The world our characters occupy is a fantasy world with realistic elements. Though the landmass and features do not exist in the real world, they are loosely based off of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and other biomes that Gray Wolves and Coyotes can be found in throughout the world. The weather is largely based off of North American weather, especially from the Mojave up to the Pacific Northwest.

There are no humans in Nocturne. That means there are no artifacts, ruins, weapons, scent, or sightings of humans at all. Your character cannot have humans in their history.

Characters entering for the first time almost always enter from Ember Reach or Cradle of Ash, and always enter from the edge of the map. Characters entering for the first time should not have any knowledge of specific places or details about landmarks, packs, or characters already in-game.

Nocturne's Landmasses

We have a wonderful Interactive Map that helps to showcase our area as well as a Locations guide. Even with this it is important to recognize the shape of our world and how characters may travel. Nocturne's overall map may be referred to as "the valley" or "the region" by players or characters. There is no name for this area, as it is not a country, and characters likely wouldn't know a name for such things.

There are a variety of rivers that cut through the mainland as well as other features. You, as the player, can also discover new sub-areas. It's important to note that the mainland is anything not separated by ocean - meaning everything except Hearthgrove is part of the mainland. You'll find that this continent boasts a wide variety of biomes including deserts, forests, plains, mountain ranges, islands, coastlines, swamps, and more. Plus: plenty of potential for new discoveries.

Traveling across different areas should take a day to a day and a half in general, though you can certainly find more information by visiting the map. Our map can help break it down by providing grid squares so you can easily figure out how long it might take to travel between two areas. It also gives better guidelines for travel times.

Flora and Fauna

The world we build together for Nocturne has a variety of plants, animals, and fungi in it. The majority of these are able to be found in the same areas wolves inhabit, though there are some exceptions. Overall these will be the types of plants or animals you can find in the Pacific Northwest. Some exceptions may be things like European Badgers, wild Goldfish, or Himalayan Birch trees. These are all examples of things wolves may encounter in the wild elsewhere in our real world. If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask! You can find more or even add your own entries over at our Nature Hub.

Climate and Weather

Overall the climate and weather of Nocturne mimics that of the Western United States. The weather in the region can be expected to fluctuate naturally each day. While the weather that is set each day is optional, we encourage you to use it in your posts for atmospheric cohesion. Weather is different for each season, with a variety of possibilities. Weather conditions include things like rain, snow, sunny skies, storms, and other typical weather. There are also rarer phenomena such as auroras, meteor showers, rainbows, and heatwaves. You can learn more about our weather and previous trends at our Weather Page.

Time Period

Nocturne does not follow any specific time period but we can assume it is in the early 1900s. This means that any extinct species cannot be played or brought back. There are no dire wolves, mammoths, or smilodon. Otherwise, this is largely up to interpretation by you as the player. We track years in the sense of Nocturne years (Y0, Y1, Y3) rather than real-world years.

We experience time slightly faster than real life. One season is 75 days and is broken down into 3 sub-seasons which are 25 days each. They are structured like Early Spring, Mid Spring, and Late Spring. The first day of Early Spring is the first day of the new year. Nocturne also has moon cycles, and a full moon cycle is 24 days long. The moon cycle is tracked as well as the IC date. You'll see the moon cycle referenced throughout the site such as in weather information and on characters' profiles (their birth moon)!