Do I expect you to read all of this? Not right away, but eventually yes. As of right now, what you mainly want to focus on is the Setting, the Mannerisms, and the Spirit Animals, so you are prepared for what you get placed in/can build a character around the one you want. You don't have to read word-for-word, just skim. Make sure you understand the basics before you start getting in depth, and always ask questions if anything is unclear!
Angeni is set in current times in an untouched part of land along the border of the United States and Canada. Seasons are usually cooler than average because of how far north it is, so the river is often cold, but not too cold for canines to swim in. At the top of the river is a small waterfall where the Fox Tribe resides. On the other end of the river to the left side is where the Wolf Tribe resides, inside a large bowl of land that may get flooded on particularly rainy seasons. The Bear Tribe lives in the thickest part of the woods on the left side of the river, opposite of the Wilderness where canines go to talk to Spirit Animals. The Owl has selected an open clearing among the woods for his followers, slightly to the right of Fox Tribe, and the Eagle took a high plateau between the Bears and Owls since his members are always higher than the rest. The Cynics have no pre-determined place to gather, so the leader can decide where they will live. The River divides Angeni, where the left side is the place for tribes and the right side is where the canines go to see the Spirit Animals or the Cynics live. The valley surrounding the river is a free-for-all for all canines, as the territories do not begin until the treeline.
As a member of the Bear Tribe, one puts his strength and his health before anything else, leaving intelligent conversation behind in the dust. Bear followers are sometimes a little slow in the head, and survive purely from brute strength. Often males of the Bear Tribe don’t talk much, and sometimes the females don’t talk much either. Bear followers are more likely to get into physical altercations than to talk a problem out, and will fight until someone makes them stop or until someone perishes. They often hunt large game in large groups to keep the pack well fed, and the Leader may opt to have a group of canines used specifically for hunting. They are like fair-weather pack members: fiercely loyal when it’s not needed, but when something goes wrong, they will turn tail and run if they have to risk their lives.
Bear followers often breed within their own tribe or with the Fox tribe. Breeding with someone of the Owl tribe is not only highly unlikely (because the Owl Tribe thinks the Bears are a little stupid) but forbidden, but other cross-tribe relationships are okay as long as there is a good reason for it and strong puppies are produced. Like any tribe, followers of the Bear Tribe will instantly drive out any Cynics near the border.
Being selected by the bear is a real good show of your strength and character. The Bear only chooses the strongest canines with the strongest hearts to be his followers.
Traits he looks for: Strength, courage, strong character, aggressive (in battle), caring (toward trusted canines), battle experience.
Benefits of Bear: No runts or stillborns in the litter.
Fox Tribe members are obsessed with beauty. If one where to look at this as all the tribes in a high school perspective, the Fox Tribe is the group of boys and girls obsessed with outward appearances and not personality. They are actually highly intelligent, but a little too full of themselves. They stick together for safety, but rarely communicate with one another. Any conversations between two Fox followers consist mainly of comparisons and trying to prove they are more beautiful than the other. They hunt on their own and eat only enough to satisfy their own hunger. They would rather let fresh prey go to waste then give whatever remains of their meal to someone else. Occasionally small cliques within the Tribe will form, often consisting of the Leader and the followers who want to get benefits for being the Leader’s friend. The clique doesn’t last long, however, because it usually dissolves when the truth comes out.
Fox followers rarely persue relationships within the Tribe, unless both the male and female are beautiful, and even then, it usually doesn’t last. Fox Tribe members will persue the Bear Tribe members, and occasionally the Eagle Tribe members. Fox followers persue Bear followers for the protection and strong pups, and the Eagle Tribe because they both have over inflated egos, but for different reasons. Fox followers are likely to cheat or just move on easily.
Being selected by the fox shows that you're quite a flirt. She doesn't care about the level of your commitment toward another as long as your heart is open to any and all.
Traits she looks for: Flirty, attractive, commitment-aphobe, cunning, devious.
Benefits of Fox: No mateship quest required for a full litter.
As anyone can guess, the members of the Owl Tribe are driven by their need to learn more and are brought together by their intelligence. They stay together as a pack only because they know they have a higher chance of surviving together than being a loner. One can often find an Owl follower standing more in the background, absorbing canine body language and habits to learn more about their fellow canines. Their conversations are often long-winded and full of confusing vocabulary that often stumps the “lesser” canines. They prefer to socialize within their own tribe because they don’t want to have to dumb themselves down for other canines. That is also why they avoid Bear followers at all time; Bear followers are just too slow for Owl followers. In a way, they are a little stuck up, but they have the IQ to back up their claims.
Owl followers will either breed within the Tribe or seek out and Eagle follower. Owl followers find Eagle follower’s sense of pride fascinating, and they want to produce pups who are smart and proud of it. They avoid Bear followers like the plague, and a relationship between an Owl follower and a Bear follower is cause for exhile from both tribes.
Being selected by the owl clearly reflects your intelligence, for the Owl is quite picky. He doesn't pick fighters, unless it is a battle of wits, which you would probably be the victor.
Traits he looks for: Intelligent, quiet, kept to yourself, not a fighter, sarcastic.
Benefits of Owl: Less likely to receive a loss because you outsmart any disaster.
Proud as the Eagles they follow, the Eagle Tribe is full of inflated egos. They are incredibly headstrong as well, and when they believe they are right, they rarely ever listen to opposition unless the proof is put directly in front of them. Each canine has their own reasons for their pride, some believe they have the intelligence of an owl or the beauty of a fox, and some are merely proud because they believe they have the best spirit animal out there. They talk down to other canines often unless they do something to gain their respect, and the Leader is most likely going to be the worst of them all. It is very likely that Leadership of the Eagle Tribe will be challenged for often, since every Eagle follower believes he or she is a better fit for the position.
Eagle Tribe members will either breed with Owl followers or Foxes. They covet the intelligence of the owls and the beauty of the Foxes so their children have a reason to be proud of themselves. They don’t often breed within the pack, because like the foxes, they would only argue about who was better.
Being selected by the eagle usually means you're a bit stuck up for some reason. Whether it is your intelligence, your looks, your strength, or your loyalty, the Eagle can easily see when you flaunt your traits as he does, and desires that in his followers.
Traits he looks for: arrogant, courageous, loud, strong, aggressive.
Benefits of Eagle: Bonus points due to your reckless battle manner.
As one would guess, the followers of the Wolf are bound to their own loyalty. Their tribe is very close, and members will rarely go out unless they need to hunt, fight, or breed. Males are protective of all the females, where there is mateship or not. They patrol the borders often, and rarely let anyone from another tribe in unless they are already mated to someone within the Tribe, which doesn’t happen often. They hunt together, sleep together, and will fall quickly into chaos if the pack tries to go separate ways. If a canine were to challenge for Leadership and win, he or she would have a lot to prove to gain the pack’s trust, since they are incredibly loyal to their original Leader. Canines work in the pack not for the glory of a higher rank, but for the good the pack. They view the Tribe as a family, no matter how different in size and appearance they are.
Wolf Tribe members rarely breed outside of the Tribe, and they definitely avoid Foxes. Wolf followers are so bound to their loyalty they would remain loyal to a fox no matter how many times he or she cheated on the wolf follower and that would only lead to misery.
Being selected by the wolf is considered an honor, for he is the most picky. He only picks the most loyal of dogs; ones that in the face of danger would die protecting their tribe and loved ones. Wolf followers tend to be admired whenever they actually leave their tribe's boundaries.
Traits he looks for: Loyalty, dependability, courage, kindness.
Benefits of Wolf: One extra pup per litter due to constant care of mothers.
Cynics are canines who have either abandoned their spirit animal or were exiled from their Tribe. Because they are shunned from all tribes, Cynics are forced to have relationships within their pack. If they were to fall in love with a Tribe canine, that canine would have to abandon his or her spirit animal to be with the Cynic. There is a sense of family within the Cynic pack, since they don’t have a spirit animal to turn to; they have to fend for themselves. Canines who have abandoned their spirit animal may have issues with other canines who dropped spirit animals opposite to them (for example, an ex-bear follower may have an issue with an ex-owl follower) but there is enough room in the territory to keep opposing canines far away from each other. There are no benefits to being a cynic, and there are no disadvantages (although canines are prone to personal losses if they abandon their spirit animal).
The act of official mateship is extremely important to the social structure of Angeni. Any canines who breed without an official mate are usually frowned upon and occasionally exiled from tribes. The pups produced by an unmated pair are often shunned in life too. To become mated, two canines must seek out their Spirit Animal's blessing. If they have two separate Spirit Animals, one mate must drop theirs and take on the other's. Couples that are mated will have one extra pup in their litter, and mated pairs that also have a home have another extra pup. Without mateship or a home, they can only have 3 pups max, and their stats will be low.
At each season change, I will take each active tribe with more than 3 members and roll a number for them between 1 and 10.
If a tribe rolls between a 1 and a 5, they get a loss.
If a tribe rolls between a 6 and a 10, they get a bonus.
Bonuses and losses are nothing too extreme. Losses will be simple like an illness a canine has to play out, and a bonus may be a feast for the tribe to play out.
After tribe bonuses and losses are rolled, I will assign a numeric value to every canine and roll for 5 of them, then roll a number between 1 and 10 for them. One canine will not experience two losses, but may experience two bonuses if they are lucky enough.
If you do not play out your bonus or loss, you may lose some points, or a loss will strike your dog every season until one is played out. If you need some pointers on how to play out a loss, just ask Jacquie!