In the Felid Factor roleplay, you take the role of a TCP- a tiny cat person! As the name would suggest, these are anthropomorphic, stylized feline people on a small scale. Despite their size, there are accommodations made for them in the world they inhabit- Morbit! Morbit has a lot more species involved to learn about and enjoy, but Felid Factor is an in-universe forum run by and used by TCPs specifically, in order to provide them a space where they can talk about TCP issues and meet others like them. Living in a world that isn’t always your size can be difficult, along with the various functional differences between TCPs and “complexes”- which is to say, any species or person that isn’t a TCP. While tiny cat people have mixed feelings about the term, it’s an easy shorthand for distinctions both in-universe and out.

Let’s go into some of the things you’ll need to know about playing a TCP!

BASICS OF A TCP

Tiny cat people are very small, usually between 1-12 inches in height. Their exact height and appearance depend on their type. Types are based on improper, non-copyright nouns, and exclude NSFW or harmful words. A TCP’s type determines the look of them, and appearances can vary hugely! Here are a couple examples of TCP:

There are over 1000 defined TCP types so far between finished and planned designs, but you’re welcome to come up with your own as well! There are even hybrids between types, conditions and modifiers that change how a TCP looks, functions, and experiences the world, and little anomalies that let you make your TCP completely yours. The typical TCP is just a recolor of their typing, but with everything there is to offer, these designs have endless potential. Make something you think is fun!

Types also define abilities- special powers that a TCP can have. This can range from seemingly simple things like changing the properties of an object (or living thing…) to more extensive powers like changing the intensity of someone’s emotions or warping time.

If you want to take a look at all the TCP types and get a feel for what TCPs look and sound like, what abilities they have, and all sorts of other cool information, you can head to the TCPdex here.

Be aware- TCPs can have a lot of horror elements in their designs, and cartoon gore is common!

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMPLEXES AND TCPS

Here’s some quick and easy differences between (the majority of) complexes and TCPs- keeping in mind that complex species can vary beyond this.

-Most TCPs are full of slime referred to as “fluid”. Some complex species also have this, but typically have a relatively thicker body “shell” than the average TCP. TCPs with fluid are usually fairly easy to cut and puncture, so be careful! Aside from this, they don’t really have organs, and their eyes are actually “eyespots”- though getting them damaged does impact vision.

-TCPs do not need to breathe. They can remain underwater without any trouble- but be careful, water poses unique risks to TCPs such as more easily bleeding out and/or getting waterlogged if wounded.

-TCPs can eat and sleep, but generally do not need to. TCPs that live on Morbit and were socialized to value eating and sleeping are more prone to doing so than those that don’t. Eating provides health and status benefits, but the average TCP can only consume material from other food-based types. Don’t worry- food types regenerate! Weirdly enough, TCPs can absorb food type material through any part of their body- it just seeps right into the skin. As for sleeping, it does help them recover energy, but simply resting their bodies while remaining awake can do just as well. Sleep does allow them to dream, however!

-TCPs “spawn” by popping into existence in either of two different ways, which will be gone into later. They show up with no knowledge in their heads and vary in how mature they are from the getgo, but learn and adjust to their new environments quickly. More on that in the next section!

-All TCPs can be described as being on the asexual spectrum, but are not as inherently aromantic! They can get into romantic relationships (as well as chosen family, if they’re familiar enough with those concepts), but TCPs who aren’t socialized in complex-relevant settings (such as isolated in the wild, etc) tend to have more abstract bonds. Any relationships bordering on sexual should be kept out of this RP, to keep it SFW.

-TCPs can learn “skills” depending on what kind of TCP they are, which will be gone into in the next section! Learning a skill fills a TCP’s head with enough knowledge about the skill itself for them to either be able to do it themselves or, in the case of knowledge skills, know all about the skill in question, able to pull up information about it whenever they need.

-Most TCPs operate on a completely different scale to the rest of Morbit, and often need goods that either happen to work for their size or are made specifically for TCPs. When these aren’t present, TCPs have to make do and improvise. Feel free to get creative!

-When a TCP directly causes the death of another TCP, on purpose or by accident, that TCP becomes magically marked. A mark typically takes the form of a line on the TCP’s face, starting from an eyespot and extending outward. The mark takes on certain attributes depending upon certain factors around the death. If the death was something regretted, then the perpetrator will be marked with a dotted line, rather than the usual unbroken one. The line will also be shorter than usual if the death was an accident.

SESSION VS MORBITIAN TCPS

There are two ways a TCP can spawn: either on Morbit, or in something called a TCP session. We’ll go into brief overviews of both options, though it’s highly recommended you don’t do a session-spawned TCP (also referred to as a “divine” TCP) for your first character- divine TCPs generally have a lot rougher storylines/histories tone-wise, and require a lot more knowledge and backstory work to dive in with! If you’re really certain that you want to try one out, it’s recommended that you read Void Session- it’s the first comic to feature TCPs, and goes into the whole process.

With that said…

MORBITIAN TCPS

-Morbitian TCPs are ones that spawn on the planet of Morbit itself! These are the most common type of TCP and the easiest place to start. When someone on Morbit thinks of a TCP type, a new individual of that type spawns into existence at a random point on the planet itself. These individuals are not guaranteed to be compatible with their environments, though generally aquatic environments will spawn a majority of aquatic TCPs, etc.

-Morbitian TCPs typically show up as a “palette swap” of their typing, though variations called anomalies, modifiers and conditions can vary a TCP’s appearance from the standard base from their type, either on spawn or at some point in the course of their life! These aren’t limited in any way, so feel free to check the TCPdex for more information.

-Morbitian TCPs learn skills by experiencing things themselves or being taught said skills directly by other TCPs, though books and other forms of media are a good way to find a middle ground. Don’t worry about this too much- defining skills matters a lot less to a Morbitian TCP. This kind of TCP doesn’t really have to worry about this in most scenarios, and considering you’ll be roleplaying as a TCP with access to the internet in some form, you can assume that your TCP knows things like speech, reading and writing without much issue.

SESSION TCPS

We won’t go too in depth on session TCPs here- they’re really best understood through Void Session, and again, we don’t recommend making one for your first character. The main thing you need to know is that these TCPs come from a different, more abstract plane called a TCP Session- a “game” that Morbitian gods can play where lives are at stake. For more information, definitely read the comic!

-Session TCPs generally cannot spawn with anomalies, modifiers or conditions unless spawned by an Admin player- though they can acquire them over the course of a session, so don’t feel too limited! Color and marking-wise, they also start off as palette swaps.

OTHER INFORMATION

Here’s some last minute information that might come in handy for roleplaying!

-TCPs can live in TCP settlements built to their scale, or among complexes in any sort of configuration you can think of. There are places with accommodations for TCPs in a lot of areas of Morbit, and if you don’t know what kind of area you want to play your character in, don’t worry- leave it ambiguous, and ask for help in the Character Development Questions thread or on the Morbit Discord. After all, it’s not advised to give away your location online anyway!

-TCP tools and technology are typically made by other TCPs due to the scale and finesse needed, as well as abnormally small parts- a TCP with the right abilities can create functional parts at a scale that’d otherwise be impossible to make- sometimes it doesn’t even make sense on a scientific level, but that’s magical little cats for you. As such, feel free to give your TCPs little phones, computers, tablets, etc.

-Morbit itself has a lot to learn about and explore- but if you're intimidated, just make a little online persona and some basic details to work with, and start from there. People are more than happy to help you out and answer questions, and you only have to include as much worldbuilding and lore as you're up for.