Newbie Guide

Ahoy there! Warm greetings to new members and lurkers alike who have stumbled upon our site. This guide is designed to help direct and usher new people into joining our community and the roleplay.

Setting Up Your Account/Profile 

1. Members can set their avatar by heading over to Profile > Edit Profile where they are given the option to set a 150px x 150px avatar.

2. Under the Personal tab of the Edit Profile screen members can:

- Set their display name if they wish it to be different from their username
- Switch their email/password
- Set a status message that will show up on your profile and mini-profile.
- Set up a signature that will appear at the bottom every time you post. (People like to list their characters, link trackers/bios, or put art here)
- Set a bump policy for after how much time needs to pass before a member should poke you for a reply to a thread.
- Set pronouns, discord, and select whether or not your currently open to RPs. Members going on hiatus will typically set this field to 'no' instead of 'yes'.
- Set their hover image which appears on the mini-profile. This box must be a link to the image hosted on a site such as postimages and is 200px by 450px.
- Link their personal plotter or place for character biographies

3. Under the Settings tab of the Edit Profile screen members can:

- Set their forum preferences but keeping these to default is usually recommended. 
- Select which forum theme they would like to view the site as when logged in. We currently have ShoalClan as our default theme but EmberClan's theme is pretty sick. 

4. The rest of the other things found on the Edit Profile screen are either recommended to stay as default or changing them isn't necessary for the purposes of our site.

Warriors: Distant Shores features two unique clans; ShoalClan and EmberClan. Our two clans each go about their ways of doing things vastly different but still share parallels when it comes to some of their culture. It is also highly recommended to read our Island History thread injunction with this guide in order to choose a clan for your character! 

ShoalClan
"Well hello lovely drifter, it seems the stars have guided your voyage to us. I do hope the seas weren't too rough on you on your way in? Nonetheless, StarClan intended for you to wash up on our shores! Welcome to the clan of both tradition and courage. A ShoalClan warriors values StarClan above all, our choices are made purely by the guidance of our ancestors. We believe in a good days work, welcoming outsiders that the sea delivers to us.. and righting the wrongs of EmberClan. 

We believe StarClan designed us specifically to rectify the evil deeds on this island, by enacting justice upon the lesser clan. They are godless beings, and deserve to be treated as such! But I am sure you will learn more about them later. ShoalClan prides ourselves on the bettering of the mind, preparedness to fight and courage in the face of adversity. We are peacekeepers at our innermost core! Well- sometimes. 

Hopefully you find ShoalClan suitable to your liking, we make for an excellent forever home. From our white sandy beaches, tidepools and tropical forests you will find yourself most welcomed amongst our ranks of religious right-doers! May the stars continue to bless you dear friend!" 

- Coconutfur

EmberClan
"You are lucky to be alive traveller, it seems the volcano has caught your attention, no? Chased by a Komodo dragon?! Well whatever. You are here now. Welcome to the mountain and deep forests of EmberClan. An EmberClan warrior values preparedness above all else, if you are not strong on this island you won't live long enough to add to your family tree. We make decisions out of pure thought out logic, none of that silly Star cat shit. I certainly hope you aren't one of.. those sand eaters.

We believe our purpose on this island is to make it survivable, it's a dog eat dog world and we intend on EmberClan being the top dog. Er- cat. That means pushing out our competition ShoalClan. We do so by being always vigilant, our battle preparation goes year round, training is thorough. We believe in strength in numbers and strength of the body. You are only as strong as your weakest link. And we have NO weak links. 

If you plan on sticking around, make sure you mention you got chased by a Komodo dragon on your way in. Getting some street cred right away won't hurt. You are gonna need it. If we're gonna need someone with guts to deal with those bubble babies across the island. Goodluck kid."

- Barracudateeth 

Outsiders
"Oh yikes! Where'd you come from? Don't you know not to sneak up on strangers? I almost knocked your block off! What- why are you laughing? Yes I would! Pfft. Whatever. What are you wandering around the no-mans land for? Huh. Wanna avoid the clan drama I hear? What a good choice! We outsiders have it pretty good, nobody to tell us what to do or where to go. We can cross borders whenever we please (as long as we dont get caught) and the best part is? We eat whenever we want!

We outsiders don't usually hangout together- if we ever do it's usually on that there shipwreck. We value individuality, it's tough living out here on our own! s-specially since most of us jumped from ships or got washed out before ending up here. Our days are full of lounging in the sun, eating whatever lizard crosses our path! Fish sometimes if you are lucky. The life of a loner is certainly full of the high life!

You are welcome to hang around the ship wreck as much as you need, it's a good way to hear the most updated gossip from all over the island. Though, you shouldn't get too comfortable. Us loners don't typically partner up all buddy buddy like.. I'm sure you'll fit right in!"

- Fig

Once you thought about the character you want to make and you've picked a clan it's time to submit your character to that clan's allegiance thread. Once you do that you do not have to wait for them to be accept you can just start roleplaying. Just be sure to follow our Site & Roleplay Rules.

- ShoalClan Joining Thread
- EmberClan Joining Thread

After submitting your character you can start off by making an open post of your character doing stuff either in that clan's camp or territory. Include [Open!] at the end of your post to let others know that they may interact with your character and wait to see if someone interacts. 

You can also make a thread in either our Plot Finder or Relationship Finder board to go into detail about what sort of roleplay you'd like to have with your character. For example, you can say you're looking for someone to go on either a hunting patrol or spar with with your character. Ads for adopts can be posted in either of these boards too if you're looking for someone to fill in for a character/relationship you'd like to have played by someone!

We also highly recommend joining our Discord! It's an amazing community hub where we talk and plot interactions for our characters. Hop into our #rp-finder channel to let everyone know that you're searching for roleplays for your new character. Generally, this is the fastest way to find someone to roleplay with.