Founders of the Third Age

Founded the 6th of April, 2007

Reformed Kinship Charter

Established:  <date>

Mission:

Our primary purpose is to provide an atmosphere of camaraderie and comfortable sociability to kinsmen, allies, and other denizens of Middle-Earth. We afford this purpose through chatting in-game, utilizing our web forums, organizing in-game events, and by aiding kinsmen and other players with questing, crafting, and game advancement.

Attitude:

The leadership of Founders of the Third Age wishes to maintain a fun and mature playing environment for all members.  We encourage each member to play the game in their own way, to their own enjoyment.  Questing, chatting, raiding, crafting, role-playing, music, and visual aspects are all a part of the game, so members should feel welcome to participate in each of these aspects without pressure from members to play the game in another way.  We will take the time to enjoy the Tolkein lore that is presented in this 3-D virtual Middle Earth environment.  We have a casual attitude toward end-game content, so while PvMP and level 50 raid instances are fun, they are not the focus of the kinship, just merely part of it.

Code of Kinship, Camaraderie, and Fair Play:

1. Treat others the way you'd like to be treated.

2. Have fun!  Remember, this is a game.  Play the game your way and respect others who play it differently.

3. Help others where you can.  Give help when someone asks, and offer help when you have time.  Help kin-mates, allies, friends, and even strangers.  We all need a hand now and again.

4. If you need help, ask for it - that's why we're all here.  Ask kin-mates first, then allies, then try the LFF or Advice chat channels.

5. Attend planned kinship events and participate in activities with kin-mates.  It’s nicer when you're there.

6. Appreciate diversity, but also appreciate conformity; some differences make us individuals and draw us together, while others prevent unity.  Prejudice or harassment of any form is not tolerated.

7. Speak and behave in a way that is appropriate for the context you are in.  Keep it generally clean in public channels, including OOC, Alliance, & Kinship chat, and on the website.  Use personal IM sessions or private voice conversations to speak your mind or share things that others might find offensive.  Feel free to express yourself as you are, but understand who your audience is, and respect the feelings of others.  If you feel that another member’s language is offensive or graphic, report it to an officer.  Officers are responsible for notifying members if their language is inappropriate, and for modifying inappropriate material on the website.

8. If a conflict arises between members, they are expected to separate and calm down, then discuss it together and try to resolve it. If you cannot resolve it, take the matter to an officer, and let each tell their side of the story. The officer may issue a solution right then, if it is apparent to him/her, or may review it with the Leadership and hand down the decision as soon as possible.  The solution the Officer or Leadership comes up with is final.  Do not go to another officer because you feel the verdict was unfair.  If a conflict arises between a member and an officer, distance yourselves until the Leader is present to moderate the issue and make a final decision.

9. To promote the overall well-being and family atmosphere of the kinship, a member of the Leadership should warn members if their behavior is found offensive and expel them from the kinship if the behavior persists.

Leadership Structure:

1. Kinship Leader

a. Appointment:  The kinship Founder is the first in line as Kinship Leader.  The Leader may appoint a replacement leader, with the advice of the other officers, if desired.  The Leader should at all times have a Successor appointed, who will assume leadership in the event that the Leader unexpectedly goes inactive.  If the Leader and Successor are both inactive, then the Officer who has been at his post longest is next in line, or else a new Leader can be elected by a majority Vote of the Officers.  If at any time the Officers unanimously feel that the Leader should step down, they should bring the decision to the Leader and ask for his resignation.

b. Requirements

i. Average at least 4 logins or 6 hours in the game each week

ii. Be active on the kinship website at least twice a week

iii. Be active on the alliance website at least once each week

c. Responsibilities:  The Kinship Leader is responsible for the organization, implementation, and overall success of the kinship.  To help this purpose, the Leader should appoint an appropriate number of competent, skilled, and people-friendly Officers, and delegate, participate in, or personally handle the management of members, the website, the alliance, and activities.  The Leader is always the final authority on any kinship issue or conflict.

2. Officers

a. Appointment:  Officer appointments and demotions are at the Leader’s own discretion, with the advice of the other Officers if desired.

b. Requirements

i. Possess the skills necessary for the position, as deemed by the Leader.

ii. Average at least 3 logins or 6 hours in the game each week

iii. Be active on the kinship website at least once every week

iv. Be active on the alliance website

c. Responsibilities

i. Enforce the rules of this charter

ii. Moderate any disagreements between members and report outcomes to the Leader

iii. Make decisions in the absence of the Leader

iv. Maintain a friendly social atmosphere among members while online by participating in conversations and encouraging fellowships

v. Represent the kinship maturely to other game players

vi. Participate in all discussions in the website Officers Forum

vii. Personally plan kinship and alliance events, or aid other Officers with the organization of events

viii. Recruit in-game players that will improve the overall camaraderie and well-being of the kinship

ix. Approve applicants on the website as “Recruits” and send them a personal message that includes:

1. a warm welcome into the kinship

2. any further instructions for needed for membership, including how to complete website registration, how to post an application in the forum, and how to get recruited in-game

3. notification that membership approval will come at the later approval of the leader and officers

x. Hold a position in the alliance leadership as designated by the kinship Leader, and perform the necessary duties

3. Event Leaders

a. Appointment:  In any fellowship, raid, or other activity amongst the kin where the Kinship Leader and Officers are absent, an Event Leader should be temporarily appointed for the duration of the event. 

b. Requirements:  This player should be a member who is a good people-person, trustworthy, skilled in game-play, and capable of using the fellowship/raid controls.

c. Responsibilities:  The Event Leader should make on-the-spot decisions that affect the event, and has the power to remove someone from the event if necessary.  The Event Leader should report positive and negative outcomes of the event to a kinship Officer.

4. Members

a. Appointment:  Members are all those players who have been promoted to Member status in the in-game kinship list.  They have fulfilled all requirements to become a Member and have been approved by at least 2 officers.

b. Requirements:

i. Sign up on the kinship website

ii. Gain membership approval by at least 2 Officers

iii. Remain a positive and active player in-game (at discretion of Leaders)

iv. Post in the website forums

v. Notify the Leadership if you will be away for an extended period

c. Responsibilities

i. Understand and follow the content of this charter

ii. Maintain a friendly social atmosphere among members while online by participating in conversations and fellowships

iii. Represent the kinship maturely to other game players

iv. Share goods using the storage chests in the kinship hall.  Donate items that someone else might need and feel free to take stuff you currently need.  Maintain an equal balance between how much you give and how much you take.

d. Alternate Characters

i. It is preferred that all of a player’s alternate characters be in this kinship, unless under unusual circumstances and the Leadership is notified.

ii. Alternate characters of current members may be promoted to Member status immediately when recruited.

iii. For all alt characters, a player note designating it as such should be added to the notes in the kinship panel (e.g. “Alt of Silrien”) and a note should be added to the main character (e.g. “Alts: AltName1, AltName2, etc.”).

iv. All alts should be registered as separate characters on the website.

v. Talk to an officer for help performing any of these actions.

vi. Keeping track of who is who helps everyone socially, and it prevents accidental expulsion from the kinship.

e. Inactive Members:  Members who are not active in-game or on the website will be reviewed by leadership, warned if necessary, and possibly expelled.

5. Recruits

a. Appointment:  Any player may be invited by any officer to join this kinship as a recruit.  They will remain on “Recruit” status until they have fulfilled the obligations of Membership.

b. Requirements:  The only requirement to be recruited into the kinship is that an Officer must meet you in-game and determine that you will likely fit in well.

c. Responsibilities:  A Recruit should be working toward becoming a member.

i. Sign up on the website and post an application for membership

ii. Meet the Leader, Officers, and other members

iii. Participate in kinship chat/fellowships/events

iv. Fulfill any other requirements described in the “Member: Requirements” section of this charter

Rules for Looting

Here are the general looting rules kinship members should follow when in raids, fellowships, or at events:

1. The Event Leader controls the looting for the group and is responsible for understanding this section of the charter and enforcing these rules fairly.  Any looting problems or concerns should be reported to the leader or an officer of the kinship.

2. The default loot rule for fellowshipping and raiding groups should be “Round Robin: Need, Greed, Pass”.  This allows the fairest options for members of the party to obtain dropped items.  Unless the entire party agrees to an exception before-hand, you may only roll “Need” on an item if one of these are true:

a. It is superior gear to that worn by the character you are currently playing and your character is eligible to equip it

b. It is a craft item that the character you are playing at the time of drop is able to currently use in a recipe

3. You must prove one of these two eligibilities if questioned.  If you are not eligible to roll “Need”, you must roll “Greed” or “Pass”.  Roll “Greed” if you want the item to sell, or to use later, or to give to an alternate character.  Roll “Pass” if you don’t want the item at all.  If you happen to accidentally roll need on an item that you are not eligible for, you must give the item to the next highest “Need” roll or else have the entire party re-roll and give the item to the highest roller.  In the event of winning a bind on acquire item that you were not eligible to roll on, the Event Leader should notify the Kinship Leader and you should make sure it does not happen again.

4. Before a fellowship/raid comes upon a highly desired “Incomparable” (teal) item, the group leader should switch the loot rule to “Master Looter” to make item acquisition more secure.  The Master Looter will announce each looted item one at a time, and anyone eligible for the item may /roll for it.  The group leader will award each item to the appropriate winner.  Once you win a teal item, you are not eligible to roll on any others for the duration of the group until all members have acquired one.

Alliance

In any fellowship, raid, or other activity that includes members of our allied kinships, the rules and guidelines of the Alliance Charter are supreme to those of this kinship.  Please review the Alliance Charter on the alliance website for details on the rules for alliance events, as well as the Leadership Rank Structure.  If any issue arises between members of this kinship and members of other kinships, and it cannot be resolved by those involved, the leaders of all involved kinships must be notified, and a resolution will be attempted using the procedures described in the alliance charter.  Although the alliance leadership does not have the power to remove individuals from this kinship, they reserve full authority to deny anyone access to alliance chat channels, alliance events, and other alliance privileges.