Creation

All new characters start untasked and with the lowest rank of each pack. Even when you bring in an experienced or older member of the pack, you have to start them as Omega (in Taiga & Valgard) or Untasked (in Selcouth). This is so all new members have to pay for rank ups an nobody feels disadvantaged. 

The range of height has widened compared to realistic wolves of the 21st century. The dog blood has helped scale whole lines of wolves down considerably, while the reversion to their prehistoric mass has made other lines heftier than ever.

• Minimal Height: 26'' / 66 cm
• Average Height: 28-34'' / 73-84 cm (female), 30-36'' / 76-89cm (male)
• Maximal Height: 38'' / 96 cm

Weight doesn't need to be added to the application in measurements. Please just use short descriptions such as the following terms:

• Malnourished
• Underweight
• Below Average
• Average
• Above Average
• Overweight

You're welcome to add other modifying descriptors such as "Chubby", "Scrawny", "Muscular" or whatever feels right for the character.

!! Please keep in mind that due to the wolves' survivalist lifestyle, strongly under- or overweight wolves have a harder time getting through the day (hunting, scouting, defending their territory,...) and are more prone to illnesses. !!

Time in Kynheim passes equivalent to real life. One month is one month, one year is a year. That means that characters will age according to real time. Picking a new character's age will therefore be very important! A one year old youngling won't have the same knowledge or recognition within the pack as a 5 year old. It's not as easy as quickly boosting them up a couple years for plot reasons, but you'll have to either play out their life or retire them and bring them in at a later point as an aged version of themself. 

Age Stages:
1 - 4 months = Puppy (4 months)
5 - 11 months = Adolescent  (7 months)

1 - 3 years = Young Adult

4 - 7 years = Adult

8+ years = Senior

Life expectancy = Ø 10-12 years, up to 14 years in some cases

If you feel like you've chosen the wrong age for your character or want them to age up at a different pace, there are some circumstances under which you may be able to adjust it. You can apply for an age-change simply via group notes on dA, if:

• your character hasn't had any vital interactions with anyone yet
• you've actively played your character for a long time and have an in-game reason for an early age-up, for example a war-veteran retiring because of injuries or high stress
• if there's other valid in-game reasons

!! Please note that these requests may be declined if the admins feel like you're using them as a shortcut to age up your puppies or cheat your way to a more experienced character. !!

The required info for your character's written application includes their "Birth Month", which you may find a bit odd at first. The following paragraph will hopefully clear up all confusion!

Kynheim follows a RL time frame, it counts years and months similarly to our real life time system. Kynheim's time counting started at the atomic blasts of World War III that destroyed most of the world as we know it. More than six centuries have passed since then, leaving us at year 622 at Kynheim's launch.

The months are simply counted from one to twelve, so for example June of Kynheim's starting year would be 622/06. If you ever stumble upon these formats in applications, journals or on the website, you can be sure it's a reference to a certain time in history. To see what's been happening since then, please visit the History page of this website.

!! The wolves of Kynheim don't count years numerically. They instead remember seasons or events and explain the past through recalling of such. The counting is mainly for OOC purposes and to keep the game world structured !!

Joining Kynheim with character 6 months old or youngerrequires an adult guardian older than 3 years of age. Younger wolves - although they can technically have a litter themselves - are not trusted with the responsibility of taking in orphaned pups. 

In the case of public litter tryouts, the age of the parents doesn't matter, of course.

Eyes in Kynheim can have a broad range of colors, but please keep them natural. Purple, blood red or neon eyes of any color won't be allowed. If you want to keep your design realistic, it's best to keep in mind the following genetical rules:

• Through cross-breeding with dogs, wolves in Kynheim usually have brown, amber or yellow eyes. Green or blue eyes are possible as well, but tend to be more rare and can't pop up randomly in bloodlines that haven't had blue eyes before.
• Liver dilution (bb) lightens up the eye color from brown/amber to a lighter yellow
• Blue dilution (dd) lightens and desaturates the eye color (to a pale yellow/green/silver)
• Red dilution (ii) doesn't affect the eye color 

Kynheim wolves have a higher percentage of dog DNA than real wolves, hence the genetics and colors. However, they are still very similar to those in their bodytype and coat, meaning that the wolves of Kynheim should have a semi-relastic appearance in regards to shape and fur type.

• Hairdos of any kind (except smaller tufts or scruff) are not allowed
• Coat has to be long enough to prevent sunburn or freezing ➤ no doberman-style short coat, no hairless wolves
• Coat has to be short enough so it doesn't produce matting ➤ no tail hair that drags across the ground, no poodle-locks,...
• Coat cannot cover the eyes (as seen in Schnauzer breeds for example)

From this point forward we won't require pups to be born realistically with a dark brown coat. In old Kynheim all wolves had to be agouti, the natural "wild-type" color all non-black wolves possess in real life. With the addition of new genes and patterns, this rule doesn't realistically make sense any longer. For the sake of realism, simplicity and to help players have a more fun time drawing their distinctive characters from a young age, pups are now allowed to be born in the color they will display as an adult. If you prefer, you may of course have agouti (wild-type colored) pups be born in their realistic dark brown colors, but it's no longer mandatory. 

A few things to keep in mind regarding puppy colors:

- Wolves with Saddle/Creeping Tan have to show their receding points with age! They will be born with tan points (or slightly extended tan) that will grow over time.

For more examples, please refer to the genetics page!

- Sable tends to get a bit darker with age, but just like with agouti it's not mandatory to show this progression on your in-game characters.

- Black & Tan doesn't change with age, it remains mostly the same, except maybe slight adjustment to growing features/proportions.

- White Spotting and Irish White have to show from birth! This only applies to the S-Locus (and ticking if applicable), not for other white markings like pale pseudo-points on an agouti.

For help or further examples, please note the group or tag the staff team in the #genetics channel on our discord server.