smoke and fur · how to play

getting started

join the discord server and use the slash commands to create your wolf. the first step is registration.

/register – choose a name, a great pack (greyspire, mistmoor, thistlehide, silverrush) or choose to be a loner or rogue. each pack has its own culture, starting herbs, and territory.
/character – set your wolf's pronouns, biography, birthday, avatar image, ref image, birth sex, sexuality, maw belief, combat size, and age. this personalises your profile.
/profile – view your wolf's sheet, including stats, skills, inventory, bonds, and condition.

once registered, you are part of the wolf-world. the caldera at the centre of the territories is a neutral meeting ground, but the world stretches far beyond it: forests, mountains, swamps, rivers, and the edges of twoleg lands. you will explore, hunt, and interact with other wolves and the many dangers of the wild.

core survival

your wolf has four primary vitals: hunger, thirst, mood, and health. these decay over time and are affected by actions and the environment. keep them in balance or face exhaustion, illness, or worse.

/eat – consume fresh‑kill or foraged food from your inventory or the pack stash.
/drink – drink from a water source or use stored water. you can also drink broth or milk if you have it.
/vitals – check your current condition, including any injuries or diseases.
/rest – take a long rest to recover health and reduce exhaustion.

hunting and foraging are essential for food. use /bones action:hunt to pursue prey, or /field action:forage to gather plants, roots, and berries. fishing is available near water.

the maw faith influences your wolf's worldview; choose a belief at registration (orthodox, zealot, doubter, etc.) and your character's actions can reflect that.

skills and combat

corvus uses a tabletop‑inspired skill system. each wolf has attributes (strength, dexterity, survival, intelligence, charisma, wisdom) that determine success in various checks.

/skills – view all available skill checks and their difficulty classes.
/skilllist – see a summary of skill categories and typical dcs.
/rpg action:roll – make a skill check with a chosen attribute and optional helper.

combat is tactical and lethal. use /combat start to initiate a fight, then join and take turns. you can bite, claw, or use maneuvers like throat grab, shoulder check, and rear guard. injury and exhaustion are real; a wolf at 0 hp is dying and must make death saves.

/combat attack – choose a target and an attack type.
/combat maneuver – use a special move (e.g. throat grab, eye rake).
/medic action:stabilize – try to save a dying wolf.

defeated wolves can be spared, finished, or left to the maw. death is permanent; but you can always create a new wolf.

herbs and healing

the green tongue is the knowledge of herbs. healers and foragers gather plants to treat wounds, diseases, and mental ailments. the herb compendium lists over 100 plants with real effects.

/field action:forage – collect herbs in your current location.
/herbs action:guide – browse the herb compendium.
/medic action:treat – apply a herb or poultice to a patient.
/medic action:surgery – perform invasive procedures (requires high medicine skill).

diseases range from green‑cough to rot‑lung and river rot. some have no cure; others require careful treatment. medics also manage quarantine and observe symptoms.

pack life and territory

joining a great pack means sharing a treasury, a territory, and a unity score. pack members can contribute to the pack's strength and defend its borders.

/group – view pack info, treasury, and unity.
/group patrol – patrol the borders to deter rivals.
/group scout – gather intelligence on enemy movements.
/group challenge – (alpha only) declare a war to claim territory.

packs can also form pacts with the five cat clans (thunderclan, shadowclan, windclan, riverclan, skyclan) using /pact. cat trust is a resource that can be raised or lowered by border incidents.

loners and rogues do not have a pack treasury or territory; they survive by foraging, hunting, and sometimes stealing. rogues can use /bones action:crime to take risks for extra bones.

bones economy

bones are the currency of the wolf‑world. earned by hunting, working, praying, crime, and completing quests, they can be spent at the shop for herbs, tools, and other items.

/bones action:daily – collect your daily stipend (if you are in a great pack).
/bones action:shop – browse and buy items.
/bones action:give – trade bones to another wolf.

prestige tiers (from "the named" to "the sunderer") grant permanent bone bonuses based on completed quests and retired wolves.

roleplay and scenes

corvus is built for immersive roleplay. use in‑character commands to speak, gesture, and interact with the world.

/say – speak aloud in character.
/whisper – send a private, styled message to another wolf.
/sign – use body language (alert, submit, growl, nuzzle, etc.) – unlimited but diminishing returns.
/scene start – create a roleplay scene thread with a pinned living roster.
/proxy – set up proxy tags so that typing a tag (e.g. "H:hello") posts as your wolf.

the /journal command shows your wolf's automatic life timeline: birth, pack moves, bonds, blooding, rites, and death.

quests and the blinking

the world is alive with events. the current plot arc is book one: the blinking, a twelve‑phase story that affects every wolf. phases advance through roleplay, not a day counter.

/world action:plot – view the current phase and active mechanics.
/role action:quests – see available quests and your progress.
/plotadvance – (staff only) advance the phase.

each wolf can participate in the plot by using sniff, howl, treat, or other actions. canon wolves (quietbriar, soot, cedarwind, etc.) have special lanes with extra rewards and consequences.

quests like blink_border_patrol, blink_healer_touch, and blink_mill_scout offer standing and bone rewards.

advanced systems

courtship and pups

wolves can form bonds (friends, rivals, kin, mentor, romance, mates). courtship is year‑round, but conception only occurs in winter. use /courtship court to initiate, and /courtship mate to formalise a bond. pups are born via /care birth, and must be fed and protected.

prestige

earn prestige by completing quests and retiring wolves. each tier grants a permanent bone bonus on hunts and daily stipends. use /prestige to track progress.

human factions

the twoleg world presses on the wolf‑world. interact with factions like the lowland settlements, thorne lumber, the river mill, the crows, and the university expedition. use /faction to observe, approach, trade, raid, or sabotage. standing with each faction unlocks rewards and dangers.

gardening

grow your own herbs with /garden. buy seeds, plant, tend daily, and harvest when mature. each plant has specific light and water needs.

staff and admins

administrators can manage the world: roll over the sunrise, set seasons, assign wolves, run npcs, and control plot phases. see the staff reference for details.

/rollover – advance one in‑game day.
/characteradmin – assign, transfer, make dormant, or execute wolves.
/npc – create and control npc wolves for scenes.
/setplotphase – set the current blinking phase.

help and community

use /help topic:overview for a full command reference. the community is friendly; ask questions in the designated channels. join the discord server and start your story.

the wolf‑world is vast, but every pawstep matters. the maw watches. the packs remember. your legend begins now.

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