Getting Started on Black Dawn + Lore Info
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Getting Started on Black Dawn + Lore Info
Welcome to Black Dawn! If this is your first time with us, we highly recommend you read through this guide. The goal of this guide is to leave you informed of critical lore and site navigation!
Part I: Getting Started
If you haven't already, please read our Site Rules and Roleplaying Rules.
The first thing you should do as a member of Black Dawn is get your profile set up! Fill out any of the fields you wish, choose your avatar, and make a signature!
Once you've done that, the next step is to make a character and submit them to the Clan of your choice. Each Clan has its own joining page. You do not need to wait for a leader to approve your form before you start roleplaying with your cat. Just be aware that a leader or a staff member may reach out to let you know if your character's name or appearance needs to be changed.
After submitting your first cat, we generally recommend that you do one of two things:
1. Make an open roleplay post in the respective camp of your character's Clan. The "___Clan's Camp" thread represents every part of a Clan's camp that doesn't have its own thread. To make an open roleplay post, make a starter post and put {open} at the bottom! This will tell other roleplayers that they can start a roleplay with your cat.
OR
2. Make a finder for your character! You can do this in the Finder forum. Finders are used to find characters to fill certain roles for your cat. For example, if your cat needs siblings, you can say so in their finder. Please make sure you read the finder guidelines before posting! This is a great way to find other roleplayers to get started with.
Once you've done one of these two things, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the resources page for your Clan. This page includes important information about the leader's policies for their Clan.
Part II: Understanding Basic Roleplay Functions
There are a few lore-based concepts that you must understand to participate properly in Black Dawn.
Patrols
Deputies are tasked with organizing patrols as part of their activity requirements. You can expect to have your cat assigned to a patrol every so often; if you wish to be assigned more frequently or to a specific patrol, leave a visitor message on the deputy's profile! Leaders may also organize patrols, at their discretion. Medicine cats will, on occasion, organize herb gathering patrols.
Patrols are time-sensitive events. The deputy will decide the date that the patrol is due; the due date will be anywhere between one and two weeks from the date assigned. It is up to the designated patrol leader to determine the bump policy and posting order of their patrol. Please respect what they decide!
If your character fails to show for a patrol, disappears partway through, or slacks off, they will likely face punishment from the deputy or leader. If you run into a real life situation that is going to stop you from being able to complete a patrol, please back out as soon as possible!
Afterlife
The three Clans of Black Dawn have their own afterlife, separate from that of the book Clans. The spirits of their afterlife do not live in a separate heaven or hell. Rather, they all live in one single afterlife. Spirits are permitted to treat one another how they please; this generally results in the spirits of moral cats punishing immoral spirits as they see fit.
The Clans refer to their afterlife as The Beyond. The spirits that live in this afterlife are generally known as SpiritClan. Similarly to the book Clans, the Black Dawn Clans believe that their ancestors live among the stars.
The members of SpiritClan only communicate with leaders, medicine cats, and medicine apprentices, and do so sparingly. Living cats are not permitted to discuss their interactions with SpiritClan with anyone, unless absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Clan. These facts often lead to higher levels of atheism or doubt in SpiritClan than we see in the books. Leaders are still awarded nine lives by their ancestors.
Currently, reincarnation and resurrection do not exist, outside of the nine lives concept. Once a cat dies, they go to The Beyond for good. Each Clan has their own personal beliefs and traditions that stem from these basic lore concepts surrounding The Beyond and SpiritClan.
Territory
The territory of the Black Dawn Clans is fictitious, and is not necessarily based specifically on one single location. The Clans live in a cold, northern place. As such, the cold seasons are brutal. Days are short. There is a period of one moon (two IRL weeks) in these territories where the sun never rises. The Clans call this time of the season-cycle the dark days.
Newleaf is chilly, while greenleaf is temperate. Temperatures generally never exceed about 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the warmest months, but can plunge down to as cold as -25 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest months. Fierce snowstorms are common.
HawkClan's territory is mostly comprised of open, sweeping plains. BadgerClan lives in the thickest parts of the pinewood forest, while BearClan lives in a different part of the forest that is somewhat sparser. The majority of the river belongs to BearClan. BearClan's part of the river is mostly sided by tall cliffs, making accessibility limited. BearClan cats generally have to travel to the area close to their border with BadgerClan to access the river. The part of the river that BadgerClan owns is much more easily accessible.
The leaders may add and remove landmarks as they see fit. Borders may also change from time to time, as a result of battles, events, or other circumstances.
Warrior Code
The Black Dawn Clans have their own warrior code, separate from the one the book Clans follow. It is as follows:
1. A Clan must mark its borders routinely. A Clan is free to challenge another Clan's borders, but every Clan is also free to defend their borders with their lives.
2. Never intentionally bring harm to a kit. A kit is defined by the warrior code as any cat younger than six moons. A warrior should always help a kit in danger, even if that kit is not of their Clan.
3. Clans may help one another in times of extreme need, but they are not allies or friends.
4. For the sake of keeping bloodlines sufficiently diverse, cats may have relationships with cats from other Clans with their leader's permission. These relationships should be purely practical; romance can be found within a cat's own Clan.
5. A leader's word is law, unless it violates the warrior code or puts their Clan in unnecessary, extreme danger.
6. A night of truce is called for every Gathering. Each Gathering will take place on the night of the full moon, every other moon.
7. A kit may not become an apprentice until they are at least six moons old. An apprentice who has not met the requirements to become a warrior by the time they are 18 moons old should have their place re-evaluated by their leader.
8. Cats should be fed in this order: Kits, the sick and injured, Queens, Apprentices, Medicine cats, Warriors, Elders, Deputy, Leader, Prisoners.
9. A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.
10. If a cat wishes to switch their allegiance to another Clan, they may do so at the discretion of their new Clan's leader. Outside of this circumstance, a cat's loyalty should remain strictly to their own Clan.
11. Cats may not speak of their interactions with SpiritClan, unless absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Clan.
12. Leaders may punish codebreakers as they see fit.
13. The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.
14. After the death, retirement, promotion (to a leader status), or exile of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.
15. Warriors will respect the traditions of their Clan.
16. The Clans must not unite together to drive out another Clan. Each of the three Clans has a right to exist, as determined by SpiritClan.
17. Kits must stay in camp until they are apprenticed, and are not allowed to hunt or fight. A kit may defend itself if attacked first, but should not be encouraged or trained to start their own fights.
18. If the leader retires or resigns, they must travel to the Starpool to relinquish their remaining lives.
Bi-Monthly Challenges
To keep Black Dawn fun and unique, the staff will randomly select a challenge every other month for the Clans to face. These challenges will last for the entire month. It is up to the leaders, and their Clans, how they react and participate! To ensure that ample room is given for other plots, we decided not to hold challenges every month.
Everyone on the site will find out what the new challenge is at the same time. The challenge will be announced on the 1st of every month, barring unusual circumstances. These challenges could be a broad range of things, such as disease, prey shortages, packs of predators, Twolegs, cosmic events, weather disasters, or even a trio of murderers on the loose! There's a reason this roleplay is called Black Dawn
As these challenges are a central part to this site and its roleplay, we do strongly encourage all members to participate. However, we recognize that some roleplayers may have their own reasons for not wanting to participate in a given challenge. As such, leaders will designate a "safe zone" for each challenge that is effectively free from that challenge's effects. For example, if a pack of wolves is the current challenge, a leader may designate their entire camp as a "safe zone" for anyone who doesn't wish to participate in the wolf pack challenge. Alternatively, a point of interest in the territory may be selected as a safe zone during a disease challenge.
Again, we strongly encourage everyone to participate in challenges. Nonetheless, we want to be a welcoming community, even for those who wish to abstain from challenges!
The list of possible challenges is kept a secret. We use the Random Chooser to select each challenge. Generally, we will not repeat the same type of challenge twice in a row. If the most recent challenge was a rabies outbreak, we won't allow the next one to be a greencough epidemic.
Questions?
Have questions or concerns about anything? Let us know! Message one of the staff members directly, or leave a comment down below.
Part I: Getting Started
If you haven't already, please read our Site Rules and Roleplaying Rules.
The first thing you should do as a member of Black Dawn is get your profile set up! Fill out any of the fields you wish, choose your avatar, and make a signature!
Once you've done that, the next step is to make a character and submit them to the Clan of your choice. Each Clan has its own joining page. You do not need to wait for a leader to approve your form before you start roleplaying with your cat. Just be aware that a leader or a staff member may reach out to let you know if your character's name or appearance needs to be changed.
After submitting your first cat, we generally recommend that you do one of two things:
1. Make an open roleplay post in the respective camp of your character's Clan. The "___Clan's Camp" thread represents every part of a Clan's camp that doesn't have its own thread. To make an open roleplay post, make a starter post and put {open} at the bottom! This will tell other roleplayers that they can start a roleplay with your cat.
OR
2. Make a finder for your character! You can do this in the Finder forum. Finders are used to find characters to fill certain roles for your cat. For example, if your cat needs siblings, you can say so in their finder. Please make sure you read the finder guidelines before posting! This is a great way to find other roleplayers to get started with.
Once you've done one of these two things, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the resources page for your Clan. This page includes important information about the leader's policies for their Clan.
Part II: Understanding Basic Roleplay Functions
There are a few lore-based concepts that you must understand to participate properly in Black Dawn.
Patrols
Deputies are tasked with organizing patrols as part of their activity requirements. You can expect to have your cat assigned to a patrol every so often; if you wish to be assigned more frequently or to a specific patrol, leave a visitor message on the deputy's profile! Leaders may also organize patrols, at their discretion. Medicine cats will, on occasion, organize herb gathering patrols.
Patrols are time-sensitive events. The deputy will decide the date that the patrol is due; the due date will be anywhere between one and two weeks from the date assigned. It is up to the designated patrol leader to determine the bump policy and posting order of their patrol. Please respect what they decide!
If your character fails to show for a patrol, disappears partway through, or slacks off, they will likely face punishment from the deputy or leader. If you run into a real life situation that is going to stop you from being able to complete a patrol, please back out as soon as possible!
Afterlife
The three Clans of Black Dawn have their own afterlife, separate from that of the book Clans. The spirits of their afterlife do not live in a separate heaven or hell. Rather, they all live in one single afterlife. Spirits are permitted to treat one another how they please; this generally results in the spirits of moral cats punishing immoral spirits as they see fit.
The Clans refer to their afterlife as The Beyond. The spirits that live in this afterlife are generally known as SpiritClan. Similarly to the book Clans, the Black Dawn Clans believe that their ancestors live among the stars.
The members of SpiritClan only communicate with leaders, medicine cats, and medicine apprentices, and do so sparingly. Living cats are not permitted to discuss their interactions with SpiritClan with anyone, unless absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Clan. These facts often lead to higher levels of atheism or doubt in SpiritClan than we see in the books. Leaders are still awarded nine lives by their ancestors.
Currently, reincarnation and resurrection do not exist, outside of the nine lives concept. Once a cat dies, they go to The Beyond for good. Each Clan has their own personal beliefs and traditions that stem from these basic lore concepts surrounding The Beyond and SpiritClan.
Territory
The territory of the Black Dawn Clans is fictitious, and is not necessarily based specifically on one single location. The Clans live in a cold, northern place. As such, the cold seasons are brutal. Days are short. There is a period of one moon (two IRL weeks) in these territories where the sun never rises. The Clans call this time of the season-cycle the dark days.
Newleaf is chilly, while greenleaf is temperate. Temperatures generally never exceed about 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the warmest months, but can plunge down to as cold as -25 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest months. Fierce snowstorms are common.
HawkClan's territory is mostly comprised of open, sweeping plains. BadgerClan lives in the thickest parts of the pinewood forest, while BearClan lives in a different part of the forest that is somewhat sparser. The majority of the river belongs to BearClan. BearClan's part of the river is mostly sided by tall cliffs, making accessibility limited. BearClan cats generally have to travel to the area close to their border with BadgerClan to access the river. The part of the river that BadgerClan owns is much more easily accessible.
The leaders may add and remove landmarks as they see fit. Borders may also change from time to time, as a result of battles, events, or other circumstances.
Warrior Code
The Black Dawn Clans have their own warrior code, separate from the one the book Clans follow. It is as follows:
1. A Clan must mark its borders routinely. A Clan is free to challenge another Clan's borders, but every Clan is also free to defend their borders with their lives.
2. Never intentionally bring harm to a kit. A kit is defined by the warrior code as any cat younger than six moons. A warrior should always help a kit in danger, even if that kit is not of their Clan.
3. Clans may help one another in times of extreme need, but they are not allies or friends.
4. For the sake of keeping bloodlines sufficiently diverse, cats may have relationships with cats from other Clans with their leader's permission. These relationships should be purely practical; romance can be found within a cat's own Clan.
5. A leader's word is law, unless it violates the warrior code or puts their Clan in unnecessary, extreme danger.
6. A night of truce is called for every Gathering. Each Gathering will take place on the night of the full moon, every other moon.
7. A kit may not become an apprentice until they are at least six moons old. An apprentice who has not met the requirements to become a warrior by the time they are 18 moons old should have their place re-evaluated by their leader.
8. Cats should be fed in this order: Kits, the sick and injured, Queens, Apprentices, Medicine cats, Warriors, Elders, Deputy, Leader, Prisoners.
9. A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.
10. If a cat wishes to switch their allegiance to another Clan, they may do so at the discretion of their new Clan's leader. Outside of this circumstance, a cat's loyalty should remain strictly to their own Clan.
11. Cats may not speak of their interactions with SpiritClan, unless absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Clan.
12. Leaders may punish codebreakers as they see fit.
13. The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.
14. After the death, retirement, promotion (to a leader status), or exile of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.
15. Warriors will respect the traditions of their Clan.
16. The Clans must not unite together to drive out another Clan. Each of the three Clans has a right to exist, as determined by SpiritClan.
17. Kits must stay in camp until they are apprenticed, and are not allowed to hunt or fight. A kit may defend itself if attacked first, but should not be encouraged or trained to start their own fights.
18. If the leader retires or resigns, they must travel to the Starpool to relinquish their remaining lives.
Bi-Monthly Challenges
To keep Black Dawn fun and unique, the staff will randomly select a challenge every other month for the Clans to face. These challenges will last for the entire month. It is up to the leaders, and their Clans, how they react and participate! To ensure that ample room is given for other plots, we decided not to hold challenges every month.
Everyone on the site will find out what the new challenge is at the same time. The challenge will be announced on the 1st of every month, barring unusual circumstances. These challenges could be a broad range of things, such as disease, prey shortages, packs of predators, Twolegs, cosmic events, weather disasters, or even a trio of murderers on the loose! There's a reason this roleplay is called Black Dawn
As these challenges are a central part to this site and its roleplay, we do strongly encourage all members to participate. However, we recognize that some roleplayers may have their own reasons for not wanting to participate in a given challenge. As such, leaders will designate a "safe zone" for each challenge that is effectively free from that challenge's effects. For example, if a pack of wolves is the current challenge, a leader may designate their entire camp as a "safe zone" for anyone who doesn't wish to participate in the wolf pack challenge. Alternatively, a point of interest in the territory may be selected as a safe zone during a disease challenge.
Again, we strongly encourage everyone to participate in challenges. Nonetheless, we want to be a welcoming community, even for those who wish to abstain from challenges!
The list of possible challenges is kept a secret. We use the Random Chooser to select each challenge. Generally, we will not repeat the same type of challenge twice in a row. If the most recent challenge was a rabies outbreak, we won't allow the next one to be a greencough epidemic.
Questions?
Have questions or concerns about anything? Let us know! Message one of the staff members directly, or leave a comment down below.
Cherry~- Site Owner
- Posts : 39
Join date : 2022-09-08
Age : 23
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