Post by Rolo on May 17, 2011 11:49:20 GMT -10
So you made an application, but it took forever to get accepted. Those stupid admins kept making you change things -- how dare they! D<
But really, all the changes went for good. Now you want to make another cat, but don't want to constantly be told to change something. So here's a nifty little guide with some good things to be considered when making a cat.
It may look like a lot, but trust me, when you're typing all this about your cat, it really doesn't take much work.
Name | By traditional name it means that the prefix describes how the cat looks in some way. Options are :
~Fur color [gray, stone, storm, squirrel]
~Fur pattern [stripe/d, dapple/d, mottle/d]
~Size [small, tall, long]
The suffix carries on to describe personality, skills, or continuing looks.
~Skills [claw, ear, whisker]
~Personality [storm, flower, heart]
~Looks [stripe, fur, pelt]
Please keep in mind that some suffixes have two meanings. For instance, -whisker means that the cat is a good tracker. It also means the cat is sensitive, personality wise.
Gender | This one is easy. Keep in mind the ratios, though.
Age | Try to make it appropriate for their rank. We don’t really want ten moon warriors and 16 moon apprentices, do we?
Rank | Another easy one, check to see how much is in the clan first.
Clan | Easy, once again, check the ratios.
Beliefs| Don’t just put “Does not believe in StarClan.” Elaborate on things. Explain exactly how much they believe or don’t believe. Explain why they chose to be that way. If they don’t believe, what do they believe in? If they do believe, what other things do they believe in?
Parents | Honestly you can just make up names and put them here. Unless you plan on making the characters, the names do not matter. Now, if your cat is the child of two already made cats, make sure you get those names right.
[DC] = definite character, one who is accepted or you will make.
[PC] = possible character, you must decide within one week of your cat getting accepted.
[NP] = not played.
Siblings | Again, it would not be hard to just make up some names. Keep in mind that a litter of one is somewhat rare. Admins may ask you to throw in some random names. If their siblings are cats already accepted/played/going to be accepted, get them right.
Other Kin | Totally optional, we actually suggest just putting “none” if you don’t intend to play one of the other kin.
Mate | Kits, Apprentices, and young Warriors (17 moons is when they are no longer young ones) cannot have mates. Your cat does not need to have kits with the cat for them to be considered mates. You must approve it with an admin when your cat gets a mate, and if you want another one of your cats to be this cat’s mate, then I would suggest waiting a while for an answer. Please do not play your cat’s mate.
Crush | Any cat can have a crush, it would be smart to check with the player of the cat, though. Again, try not to play your cat’s crush.
Kits | List any kits, though we’re limiting Queens with kits who are kit-age at the start of the role play.
Apprentice/Mentor | When your cat is being applied for, this will say “not yet”. Your cat is not allowed an apprentice or mentor until they are accepted into their clan.
Appearance | When describing your cat, do not rely on the picture (if you have one.) The minimum sentence thing is just that – it’s a minimum. We’re expecting you to type a little more.
Things to keep in mind :
~What size is your cat? Are they tall and lanky? Or perhaps on the short side. Maybe they have bulk and are larger than most cats? Perhaps they could be fragile, thin cats. How does their size affect their life? How does it affect their skills?
~How long is their fur? Is the cat a long-furred cat or a short furred one? How does it change? Does the cat shed in the summer and get long fur in the winter?
~What does their fur look like? What is the color? The dominant color? What about little colors? Where do the colors show up? Are they a tabby? What type of stripes do they have? What pattern does their fur make?
~How do their whiskers look? Long and droopy, short and firm? Are the white? Black? Gray? A mix? What about their eyes? Are they a piercing green or soothing blue? Do their eyes reveal how they feel?
Personality | Probably the most important part about making a cat. The personality determines how the cat will interact with others. How they are in the role play and what type of actions they take.
The first bit you write about should be their overall personality. Are they a bit snappy or cold? Maybe distant? Or are they kind and caring and loyal to their clan? Why are they this way? Was it how they were raised or just because they chose to be that way?
Next touch on how they interact with other cats. How do they feel about their clan mates? How do they act toward them? Are they shy or loud? Do they care about how their clan mates feel about them? What would they do to defend their clan?
Now back to the cat themselves. What are some more of the hidden things? Are they ambitious, but don’t like to show it? Maybe they’ve got a soft spot for kits, but hate new warriors. Do they disagree with a major part of the clans?
How about their opinions? How do they feel on those? What are their opinions? How strong would they be in defending their opinions? Could they easily be swayed to support another opinion? Or are the head-strong in their beliefs?
And for the last bit get a little generic again. Summarize some things, but do it in a new way. Really use the last bit to send a message about your cat.
Skills | Consider three things in this sections :
~What are they good at exactly? Hunting, fighting, tracking, running, whatever. Use the first bit to run through what they’re good at and why they’re good at it.
~Next list what they aren’t good at. This is just as important as what they are good at. If they’re horrible fighters, tell us why. No stamina? Why?
~And lastly other things they might be good at. Not just Warrior things, though. Try things like scheming or leading, whatever.
History | Start off with how they were as kits. Who were their parents and what they were born into. Kittypet, rogue, loner, clan cat? Remember that if they were born into ForestClan and made the journey, they would have to be in MeadowClan. No more cats are allowed to be in other clans.
Then talk about their life as they got a little older, apprentice age you could say.
Make sure to include their time on the journey if they made it. Talk about what they were like on the journey, how they acted with other cats. Did they make friends? Enemies? Try to include as much as you can without rambling.
If they didn’t make the journey, describe how they came to find the cats. Did they want to join at first? Or maybe they didn’t, but reluctantly did after something happened. What was that something?
If their have deceased kin/mates/friends, explain about those. Use the history to really shape how your cat is personality wise. Personality and History have a direct link, seeing how kits are shaped by their parents. Make sure you show that link to really let us see how your cat was shaped to being the cat they are today.
Extra | When you finish your application, feel free to mess around with the codes to make it look amazing! Use color and size and font to really have your application stand out. Also, picture(s) of your cat can be a big help in the appearance section.
So now you're wondering, why do I have to do all of this? Well like I said, it's not really that much. Other people can do it easily. Let me show you some prime examples of cats that got accepted. And keep in mind that the only thing wrong with these cats were spelling/grammar. Always run the application through spellcheck. And save a copy of it on your computer, just in case.
Acception | For your cat to be accepted, it must be checked over by 2 members of staff. When the first member of staff believes your cat is acceptable, they will post '[1/2]' on your thread. The next member of staff will then check it over and, once they believe it is acceptable, will move the board to Accepted Cats. This double checking process is mainly there because staff all have strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to personality and appearance, and the second check is needed to ensure the first bio checker hasn't missed anything.
Short Bio :
Otterfur
Palepaw
Dusk
Medium Bio :
Jaggedclaw
Sootclaw
Heronstep
Frostpaw
Long Bio :
Russetfang
Foxflower
Aniela
Spiffy Bio :
Speckledpaw
Ashfang
[/size]But really, all the changes went for good. Now you want to make another cat, but don't want to constantly be told to change something. So here's a nifty little guide with some good things to be considered when making a cat.
It may look like a lot, but trust me, when you're typing all this about your cat, it really doesn't take much work.
Name | By traditional name it means that the prefix describes how the cat looks in some way. Options are :
~Fur color [gray, stone, storm, squirrel]
~Fur pattern [stripe/d, dapple/d, mottle/d]
~Size [small, tall, long]
The suffix carries on to describe personality, skills, or continuing looks.
~Skills [claw, ear, whisker]
~Personality [storm, flower, heart]
~Looks [stripe, fur, pelt]
Please keep in mind that some suffixes have two meanings. For instance, -whisker means that the cat is a good tracker. It also means the cat is sensitive, personality wise.
Gender | This one is easy. Keep in mind the ratios, though.
Age | Try to make it appropriate for their rank. We don’t really want ten moon warriors and 16 moon apprentices, do we?
Rank | Another easy one, check to see how much is in the clan first.
Clan | Easy, once again, check the ratios.
Beliefs| Don’t just put “Does not believe in StarClan.” Elaborate on things. Explain exactly how much they believe or don’t believe. Explain why they chose to be that way. If they don’t believe, what do they believe in? If they do believe, what other things do they believe in?
Parents | Honestly you can just make up names and put them here. Unless you plan on making the characters, the names do not matter. Now, if your cat is the child of two already made cats, make sure you get those names right.
[DC] = definite character, one who is accepted or you will make.
[PC] = possible character, you must decide within one week of your cat getting accepted.
[NP] = not played.
Siblings | Again, it would not be hard to just make up some names. Keep in mind that a litter of one is somewhat rare. Admins may ask you to throw in some random names. If their siblings are cats already accepted/played/going to be accepted, get them right.
Other Kin | Totally optional, we actually suggest just putting “none” if you don’t intend to play one of the other kin.
Mate | Kits, Apprentices, and young Warriors (17 moons is when they are no longer young ones) cannot have mates. Your cat does not need to have kits with the cat for them to be considered mates. You must approve it with an admin when your cat gets a mate, and if you want another one of your cats to be this cat’s mate, then I would suggest waiting a while for an answer. Please do not play your cat’s mate.
Crush | Any cat can have a crush, it would be smart to check with the player of the cat, though. Again, try not to play your cat’s crush.
Kits | List any kits, though we’re limiting Queens with kits who are kit-age at the start of the role play.
Apprentice/Mentor | When your cat is being applied for, this will say “not yet”. Your cat is not allowed an apprentice or mentor until they are accepted into their clan.
Appearance | When describing your cat, do not rely on the picture (if you have one.) The minimum sentence thing is just that – it’s a minimum. We’re expecting you to type a little more.
Things to keep in mind :
~What size is your cat? Are they tall and lanky? Or perhaps on the short side. Maybe they have bulk and are larger than most cats? Perhaps they could be fragile, thin cats. How does their size affect their life? How does it affect their skills?
~How long is their fur? Is the cat a long-furred cat or a short furred one? How does it change? Does the cat shed in the summer and get long fur in the winter?
~What does their fur look like? What is the color? The dominant color? What about little colors? Where do the colors show up? Are they a tabby? What type of stripes do they have? What pattern does their fur make?
~How do their whiskers look? Long and droopy, short and firm? Are the white? Black? Gray? A mix? What about their eyes? Are they a piercing green or soothing blue? Do their eyes reveal how they feel?
Personality | Probably the most important part about making a cat. The personality determines how the cat will interact with others. How they are in the role play and what type of actions they take.
The first bit you write about should be their overall personality. Are they a bit snappy or cold? Maybe distant? Or are they kind and caring and loyal to their clan? Why are they this way? Was it how they were raised or just because they chose to be that way?
Next touch on how they interact with other cats. How do they feel about their clan mates? How do they act toward them? Are they shy or loud? Do they care about how their clan mates feel about them? What would they do to defend their clan?
Now back to the cat themselves. What are some more of the hidden things? Are they ambitious, but don’t like to show it? Maybe they’ve got a soft spot for kits, but hate new warriors. Do they disagree with a major part of the clans?
How about their opinions? How do they feel on those? What are their opinions? How strong would they be in defending their opinions? Could they easily be swayed to support another opinion? Or are the head-strong in their beliefs?
And for the last bit get a little generic again. Summarize some things, but do it in a new way. Really use the last bit to send a message about your cat.
Skills | Consider three things in this sections :
~What are they good at exactly? Hunting, fighting, tracking, running, whatever. Use the first bit to run through what they’re good at and why they’re good at it.
~Next list what they aren’t good at. This is just as important as what they are good at. If they’re horrible fighters, tell us why. No stamina? Why?
~And lastly other things they might be good at. Not just Warrior things, though. Try things like scheming or leading, whatever.
History | Start off with how they were as kits. Who were their parents and what they were born into. Kittypet, rogue, loner, clan cat? Remember that if they were born into ForestClan and made the journey, they would have to be in MeadowClan. No more cats are allowed to be in other clans.
Then talk about their life as they got a little older, apprentice age you could say.
Make sure to include their time on the journey if they made it. Talk about what they were like on the journey, how they acted with other cats. Did they make friends? Enemies? Try to include as much as you can without rambling.
If they didn’t make the journey, describe how they came to find the cats. Did they want to join at first? Or maybe they didn’t, but reluctantly did after something happened. What was that something?
If their have deceased kin/mates/friends, explain about those. Use the history to really shape how your cat is personality wise. Personality and History have a direct link, seeing how kits are shaped by their parents. Make sure you show that link to really let us see how your cat was shaped to being the cat they are today.
Extra | When you finish your application, feel free to mess around with the codes to make it look amazing! Use color and size and font to really have your application stand out. Also, picture(s) of your cat can be a big help in the appearance section.
So now you're wondering, why do I have to do all of this? Well like I said, it's not really that much. Other people can do it easily. Let me show you some prime examples of cats that got accepted. And keep in mind that the only thing wrong with these cats were spelling/grammar. Always run the application through spellcheck. And save a copy of it on your computer, just in case.
Acception | For your cat to be accepted, it must be checked over by 2 members of staff. When the first member of staff believes your cat is acceptable, they will post '[1/2]' on your thread. The next member of staff will then check it over and, once they believe it is acceptable, will move the board to Accepted Cats. This double checking process is mainly there because staff all have strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to personality and appearance, and the second check is needed to ensure the first bio checker hasn't missed anything.
Short Bio :
Otterfur
Palepaw
Dusk
Medium Bio :
Jaggedclaw
Sootclaw
Heronstep
Frostpaw
Long Bio :
Russetfang
Foxflower
Aniela
Spiffy Bio :
Speckledpaw
Ashfang
