Rules & Information

General
Islands & Governments
Claiming
Territories & Herds
Breeding
Battling
Escaping
Raiding
Peak & Lagoon
Quitting

General

The Lost Islands is a semi-realistic play-by-post feral equine RPG that first opened in 2009.
Please treat the moderators and your fellow players with respect and kindness at all times.
This RPG is open to writers of all levels, with no strict word count; however, we suggest that posts should be consistently above 200 words to provide enough material for other players to respond to properly.
As a semi-realistic equine RPG, horses are allowed to speak and express human-like thoughts and emotion, but no magical/fantasy elements or other animals are allowed. Though players are not required to have a detailed knowledge of equine color genetics, all characters should conform to breed standards with regards to color, and may not fall outside the height range of 13 to 18 hands (with 2 inches above or below breed standards being allowed to account for natural variation). Any naturally-occurring eye color is allowed.
The Lost Islands is rated PG-13. This means swearing is allowed, within moderation. Violence is also allowed, but graphic violence should be kept to a minimum. Sexual themes may be present, but graphic sexual content is not allowed.
Powerplay is not allowed. This means that your character cannot read minds, perform impossible feats, control others' actions, or intuitively know all that takes place on the islands. They can post in multiple places at once, provided this is not treated as being literally omnipresent.
When joining a character, please be sure to check the Reserved and Members pages to be sure your name is available. Duplicate names are allowed, but only of deceased characters, and if that character's player is currently active (i.e. has characters listed as 'active' on the Members page) players should request permission from them to use that name.
Short note-style posts are allowed, but should be used sparingly and should not replace full threads.
One season in-game is equal to one real-life month, so four months make up one year in-game. We recommend that players take this into account when aging their characters, but you may choose to age them at whatever rate you choose, provided it is not backwards. Colts and fillies are sexually mature at two years old.
You may temporarily reserve a place in a thread with a 'post coming' message. No more than three post comings in a row are allowed in a thread, and if you take longer than 6 hours to post, other players may post ahead of you.
Each player may have no more than 50 living characters at one time, active or inactive. Deceased characters do not count towards this. If you hit your limit, you must remove or kill off characters from your list before you can join or breed more.
Regular announcements and events will be posted regularly on the OOC Chat board and in Discord. This includes votes for featured members and characters, posting contests, advertising contests, activity checks, rule changes and other important information.
A member referral scheme is available, allowing existing members to earn perks for bringing new members to the game. The new member must name the person who referred them in their joining post, remain active for at least one month, and post in-character at least four times. If all of these conditions are met, the member who referred them should post on the Inbox page to claim their reward, at which point a mod will provide you with a list to choose from. There is no limit to the number of members you can refer, but you cannot refer the same member more than once.
For the sake of clarity, all time limits mentioned in the game rules are measured by the time stamps on the boards themselves.
If you are going to be away from the game for a little while let us know on the Inbox. Characters are automatically considered inactive if their player is away or has not made any posts for over a month.
If either parent of a new character joined with lineage were active during the prior breeding season, the new character must be a minimum of 1 year old. If you would like this character to be younger, you can use a custom foal perk at joining.

Islands & Governments

The Lost Islands is a chain of five islands: THE CROSSING (temperate), TINUVEL (tundra), ATLANTIS (tropics), SALEM (wastelands), and LUTHIEN (temperate). Please take each island's climate and the current season into account in your posts.
Below you can view a map outlining the layout of the islands and their territories, although the details are left to your imagination. Please click on the image to view the full-sized, detailed image.

Natural disasters and predators come to the islands in the form of mod-hosted random events every month, which players can get involved in for the chance to earn experience points for their characters (see the Battle section for more info on experience). These are highly competitive, as only the first 5 mature (age 2+) characters that respond to the event (within a week of it being posted) may earn one experience point each, and only one character per player at a time. Responses must be at least 200 words long, and no post comings are allowed until after all experience points (5 per thread) have been given out.
Each island has its own government type, chosen (or fought over) by the characters leading there. There are five systems to choose from, although players may interpret or mix these systems as necessary:
- MONARCHY: a single ruler exercises sovereignty through various means and is succeeded by a chosen heir.
  - Perk: A leader may call upon a subordinate to assist them in battles.
  - The leader must specify which subordinate they are calling upon before the first battle post in roleplay battles, or before the results are rolled in dice battles. The leader may opt to use this perk to assist a subordinate instead. No posts are required from the chosen assistant.
  - When used for a dice battle, a seven-sided die will be used with the seventh side corresponding to the assistant and counting as a win for the leader. For roleplay battles, a simple point bonus will be added to the score (+0.25 for an unranked assistant, +0.5 for rank 1, +0.75 for rank 2, and +1 for rank 3).
  - This perk is limited to use once per in-game year. If a leader is fighting one of their subordinates, they may not call the subordinate they are fighting as an assistant.
- AUTOCRACY: a single ruler has absolute power and typically rules by force and without consent.
  - Perk: A leader may demand something from their subordinates.
  - Once per in-game year, the leader may demand something from a single subordinate herd. The demand could be (but not limited to): an existing herdmember, a new herdmember, to execute a challenge or raid on their behalf, a foal, and so on. Players must gain consent of the other player before demanding something like a foal.
- OLIGARCHY: island governance is shared between the territory leaders and other chosen elites.
  - Perk: Island leaders are able to block raids in each other's herds.
- DEMOCRACY: a new ruler is chosen regularly by vote, negotiation, or discussion.
  - Perk: The elected leader may claim one additional herd member per week from the Commons.
  - Once per in-game year, democracy elections may be called for by any territory lead on an island that has already established a democracy by messaging a moderator. These elections will be held on the OOC board.
- ANARCHY: each territory acts independently and the island lacks governmental control.
  - Perk: As this is the default state of the islands, no perks are given.
Territory leaders must agree on what system their island follows, either by coming to a consensus or by submitting to one another. If they cannot agree, the island will remain an anarchy or characters can fight for island leadership. Island leaders may rule as they see fit over the entire island, and governments may be changed or overthrown at any time by any means possible.
Islands with only one active territory leader will remain an anarchy until at least one other active territory leader joins the island.
Unless otherwise specified, perks only apply to the leader(s) and may not be used by anyone else, including co-leads and sub-leads.
Governments will be considered official once they are posted on the Updates board. When a territory changes leadership, there is a 2-week grace period for the leader(s) of the existing government to negotiate with the new arrival. During this grace period, the island still functions under the old government, but once the grace period ends the island will return to Anarchy and lose its perks unless an agreement is reached. This grace period starts as soon as the territory officially changes leadership.

Claiming

Mature characters of any gender are able to claim territories, force-claim members for their territories, or be force-claimed (in the Common or owned territories, including the Peak/Lagoon). Characters may only force-claim others if they are part of a herd (either a leader in a territory or a full member of the Peak/Lagoon). In order to force-claim a character in a territory or in the Peak/Lagoon, the claiming horse must be a full member of the Peak/Lagoon or a leader in said herd. You cannot claim others in the Peak/Lagoon or in territories if you are not part of them.
If your character is force-claimed, that means they belong to the character that claimed them. However, they doesn't mean they have to submit quietly.
In order to claim a territory, please first ensure that it is claimable by checking that 1) the territory owner has not posted in-character for 14 days (note-style posts do not count), and 2) that the player of the territory owner is not currently away. If these criteria are met, post a message on the board with the word "claim" in the title. A moderator will then validate your claim.
Any character who claims a territory is immune to being challenged for it for one calendar month. This does not prevent another character from claiming a territory that has been inactive.
In order to force-claim a character, please first ensure that your claim is valid by 1) checking that your target is indeed homeless, 2) that they are mature, and 3) that they are posted on an eligible board (i.e. the Common, a territory, or the Peak/Lagoon). If these criteria are met, simply reply to their post with the word "claim" somewhere in your title and/or post. Please be aware that there is a once-a-week per-character limit on force-claims in the Common (rollover is on Sunday). There are no limits to how often a leader in a herd or a member may force-claim in their home territory.
Your target does not need to be alone, but you can only force-claim one character at a time, and they must not already have a home. Any unweaned foals, however, may accompany a claimed mare without counting as a separate individual.
A member of the Peak/Lagoon can block a force-claim of any gender in the Common once per week, provided it is done before the thread is finished.

Territories & Herds

Mature characters of any gender are able to claim territories, claim members for their territories, or be force-claimed (in the Common or owned territories). Only territory leaders, co-leads/ranked herd members that have been granted the relevant privileges, and Lagoon/Peak members may claim or harbor captives.
Characters who own territories, including the Boss/Prime Minister in the Peak and Lagoon, are immune to being raided or won in battle. However, they can offer themselves as prisoner in exchange for a herd member or captive lost in a battle or raid. If their rival agrees to this, the leader must spend one calendar month with them as a captive. During this time, territories cannot be claimed but can still be challenged for, as well as raided and escaped from. Territory leaders should appoint a temporary figurehead to defend against these threats in their absence, as they (and the Boss/Prime minister) may not engage in raids, battles, or claims during their captivity. They may also not attempt to leave early unless their captor agrees.
Any character who wins a territory in battle is immune to being challenged for it for one calendar month (from the day the challenge was issued).
A single player may own no more than two territories across their characters. There is no limit to the number of horses of any gender that may live in a territory.
Players may structure their herds as they like, within reason. This includes appointing co- and sub-leaders (up to a maximum of two total, excluding the territory owner) that may share or hold their own separate leadership responsibilities and privileges within the territory. The character who originally claimed the territory will remain the technical owner, however, and their posts will count towards keeping the territory active. Official leadership duties such as answering challenges and blocking raids/escapes also fall by default to the territory owner unless they have granted shared responsibilities to another. (Please see the relevant sections regarding these shared duties.) The territory owner has the final say on who these leads are, whether their positions are challengeable or not, and can strip them of their positions at any time.
A co-lead is an equal partner ruling over a shared herd, retaining all the same powers as the territory owner, except for those relating to territory ownership. The herd members may belong to them separately or both simultaneously, but they all still count as one herd. Battles, raids, and escapes can be answered, issued, and blocked by either leader, and as long as one leader remains active, herd members may not leave freely. Only the territory owner can be challenged for the territory and keep the land from becoming claimable. As equal partners, only one co-lead's player must be currently active (i.e. not on away) for raids, escapes, and challenges to be valid against them. If a co-lead is challenged for, either the territory owner can defend them, the co-lead can defend themselves, or they can fight together as allies. Co-leads may be raided, provided the player of the territory owner is not on away, for the territory owner will need to block the raid.
Sub-Lead: A sub-lead is a ruler who shares a territory with a territory owner, but who has their own separate herd members and responsibilities. The territory owner does not have any claim over the sub-lead's herd, and the sub-lead does not have any claim over the territory owner's herd. Battles should be answered by the individual to whom they apply, and each character should remain active individually in order to prevent their herd members being able to leave freely (though only the territory owner's posts count towards keeping the territory under claim). Although they have no duty to do so, sub-leads may play a supportive role for the territory owner by blocking raids and escapes for the territory owner's herd, and vice versa. However, they may not answer each other's challenges unless it is to step in as an ally, and raids/escapes/challenges count against them separately. This means that in order to raid/challenge/escape from one of them, that character's player must be active (i.e. not on away). If a sub-lead is challenged for, they must defend themselves, but as aforementioned the territory owner can step in and aid them in battle as an ally. Sub-leads may be raided, provided the player of the territory owner is not on away, for the territory owner will need to block the raid.
If a sub-lead leaves a territory, their sub-herd is no longer under their claim and may stay or go where they wish. If a co-lead leaves a territory, it is between them and the territory owner as to whether any herd members leave with them. If an agreement cannot be made, the herd members remain under the territory owner's care by default.
If the owner of a territory fails to post there in-character for 14 days, their territory becomes claimable and all herd members are free to leave if they wish. The only exception to this is if the player of the character is away, in which case the 14 day limit is frozen until they return (for up to a month). If they surpass the limit during their time away, they have 24 hours from their return to post in their territory before it becomes claimable.
If you need the HTML for your territory updated or changed please use the Updates board and consult the instructions there. Please also inform the mods if there is any change in leadership in your territory (e.g. the appointment or removal of a co-/sub-lead).

Breeding

Breeding season is in the fall, and foaling season is in the spring. Pregnancy lasts two in-game seasons (two real-life months).
In order to receive a foal, the stats of both parents must be posted in a thread on the Foaling board, with the consent of both players involved. Please be sure to include each character's name, gender, breed, color (including genetics if known), and height. A moderator will reply with the offspring's stats and a due date.
Force-breeding is not allowed, except as part of a plot where both players have consented. Similarly, graphic or descriptive breeding is not allowed on-site.
You may request the gender of the foal when posting your character's stats. You may also request a specific color once per breeding season. You may also request a healthy foal if you agree to randomise the rest of the stats. If no requests are made the foal's stats will be completely randomised.
Foal stats are generated as follows:
- Gender Dice Roll: odd numbers produce a colt; even numbers produce a filly.
- Breed is determined by combining the parents' breeds. More than three breeds in the lineage will be referred to as 'mutt' for conciseness.
- Color and genetics are chosen randomly from the possible results, taking into account the parent's genetics (if none are given, genes are assumed to be heterozygous, meaning only carrying one copy). The foal's color will be written out in as clear terms as possible (e.g. rather than the vague term 'tovero', a 'tobiano overo' will be specified), with base colors if needed.
- Height is chosen at random somewhere between the parents' heights.
- Health Dice Roll: 1-4 results in a healthy foal. 5 results in a foal with a defect. 6 results in the chance to gamble for twins.
- Twin Dice Roll: The health roll is used for each twin. If the first roll is a 6, a chimeric foal (caused by two embryos merging into one and resulting in potentially unusual coat patterns) will be produced instead of two foals. A second 6 will result in a healthy chimera.
- Birth Difficulty Dice Roll: 1-2 results in an easy birth without complications, 3-4 results in an average birth with moderate difficulties, 5-6 results in a difficult birth with possibly serious complications. These are only suggestions and may be interpreted or ignored by the player as they wish.
- Personality: A set of randomly generated characteristics are given to provide inspiration for a character's personality. These are only suggestions and may be interpreted or ignored by the player as they wish.
The defects available for foals are blind (full or partial), deaf (full or partial), or mute. Other significant disabilities are allowed but require moderator permission. No more than two defected foals will be given out per season; after that, rolling a 5 will result in a healthy foal. However, players may request a defected foal.
The chimeric expressions available for foals are brindle, spots, patches, or no visible expression. For brindle, spots, and patches, the color of the first foal generated determines the base coat and the genes that can be inherited, while the second set of genes determines the color of the stripes/spots/patches.
Twins and chimeric foals are rare, so there will be a maximum of two twin rolls per breeding season, regardless of the outcomes. Any 6s rolled after this will result in a healthy foal.
The player of the foal should reply to the stats with their chosen name in the subject line as well as any other relevant information (such as defects or chimeric expression). If a name has not been given by the time the boards are updated, the foal may be considered stillborn and deleted, so please name your foals promptly. Those wanting a stillborn for plot reasons can request one.

Battling

WHO CAN CHALLENGE/BE CHALLENGED

Mature (age 2+) characters of any gender may challenge each other for territory, herd members, captives, another's or their own freedom, rank, practice, bragging rights, or for rule of their island. However, challenging for members and captives is a privilege afforded only to territory leaders, co-/sub-leaders, and Peak/Lagoon members. Furthermore, only mature characters may be challenged for. Each character is subject to limits on how many battles they can participate in in a season, so please be sure they are eligible.

DICE ROLL OR ROLEPLAY?

Battles are divided into high-stakes and low-stakes. Low-stakes battles are where only one individual or thing (excluding territories) is at stake, and the default format for these is dice-roll unless both parties agree to participate in a roleplay battle. High-stakes battles are for multiple individuals/things, key herd members such as co-/sub-leads, or territories, and the default format for these is roleplay battle unless both parties agree to a dice-roll battle.

REAL VS. PRACTICE/BRAGGING RIGHTS BATTLES

Your battle will count as a 'real' battle if something that can be physically enforced is at stake, such as a territory, herd member, rank, or a horse's freedom. Battles for island leadership also fall under this category.
Your battle will count as a practice/bragging rights battle if the only thing that's at stake is earning experience, or if what's at stake is something abstract that cannot be physically enforced, such as a social contract/agreement/alliance, or something that cannot be enforced without player consent (e.g. rights to sire a mare's foal).
Whether your battle counts as 'real' or practice/bragging rights will determine the number of experience points your character receives, if any. See the 'Experience' section for more details.

HOW TO INITIATE A CHALLENGE

Please be sure your challenge is addressed to the correct horse, whether this be a territory owner, co-lead, sub-lead, or otherwise. Challenges against the Peak/Lagoon should be made toward them as a whole, as any member is permitted to answer them.
For dice roll battles, the challenger should specify who they are challenging and what they are challenging for. For roleplay battles, the challenger should also choose a realistic setting, the number/order of posts each player must write, and the number of attacks allowed per post. The number of dodges may not be restricted.
For dice roll battles, you must accept a challenge within four days or it forfeits to the other player. For roleplay battles, the challenge must be accepted and the first post written within four days. Each post must be at least 200 words but not exceed 1000 words. Each successive reply in a roleplay battle must also be posted within four days. Failure to post within this time frame will be considered a forfeit, and the win will be granted to the last player to post. However, extensions and changes to the terms of the battle may be allowed with agreement from both players.

GETTING AID IN BATTLE

Each horse involved in a battle may call on a mature ally to assist them. The ally can take over for one full turn in a roleplay battle, or the entire dice roll battle. However, a character may only participate in a battle in this way once a season. They may also gain experience for it (see below). If the horse who called the ally does not actually participate in the battle, they gain no experience.

BATTLE LIMITS & EXCLUSIONS

Individual characters must answer the first challenge issued to them each season, and the Peak/Lagoon as a whole must answer the first 2 challenges issued to them each season. After this, they may answer additional challenges if they wish, but may also decline them without forfeit (unless they fail to respond, in which case the battle defaults as normal). Individual characters may issue a maximum of one challenge per season, while the Peak/Lagoon may issue a maximum of two challenges per season. However, both may only issue or answer one RP challenge per season. Cancelled and invalid battles, as well as practice/bragging rights battles, do not count toward these limits. A character may be in unlimited practice/bragging rights battles, but only one of these will count toward battle experience points per season (see 'Experience' section below). Horses may win a maximum of three forfeited battles per season; any forfeits won after this point result in nothing gained or lost.
Characters who own territories, including the Boss/Prime Minister in the Peak and Lagoon, are immune to being raided or won in battle. However, they can offer themselves as prisoner in exchange for a herd member or captive lost in a battle or raid. If their rival agrees to this, the leader must spend one calendar month with them as a captive. During this time, their territory cannot be claimed but can still be challenged for, as well as raided and escaped from, and the leader may not engage in raids, battles, or claims. Therefore territory leaders should appoint a temporary figurehead to defend against these threats in their absence. They may also not attempt to leave early unless their captor agrees.

CANCELLED & INVALID BATTLES

A challenger may cancel their battle with no repercussions up until the point the first battle post is written (in roleplay battles) or up until the results are given (in dice roll battles). If a challenger cancels a roleplay battle after a post has been written, it counts as a forfeit to their rival. Declining a challenge also counts as forfeit.
You cannot challenge a player who is currently away.

BATTLE OUTCOMES

For any character that is won in a battle or raid, a 'captivity clause' applies to them. This means that they may not escape or be won in a battle or raid for one calendar month. During this period of captivity they must post at least three times, otherwise they will have to stay until this criteria is met. Only after this condition has been met and one month has passed are they eligible for freedom. However, captive horses may leave early with the agreement of their captor (in the case of the Peak/Lagoon, either the Prime Minister or Boss's permission is needed). This clause is voided if their captor (the individual that captured them) fails to respond to their first post within a week. This also does not include situations in which territory leaders (or the Boss/Prime Minister of the Peak/Lagoon) offer themselves in place of a captive herd member - for more information on that, see the 'Territories' section.
If a mother is won in battle, any unweaned foals may follow her without counting as a separate individual.
Any character who claims or wins a territory in battle is immune to being challenged for it for one calendar month (from the date the challenge was issued).
Battle judgements, particularly for roleplay battles, take time and so we ask that you kindly respect our decisions, which are always made as fairly and impartially as possible. However, if you have a valid complaint about your judgement, please email or private message the Global Mods and we will be happy to discuss it with you. If we feel it is needed, we may agree to a second full judgement of your battle with a different battle mod.

EXPERIENCE

Every time a character engages in a battle - win or lose - they earn experience, which counts toward ranks that can improve their chances of winning battles in the future. Characters are either unranked (have no experience), Rank 1 (have engaged in at least 5 battles), Rank 2 (have engaged in at least 10 battles), or Rank 3 (have engaged in at least 20 battles). Each rank translates to an advantage in future battles, as either an extra side of the die in dice roll battles, or extra points added to their total score in a roleplay battle (0.5 points for Rank 1, 1 point for Rank 2, and 2 points for Rank 3).
RP battles, except those for practice/bragging rights, award each participant 2 experience points, regardless of outcome. Dice-roll battles award each participant 1 experience point.
Only one practice/bragging rights battle counts toward experience points per season. Forfeited, cancelled, and invalid battles do not count toward experience.
A horse who has participated as an ally in a battle may gain an experience point for it provided they have not already met their seasonal experience limit. If the horse who called the ally does not actually participate in the battle, they gain no experience.
Experience can also be obtained through valid raid and escape attempts, whether they are successful or not, as well as through getting involved with the mod-hosted random events that are posted every month. Please report any experience earned through raids and escapes on the updates board so that they can be tracked. Points for events, raids, and escapes will be tallied under 'additional' on the battle tracker. For more information about random events, see the 'Islands and Governments' section.
Character may earn a maximum of 5 experience points per season, through any combination of opportunities.
A record of characters' battle experience, limits, and ranks is accessed via links on the battle board, and it is encouraged that players consult this before battling.

Escaping

Characters can attempt to escape from their current herd by posting a new thread on any in-character board with the word ESCAPE clearly written in their subject line. The post must not be anonymous.
Only mature characters of any gender may escape. However, if a mother successfully escapes, any unweaned foals she has may follow her.
This character's territory leader, co-/sub-lead, or any Peak/Lagoon member, can block the escape attempt by replying to the post within 3 days.
Other hopeful escapees may join the thread, but they may not join the escape attempt. They must post their own thread if they wish to attempt escape.
Any mature character may assist in an escape attempt, but may not attempt their own escape in the same thread. To assist in an escape, the character must respond with the word ASSIST clearly in the title of the response, prior to the success or failure of the attempt. If the total number of assists equals or outweighs the total number of blocks before the three-day time limit has elapsed, the escape succeeds. If not, the escape fails.
Characters may only attempt to escape from the same place once per season. They may not attempt to escape if they are still under the captivity clause (see battling section under 'battle outcomes').
Post comings are not allowed in escape threads, even for characters not actively participating in the escape, until after the attempt has been successful or unsuccessful.
Each post by the captive, captor, and any assistants in an escape thread must be at least 200 words. If this minimum is not met, the escape, block, or assist is considered invalid.
You may not attempt to escape from players who are currently away.
Experience points can be earned through valid escape attempts, whether they are successful or not, for the escaping horse only. Please report these on the updates board so that they can be tracked.

Raiding

Only territory leaders, co-/sub-leads, and Peak/Lagoon members may perform or block raids. To start a raid you must reply to any existing thread in a territory, as long as the territory leader/co-/sub-lead or Boss/Prime Minister is not already with them. You cannot raid by starting a new thread. Also, the word RAID must be clearly written in your subject line.
Horses that are only visiting within a territory may not be raided, regardless of whether they have a home elsewhere or are homeless. Horses may only be raided within their home territory.
To block a raid the relevant leader must reply to the thread within 3 days with the word BLOCK in their subject line. However, if the targeted character responds and follows the raider willingly before the leader responds, the raid can no longer be blocked.
Any gender may raid any other gender, although only mature horses may be raided. However, if a mother is raided any unweaned foals she has may follow her.
You may not raid from a player who is away. You may not raid your own characters unless it is part of a plot where you have the permission of the other player involved.
Individual characters and the Peak/Lagoon as a whole may attempt to raid up to two characters (or the same horse twice) per season.
Only one character may be raided per thread, unless at least two raiders are present, in which case two characters can be raided at the same time.
Post comings are not allowed in raid threads, even for characters not actively participating in the raid, until after the attempt has been successful or unsuccessful.
Each post by the raider as well as the leader's block must be at least 200 words. The target's post must also be at least 200 words if they choose to follow the raider willingly. If this minimum is not met, this will invalidate the offending character's action.
Characters that are successfully raided will have the captivity clause applied to them (see battling section under 'battle outcomes').
Experience points can be earned through valid raid attempts, whether they are successful or not, for the raiding horse(s) only. Please report these on the updates board so that they can be tracked.

Peak & Lagoon

Stallions who do not live in a territory may live with the bachelor herd in the Lagoon; mares who do not live in a territory may live with the amazon herd in the Peak. The Lagoon and the Peak cannot forge official alliances with the island territories or with each other, although they can bargain and trade captives.
Any stallion or mare who wishes to join the Lagoon or the Peak cannot be turned away, but mares can be forced to leave the Lagoon and stallions can be forced to leave the Peak.
Trinkets are captives of any gender, though they may also be opposite-sex horses who choose to live in the Peak/Lagoon of their own free will. Trinkets may answer challenges with the permission of the Peak/Lagoon leaders as well as their battle opponent, but have no other privileges unless they are either promoted to the companion status or that of a full member.
The three leaders of the Peak and Lagoon may each keep a companion of any gender indefinitely, who may be picked from either their members or trinkets. If a member is picked, their rights and privileges do not change. If a trinket is picked, their leader may grant them the following additional privileges: a) the ability to assist in multi-horse raids, and b) the ability to earn the rights of a full member (only applicable to same-sex trinkets).
Members of the Peak/Lagoon can raid or block raids, block escapes, issue challenges, or answer challenges, although this responsibility typically falls to the character in charge of their 'class'.
A member of the Peak/Lagoon can block a force-claim of any gender in the Common once per week, provided it is done before the thread is finished.
The Boss and Prime Minister are immune to being raided or won in battle. However, they can offer themselves as prisoner in exchange for a herd member or captive lost in a battle or raid. If their rival agrees to this, the leader must spend one calendar month with them as a captive. The Boss/Prime Minister may not engage in raids, battles, or claims during their captivity. They may also not attempt to leave early unless their captor agrees.
Elections for leadership positions occur every in-game year in summer, providing the following criteria are met: the presence of at least three members (excluding children, captives, and companions), and at least one member expressing an interest to challenge, stand for, or step down from a position. A notice will be posted on each board at the beginning of the season, at which time any members who desire a change in leadership should announce themselves. If no one steps forward, the election will not be held. If they do, the rest of the season will be treated as time for members to try 'campaign', show their skills, or otherwise influence others before the final vote at the end of the season. The winner is the character with the highest number of votes (a 50% majority is not needed). Characters may not vote for themselves, and captives/companions/children may not vote at all. There is no limit to the number of times a character may be re-elected. In the event of a tie for the Marauder/Codebreaker or General positions, the Boss/Prime Minister may cast the deciding vote. In the event of a tie for the Boss/Prime Minister positions, the current leader shall remain, unless they wish to step down or the tie is between two new contenders, in which case the current leader may cast the deciding vote to determine their successor.
Members of the Lagoon/Peak can mutiny if they are unhappy with the current leadership (including if there is no leadership at all), i.e. trigger an early vote and nominate themselves or someone else as a replacement. If they are the only candidate for the position, they need a true majority of support (i.e. at least 50%) in order to succeed.
Upon election, the Boss and Prime Minister may choose a single rule for members to follow under their leadership. For example, the Boss may decide that members visit other herds to try and find new members, and the Prime Minister might decide that members must practice their fighting or be at risk of demotion. These rules would be up to the leader to enforce. The rules would not be able to overwrite or change any existing rules, and would need to be given Moderator approval before being implemented.

Quitting

Please post on the Inbox or Updates page to let us know if you are quitting the game altogether. If you choose to come back some day you will need to rejoin any characters you want to play again.
When you quit, your characters will either be listed as inactive, or be deleted entirely (in the case of characters without TLI lineage).
If you are simply retiring or killing off a character, please post on the Updates board to let us know. Characters who have been killed off may not be rejoined under any circumstances.
Deceased characters are typically deleted from the site record, except when they are part of a TLI lineage, in which case their name will be preserved and only deleted at the player's request.