Cosmic evolution.
The clouds, quasars, and galaxies were born from the expanding universe, took on shape, gave off light, locked each other into a long dance of lights.
Chemical evolution.
The protons, neutrons, and electrons came together in supernovas and solar cores, forming elements from the gases.
Stellar evolution.
The gases, earths, and ices collided and grew from specks of dust into orbiting systems of shining spheres around the stars.
Biological evolution.
The minerals, slimes, and volcanoes on an empty world brought forth a thing that replicated itself and adapted to survive.
Microevolution.
The compounds, acids, and proteins that formed the entities changed subtly with every generation, altering itself to match it's surroundings.
Macroevolution.
The planet became a world.
This roleplay is a roleplay about evolution on an Earth-like planet. Players control genera and species, as opposed to characters, and all players begin at the same evolutionary stage- A simple chemosynthetic prokaryote. As time passes, the players will take control of the gradual changing of the genus, becoming more complex as they expand to fill the planet and interact with other players. Geological changes, sudden and otherwise, will force players to stay on their toes and compete with other organisms. Time will progress quickly at first, but as complexity and the speed of genetic change increases, time periods will eventually pass more slowly according to the pace of the roleplaying.
The roleplay will progress in turns, with most or all of the players having to post in no particular order before a turn can end. At the end of each turn the Game Master will summarise events and the current state of the planet. Time will pass evenly during each turn, but may accelerate or decelerate in the next turn. Every turn, players may be given a chance to mutate suddenly that, if used carefully, can give a species a quality that puts it at an advantage over other players.
Players will use their creativity in the long term to create unique and interesting genera with strategic adaptations. Although all life will be Earth-like, and covergent evolution may cause some species to resemble Earth organism in their physique or ecological niche, no genus is allowed to be identical or overly similar to one found on Earth except in the very early game. Divergent evolution may cause new organisms to develop out of player-controlled species, and these will be either added to the database of NPC or Game Master-controlled genera, or given to the players as a new type of organism to control seperately.
Posts must be made in a third-person narrating style by the players describing the interactions of their genus to those of the other players and the environment. Although interactions between induvidual organisms may be used and described in posts, induvidual organisms cannot easily be turned into characters, as the time periods required for evolution to take place are far longer than the lifespans of most organisms. The roleplay will not have a Game Master-designed storyline that players have to follow, although the Game Master will be able to maneuvre events and interactions through environmental change. Roleplayers will create their own storyline through racial memories, permanent effects on habitats and ecosystems, and long-term relationships like symbiosis and the cycle of predator and prey.
At the end of each turn, provided that a genus has changed in some way, players must update a form describing their current genera, it's ecological niche, it's relationships with other species, and of course it's physical appearance and capabilities.
1. This is a thread for discussion, questions, genera descriptions, and general chitchat between players. It is not for spamming, trolling, or flame wars.
2. Try to follow the guidelines set in place by the Game Master. Failing to do so may result in being kicked or your genera going extinct.
3. Genera may well go extinct in the course of this roleplay, but players need the permission of the Game Master or the owner of a genus to completely wipe out a species.
4. Religious views on the origin of life on Earth may differ from the views held by players and the Game Master. This is no reason to start an unnecessary argument. This roleplay has already lost three potential members to religious debate.
5. Inter-species relationships between genera controlled by one player are only allowed with the permission of the Game Master.
6. Be respectful to other players.
7. Small amounts of out-of-character comment is allowed in the in-character thread, but is discouraged.
8. If a player intends to leave the roleplay, temporarily or permanently, they must inform the Game Master so as not to become disruptive. Inactivity will not be tolerated for long.
9. Minimum post length is two paragraphs of three lines. Grammar and spelling is a requirement.
Names: Cyanobacteria, Blue-green Algae, Stromatolites
Appearance: Incredibly simple prokaryotic organisms, usually unicellular, with a variety of body shapes. Large populations cause a greenish tinge in water. Most species currently form black rocky concretions in shallow pools.
Habitat: Non-toxic sources of water at shallow depth. Stromatolites tend to form in calm, very shallow beaches.
Size: Induviduals vary from 0.5 to 60 micrometres in length or diameter. Stromatolites vary according to age, growing at the rate of several years per millimetre, without any clearly defined limit (although most are only a few centimetres tall).
Lifespan: N/A.
Reproduction: By division.
Niche: Cyanobacteria photosynthesize to produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, bringing about over millions of years the conditions required for other life forms to develop.
Distribution: Worldwide.
Names: Extremophilic Cyanobacteria
Appearance: Brightly coloured colonies of cells clustered around volcanic springs.
Habitat: Water of any depth near volcanic activity.
Size: Colonies form 'carpets' over the floor of volcanic springs; Induviduals vary, but are generally similar in size to other cyanobacteria.
Lifespan: N/A.
Reproduction: By division.
Niche: Extremophiles have no particular niche currently.
Distribution: Worldwide in very small pockets of high concentration.
Names: Chemosynthetic Prokaryotes
Appearance: N/A, do not form colonies.
Habitat: Very deep water around volcanic vents and pools of mineral solution.
Size: N/A.
Lifespan: N/A.
Reproduction: By division.
Niche: These prokaryotes survive by synthesizing carbohydrates out of hydrogen sulfide and other compounds, allowing them to survive entirely independant of sunlight.
Distribution: Worldwide in deep water.
No forms at present until the end of the turn.
The unnamed planet on which this roleplay takes place is located near the center of a red-and-blue grand design spiral galaxy, but at a relatively high elevation above the central disc. As a result, the Southern hemisphere recieves nightly starlight comparable in brightness to a particularly bright moonlit night on Earth, and a stunning view of the rest of the galaxy. The Southern Hemisphere, however, also recieves much more exposure to potentially dangerous levels of radiation from the galactic center. The Northern hemisphere, on the other hand, can see no stars except other galaxies, the other planets in its system, and a small (but stable) cloud-like dwarf galaxy orbiting above the spiral. This reduces the amount of radiation it recieves, making mutations less common, both beneficial and hazardous, but also lowers the visibility at night.
The planet orbits a binary star system at a distance much greater than that of Earth, however, its climate is Earth-like in temperature due to the high brightness of the two stars. One star is a white-blue giant of considerable size, which holds most of the system in place with it's gravity. Orbiting it is a slightly smaller but fairly bright star of a bright orange-yellow colour, similar to Sol in its early history. The planet is not tilted on its axis, and as such does not have seasons determined by which hemisphere is closer to the binary star. Instead, however, its seasons are determined by how close the two stars are visibly. Before, during and after an eclipse of the suns, only one star is visible, and a colder 'winter' season takes place. When the stars are side-by-side in the sky, the planet recieves full light from both of them, and goes through a 'warm' season. Thus with every orbit of the orange/yellow star around the blue star, the planet goes through four main seasons: A moderately cold season in which the yellow star eclipses the white, making the sunlight orange-yellow (although parts of the white star are still in view), followed by a warm season in which they are both in view and the two colours together give off white light (with a tiny hint of green), followed by a blue-coloured season colder than the orange eclipse due to only on star being visible at all, and finally another very pale green summer season. The actual years of the planet are incredibly long, interfering little with the solar seasons.
The planet is one of a system of six. Three minor rocky planets orbit close to the binary star, followed by a small gas giant about three times the mass of the roleplay planet, similar to Jupiter in appearance but with slightly more even gas bands and two thin but visible rings. This is followed by the roleplaying planet, which is half again as large as Earth, but has a similar gravity and density due to a lighter chemical composition (a larger rocky mantle and a smaller metallic core). The roleplaying planet is orbited by five satellites and a collection of icy and rocky rings similar to that of Saturn, occasionally casting a shadow over parts of the daylit planet. The rings and moons keep the planet very stable on it's axis. The combined movements of the satellites, three icy and quite small, but two rocky and somewhat larger (although not as large as the Moon) pull its water into tides. Each tidal cycle takes two days, not counting the occasional eccentricity. Each day has three tides, two similarly low or high in the morning and early evening, and one opposite in the midday. Every second day these tides are reversed. The largest rocky moon is volcanically active, and suitable for specialised life, although it does not possess the required oceans for life to arise.
Beyond the roleplaying planet lies a wide empty space, and a large asteroid belt, followed by an ice giant of formidable size similar in appearance to Uranus without its rings. The gravity of the ice giant keeps the belt from forming a new planet, but it's influence isn't strong enough to pull the debris inwards and trigger a planetary bombardment. Usually.
The current climate of the planet is warm but cooling slowly, lacking in any ice caps or even temporary ice sheets except on the highest of mountains, which experience snow in the colder seasons. The only current landmasses are a supercontinent on the equator, with most of its area in the southern hemisphere, and multiple long archipelagoes. The land is currently still volcanically active, but has mostly cooled to make a quiet but barren landscape of fertile earths and volcanic minerals.
