Order of Shadows Guild Charter

Article I - Goals of the Guild
The purpose of the Order of Shadows is to provide an organization for Diablo II players to meet other elite players, share items, strategy, and information, to duel, to deal with other clans and guilds, and to generally have fun and enhance the Diablo II experience.

Article II - Government and High Council
The Guild is to be lead by the High Council.  This is a group of three council members, plus the council leader.  The members have sole authority over changes to the charter and appointments of major personel.  The HC will act as a supreme court, and has final jurisditcion over ALL issues in the guild.  Decisions among the HC will be based on a majority.  In the case of a tie, the results are to be determined by the council leader.  At any time, the council leader may gain absolute authority over any issue, provided the remaining council members allow this by a 2/3 vote (this will often be used in response to a tie among the HC).  If a member of the HC wishes to leave his position, or for any reason cannot complete his duties, a new HC member must be chosen from the existing guild members and be agreed upon by the remaining three.  Members of the HC may be forcibly removed fro m their position only by a majority vote among the remaining members of the HC AND all of the other Major Personnel (see Article III).  The powers of the HC are not limited necessarily to the ones defined in the charter.  Any power not assigned to a specific person or department is by default in the jurisdiction of the HC.

Article III - Major Personnel (MPs)
Division of labor is essential to maintain a smoothly running guild.  To do this, the important tasks are to be assigned to specific people, known as "Major Personnel" or MP.  Any guild member may be nominated by a HC member for a Major Personnel position, and must be accepted by vote of the remaining HC members.  Jobs assigned to MPs must be important ones:  whether a job is Major or Regular is to be decided by the HC, others are therefore Regular jobs (see Article IV).  MP's may be removed from their positions by a majority vote among the HC.  Major Personnel include, but are not limited to:  Head of Bot Ops, Head of Recruitment, General of the Military, Ambassador, Webmaster, Master of Ceremonies, and Taskmaster (Major Personnel may easily be added or removed from this charter by a majority vote from the HC as to what tasks qualify as "Major").  MPs will be highly hono red in the clan.  MP positions may be surrendered at any time, and a replacement will be found accordingly.

Article III - Minor Personnel (Officers)
Because of the large number of responsibilities of the HC, they can not be expected to appoint all people to all jobs.  Tasks deemed as "Minor" are to be given to "Minor Personnel" or "Officers".  The Officers are to be appointed by an MP.  When the HC needs someone to do a particular job, they contact the appropriate MP.  For example, when a new member of the Recruitment Council is needed, the Head of Recruitment will appoint one as an Officer.  If someone is needed to regulate duels, one will be appointed by the General.  It is the duty of the HC to determine which MP will appoint an officer.  Also, if an MP needs to appoint an Officer to assist his task, he must have the position approved (not the member) by the HC.  For example, if the General wanted to appoint a Lieutenant to further organize a military operation (see Article VI), then he would ask the HC if he could appo int a Lieutenant, although WHO he chooses is entirely up to him.  The Taskmaster will often be called upon to find someone suitable for the job.  An Officer may be removed from his position for whatever reasons only if deemed necessary by the appropriate MP above him, and this removal must be approved by a majority of the HC.  Becoming an MP and an Officer simultaneously is allowed, although this must be approved by ANY one member of the HC.  An HC member may become also an MP OR an officer with the approval of any other HC, but not all three simultaneously.  Officers are necessary for the success of the Order of Shadows, and therefore are honored and valuable members of the guild.  Officer positions may be surrendered at any time, and a replacement will be found accordingly.

Article IV - Recruitment
Any guild must have members.  Members of the Order of Shadows must be of the noblest blood.  They must be wise, honorable, brave, trustworty, responsible, loyal, and friendly.  All members, no matter what rank and position, are valued by the Order.  We are all brothers in our goals.  Because recruiting is a rather large task, there will be a separate council responsible for this job:  the Recruitment Council.  The Recruitment Council is lead by the Head of Recruitment (Head of Rec).  The rest of the council will be comprised of three officers chosen as Recruitment Councilmen, and will be appointed by the Head of Rec.   Because of the great importance of this task, the Councilmen must be approved by the HC once they are chosen by the Head of Rec.  The Rec Council will function much in the same way as the HC, with the same process of absolute authority outlined in Article II.  It is the Recruitment Council's job to resolve the applications of potential members, and to determine if they are worthy to be a brother of the Order.  The recruitment process is outlined below:

1)  The person who wishes to join the clan applies to any of the three Council men, or the Head.  This can be done through any means seen fit.  Only english speaking people, with at least ONE character of clvl 30 or higher may apply.  Other existing guild members are encouraged to point the applicants in the right direction.
2)  The applicant must go before the council to prove his worth, using his highest level character avaliable.  This is done by undergoing three trials, to be administered by all four Councilmen.  The trials are outlined in Article V
3)  Upon satisfactory completion of the trials, the applicant is added to our ranks, and the HC is notified of the addition.  New members enter with no tasks or t itle, and are NOT required to change their character or account names.

Article V - The Three Trials of the Shadow
To ensure our members are of the highest standard, each hopeful must complete the Trials of the Shadow, as administered by the Recruitment Council.  THE NATURE OF THE TRIALS ARE TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM ALL NON-MEMBERS UNTIL THEY GO BEFORE THE RECRUITMENT COUNCIL.  The trials are outlined as follows:
Trial of the Mind:  Three questions are asked by the Rec Council to the applicant.  These questions are to determine if the applicant has basic knowledge of Battle.net.  The questions are chosen by the Rec Council and approved by the HC.
Trial of the Soul:  The applicant must answer the question, "What does it mean to be a member of a guild?"  The applicant's response must be deemed satisfactory by a majority of the Rec Council.
Trial of the Heart:  This trial is to be kept secret from non-members.   The applica nt is asked to "show his most valuable item" to a member of the Rec Council.  When the item is shown, and ONLY after the item is shown, the appropriate Councilman asks "give me the item, and by the honor of the guild, it shall be returned."  If the member is trusting of the council, he will surrender the item, which will then be IMMEDIATELY RETURNED back to the owner.  If he refuses to surrender the item, the applicant shows he is not trusting and faithful in our word.

Article VI Section A - Military
Not everyone in the world of Battle.net is as honorable as our bretheren.  Therefore, we must be prepared to defend our honor in duels and warfare.  The military operations are under supervision of the General.  Military operations include, but are not limited to:  Dueling Tournament events (both within the guild and between other groups), PvP training, stategy sessions, and declaration of warfare.  The General may appoint members to lower positions as he sees fit, but the positions and the member chosen must be approved by the HC.  The HC has final authority over military actions.  The military does not have any aditional rights over the other members regarding items and jobs.  It is the duty of the General to choose the strongest players to represent the guild during times of war.  The general also has authority over all dueling events within the clan, as this may often be used to find the strongest members and train PvP players.  Since warfare in the world of Diablo II primarily consists of dueling, all players (not just characters) participating in duels must be ranked in the military.  This is to increase the size of the military, as well to improve the effectiveness of our PvP players.  Military service is entirely voluntary.  No member of the guild will ever be forced to do anything simply because he is a military player.  Furthermore, ANY guild member may serve the military.  All members, no matter what other positions they may hold, enter the military at the lowest level.  Members may increase in rank as determined by the General and his Officers.  However, any changes in the ranking system must be approved by a majority of the HC.  Non-MP and non-Officer military rank is not associated with any extraneous duties (i.e. one can not gain tasks or responsibility by being promoted sol ely within the military).  Rank and position within the military may be surrendered at any time.

Article VI Section B - Duels and Rank
Guild-supported dueling events are to be a function of the military.  However, certain aspects of dueling events are to be outlined by the charter.  Dueling characters (and by definition, military personnel as well) are to be divided by clvl.  The division points are as follows:  30-50, 50-70, and 70+.  In each event, characters will duel only with characters in their own division.  They will gain rank according to their performance, as seen fit by the Military Officers or MPs supervising the duels.  Normal ranks range from "Private" through "Lieutanant".  Officers and MPs in the military may have rankings above Lieutenant depending on their duties in the Military.  Dueling events will be organized by the military.

Article VII - Item Sharing
One of the main goals of the Order of Shadows is to help players become stronger, thus enhancing the enjoyability of the game.  An effective and popular way of accomplishing this is to share items.  If a character has a valuable or powerful item that he is not using, he is STRONGLY advised to save it and give it to another member of the guild, rather than trading it with an outsider.  This is for the benefit of the Order.  However, no player will be forced to give up items.  Providing for your brothers is a noble deed, and those who contribute will be highly honored within the halls of the guild.  Item sharing may be accomplished through weekly "Item swap" events.  These events are scheduled for specific time periods, and all guild members will be notified.  Players bring their items into a game, or games, and give them to other players and take what is offered by their bretheren.  T he games will be for exchanging specific types of items.  For example, certain games will be solely for the exchange of armor, etc.  So, if a player had a valuable set of armor to leave, he would come to a designated game and give it to another guild member.  Similarly, if one was looking for armor, he would join the same game.  The games will be named appropriately, and will all be protected by the same password to prevent unauthorized entry.  The password will change with each event, and all members will be notified of the password.  Also, any unorganized exchange of items between members is completely acceptable and even encouraged.  This entire system will help the guild immensely.  Strength and honor will come from within our own ranks.  Giving up items for the greater good will inspire friendship between members.  The names of the generous will echo throughout the Hall of Shadows.  This will weigh HEAVILY on who i s appointed for MP and Officer positions and who is not.

Article VIII - Website
A properly maintained web page is essential to the Order of Shadows.  The website must, at all times, have a message board for members to be informed of upcoming events and news posted by the HC or the Webmaster.  It must have a listing of all members, their title and military rank (if any), and a method of contact.  Members are encouraged to check in with the website for news, etc., as often as possible.  The Webmaster has authority and responsibility for the website.  However, the HC may overrule any actions as they see fit.

Article IX - Meetings
Meetings between members helps to increase communication and frienship.  Meetings will be scheduled according to need by the Master of Ceremonies.  Meetings will not be mandatory.

Article X - The Law of the Shadow
All members of the guild should be aware of one fact:  Its a game.  Have fun, be friendly, and support the other members.  Strength through honor.