TABLE OF CONTENTS

Breeding & Litter Rules

1. On Ardent, a wolf does not reach sexual maturity until 2 years of age. However, a "Teen Pregnancy Pass" may be purchased from the Gemstone Store.


2. Female characters go into heat in the season which they were born beginning at 2 years of age. To breed outside their heat season a "Season Breeding Pass" may be purchased from the Gemstone Store.


3. When characters reach 8 years of age or older they are considered infertile and unlikely to conceive. For characters of this age to breed an "Aged Breeding Pass" must be purchased from the Gemstone Store.


4. For players to have a litter, both the mother and father must have 50 posts or more each, and must have a completed thread in which intent to mate or have children is made explicit. No actual breeding needs to occur; if you choose to not "fade" to a breeding scene, you must show a clear conclusion to that thread, and the final posts will be considered your conception date.


5. Mothers who belong to a pack may have up to three free pups; but a dice roll will determine the number of free pups in their litter. After this number is determined players are free to buy additional pups for their litter from the Gemstone Store; with the maximum amount of pups in a litter being 5.


6. Mothers who are loners, or members of a band, may have up to two free pups; but a dice roll will determine the number of free pups in their litter. After this number is determined players are free to buy additional pups for their litter from the gem-store; with the maximum amount of pups in a litter being 3.


7. Male characters may have up to 4 litters in an in-character year. To exceed this restriction an "Extra Breeding Pass" may be purchased from the Gemstone Store. Females may have up to 1 litter per in-character year.


8. If either parent of the litter has a rare trait that can be purchased in the Gemstone Store, the item is 25% discounted for the pup's player. If both parents have this trait then the item is 50% discounted from the store. These traits include extra height, albinism, abnormal color, odd colored markings, canine passes, large/small species passes, etc. This does not include markings types or jewelry. Please note that when getting "Full Abnormal Color", the color being purchased MUST come from the parents. The same goes for purchasing "Odd Colored Marking" passes at a discount. This means that if they parent(s) carry green colors, the pup cannot get a discount on purple colors.


9. Females are pregnant for one out-of-character month (30 days).


10. Birthing threads cannot be started before the due date (per Ardent time) and must be started within one out-of-character week of the date. If a birthing thread is not started within one week the litter is considered stillborn and the pups cannot be played.


11. Pup profiles must be completed and in acceptance on or before the pups' playable date, or they will no longer be playable or adoptable. That means two weeks after the due date, any pups not already in acceptance will be considered to have died or never to have existed (the parents' players will decide this depending on if they have been NPC'd up to that point or not).

CLICK HERE TO GO TO PUP APPLICATIONS

Concerning Litters with Multiple Fathers

1. Litters with more than one father will be exceedingly rare. As such, they must all be approved by staff before an app is posted. If it is not approved, only one father may be specified for the litter and this cannot be changed later.


2. Individual pups must only have one father - both male wolves cannot father the same pup. A pup will not carry traits from more than one father and it must be specified OOC which wolf was the father for each pup even if it is unknown in character. If a pup is readopted later the father can not be changed.


3. If the mating does not occur within the same thread, all mating threads must have begun within one out-of-character week of the other for a multiple father litter to be allowed.


4. All potential fathers must meet the post and age requirements for mating to be considered in the staff's decision. They may not father pups if they do not meet requirements, regardless of the circumstances.
5. All players whose characters are involved must specifically agree to it for it to be allowed; otherwise, their character cannot be used.

Concerning Incestual Litters

1. Effective immediately, there are now penalties for incest litters born on-site. These penalties vary in severity depending on how closely related the characters conceiving the litter are. Only the severity of the defect will be rolled by staff upon submitting a litter; players can choose which defect they want, as long as it fulfills the criteria listed.


2. Free pups will be rolled for defects first. Any potential paid pup slots will be rolled for as well, in case the players decide to purchase them. In terms of pups with defects, these pup slots must be used first. For example, if you roll 2 pups with defects and 2 without, you cannot simply make 2 pups without defects. You must use the pups with the rolled defects first.

Sibling Pairings: High chance (75%) of minor defect, medium chance (50%) of major defect.
Parent/Child Pairings: High chance (75%) of minor defect, small chance (25%) of major defect.
First Cousins & Child/Parent's Sibling: Medium chance (50%) of minor defect

Major defects include: Full blindness, full hearing loss, or infertility.
Minor defects include: Partial visual loss/visual impairments, partial hearing loss, limb deformities.

Note: This is a work in progress and may be changed at any time in the future.