Honestly, we thought we were rated PG-13 (which we should be) but the explicit nature of some threads might've bumped it up a notch.

Likewise, some threads on Hou Tian contain the use of expletives; primarily within the spam threads. Although this is a case by case phenomena, few threads exceed the P13 level in this regard.

For the most part, this forum is a teen-friendly environment, and while we, as the admins and staff, do not condone any explicitly sexual content or cursing, we believe it's the members' job to be mature, and responsible for their own actions.

If you have a problem with something and feel the need to complain, don't hesitate to contact us! Feel free to express your concerns in the Complaints and Suggestions forum provided. We'll try and take care of your issues as best we can.

The Crater (aka the palace), Upper Ba Sing Se, and the Air Temples are all considered to be restricted. Each board contains a note about who is able to post there. For the palace, it is the royal family and their staff. The same goes for The Upper Ring. The Air Temples are open to wannabe Airbenders, or people like Teo's family. However, with a legitimate invitation from someone who can give it and a logical reason, you can post there. For example, if Aang invites Character A to an Air Temple when Character A would normally be unable to post there, that is perfectly okay.

For canonical reasons, we can't just have everyone wandering through the Fire Nation palace, or the impossible-to-reach-alone temples--especially if, as it sometimes happens, the character posts once and is never heard from again. There are ways to play here, however, and one of those ways is to join the staff of the Palace. There are a lot of available positions--be sure to check them out!

Besides guys, the staff at the Palace is where it is at. They can be as silly as they want and no one cares! It's tempting to want a royal character or to be Zuko's BFF, but trust me. They are so boring.

Due to the multitude of storylines on Hou Tian, it can feel confusing at first and hard to understand when you are just starting out. That feeling doesn't last, and you should never feel nervous about asking anyone on the moderation staff to help you out. That being said, we are working on a timeline, but it is a huge job that requires a little time and patience.

We do have a lovely map courtesy of Eevachu.

Okay! Please refer to the Character Creation FAQ

Well, hold up for a second, and please refer to the Character Creation FAQ

Each thread has its own time-bubble; you can have an RP going on in the past or future simultaneously, and each thread moves independently. Not everyone plays at the same pace and RPing in real-time would be a real headache.

The Letters board is a place for an written correspondence between two characters to go. They must be in-character and abide by what has already been roleplayed or agreed upon. If you are writing to a character for the first time, it is probably a smart idea to let the player know in a PM--it just makes things easier on everybody. Remember this board is in character. You should not be writing to someone your character does not already know.

...Nope! But there are plenty of other options out there, so go wild. Take a look around the character adoption pages as well!

Information on the Scarlet Plague can be found here.It is currently only centered around Ba Sing Se, but this is subject to change as the story progresses. Pay attention to your stickies and you will be kept up to date.

Probably most of the things you would see in a modern pediatrician's office is thanks to the miracle of modern science. Stethoscopes and needles, needing to pee in a cup, MRI machines (;p), probably not things you would see in the Avatar universe. Use simple discretion and try to keep things realistic and you should be fine.

Yes. You can even make a roleplay archive thread. It won't be stickied, but you can use it in your signature for reference.

In order for some folks around here to have the colors for the characters that they have (Aang is white, Katara is Blue, etc), there's a certain level you have to put the account under, which is why you see the Admin link. However, these players have no real Administration rights or roles, it's just to be able to make your account look nifty.

Polarpumas, Puppykittens, ttldx, Rathounds, Wolfbears, Wolfbats, and other things. The possibilities are endless. Animals abound at Hou Tian.

You can have as many characters as you can handle. Whether that be one, three, or ten, we encourage active roleplay throughout the forum and if you need more characters to make that happen, then by all means, create another if you'd like! The more the merrier.

This is probably scattered somewhere over the board, but as far as characters go, you can refer back to the Character Creation F.A.Q. for rules regarding what is allowed here and what isn't.

Well if you haven't already, a good place to get the ball rollin' might just be the Beginnings board, where you can introduce yourself and meet the mods and other roleplayers on the forum.

Yes and no.

Airbenders are kind of extinct, though this doesn't rule out the fact that there are people in the world that have the potential to learn it. If you wish for your character to be an Airbender, you must PM the player of Aang and ask if it's alright for your character to train with him.

This all depends on your character's gender, and habitation.

Because the South Pole is being reestablished as a community, the likelihood of having a combative female Waterbender at all is extremely unlikely. If your character is female, and you wish to learn in the art of combative Waterbending, you need to seek out the player of Katara and ask if it will be alright if your character can train under her.

Combative Waterbenders are generally limited to the men of the Northern Water Tribe. Waterbenders with healing abilities are limited to the women of the Northern Water Tribe. Any character born, or raised in the North may follow along with the tradition.

The only exception to these rules are the people of the Foggy Swamp Tribe - who can Waterbend regardless of custom and gender.

The rest are fine. Just remember to do a little research into the nation/culture of your desired character. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that there are styles of bending, like Lightning, Metal and so on - make a note that. However, you may not incorporate these bending styles into your character. If a special bending ability is granted, they are a privilege given to those with seniority. Even still, such cases will be extremely rare;depreciating the ability levels of key characters such as Aang, Azula, Toph, etc are considered to be highly distasteful. Please remember that.

The list of current taken canon characters can be found here.

A current listing of vital currently unplayed canon characters can be found in the ticker on the Hou Tian Homepage. If you are interested in playing a canon character, post your tryout to the Canon Applications board. If the canon character you are interested in is unlisted, PM a mod with the details.

Canon refers to characters that are originally from the show itself, ie: Aang, Sokka, Suki, etc.

Roleplay is when you assume the persona of a character. It's a lot like writing a story but in this case you are writing while interacting with other people. Posts are made in a sequence (usually) and you respond to what happened in the previous post.

An example would be:

Post one: Barney ran around in circles, screaming wildly.

Post two: Fred moved towards Barney and attempted to hit him with a club.

Post three: The club met with Barney's head and crushed his skull.

Granted, you will be expected to write more than that. Fleshed-out, descriptive posts are appreciated. You can't give a roleplay dimension and meaning with a series of shallow, vapid one-liners.

Godmoding or "powerplaying" is when someone takes control of another person's character without permission, forcing them to do things that the creator might not have intended to happen. Power-playing is also when someone writes as if their character is invincible and indestructible. This is retarded. Don't do it. Otherwise disciplinary actions might have to be taken.

For a more in depth description on Godmoding, powerplaying, and other no-no's, you can check here.

Do not make a scene on the forum. Work it out through PMs and if things do not get any better, PM a security mod. We'll try to work things out. But don't go being a whiny cry-baby about everything. Not cool.