Basics

Your character is the most important part of your participation on a roleplaying board. They should be interesting and you should be able to connect to them in some way; otherwise, you’ll find it hard to write for them!

Name

When you register an account on our forums, your account name should be your character’s full name. A name can be almost anything — you can have something simple, like Luna, or a standard given name surname format, like Luna Steeps. Profanity and offensive names are not allowed — come on, we’re more mature than that! Look at baby name sites if you’re having trouble (a few are listed on our list of resources)!

RPGuide_07Sex

If you are male, you may find it easier to play male characters. Similarly, females may find it easier to play female characters. It all depends on your personal preference though. If you don’t think your character’s sex matters, that’s cool, too. It may be fun and interesting for you to play a character of the opposite sex. Many roleplayers are comfortable playing both males and females, though many do have a preference, even if it isn’t their own!

Age

Many players prefer to start with an adolescent or young adult character, as they themselves are adolescents or young adults.

You can also start with a young puppy and allow its life experiences to mold it gradually as you go. Some players find puppies boring to play, because to some extent, their age limits them to simpler perceptions of the world. Note that the minimum age for a character born off-board is seven months of age; however, you can find puppies for adoption on the Open Characters list.

If you only want to play a character for a short time but don’t want a dramatic death, an older character may suit your needs. Depending on whether you decide to play a normal wolf or a Luperci, your character’s life expectancy and aging will be different. Please see Luperci Life Cycle for more information!

Species

No Humans at 'Souls RPG
Humans are not allowed at ‘Souls. Our Luperci do not have a human form, and human playable characters — as well as references to humans in character histories — are not allowed.
  • At ‘Souls, all characters of the genus Canis (Wolves, Coyotes, Jackals, Dogs, Dingoes, etc.), are able to become Luperci and shift into three different forms — though note, our Luperci do not have human forms.
  • A majority of ‘Souls roleplayers choose to play a wolf, coyote, dog, or jackal. You may play other canine species — such as African Wild Dogs and Maned Wolves — but keep in mind, canines of any genus other than Canis will not be able to become Luperci.
  • You may also play non-canine species, such as bears, cougars, snakes, birds, etc, though these characters will have to join the board as Creatures. Humans are not available for play.

For more information regarding what kinds of canines can become Luperci, please see the Species Guide.

Skills & Abilities

A character’s strengths and skills can help determine whether they are accepted into a pack, as the pack’s leadership will almost always ask about your character’s skills. Most wolves can run, hunt, jump, and swim. These aren’t special abilities, so unless your character is especially good, it’s not useful to consider one of these your character’s only skill.

On the other hand, if your character has other special abilities like medical knowledge, star-navigation, piercing & tattooing, spying, stealth, tree-climbing, human knowledge, reading/writing, etc, the pack leadership will definitely want to hear of those skills. Be creative and think of something cool you can do, then see if you can apply that to your character. It’s not a good idea to go and say your character can do something and have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about though, so do your research if you don’t actually know much about your skill of choice!

Remember, too, that not everyone is good at everything — while picking a few good skills can be fun and interesting, making your character good at everything is unrealistic and can be considered godmoding. Instead, try starting out with just a few skills, and work on building those and developing new ones as you roleplay!

For more information about realistically choosing and building character skills, please see the Skills Guide.

Companions

Some people choose to have NPC (non-player/playable character) companion animals such as birds, rats, etc. These companions can follow your character around, helping out or just providing company. You can have many kinds of NPC character, even other canines! Remember to be realistic though — why does your character’s companion stick around? What’s their relationship? If the animal is rare or exotic, how did your character come by it? How does he care for it?

Certain restrictions apply. For specifics about NPCs, see our NPC Procedures.

Character Adoption

If you’re having trouble coming up with a character on your own, consider an adoptable character someone else created! The Open Characters list can help you find a pre-created, adoptable character. Though certain aspects of these adoptable characters may be set, they are often very customizable!

As a consequence of ‘Souls having been around for over a decade, there are many multi-generation families — and new litters are born every year! Often, these puppies are available for adoption, along with other family members and friends of actively roleplayed characters. You can even find characters who are currently NPCed in the game — letting you skip over joining threads and introductions. It’s a great way to get involved and start roleplaying right away.