Sanctus Covenir / STCOVENANT

The Saints of the True Covenant was not created to bring together the most talented, strongest, most powerful players in the gaming world -just the best gamers in the world. Our goal is not to free the world of playerkillers. Our goals are much headier. We were created to bring together those who love pure gaming – meaning those who enjoy playing games the way they were intended to be played, without the help of illegal outside programs, without exploiting deficiencies in the programming, and without any type of shortcuts. We are better than that. We play all games in the spirit of Noble Church Knights (Templars/Paladins) and in Ultima Online, at least, we play our member character as one, regardless of type (mage, warrior, etc.). In every game, we live to serve each other, fight the good fight, and defend the poor and innocent – and have fun along the way. Saints would die before losing the faith of their brothers and sisters. One of the ways we keep the faith is by living according to our Code of Conduct:

Truth – We present ourselves to each other and to the community at large as honestly as we can – no boasting, no threatening; when we speak, our words resonant, our word is our bond. What we say, we will do. Another element of that Truth is that we play the game straight – no shortcuts. (There will always be debate about what a shortcut is; debate is healthy, the High Council will act as the Fellowship’s Uber-conscious though. In the end, if we aren’t sure whether it is a shortcut, exploit, bug or whatever the term du jour is, we should decide not to use it.)

Service – We will always strive to serve each other. Without you, my brother and sister, I am naked and alone. I will therefore do all in my power to aid you.

Honor – I will do nothing that makes my brothers and sisters look bad in the eyes of the world. Everytime I play a game as a member of STC, I am aware that people are watching. Some of them will want me to fail. Some will want me to cheat, lie, swear, kill unjustly, because in my failure they find justification for their misdeeds. But as a Saint of the True Covenant, I will strive to be honor-bound. I will strive for perfection, and when I fall, I will get back up and re-double my efforts. There is nothing more precious in all my on-line world than the Honor of the Covenant, and I will die before I break faith with my brother and sisters.

That is what The High Council of STC believes being a Saint of the True Covenant is. I would like to add that no one is perfect. But it is the Saints goal to “strive for perfection.” It is my hope, that laying out the following codes in “Black and White” will point us toward that perfection. It is only a sign post; the true path to perfection lies in your heart. As a Saint it is your sworn duty to seek it out.

Our Code of Conduct

1) Respect your guild brothers and sisters. Do not argue maliciously or personally attack each other in guild chat. Do not bait, taunt or flame.

2) Treat members of the guild and the other residents of your world as you would expect to be treated. Dishonesty, cheating and theft will not be tolerated.

3) Do not kill steal from others or perform any act that would bring dishonor to our membership.

4) Do not sell items in guild chat. Accept items from other members in good faith with a reasonable expectation of using them. Intending to profit by selling the items is not good faith.

5) Effort should be made to attend meetings, events and raids. Attendance is appreciated but not mandatory.

6) If you leave STC, you may be readmitted at the discretion of the leaders or officers.

7 ) If you are unable to resolve a dispute with another member, request assistance from an officer or HC member to resolve it.

8 ) Ambiguities arising from the application of these rules due to unforeseen or unusual situations will be resolved by the leaders or officers. In the event of a rule requiring enforcement, the officers will exercise their discretion in determining a fair result after considering the relevant factors.

Lastly, what should you do if you see a brother or sister behaving in ways that are “Unsaintly”- Serve them, in honor and truth and faithfulness. Go to them privately and humbly, and make them aware that you saw something that bothered you, and that you would like them to think about how that action reflected on STC -would others think well of us for it, or ill?

Vision
STC is a guild with a friendly atmosphere – one whose members are free to spend their time as they choose. While the guild will plan organized events and raids, members are never required to participate. If members should choose to participate they are required to meet whatever guidelines are set forth by the leadership of that game.

Mission
STC embraces members from all games at all levels and will not discriminate against anyone for age, gender, race, religion, or sexual preference. Members are expected to assist others when possible if asked and available, but should never feel obligated to plan their play time around the guild. The guild will not do everything for you, but it will help you out as it can.

Code of Conduct
1) Respect your guild brothers and sisters. Do not argue maliciously or personally attack each other (constructive discussions are ok) in guild chat. Do not bait, taunt or flame.

2) Treat members of the guild and the other residents of your world as you would expect to be treated. Dishonesty, cheating and theft will not be tolerated.

3) Do not kill steal from others or perform any act (swooping in and picking a flower when someone else is fighting a mob on that flower) that would bring dishonor to our membership.

4) Accept items from other members in good faith with a reasonable expectation of using them and, if possible, then passing them on to another needy saint once you no longer need the item. Intending to profit by selling the items is not good faith.

5) Effort should be made to attend meetings, events and raids (if you choose to raid).

6) If you leave STC, you may be readmitted at the discretion of the leaders or officers. Upon leaving, you will have 96 hours to reconsider with no penalty. After the 96 hours, you MUST petition the LP for approval to rejoin. It will be up to each game to decide the circumstances of the return.

7) If you are unable to resolve a dispute with another member, request assistance from an officer first or HC member if unable to locate an Officer.

8) Spamming for sales of anything… using these boards for such purposes =
bad. These boards are intended for guild communication. Not everything needs to be guild/game related but we ask that you use good judgment in anything you link/post to the website.

9) Please read our Laws document. These Laws apply to all Saints, in all games.

10) Ambiguities arising from the application of these rules due to unforeseen or unusual situations will be resolved by the leaders or officers. In the event of a rule requiring enforcement, the officers will exercise their discretion in determining a fair result after considering the relevant factors. Any decision by the in game officer staff is final unless it goes against the Guild charter, in which case the HC may be petitioned. Any decision by the HC is final.

Raiding
Raiding is important; however it is more about the fun of being together and achieving things together. No one likes to wipe continuously on the first named mob in a zone, so we do have to have some successes. STC is a casual guild that raids, however, if you choose to raid, then you are choosing to accept whatever raid rules are set forth by your leadership within the game you are playing. To help ensure the success of our raids, the High Council has agreed that where the game mechanics supports raiding, we will set some goals for the Lord Preceptors raid rules. These goals are:

1) Raid Leaders will post the minimum requirements to raid, and will enforce them! Acceptable enforcement includes, but is not limited to, removal from the raid group. If there are not enough guild members that meet the requirements, then a PuG (pick up group) is allowed to go over taking a guild member who has not taken the time to meet expectations.

2) Raid Members sign up. Any members who take the time to sign up for events will be given precedence over those who do not.

3) Raid Members are on time. Sign up or not, you will be replaced by a guild member or a PuG if not on time. If you do show up, you join the alternate list if there is one.

4) Raid Members are prepared. Have everything you need for the raid, take a bio, have your drink, and take a smoke before raid time.

5) Raid Members listen to direction. The raid leader is there to guide the entire raid force to success, if you cannot follow directions, you will not be invited to return and may be asked to leave.

6) Raid Leaders will provide feedback to help members improve their raid performance and gear. If you choose to raid, you choose to receive this feedback and please take it into consideration. The raid leader has the success of all in mind.

7) Raid Leaders work with members toward implementing that feedback.

8) Raid Members are held accountable for their performance.

Remember that when you attend a raid and do not put forth your best effort, you penalize all of the other people there. Two important thoughts; no one will ever try to make you raid; it is something we do for fun. The High Council’s expectation for giving members feedback is that it is done in a helpful manner, in the finest of STC tradition. We want everyone that desires a chance to raid to be able to come, but we all need help/advice. Raiding (like life) is a learning experience. So if you sign up, be willing to learn, and to put the time in to improve your raid character. Anyone who wants to raid and is willing to do the work required will be given the chance.

Recruiting
We are about the person behind the toon first and foremost. We want good people who like to help one another, and have fun together. As such, recruiting is mostly left open for each game to decide provided they are recruiting good quality people. The few guidelines we have are as follows:

Every recruit is required to fill out an application and register on the website. We would like them to at least make an introduction post once guild invited.

Every game that has an STC presence is entitled to recruit. There will be a Saint Advisor (even if it is the in game LP) assigned to each recruit to help guide them, introduce them, and answer questions for them.

Broadcast messages are allowed (but not required) provided they are approved by the in game leadership, specifically the LoS, and are conducted in the appropriate channels.

At no point should people be handing out random guild invites to someone that they have not even chatted with.

Guild Removal
Each game will govern itself based off of 3 things.
1) The EULA or terms of agreement that you accept when you login to any game.
2) This Charter and our Laws/Conduct document.
3) Anything else not covered in these three documents as agreed upon by the in game officer group.

In this section “departure” covers both voluntary departure and guild removal by an officer or High Council member.

Departure from the guild in any chapter is departure from the guild in all chapters. Once a member has departed any Officers or High Council members that witness the departure must post in the appropriate forum so website access can be restricted accordingly.

STC does not, as a matter of practice, readmit members who quit once a 96-hour cooling off period has passed. If the time limit passes with no word from the resignee on a change of mind, or if it is confirmed by a Lord Preceptor or the Grand Preceptor, then the resignation will be accepted.

If a person who departs the guild wishes to return after the 96 hour cooling off period, the individual must receive the approval of the LP of the chapter from which s/he had departed. Unless the individual was a former HC member the LP has full discretion of re-admittance and the procedures therein to judge the individuals fitness for re-admittance. The LP may petition the HC for a review of an individual’s re-admittance; should the LP choose to do so, then the case will be handled as if the individual was a former HC member as outlined in the following paragraph.

If the individual was a former HC member, then the HC must review the individual’s case and provide an answer within 72 hours of receiving the petition. The final decision must be agreed upon by a quorum of HC members. If the HC fails to come to a decision within this time period the GP must make a final ruling.

Any former member that is re-admitted to the guild after the 96 hour cooling off period are barred from serving in an officer position of any type for 90 days, regardless of the conditions in which they left. This period shall not be extended unless the individual has been served disciplinary action since re-joining the guild. The Lord Preceptor has the discretion to extend this period based on the severity of the infractions committed.