1. Reading: Read the Rules and Plot pages! Browsing parts of the RP Guide is also a good idea -- check the page tags to the right hand side and look for "Beginner" articles. If you're totally lost as to how to join, check the Quick and Dirty guide. Also make sure you read this page, our Joining information; it's especially important!
   
2. Character: You should have a basic idea for a character -- age, appearance, personality. You will need to fill in your character's forum profile as part of the application process.
   • NOTE: If the prospect of creating a new character is overwhelming, check the Open Characters for adoptable characters. Adoptables generally come with on-board family or old friends, and this may help you to find plot and thread opportunities!
     
3. Registering an Account: When you're ready to join, register an account under your character's name. This should be their full, "legal" name and must be properly capitalized and spaced. Please do not include titles or nicknames in the account name. If you need your account name changed, post in the Maintenance Thread: do not re-register.
   
4. Pack: We recommend new members join packs. Check the Game Statistics for some numbers, and check the Active Pack Summary. If you're not sure or you can't make up your mind, you may join as a Loner and join a pack later, of course.
   
5. Questions?: Check out our FAQ -- it has an extensive section on joining! Any specific questions you have may be posted to the Questions & Help forum or private messaged to a moderator or administrator.
   

Restrictions

• The minimum playable age for newly arrived characters is seven (7) months. Puppies (canines between two (2) and seven (7) months of age) joining the game must have been born on-board and adopted (i.e. they must have previously been yNPCs).
  
• Salsola rejects non-Luperci and does not accept OOC joiners.
  
• Del Cenere Gang restricts membership to canines with coyote or dog heritage who are under 50% wolf.
  

Character Information

Your character profile must be complete at the time of joining. The required profile fields are Sex, Species, Date of Birth, Luperci, Appearance, Biography, and Personality. A minimum of two paragraphs (~200 words)* is expected for the Biography, Personality, and Appearance sections.
*200 word requirement: while 'Souls does not enforce a word count minimum in posts, we require 200 words per section/per example in joining applications.

Joining Form

Prospective members should grab the joining form. Once your form is correct, post it to the Joining forum.

Code:

[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Character Birthdate: (Including year)[/b]
[b]Sex:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b] (If your character is a canine, add subspecies.)
[b]Is your character a Luperci?:[/b] (Not applicable to non-canines.)
[b]Other 'Souls Characters:[/b] (List other active characters here. Not required for new members.)
[b]How you found 'Souls?:[/b] (Not required for returning or current members.)
[b]Are you joining a pack?:[/b] SL, CdC, DCG, NC, LN
[b]If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC?:[/b]
[b]Profile:[/b] (Link to your character's profile. REMEMBER: the Appearance, Biography, and Personality sections should be 200+ words.)

1. Character Name:
   
2. Character Birthdate: (Including year)
   
3. Sex:
   
4. Species: (If your character is a canine, put their subspecies.)[
   
5. Is your character a Luperci?: (Not applicable to non-canines.)
   
6. Other 'Souls Characters: (List other active characters here. Not required for new members.)
   
7. How you found 'Souls?: (Not required for returning or current members.
   
8. Are you joining a pack?: SL, CdC, DCG, NC, Loner
   
9. If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC?:
   
10. Profile: (Link to your character's profile. REMEMBER: the Appearance, Biography, and Personality sections should be 200+ words.)
    

Joining a Pack

1. Character Name: Bobjoe McWolf
2. Character Birthdate (including year): 30 July 2018
3. Sex: Male
4. Species: Wolfdog (25% Grey wolf, 75% retriever mix)
5. Is your character a Luperci?: Yes
6. Other 'Souls Characters: N/A
7. How you found 'Souls?: Googled "werewolf RPG" and found 'Souls among the list~
8. Are you joining a pack?: Not yet, I will decide in-game.
9. If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC?: OOC
10. Profile: [link]

Bobjoe's profile should be filled according to the application details (sex, species, date of birth, Luperci status), along with the three additionally required sections (Appearance, Personality, Biography), shown below. Other profile fields, like Relations and NPCs, are not required.

Appearance: Bobjoe would be considered small for a wolf, but his dog heritage shows through clearly in his half-folded ears, nearly uniform tan coat, and slightly wavy fur. The tan color lightens a little on his underside and on his arms and legs, where the fur's a little shaggier. There's also some dark speckling in these areas, and his eyes are a deep forest green. Bobjoe has a a number of small, barely noticeable scars along his muzzle; a much longer and more prominent scar runs across his left flank, indicative of an old knife wound. He walks with a noticeable limp, but it doesn't seem to slow him down much.

Bobjoe spends most of his time in his unshifted Lupus form. On occasion, he might be found in his Optime form to make use of hands, but still, he eschews even the smallest signs of humanization, preferring to go entirely unadorned -- no clothes, no collars or necklaces, no belts or bags or satchels. Though much slower and a little awkward, Bobjoe will sometimes move on all fours even in his Optime form, crawling over trees or rocks like a primate. He might run in an upright position, but more likely, he would shift back to a four-legged form for that.

Personality: Bobjoe is a taciturn fellow, preferring to listen and observe more than anything else. He often allows others to speak at length, taking his time to form his own opinions and words. His quietness should not be mistaken for demureness, however; the wolfdog has a sure confidence and self-sufficiency and has no patience for arrogance or presumptuousness on the part of others. He is respectful of authority and generally does not take issue with deferring to those in higher ranks as long as he perceives them as being deserving of their positions.

Bobjoe won't tolerate abuses of power, but he is not an open rebel. Rather than clash with abusers directly, he prefers to covertly rescue any victims he can, and then to flee quietly into the night. When he does speak, it's always with a firm, steady voice, something difficult to argue against or debate with. This surety is often intimidating, and Bobjoe is aware that he comes off as such. His voice and demeanor are commanding and dominant, and attempts to appear kinder and more easy-going are generally awkward at best and borderline threatening at worst. Still, he means well and tries his best.

Biography: Bobjoe grew up in a relatively reclusive pack whose territories were nestled in a small, hidden valley in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While their ancestry was of the wolf and wild; over time and generations, their appearance became more and more doggish. Still, the pack kept to their roots, sticking to their four-legged forms and traditional lifestyles though they gradually forgot the time before they gained the ability to shift. Their two-legged form was simply unnecessary and uninteresting to them, and they were content to maintain the old ways.

Unfortunately, this left them ill-equipped to clash with the invaders that found their valley. The enemies that came, came in riding horses and wielding long, pointed weapons with a much longer range than mere teeth. They struck from a distance, but were formidable up-close as well -- though they made use of blades and knives, they were not lacking in teeth and claws, either. Bobjoe's pack did not last long, and those who were not killed outright became separated and scattered.

Unable to locate and reunite with the other remnants of his pack, Bobjoe traveled through areas and territories unknown for a time, taking in the vast breadth of Luperci communities across the continent. Still, knowing that he had no home to go back to, he eventually tired of wandering and now hopes to find a new place to settle.

Make sure you've grabbed the joining form from the Joining forum.

• Character Name: This should match your forum account name. If you need your account name changed, you may do so via your User Control Panel. A staff member will need to approve the request before your account reflects the change. Please do not register a new account.
  
  
• Character Birthdate: This should be relative to the current, actual time -- for example, if your character is two years old and the current year is 2021, your character would have been born in 2019. For an age and maturity chart, refer to the RP Guide. The minimum playable character age is 7 months unless the character was born on-board and adopted.
  
  
• Character Species: Species should make sense given your character's biography and the game's playable area (Eastern Canada) -- for example, if you're playing a jackal, you should explain how a African species got to North America. We provide a detailed Species Guide, complete with maps and information about individual species. Purebred dog breeds are not allowed and should not be referenced in your character's direct ancestry. General references to breed mixes, such as "Borzoi mix" are acceptable. Your character can have the appearance and characteristics of a purebred; they just can't actually be a purebred.
  
  
• Luperci: You must state whether or not your character is a Luperci. Note that your character can join as a non-Luperci and become one later. Species outside the genus Canis, such as foxes, cougars, bears, etc, cannot be Luperci.
  
  
• Pack: State whether or not you want to join a pack. If you can't come to a decision, that's fine! Join the game as a Loner first, and choose your pack later.
  
  
• If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC? There are two methods of joining a pack: you may opt to join the pack as a part of your game application (OOC) or you can join the pack In Character (IC).
  
  
• Profile: Please fill out your profile to match the character sex, birthdate, species, and Luperci status given in your application. Additionally, the Appearance, Personality, and Biography sections are required and should each be a minimum of 200 words. The other portions of the profile are optional.
  

1. If you're joining as a Loner, start considering your pack -- check the Active Pack Summary for a list of current packs as well as a brief overview of their culture, territory claim, and so forth.
   
2. You must create or join an in character thread within five days of your acceptance. If you're not sure where to get started, pick up an Open Thread -- or start one! You can also make a Thread Request. If you're joining a pack, get to know some members of that pack -- look out for pinned meeting threads, all welcome hunts, and other group threads to meet a few members quickly.
   
3. Expand your character profile! You can edit your profile in the UCP, add your character to the Wiki, or make a thread in the Post and Graphic Logs forum. Modifying Your Profile can help you figure out what you need to do.
   
4. Removal based on inactivity is done at the discretion of 'Souls Assemblage, which conducts regular sweeps. Accounts are not deleted, and you can always rejoin later.
   
5. You may create either a Post Log or a simple list of the threads you're a participant in to help keep track of your threads. Post either a link to your log in the Post and Graphic Logs forum or keep a simple list in your forum profile.

More Information

1. Writing Guidelines -- Check here for some guidelines about what we expect from prospective members.
   
2. Quick and Dirty Guide to 'Souls -- If you're confused as to what to do to join the game, check this out!
   
3. Joining Etiquette Guide -- The guide to In Character behavior when joining a pack.
   
4. Active Pack Summary -- If you're not sure which pack to join, this topic may help you! It presents all the packs we have side by side for easy comparison.
   
5. Joining Questions? -- Check the FAQ!