The Oath:
We swear on our fathers' graves to guard the gate to the west. We will
protect the ruins at all costs, even going so far as to lay down our lives,
that none who are worthy of Her place shall enter it until the time She
has set. If we fail, may the sands of time swallow our souls, forever
condemning us to the deepest of hells.
** All members must swear this Oath before being inducted. **
History:
None of us remember how the Oath started, or to whom we swore it. Maybe the
deity we swore allegiance to some 10,000 years ago saw some great vision of
the future. Maybe it wasn't a deity at all we swore our Oath to. Maybe it
was just a wise man. Maybe it was a crazy man. Whoever we swore to, it
doesn't really matter now. We've been guarding for thousands of years and
will probably be guarding thousands more.
Until recently, our records have been sketchy at best. We're lucky to have
what we do written out. Oral tradition has frayed and tattered the events
surrounding the Oath. We no longer know why we swear to guard. We just do
because that is our livelihood.
The bulk of our tangible records are a collection of tattered scrolls that
refer to shadows in the west, crumbling structures, and some cat woman.
Supposedly she showed us some great ruins to remind us of something during a
Great War between the Gods about 5000 years ago. Scholars have decided that
those ruins are what we guard and the cat woman must be the great She our Oath
refers to. Those ruins must hold a power unfit for mortals, especially those
that would use what they found within for evil.
Over time our numbers have dwindled, forcing us to recruit new members who were
not born under our Oath. For the Oath to be truly binding, the sworn member
must be born into our brotherhood. The ones we recruit are the lucky ones, as
they are able to stop guarding when they see fit or get tired of it. But for
those who stay, we are forever in their debt. They too have sworn themselves
and their children to forever be under Oath until whatever force binds us
releases us.
- From the records of Miiyaar the Protector, 9900 years after the formation of
the Oath.
Hierarchy:
- Protector of the Oath: The main leader of our Oath-bound brotherhood.
They are responsible for enforcing the rules of clan and leading the clan in
our endless task of guarding. Any class can fill this position
- Watcher of the Oath: Second in command to the Protector, they are
responsible for watching for the word of the Cat-headed Goddess. Only a
Paladin or a Cleric can fill this position.
- Scribe of the Oath: The newest leader of our Oath-bound band, they are
responsible for keeping records of the happenings in the clan. They will
also keep track of clan finances and count votes. Any class can fill this
position
- Quest Master: The Quest Master is responsible for coming up with new and
interesting challenges for applicants.
Purpose:
Our main purpose is to guard the ruins we have been charged to watch over. We
intend to place sentries along the paths to them. Since we do not know how
much time we shall need to stand guard, we have begun to collect an amount of
wealth to be comfortable during our duty. This will be our secondary purpose.
Policies:
- The sacred places we guard are never to be shown or told about to others
under penalty of torture and possible death.
- Any member that has been found to disclose the location of Her place
shall have their tongues removed and those that were told shall be killed.
This penalty will be in effect until the time She has set.
- Currently we have no grouping restrictions.
- Excessive inactivity may result in the member's removal since it appears
they have seen fit to stop guarding. Of course only those not born under the
Oath may stop guarding.
- The clan leaders will decide matters of inactivity in the following fashion:
Any member who will be unfit for duty for an extended period of time may
request a leave of absence from a clan leader, who will at that time either
grant or deny the request. Those on such leave are considered inactive.
Inactive members who have not been available for active guard duty for a
period exceeding 4 weeks will be considered to have abandoned their post. Any
member who does not report for duty within this specified time frame may be
unclanned.
- Remorts are those who at the end of their immediate previous lives were
members of Oath in good standing.
- Remorts may rejoin Oath without revote or quest or level restriction, at the
discretion of Clan Leaders. If a dispute among CLs arises, a full vote/quest
would be required, as if a newly joining member.
- Members born under Oath who abandon their post will be placed in servitude
to the clan.
- The Scribe will maintain a record of members who have been unclanned due
to inactivity.
- Members who have been unclanned due to inactivity are welcome to rejoin
once they have proven to the clan that they are fit to guard again.
- Members who are deemed inactive can give suggestions but cannot vote on
clan issues. After all, an inactive member is unlikely to be aware of the
situations that affect any particular vote.
- If the reliability of a clan member is no longer viable, a vote can be
taken by the rest of the clan to expel that member from our brotherhood. If
50% of the active clan cannot trust you, you are no longer welcome among us.
If that member is a clan leader, they must first be voted out of their
leadership position.
- If at any time the clan feels as though one of the clan leaders is unable
to fulfill their duties or is no longer trusted as a clan leader, a vote can
be taken to remove that member from their leadership position. A successful
vote requires 75% of the clan and the other leaders to vote for the motion.
- Any changes to the charter must be done with 2/3 of the active members'
approval.
Requirements for All Members:
- To apply for membership, all an applicant need do is ask to be considered
by a clan leader.
- We will only accept applicants who follow a religion; we cannot accept
applicants who cannot make commitments.
- We cannot accept those of evil alignment.
- We cannot accept those of a dark race.
Requirements for New Members (Non-Remorts, as described previously):
- All applicants must be at least level 20.
- The applicant must pass a full vote of the clan. Each applicant is
allowed only one weak objection; any serious objection will automatically
dismiss the applicants case. We want to foster an atmosphere of friendship,
not contention.
- The applicant must perform a task put forward by the clan leaders.
|