« stray »

❖ COMMUNITY RULES ❖

The Wyld is a roleplaying Free Company based out of Diabolos in Final Fantasy XIV. Our community does not require or push FC membership. Our community hosts three events that operate on a rotating schedule:
Wyld Hunt, Roommates, and Broken Collar Club.We are a community that values OOC comfort and connections over in-character storylines. We do not take a policy of “no drama” or “no politics”, and we do not care to justify the quality of a person’s writing against the quality of their character.We are a 21+ only community. 21+ discussion is asked to be kept to properly indicated NSFW channels, including suggestive comments about other writers and/or their characters.

OOO . GENERAL

◆ Stray is not a server that is “drama free” or bans “politics”, in the sense that these policies tend to silence discussions on things like transphobia, racism, homophobia, mental health, ethnicity and so on, or to shelter bigotry. Users are allowed to speak at will on the things that affect them. Stray, as a whole, is anti-bigotry.◆ Stray encourages direct communication and setting boundaries; users are allowed to clearly define when they dislike something said or done to them, and can request it not be repeated, or offer a different course of action to take next time. Some users may also ask for tone indicators.◆ Although Stray is 21+, Stray does ask that members move to the 18 and over channel for any explicit material, including if 18+ material is brought up often or are comments aimed at other people’s characters. Users are encouraged to indicate if they do not want suggestive/adult comments aimed at their characters.◆ Immediate bans are implemented for a user engaging in: inappropriate conduct with minors, interest in “loli” or “shota” content, grooming, stalking, racism and right-wing social media conduct, transphobia and homophobia, Zionism, and zoophilia.

OO1 . NSFW AND SENSITIVE CONTENT

◆ NSFW material is opt-in. If you are not interested in NSFW material, you do not have to engage with it.◆ Stray does not subscribe to the “dead dove” mentality. Users with an interest in incest, pedophilia, zoophilia or necrophilia fall under the aforementioned rule of Stray not tolerating predators, abusers or bigots. Stray also disallows lalafell in any NSFW context.

OO2 . AI GENERATED CONTENT

No.

OO1 . TONE & LORE COMPLIANCE

◆ Stray is a low to middling power, mature fantasy roleplay space. To that end, Stray does not allow Primals, auspices, entities created through prayer (i.e., the Twelve), first brood dragons/great wyrms, first rung voidsent, lightwardens or other characters that could feasibly contend with them. Characters should be plausible within the boundaries of the game.See our Style Guide for more information.◆ Stray’s writing may include, but is not limited to the following content warnings: violence and gore, firearms, fascism and imperialism, racism, ethics and morality, mental health and mental health crises, suicide and suicidal ideation, self harm, drug use and substance dependency, politics, unreality, and more. Stray looks for consent between roleplay partners and content warnings for these before roleplay happens.

OO2 . CONSENT AND ASSENT

◆ Venue openings are understood to be relatively lighthearted. By default, characters in /say should act as if they are mundane and ordinary, and that the atmosphere remains in line with venue spaces. More dramatically charged scenes you would like to host within venue spaces should be planned with a GM and/or moderator ahead of time, left to after hours, or written in forums.◆ In line with the above, characters and users typically do not consent to bigoted characters in venue spaces without prior planning and/or permission. Characters with bigoted speech or actions can, and likely will, be met with violence and not sheltered. Many writers in our community must deal with systemic and interpersonal conflicts on a day to day basis, and did not all agree to involve themselves in these same conflicts used as plot devices in their spare time.

OO3 . "THE LIVING WORLD"

Stray’s venues are expected to be treated as a dynamic and interactive space, in line with the above. Interactions that exist in publicly accessible channels like /say within our venues and in the overworld should be considered fair game for other writers to react to, even if they are not directly engaged with your character. If you would like a conversation to remain private, we encourage the use of private channels such as /party and /tell.No one is obligated to interact with another writer, but if you are coming to our venues and participating in our community, we anticipate that you will be at least respectful toward attempts at walk-up RP from those you both do and do not know. This is also true in the other direction: If you exist in our spaces, you will be treated with respect if you walk-up to other roleplayers and interact based on what has been said in the public channels, or what hooks that roleplayer has available on their public profile and supplemental material.If you do not desire to interact with someone for any reason: you are encouraged to tell them upfront, in line with our rules regarding communication. If you feel uncomfortable with communication, you may ask a moderator or staff member to come assist you. Wallflowering is acceptable and you are not obligated to interact! We simply expect that individuals existing in the public space will be courteous and direct with one another.

❖ ASSOCIATES ❖

Not all of the listed venues below are officially affiliated with Stray. These are venues and roleplaying communities that our officers and patrons either regularly attend or assist with operating. We enjoy the way that these events are run, and we are friends with the community managers at the events listed below. We endorse these communities, and would like to recommend attending these venues & joining their servers to anyone who is seeking new places to roleplay!

Our "ARPG", or Art and Roleplaying Game, is our alternative to a Free Company plotline or application-based campaign. ARPGs are a format of player-driven, open-participation story campaign moved forward by player contribution. Game Masters provide minimal contributions aside from set dressing and event running, and allow players the freedom to inject ideas and collaborate on influencing the direction of the overall storyline.

THE WYLD is a Roleplaying Free Company based out of Diabolos in Final Fantasy XIV. The Wyld is an adventuring company... on the surface. Underneath that carefully crafted veneer is the truth that the Wyld operates what most would call "witness protection". Its proprietor, Yora Caarvelian, prefers to call it "social work". Either way, the mission is the same. Find those who are the most in need, and find a way to ensure their safety and recovery.Split into a number of divisions, the Wyld carefully conceals its true purpose in order to efficiently carry out its role, keeping safe its charges, and maintaining secrecy in its inner circles. Only the right kind of person can possibly fulfill this work. Someone who doesn't want to.

JOINING & PARTICIPATING

In order to participate in the ARPG / our ongoing story campaign, players must join our Discord server and complete a brief character profile, and three introductory roleplays called Appeals. These Appeals establish a basis for your character's presence and involvement, and rather than us expecting players to complete an application justifying why their character should participate in the campaign, we encourage players to continually address their character motivations. These roleplays are:

OO1 . APPEAL TO COIN

It’s hard to justify participating in a rescue mission or doing a bounty when the rent is due. Your character needs to have a way of securing their finances. How are you affording daily living expenses while participating?Prompt: Depict your character securing finances long-term, or involved in an interaction that addresses where their money is coming from. How are they going to pay their bills while they're adventuring? How will they provide for themselves while following along with the Wyld?

OO2 . APPEAL TO TRAINING

In order to keep up with the Wyld, you have to be able to defend yourself, or at least defend others. That, or you need the skills to follow along with the people around you. In order to learn these skills, you need a mentor to teach you their use and application.. How are you surviving the inherent dangers of adventuring?Prompt: Depict your character finding a mentor or training partner to learn the skills needed to keep up with the company, and training at least one of them. Do they want to rely on others, or are they abrasive and opposed to collaboration? Do they succeed with ease, or struggle to learn? What might they learn with help, that they couldn't before?

OO3 . APPEAL TO COMMITMENT

The Wyld’s deepest secrets will test you as a person. Your morals, your limits, and your strength. How long can you go on without breaking? What decisions will you make under pressure? When things get tough, why are you sticking around?Prompt: Depict your character in a situation that tests their morals. How will your character react when their core values are confronted? Are they vindicated, or are they left struggling to justify their beliefs? How will they move forward and find the motivation to keep trying after having to question the things they believe in? How does this affect them long-term?

❖ CURRENT ARC ❖

⟡ ERRAND V | THE ERA OF INFORMATION ⟡

From: October 25, 2025 | Until: November 22, 2025

🡒 NEXT: CRUCIBLE III ⟡ November 22, 2025 - February 7, 2026

Marcel Abbot is used to being on-call at all hours - so perhaps it’s no surprise when his comms device lights up at the very moment the clock strikes midnight.The screen lights the still night. Madam Order has an update.It seems that a few moons ago, Marcel’s declining of her call caused a cascade that ripped through her servers - deleting her entire database, including critical data on dangerous monitored entities. It’s been long enough for the first stage of her task for him - his integration into the company known as the Wyld - to be complete. Now comes the second part.Two birds, one stone.Intent on using the manpower of the Wyld to repopulate her missing database, Madam Order has passed out a shipment of comms devices - more than enough for every member of the Wyld to have their own. They feature a connection to new, more secure servers for their new users to input data into - as well as social boards, and an instant-messaging capability.Thoroughly aware of the average Eorzean’s potentially-limited technical literacy, Madam Order has also seen fit to add to each of the phones a Virtual Assistant - a simple bot that can engage with users in a spoken capacity and access each part of the comms device with only spoken word.She signs off, as ever, briefly.That will be all, Abbott. Goodnight.

In the depths of the Sagolii Desert, the heat is cranked up with a festival of music, art, self-expression and the razing of an effigy – referred to as the Hyur – and only those who are in the know are given any notice. Seven Songbirds is one such individual, and after being approached by a hrothgar named Tybalt, received an invitation to the annual burning of a fake hyur.

📖 Undecided and Admin
For a network like this to function, it requires nodes - people, in this case - to use it. Given records and correspondence come through you more so than any other hand, it falls to you to establish this network and report on its record-keeping capabilities.Prompt 1 ⸻ Depict your character helping to hand out the devices brought to the Hunt by Marcel. How would they ensure that they end up in the right hands and are accessible to those within the Wyld?
Prompt 2 ⸻ Depict your character utilising the device for data input and organisation about the upcoming Burning Hyur festival. What sort of information can you find, and how can you share that with others?⚔️ Hunter
This device is supposed to help with your day-to-day field operations by improving workflows, offering directions and guidance and improving overall communications between yourselves and others. Put that promising proposal to the test and see what sort of benefits (or flaws) it brings to the table.Prompt 1 ⸻ Depict your character utilising the app while within the field. How much or how little will they engage with the various functionalities? How much can it actually provide assistance to you, and does it actually do so? Does it help you, or hinder you?
Prompt 2 ⸻ Depict your character acquiring information about the upcoming Burning Hyur festival. What security is on offer, and are there any potential risks within the Sagolii desert at present which may need tending to prior to the event? That could well be your own ticket in, for providing a service to the organisers in advance.🌠 Supplier and Retrieval
In a logistical-heavy role such as yours, data collection and acquisition of information is paramount - as is keeping stock of what is coming in and out of the premises. In a period of relative quiet, it seems only best to engage fully with the new technology on offer to see how it performs in the day-to-day operations and ad-hoc requests that befit the company.Prompt 1 ⸻ Depict your character’s use of the app’s data collection functions during communications with another player. Whether it is putting in a request for an item they have asked for, or submitting a report to another team or department, there’ll be plenty to take stock of which you can now do (theoretically) at the click of a button.
Prompt 2 ⸻ Depict youre character gathering supplies for company members who have shown an interest in going to the upcoming Burning Hyur festival. Tents, food, water, clothing, travel to the location itself… a lot is needed to survive in the Sagolii, even during an organised event.💭 Broker and Liaison
In this Era of Information you are the trailblazers: likely to know the ins and outs of this new technology before others, which can allow you to lead by direct example. See what trends you can set and what new information you can acquire through it; see what strings you can pull to get people to where they need to go.Prompt 1 ⸻ Depict your character using the app’s messageboard function. Lead by example by encouraging other members to do the same. Send messages to those in the company who may need some encouragement, or organise a time to go through new shortcuts you’ve learned.
Prompt 2 ⸻ Depict your character securing invitations to the upcoming Burning Hyur festival for whoever wants them. Surviving in the Sagolii aside, those tickets are expensive… so you may need to do a little bit of schmoozing and persuading. How successful are you, and how much can you get away with?