Please read this rules carefully so that your membership here at Withering Tales is a fun one. Any questions regarding the rules must be directed to a staff member. Remember, the password to the "Enlistment" board is here, and you cannot join your character until you can gain access there.

New Rule: Dark Red
Edited Rule: Dark Blue

CONTENTS
-1. General
-2. Character Rules
-3. Gender Rules
---3.1 Mares
---3.2 Stallions
---3.3 Geldings
---3.4 Foals
---3.5 Leads and Betas
-4. Updating Herds
-5. Claiming
---5.1 Terrians
---5.2 Horses
-6. Terrians
-7. Fighting and Challenging
---7.1 Fighting in Boards
---7.2 Challenging
---7.3 War
-8. Sneaking
-9. Breeding and Foaling
---9.1 Breeding
---9.2 Foaling
---9.3 Claiming through Breeding
-10. Herd List Definitions
-11. Warnings
-12. Staff
---12.1 Requirements
---12.2 Responsibilities
---12.3 Demotions

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1. GENERAL
- Withering Tales is a semi-realistic wild horse role-play, and we would like to keep it that way.
- Your username may be anything you wish, as long as it is user appropriate.
- You are allowed three [3] name changes of your user. Since members cannot change their own name, please private message either Homicidal Haku or Grave Digger.
- No ads for topic titles, for example; Claimable Mare, Lonely Stallion Needs Company
- Please, do not over do the exclamation points. No topics like so; Fight!!! It looks unprofessional, and tacky, and makes the site look bad.
- All posts must be at least one hundred [100] words or more in length.
- No power playing. Example; "Cloud made Blacky's shoulder bleed".
- No god modding. An example would be never getting hit in a fight.
- All your horses are on one account, but, if you want to, you are able to make seperate accounts. We do not stress nor encourage seperate accounts, however.
- When taking part in Activity Checks, please post all your horses names.
- New members are allowed to skip the Activity Check if they join the same month it is open, but only if they didn't know it was open.
- Your signature must have your horse's name, age, color, gender, and alliance. This applys to each one of your characters.

2. CHARACTER RULES
- This is a realistic horse RPG, so your characters have to be realistc. No pink eyes, green coats, or dyed streaks in their mane and tail.
- To find acceptable breeds and coat/mane/tail/eye colors, please look in the breed list found here.
- After you have made your character, you are not allowed to change any information. You may edit histories to the point of being more in depth and accurate, however, you cannot change the entire story. Same with personalities.
- Your horse must age at its 'Birth Season'. Example: Bob was born in winter, and when WT goes into the season of Winter you age the horse one year.
- Your horse can only live up to thirty [30] years old.
- From 21-30, you may go to Finis Beck and have your horse die there. That is the only place your horse may die, unless, you give permission for your horse to die during a war in Dispute Valley. (Read the War section for more information.)
- A member can only have two [2] stallions that have their own terrian of each alliance. Example: Rider123 has Cloudy and Whitey in light as leads, and Blacky and Storm in dark.
- One member is only allowed nine [9] characters, then you can only make another if one dies. However, if you have nine and your horse has a foal that is acceptable.
- Unusual sorts of horses or sub-species like a Zebra, Donkey, or other wild horses are allowed. Note, however, if you breed a donkey to a horse, you get a mule or hinny, and they cannot breed further, but still follow the rules of whatever gender they are.
- Ponies, hinnies, and mules are not allowed. However, if a donkey and horse breed, that is an exception.

3. GENDER RULES
3.1. Mares
- Mares can be leads at the age of three [3], but must have one follower, mare or stallion.
- Mares can breed at the age of three [3].
- Mares can only have five foals total.
- Mares that are leads or betas can claim horses, however, they must ask and cannot force claim.
- Mares that are Omegas cannot claim.
- If a lead, or beta goes into Loners' Ridge, then they are automatically claimable. That means, if a lead mare were to go and look for another mare, and a stallion claims them and follows the rules doing so, that mare now belongs to that stallion.
- Mares can challenge for terrains, foals, higher ranks, freedom, or for fun.
- Mares can sneak foals.
- Mares are allowed to go into a stallion's terrain and not be force claimed.
- Mares can adopt any foal without a mother or father and watch over it.
- To be claimed as a mare, you can either go to Loners' Ridge or Crossed Waterfalls. At Crossed Waterfalls your mare may be impregnanted as a claim, so, choose wisely.
3.2. Stallions
- Stallions can be leads at the age of three [3], but must have one follower, mare, foal, or stallion.
- Stallions can breed at the age of three.
- Stallions that are leads, betas, or omegas can claim mares.
- Stallions that are betas or omegas must ask a mare to join them and cannot force claim.
- Stallions can challenge for a terrian, a mare, a foal, a higher rank, freedom, or just for fun.
- Stallions can sneak for a mare, a terrain, or a foal.
- Stallions can be turned away if they enter another stallion's terrian, even if they just come to chat. They must respect the stallion's authority.
- Stallions can claim a mare in Loners' Ridge, or force breed a mare in Crossed Waterfalls as a claim.
3.3. Geldings
- Geldings abide by all rules as stallions.
- Geldings are not allowed to breed whatsoever.
- Geldings can be made by a stallion going steril through an accident. The Withering Soul will determine such through challenges if a horse is injured.
3.4. Foals
- Foals cannot own their own terrian until they are three [3].
- Foals must go to the claiming grounds or find a herd if they are joined as a foal or exiled from a herd/its mother.
- Foals must get a new home after being exiled in thirty [30] days or it dies.
- Foals cannot breed.
- Foals can wander into other stallion/mare's terrians in search for a home but can not be killed.
- If a foal is born to a mare and stallion in game, either parent [perferably the mare] role-plays the foal until it is a yearling [1], then they decide who wants the character, or put it up for adoption.
- If a foal is born sickly, or survives a birth with a deformity, the father and mother have to authority to kill it, but it still counts toward the mare's foal count.
- Foals can be born as still borns, and will still be counted in the mare's foal count.
- Twins are possible, but rare, and both count individually in a mare's foal count.
3.5. Leads and Betas
- A lead, beta, or omega can claim. In mares leads and betas must ask and cannot force claim.
- A lead can choose to breed to any mare in his herd that he pleases, and if the mare refuses, he can force her to breed to him.
- A beta stallion must ask his lead permission before breeding to a mare. Once his lead says yes, he can breed to any mare of his choice, and can force them if they say no. Yet, a beta can breed to any mare free willingly if the mare agrees, however, if the lead stallion didn't give permission, he can exile the beta and foal if he pleases.
- Lead and beta mares can choose who they breed to, but if there is a lead stallion, they must ask permission.
- After 30 days without a lead stallion, a pair of betas [stallion and mare] can over throw the lead mare, unless the lead mare is the one that started the herd herself.

4. UPDATING HERDS
- To add a mare/stallion to your herd list that you have claimed, you must post in Herd Updates board that you have claimed her/him, and state what rank she/he has been granted.
- If you do not, then you will not have that mare/stallion in your herd.
- If a lead fails to post the Herd Updates board, then the mare is still up for grabs until the claimer of the horse has posted they are now a part of their herd. After two days, another horse can claim a mare that hasn't been added to a list after her previous claiming.
- Only leads, betas, and omegas may update a herd, but it is encouraged that the leads are the soul ones to do so.

5. CLAIMING
5.1. Terrains
- To claim a terrain, you have to have at least one following horse, and mares that join pregnant or with a foal at their side still need to get another horse.
- After having a follower, the to-be-lead must post in Herd Updates and make an update post in your terrain's specific thread.
- You are allowed to roleplay in the terrain if you have put the update post up and it hasn�t been updated yet.
- If you don�t have an update post in the Herd Updates board, you do not own the terrain until you have posted your claim there.
- When claiming a terrian, it doesn't count if you claim another one of your own characters.
- You must also, with your Herd Updates post, post in roleplay form in the terrain you want stating a claim.
5.2. Horses
- To claim a mare/stallion, you can be anywhere in Shared Lands and Foothills, or on rare occasions, the mares/stallions that come to a claimed terrian.
- You can only force claim in Loner's Ridge and Crossed Waterfalls.
- A stallion/mare cannot claim a mare/stallion if they do not know their name. You must exchange names before asking the other horse to join you in the herd or force claim it.
- A mare can post in Crossed Waterfalls if she wants to be claimed faster. The stallion that replies, and breeds to the mare is her new lead. However, they can merely ask as well and not breed if they so choose, but it is entirely the stallion's decision.
- If you claim another one of your characters, it does not count towards your one horse to getting a terrain.
- Also, a mare you roleplay that has been claimed by another one of your horses cannot be lead mare, but can only go as high as beta mare. Same for stallions.

6. TERRAINS
- Anything may happen within a horse's terrain that they please. If he wishes to fight another horse, or intruder, they have the right. If two members get into a fight, they have the authority to break it up.
- Breeding is not allowed in the terrains.
- Foaling is not allowed in the terrains.
- Leads can have as many rules to their homes as they desire, but do not make a seperate thread with the listed rules. The leads must tell them to their followers.
- Horses that wander into a claimed terrain can be forced out.
- Foals that wander into a claimed terrain cannot be killed by the lead (unless the foal's role-player says they can).
- Leads must remain active. We cannot stress this enough. If you seem to be inactive - not being seen for a month - the betas have the right to step up and take it. If there are no betas, then the herd is claimable.
- In a case where a herd is lost, and there are members, they are once again claimable.

7. FIGHTING AND CHALLENGING
7.1. Fighting in Boards
- Two or more horses may get into a dispute in any boards, however, the fighting can only last three posts.
- Each individual has three posts for attack, and no more.
- Fighting in the boards results in nothing in perticular. Nothing can be taken from the winners, and nothing from the losers.
- This has more freedom in tactics, and the staff do not decide who wins.
7.2. Challenging
- You cannot challenge a horse for no reason, and your horse must at least know of the existance of the horse it wishes to challenge.
- To challenge, you must post a thread in Rivalry Peak with the horse�s name you are challenging in the title so they know if they are being challenged.
- After a thread is made for a challenge, the opposing horse has three days to reply after each latest post. Example: If Cloud posts on Tuesday, and then Blacky posts on Wednesday, he is safe to continue. However, if Cloud posts on Monday, and Blacky replies on Thursday, Blacky looses for going over the time limit.
- Each horse has five [5] posts to post an attack. If a horse does not attack in a post, that does not count as one of the five [5].
- There are two ways to declare a winner. Either the two horses can agree on a winner, or an admin will read through the challenge post, and post who they believes should be the winner by how fair they played.
- You can challenge once a week.
- If someone challenges you, and wins, you cannot fight for the same thing until four [4] days have passed.
- Stallions can fight for terrains, mares, a higher rank in the herd, for a foal, freedom, or for fun.
- Mares can fight for terrains, a higher rank in the herd, foals, freedom, or for fun.
7.3. At War
- When at war, same rules apply that is above in Fighting and Challenging.
- If you have more than one character, you can only roleplay up to three at a time.
- Positions when at war depend on the horse's ranks. Leads obviously have power over all, betas second, and so forth. Rogues and rankless horses must abide by all commands given by others.
- A war thread will only last for that month or months, and if you did not take part in it, I am sorry but you should have payed more attention.
- For each pair that fights, an individual thread is made. Please, keep one horse in one thread. They cannot be in two places, unless they run away, give up, or defeat the other challenger.
- The winner is decided by the alliance with the most activity.
- You may have your horse die at war. You do this by posting to the War Thread itself stating that the war is open, and tell the admins what horse may be killed in battle, or what horse you want killed in battle.

8. SNEAKING
- If you wish to sneak something from another horse, you must create a thread in the horse�s terrain stating a sneak, posting either a riddle, story, or question about the terra/horse you are trying to steal. However, your horse physically goes there and tells it to the lead.
- When sneaking, the first post is in roleplay form, as well as the lead�s reply. If you do not wish to roleplay from that point on, you don�t have to, but you roleplay taking whatever it was that you were sneaking.
- The answer to the riddle/story/question must be sent to an admin before the steal is started so that things remain fair.
- If you are sneaking from an admin, make sure that the answer is sent to another active staff member, and not by the one you are sneaking from by mistake.
- A staff member can declare a riddle/story/question invalid if it makes no sense, is too vauge, or does not relate to the answer or object being sneaked.
- The above rule cannot be used by a staff member who is having something sneaked from them, unless it is clearly unsolvable with basic knowledge, or another staff members declares it unsolvable.
- If your character is the victim of the steal [is being stolen from], you have three guesses to find out what the other horse is stealing. If you get it right, you keep whatever was trying to be stolen.
- If a terra is being sneaked and is successfully stolen, the horse posts that they have lost all followers and his home in the Herd Updates. The winner gets all the mares and terra.
- A horse can only steal one thing at a time, unless they steal a terra that already has a herd in it. Every mare under the horse that is defending their herd is up for grabs when a terra is being challenged for. If the defending stallion looses, he loses his mares and home, and must start over.
- If a mare is won, the horse posts they lost their mare while the thief posts they gained the mare
- If the thief is not replied to in three days without an excused absence, then the thief wins. If the stallion being stolen from is not replied to, he keeps what is being stolen.
- You can only steal once a week.
- A mare can sneak foals.
- Stallions can sneak terrains, mares, and foals.

9. BREEDING AND FOALING
9.1. Breeding
- Obviously, only breeding between mares and stallions
- Sire and dam must be 3 or over
- You are allowed to roleplay in the breeding thread, however, you can not get into any detail. The extent of which you can post is that the stallion goes behind the mare and then everything fades to black, and refades as he dismounts.
- If you feel the need to get into graphic breeding, you must private message the other member with their ok. Withering Tales does not, however, encourage graphic breeding.
9.2. Foaling
- Parents cannot make the stats for the foal; they only name it. The Withering Spirit will give the stats of the foal[s].
- A mare will be pregnant for 30 days. It is easiest to just count out 30 days on the calendar and put the due date on your horse's signature so you remember what that due date is. - This is not a requirement, but more of a tip.
- After the 30 days, you must post in roleplay form in Epoch River. A stallion or friend mare may accompany a mare in the foaling.
- Once your foal stats are given to you, you can then continue role-playing there until you want to leave.
- Please, do not get graphic with the foaling. Take any precautions to avoid any graphic content.
- The mare will roleplay the foal until it is one [1], unless disowned by its mother. A father may step in, however, a mare would need to be found as to provide proper care for the foal.

10. HERD LIST DEFINITIONS
Lead Stallion: The stallion in charge of the herd.
Lead Mare: The mare in charge of the herd.
Heir � Son/Daughter of the Leads that will take the herd after the Leads step down.
Beta Stallion: The second in command stallion under the Lead Stallion.
Beta Mare: The second in command mare under the Lead Mare.
Omegas: Other stallions, sons/daughters to the leads, or the past leads who stepped down.
Mares: All mares under the rule of the lead stallion/mare.
Foals: Foals born from the betas and mares in the herd.

11. WARNINGS
- 25% warnings can be given out because of: posting below the limit two times, you post before you're accepted, failing to meet the signature criteria, failing to age any one of your characters (will be temporarily lifted if you have given notice that you will be absent),.
--50% warnings can be given out because of: posting below the limit after the 25% warning has been given, force claims a mare without knowing name, force breeds a mare without knowing name, offending a moderator or administrator, not following the rules when fighting.
--75% warnings can be given out because of: continued problems from the above 25% and 50% rules, you continue to claim mares without posting a claiming post in Herd Updates and state them as yours or complain that your herd is not updated.
--100% warnings can be given out because of: racial slurs, repeated fights with other members, and any repeated offenses of the other rules.
--If you continue to break rules after 100%, then you are banned for a week. Any sneaks or challenges will not be paused in your absence.
--Admins and Mods firstly give out verbal warnings to those who break the rules. If they continue to break the rules, they will get a warning.
--Any retaliation to verbal warnings will automatically send you up to 20% warning.
--If you feel that you have been judged unfairly by a staff member, please, private message an admin about the problem.
- The password to the Enlistment board is "equine"

12. STAFF
12.1. Requirement
- You must have been a member at least two [2] monthes.
- You are active to the staff's opinion.
- You have never been reminded the rules.
- You seem to help others and roleplay with everyone then just one group.
- You try to help everyone by giving them a good time.
- You enforce the rules even though it is not your responsibility.
12.2 Responsibilities
- Moderators may accept members, stop threads if rules are being broken, and give/take warnings.
- Head Moderators may accept members, update the reserved names, update the alliance count, update the record lists, update herds, and make announcements.
- We will not be accepted any admins from here on out.
12.3 Demotions
- Admins are allowed to demote staff.
- Head moderators can suggest a staff member to be demoted.
- Staff members can only be demoted if they; fail to follow the rules, use their power to only their benefit and do nothing to help the board, become to strict of staff members (this is after verbal warnings), are inactive, or fail to do any staffly duty at all.

Last Edit; July 15th, 2009
Homicidal Haku