Original Post: Ember, December 19, 2015
Welcome to Warrior Cats of the Forest! I’m Ember, the owner. This guide is geared toward helping you settle into the roleplay and answering any basic questions you may have. Don’t be too afraid of making mistakes early on, we all understand that the website can be overwhelming at first. Never hesitate to contact me or one of the moderators if you need help or have any additional questions.
Getting to Know the Website
The first thing to do is simply to explore the website: look over pages, get to know how things are laid out and a general sense for what constitutes a normal interaction or entry in each area.
Most importantly, be certain to thoroughly read over the rules (found on the Home Page). Other areas of interest include the History Page (where you’ll find a summary of important in-character events since the website’s creation) and the The Clans Page (containing a map and clan descriptions).
The Help Page includes a calendar of upcoming in- and out-of-character events as well as a number of guides and helpful links. Another guide you may find particularly helpful at this stage is the the Roleplay Terms Guide.
Lastly, it’s never a bad idea to read through a few pages of the Roleplay Forums to get a feel for the website’s preferred style of roleplaying.
Registering
Now that you’ve gotten to know the website and feel that you’ll enjoy roleplaying with us, it’s time to register.
First, hit "Log In" on the top right corner of the Home Page. This is the ordinary log in page, so since you're making a new account go to the "Sign Up" button on the left. Follow the steps provided.
After filling in your profile information, you may not be able to actually join the roleplay. This means that registrations are currently closed and is indicated by a note on the Home Page. Warrior Cats of the Forests limits the number of active members to maintain a manageable activity level. Don’t worry, all pending accounts are periodically accepted and you will be able to join the roleplay at that time.
Setting Up Your Profile
Now that you have been accepted into the roleplay, you can create your profile. What you put for all sections of your profile (including username, profile image, and "About" section) are up to you, granted that they are appropriate and promote a friendly environment. All "About" sections must also include an up to date list of the characters you roleplay.
Examples of different possible formats can be found on other members’ profiles, you can include as much or as little information about yourself or your characters as you prefer. You can edit all of these fields later on, however it’s preferred that you avoid changing your username more than once every few months to cut down on unnecessary page updates.
Character Creation
After your profile has been set up, you can move on to creating or adopting your first character. You should review the rules and clan descriptions once more before posting your character, to ensure that they follow all website guidelines and are in the most fitting place for their personality.
If you would like to create a new, original character you can go directly to the Character Updates Page and post them with the new character form. The suggested length for a character description (the “Description and History” field) is 100-300 words. Be certain to always follow the exact format provided on the top of Character Updates Page when posting on the Character Updates Page. An in-depth description of each rank and expectations for each can be found on the Clan Hierarchy Guide and example characters can be found on the clan pages.
If you would like to adopt an already created character, go to the Help Page and scroll to the bottom. All characters available to be claimed are found here, their full descriptions can be found on The Clan Pages. When you have selected which character you would like to adopt, announce it on the Character Updates Page using the format provided there.
A full explanation of how to post on the character updates page can be found on the Character Updates Guide.
Roleplaying
As soon as you’ve posted your first character, you are welcome to join in on the roleplaying!
The threads are organized by in-character location, go through the Forum Section, click on your character’s clan, and select their location as either camp or territory. All roleplaying is done in third-person, past tense, paragraph form. For example:
Brownfur crossed through MoonClan’s camp, her ears pricking up as she heard Greypelt call her name from the other side of the camp. Oh StarClan, she thought, I hope I didn’t get assigned to the morning patrol again!
She trotted up to him and meowed, “Yes?”
When introducing your character to the roleplay, you can have them join the clan as an outsider, or introduce them as if they were a part of the clan all along.
Enjoy the Website!
I hope that you have fun roleplaying with us and take advantage of the many other activities around the website, such as posting or commenting on artwork and out of character chatting.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me or any of the moderators.
-Ember