Order of the Rose-Croix / CROIX

Any guild should have good playing ethics. This is so that everyone within the guild can enjoy playing the game without grief from other players, both within and external to the guild.

Our ethics as a guild also extend to non-members in terms of good conduct and help when needed or asked frantically in the heat of battle!

With this in mind, the Order of the Rose-Croix strives to follow these ethics:

• A member should not cause grief to other players, both within the guild and external to the guild, either through harassment, verbal abuse, racism, slander, begging or any such other un-ethical behaviour.
• A member should have good manners on the chat channels, including refraining from swearing, verbal abuse, racist comments and generally inappropriate chat behaviour. Don’t forget: there may be minors that are members of the guild due to their parents also being members so therefore inappropriate chat is not acceptable.
• A member should abide by good gaming manners by not stealing other people’s kills and asking first if help is required, following grouping ethics such as not dropping a group without plenty of prior warning, helping group members if things go wrong and not dropping the group at the first sign of trouble, following good protocol when inviting new members that are queued to join the group, sharing camp spots with other groups, not continually begging other guild members for power-levelling or any other such practice. This list is by no means exhaustive and in general a member should think before performing an act that could be classed as un-ethical within a game.
• A member should show willingness to group with other guild members.
• A member should show willingness to help lower level members with equipment, money and levelling as long as it does not become expected and a burden to the higher level member.
• A member should promote the guild and not slander the guild within or without the game.
• A member should report any bad behaviour by any member that can be considered un-ethical and against the spirit of the guild to an officer.

This list is by no means a set of rules, but more a set of guidelines that every member should adopt when they are a member of the Order of the Rose-Croix.

Any potential member that feels they cannot abide by these ethics should consider looking for another guild as the Order of the Rose-Croix will not be suitable.

Any existing member that continually goes against the spirit of these ethics will have their membership revoked and will no longer be welcome within the Order of the Rose-Croix.

The Order of the Rose-Croix is a mature and friendly guild that has been active in many online games since October 2001. During our existence, we have striven to forge a guild that that would stand out among other guilds, not by sheer size of numbers, but by the quality of the players in the guild, and their commitment to helping others in-game whether they are a part of the guild or not. The guild has defined itself as a haven for those gamers who prefer a more relaxed, fun and casual guild. Although we are very strict with our ethics in-game, we only do so to ensure that members are safe to play in an environment that fosters a friendly, family feel.

The guild sets out to be regarded in high esteem by players external to the guild as well as by its own members. This can be a difficult task and places a responsibility on each member to ensure good conduct in the game when interacting and grouping with other players. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should spend your entire time helping others and without progressing yourself, but a request from another guild member or a plea for help in combat we feel should be answered. If a guild member is having trouble progressing in levels, or requires some help with a quest, they should feel that someone in the guild will be willing to spend some time helping them out.

I believe the guild should foster a sense of companionship with each member, as opposed to being just another chat channel. As the guild grows, there will be members of varying levels. We do not want the guild to have factions that bar lower level players from mixing it with higher level players. Indeed, higher level players, due to their experience of the game, should extend their help to the lower level players where possible – without detriment to their own game.

The guild also has an active web based community (http://www.order-of-the-rose-croix.com and every member is encouraged to participate on our forums. Since our early gaming days, the guild has since dipped its toe into many varied online games. The web community allows members to continue to communicate with each other outside of any games members are currently playing and is important to us to further strengthen our bonds as members of this guild.

So, in summary, this guild should be fun to be part of, but also maintain ethics that help rather than hinder other people’s enjoyment of the game, as well as impart a sense of companionship. This will increase our guild’s reputation and hopefully help to recruit future quality players.