1. BOTH parents must have 20 posts and be a minimum of 1 year old.

2. To claim a female’s heat, the player of the male must use the “Heat Claim” tag for each mating attempt, otherwise the mating attempt will not be counted towards the roll.

<img src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/652323992631246851/807339388404236348/heat_claim.png">

3. Every breeding attempt heightens the chance of conception.

4. Once you've met the requirements, go to the Breedings Thread to have your conception rolled.

1. Females can go into heat at any time, depending on the player’s discretion, but a player may also opt their character in for random heat selection every spring and winter.

2. Players CAN select their own heat time if they’re opted into the random heat event, but they will not be counted for the selection if they go into heat one month before the event.

3. Females should wait 5 months before breeding again to avoid health complications, but they CAN physically breed again after just 2 months, but only after 5 months will they be eligible for the random heat event.

1. Females are pregnant from between 50-68 days, that number can be randomized or selected.

2. If the female is majorly injured or ill during/after the act, there might be complications with the pregnancy and some pups might be deformed.

3. Litter sizes vary depending on the size of the female in question. If the female is under 20 inches tall, they’ll have 1-3 puppies, if they’re over 20 inches tall, they’ll have 1-8.

4. Females must have a confirmed den in order to protect their pups from freezing, illness, and predation. However, finding a den is OPTIONAL for story purposes. There is no mechanic to determine how your puppies will survive yet, but you're free to be as realistic as you want about it or come up with your own metric, just be fair to the people playing as your pups.

1. You do not have to roll your own litters, we usually do them for you so long as you go to the Breedings Thread, this section is just to demonstrate how we do it.

2. Roll a d100 once for every time the couple mates, you need at least 1 even number to achieve conception. Out of spring/winter, roll a d20, you need 2 even numbers to achieve conception.

3. Randomize the litter size based on the height of the dam.

4. Is the dam sick or injured?

- No. Skip this step.

- Below 5 HP: Roll a d10, the even numbers mean that there are sickly pups and the odd numbers mean they’re stillborn (optional). The 5, though, means that the pups are healthy.

- Between 6-10 HP: Roll a d20. The even numbers mean that there are healthy pups and the odd numbers mean they’re sickly.

- Between 11-20 HP: Roll a d50. The even numbers mean that there are healthy pups and the odd numbers mean they’re sickly.

- Above 21 HP: Roll a d100. The even numbers mean that there are healthy pups and the odd numbers mean they’re sickly.

- Randomize the number of pups in the litter, that’s how many are sickly/stillborn.

5. For each pup:

- Sex ratio: Roll a d100. The even numbers are males and the odd numbers are females.

- Breed category: Write down the number of breeds on a numbered list such as the one provided at Random.org. Dogs can only have up to 3 breeds listed, so the first three will be the pup's breed breakdown. Randomize the percentages of the first two breeds, then put everything else into the last breed, all percentages must add up to 100%, the highest percentage will be the pup's breed category.

- Color and markings: Using the genotypes of both parents, use this to calculate pup appearances.

- Coat types, ears, height, and tail: Insert the coat types, ears, and tails of the parents into the list randomizer separately to determine this.

6. Demonstration. Because explaining things is hard.

Step 1: The female of this pair is a 24 in tall Pastoral breed (60% German Shepherd, 30% Border Collie, 10% Golden Retriever) and the male is an 32 in tall Working breed (50% Dalmatian, 50% Irish Wolfhound). The female is sick with the flu, clasifying it as a major illness. The female is black (awat BB CC Dd Ee Kk mm SS tt) and the male is black with pseudo-irish (awaw BB Ccch DD EE Kk mm Ssw Tt). The female has Silky fur, a Long tail, and Perked ears. The male has Wirehair fur, a Long tail, and Floppy ears.

Step 2: Assuming I rolled a successful conception, I'm going to go ahead and roll a d8. I get a 6, meaning there's 6 puppies in this litter.

Step 3: Since the female is sick, I'll now roll a d50. I got a 37, meaning there's some sick pups in this litter. I roll a d6, based on the 6 puppies in the litter, and get 2, so 2 puppies are sickly. I can decide if this shows as something permanent, such as a chronic illness since the female is sick, but if she were injured before/during her pregnancy it could be a chronic injury, such as a deformity. However, it can also just mean there's a weaker runt of the litter, or a difficulty to thrive. To determine which puppies are sick, I roll 2 d6 for the 6 puppies in the litter, and get 3 2, Puppy 2 and Puppy 3 are sickly.

Step 4: I roll a d100 6 times based on the 6 puppies in the litter, and get 21 61 22 24 98 36. Puppy 1 is female, Puppy 2 is female, Puppy 3 is male, Puppy 4 is male, Puppy 5 is male, and Puppy 6 is male.

Step 5: I now calculate the coat colors of all puppies by applying the genotype of the parents into the calculator.

Step 6: To determine the puppies' breeds and their breed categories, I insert the parents' breeds and (if I have it, which I don't in this case) the grandparents' breeds into the list generator, the first three breeds I get being the puppy's breeds. I then use dice to randomize the first two percentages, and everything else will go into the remaining one to make 100%.

Step 7: To determine the color of the puppies, I insert the parents genotypes into the calculator.

Step 8: Now I have to determine what their ears, coat types, and tails are. I insert all of these into the list randomizer separately.

After all those steps, this is the litter I generated...

Puppy 1 is a female Hound breed (16% Border Collie, 23% German Shepherd, 61% Irish Wolfhound), is black (awat BB CC DD EE KK mm SS Tt), with a Wirehair coat type, a Long tail, and Perked ears.

Puppy 2 is a female Pastoral breed (3% Golden Retriever, 4% German Shepherd, 93% Border Collie), is black (awat BB CC DD EE KK mm SS tt), with a Wirehair coat type, a Long tail, and Perked ears. They will be born with an infection and struggle to survive for the first few months of their life.

Puppy 3 is a male Pastoral breed (58% German Shepherd, 20% Border Collie, 22% Irish Wolfhound), is black with pseudo-irish (awat BB CC DD EE KK mm Ssw Tt), with a Silky coat type, a Long tail, and Perked ears. They will be born with an infection and struggle to survive for the first few months of their life.

Puppy 4 is a male Hound breed (9% Golden Retriever, 11% Irish Wolfhound, 80% Dalmatian), is black with pseudo-irish (awat BB CC DD EE KK mm Ssw tt), with a Wirehair coat type, a Long tail, and Floppy ears.

Puppy 5 is a male Hound breed (16% Border Collie, 11% Irish Wolfhound, 73% Dalmatian), is black (awat BB CC DD EE Kk mm SS Tt), with a Wirehair coat type, a Long tail, and Perked ears.

Puppy 6 is a male Pastoral breed (19% Border Collie, 19% Dalmatian, 62% German Shepherd), is black (awat BB CC DD EE Kk mm SS tt), with a Wirehair coat type, a Long tail, and Floppy ears.

1. Aging. Your puppies will age up ever IRL month.

-Neonatal period. (Newborns-2 weeks) Pups at this stage are helpless and fully reliant on their mothers for food, warmth, and protection. Pups cannot survive without adults and will die within 1 week without a guardian to care for them, their chances of survival being low without a female to nurse them.

- Transitional period. (2 weeks to 1 month) Mothers will begin to wean their pups off of milk at 3 weeks and introduce soft meat which they regurgitate. By week 4, they can safely consume solid foods without issue. Socially, they're like toddlers and can wag their tails/bark, but they need to stay close to their nursery for protection as they're still very vulnerable.

- Socialization period. (2-5 months) Pups at this age are still very vulnerable, but begin to develop more mentally and physically, gradually growing too big for their nursery but requiring a watchful eye so they don't get into trouble. They're heavily influenced by their guardians at this point, mimicking their actions and behavior. Socially, they're like young children, able to communciate basic needs and carry on simple conversations.

- Juvenile period. (6-7 months) At this point in their life, puppies are developing more mentally and going through puberty in a way, expressing themselves and figuring out their heirarchy among each other. They may begin to practice skills they observe from the adults around them, or express interest in being taught. Around this time there's a possibility they'll be able to become independent. Socially, they're children to preteens, able to communicate more fluently but still rather immature.

- Rapid growth. (8-12 months) Pups at this age begin to take on more adult features and sharpen their skills. Socially, they're like teenagers, still immature but beginning to sharpen mentally.

- Slowed growth. (1-2 years) At this point, the pups have transitioned into adults and may reach sexual maturity, though they're still mentally carefree. They'll continue growing until they hit 2 years, after which they'll become a full adult. Socially, they're older teenagers to young adults.

2. Adoption. After designing your pups, you can adopt them out to other players during your female's pregnancy, what you'll require for auditions is entirely up to you. However, if you don't find a player for your pup, adopt them yourself, or place them on NPC, they'll be stillborn.

3. Independence and adulthood. (This rule has been repeated to emphasize it for clarity) After 6 months, your character become independent, but only after 1 year are they a true adult.

4. Adopting a pup. To adopt a pup you have to have approval by the parents first, then go through the same process of approving a starter character.