Battle Cry Official Charter (last amended on February 8, 2005)

Introduction

This is a guild of friends who enjoy the aspect of gaming.  It is not a guild of power-levelers or power-gamers.  This guild is for good people to come together, enjoy the comradeship in the game and benefit from the strength that comes from a powerful guild of like thinking individuals.  We care not of your race or class but only of the quality of the person.

If you are thinking of Battle Cry as a guild think about this:

1. What we believe:

• Helping a guild member achieve something they could not do solo but is within their reasonable abilities. This can be a number of things. But do not expect your epic the 1st week you are allowed in. Chances are, it won't happen.
• Providing any extra gear we may come across to the lower levels in the guild at the discretion of the individual owning it. Please do not beg. It doesn't bide well with us.
• Providing all characters the ability to contact the officers and have their issues raised to the guild leadership. Do not always go to the Guild Leader. ANY OFFICER can handle your requests in a timely manner. If you see an officer online, go to them first.
• Providing a culture and atmosphere of enjoyment in the game where people who play full time or part time can still benefit from the abilities of the guild.
• Providing a pool of skilled players that are available to answer questions players may have on career development for their characters.
• Providing a pool of trade skills that can be called upon at the discretion of the tradesman for use by the guild.

2. What we do not:

• Power level people. If you want your character power-leveled by us, then you are in the wrong place. However, if your friends inside the guild want to powerlevel you, that is their choice, and we do not hinder it.
• Twink others for the sake of quickly building up a character. What you do with your own characters is up to you. If you want to twink them, by all means, but it is YOUR responsibility.
• Hold the uber characters opinions above all others. While they may have valuable insight in the great world of Norrath, their opinions are by no means law.
• Stand for disrespect of our fellow guild members. Please be mindful of this as we have youngsters who play this game for fun.
• Use foul language or poor behavior to others in the game. See above.
• Have an obligation to buff you, port you or rez you. It is our choice, not yours. You will find however, that our members do take the extra mile to help one another out, so ask nicely, and chances are, someone will help. Demand something, and you will be shown the door.

Guild Rules

The following are the very clear guild rules that you may be banned or put on probation within the guild if you fail to abide by:

• RESPECT YOUR OFFICERS AND RAID LEADERS We take this very seriously, and disrespect to an officer/raid leader will be grounds for removal.
• Any disrespect to other guild members is taken very seriously.  This is a family and friends guild and thus appropriate conduct is mandatory.
• Use of foul language in guild chat or on the forums is unacceptable.  Guild chat is to be minimized for personal use and should keep focused on guild business.  No personal arguments in guild chat.  All arguments are to be resolved through private tells.  Personal arguments in guild chat are annoying and damaging to morale.
• You must fill out membership on the web and keep it up to date.  Use of the message board is encouraged as it adds to the life and culture of the guild and allows for everyone to remain in touch with what we are doing and planning.
• Begging is not allowed in the guild.  If you need help doing something, place a request on the message board and convince others to help you.  Begging inside or outside the guild for money, item, ports, buffs, power-leveling is not allowed.
• The guild holds runes, words, and pages for use by all casters in the guild.  It is encouraged that you will provide looted words, runes, and pages to the appropriate banker for use by your guild mates.
• Any guild member who brings shame to the guild or is the subject of a complaint by either another guild mate or external to the guild will be investigated and a decision made on the charges.  Should a guild member be found guilty of charges of Kill Stealing, Ninja looting, etc they will be subject to disciplinary actions by the guild, including removal from the guild.
• Guild members must demonstrate dedication to the guild via grouping with guild mates or through participation on guild events.  Failure to either of these over an extended period of time when you are actually available and actively playing is unacceptable.
• A Friends of BC tag is a special designation for those individuals who have demonstrated a long time friendship to the guild and as a courtesy are allowed to be tagged into our family. However, to maintain our harmony these friend are not eligible for any loot unless under a very rare circumstance in which they are the only ones who are eligible for loot under the race/class format provided no other guild member expresses a desire for said loot.
• Any post 50 spell drops should never be sold, but rather offered to a member who can use it.  This is critical as these spells are essential to the greater success of the guild.
• No member will maintain alts in another guild for any reason without first obtaining approval from the guild leadership.
• Any violation of this Charter will result in a disciplinary hearing involving the Guild Leader, Officers and any person involved in the violation. The results of the hearing will be either a warning, demotion if the violator is an officer, probation, or guild removal.

Mains / Alts Rules

We now have a strict policy concerning Mains/Alt characters that will be adhered to. We expect all of our members to have all characters they play within our guild, or unguilded. We do not accept players that have characters in other guilds as it promotes a conflict of interest. We have no desire to further someone's alternate character so they can leave and join "Uber_Guild_03" later on down the road. All of Battle Cry is loyal to the guild, and will remain so until EQ goes away. We have a very low turnover rate for the members we allow in because of the guild atmosphere and camaraderie built. Occasionally a bad apple falls from the tree, but those are few and far between.

What is a Main character?

A main character is the character you applied with us. This character will be your main unless you petition the Guild Officer Council to switch mains to an alternate character. Be advised, there may be a penalty IF the council decides to let you switch. Switching mains is frowned upon because most times we have spent valuable time obtaining gear and levels for that character which will be wasted if he isn't being played. That takes away from the rest of the guild. We hope this is clear.

Concerning Main/Alt loot rules:

• No alternate character will compete for loot against a main character.
• If no mains want a particular item, it will be open to alternates.
• The only exception to the above is by officer discretion on a very special circumstance.
• Concerning raids. If a raid leader ASKS you to bring an alt for successful raid, that alternate will be considered a MAIN for the duration of that raid. You will receive looting rights just like the rest. Any questions see an officer beforehand.

Guild Leadership

The guild is run by a number of guild officers and one guild leader.  The power of the guild is in the officers, with the guild leader being a single deciding vote should the officers be unable to make a decision on a matter.  A new guild officer is voted in by a 2/3 majority of existing officers.  Any member may make a petition to the guild to become a guild officer.  Once a guild officer petition is received via the message board, a vote is taken after consultation of the guild officers and a decision made.  The decision is made based on the commitment of the individual to the guild and is final.  An appeal of being turned down can be made to the guild leader but not to the guild officers.  The decision is final and this does not stop another petition for guild officer status to be made in the future.

Newly promoted officers will be on probation for 30 days from the date of promotion. During this time the Guild Leader will observe and evaluate the new officer with goal of determining if they meet the requirements of an officer and deciding what function they will serve as an officer.

The guild leader is elected via a vote by the guild officers and this position is for a random period of time.  Change is made where there is a need or as requested by the guild.

A Ruling Council exists as an oversight body to the officers. Its main tasks are to resolve disputes between officers and to resolve issues which the officers are unable to. The Ruling Council is made up of 2 Guild Officers, 2 Guild Members and the Guild Leader.

Guild Officer Positions and Roles

The following are roles for the officers of the guild and the duties associated with those roles:

• Recruiters - Only people to do invites after they have ensured that the process of application has been completed and then and only then do they actually invite.  They do not apply discipline to the guild rather pass it on to the Enforcers to handle.
• Raid leaders - Plan and organize raids, they are responsible for loot distribution and for ensuring that gear is redistributed to the rest of the guild based on upgrades etc and those who are worthy.
• Enforcers of charter - Ensure that guild members are sticking to the rules of the charter, they investigate and administer justice within the guild.  They are problem resolvers.  They do not invite people to the guild rather pass that on to the recruiters.

Guild Member Invitations

You must be of at least level 20 to join the guild.  We do ask however, that before you bring in alternate characters that you take your main/primary character up to level 55 so that they may join on the larger raids.  While we do have some existing members and alts below 50, the majority of our active members are 50+.

To avoid divided loyalties and conflicts of interest we will not accept players that have characters, main or alts, in any other guild.  The only exception to this rule will be the Friends of BC tag.

To become a Member of Battle Cry, all of your toons must be unguilded and you must apply using the name of your main. You must have a BC member sponsor you and either name that sponsor or have them post that they are sponsoring you. Your application will be evaluated by the Guild Leader and he/she will post an acceptance or denial to your application. If you are denied, no further applications from you will be considered.

New/returning members will be on probation for 30 days.  During this probationary period a guild officer may, at their discretion, remove you from the guild without consulting other officers.  You will not be able to roll on or receive any items obtained during official guild events while on probation.  This rule does not apply to guild pick up groups or events that you organize and lead yourself.   Raid leaders/officers try to keep aware of who is eligible for loot, but it is on each member's honor to know if they are in fact eligible for loot. Mistakes do happen as we are human, however we try our best to ensure no one is denied an opportunity for loot if they are in fact eligible. No one person has a greater chance for loot than any other, be they officer or regular member. Any deviation from who is in fact eligible for loot will be duly noted with regard to the parties involved and corrective actions will be attempted at a later time to ensure guild harmony. Probation may be waived, all or in part, at the discretion of the guild leadership.

Guild Removal

Forced removal from the guild may be made immediately if circumstances warrant it.  Eg, the individual is conducting himself in such a way as to bring substantial disrespect to the guild.  However, the majority of guild remove circumstances will be based on a request from one of the officers to the other officers to review the case and to make a decision of if removal from the guild is appropriate.

Once a request to remove a member is made, the guild leader will discuss the reasons with the individual, will give him the opportunity to correct the basis for the request.  If that corrective action is not taken, they the guild leader will remove the individual from the guild.  All characters for that individual are then removed from the guild. You can not have one character removed and keep others in the guild.

Upon your termination of membership with Battle Cry (voluntary or involuntary) all characters in the guild must be removed as well.  We ask that you make a good faith effort to remove any reference to your character being a member of Battle Cry guild.  This includes, but not limited too, this web site, the forum, signature blocks on other web sites and forums.

If you leave Battle Cry, and reapply to us, you will be on probation and not entitled to any guild help for epic events, loot from raids, or items in the guild bank including spells. We will stick to this rule, with ZERO exceptions.

Guild Raids

The guild will hold Guild Enhancement Raids published on the web site.  These will be posted on the Event Calendar, or in the Raid Announce forum found here.  These raids are the focus of the entire guild and we need the power of the entire guild to be successful.  Thus if you are on during the period of the Guild Enhancement Raids then you are expected to be there.  If you are not participating then you MUST have a very good reason or you will be sent for a disciplinary review.  These raids are all about improving the power of the guild and thus special rules exist for them.

• Guild Enhancement Raids Loot rules are very different then our typical NBG Friends and Family Rules.  Loot from these raids is designed to benefit the GUILD power core not the individual.  Thus the RAID Leader will dispense all loot and will direct who gets what item viewing what the GUILD needs not what an individual needs.
• Anyone who receives an UPGRADE in gear during one of these RAIDS SHOULD pass their old gear they are getting an upgrade on to the raid leader for redistribution.  This is all in the name of improving the power of the guild.  If you do not pass on your old GEAR it is seen as very bad form unless you have a very good reason why.

Guild Loot Rules

The following are our Guild Loot rules:

• Our loot is distributed by a Loot Council. The Loot Council is made up of all online officers, and 2 regular guild members that are not in the recruitment status. The 2 members will be chosen at random each and every raid. Things considered in awarding of dropped loot will be NBG, individual contributions to the betterment of the guild, attitude, attendance, knowledge, general help, etc. We take everything into consideration, and will ensure that the attributions will be fair to all. There are many facets to each decision, and the Loot Council's decision is FINAL.  No exceptions. There will be no debates while in the midst of a raid. Any concerns can be brought up to officers after the raid, and a discussion can commence at that time.
• We will do random rolls on some raids. The Raid Leader will state whether a raid is Loot Council or Random Roll, in either case NBG will always be the main consideration.
• How the Loot Council works: Item 1 drops. The raid officer will ask in raid channel who would like said item, and have them send a tell. The tells are tallied and the loot council will decide who wins.
• No alt will compete against a main, ever. If an alt is asked to come to a raid, he becomes a main for the duration of the raid, as stated above. For persons who 2 box on a regular basis, the Main will always be considered for loot, unless the alt was specifically asked to come. In the case of Random Roll raids, only the character considered as a main will be allowed to roll. 2 boxers will not have 2 opportunities on the same item.
• The order of loot distribution will be as follows:
  1. Nodrop Items-Mains, Alts, Probationary Mains, Probationary Alts, FFA/Rot
  2. Droppable Items-Mains, Alts, Guild Bank
  3. Quest or MQable Items-Mains, Alts, Guild Bank
• No selling of items gained from a guild raid unless specifically approved by more than one officer.
• We try to be as fair as possible, and we do track who gets what to ensure the same people do not receive items over and over again.
• Loot not claimed by mains on a raid: All droppable/MQable loot not claimed on a raid will go into the Guild Bank and be made available to all members on a first come first served basis. Any nodrop loot not claimed by mains will be made available to any alts/observers present at that time.

We thank you for your interest in Battle Cry, and we hope to see you on the battlefield sometime. Until then, take care.

**Note: This Charter may be over-ridden by the Guild Leadership for the benefit of the Guild.**