so okay some PotH Clans basics, definitely not all the traits and customs but just some ones I wanted to talk about! if you wanna ask anything you can send an ask you don't have to reblog this infodump 😂
Uses mud and smashed berries for ceremonial purposes.
Some cats will just paint themselves for an extra bit of luck.
They use shells, stones, and mud more for their religious practices than herbs.
They do fish, but rely more on voles and frogs for food. Fish are more of a treat.
Superstitious cats believe that they have webbed toes.
They believe that prey are cats who were evil in their cat life and therefore atoning in this life by feeding the Clans.
They are very superstitious about overeating, believing it is the bad souls infecting you in life. so they never hunt more than can feed the Clan, leftover food is unacceptable.
CreekClan cats believe black and chocolate tabbies were particularly good cats in their last life.
They believe in spirits and souls, spirits being more akin to ghosts and monsters while souls are the essence of a cat that is reincarnated. a cat who isn't reincarnated becomes a spirit. [GladeClan shares this belief, but they learned it from CreekClan during Oakbelly's time. it's considered laughable by HillClan, RavineClan, and ThicketClan, while MarshClan thinks they no longer exist].
CreekClan cats are often gifted storytellers and very social, it's odd to meet a CreekClan cat who you can't joke around with. ThicketClan has a very tense relationship with them in comparison to other Clans.
Pacifists, believes killing a cat even in self defense rots away at your soul.
Scavengers, hunting is not wrong but is more of a last resort.
Extremely religious and superstitious, they have intensive atonement rituals and more medicine cats than most Clans.
They nearly were wiped out during a war and were rebuilt with mostly loners by a warrior named Oakbelly.
Oakbelly and her medicine cat, Fawnfur, made the rules about pacifism and scavenging.
Fawnfur also began a tradition of burying cats near important plants to fertilize them.
There is a large oak tree at the head of the camp that is said to be Oakbelly's spirit, as she gave up her reincarnation cycle in order to continue watching over her clanmates.
Cats will pray by the oak tree, eat and bury their bones, even just tell her spirit about their day. she is still included as part of the Clan. No cat will name a kit Oakkit because Oakbelly is still considered to be with them.
Medicine cats are always consulted by leaders and often cats will go to a medicine cat before their leader with issues they are having.
GladeClan cats use herb bundles as part of rituals and have a morning and evening prayer session, though it's not uncommon to see them gathering for prayers between patrols.
Second most religious Clan.
Has two "shifts" of warriors, day and night, depending on pelt color. They have less tree coverage so their darker colored cats hunt/patrol at night to avoid them overheating.
Two set meal times, called Morning Meal and Evening Meal. Morning Meal is before dawn and Evening Meal is before dusk. This allows cats to social more with the other shift.
Cats on border patrols are allowed to catch and eat one meal while on patrol, cats on hunting patrols are allowed to eat one meal between patrols.
Deputies are considered leader apprentices and are treated no different than other warriors. they aren't necessarily "head warrior" like most other Clans they are just a warrior with exemption from certain duties due to their training.
They rarely use special suffixes, it's uncommon to see a lot of cats who don't have -pelt, -fur, -stripe, or -spots as a suffix. typically no more than five in the Clan as they believe you have to be truly exceptional to earn those names.
They have less medicine cats than most Clans, with the exception of RavineClan, due to it being considered a sacred role. They believe the other Clans have devalued the role by adding more medicine cats to their ranks.
HillClan cats are superstitious about in-Clan matin, so they have lifemates (romantic partners for life) and if they want kits they seek loners or rogues to be sires. most other Clans simply require the leader's approval for in-Clan mating but HillClan nearly forbids it.
they enforce the elders' role more strictly than other Clans, having a history of serious outbreaks of kit madness (mothers becoming so stressed they eat their kittens) every time a leader is lax on this rule. the mothers are never blamed, the leader is blamed for not enforcing the law that elders raise and prepare kits for their apprenticeship.
they believe Sunbelly (the sun god) watches over day warriors and day warriors will often pray to him for good fortune. alternatively Moonclaw (the moon goddess) is believed to watch over the night shift warriors. cats will pray to the opposite deity at the end of their shift to give the opposite shift good fortune.
Legitimate battle cats, they train even as warriors with each other to keep their fighting skills sharp.
Cats will duel to settle disputes, though killing is not permitted.
they don't use the -claw or -fang suffix, believing every cat should excel in combat, so other skills are always more noteworthy.
they take their dead to the edge of their territory, near the mountains, for the buzzards and other scavengers to eat. they return to collect the bones and add them to the wall/piles surrounding the camp.
they don't believe in waste, they crack open prey bones in order to eat the marrow and use the prey bones to line their borders and important places (like their training areas).
they fight for sport in the training areas, mediated by the medicine cats. they bless the matches and even let kits come to watch. cats volunteer and medicine cats choose combatants.
cats with no scars are considered shameful after they've earned their warrior names because it means they've only had "easy" fights. they've never been truly challenged and it's considered cowardly to not seek an opponent of equal skill.
MarshClan cats use mud for camouflage rather than ceremony.
most rituals are done with bones and fur and feathers (skin or scales in the case of frogs and lizards). medicine cats stockpile bits of prey for such things and many cats will use prey bits to outline their nests for good luck.
cats have to recite a battle prayer and win a fight against their mentor and one peer in order to earn their warrior name. typically they get a lasting scar from this.
Honestly the least religious Clan, it's common for them to be atheists or agnostics. they typically only have a medicine cat and apprentice.
They try to keep to themselves and are the most welcoming to outsiders. many exiled cats (Clan or rogue) will seek refuge among them.
They typically have very dark fur and dull-colored eyes, finding Clans like CreekClan (who have the widest variety of colors) to be impractical.
Rather than having a warriors den and such, cats dig dens to live with their families around a clearing that is considered the "camp."
When the warriors go for patrols, their kits are in the care of an elder (typically the kit's grandparent).
Typically cats will hunt for their family and any elders who do not have a family to hunt for them.
During the day the elders bring the kits to the actual camp clearing to teach them history and give them space to play.
They are very strict on family members training apprentices and very harsh on nepotism. Leaders aren't allowed to choose family members for deputy.
They don't really practice the silent vigil, instead having the new named warrior(s) simply patrol the border over night without the silence requirement. they then hunt at dawn and bring the prey to their leader as proof that they are capable.
They are very secretive about their lax rules, thinking the other more zealous Clans would run them out of the forest. Apprentices aren't allowed to go to Gatherings because of this.
These cats have little to no sense of humor and don't value social skills, many have eternally hoarse voices from lack of use.
They're very large physically compared to other Clans. Despite this, they're scarily quiet and slow moving.
ThicketClan cats are excessively paranoid and mistrust just about everycat they meet, especially those outside their Clan. they are raised to fear and expect the worst of others.
They train for at least an hour every morning regardless of rank in fighting skills, unlike MarshClan it's not for pride and custom it is simply for fear and preparation.
They believe that SkyClan doesn't watch over them as the other Clans due to the dense overgrowth in their territory, so they work extra hard to pray and sacrifice animals and perform rituals so that SkyClan will not forget them or show them less favor the other Clans.
Discipline and self-control are major virtues in the Clan.
They will travel in groups all the way to the city ruins to mate and will not leave each other alone with the rogue toms. typically a few Clan toms are on the trip to keep a count and watch out for any kind of aggression.
They do not allow outsiders to join their Clan, for any reason.
They move camps every spring, during autumn cats begin preparing the new camp and they begin tearing down the old camp towards the end of winter.
Rather than exiling cats, they execute them. There are no exceptions to this rule.
