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The Redwall Online Community (ROC) is an array of online media, inclusive of internet forums, news sites and ezines relating to the books of Brian Jacques' Redwall series.

The ROC is 'constructed' in a manner analogous to the geographic distribution of large and small settlements. It is composed of a few large sites and many smaller ones. Often members of the ROC will be involved in multiple forums on the various sites, sometimes using an identical (or similar) screenname everywhere they go within the community to identify themselves.

Contents 1 Mass Roleplay on ROC 2 ROC History 3 Dibbuns Against Bedtime 4 Further Reading 5 External Links

Mass roleplay is a phenomenon in which players act as anthropomorphised animals usually native to the British Isles within a 'game world' based on the world of Brian Jacques' Redwall series. It is a banding experience in the ROC, used more to hone writing talent than to escape from the 'real world'. One form of mass roleplay which rose in popularity over the years following 2002 was the Survivor Roleplay. In such organised roleplays, a number of contestants were selected from writing samples and character drafts, then pitted against each other in an audience-decided contest of authorship and skill with language. Four varieties of Redwall Survivor have emerged, and they are:

• Redwall Online Community Survivor
• Questors Bold
• RedVenture
• Operation: Storm

Another Survivor contest has recently emerged:

• The Emperor's Decree, run by the Vulpine Imperium and hosted by Terrouge.

Another form of mass roleplay is Location Play. Roleplay boards such as Fort Ruddler were devoted almost exclusively to inter-character roleplay centred around a single location.

The Redwall Online Community was formed in the mid-1990s during the rise of the internet. This period is seen as the glory days - Redwall fansites stayed true to Redwall, ROCers were ever-present, and sites were updated continually. During this period clubs such as The Long Patrol, Dark Mouse's Cove, Sampetra (INSU), and Camp Willow had member rosters approching one thousand. The center of the community revolved around these popular clubs inspiring many off-shoot clubs and groups. When the new millennium arrived, the steady flow of ROCers decreased, and the large popular sites shutdown one by one. As of 2006, the Redwall Online Community still exists, but the amount of fansites has significantly decreased, along with the ROC population. Many see this as occurring because the Redwall fanbase has grown up - people who were once engrossed with the series when they were younger moved on and pursued other interests. Additionally, many sites only consist of forums, where members discuss random "general" topics, not necessarily relating to Redwall. Furthermore, a lot of sites seem to be fantasy related, and not exclusive to Redwall per se.

Members choose aliases suitable for or taken from characters in the Redwall books, then complete activities in order to earn Candied Chestnuts, the de facto currency of Dibbuns in the Redwall books. DAB was featured in one of the Redwall books. During Arven's reign, Gonfflet wrote to Brian Jacques about Dibbuns Against Bedtime and he very kindly wrote the club into the storyline of Triss. The current leader is Tangle Tumblehog, and has been since DAB switched to the template used in Arven's reign. One of the sights from the "Glory Days" of the ROC, Dibbuns Against Bedtime is possibly the most popular site in the community.

• Redwall Online Community @ the Redwall Wiki

The following are some of the largest sites of the Redwall Online Community.

• The Vulpine Imperium
• The Redwall Wiki
• Redwall.org
• Redwall Beach
• The Redwall Fanfiction Board
• The Long Patrol
• Dibbuns Against Bedtime (For Beginners and Oldbies Alike)