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SUMMARY & RESOURCES
What is "Warriors"?
From the FAQ: Warriors is a long-running childrens' book series by Erin Hunter first published in 2003, and features housecats living wild outdoors in social groups called Clans as they fight and hunt to survive with the guidance of their spiritual ancestors in StarClan. There's prophecies and villains who try to take over the cat world and kill each other and stuff, it's wild.
In every series, a cryptic prophecy is given to a cat or cats within the clans by StarClan to warn of coming danger or something that can help solve the issues they're all dealing with. The stories revolve around interpersonal dramas, mysteries, and various ways of trying to figure out what the prophecy means.
The novels primarily follow a protagonist(or multiple) from one clan. There are four clans in all with identical hierarchies:
Leader: the leader of the clan. All clan leaders, upon inheriting leadership, are gifted nine lives by StarClan, and take on the suffix "-star" at the end of their name to signify their position. How they are gifted these nine lives are a mystery, as they are forbidden to speak of it.
Deputy: The leaders' right paw. Deputies act as leaders when necessary, and primarily take on the role of organizing hunting parties, border patrols, and other scheduling issues within the clans.
Medicine Cats: Cats blessed with a mysterious connection StarClan and the ability to interpret their will via prophecies or signs. Medicine cats make use of natural herbs and plants to treat the sick and wounded within the clans and are often not well trained in fighting or hunting as a result of learning from a young age. In canon, they are forbidden from taking a mate or having kits once they become medicine cats, but that rule is stupid as hell so I'm removing it for the purpose of this game.
Warriors: The capable adults of the clans who have proven themselves by skill with hunting, tracking, fighting, and general hard work. These cats have received their "full" names, and primarily get organized into patrols, hunting parties, or are used to guard or fight during times of conflict.
Apprentices: Cats older than 6 moons(months) that are under tutelage by a warrior. Apprentices generally will receive their warrior names within a few seasons, but their progress can be delayed: either by factors uncontrollable to them such as natural disasters, or punishment for bad work ethic or rule-breaking. All apprentices have the suffix "-paw."
Elders, kits, and queens: Cats who do not partake in warrior duties either because they are too old, young, or are nursing kittens. Some elders may take a new name to reflect their current looks or status. Queens keep their warrior names, but some may never return to warrior duties, preferring to act as mothers or nursemaids. Kittens always have the suffix "-kit."
(A note on clan names)
Clan names are always in two "parts". Their "main" name, usually based on looks or personality (Mouse, Tiger, Dust, Swift, etc), and the suffix dependent on age or status. While kits, apprentices, and leaders have specific suffixes for their status, warriors and medicine cats are ritualistically given their full names as part of being acknowledged by the clan for graduating, basically. Warrior apprentices are generally given their full names by their leader, and medcat apprentices are given theirs by their mentor.
It's rare, but apprentices can request a name that has significant meaning to them(i.e. Crowpaw requests he be named Crowfeather in canon after Feathertail, a cat he loved, died on their group's journey).
Sometimes, a cat can be given a cruel name out of spite, or by an uncaring mother(Brokenkit, Lostface, etc).
Rituals
Warriors effectively worship StarClan are deities, and follow a code of conduct essentially vowing to be moral and just.
Naming ceremonies: Conducted when an cat is ready to move to the next level of training: apprentice and warrior naming ceremonies happen within the clan and the name is given by the Leader. Medicine cat naming ceremonies are conducted at the half-moon meeting place with the other medicine cats, for approval from StarClan, and names are given by their mentor.
Half-moon gathering: Medicine cats meet every half-moon at a particular place special to StarClan, to share dreams with their ancestors. It is forbidden for any cat to speak of what happens their, except for prophetic dreams they may share with their leaders or mentors/apprentices.
Full-moon gathering: Cats chosen by their leader travel to the gathering place during a once-monthly truce to exchange information and update the other clans with general life happenings. Often the gathering is used by leaders to discuss issues with border trespassing or prey stealing with each other-- or even accuse others of wrongdoing. Superstition says if StarClan covers the moon with clouds, they are unhappy with the gathering and it must immediately end.
Silent Vigil: When a cat is made a warrior, they are expected to sit in silent guard through the night until dawn at the entrance of the camp. Cats will also sit vigil when a cat they are close to dies or is killed, grooming them("sharing tongues") for the last time, and then the Elders or older warriors will take the body-- if there is one-- to be buried.
Will of the Stars is based on the original Warrior series, with a cast of new cats, new Clans, and a new map. Characters are pulled from their worlds and placed into the body of cats, in order to help (or hinder) the clans survive whatever disaster awaits them.
Some resources will be in the comments below. Clan casts are over here.
GAME RESOURCES
CANON RESOURCES
The Warrior Code - the code of conduct clan cats follow.
Ceremonies practices by the clans.
Terminology - words used by cats to mean things that would otherwise be specific to humans, i.e. the passage of time, distance, insults and phrases, etc.