Provincial Requirements for Order Sanctioning

The following regulations are from an Out of Character Perspective and are subject to change without notice.

SECTION 0: General Information About Orders

SECTION 0.1 Orders in DragonRealms are a privilege, not a right. Simutronics reserves the right to dissolve/disband any non-sanctioned Order at any time without explanation.

SECTION 0.2 There is no ownership of property in an Order. "Buying" is an in character term used to reference the exchange of in game credits to have the GameMasters set something up. The Order owns nothing.

SECTION 0.3 The in game administration of Orders will be handled by the "Orders GM". That same GM has an in character personality called "The Provincial Administrator of Orders". The two are the same individual as referenced in this document. When referred to as the Orders GM, that will typically be referring to interaction that will take place Out Of Character (OOC). When referring to the Administrator of Orders that will typically be referring to interaction that will take place In Character (IC), or in-game.

SECTION 1: What Is A Sanctioned Order?

SECTION 1.0 Orders are player run organizations that come together for a given purpose in the game. Orders specifically exist to provide a role-playing vehicle to the players, to enhance the quality of the game and to provide assistance to other players both members of the Order and non-members alike.

SECTION 2: Sanctioning An Official Order

SECTION 2.0 An Order will be considered "official" only when it is "sanctioned" by the provincial government.

SECTION 2.1 Any Order not sanctioned by the provincial government or an Order who has lost their sanctioning shall not have any of the rights or privileges afforded a sanctioned Order.

SECTION 2.2 No Order's sanctioned status is permanent. Orders are required, as set forth below, to maintain their sanctioned status within the province. Any order that does not maintain their status is in jeopardy of losing their sanctioning and any property, privileges or rights they may have.

SECTION 2.3 The GameMaster Staff and Simutronics reserve the right to dissolve any sanctioning of any Order, as it deems necessary. This right is immediate, and absolute.

SECTION 2.4 Sanctioned Orders fall under the direction of the "Order GameMaster" who has final say on all matters concerning all Orders or their operation and organization.

SECTION 2.5 The "Provincial Administrator of Orders" in an in character persona in the game that the Orders deal with. The Order GM, or someone on his or her staff, may play this NPC. All dealings with the Provincial Administrator of Orders are to be in character, whereas dealing with the Orders GM will typically be Out Of Character.

SECTION 3: Requirements For Order Sanctioning

SECTION 3.0 For an Order to become sanctioned it must have selected a proper name for the order.

SECTION 3.1 Naming an Order

SECTION 3.2 Proper names for Orders shall not include the terms/words: "Clan", "House", "Guild", "Society", "Secret", "Royal", "His Highness'", "Her Majesty's" or "Evil". Further restrictions on words in an Order's name may be imposed by the Order GM as needed. All names for Orders will include the word "Order" somewhere in their name.

SECTION 3.3 No Order name may reference "real life" organizations, or copyrighted names in the real world. Any Order that chooses a copyrighted name or the name of a real world organization, and that relationship is not discovered in the beginning, will be required to change the Order name upon discovery.

SECTION 3.4 The Order GM has the right at anytime to reject an Order's name, or to require the Order to change their name.

SECTION 3.5 A detailed explanation of what the Order's Crest (if any) looks like will be supplied with each application.

SECTION 3.6 A detailed explanation of the insignia, or badge of membership, worn by the members of the Order will be supplied with each application.

SECTION 3.7 Sanction availability is at the sole discretion of the Simutronics staff.

SECTION 4: Organizational Structure

SECTION 4.1 Officers

SECTION 4.2 The Order must have appointed a Speaker, a Vice Speaker and a Treasurer at the time they apply for sanctioning.

SECTION 4.3 The Order must have appointed a Council of at least ten (10) when they apply for sanctioning. No Officer may hold a seat on the Council.

SECTION 5: The Order's Charter

SECTION 5.1 An Order must provide the Charter for the Order at the time they apply for sanctioning. The Charter must explain in detail:

1. The reason the Order was founded 2. The Order's purpose 3. The Order's insignia 4. The item worn by members acknowledging their membership 5. The Order's goals 6. Official sub-offices of the Order (optional)

SECTION 5.2 It is to be understood that the Order's Charter is to be its guideline "in general" for all members founding, old and new.

SECTION 5.3 The Charter will be posted for public viewing, accessible to both members and non-members. In that vein, the Order GM will expect Charters to be colorful, detailed, and well written (this is one of many role-playing challenges for Orders) and reserves the right to require a Charter to be re-written.

SECTION 6: By Laws

SECTION 6.1 An Order must have its by-laws clearly defined and written in fashion that appears official, as they are the official rules for the Order. Included in the by-laws must be the following at minimum but not limited to:

1. The laws of the Order itself, as it applies to all members 2. A definition of the authority, responsibility and limitations for each officer (Speaker, Vice Speaker, Treasurer) 3. The complete set of requirements for membership 4. A definition of whether new members must be sponsored or not 5. The rules and guidelines that will be used for determining when a member can or should lose membership 6. How much a general member is authorized to borrow from the loan fund (if any) 7. How much an officer is authorized to borrow from the loan fund (if any) 8. Any other sub office the order might decide is necessary. (NOTE: Sub Offices are not recognized by the Order GM or the Order Game Mechanics. It is purely an office of honor/role playing)

SECTION 6.2 The Order GM shall have final say over any by-laws adopted by the Order.

SECTION 6.3 No Order's by-laws may circumvent the basic responsibilities or authorities of the officers or council set forth below.

SECTION 7: Membership Application Fees

SECTION 7.0 Once an Order has fulfilled the above requirements, the Speaker for that Order may submit their application to the Order GM. Each office for The Administrator of Orders will display the valid email address of the current Order GM.

SECTION 7.1 The person sending in the application (the Speaker) will have 10 platinum coins deducted from his or her bank account in the currency of the province the application was submitted in.

SECTION 8: Application Approval Or Rejection

SECTION 8.0 The Order GM will review the application and make a decision to accept or reject the application.

SECTION 8.1 The Order GM may at his or her discretion not reject an application in total but request that one or more of the instruments submitted be changed or rewritten. In this case, no additional filing fees will be charged, but the Order will not be considered sanctioned until the application meets all requirements and the Order GM states such.

SECTION 8.2 When the Order GM requests that an instrument should be changed or rewritten, the Order will have two real world weeks to complete the request. If they do not supply the changed or rewritten instrument within the two-week period, the application as a whole will be rejected and filing fees will apply to any future applications.

SECTION 8.3 The Order GM shall not be held to a time frame on deciding to accept or deny an application. Further, the order GM is under no obligation to accept or deny applications in the order they are submitted.

SECTION 8.4 Upon acceptance of an application, the Speaker for that Order will be contacted, and informed. A meeting with the Administrator of Orders will be arranged so a recruiting office in the Administrator's Building can be designed. (See below)

SECTION 9: After Sanctioning

SECTION 9.1 Upon acceptance of an Order's Application, it will be declared by the Order GM that the Order is Sanctioned, and the Administrator of Orders will recognize that Order.

SECTION 9.2.0 The Recruitment Office

SECTION 9.2.1 To provide for recruiting needs, a recruitment office for the newly sanctioned Order will be established in the building that houses The Administrator of Orders. This office is not optional. All Orders must have an office in the building, at least until they have a house.

SECTION 9.2.2 The costs for the recruitment office, in the Administrator's building, will be at the sole descretion of the Simutronics staff and is subject to change without notice (see below).

SECTION 9.3 In the event that fees are assessed, if the Order's Trust Fund cannot pay the weekly fee, the Order will be found in default and have one (1) real-life week to correct the situation. After one real-life week, if the Order cannot cover the financial costs they will lose their sanctioning and no longer be recognized as an Order.

SECTION 9.4 The recruitment office for an Order will contain the following:

1. A posted copy of the Order's Charter 2. A posted copy of the Order's By-laws 3. A membership application sheet 4. A banner with the name of the Order 5. The Order's crest displayed 6. A plaque naming the Officers and Council members 7. A trust fund deposit box

SECTION 9.5 The membership application sheet will exist in one of two forms: 1) A sheet that does not provide existing member sponsorship; and 2) A sheet that provides for existing member sponsorship

SECTION 9.6 The deposit boxes for the funds will allow deposits only. No money may be removed once it is deposited.

SECTION 9.7 The building of the Administrator of Orders will offer, for a fee, several chambers for an Order to use as Council Chambers to conduct Council meetings in. These Chambers are offered on a first come, first served basis and may be rented for two (2) hours at a time. Chambers cannot be reserved.

SECTION 9.8 The building of the Administrator of Orders will offer, for a fee, several meeting halls for an Order to use as a Meeting Hall for general meetings. These Halls are offered on a first come, first served basis and may be rented for a period of two (2) hours at a time. Halls cannot be reserved.

SECTION 10: Post Sanctioning Requirements

SECTION 10.0 After the recruitment office for an Order has been officially opened; the Order has 60 real world days to increase their membership to 25 members.

SECTION 10.1 If an Order has not met the 25 member minimum at the end of the 60 day period, the Administrator of Orders will meet with the Speaker of the Order to asses the problem. If sufficient reason is given for having not met the requirements, the Administrator may decide to give the Order an extension. The amount of time extended is at the discretion of the Administrator.

SECTION 10.2 If the Administrator is not convinced the Order will be able to meet the minimum requirements of membership, the Order will lose their sanctioning and their recruitment office will be closed. The Administrator's decision is final.

SECTION 11: Post Membership Requirements

SECTION 11.1 Once an Order has met its membership requirements, the Speaker of the Order, and the Vice Speaker of the Order will be presented their Order's Scepter. This is a magical device that allows these officers access to certain areas, meetings, and creates items that apply to the Order. At this point, the Order is not only sanctioned, but also considered and recognized as an official Order of the Province.

SECTION 11.2 Only the Speaker and Vice Speaker may hold their scepter. If they lose it, it will be replaced for a very expensive fee to be paid by the Order.

SECTION 11.3 The council will hold its first official meeting and pass a resolution to accept the charter and by-laws or to reject it.

SECTION 11.4 If the council rejects the charter or the by-laws, the Order will have two real world weeks to amend the charter to a point where the Council adopts it.

SECTION 11.5 If at the end of two weeks, the Order has not been able to resolve its differences regarding the Charter and by-laws, the Order GM, at his or her option, may grant an extension or step in and take matters into his or her own hands.

SECTION 12: Order Status

SECTION 12.0 At the time of sanctioning, the Order's status in the Province will be set to "Average."

SECTION 12.1 There are three differing levels of status an order may hold. Outstanding" is the best rating an Order can have, "Disdain" is the worst, with "Average" in the middle.

SECTION 12.2 An Order's status may be raised or lowered by any GameMaster on staff as the result of actions by the Order in general or by actions of any of its members.

SECTION 12.3 The Order's Officers and Council will have the means to review the Order's current standing at any time. No explanation will be given for an Order's current standing, or change in standing, by the Order GM. All Orders must simply deal with this factor.

DUTIES OF OFFICE

SECTION 13: The Speaker

SECTION 13.1 An Order must have a "Speaker". The speaker of the Order is the person who deals one on one with the Administrator of Orders (the Order GM).

SECTION 13.2 The authority and responsibilities of the Speaker is to be laid out in the Order's Charter and by-laws. At no time shall the by-laws of any Order subvert the structure of authority and responsibilities entrusted to the Council (see below).

SECTION 13.3 The position of Speaker shall be seen by the Order GM as the "Head" of the Order, regardless of the authority and responsibilities and privileges laid out in the Order's Charter and by-laws. With this recognition, it is assumed the Speaker speaks for the Order and has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Order when dealing with the Administrator of Orders.

SECTION 13.4 When a Council of the Orders is held with the Provincial Administrator of Orders, or other government officials, the Speaker of the Order will be the individual who attends, representing his or her Order.

SECTION 13.5 Any imposed term limits on the Speaker's office are to be determined by the Order's by-laws. Any such limits are to be tracked by the Order, and will not involve the Order GM or the Administrator of Orders.

SECTION 13.6 If the Order so chooses in its charter and/or by-laws, the Speaker is the officer of the Order that presides over official swearing in ceremonies of new members, officers, and Council members.

SECTION 13.7 In the event a Council cannot convene enough of a majority to fill its seats, the Speaker of the Order will appoint members until a majority of the seats have been filled.

SECTION 14: The Vice-Speaker

SECTION 14.1 An Order must have a Vice Speaker. The office of Vice Speaker will be considered the second point of contact for the Order GM or Provincial Administrator of Orders in the event the Speaker cannot be contacted.

SECTION 14.2 The Vice Speaker will be the "backup" individual who attends provincial Councils of the Orders when the Speaker is not available.

SECTION 14.3 Is it the Vice Speaker's responsibility to understand this document, as well as the Order's Charter and by-laws and any changes made to them, so they may clarify for any member the nature of these documents.

SECTION 14.4 Any questions the Vice Speaker might have concerning this document, the Order's Charter, or the Order's by-laws may be presented to the Order GM for clarification. The Order GM's decision on such clarifications is final.

SECTION 14.5 Any imposed term limits on the Vice Speaker's office are to be determined by the Order's by-laws. Any such limits are to be tracked by the Order, and will not involve the Order GM or the Administrator of Orders.

SECTION 15: The Treasurer

SECTION 15.1 An Order must have a Treasurer. The office of Treasurer will have total access to certain financial information concerning the Order.

SECTION 15.2 It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to keep the Speaker, Vice Speaker, and the Council, informed on the Order's financial status.

SECTION 15.3 Only the Order's Treasurer will have the authority (ability) to transfer monies between funds (see Funds below).

SECTION 15.4 At no time shall the Treasurer of any Order have the ability to withdraw monies into hard currency from any of the Order's Funds.

SECTION 15.5 Only the Treasurer will be entrusted with the Order's books pertaining to dues owed (if any), and outstanding with any member loans (if any).

SECTION 15.6 Any imposed term limits on the Treasurer's office are to be determined by the Order's by-laws. Any such limits are to be tracked by the Order, and will not involve the Order GM or the Administrator of Orders.

SECTION 16: The Council

SECTION 16.0 An Order must have a standing "Council of Ten." The Council of Ten shall be considered the governing body of the Order.

SECTION 16.1 All Council seats must be filled at all times. Any seat left open for a period of more than two real world weeks, will place the Order in jeopardy of losing their sanctioning.

SECTION 16.2 After the initial appointment of the Council, seats on the Council are "appointed" by the Council member vacating that seat. The right of the vacating member to appoint his or her successor shall not be abridged by the Order's Charter or by-laws.

SECTION 16.3 In the event a Council member cannot be contacted, and has missed four consecutive Council meetings, the remaining Council may vote that Council member's seat vacant, and vote in a replacement member.

SECTION 16.4 No officer of the Order may sit on the Council while they hold office. Any Council member voted into office will immediately vacate his or her seat, without the option of being able to appoint his or her replacement (through game mechanics).

SECTION 16.5.0 A Council seat left vacant because the member was voted into office will be filled by a vote of the remaining Council body.

SECTION 16.5.1 If the Council cannot present a body of members large enough to satisfy an official vote (see below) then SECTION 16.5.0 will be invoked by the Orders GM.

SECTION 16.6 Order Councils may meet officially as many times as they wish, however, it is required that the Order's Council hold an official Council meeting every two real world weeks. Failure to meet this requirement will put the Order in jeopardy of losing its sanction.

SECTION 16.7 A Council Meeting will be declared official when convened in the Council Chambers with at least a majority of Council members present.

SECTION 16.8 Council meetings will be held in private. Not even the Officers of the Order will be permitted in the Council Chambers when an official meeting is convened.

SECTION 16.9 Council votes will be secret. Not even the members of the voting Council will no how the others voted. A Council member may respond to a motion with VOTE YES, VOTE NO, or VOTE ABSTAIN.

SECTION 16.10 The Council attendant (an NPC) will tally the votes. If the majority vote is YES, the motion is carried. If the majority vote is NO, the motion fails. If there is no majority vote there is a declared NO VOTE situation.

SECTION 16.11 All motions put forward on the Floor of the Council Chamber will be announced in the room directly outside the door of the Council Chamber. All voting results will be announced in the same manner.

SECTION 16.12 Councils will have the authority and responsibility of voting in the Officers of the Order.

SECTION 16.13 Councils will have the authority to hold a vote of "confidence" or "no confidence" regarding the Officers of the Order.

SECTION 16.14 Once the Council has held a successful vote of no confidence, the Council will have the authority to vote an Officer out of office. That Officer does not lose his or her membership in the Order, only his or her position of Office.

SECTION 16.15 The Council will have the authority and responsibility of setting the weekly dues members are required to pay (if any).

SECTION 16.16 The Council will have the authority and responsibility of voting in new members or voting out existing members.

SECTION 16.17 The Council will have the authority and responsibility for setting the interest rate charged to those members who take out new loans. Existing loan rates are not effected by this change.

SECTION 16.18 The Council will have the authority to raise or lower the loan limit of any Order member. Current outstanding loans are not effected and a member may only have one outstanding loan at any given time.

SECTION 16.19 Any imposed term limits on the Council Seats are to be determined by the Order's by-laws. Any such limits are to be tracked by the Order, and will not involved the Order GM or the Administrator of Orders.

SECTION 16.20 Any Council seat vacated as the result of term limits shall be passed on to an appointee of the departing Council member's choosing. The Order's by-laws or Charter shall not abridge this right.

SECTION 17: Funds For The Order

SECTION 17.0.0 An Order will maintain a Trust Fund, a Building Fund, and a Loan Fund.

SECTION 17.0.1 Unless otherwise stipulated by the Charter and by-laws, an Order is not required to maintain any specific balance in any of its funds. However, the Provincial Government once a week withdraws the expenses of the Order, and should the Trust Fund not be able to cover the expenses, the Order will be found in default.

SECTION 17.1 The Trust Fund shall be that fund which all expenses are extracted from by the Provincial Government weekly.

SECTION 17.2 It is the responsibility of the Order to keep track of any balances of the funds. Neither the Order GM nor the Administrator of Orders has any obligation to consult the Order on their financial status.

SECTION 17.3 The Treasurer may transfer funds between the Trust Fund and the Loan Fund at his or her discretion.

SECTION 17.4 The Treasurer may transfer funds from the Trust Fund or the Loan Fund into the Building Fund at his or her discretion.

SECTION 17.5 At no time may funds be transferred out of the Building Fund or the Loan Fund to the Trust Fund.

SECTION 17.6 The interest charged on a member's outstanding loan will be applied to the outstanding total on a weekly basis.

SECTION 17.7 If a member of the Order walks the starry path or rerolls, the Order is simply out that money (such is the risks of being in the loan business). At no time will the Administrator of Orders or the Orders GM be recruited to get monies back from any player. Further, any effort by any Order to satisfy past debts from a new character will be severely frowned on and place the Order's sanctioning in jeopardy.

SECTION 17.8 All repayments of loans go directly back into the Loan Fund, thus the interest earned on loans goes to the Order.

SECTION 17.9 All Officers and Council Members will have access to the information reporting the current balance of all funds.

SECTION 17.10 Only the Treasurer of the Order will have access to the loan records of members. It is the Treasurer's responsibility to track the outstanding loan balances of the members of the Order, and to notify the Officers or Council when there is fear the member may be getting over his or her head.

SECTION 17.12 No purchase of land, buildings, or furnishings may take place unless there is sufficient funds in the Building Fund.

SECTION 17.13 Any purchase of land, buildings, or furnishings, be it for initial building or for expansion, will require that the Order's Trust Fund has a balance sufficient to cover the new lease rate for at least one month (four (4) weekly payments).

SECTION 18: Land Leases

SECTION 18.1 Once an Order has met their minimum membership requirements, they may begin looking for a lot on which they will build their House.

SECTION 18.2 Any lot selected must be in the province the application was filed in.

SECTION 18.3 The Order GM has the right to decline any request for any lot.

SECTION 18.4 The Order's Speaker may submit a selection list of up to 5 lots at a time, each submission will cost 2 platinum in the currency of the Order's home province.

SECTION 18.5 No existing building in the game will be torn down to make room for a house.

SECTION 18.6 Lots outside of towns may be submitted. However, the Order must realize the risk they take when building in the wilds. Invasions, thieves, and general uncivilized problems will be something that must be dealt with in the wilds, whereas this would not be so much a problem in the cities.

SECTION 18.7 No lot is ever owned by the Order. All lots are leased to the Order on a (real world) weekly basis and costs are deducted from the Order's Trust Fund. The amount of the lease is relative to the value of the land and the going rate will be quoted by the Order GM when he or she approves or disapproves your site selection.

SECTION 18.8 Simutronics reserves the right to relocate any House at any time within the same province if it deems necessary. While extremely rare, there might arise a time when a House simply cannot remain where it is any longer. In the event this should happen, the Order GM will work with the Order to find a mutually agreeable location, and move the house free of charge.

SECTION 19: Houses

SECTION 19.1 Houses will be offered to Orders who have been active and in good standing in no less than one year. Houses will be offered in standard models, or the Order can option to have a house custom built by the Order GM. While houses are extremely expensive to begin with, they will be overwhelmingly expensive when custom designed.

SECTION 19.2 The value of a House determines the additional cost of the weekly lease rate on top of weekly land lease. NOTE: This is a serious factor to consider when choosing the house you will have, as you become married to that lease forever.

SECTION 19.3 Certain landscaping and furnishing adds to the value of the house which effects the weekly lease rates.

SECTION 19.4 Once an Order has a house, they may choose to maintain the recruiting office in the Administrator of Orders building, or they may move it to their House. Recruitment offices in Houses must be open to the public.

SECTION 20: Financial Default

SECTION 20.1 Once an Order is established and has a House, if they default on their weekly lease payment, they will be notified by the Order GM. They will then have one week to get back into the "black." Their lease charges will continue to accrue.

SECTION 20.2 If a House cannot get themselves back into "the black", after one week, the Administrator will close the House. The recruitment office will be moved back into the Administrator's Building. Lease charges on the house will continue to accrue, and the weekly charge for the recruitment office will be added on. The house will then have one (1) real life month to resolve their financial crisis.

SECTION 20.3 If after one (1) month the House still has not resolved their financial problems, possession of the House will revert back to the provincial government and is lost to the Order. The Order will still owe the money and have one additional month to pay. If at the end of that month they still cannot meet their obligations, the Order will lose its sanctioning and cease to be recognized.

SECTION 21: Membership Minimums

SECTION 21.1 No Order may allow its membership to drop below 25 members, regardless of being able to meet its financial commitments with or without the minimum. The Provincial Administrator of Orders will put any Order that allows its membership to drop below 25 members on notice and they will have one real world (1) month to correct the situation.

SECTION 21.2 If after one (1) month the order has not been able to raise its membership numbers, the Order's House will be closed by the Order GM and the recruitment office set up in the Administrator's Building. The Order will then have one (1) additional month to correct the situation.

SECTION 21.3 If the additional month passes, and the Order has not been able to raise its membership to the minimum 25 members, the Order will lose its sanctioning and the House will revert back to ownership of the Provincial Government.

SECTION 22: Changes To This Document

SECTION 22.1 This document may be changed at any time by Simutronics without warning.

SECTION 22.2 Changes to this document will be announced in the method found most reliable by the Order GM.

SECTION 22.3 Changes in this document shall be dated with real world dates to distinguish them from the original draft.

SECTION 22.4 All parts of this document are subject to the Order GM's interpretation and his or her decision is final.