Amaranthine Breeds

All Amarinthians, regardless of breed, may naturally display the following traits:

* Any type of build or combination of builds, as well as any amount of natural feathering/fluffiness
* Any color of coat, including purely fantastical. In-game, natural and semi-natural colors and markings are the most common. All kinds of markings are welcome as long as they seem at least reasonably naturalistic - things like pictures of snakes would be considered tattoos, not naturally occurring markings
* Have any color, length and style of hair desired.
* Have any color eyes, including heterochromia. Sclera may naturally be white or dark/black. Pupils are most often rounded and humanlike, but may be ovals or slit.
* All Amaranthians canonically have eyebrows, but depicting them is optional.
* The option to have sharp canines or even a set of teeth appearing fully carnivorous instead of equine teeth - although latter is often a bit of a disadvantage when chewing veggies
* The option to have additional eyes (up to 9) along their head, neck and/or chest. These may be the same or different color than their main pair, and their actual functionality as eyes may wary according to your liking. The eyes may be (and often are) significantly larger than the main pair.
* The option to have up to two additional pairs of legs. These should be placed relatively near the “normal” pairs and be of the same size. They function just like regular legs do.

**Additionally, Cervids may**

* Have cloven or horse hooves at the players discretion, regardless of breed
* Opt to have a horse-like mane or deerlike "neckscruff". Tail will be deerlike, unless altered by a breed trait.

Any equine that displays the traits of more than one breed is considered a **hybrid**. You are able to freely create any pure or hybrid equine - however, when creating children from IC parents, they can only include breeds from the parents.

## Common

The plainest of the residents of Amaranthine, they are the most direct equivalent of our real life horses and deer, with no additional features parceled in. In hybrids, they generally appear as the removal of a breed typical trait of another breed. Note that common cervids do not have horns/antlers.

Although commons are relatively “plain”, they do have the clear benefit of not having to worry about any adverse health effects that may bother other breeds.

**Commons have:**

* Equine, single clawed hooves; cervids may have cloven or equine hooves
* Equine tails (may be horse, zebra, donkey etc) for horses; deer tail for cervids (generally these two types are referred to as "common tails")
* No other distinguishing features.

## Unicorn

Unicorns are, according to themselves at least, the original breed of Amaranthine. They are easily distinguished from all other breeds by their remarkable horns.

Unicorns are born with only tiny nubs, and their horns usually remain quite small and unremarkable until they’re preteens, at which point they grow rapidly. Unicorn horns generally reach their full size between 16-22 years of age, and older unicorns often display chipping, scratches and other “wear and tear” on their horns. If their horns or gemstone growths are significantly damaged or even removed, they will never grow back in their full glory again.

Some unicorns have horns that naturally grow in a way that may hurt them, such as the horn twisting inward and piercing the skin. These horns must often be cut and sanded during adolescence to prevent further injury. Trauma during development may also alter the shape of the horns - with some unicorns choosing to intentionally guide the growth with various contraptions.

**Unicorns have:**

* Either cloven or equine hooves. May have dewclaws.
* Either lionel or common tails. Lionel tail may present as the classic “long tail with tussle at the end” or as an elongated, tail with hair running along it
* At least one horn, but up to six. Horns must be located on the head, but may be arranged in any pattern. May present as tusks. Horns should not be tined or resemble antlers, but otherwise may be any shape and (reasonable) size.
	+ Horns may be bone, gemstone, metal or combination thereof.
* The option to present natural gemstone growths. These are skin deep, and will bleed if plucked off their owner.

## Pegasus

Pegasi are the only breed naturally capable of flight, immediately recognizable by their wings.

Wings are very small when born, and only become strong enough to lift the foal into the air when the child is around 4-5 years old - which is likely a blessing. Wings usually reach their full size in late adolescence when the teen stops growing - and like with their legs, growing teens often feel very clumsy with their constantly growing, unruly wings.

Consistent practice is needed to become a great flier; pegasi who rarely or never fly generally lack both the strength and skill to fly more than very short distances. All pegasi have the innate instinct (and a touch of air magic) to fly, but anyone is able to tell an experienced flier from a total landlubber.

If a pegasus loses a full or partial wing, it may be replaced by magical prosthetics - but they will never fly as well again. Two fully prosthetic wings would not be able to support flight at all. Losing a wing would always be a serious, traumatic injury with heavy bleeding - something an individual would usually not survive without immediate assistance.

**Pegasi have:**

* Equine, single clawed hooves; cervids may have cloven or equine hooves
* Common tails, or feather tails (or combination) or long, elongated tails with either feathers, hair, both or neither at the end.
* Wings - either avian, dragonic, batlike, modeled after pterosaurs or insectoid. Wings may take after real life species, but do not have to. If wings are modeled after non-flighted birds, the character is incapable of flight.
	+ Up to two pairs of wings may be present on the back
* The option to present feathers anywhere on their bodies
* The option to have small, wing-like appendages in any or all of the following spots: behind the ears, on fetlocks, behind elbows. These wings usually match the larger wings in style and coloration, but do not have to. These “wings” can not support flight, but can move. They don’t count towards the two pair maximum.

## Hippocampus

Hippocampi have the strange ability to shift between forms - they may present either as equines/cervids, or transform into a water form that replaces the back end of their body with that of a sea-creature. In their landform they may be indistinguishable from commons, but most have at least some fins or scales that showcase their true nature.

Hippocampi are generally born with very dull colored, greyish or almost-see through fins and scales which gain their true color over the first few months of life. Their fins are flat when born, but flare out quickly, and are often similar size proportionally as they will be on the adult. Scales, if any are present, start out soft and distinctly slippery before hardening by the time the foal is one year old.

Hippocampi have an uncanny ability to control how much oxygen their body uses, and can hold their breaths for up to an hour underwater. They must swim similarly to dolphins and other water-based mammals unless using magic to enhance their abilities.

Although not all hippocampi enjoy swimming, or even being near water, they do all enjoy moisture. Especially those hippocampi who were blessed with a large amount of scales must take care to moisturise, as the scales can dry out and become itchy, especially in hot and dry climates.

**Hippocampi have:**

* Equine, single clawed hooves; cervids may have cloven or equine hooves
* Common tails or oceanic tails.
* A water form where they have the front end of a horse/cervid (head down to about middle of the body) and an oceanic back end (replaces equine body from midpoint down, including back legs and tail)
* Their oceanic component may come from *any* non-avian creature that primarily lives in the sea. This includes fish, crustaens, whales, seals and extinct species. Do not need to accurately reflect real life species, but should look plausible and reasonably naturalistic in terms of shape.
* The option to have fins present on their body in both forms.
* The option to have fish-like scaling on their bodies in both forms. Scales are generally small and fairly flat.
* The option to present natural luminescence, even if not present in the modeled species.

## Kirin

Kirins most closely resemble unicorns, but are distinguished from them by their scales and antlers. They also tend to have several additional manes, such as dorsal or elbow manes, to further decorate their appearance. Their traits appear reptilian or dragonic in origin.

Like unicorns, kirins are born with only tiny nubs for antlers, and the antlers will often remain only a few inches tall during early childhood. They experience their first growth spurt around 7-9 years of age, and will continue to grow throughout the kirins life, although the exact rate of growth varies - some kirins only exhibit minimal, barely visible growth, while others grow absolutely massive antler racks. The growth between antlers may be uneven, and it's not unusual for adults to experience growth spurts either.

Some kirins believe that larger racks are better, and hold great pride in their massive crowns, even as they become undoubtedly cumbersome. If a rack grows too large, it presents a clear hindrance to its owner, not only getting stuck to various things, but also weighing quite a lot, causing strain on the neck and back.

If an antler is damaged, it never grows back quite as magnificent, but in most cases a new antler *will* grow within the next few years, even if the original had to be removed completely.

**Kirins have:**

* Cloven hooves. May have dewclaws.
* Either reptile, lionel or common tails. Lionel tail may present as the classic “long tail with tussle at the end” or as an elongated, tail with hair running along it. Reptilian tail may have any coverage of scales, and may terminate in a tassel and/or have hair running along its length.
* At least one antler, but up to four. Antlers must be located on the upper part of the head - typically near the ears. Antlers must always have at least some tines, but otherwise may be any shape and (reasonable) size.
	+ Antlers may be bone, gemstone, metal or (supremely hard) glass.
	+ Antlers do not need to resemble any real life animal. Fully fantastical is fine!
* Scales; ranging from very minimal to full body coverage. Scales may be small or large, shapely or simple, and vary in thickness. Scales are hard leather, but may be any color.
	+ Kirin scales have similar protective quality as leather armor - they’re hard, but not impenetrable. The scales don’t protect kirins from magical attacks.
* The option to have reptilian/dragonic spines or fins. These are hard leather, same as the scales.
* The option to have dragonic spikes on their bodies. These will usually match the antlers in color/material. They should be small, and not resemble unicorn horns.
* The option to have additional hair/manes, ranging from none at all to “lots”. Typical placements include dorsal, elbows, legs, rump, chest/belly and shoulders. May also grow a lion-like mane in place of a regular mane.

## Hybrid

Hybrids are results of crossbreeding between the various breeds. They exhibit at least one trait from each of the breeds present in their genes - while common hybrids are generally recognized by the *lack* of traits.

In essence, a hybrid may have any of the traits available to the pure breeds that make up their particular hybridization, in any combination, as long as at least something is present to represent each breed. No two hybrids are alike, and they aren’t really considered a true “breed” in their own right.

Hippocampus hybrids may or may not have a water form. If they do, they have similar abilities as pure hippocampi (although they may be further encumbered by things like antlers and horns, if they have them). If one is a pegasus/hippocampus hybrid, it's up to the owner if the wings are present in the water form - if they are, they would likely be quite the hindrance to swimming.

**Some examples of hybrids**

* A horse with feathers but no wings - common horse/pegasus hybrid
* A cervid with wings, three straight horns and a single tined antler - unicorn/pegasus/kirin hybrid
* A horse with six legs, extra eyes and large scales - common horse/kirin hybrid (extra eyes and legs are available to all breeds)
* A horse with fins, dragon wings, dragon scales and spines, 6 horns and 2 tined antlers - unicorn/pegasus/hippocampus/kirin hybrid
* A cervid with wings, cloven hooves and a fishtail - a pegasus/hippocampus hybrid (cervids may have cloven hooves in any breed)