Confused about something? Well, before you ask around here, make sure that your question hasn't been answered here.

Anyway, this is just some basic information. If I find a good question, or something that's asked more than once, or I just want to explain something so that I'm not asked it, It'll go here. So, I give you...

THE RATROPOLIS FAQ!

ABOUT RATROPOLIS (ROLEPLAY RELATED)

Q. What and where is Ratropolis City?
A. Ratropolis is one of the first - and most famous - sewer cities, built up by rats in the late Victorian Times. Throughout the world, in the sewers below our feet, are many cities inhabited by rats, mice and the occasional pet which escapes from its cage or falls down the toilet/gets into the plumbing. Ratropolis City happens to lie below the famous city of London in England.

Q. How on EARTH could rats build up a city underground? Surely they'd need a lot of bricks and stuff, which would be too heavy for them to carry?
A. Remember those old cartoons in which mice lived by using spools for chairs and match-boxes for tables and stuff like that? It's a bit like that. The rats used various things stolen from humans on "The Surface", from biscuit tins to bin lids - anything which they could find which would be useful for building up their city. On platforms around the main waterways, they built up the city. Talk about recycling! ^^

Q. When does the roleplay take place? Medieval Times? Romans? Victorian Times?
A. Why, it takes place in 21st Century Britain! ^^

Q. What about technology?
A. The techonology is pretty much the same as our modern day technology, only it's harder to use human electronics. For example, a portable television would count as a good TV set for the inhabitants, and computers are so large there's hardly going to be one in every household. Rat scientists are always working on more rat-sized techonology, though, and there are a wide variety of rat-sized products - for example, cookers and fridges.

Q. What is the currency in Ratropolis?
A. Of course, our coins would be too large for the rodents of Ratropolis. But, then again, this is where their recylcing genius comes in. They use the gold or silver paper from human's chocolate coins wrapped into small balls as a currency. Gold "coins" count as £1, a silver "coin" as about 50p, and new, small bronze coloured "coins" count as about 10p. There are, of course, bank notes too, professionally printed down to rat size.

CHARACTERS

Q. Are the characters roleplayed as anthropomorphic, bipedial or quadruped?
A. Okay, this is a complicated question, so pay attention! It's actually a mix of all three in this roleplay - it all depends on species.

All the smaller species - rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, frogs, toads and lizards - are all anthropomorphic, ie. when you give human traits to an animal, e.g. walks on hind legs, talks, wears clothing... basically lives like a human does. The anthros we use here are "furry" anthros, which keep their fur, tails, ears, and natural traits. However, they are still the same size as they would be in real life (for example, they can be kept as pets, mice could fit in the traditional mouse holes, toads could sit on lillypads without making them sink, and all of them can still fit in the sewers with a fairly large population. If you have seen the movie Flushed Away, you know what I mean.

The only bipedial species on the site are guinea pigs. They walk on their hind legs, but can still wear clothes and so on. The reason for this is because of their size in comparison to the other rodents in the roleplay.

The quadruped species are, of course, cats and dogs, again for their size. They walk on all fours and act just like normal cats and dogs. They do talk to the other animals, but humans can't understand them, and they don't wear clothing.

If you still don't get it, don't hesitate to ask!

Q. How many characters can you roleplay?
A. Fifteen characters to an account. If you want more, kill off one of your current characters or ask an admin if you may create another account.

Q. What species can you play?
A. All the species you can play as well as more detailed information can be found here, but the species which you can currently play are rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, frogs, toads and lizards, as well as guinea pigs, cats and dogs (which require special permission to play).

Q. My character's a half-breed, e.g. rat/mouse, gerbil/frog etc. Is that allowed?
A. If it makes sense, yes, but only with permission from an Administrator or Global Moderator, as half-breeds aren't as common in Ratropolis City. If we give you permission, type out a profile and we'll check it out and it will be approved as normal. However, if it makes no sense, for example, a gerbil/frog half breed, you will be given a definate no.

Q. Can my character be an unusual colour, e.g. purple, pink, red etc?
A. Unless it's in its natural colour range, NO. Not sure, PM me and I'll find out. Otherwise, NO. Same goes for eyes. However, I will allow albino animals - creatures with white fur/skin and pink/red eyes. However, these require special permission to roleplay as they are quite rare in Ratropolis City, so PM an Admin or Global Moderator for permission.

Q. Can my character have wings/powers?
A. NO. Do you usually see rats flying about, or does your pet gerbil try to hypnotise you? NO. As I said, this is meant to be at least a little realistic.

Q. Can I use characters from the film Flushed Away?
A. NO. The characters and events from the film can be mentioned, but no canon characters may be used. The reason is that canon characters from films tend to be roleplayed Out Of Character, and some members may have never seen Flushed Away (we're trying to be friendly for everyone for this). Sure, you can use your fan character if you want, as long as you cut all ties to the canon characters (for example, they CAN'T be related/be friends of the characters).

Q. Can I roleplay a character before it's approved?
A. No. We need to check it out to make sure it's all in order and abiding the rules before it's approved.

Q. Huh? My profile was rejected? WHY?!?
A. We've probably told you in the reply to your character profile. If you break a rule, if it's too short, there are too many spelling/grammar errors or it's an obvious Mary-Sue, it'll be rejected, and we'll tell you what you did wrong. Just correct your mistakes, post a message that it's fixed, and we'll check it again.

OTHER QUESTIONS

Q. Can we affilite with Ratropolis?
A. Of course! Just post in the "Links" forum usuing teh Afflite form and put up our button. If it's up, we'll link back to you!

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If you have any USEFUL questions you would like to be answered here, PM me. Otherwise... ask on the Questions and Comments board.