General Rules/Info

* FOR ADULTS: Adults, if you draw NSFW art, always remember to have some profile/character filters and warnings in place.
If you draw NSFW content, especially of "Them," but don't properly tag, filter, and label the art/characters... you can be removed swiftly.
If you have done all you can to keep stray kids from getting a hold of your stuff, but find out one has still been purposely dodging the warnings/content blocks, tell an admin immediately and the minor will be removed.

* FOR MINORS: Don't lie about your age, and respect the content that has been filtered and tagged NSFW. Toyhouse has a pretty well made process for keeping this content out of your sight, so if you do see it, I'd bet you're either purposefully dodging the warnings/tags, or an adult hasn't been filtering their NSFW properly. 

If an adult isn't filtering and you see something NSFW by accident, tell an admin immediately. We will confront and/or remove the member.
But if you are worming into NSFW areas that have been CLEARLY LABELED and should be BLOCKED OUT for confirmed under 18 members, then you are in the wrong for doing so. In that case, you will we removed.

* ON NSFW CONTENT OF THEM: I allow it to an extent. You cannot post NSFW art of any kind in any of the forums or sub-forums here. But you can add NSFW images to your character's profiles if you have the proper filters and profile warnings. If you do that, minors will not be able to see the content, and in some cases (such as with soft maturity blocks), can keep minors from your profile/characters all together.

What is this??

This is a world dedicated to a species I call "Them." I created it when I suddenly got really into horse genetics like a bucket of cold water. It spread to dog genetics... and now I am here. With you. All the genes interactions here are are fake, though some were inspired by dogs and horses. 

In recent months I've also gotten REALLY into documenting ARPGs on Fanlore, so a LOT of ARPGs have served as inspiration! ARPGs are great!

What are they again?

Wow, glad you asked! They are a semi-open, semi-closed species, obtained through various means (many free!), and congregated here in this group. In canon, they are demons evicted from Hell to make room for the sheer amount of people. To hopefully stay on Hell's good side, most demons hide in plain sight with magics. They make people believe they are just animals, or funny looking ones at least. It doesn't work on everyone. But when it does work, they use this to their advantage to multiply and spread across the globe.

Where and how can I get one of these funky folk?

You either buy, trade, receive as a gift, get in a raffle, get for free, or do a MYO. After you've got one you can start breeding your demons. Any offspring can be freely given away or traded! So if you don't want to buy or wait for a MYO, find someone who is trading or gifting Them. But I would appreciate it if someone bought one of my designs or babies now and then. A good place to start looking is the forum.

What are the purpose of titles?

Titles are how I track designs, so don't change them. It makes it so there can be duplicate names. If I need to find a character called "Sam," but there are 3 Sams, I will know which Sam I'm looking for by title. It's sort of how on Discord you have a username+numbers, so that you can change the visible name you go by. Your username+numbers will always be unique even if there are 50 people with the same visible name.
So again. Don't try to change your pre-made titles.

If I get one, can I sell them?

Depends. If you buy for $15, you sell for $15. If you get one for free, commission a $30 artwork of it, you sell that character for $30. You can sell, but you cannot make a profit. So you could buy for $15 and sell for $15, but buy for $15 and sell for $20 is a big NO.
Much of Them is obtained for free, so outside of official breeders like admins/mods and guest artist, you should not come into this game expecting to make money out of it. Failure to heed this rule can result in banning and being placed on a do not sell/buy from list.

What about trading/gifting?

Yes! You can trade one of Them for other characters outside or inside the species. Gifting is very welcome. Have fun + be nice!

Impish demons aren't original, so...

You are correct! I have no copyright over impish demons. Just don't go around telling everyone that your demon critter is "one of Them" when it's not.
Characters that are similar to the species, or are inspired by it, can't ever be used here. Obtain one legitimately to submit them into the world.

Commercial use, yay or nay?

Nay! Don't grab up one of Them, official design or user design, just to plop them into your novel or cartoon pitch or video game.
Just design your own demon characters. We won't tolerate blatant stealing of designs for your personal projects.

Can I make a human OC and submit them here?

Yep! Demons are heavily intertwined with humanity. If you intend to frequently use a human character, you can just go ahead and
make them their own character profile. Especially if you want to RP them separately. But if you just sorta stick them in the background
of roleplaying demons, you aren't really required to make them a whole separate thing. You can also self insert, by the way.
Take a pic of your living room and draw your demon chillin' in the love seat. 

Read more about human + demon relations in the general species guide.

Animal OCs, too?

Also yep. Animals are another thing demons interact with heavily. Just don't make the roleplay forum into a Warrior Cats forum.
Demons can understand animals!

Read more about animal + demon relations in the general species guide.

Explain the sex and gender of Them...

They are as versatile as humans with their gender and sexual identities. The only thing that must stay consistent is characters must either be able to get pregnant, or get others pregnant. This is usually what I put under "sex" when labeling an adoptable. Phrasing is taken from the Sims. Users do not have to list it this way, but it must be clear whether their character gives birth or not. At the moment there is no infertility, nor a way to change the character's sex once it's decided. However, there's nothing stopping you from saying that the character has had a sex change. For example if you get a character that says they get others pregnant, you can put in the characters history that it was once the opposite.

Still confused about canon vs. AU...

They are very open about how they are used. Canon is the lore and story, such as the bit on the front page. AU is anything outside of that. If your demon is sipping coffee while typing up their essay to finish a thesis paper, that's a good clue that it is an AU. There is a special forum for AU roleplay. 
There is a limit to how AU something can be before it is unable to be used within the group. If your demon is breaking its genotype, severely changing its design, adding unapproved mutations or anomalies, that demon is too AU for the world. It's okay if you maybe draw once what your demon would look like if they were a little different genotype wise or with a mutation, but please don't attempt to claim that as its true design.

Animals or demons?

Call them whichever. They are demons, but most humans see them as animals. Just keep that in mind when speaking in canon roleplay.

Inventory systems?

Go wild. There is no set inventory system. Dress your animal up however you would like, as long as it is appropriate for the world. Give your dude a knife if you feel the need... make that dude have a little frog in their pocket, idk.

In-game currency? Point systems? In game shops? Lots of ARPGs have those...

Hey! There is no in game currency. They'll probably season their soups with dollar bills to give it a unique flavor. Bone apple teeth!
There may be "rewards" in the future for players to tack onto characters later, though!

What are the ARPG elements?

This is being updated frequently as ARPG elements were not originally part of the plan. At the moment there is a way to track canon time, there are factions, and there will be canon roles within those factions, played by players. Later, staff are working to include things like stats.
If you're interested in community RP in this edgy little world, stay updated by joining so you can see when new bulletins are posted!

What if I don't wanna play in the ARPG or canon lore?

That's fine! You can take your Them character and plop them into any non-canon AU universe you want,
 so long as the design remains the same (i.e. not breaking its genotype or phenotype). To quote the Q from above:
"There is a limit to how AU something can be before it is unable to be used within the group. If your demon is breaking its genotype, severely changing its design, adding unapproved mutations or anomalies, that demon is too AU for the world. It's okay if you maybe draw what your demon would look like if they were a little different genotype wise or with a mutation, but please don't attempt to claim that as its true design."

Can I play in the ARPG AND be AU too?

Yep! You can even have two versions of your characters if you want. One that fits within the rules of ARPG canon, and one that's, idk, a used car salesman.
Just have fun and don't start like, adding bat wings and 6 legs and moth antennas to your AU versions.

I need help with genetics and breeding.

You can see the page here for science terms we use, the page here for genotypes, and the page here for rules on breeding.
Otherwise, ask an admin, a mod, or the forum for help.

I hear talk of 'pedigrees' and their benefits. What are they?

Pedigrees are just demons who are obtained a certain way, or have a profile set up a certain way.
They have received admin approval. They can do special things, like be entered into breeding clubs, or join contests.
Find the complete rule and benefit list for pedigrees at this page here.

Lying about being a pedigree can get you removed. You can check the registry for profile links
if you believe someone is lying. Not that anyone would lie :) That's silly.

I'm not great at drawing but now I have a baby Earthborn... help!

✦✦ You can use one of the free bases HERE to paint your character references! ✦✦

Can I breed my demon with someone else's without that person's permission?

Heck no. You need permission if you intend to breed an animal with another user.

Who owns the offspring if me and another person breed our demons?

When you breed your demon with another user's demon they produce 2 children, so both may have a child.
UNLESS you only want 1 child. Just decide amongst yourselves who keeps the 1 child.
However, when breeding your own two characters you keep any offspring, unless you later gift or trade.
Breeding your own two characters only has a 10% chance of 2 offspring.

Find more info in the Breeding Rules page.

Sooo my demon and another person's demon might look the same?

Yes. You can find people obtaining the same or similar genotypes, especially if you breed. If you play here, you must be
comfortable with this knowledge. There are more unique designs, but those are designed by admins, and their
more unique traits cannot be passed down to offspring. These can cost you money.