~General Policies~

We expect common sense and courtesy of our members. Members of the Order follow standard MMO etiquette and are respectful to the general community. We are a 100% no drama Kinship.


OOTTG conducts itself under the creed of Respect and Honour, and members are expected to carry the honour of their Kinsmates in their every step. This is the core of our history and our success!


~Recruitment~

General Policy:

* The Order of the Tower Guard recruits by internal reference only. If you do not know our Kinsmates, seek us out and say hello!

* Recruits are expected to have a tolerance for role-play. While we are at most a light-RP Kinship, we encourage RP on the server, and are respectful to everyone engaged in RP activities. Kinship meetings are often conducted partly "In-Character". Our work is best described by a term we've concocted: "Lore-play". The Order carries a strong back-story, and encourages members to become active in the work!

Expectations:
* Recruits with no previous ties to the Order should have at least one level 50+ character.
* Recruits should have lore-compatible names.
* Recruits should do what they can to meet their new Kinsmates, participate in events, utilize Kinship resources like the Forums and TeamSpeak, and become acclimated.

Promotion

To be promoted from recruit to member, one must meet the following requirements:

* Active in the Kinship for three weeks.
* Join or lead a fellowship with an officer at least once during initiation (third) week.
* Complete our Kinship initiation rites, with an officer present.
* Prove to the Kinship that you will live up to and uphold the honour of the Kinship and its Charter.



~Membership~

Members of the Order are expected to:

* Adhere to, and aspire to embody, the Kinship Charter.
* Be the stewards of the Order's future and it's good name.
* Be decent and respectful to all other players.
* Represent the Kinship and nurture our reputation on the server.
* Adhere to the Turbine EULA.
* Keep disputes and drama out of the public space.
* Use the Kinship TeamSpeak service for Order events.
* Understand and respect the Kinship's "Two-Strikes" disciplinary policy. After two warnings, a player is removed from the Kinship.

Raids
The Order Leadership reserves the right to schedule, promote, and coordinate all "Official Kinship Raids", and "Official Kinship Events".
Members wishing to schedule an OOTTG-related raid or event, are expected to discuss their plans with an Officer prior to scheduling.

Activity in Other Kinships
While we highly encourage members of the Order of the Tower Guard to keep their alternate characters within our ranks, we understand that this is not always possible. If you have alternate characters in other kinships, members are expected to inform Casandir or Minbur. Officers may not hold officership in other large, active kinships.

Inactivity
Players promoted to the rank of Member of the Order are not demoted. Members are expected to inform an officer if they plan to be inactive for an extended period of time, (more than three weeks).

Conduct
OOTTG expects all members to behave honourably, and with decency. Depending on the issue, failure to meet this condition will result in a "Two-Strike" warning process: culminating in dismissal from the Order. Order Leadership reserves the right to dismiss an individual without warning, and/or to remove forum posts and accounts; please see our Privacy Policy regarding use of our Web services. The Order of the Tower Guard is run oligarchically -- Officers meet to make decisions on recruiting, promotions, demotions, and dismissals.


~Leadership~

Leadership Principles

OOTTG Leadership strives to embody the following principles, as expectations of the Kinship:

Bearing: A favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.
Courage: A quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables one to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.
Decisiveness: Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in clear, forceful manner.
Dependability: Timeliness, and the certainty of performance of duty.
Enthusiasm: The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of the task at hand.
Honour: Uprightness of character, dedication to uphold the honour of fellow Members and the Order's Charter.
Initiative: Taking action in the absence of orders.
Judgment: The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound decisions.
Justice: Giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.
Knowledge: Of science or art: the ability to share the range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of fellow Member and Officers.
Loyalty: The quality of faithfulness to one's seniors, subordinates, and peers.
Tact: The ability to deal with others without creating hostility.
Unselfishness: Avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.

Officer Duties
* Officers participate in the organization of Kinship events.
* Officers are generally responsible for at least one specialized area, (i.e. Raids, RP, etc.)
* Officers participate in initiation fellowships and conduct initiation rites.
* Officers administer the Kinship's data, raid-loot allocation, and event coordination.
* Officers are expected to coordinate and lead groups when possible.
* Officers post recruiting details for each person they recruit in the officer's forum.
* Officers represent and promote the honour of the Kinship and are the dedicated servants of its members.
* Officers are not permitted to hold officer positions in other large, active kinships.

OOTTG Charter Update, composed for the 10.8.08 Kinship Meeting

Thank you, Palandhir, for your excellent thoughts which I have incorporated into the last paragraph!


What is an Order? Key Word: Loyalty.


Whereas a Kinship can be thought of as a "Concrete network of relationships among people", historically, an Order is an organization of people bound together by a vow. What then, is a Kinship that is also an Order? By our definitions, it is a "Network of people bound together by a vow".


What then, is our vow? What have we promised? The answer lies in what species of Order we are. Not a religious order, and not only a military order, rather a uniquely composed Chivalric Order. What then, are the ideals of chivalry? A chivalric order is a group that has vowed a dedication to courtesy, manners, generosity, loyalty to our Kinsmates - bound together by the Charter, and fierce opposition to those who oppose the ideals of the Charter, all tempered with humble compassion and informed pity. Above all, it is a mutual vow to uphold the Charter which advances such ideas. These are the ideals by which we are bound to each other, and the ideals that should be evoked whenever the residents of Middle Earth see someone with our Kinship's name coming down the way. By the very sight of the Blade of Thaurlach in the yard of our Mead Hall in Grimstable, we need not prove our might, courage, or prowess; rather - we need only prove our championing of what is Right and what is Good, and our unwillingness to compromise loyalty to the Order.

In Tolkien's context, our Order has come to need a Charter to embody the ideals inspired in our Founders and Members by the light and lore of the Scions of Telperion, which bear the fate and the will of the Ages, and of which the Order and the Heren are among the Wardens.

Knowing now the definition of an Order, what is the Tower that we guard? The Tower Guard is the elite group of Gondor soldiers who guard the highest circle (the Tower of Ecthelion), of the White Tower of Gondor, Minas Tirith, responsible for the safety of the King, and of the Houses of the Dead. They are also known as the "Guard of the Citadel", and answer to Boromir, Denethor II, and ultimately to the line of Gondoran Kings. We, the Order of the Guard of the Citadel, are the Western, Eriadoran faction of this association. We will, one day, return to Gondor, and reunite with our Eastern brethren, so we must be prepared to uphold their extremely high standards of chivalry, devotion, excellence, and mastery of combat.


As you leave these hallowed grounds today, going forth into Middle Earth, look back on our Kinship Hall, and reflect on the dedication and generosity of those who have come before you, who have made and honoured these vows in order to establish this, the finest Kinship in Middle Earth. Ponder how you have come to be a part of this Order, which has never openly recruited, and how you can best represent our Kinship honourably as you travel through the lands. When you go forth, know that you carry not only your own honour, but the honour of every one of your kinsmates also; in this, you are never alone. The Kinship travels with you, wherever you go - bound in an allegiance of loyalty. Aspire, O my Kinsmates! to inspire these ideals in all of those you meet!