FAQ -- come here first!

[Anastasia]

FAQ

the guidebook of rules and everything you'd ever need to know to get started!

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What kind of characters are allowed on Muzzle? 

At all times all members can create dogs. However, as you role play you earn biscuits. These allow you to buy lots of things from our site shop, such as special characters or enhancements for role play. You do have a ten character limit total, but if you adopt a character from another member that character does not count towards your total. Puppies or offspring during breeding do not count either. As the site gets more popular, the ten character limit will be increased. There is also an item in the site shop that allows you to create more characters that you can pay for with our site currency of biscuits.

How do the animals talk to each other? Won't the dogs just eat the prey animals?

Here on Muzzle the animals that are created by members are considered "superior". The defining characteristics are their ability to communicate with other species, have some capacity for empathy, use logic to make decisions and not pure emotion, and are aware of the world around them and conscientious of other species. The dogs, wolves, and other predators do have prey species they hunt, but those prey are not considered of the superior kind, otherwise meaning they are not characters that members had created. Just because you have a prey animal that is "superior" does not mean it can't get attacked, it just means that by the population of animals on the island it would be considered morally wrong. Of course, we don't allow power play so your character could not be killed or harmed without your permission. Most predators on the island do not threaten the lives of the superior prey, due to having an adequate moral code. 

How many accounts may I have? Are there any rules for that account?

At this time we only permit one account per person. This is to uphold the ten character limit for the members. It is suggested that your account is named after your main character, and that you refrain from posting or using personal information, especially if you are under the age of 13. Also, it looks much better to the community if your profile is all filled out and edited with an avatar and signature. To edit all your information, simply go to your profile and click "Edit Profile". If you are found having multiple accounts it is an immediate ban of both accounts.

How does aging work?

Since all characters and animals live different life spans, have vastly different diets and life experiences, aging is difficult here on Muzzle. Therefor as of now characters age double what they do in real life. For every one month, they age actually two months. This is to ensure plot flow happens quickly enough. Because of this, life expectancy's of characters are thrown out the window. This means that if you had a gerbil, per say, in real life they may only live up to 4-5 years. But on here, they may be four years old but have the youth of a two year old gerbil. How does this play out in role play? Well, in the land of Cattus all animals are considered immortal. As there is no pollution or corruption from human civilization on the island, the animals do not suffer from dying of anything except severe disease, attacks, or malnourishment. They will not die of old age. Animals still follow the traditional growth patterns, for example a puppy will still remain a puppy even up to two years (or one year in real life). Simply once animals reach adulthood the aging process slows down drastically on Muzzle. We also only age our characters in age bursts, that land once every three months. This means if you were to create a character that was three months now, when the next age bursts happens they will be six months of age. Be aware of the age burst date when you create characters. It can be found on the sidebar under the season tab.

What is Cattus?

Cattus is an island where the plot of Muzzle takes place. It is away from all human exposure. In fact, no animals have ever seen or heard of humans. There are three main territories as of now; aliquanto, calidum, and frigus. All three are described based on their temperature and the territories they hold. These territories were agreed upon many years ago by all animals of the island to not be owned by anyone. All species are free to roam and make homes here, and no groups are "allowed" to make claims, although with the vastly growing dog population things may change...

How do the seasons work on Muzzle?

Each month is a new season on Muzzle. With every new season, comes a new plot event that occurs affecting at least one of the territories of Cattus. Usually, it is some natural disaster that happens with the changing of weather. However, occasionally it can be a widespread disease that will allow you to kill off a character or some other grand site event.

Are there ever OOC events?

Yes, every month the site will host an out of character event to help you earn biscuits, our site currency. It could also be for exclusive items regarding the event. Usually these will be in the form of art competitions, advertising sprees, or rewards for activity IC events. Sometimes they might be simply activity checks or random drawings just to reward members. We usually reward around the holidays as well just to thank our members for being active.

Are there activity checks?

The site does host activity checks-- but they are relatively painless. Since we do have a character limit, all the staff does is at the end of every month they go through the character roster and go through the members to see if they've been active in the past month. If you have logged in and made one IC post that month, you pass the check. If you do not, your characters do not get deleted for that first month, they simply get put on freeze and you get sent a warning that they soon will be removed. The second month we go through again, and if you still have not made any activity, you will be marked inactive and characters will be deleted. If you go inactive, all of your characters get removed. If you have hit the character limit, we strongly encourage you to buy an item from the site shop that allows you to create more characters, or give some characters up for adoption instead of going inactive for two months. Your account itself will never be deleted from Muzzle, only your characters.

What are biscuits and how do I earn them?

Biscuits are the site currency. They are rewarded to you when you post in role playing boards and with them you can purchase special things from the site shop such as limited characters, breeding badges, pack and group creation, or OOC things like customization to your profile. The easiest way to earn biscuits is through role playing.

or all of the "IC"/in character boards, you will earn..

+5 for every new thread
+2 for every reply 

For all of the "OOC"/out of character boards you will earn...

+2 for every new thread
+1 for every reply

We do have a 50 word limit on Muzzle, this ensures that the role play posts are of quality. Most people find this incredibly easy to achieve, and often find themselves writing far more. When you post above this word count, you earn additional biscuits for however much above.

50 words above gives you +2
80 words above gives you +3
100 words above gives you +4
150 words above gives you +5
200 words above gives you +6
250 words above gives you +7
300 words above gives you +8
350 above gives you +9
400 above gives you +10

Another way to earn more is by ranking up. If you hover over your profile in the forums you can see what rank you are. They are based off ranks in a traditional wolf pack. The lowest is an Omega, and the highest is an Alpha. Each time you rank up you earn 50 extra biscuits.

At 0-10 posts you are a loner. 
At 11-50 posts you are an omega. 
At 51-80 posts you are a pup. 
At 81-120 posts you are a guardian. 
At 121-150 posts you are a scout.
At 151-225 posts you are a hunter. 
At 226-275 posts you are an elder. 
At 276-315 posts you are a sentinel.
At 316-375 posts you are a salutary.
 At 376-460 posts you are a delta.

At 461 posts you are an alpha.

Another final way to earn biscuits is through artwork, writing, or anything else you could give to others that they could give biscuits to you for. Members are allowed to trade biscuits only with each other, as well as donate. So if you have something to offer Muzzle, feel free to suggest. Muzzle is always looking for artists and graphic designers. Often times special site events will also give out biscuits or give more biscuits for posting and being active in them.

Are there any groups, packs, tribes, or anything else for my characters to join?

Yes! Muzzle does encourage groups and packs. Members are free to create packs for dogs and wolves. However, they cannot stake a claim on a territory or create a territory of their own until they purchase a territory badge from the site shop. These are relatively cheap however. There must also be one designated leader of the group, and one designated "regular pack member" of the group. Once this is fulfilled, a pack application can be filled out with important information about the group itself (such as its culture, beliefs, history, etc). From there the member who created the group is put in charge of who is accepted into the group, how they are accepted, and any and all plots that correlate with the group such as war, territory expansion, etc. Muzzle does not limit or control your packs in anyway, they are freely up to the members to decide their fate. As population of the site grows, there will be some standard site packs created that are free to join for all members. Packs and groups are considered any travelers in groups of more than three, excluding mates and pups. "Packs" are not limited to just wolves and dogs, but pertain to all animal species. Although they may fall under different names such as "herds", "tribes", or "clans". (yes, warrior cats are permitted)

How does breeding work on Muzzle?

Every two months a random draw is done to see if it will be a breeding month. If so, characters of all species are allowed to breed that month, without paying forth any biscuits. If one wishes to breed in a non-heat month, then they must buy a breeding badge from the site shop, which is rather quite expensive. This is because bred characters do not count towards the character limit. Once you both have a breeding badge, or two for yourself if breeding one of your own characters, you can then breed. To do this, post in the breeding forum the forms of the young you both are having. Each young must have its own topic. From there, young cannot be born earlier than two months after that posted date. During that time you can role play the pregnancy if you chose. The young will be approved and added to the roster on the two month date. There are breeding acceleration items in the site shop available for purchase with biscuits.