Character Creation Guide

Character Creation

1. Character Slots

1a. The character limit per member is currently 14, but these slots are not all immediately unlocked. All members have 7 available character slots upon joining. 5 of these slots must be used for a specific purpose. 

• 4 slots to be used for another member's adoptions. If you remove a character using one of these slots, it cannot be reused for 2 months.

• 1 slot for an elder character. This character must be 120+ moons old. 

• Another 7 slots can be purchased from the shop, to be used however you please, but you may not have more than 7 characters in one affiliation.

2. Rank Availability

2a. Always check rank availability before you begin working on your character.

Ranks can close and stay closed for an indefinite amount of time. Openings can be found in our #☁┋openings-⅋-closings channel. Adoptable characters posted prior to a rank closing may still be brought into the group anyways, but you cannot post adopts that have their rank listed as closed in their clan.

2b. Certain ranks are limited per person. 

• 1 high rank. 

• 1 guardian. If you remove your guardian character from the group, you cannot create another until 2 months have passed. Guardians are audition only. 

• 2 trainees made outside of adoptions. 

- Trainees, if they were born into the clan, must all start off at 6 moons old if there were no problems during their time as a kit. They can have been held back till 8 moons old if they were sick or have done something bad enough to warrant being held back, but regarding the latter, no monarch is particularly keen on doing this. Exceptions can be made for former outsiders. 

2c. You may only create a kit character outside of litter adoptions by purchasing the Orphaned Kit plot from the shop. 

This character must be at least 2 moons old if there is not a nursing cat in the clan. If there is a nursing cat, the owner of the character taking care of yours must also agree to the arrangement. Parents must be either deceased or no longer residing in the territories. Former outsider plot is not required if this character was born outside the clan.

3. Naming Your Character

3a. All warrior names should be written traditionally. 

For example, Leopardsea is the correct way of writing a name, Leopard'sea, LeopardSea, and Leopard-sea is not. You may use a dash if the character's prefix ends with the same letter their suffix starts with, such as River-roar. 

3b. Prefixes can be used twice, but not within the same clan. No duplicate warrior names either.

For example, there might be a Pebblekit in both Cliffclan and Oceanclan, but there should not be two characters sharing the name Pebbleheart. Name availability can be found in our allegiances. 

3c. No names too similar to existing characters. 

Characters cannot have names that are overly similar to existing character names, including but not limited to changes in a single prefix or suffix (for example., Rivershadow vs. Rivershade, Flameheart vs Fireheart).

3d. Names should be traditional and fitting for the setting; avoid prefixes and suffixes that would significantly stand out in the books.

When it comes to what names are appropriate for Odyssey, we don't allow names based on synthetic colors, species epithets, or joke names (no Smokeweed for you). Names should draw inspiration from elements of nature commonly found in the Mediterranean. Avoid names based on human-made objects, materials, and concepts. 

The following prefixes or suffixes are prohibited, either because it is too sacred or because we’d like them to stay unique to the characters already in the group: Solar, Leopard, Lunar, Cliff, Ocean, Sea, Sky, and Star. Most names from the books are allowed to be used here, with some obvious exceptions; no Wafflepaws! 

3e. Outsider names, if they are not based off foliage, animals, etc, must be names of latin or greek origins (i.e. Callista, Christos, Nikos, Irene). 

These names can only be used once; alternative spellings of already existing names cannot be used either.

3f. Names cannot directly reference figures from real Greek or Roman mythology.

No god names, leading mythological figures, or prominent human characters are allowed. For example, names like Zeus, Ares, Psyche, Athena, Hera, Apollo, Nyx, Hermes, Persephone, Achilles, Odysseus, Orpheus, Heracles, and Theseus are not permitted.

3g. Names can be reserved for up to two weeks, or six weeks for litters with predetermined names. 

Use this command /reserve name to send in a request. Already reserved names can be found in our allegiances. 

4. Personality: Who are they?

4a. Your character should have three positive traits, three neutral traits, and three negative traits. 

They should be balanced, and not contradict each other. For example, avoid assigning a positive trait like "social butterfly" alongside a negative trait such as "shy." 

4b. You may take inspiration from characters you've seen in media, but you should still strive to give your own character their own individuality. 

No character in Odyssey should just be the cat version of an already existing character in an anime, book, etc. Characters, however, cannot be inspired from existing figures from Greek history or mythology, unless given permission to do so for plot purposes.

4c. Your character's personality cannot contradict their ability modifiers.

What this means is, your character can't have "wise", "charming" or "intelligent" in their personality traits without having at least a +1 modifier to each of those stats. This does not mean that you put a +1 in the modifier for these due to their personality, it means their stats must be set up in a way to reflect this personality trait.

5. Identity 

5a. Characters of any sexuality and/or gender are welcomed into Odyssey.

Why wouldn’t they be? We’re decent (and very queer) people.

5b. The staff must be informed of a character's biological sex, if it's not already mentioned in their biography. 

If you are creating an intersex character, their biological capabilities, such as the ability to sire a litter, carry one, or infertility, should be mentioned in their bio or conveyed to the staff. These things cannot be changed after the character has been accepted.

5c. Neopronouns must be based on things the characters would realistically know about. 

For example, something like fae/faer wouldn't be allowed as the word "fae" means fairy.

6. Mental Illness

6a. Outside of depression, the characters in Odyssey don't have names for mental conditions. 

This applies to pretty much everything, from PTSD to autism, nobody has an actual diagnosis IRP!

6b. Certain mental conditions cannot be listed on a character's biography.

This list includes schizophrenia, DID, NPD, and ASPD. They may still exhibit symptoms of these disorders. Many of these symptoms can be very extreme. They should not be romanticized or used to make a character more edgy.

7. Abilities & Battle Stats

7a. A statistics section in your character's biography is a requirement, whether you're using our format or your own. 

All the information regarding these things can be found on this page.

7b. If a character’s best or second-best stat is Strength or Dexterity, the other stat must be ranked as the 4th, 5th, or 6th best stat.

We understand that, naturally, most players want to build their character in a way where they are hard to beat in battle. However, we, as the owners, would prefer it if warriors with negative modifiers in intelligence, wisdom, or both, weren't the majority in the clans' populations.

7c. Only Oceanclan knows how to and can teach cats to fish, and only Cliffclan knows how to and can teach cats to climb cliffs

To keep the uniqueness of the clans, fishing is a skill only Oceanclan knows/can teach. This means that your character can only know how to fish if they went through their traineeship and graduated as a warrior in Oceanclan. Cats who become Oceanclan warriors as former outsiders or Cliffclanners learn to fish to pass their assessment. The opposite is true for Cliffclan as well.

7d. Only Oracles and attendants have medical and herbal knowledge.

Any cat can have basic first aid knowledge (i.e., pressure on a wound to keep it from bleeding). However, knowledge of medical herbs and treatments is passed down within clan Oracles and attendants.

8. Pre-Group Histories

8a. Consider clan dynamics when writing sensitive histories. 

Clans are tight-knit, structured communities with strict systems and leadership oversight. When writing histories involving overt abuse or other sensitive dynamics, it implies that the clan leadership and community– other people's characters –have failed to intervene. This reflects poorly on those characters and their actions. Such histories must be carefully considered, as we will request changes if they conflict with how the clan or monarch would realistically respond. If you wish to explore these themes, it may be better suited for an outsider character, where such issues could go unchecked.

8b. For characters, aim to limit past trainees in their pre-group history to only 3. 

This should be spaced out as only one every 12 moons. This is mainly to give others an opportunity to have mentored others. Remember that your character has to have been 22 moons to receive a trainee.

8c. Character histories should be straightforward and easy to understand.

Vague descriptions of events can make the review process harder. A history should provide a summary of your character's past rather than read like a story. Remember, histories are taken at face value, so any exaggerations will be treated as factual and may need to be revised if they don’t align with the group’s standards.

8d. Character histories must align with the established group or clan history. 

Do not introduce new events, notable families, disasters, unique circumstances, or lore. If something isn’t listed in the lore, assume it isn’t part of the world.

8e. Don’t claim an incredible or notable reputation in your character’s pre-group history. 

Amazing reputations should be earned in-roleplay. Or if they are known for strength or speed, should be backed by stats that support these claims.

8f. Upon submission, characters cannot have a history of murdering their own clanmates. 

They might have killed once or twice outside of their clan, so long as you aim for a narrative that contributes to your character's growth and storyline; not for what makes them edgier!

8g. Certain origins are plots that must be purchased or earned with IRP requirements. 

Former outsiders, or clan defectors are both plots that must be purchased, unless certain IRP requirements have been met. Half-clan characters can only be made from IRP litters. 

8h. Characters cannot have had forbidden relationships in their pre-group history. 

We prefer to let this be a plot that begins during the roleplay.

8i. You are welcome to create families for your characters, but certain guidelines must be followed to keep them consistent with the established lore:

• • You may not claim fame or renown for your family. 

  • You may not introduce new lore, unique events, or significant changes to the story through your family’s backstory.

  • A family’s culture, values, and traditions should align closely with the clan they are part of. Families should not have drastically different beliefs or practices from their home clan.

8j. Histories must exclude any form of divine interference, even if just implied. 

This includes implied dreams, visions, blessings, favor, or anything similar. Cats may certainly believe something, but not more than a few. For example, your character's parents can believe their child was born with a blessing from a god, but you cannot write that the whole clan also believes this.

9. NPCs & Adopts

9a. No living NPCs! 

We have a no living NPC policy, requiring that any living character mentioned in your pre-group history, who isn't already part of the group, must be either deceased or made available for adoption. If these characters haven't been posted for adoption on our forum sometime after you've submitted your character, we'll request you to do so before accepting.

9b. NPCs should not break any of the rules listed in history rules. 

NPCs must follow the same restrictions outlined in the history rules as player characters do. In other words, if your character is not allowed to do something in their backstory –such as killing, breaking major lore laws, or achieving impossible feats –then an NPC in your character's story cannot do those things either.

9c. If the player of an adopt departs the group but leaves you with the character and their design, you can re-audition them.  

The re-auditioned character must keep the same name, design, biological sex, and possess a personality that is at least similar to the original. If you do not have ownership over the character, then they are killed off. 

9d. Characters may not have more than 6 adopts attached to them.
This includes biological relationships, mentorship connections, or any other form of direct attachment to characters up for adoption.

9e. Members may only have a maximum of 2 trainees out for adoption at a time.

This is to avoid clans having an abundance of trainees, but not enough warriors to mentor them.

9f. Characters who were adopts may not have any adopts of their own (future litters are an exception to this).
If a character was originally adopted by a player, they cannot have their own separate set of adoptables, except for litters they may have in the future. This rule is designed to prevent adopted characters from endlessly branching out.

Character Design

10. Physical Traits

10a. No breeds should be listed.
Your character's biography should have no mention of any specific breeds, but you may still give your character traits associated with breeds, such as tufted or curled ears. The only exception to this is a F1/F2/F3 Lynx hybrid. This is a rare trait that can only be obtained through specific situations, such as events, or official group adoptables.

10b. Height and weight stay within limits and/or be reasonable.

The allowed height range without a ban is 8.5 inches to 11.5 inches at the shoulder. The average weight for a cat is 8.8 – 11 lbs. If your character is overweight, this means they are taking in more than they need at the expense of their clanmates, or have a condition that impacts the metabolism. Characters who are underweight outside of times where food is scarce must be their own choice, as the clans would not starve one of their own members.

The minimum height for a character with the abnormally small ban is 7" at the shoulder, while the maximum height for a character with the abnormally large ban is 13" at the shoulder. There are some exceptions for lynx hybrids:

• F1 lynx hybrids can reach 15" at the shoulder.

• F2 lynx hybrids can reach 14" at the shoulder.

• F3 lynx hybrids are usually on the taller side of average (11.5" at the shoulder), they can inherit abnormally large however but require the ban purchase.

10c. Certain physical traits must be purchased.

Certain physical traits cannot be given to characters without purchase; these traits are called “bans.”

• Characters shorter than 8.5 inches at the shoulder, or taller than 11.5 inches at the shoulder.

• Teeth that peeks out from your character’s lips or “vampire teeth” / “tusks”. In order for your character to have this without a ban, it must be an overbite/underbite; their teeth must still be shorter than reaching halfway down their chin! It would appear more like having teeth just slightly peeking out. If you have a ban, the longest their teeth can be is halfway down the character’s chin. 

• Scleras that are not white or wildly different in color than the irises. 

• Chimera, heterochromia, bicadual, albinism are all restricted traits. 

- Characters cannot have pure white fur and red/violet eyes without the albinism ban.

• Certain mutations seen usually with specific breeds, such as dwarfism, or hairless/partially hairless.

- Characters who are missing patches of fur due to illness do not need to purchase this ban, but it still impacts their stats.

10d. Illnesses and disabilities are not kept behind a paywall.

Disabilities do not require any payment. Please write these characters with tact. They also keep their warrior title until they're old enough to be considered an elder. It is discouraged and frowned upon for a disabled warrior to become a guardian if they do not actually want to be one.

11. Design Limits

11a. Designs must be semi-realistic and not stand out too much within their natural setting. 

This means that while colors can deviate from natural shades, extremely unconventional colors such as pink fur would not be acceptable, or that while markings do not need to be realistic, shapes such as perfect stars, triangles, hearts, etc, will not be accepted. You are free to give your character hair if you desire. We love cats with hair here.

11b. Irises can be any color, but scleras must be white/match the iris in a lighter tone.

If the scleras don't follow this rule, then you are required to purchase an Unusual Sclera Color ban. Characters can also be drawn without a visible sclera for a more realistic look, which doesn't require a ban. Pupils must always be in a realistic shape. Heterochromia and split pupils are both purchasable traits. 

11c. Accessories must always be something the character can reasonably find within the territory.

All accessories must be found from nature, and cannot be something that is too difficult for them to create without special tools. Vine for necklaces as an example, flowers, shells, gems; just remember that everything must be something that actually exists in their territory within Greece.