See instructions on the Starting Out page.

Absolutely nothing. HB is 100% free... and hassle free, too! No registration or personal information required. And no, we won't spam your inbox. ;)

In the User Menu on the left, click on Edit Account. Fill out all of your details, and submit.

HB no longer supports the ability to upload an avatar directly to our server. To change your avatar, you should first upload it to a site like Photobucket or Tinypic. Double check that the dimensions of your avatar are 100x100 pixels. Then, copy and paste the URL for your avatar into your Edit Account page, under the correct horse's information. Avatars should correspond with your horses.

At the moment, avatars are not working for the forums. There will be a quick fix soon which will display the avatar for your first horse by default, but Michi is working on a way to select which avatar you want to post with. It may take some time, so please bear with us 'til then.

In the User Menu on the left, click on View Account. From there, select the Edit Password button at the top of the page.

1. Click on the Forums link at the top of the page
2. Find the forum you wish to post on and click on it.
3. Use the dark blue "New Topic" button in the top right hand corner of the page to pull up the topic submission page.

1. Click on the thread you wish to reply to
2. Either use the Quick Reply form at the bottom of the page, or click on the Reply button beneath the post you wish to reply to.

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Those are called postscripts. To make one, follow the guide here.

To earn a power, your horse must embark on a spirit quest at Terranfall. To begin your quest, all you need to do is create a new thread here with the character who is questing. You will embark on a journey full of one-sided roleplay, guided by staff members.

Not all quests will result in a power being gifted. Only those who truly earn it will be given a power. They are rare gifts, and not to be expected.

No. Powers are not genetic. They will not pass on to offspring, nor will they be shared with your mate or the rest of your herd. Powers are deeply personal things: they are given to one horse and one horse only, and will remain with that horse until he or she dies.

Strictly speaking, no. Although many horses may receive similar powers, no two horses should - in theory - ever have the same gift.

Sure... if you want your character to get deleted.

A horse may join a particular faction for a number of reasons. Ideally, a horse should choose his or her faction because it is what he or she most believes in and is willing to risk his/her life for. However, in many cases it is acceptible for a horse to join a faction they wouldn't join otherwise because they wish to remain with a mate, family member, or herd.

No. It is acceptible to be neutral, in which case you would either support all factions in the war, or support none.

It is not recommended for a horse to live with a faction other than its own and should be a very rare scenario... but yes, it can happen. The exception to this rule is that enemy factions (Purists and Scholars, Anarchists and Zealots, or Pacifists and Purists) may not live together.

No. Because this is a war, it is not recommended for a Lord to allow a Vassal of an enemy faction to reside in his territory... but Vassals are not required to be the same factions as their Lords. For example, an Anarchist Lord may allow a Pacifist, Scholar, or Purist Vassal to raise a herd in his territory, but is not likely to allow a Zealot and may take action if a Zealot tries to challenge one of his existing Vassals. (However, if RP allows, situations may exist where enemy factions do live in the same territory: this is up to their players.)

On the one hand, factions are important because it shows what your characters believe in. It gives them the opportunity to stand up for what they think is right and try to build a better Terra based on their beliefs. On the other hand, horses who remain factionless (neutral) will be unable to ever receive a power. Powers are granted by the gods to their personal warriors; those not taking part in the war, therefore, have no use for them.

All stallions who have a herd or own land are considered herd leaders. Vassals are a step above landless herd leaders: they do own land. However, the plots of land they own are smaller segments of a larger territory. Lords are the leaders who control the whole of that territory (and reside in its capitol.) Vassals are answerable to their Lords: the Lords may set rules for them, ask for their aid in battle, etc. In severe circumstances, a Lord does have the right to banish a Vassal, with the knowledge that another Vassal will soon take his place. However, Vassals do have high rank, and are answerable to no one other than their Lord, their faction leader, and their god.

Like before, there are leaders of every herdland. The only change is that these leaders are now called Lords, and they let other herds - Vassals' herds - live on parts of their land. For example, there is a different herd living in The Tritan Ring than there is living in Cunei and Khado or in The Walk... but they are ALL part of the Plam Isles. The Lord of each area owns ALL herdlands in the area - so in this case, Titanium owns Cunei and Khado, The Tritan Ring, and The Walk. But while Titanium's herd only lives in Cunei and Khado, his Vassals' herds live in the other two areas. You're allowed to post in the Palm Isles as a whole (which is a forum) or in the specific herd area you want, depending on the purpose of your post.

Vassals, in a sense, act as additional beta stallions to their Lords. If a Lord is attacked, a Vassal pledges to fight for and protect the Lord and his herd. In return, the Lord gives the Vassal a portion of his land to live on. (It is for this reason that a Vassal should never be of an enemy faction to his Lord - an enemy Vassal is not likely to want to protect his Lord and break his contract if the Lord ever found himself in danger.)

The faction leaders are the figureheads - usually a Lord or a Vassal - for each faction. These horses (not always stallions) hold power in all herdlands which fall within their faction. The sanctuary for each faction will always rest in the land of the faction leader, and will change if a new faction leader arises. The only way for a horse to win the position of faction leader is to beat the old faction leader in battle, judged by Braveheart. (Rules are the same as battling for land.)

To be sure, I'm not honest. I would guess the first version of Hoofbeat opened in October of 2002. I can't tell you for sure what version we're on now - probably 8 or 9. I stopped counting.