Cats (ie "deathberries"; those are simply yew berries).

Den-Mothers, the wolves who care for their pups in the Nursery Den, are in a temporary position of power while doing so, as their pups are the future of the pack and the wolves believe the mothers have a right to influence the pup's future by making decisions. While it's not a high position, and they lose the power after the pups become six months old and leave the Nursery Den, their votes tend to "hold more water" than the lower positions.

Next come the Hunters and Fighters. These wolves are not really separate, but tend to be more skilled in one ability. Hunters, however, can still fight, and Fighters can hunt. They sleep in one den, and are the "average" wolves of the pack.

We then have the Elders. The retired Hunters and Fighters of the pack, they tend to be eight years old or older, and their decisions are a little more valued than the wolves who are training.

Next are the Hunters/Fighters In Training. These wolves, from six months old to two years old, are trained by one or both of their parents. Whichever skill they favor more depends on their build, skills from puphood, and (rarely) their choice.

Pups, which are wolves under six months old, come next. They are often deemed "too young to understand the ways of the pack just yet" and must wait until they begin training for most to take them seriously.

Lastly are the Prisoners. Captured in one way or another, or even traitors placed under arrest, they often are barred from voting when decisions in the pack are made.

Beliefs
Wolves believe that, after death, the wolf's spirit ascends to the stars in the form of a firefly and takes its place among its ancestors. If the wolf was evil, its firefly would sink to the bottom of a lake while trying to fly and drown.

They have no specific pantheon.

RP Rules

 * No powerplaying, nor will there be Mary Sues/Gary Stues. All OCs must have at least two flaws, and two good characteristics. Even so, this is the bare minimum.


 * Do not force the plot to your will. Just don't.


 * Shipping is allowed, and lightly encouraged.


 * There is no real limit to the amount of OCs you may have, but you must use them all. Also, don't go crazy while making them—as in, don't have twenty wolves running around the pack.


 * If you already have a wolf in one of the three highest positions (Alpha, Beta, Healer), then you cannot have another in that sort of position. As in: User44354 has an Alpha Wolf. They cannot have the other Alpha, any Beta, or a Healer.


 * Wolf-dog hybrids, dogs joining the pack, aren't really all that realistic, but I will allow two hybrids. 0/2


 * Keep the wolves semi-realistic—while this isn't really a realistic roleplay, it would be nice if there were no purple wolves with wings. There will also be no powers.


 * To prove that you've read the rules, include the word "victory" in your form, at any place.

Roles
Alpha Male: Reserved for Victory the NightWing

Alpha Female:

Beta Male:

Beta Female:

Healers: 0/2

Den-Mothers: Unlimited, just keep it reasonable

Hunters: Unlimited

Reserved for Victory the NightWing

Fighters: Unlimited

Reserved for Victory the NightWing

Reserved for Victory the NightWing

Elders: Unlimited

Those In Training: Unlimited

Reserved for Victory the NightWing

Pups: Unlimited, just keep it reasonable

Prisoners: Unlimited, just keep it reasonable

Form
Name:

Gender:

Position in Pack:

Description:

Personality:

Other: 