what\'s with the highly imaginative name? Don\'t you think something more reckognizable is in order?

Well, guilds by definition have unimaginative names (i.e. fighters guild, mages guild, explorers guild - some of which are found in PS too at this time). And this is since guilds are named for the profession of their members.

We are called  \"The High Guard\" (not the Guards Guild), since we are not actually Guards in the common meaning of the word. We are guardians of the Order as it has been since the creation of the world, guardians of the balance between good and evil. We don\'t guard the gates .

Also, note that common names don\'t necessarily make a guild hard to recognize - on the contrary.

A history should be made too, so you can place yourself in the world.

We do not claim to be a guild that has existed since the beginning of time, and to have had thousands of members throughout its existance. We write our history through our deeds, and so for now, there is not much to write in a \"History of the High Guard\". In the future, events concerning our guild should be properly chronicled, and given that mythical aspect which characterizes historical documents. However, I want the members of our guild to be able to relate to our history, and the only way this can happen if this history is their own, if it is written with their every deed.

lynx_lupo:
Well, I don\'t know how good or bad my argument was - I\'ll let everybody who reads it decide for himself. Anyway, you should bare in mind that the site is still mostly a draft.

As to the importance of \"balance\"... (and I know you\'re going to throw it in my face that these arguments are too real-life, but I don\'t think there\'s anything wrong with that)

Every good fantasy book, movie, or MMORPG has at its core a conflict. A conflict between good and evil, between light and darkness. A world in which this conflict would not exist - an imbalanced world - would not be a fun world to be in. It would be a world where you would have no ultimate goal, where battles would have no higher purpouse (and really, in real life, one does usually need very good motivation in order to kill people, and MMORPGs try to create something similar to real life - only in a different variety).

Also, in not-so-real-life terms, and quite plainly put, I enjoy a good battle. After all... \"what is a life devoid of strife?\" (Charnel | Sacrifice). Conflict also generates opportunity. Therefore it is useful to us when we can be there to profit from that opportunity (for purpouses that don\'t necessarily need to be selfish). Also, as we all know, good and evil are relative concepts - good cannot exist without evil; nor can evil exist without good. Hence, is it not wise to try and maintain the balance between the two? Is that not what we must do in order to maintain the proper order of things, the order that existed in the world since its creation?

Well, maybe that clears it up a bit... and I\'m quite sure that if it didn\'t you\'ll let me know right away >:|

Valbrandr:
I will start with an apology, for the fact that I was unaware of the other democratic guilds in PS.

As for the way our guild is organized...

1) Our guild is indeed a serious one .
2) I am the Commander of the High Guard. This position is of a rather permanent sort, and I will keep it until the guild is no more or I decide to retire.
3) Our base rules are a sort of constitution, and they will rarely (if ever) be changed, and only if support for the changes is massive (as in the case of the Constitution of most states).
4) Players with a certain minimum rank in our guild have the right to vote (this rank, would be guard normally - the most common rank among us - but lowering it has been considered; anyway, it will surely be lower for the first elections - novice I think). Players at or above this rank have a vote equal to that of any other voting member. They will be allowed to vote for the Council. The Councilors are elected from within the ranks of the captains. There will be about 1 Councilor for every 3 captains in our guild. Councilors have pretty much the same powers as me (except they cannot permanently expell anybody from the guild, but only sanction members by assigning them the rank of \"fallen\" and they cannot set the privileges of other ranks).
5) In most important decisions concerning our guild, the voice of our members will be heard (and not only the voices of those with voting rights). This includes alliances, wars, changes in the rules and statute of our guild, important events, and so forth.
6) I will try to add features in the future that will allow us to better understand the needs and expectations of our members, so that we can better suit their interests. For example, I want to add a guild relations meter, that will express the position of our guild with regards to the other guilds in PS, based on data submitted by our members about how each of them feels about these guilds.

*** About our guild:
We are the High Guard, a group of players who are dedicated to helping each other and to maintaining order and balance in the world, and probably the first democratic guild in Planeshift.

We try to maintain a balance between good and evil, a balance that we think is necessary in order for the world of Planeshift to remain a fun place to be in.

At all times, members of our guild should try to help each other. The Guard is the first place to look for help. Weather you are looking for advice or a helping hand in combat or exploration, you can turn to your fellow Guards. And in return, you will owe them the same - you must try to answer their questions when you can, and you will try to promptly intervene where and when your help is needed by a fellow Guard.

*** Who can join?
The High Guard are neither warriors nor mages, neither good nor evil. Anybody is free to join our guild. Promotion and ascension through our ranks is harder to achieve, however, requiring skill and dedication to the guild.

Though our guild has only recently been founded (in the early days of CB), our ranks have grown quite rapidly, and continue to do so. Will you join us also?

*** Guild site:
If you want to know more about us, visit our site at http://free.hostdepartment.com/H/High_Guard

*** Contacting us:
If you want to be recruited into our guild, then talk to any of our members, and ask them to invite you into the guild.
You can also send a mail to ps_high_guard@yahoo.com and request to be recruited by our guild. Then, our members will be notified of your intention to join us, and they should invite you if they find you online.