NPCs are non-player characters used to populate the game world outside of the characters we write for. There are two types of NPC at Wolf:
Event NPC: Unnamed animal NPCs used to make everyday roleplay more interesting, engaging, or dangerous. These can range from prey animals to competing predators and even other wolves. Event NPCs do not have associated accounts and do not impact the game world in any significant fashion. While we permit the use of event NPCs for small animal familiars, such as a raven that accompanies your character, wolf and large predator NPCs may not have a persistent presence or provide an advantage to played characters. In other words, a wolf character cannot have NPC wolf companions or large predator guardians. Additionally, event NPCs may never be used to gain information a character would not otherwise have access to.
Character NPC: Character NPCs are previously played characters or puppies born in-game that are controlled by their pack or relatives. An associated account with the NPC rank is required for a character NPC to exist. Their primary purpose is to allow characters to persist in the game world without being actively written. Players may reference these NPCs either in passing or as active thread participants, but they may not be used in combat scenarios or any situation where their presence would grant a played character an advantage over another. Character NPCs cannot be injured or killed and must always be referenced in a way that respects their established personality and traits unless otherwise indicated by their writer.
Pack Wolf: Request NPC status from your Pack Manager(s) directly. This should be done prior to your character falling inactive.
Loner/Pledged: Request NPC status in Maintenance. This must be done prior to your character falling inactive.
For puppies under 6 months of age, an IC adult guardian may request NPC status on their behalf in either of the above situations, provided the puppy player has not indicated otherwise. This overrides the requirement for the account to be active. In case of disputes, players always have final say on the NPC status of their own character.
- When requesting the NPC rank, you must fill out the NPC field in your profile. This gives other players something to reference for your character while you are away.
- Characters may occupy the NPC rank for a maximum of 6 months. They will then be automatically removed from the NPC rank and assumed to have left the game setting if they are not reactivated.
- Character NPCs are exempt from the 2 week activity period but may not post while titled as an NPC. If a player wishes to resume writing for their character, they must request that the character be removed from the NPC rank before they begin to post.
- NPCs are considered existing characters that still occupy a member slot in their respective packs, but are not included in the active members count when considering pack disbandment.
- The NPC rank is ideally used only when it would not make sense for a character to leave their pack or family during a player absence. If players can collaborate and come up with an explanation for their character temporarily leaving during an absence, that is preferred.
- Should a pack disband, all associated NPCs are assumed to have left the Teekon Wilds or may request to become loner NPCs in Maintenance. These requests must come from the player themselves or an IC adult guardian in the case of puppies under 6 months of age. Please include which pack the character was an NPC for prior to disbanding in your request to bypass the active account requirement.