The Arcane Brotherhood (http://z15.invisionfree.com/Arcane_Brotherhood/index.php?)
Goals
- We are united by our desire to pursue knowledge in all its forms, and most notably in the area of the arcane.
- We follow a philosophy of magic that focuses on three major areas: Focus, Power, and Knowledge. We believe that all three are necessary to be a True Wizard.
- We work together to combine our knowledge, understanding, and power.
Government:
Inner Circle: the inner circle is made up primarily of the Archwizards, although it is not unheard of for a Wizard to be a member. It is the core of the guild. It alone has the power to grant promotions. It has the ability to change guild structure or rules of the guild. Votes on promotions or other guild-related decisions are majority rules. Votes on demotions, promotions beyond what has been earned, changing of guild structure, or changing of guild rules must be unanimous. Overruling of a decision of the Outer Circle requires unanimity and at least three votes. In this way, if there are not at least three members of the Inner Circle, they cannot control the guild completely, thereby preventing dictatorship.
Outer Circle: The Outer Circle is the general governing and lawmaking body of the guild. It meets once a month or, if necessary, a majority vote of the Inner Circle can call a meeting. It consists of all Archwizards, Wizards, and Mages. It decides major guild policies such as diplomacy, etc. It is also a place for regular reports of general information that is necessary for the entire guild to be aware of.
Hierarchy:
Archwizards: An Archwizard is considered to be of the most powerful and knowledgeable members of the guild, and hence in all of Yliakum. There are few Archwizards and they have a large say in the running of the guild.
Wizards: Wizards are members of the guild who have achieved relative independence. While still members of the guild and under it's authority, their studies and practices are no longer governed or watched over by those higher up. They have achieved a high level of proficiency and knowledge.
Mages: Mages are those members who have achieved a level of proficiency and independence so as to not require constant attention or tutoring. They are still directly under the authority of the Wizards and Archwizards, yet they are allowed to do as they wish for the most part.
Apprentices: Apprentices have made the step from being Initiates into a commitment to study. They are deciding what areas of study they will focus on and are being brought along by members of the higher ranks. They are still learning and depend heavily upon the support and guidance of those with more experience.
Initiates: Initiates are only beginning their studies of magic and their membership in the guild. Often they do not completely comprehend the extent of devotion and the commitment that intense study requires. They are simply testing the waters, deciding whether they have what it takes, and also being observed by the members of the guild.
For prospective members:
There two things we desire you to understand:
- First, you need to understand what a True Wizard is. A True Wizard is not simply someone with the ability to mutter a few words, wave their hands about, and create a spell. That is a spellcaster, and beneath our notice. A True Wizard is one who seeks knowledge and understanding. It is true that usually a True Wizard is proficient in one or more Ways of Magic, however that is not absolutely necessary. It is the pure pursuit of knowledge that makes one a True Wizard, and not the ability to create fire from thin air.
- Secondly, do not expect to rise in the ranks quickly. We have much higher standards than you will find on average. We understand that you are unusually gifted or intelligent. We understand that things may have happened in your past to give you a greater understanding or ability than the average person. Do not expect that since when you were born an old crone prophesied that you would be a great wielder of the arcane arts you will be an Archwizard within weeks. If you were not unique in your abilities, we would not even have considered you. Be content with gaining membership and do not be overcome by ambition. Your abilities will not be overlooked, but they will not be overestimated, either.
OOC Rules:
Phinehas will, at first, be in charge of maintaining the level of RP within the guild, this means that some rules and guidelines will be adhered to, and some understandings must be come to before you become a complete member of the guild.
- Alts are frowned upon, though not prohibited. This is because most people have difficulty creating and maintaining even one good, solid character... let alone trying to have several. Maintaining alts responsibly and with a decent level of RP is difficult. Your desire to experiment with different characters is understandable, but our desire to have only serious, worthwhile characters is also understandable.
- You must tell your guild leader(s) how many alts you have. You do not have to provide any information about them, but we need to know the number. This is not because we are control freaks(though we very well may be, we are wizards after all), it's because we need to keep a closer eye on those who have many alts to maintain and keep track of the quality of their RP and their activity. We don't want to have a member disappear for two weeks only to find out later that he was around but just wasn't playing that character, nor do we want to find out that the alt in our guild ended up only being a spare or used to get information or some other such nonsense. That would be disrespectful to the guild.
- Your RP will be, to one extent or another, monitored until you prove yourself. We don't want to find out that our members are RPing that they've summoned the ghost of Arnold Schwarzenegger who has possessed them and that he “will be back”. We don't even want to find that our members are secretly part of a cult worshiping the little-known god Rabidia, the patron of small, sadistic bunnies... You get the point.
- Lastly and most importantly... The above rules seem strict and a little intimidating. Don't get us wrong, we are not starting an RP regime where we punish the weak and unsuccessful. We understand that it takes time to get the hang of RP, and we have nothing against mistakes. We were newbies once, too. We're not policing you in the hopes of catching you messing up so we can have the joy of punishing you. The atmosphere will be friendly and helpful, but when necessary, strict. It's hard to maintain high quality RP within a guild if there are not standards. We have set some, and we have kept them fairly loose so as to not cramp your style or define your RP. It's simply quality control, and we want you to understand that you will be helped to achieve a certain standard of RP, and held to that standard without being made to conform to a certain set of opinions or style.
A few other OOC notes and what-not:
- Much information has not been revealed here. As wizards we are not a “secret” guild, but we're not particularly fond of handing out information unnecessarily, either. Although much information may not be open to the public eye, the majority of it can be easily obtained by talking to someone within the guild. Again, we are not, for the most part, keeping secrets so much as simply do not feel like spreading the intricacies of our workings out for all to see.
- Some, or much, of this guild may seem unoriginal to you. Sometimes that may be because you don't have all the information, but quite possibly you may be right. We are the only wizard's guild in Planeshift(at least worth mentioning) and can therefore afford to establish ourselves as basic and have no need to go out of our way to come up with semi-plausible concepts or names in the hopes of appearing unique.
- All of the above is susceptible to modifications as the guild develops. This is by no means a completely pre-planned guild. You can't really pre-plan too much where wizards are concerned, they tend to always want to do things their own way anyway. So this is meant to be a solid foundation for a guild that will over time develop it's own culture, eccentricities, style, etc.
Please feel free to criticize, positively or otherwise. We reserve the right to ignore you, whether because We believe you lack the necessary information to judge correctly, or because you simply have a different opinion that may be valid but isn't how we want things to be done, or even because you're a nincompoop.