DEADWALK CLAN
created by staff and @Honiydu

The remnants of a far-away Clan dedicated to the art of omni-theist theater once rekindled their appeasement practices in the Riverlands, providing entertainment and Gathering-focused assistance to many of their neighboring Clans in the name of appeasing all things divine and devilish...only to descend into violent crime and rites of blood sacrifice during the Plague Years, re-enacting the sins of their Valeheart ancestors and facing the same punishment, their remaining faithful slain or forced to flee the Riverlands.

20 moons ago, a new Deadwalk came together where the old once stood, harboring a bitter and ironic secret: Among their number are the once-dead, brought back to life by an unknown power. For now, they live in fear of drawing outside attention and focus on finding answers to the mysteries of the present and a peaceful path forward.

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Founded: 39 moons before 6th Era

Faith: Antitheist

Code of law: The Old Laws + The Litany of Sins

Territory: Deadwalk + Tanglenest

Culture: Artistic, prescriptive, charitable, harrowed, reclusive

Art and symbols: Textiles, ceramics, waxworks, communal kilns, communal feasts, candles, grebes, foxes

Food and medicine: Meat pastries, sugary jams, baked chips, pressed pills, medicinal powders

Outsiders: Tolerated, feared

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POLICY

Crimes might be punished with long-term imprisonment or exile

• Murder, assault
• Harming kits
• Harming any outsider
• Religious proselytizing
• Forcing a Clanmate to keep living in the Clan
• Leaving camp alone
• Letting outsiders into the Promenade
• Leaving camp before 12 moons
• Working before 18 moons
• Courting cats younger than 24 moons

Allows

• Half-Clan romance and half-Clan kits
• Retirement after 80 moons, or under special circumstances
• Clan members' outsider mates joining the Clan with a Guide's permission

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SPECIAL TRAIT

Reborn
For Deadwalk Clan, being undead is an available rare trait — unless they're marked as closed off in submissions, you can make one! Reborn cats are visibly indistinguishable from their peers, but they don't age physically and will simply become less energetic over time until they stop moving, often at wildly inconsistent rates between individuals. They don't live longer than other cats, but they can survive much more grievous injuries than others. Most recognize them by the chill of their bodies and the fact that they don't bleed (but their wounds CAN heal, just slower than living cats).

All Reborn were young adults or older when they died; there are no kit, paw, or adolescent Reborn.

Reborn cats can't sire or bear kits. They are able to try, but nothing will come of it. As an alternative they sometimes "adopt" newer Reborn instead or form closer familial attachments to their apprentices.

Most Reborn cats feel a strong disconnect between who they are now and who they were before their resurrection, and most of them have missing, jumbled memories to some extent.

Deadwalk cats have continued to resurrect since the first Reborn woke up.

Reborn characters' ages should be tracked from the day they resurrected, not the day they were originally born.

Many Reborn characters have chronic nightmares and trouble sleeping, but there's no clear pattern indicating a specific supernatural influence — if you want yours to have these, they can be about anything!

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LIMITED RANKS

Guide
The most trusted healers and moderators in the Clan and the only ones allowed to make leadership decisions of any kind. They draft and document additions to the Litany, preserve Clan history, provide medical care, keep peace between Clanmates, and represent the Clan in diplomatic affairs. Clan decisions are made collectively at Clan meetings as much as possible.

Guides are chosen through the recommendation and approval of their non-Guide Clanmates, but are allowed to refuse the position.

They have no special titles or name changes, but are identified by some manner of highly visible white cloth accessory, usually a ribbon or veil of some kind.

They are allowed (and encouraged) to retire when unfit for the role, and can be challenged and deposed by the Clan anytime.

Guides are directly elected by the Clan when the need for a new one is called. Anyone older than 12 moons can call for an election.

Seeker
Clan members given special permission to travel outside their home territory in the name of finding answers to the Clan's rebirth. They use any approach at their disposal to make contact with the divine and unravel the secrets behind the resurrection of Deadwalk. When not investigating, they provide spiritual and emotional counseling to their Clanmates and help plan new works for the Grand Audience.

Deadwalk Clan believes the gods and powers of every faith coexist on an invisible plane they call the Unknown. Seekers pursue ways to commune with the powers of other faiths, often by learning from the cats and cultures that worship them.

The Grand Audience is an old concept from the days of Valeheart, a catch-all term for any gods and spirits that might be watching and influencing mortal life. Deadwalk artists usually dedicate their works to them, but those dedications are usually appeasing, not affectionate.

Like WC canon medicine cats train in herbal medicine, Deadwalk Seekers train in combat and survival techniques, which they need to travel safely.

New Seekers are chosen by current Seekers, and training can start at any age. Cats with magical aptitudes are most likely to be picked.

It's very rare that anyone in Deadwalk Clan wants to be a Seeker; it's known to be a dangerous and frightening job.

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COMMON RANKS

Provider
The healers, trappers, and defenders of the Clan. They use a variety of traps to catch prey and defend Deadwalk from intruders, but keep their movements outside camp limited to Deadwalk and Tanglenest.

Anyone can make food and art in what free time they have and are allowed to perform on festival nights.

Direct hunting isn't the norm in Deadwalk Clan, since they're used to not having many cats available for the task. They mostly rely on trapping.

Most seekers start as providers.

Creator
The cooks, builders, and artists of the Clan. They usually stay in or close to camp and focus their efforts on complex creative projects like preparing Clan feasts and making props for performances.

As a result of their roots outside the Riverlands, the cats of Deadwalk don't have nearly the same fear of fire as many of their neighbors, and use both kilns and ovens.

Deadwalk Clan usually eats collectively at Clan feasts, one at first light and one at last light. Creators work together to decide what the menu is each day. Eating raw or preserved foods is frowned upon, but allowed.

This Clan's use of fire lets them make many materials, most notably ceramics, paper, and charcoal. Sketching and writing are fairly common in Deadwalk.

Most Guides start as creators.

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TRAINING RANKS

Apprentice
Deadwalk Clan doesn't make a legal/official distinction between kits and paws. When kits are born, the Clan prepares a drawing of lots at one of the next feasts in which each kit's path and mentor is decided before they open their eyes. Training starts at 6 moons, but juniors aren't allowed to graduate until they're at least 18 moons old.

Cats born in Deadwalk Clan start with single-word names from birth and receive a body-oriented suffix (ex. -claw, -tooth, -fur, etc) based on their talents from their mentor on graduation, along with a commemorative accessory that shows their mentor's approval. Deadwalk graduations are private affairs.

Cats of any age can't change roles unless continuing to pursue it is actively a danger to them or to others around them. Role changes have to be approved by an agreement between the Clan's guides, seekers, and the cat's mentor.

Deadwalk kits are raised in the nursery, and move to the dormitory at the end of their 6th moon.

Apprentices aren't allowed to leave camp until they're 12 moons old, but they have ample space to learn, play, train, and relax before then; the Promenade is a very large camp.

SERPENTREST CLAN
created by staff and @rusticknight

Lasthaven was not the only Clan to assemble from the ranks of Plague survivors. Those who had suffered the disease and come away with debilitating chronic conditions needed the support of a community to survive, and in the caves near Bluelake thought to be infested with venomous snakes, some among the needy gathered with what little family they had left to build one. The stern rule of their queen, a Lost Clan survivor called the Ocean's Voice, helped them find direction and unity for a time, but over time, she loosened her grip for the good of her Clan, and ultimately took their monarchy with her to the grave.

Disease would continue to ravage Serpentrest into the final moons of the Plague's reign in the Fifth Era, inspiring them to industrious solutions to their needs: They chose ingenuity and inventiveness as their top priority, all in the name of turning their home into a place where the labors of survival could be simplified or even eliminated through the creation of new tools and wooden machines, and where what labors could not be changed could be divided more equally to lessen the load on every cat's shoulders.

With time, Serpentrest Clan's growth has rivaled or even exceeded Lasthaven's in many ways, especially when it comes to political and mechanical sciences. Today, they use the hydra, the many-headed snake, as a symbol of their community and policy, while their religious beliefs center around the duality of the unchanging Stars — death — and the evolving Sea — life.

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Founded: 92 moons before 6th Era

Faith: The Sea and the Stars, an interpretation of StarClan and the Celestial

Code of law: The Guild Covenant

Territory: Bluelake Cove + Bluelake Cove Camp + Serpent's Rest

Culture: Industrious, collectivist, matrilineal, pragmatic, private

Art and symbols: Gemstones, air-cured ceramics, shell, family symbols and signatures, water motifs, the hydra, fish

Food and medicine: Raw lake fish, molluscs, berries and root vegetables, honey; mineral lotions and oils, berry and seed-based syrups and losenges

Outsiders: Cautiously curious

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POLICY

Crimes addressed with counseling and policy changes, exile as a last resort

• Murder, assault
• Hiding/hoarding Clan resources
• Training before 7 moons
• Bringing untrained cats into workshops
• Bringing kits and sprouts out of camp
• Half-Clan romances
• Abandonent of one's Clan
• Sabotage

Allows

• Retirement after 35 moons
• Changing guilds
• Name changes
• Unqualified Trial participants
• Half-Clan kits (kits are not punished for their parents' crimes)
• Challenging authority figures

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SPECIAL ACTION

Voice
The Voice is the representative, announcer, and chief policymaker of the Clan, responsible for correcting deputies, settling guild disputes, and setting new goals for the Clan. Any cat who isn't already a deputy can take action and serve as a Voice as long as they have majority approval from the Clan's deputies or guild majorities, and cats can only act as Voice for a maximum of two moons each year. Approval votes are re-cast every moon, but can be requested by any member of the Clan as well.

The annual two-moon limit can be divided across separate moons, weeks, or even days.

The role of Voice is commonly understood to be both a civic duty and an act of service.

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LIMITED RANKS

Deputy
The head of one of Serpentrest Clan's five guilds, who conducts guild ceremonies, oversees Trials of Proving, and advocates for their guild's interests in private decision-making meetings and votes with other deputies. Titles and other duties vary by guild, but this position can only be attained through the completion of a Trial of Leadership, in which all interested candidates and the current deputy present creations or concepts to be judged by the guild's eldest branches. Trials of Leadership will only he held if at least three challengers participate, excluding the current deputy. There is no term limit, but long tenures are frowned upon in all but the diviners' guild.

Titles by Guild:

• The Builder's Hammer (crafters' guild) - Supervises large-scale building projects for safety, monitors Clan supply stores and arranges resupply patrols
• The Delver's Lantern (delvers' guild) - Arranges and monitors caving expeditions, directs Clan search and rescue efforts when needed
• The Serpent's Tongue (healers' guild) - Hears and defends Clan members' grievances and requests, decides guild medical priorities
• The Angler's Watch (divers' guild) - Monitors the lakeside and directs water rescues, decides Clan fishing and diving hours and locations
• The Ocean's Will (diviners' guild) - Archives and presents guild divinations, directs Clan ceremonies and pilgrimages

Every deputy is regarded as a master of their craft, though they might not be the most skilled in their guild; the Trial of Leadership tests challengers' understanding of their guild's work and culture, not just technical abilities.

Branches must guide one assigned apprentice through their Trial of Proving and oversee one Trial of Learning before they're eligible for the role of deputy, but cats who don't meet those criteria can still participate in challenges in order to learn and prepare. Unqualified branches can't be chosen as new deputies.

While there isn't always a set schedule, Serpentrest Clan's guild deputies are required to meet and share information at least once every moon. New and full moons are common markers, but meetings might not happen on those exact nights.

Deputies can meet informally with one another to share information and negotiate guild politics anytime; friendships, alliances, and rivalries are commonplace.

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COMMON RANKS

Branch
Full adult members of the Clan. They train apprentices, assist with Trials of Proving, conduct Trials of Learning, and provide for their Clan. Innovation is a branch's central responsibility, with lasting contributions to their guild and Clan's way of life being one of the most encouraged aspirations in the Clan. Concepts are traditionally submitted for review at Clan faires, which happen once every season.

Guilds:

• Crafters' Guild - Builders and artisans, who make the tools the Clan uses and the structures they inhabit; the most diverse guild
• Delvers' Guild - Miners and foragers, who provide the raw materials for Clan crafting; the most adventurous guild
• Healers' Guild - Clinicians and chemists, who make minerals into medicine and save lives; the most demanding guild
• Divers' Guild - Fishers and divers, who provide food for the Clan and keep the Cove healthy; the church of the Sea; they must give honor to the water every morning
• Diviners' Guild - Prophets and historians, who observe the past and present to see the future; the church of the Stars; they must give honor to the sky every night

Proving ceremonies are almost always conducted by the deputy of the graduate's guild or that deputy's chosen representative, but any member of the Clan is welcome to attend.

Serpentrest Clan cats may divide themselves by discipline and thus across the lines of guild politics, but friendships and bonds of community regardless of guild are considered essential to the survival of the Clan; no one gets left behind.

Branches choose who they want to mentor, often before a young cat's Trial of Choosing, or if there are no volunteers, one is chosen by their guild's deputy. It's not uncommon for cats who wished to mentor a cat who apprenticed to a different guild to still be involved in that cat's life as role models and confidants.

After the Trial of Proving, changing guilds becomes more difficult, and much more so as a cat grows older; guild elders with long guild tenures are essential to the stability of Clan politics.

Branches keep their rank for life, and are generally believed to provide for their Clan well into old age simply by living through Clan history. Teaching and political service are always a choice and not an expectation; SerpentClan maintains a policy of not forcing any cat to work, outside of completing their childhood Trials.

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TRAINING RANKS

Apprentice
Mentor and apprentice inagurate their new bond by traveling outside of camp together to get familiar not only with the territory, but with one another. From then on, they work together as a tight-knit team on the project that will earn the apprentice the full adult rank of branch in the Trial of Proving. Apprenticeship is, for most cats, the busiest part of one's life, a near-constant rotation of sleeping, studying, practicing, and preparing. Most have to attempt the Trial of Proving multiple times before they finally succeed, and that's generally understood to be part of the learning process. Most mentors defer to their apprentices when it comes to setting goals and making plans, only stepping in to provide guidance and guard rails.

The Trial of Proving is still a collaborative process outside of the bond between mentor and apprentice; much of an apprentice's study time will be spent with other members of their chosen guild and with the guilds whose specialties will help them with their project and presentation. This period is all about learning how the different Sperpentrest guilds operate and how they work together to help their Clan thrive.

Sprout
After facing their Trial of Learning, sprouts are allowed to accompany guild branches and apprentices into work areas, where they learn the fundamental techniques of each guild they were tested on and build upon their failures in their first Trial. At 12 moons, sprouts are allowed to re-attempt the same challenges from their Trial of Learning in a Trial of Choosing. Those who pass are allowed to choose which guild they want to join, and they're usually mentored by one of the adjudicators of their Trial of Choosing.

All Trials but the Trial of Leadership are meant to be tackled through teamwork; for some, this means working with others of the same rank only, while others might enlist help from apprentices, branches, and even ambitious kits. Every sprout involved in a successful Trial of Choosing will pass on to the rank of apprentice, regardless of the nature of their contribution.

Sprouts are much more independent than kits, but still spend all of their time inside camp, moving from workshop to workshop when not resting or playing with their campmates.

Milestones are still Clanwide events for sprouts, but much fewer in number; most notable are one's first craft and first failure, as well as the notorious first escape, in which a sprout successfully sneaks outside of camp before they're officially allowed to leave and safely returns home unharmed.

Kit
The youngest cats in the Clan, with no specific responsibilities. Kits are raised communally by their family and their parents' guilds, and they learn about Clan culture and history from the Clan as a whole. Kithood milestones like first ventures outside of their family's den and first errands are often Clanwide events traditionally supported by every bystander. When they're ready, kits will team up to take the Trial of Learning, a set of skill challenges set by the branches of each of their parents' guilds. Kits almost always fail their Trial of Learning in the practical sense, but simply trying will make a kit eligible for graduation to the rank of sprout.

Serpentrest Clan doesn't have any set tradition of naming, but hortative names — names in the verb or imperative tense, or names that evoke specific virtues — are known in the Riverlands as a distinctive Serpentrest quirk. Many in this Clan have names that tell them what to aspire to or warn them against certain mistakes.

Many in Serpentrest Clan take the bonds of family extremely seriously. Legacy names are very common, with some even passing a specific name down across generations in some way. Many in Serpentrest have names in the same style as their mothers or nonbinary parents, with paternal name inheritance being relatively rare.

FRINGE GROUPS & INDEPENDENT CATS

While Clan life used to be the norm, the Plague Years has left many Clans in the Riverlands shattered, with many cats' faith in community deeply shaken if not entirely destroyed. As a result, the modern era is one where encounters with outsiders -- from friendly and wary strays to hostile renegades to foreign travelers -- are commonplace, and because of their numbers, relations with them are of tremendous importance to any Clan or group.

Outsider backgrounds work a bit differently here than they do in the four Clans' forest or lake territories; humans rarely visit the Riverlands or the regions closest to them, meaning the vast majority of outsiders are either descendants of Riverlands residents or travelers on far-ranging journeys. Most outsiders here have some kind of Clan ancestry and hold opinions about Clan politics deeply rooted in their feelings about lost homes, lost histories, and failures of leadership.

Some organize into fringe groups, too small, new, or disorganized for most to accept them as proper Clans, but united under some agenda, whether that's seeking sanctuary, enacting revenge, or something else entirely. Some might become fully recognized Clans someday.

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OUTSIDER BACKGROUNDS

Renegade
Renegades are (mostly) cats descended from lost Clans -- those that dissolved during the Plague Years -- who regularly antagonize Clan cats in a variety of ways, and for a variety of reasons, sometimes targeting one specific Clan and sometimes aggrieving any Clan cat unlucky enough to cross their path. Some organize, some don't.

A small number of renegades are not from any Clan in the Riverlands, but sympathize with other renegades' causes or see something to gain from conflict with Clan cats.

A renegade can have a prefixsuffix name or a single-word name.

Stray
Strays are (mostly) cats descended from lost Clans who are indifferent to or abide by the existence of the modern Clans for one reason or another. They keep to themselves, might provide teaching and aid to their friends and family, and might be aloof or friendly toward Clan cats, or toward renegades, but they don't often directly participate in Clan politics beyond what impacts simply living in the Riverlands might carry.

A small number of strays are not from any Clan in the Riverlands, but live with or advocate for other strays' survival and dignity.

A stray can have a prefixsuffix name or a single-word name.

Traveler
Travelers are cats who come from places beyond the Riverlands. They might come from far-away Clans, families, or households, or they could have inherited a life on the move. Some are proud of their journeying ways, while others are looking for a place to put down roots. They're extremely diverse in almost every way, but many are unified by a well-earned confidence in their survival and navigation skills.

Travelers are rare in the Riverlands, and it's even more rare for them to stick around.

A traveler can have almost any kind of name, but Tribe- and DOTC-inspired names aren't allowed in this RP.

All housecats in this rp must be travelers; there is no nearby Twolegplace. They're considered rare and interesting by most in the Riverlands. The assumption that housecats are soft and lazy -- and the underlying fatphobia -- is not the norm in the Riverlands. Good health and low-effort living are admired, envied, and celebrated.

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FRINGE GROUPS

Fringe groups will be added here once players have fleshed some out!