Roleplay Guidelines

As most Animal Jam roleplayers know, roleplay style differs greatly from person to person. Here at the Holy Alliance, we aren't trying to change your unique roleplay style; however, a 'free-style' roleplay view is not permitted, and traditional or vocabulary based roleplay is highly encouraged. We are also highly anti-'no nothing', and if this is a habit of yours I would ask that you break this habit as soon as humanly possible. That means no oddly random magical powers (e.g. breathing fire out of your left nostril), no ridiculous anatomy (words are for everyone to understand!), and no using 'NN' or anything relating to it such as 'ND'. Absolutely no horrid grammar, although grammatical mistakes and spelling errors here and there are perfectly understandable. And - this is a pet peeve of mine - Try Not To Capitalize Everything Like This. Trust me, you don't look advanced when you do it.

We in the Holy Alliance battle quite differently from other packs, but I will refrain from explaining the battle mechanics here for the sake of length and would direct you instead to the 'Battle Mechanics' page, where you can learn all you need to know about how we in the HA fight. There will be no animals in this roleplay besides coyotes, meaning no coyote-wolf crossbreeds or anything impossible like that. I may permit one character to be a different species as a plot device, such as the HA taking in a young dog pup whose mother has abandoned him/her, but this will either be extremely rare or it simply may not happen at all.

Drama is strongly encouraged, as it livens up the roleplay, but please don't go overboard with it. It's okay to create drama if your character is in love with a coyote from a different pair when they're supposed to kind of be 'soul mates' with their pairmate, for example, but don't have your character do something like abruptly kill their pairmate just to be with this coyote from another pair, unless it is within their demeanor and personality to do so. I don't really need to state the obvious, but I'll do it anyway - don't make Pups capable of doing the impossible! I see it happen all the time, and it makes a roleplay disgustingly sloppy and unrealistic. Realistically, a Pup could never even dream of defeating a full-grown Runner, but this topic is better discussed on the Battle Mechanics page, so I'll leave it be for now.

There is a dress code, but it isn't particularly strict; however, the pelt code is semi-strict. Spikes, leaf necklaces, and collars are all permitted (since this isn't a Warrior Cat roleplay, wearing a collar isn't considered shameful in the least and is perfectly fine). Most back items are fine, but I do ask that you don't wear more humanoid items like backpacks or shirts. We also tolerate most head items, but we prefer if you did not use antlers unless you are participating in a Festival act, as antlers in particular are symbolic in this roleplay. We also ask that you do not wear large hats (such as Founders' Hats) that may obstruct the view of another roleplayer.

For the pelt code, considering we are coyotes, I ask that you do not have colours like blue, green, purple, etc. and instead mostly keep to using tans, browns, greys, reds, oranges, and possibly blacks. A full black pelt is impossible on a coyote, but a full white pelt is fine, as it is seen as being 'albino'. Apologies if the pelt code is strict, but we like to look unified. Learning the Battle Mechanics right away is definitely recommended as well, and if you need help understanding roleplaying battles in the HA just ask me or tigersaif, as we're the ones who originally came up with the concept. And, one last thing!

The HA uses the idea of 'OOC' (out of character) and 'IC' (in character). We promote this idea, as we often see OOC chat not being used and it can affect roleplays. In the words of the RP Repository... "A crucially important distinction to keep in mind is the difference between Out Of Character (OOC) and In Character (IC). OOC and IC knowledge, motivations and emotions must be kept separate at all times. This can be understood easily by thinking of an actor.

Imagine Sean Connery playing James Bond. Sean Connery has out of character knowledge about who is Bond's enemy and who is his ally. He knows this because he has read the script. This does not mean that he then changes the way that he plays his character by having Bond go directly to the secret lair and shoot the villain in the opening scene of the movie, before Bond has been given his assignment or found his first clue.

You as a player will frequently acquire knowledge your character could not possibly know. This could relate to what may be going on elsewhere in the story, in the histories of other characters, or discover that a character yours thought was its friend is actually trying to trick them. When you learn important information about the game, make a mental note: How did you learn it? Was it in OOC chatter, or did your character find a clue in their story? Do your best to play your character as if they know only what they have actually experienced in their story. Otherwise, the plot will stop making sense to everyone in the game. But it isn't just knowledge that needs to be kept separate.

It is important to keep your emotions separate from your character's emotions. Let's go back to the James Bond example. If the actor playing the villain finished filming the death scene, lay on the floor until the director yelled "Cut!" and then immediately leaped up and attacked Sean Connery in real life, that would be insane. Sean Connery had no malice against the actor playing the villain; he was just playing the character James Bond. Someone who is playing a character that is mean to yours is not being mean to you as a player. They are simply playing a villain. It will destroy your game community if you treat IC bad guys as OOC bad guys. What this means is that you are not your character. You must keep knowledge that you gained OOC from influencing your IC actions. Like an actor, you do not share the motivations, emotions, skills or the life of your character."

To speak or propose an idea OOCly, simply write 'OOC:' before speaking (e.g. OOC: May I capture your character?). Speaking of asking before capturing... please politely ask all opponents in an OOC way before battle if you can maim, capture, or kill them. Failing to do so will probably end up in you being heavily reprimanded by me, which actually isn't so pretty.

Another thing to keep in mind, as quoted from RP Repository... "The object of the game is not to get the best outcome for your character.

Rather, the object of the game is to create an immersive story that thrills and entertains all of the players taking part in it. This requires that the plot unfolds at a good pace, characters be played well, care is put into writing, and good out of character relationships are maintained between all players.

Whether your character wins, loses or draws; lives or dies; prospers or becomes a pauper; there is tremendous satisfaction in having mattered to the story and to those reading and taking part in it. When you take this stance, the temptation to "cheat" by mixing up IC and OOC knowledge, holding grudges, hogging the spotlight, or godmoding vanishes, and your focus turns to playing your character as true to themselves as you know how. So have fun, and do your best to make sure your RP partners also have a chance to shine and enjoy themselves." That's all - sorry if that was long and boring, but some of it needed to be said! Looking forward to roleplaying with you all! Next page advised to read Rankings