Codex - Grand Master's Royal Guard

Table of Contents: Area

"You stand here because I allow you to live. It is not His will that you be destroyed... yet. He has spoken His wishes unto me, and I am to inform you of an honour that awaits you, should you choose to accept your destiny. The Grand Master Himself has noticed your potential, and has bade me inform you of the path that may await you... should you choose to accept it.

"Be forewarned: the Grand Master's Royal Guard is not for the weak. Only the most dedicated and balanced, and most often the best warriors of the Brotherhood are invited to join its hallowed ranks. We do not seek publicity, nor do we seek indulgence, except in destroying the enemies of our Grand Master, and above all, accomplishing His will. We stand united beyond any ties of House, or Clan, because we are sworn through our own blood to die as brothers, defending Him with our very souls, if so called on. In standing together with our brothers, we ensure the survival of our immortal names through giving ourselves to His cause."

The Grand Master's Royal Guard (known as the GMRG), is comprised of some of the most dedicated and active players within the DB. Their fictional purpose has been designated as protecting the Grand Master and various members of the Dark Council and Star Chamber (the ruling bodies of the Dark Brotherhood), as well as hunting down and exterminating the Jedi Knight enemies of the Brotherhood. The mandate of the GMRG focuses on competitions both internal and external, but primarily upon the external competitions to display the elite status and abilities of some of their members.

Guardsmen fighting

Platforms:
The GMRG participates in their competitions through the use of some of the official Star Wars games released by LucasArts, and their affiliates. Currently, these games are:

Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
Jedi Academy
X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter
X-Wing Alliance.

As further games are released by LucasArts, the Commander of the Guard will investigate their usefulness to the Guard, and may or may not add other games to this list, or subtract games as they become more outdated, and unused by the membership.

Membership/Joining:
Despite prior incarnations of the GMRG having a more "Obelisk" feel to them, the Guard is now, and has been for some time, open to all Orders. With the addition of the flying platforms added officially for use of the Guard, every Order is welcome, and encouraged to apply for membership. An applicant can send his or her wishes through email to the Commander of the Guard, or they may be directly invited to join if their presence and skills are visible within multi-player events. Any applicant deemed worthy for admission will be accepted as a full member of the Guard, with no need for a "trial" membership period.

Internet Relay Chat:
Due to the nature of the GMRG and multi-player events, it becomes necessary to have a central location for the Guard to gather at to prepare for, and participate in multi-player events. The Guard has an established channel on the IRC undernet at #gmrg. Anyone seeking to find events with the Guard on scheduled nights, or even just looking for information about the Guard, etc. should congregate there.

Official Tag:
When fighting for the Dark Brotherhood, tags are used in MP games. So that there is one consensus among all DBers, as well as to let all other clubs know who we are, we shall use DJB as our official tag. Place DJB in front of your name when playing MP to show yourself as a DB member! Most gaming groups, Jedi Outcast Clans, etc. all use an official Clan Tag when gaming online. To announce our presence, as well as to have conformity amongst our members, the official tag of the GMRG, and the DJB as a whole, shall be a simple 'DJB' before your name. An example, in the case of current Commander of the Guard Halcyon, would be 'DJB Halcyon.'

Ranks:

Guardsman --> GMRG: GRD
Sovereign Protector --> GMRG: SVP
Gladiator/Gladiator Prime --> GMRG: GLD/GLP
Praetorian --> GMRG: PRT
Seraph (Seraphim for Plural) --> GMRG: SER

Guardsman - Entrance rank in the Guard. All members start as Guardsman.

Sovereign Protector - To become a SVP, a Guardsman must either acquire 20 wins through multi-player competitions, or amass a total of 40 matches total in mutli-player competition (with at least half of the 40 matches played through external competition).

Gladiator - To become a GLD, one must gain either 60 wins in multi-player competitions, or have played 120 matches total (again, with at least half of the 40 matches played through external competition).

Gladiator Prime - The rank of GLP is reserved for any and all Gladiators deemed worthy by the Commander of the Guard. Time spent as a Gladiator, wins and percentages thereof, and overall excellence are only some of the factors that go into the decision of the CoG to bestow this rank upon those of Gladiator rank.

Praetorian - The rank of Praetorian is an honorary rank bestowed upon members who have aided either the GMRG directly, or the DB as a whole, in their efforts to promote multi-player activity. Any member of the Dark Brotherhood may receive this rank, but it is upto the complete discretion of the CoG on whom he bestows this rank upon. Praetorian may also participate in other GMRG activities.

Seraph - The rank of Seraph is both and honour and a privilege, and can even be bestowed upon Brotherhood members not formally entered into the Guard. The four Seraphs are those members of the Brotherhood considered the best at their chosen gaming platform (JK, JO, XvT and XWA). To gain this hallowed rank, one must compete in, and win, a tournament held by the Commander of the Guard. These tournaments will be open to the entire Brotherhood, and will be held at regular intervals. There can only be one Seraph for each gaming platform at a time. Any Seraph who was formerly not a member of the Guard may be extended an invitation to formally join the Guard once they become one of the Seraphim, or possibly after they are bested, depending upon the desires of both themselves, and the CoG.

Activity:

Once someone has been extended an invitation to join the GMRG, and accepts, the real work begins. Anyone can potentially join the Guard, but only the most dedicated will be allowed to stay. To stay within the Guard, each member must compete in no less than 10 MP matches per month, with at least six of them coming from "external comps." Internal comps will be held by the CoG, or his Praetor, as well as individuals they designate. "External" comps will be held regularly, such as the Inter-Club Training Event held every Saturday. Any members who fail to meet the minimum number of matches will be demoted one rank. Should anyone of the Guardsman rank ever fail to meet the match requirements, they will be ejected from the Guard. The CoG extends the option of those who feel they aren't able to dedicate themselves to the Guard, for one reason or another, at that time, they may retire and choose to return at another time, receiving their former rank upon re-entry.

"It is the sworn task of the Commander of the Guard not only to lead the grand Master's Royal Guardsmen personally, but to oversee the proper and efficient administration of the Guilds housed within the Dark Brotherhood's halls. As such, there has been a system outlined to ensure the efficiency of the brotherhood's Guilds."

Guilds

Guilds help establish activity within the Dark Brotherhood on a level that adds to the levels of the Clans. Any group of individuals who wishes to play one of the number of games that is not supported "officially," and is willing to hold themselves to a high standard of maintaining their Clan activity, is welcome to attempt to open a Guild. Any game can be used to form a Guild, as long as the proper channels are gone through.

Proposals:
All proposals to start a Guild must be submitted to the Commander of the Guard, CCing the Deputy Grand Master and Grand Master, as well. Proposals should include as much information as possible about the game (links, specs, what type of game, etc.), as well as explanations on how the platform is to be used (where/how will games be played and what types of gaming opportunities are open to those who join). The more information included, the more thought and organization that goes into a potential Guild, the greater chance a proposal has of being approved.

Persons submitting proposals for a new Guild to be formed should be aware that, should the Guild be approved, they are the person who will be expected to lead it. Hence, do not submit a proposal if you are not ready for the commitment of leadership. Included in the proposal must be the names of 15-20 active DB members who are interested in the guild (depending on the type of game) and submit their names along with the full proposal to the CoG, DGM and GM before the Guild is "officially" formed.

Guild Leaders:
Leaders of Guilds shall have the name Guild Master at the moment. All Guild Leaders are in charge of keeping it's Guild active by putting together the various opportunities for gaming; setting up competitions for their members, and keeping all of its members interested is crucial. All competitions must be approved by the DGM and CoG, as normal within the Dark Brotherhood. Also, leaders are expected to keep a website dedicated for their Guild, of structure, game information, links to the Dark Brotherhood site, etc. An up-to-date roster should be included within this site.

Membership:
All members who join Guilds must first be ACTIVE members of the DB (must be in a Clan, not in the rogues). Guilds are to be for additional activity, above and beyond the normal activities, and not meant to replace that. How active a member must be within the Guilds is dependant upon each individual Guild Master. Members are to be active within a Guild, but it's also meant to be something fun, and enjoyable. The Guilds should maintain a pleasant member base, and be based around camaraderie. Membership in multiple Guilds is allowed, of course, but it cannot detract from normal DB duties and activity, as with being in a single Guild.

Guild Structures:
Inter-Guild structures are different from Guild to Guild, depending on the type of game, Guild Master, and any number of other factors; the bare minimum by way of structure is a Guild Master and members. However, should a more structured approach be used, it must first be approved by the CoG/DGM/GM before it can be implemented. The structure for a Guild may be one of the items included in your proposals as well, but is not mandatory.

External Competitions

The WoW (Week of War) is one of the main "External Competitions" (competitions that are held by more than just the DB, and not necessarily "DB Hosted") that the DB has decided to try and focus on. The WoWs uses Battlestats to keep scores and games are played through the Zone. The other main External Comp is the Inter-Club Training Event, Saturdays at 4pm EST in #outerrim on the Undernet of IRC.