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Houses of Elanthia are established by players using the
rules outlined in this document. Requirements for leadership include
being a dedicated player who wishes to put forth the effort to setup,
maintain and rule the house structure. The player should also be
a good roleplayer because many of the activities involved in the
house system are best played in the strict guise of your character.
This documentation is for players wishing to join a house and those
wishing to establish one. Because more players will be joining a
house than setting up one, the membership information is presented
first. Be SURE to see the House ground rules at the end of this
document.
Terminology
What is a House?
Houses are player-run organizations recognized by the
local government as a private cooperative. Think of
them as private clubs, whereas "Homes"
are personal dwellings.
Benefits of House membership include:
· private property
ownership - design and construct a large manor house.
· private and secure meeting
areas - designate sections of your house (or the
entire thing) as members-only.
· storage facilities - extra
locker space for all House members.
· the ability to rent the the
Gladiatorial Arena - hold privately sponsored Games
and reap the benefits.
Coat of Arms
A standardized symbolic pictogram which is registered to each
House as its method of identification. Members often have
their Coat of Arms inscribed on their shields. The design
of the Arms shall be subject to approval and editing by the
House Coordinator and should be presented in ASCII format
no larger than 60 characters wide and 20 characters high.
Possible submission of full color Arms to be included in the
front-end program may be available at a later time.
Colors
Each House also has official colors (a two-color combination)
used to identify itself.
Cooperative Houses of Elanthia (CHE)
A loose organization of Houses of Elanthia, headed by the
Ruling Council, whose purpose is to set standards of behavior.
Although this organization has little official power, its
decisions are generally accepted by all Houses as final, especially
when issued in the name of the Council.
House
Short for House of Elanthia; an
organization recognized by local government whose purpose
is to promote the social, professional and political goals
of its membership.
House Controller
The GameMaster who is responsible for the overseeing of House
establishment and maintenance. The Controller is also a point
of contact for the Officers of a House in the event that GameMaster
assistance is needed (such as checking for a rerolled character
that may have defaulted on a Loan). In general, his or her
decisions will be considered final, though normal channels
of appeal may be conducted through GemStone Feedback as outlined
in the GemStone Policy statements.
House of Elanthia
The official term for a House. Only certain lands of Elanthia
recognize the stature of this title; however, the organizations
employ the name of their world instead of their island in
a vain attempt to believe otherwise.
House Officers
There are three primary House Officer positions, and three
secondary positions. It is up to each individual House and
its bylaws to define where the power lies with each position.
For example, a House may invest its Chairman and Co-Chairman
with identical authority. Or, a House may instead allow the
Chairman to have foremost authority with a Co-Chairman subordinate
to him or her.
House Chairman and Co-Chairman : The leader
of the organization and responsible for the initial establishment
of the House. The House Chairman has authority over all
decisions and actions of the House organization and is also
ultimately responsible for the same.
House Secretary and Co-Secretary : Responsible
for all official correspondence, record-keeping and reports
to local government.
House Treasurer and Co-Treasurer : Chief
financial officer and responsible for maintaining the financial
records of the House and seeing that all debts are paid
and expenses are accounted. The House Treasurer will also
issue financial reports as required in the prescribed manner
of the House by-laws.
Local Government
The simulated bureaucracy of Wehnimer's Landing which is controlled
in a roleplaying fashion by the GameMasters.
In order to avoid membership padding, the Cooperative of
Houses of Elanthia, under instruction from local government,
has set minimum standards for membership into a House. Each
House, however, may impose additional restrictions as it sees
fit.
1. A member must be at least level 5.
2. The membership offering (initial fee) must be at least
5,000 silvers.
3. The member must not be a member of any other House,
nor have been a member of any other house for a period of
four weeks. (NOTE: Any discovery of
a House knowingly violating this rule will result in a fine
equal to a minimum of one month's taxes as determined by
INQUIRE.)
Each House may offer special services besides their benefits
of being an organization. Some of these services are optional.
Engraved Coat of Arms
Each House may offer a service where the coat of arms (as
registered) is engraved on a shield. Only the registered
coat of arms may be engraved on a shield (some materials
or special shields may resist the attempt). To have an item
engraved, you must have the item in hand, go to the Engraver's
Shop, and then ENGRAVE <item>. Cost for engraving
is 10% of value, minimum of 250, maximum of 2,500. The House's
cost for registering a coat of arms is 50,000 silvers. Any
change to this after acceptance will be allowed upon payment
of a 50,000 silver fee in addition to the usual additional
cost of registration.
Loans
A House may make loans to its membership and is responsible
for the integrity of the loan system. If abuses are discovered,
then the House will lose the favor of local government and
be dissolved and its officers blacklisted from joining other
Houses or forming another House.
The House Treasurer is empowered to make loans to its membership
as per the House rules. Both the local government and the
CHE have standardized this practice and strictly enforce
it among the recognized Houses of Elanthia. The Treasurer
is responsible for tracking the loans and collecting payments.
a. Loan Qualifications
The House may loan funds only to the membership of the
House. The borrower must be at least level 10 and have
been a member of the House for a minimum of one month
to qualify for a loan.
Each member may have only one outstanding loan at any
given time.
The borrower must not have defaulted on any other loans.
The House Treasurer is responsible for approval of all
loan applications.
b. Loan Amounts
The amount of the loan is negotiable by the Treasurer;
however, it is important that the Treasurer maintain enough
of a balance in the House's General Funds account to handle
the demand for loans. The standard interest rate is 10%.
c. Payments
It is the responsibility of the House Treasurer to track
loans to its membership. Loans are collected monthly by
the Treasurer. The minimum payment is 20% of the outstanding
balance. All amounts due are rounded up.
Late payments incur a 5% penalty after 10 days delinquent.
Any members who have late payments over 5 days will have
their membership suspended until payment is made.
d. Defaulting
A member who is over 30 days delinquent on a loan payment,
has defaulted on the loan unless some other payment arrangements
have been made.
A character who dies/rerolls will transfer the outstanding
debt to the heir (next character) of the character, however
the membership in the House does not transfer. A Treasurer
who suspects a character has rerolled may ask for verification
from the House Controller.
Storage Facility
If a House builds a storage facility it may offer this
service to its members. The storage facility will allocate
a locker for each of its members where they can store objects.
The limitations of the locker system will be detailed in
a separate document.
Dispute Resolution
The House organizations offer two forms of dispute resolution.
Acceptance into the membership of a House also includes
acceptance of the dispute resolution system, for better
or for worse. The following systems are the normal (lawful)
procedures for dispute resolution, however Houses have been
known to take other actions covertly in response to the
needs of one of their membership.
a. Internal Disputes
Disputes among members of the same House are resolved
by a tribunal system using the normal tribunal rules.
The judges must be members of the House but otherwise
are selected by the rules of the tribunal system.
Enforcement of the tribunal decisions is not automatic;
however if the party which does not prevail will not submit
to the decision of the tribunal judges then that member
is expelled from the House membership and is blacklisted
from membership in any other House.
If a character refuses to be part of a tribunal, then
the House Chairman may be petitioned to force a tribunal
at his discretion. If the character still refuses he is
in default and expelled from the membership as per the
above condition.
The internal Tribunal system differs (as shown above)
in a few ways from the open tribunal system, and this
system has been adopted by the Cooperative of Houses of
Elanthia. The bylaws of a House may modify some of these
above procedures but only as regards the disposition of
rulings as regards the officers of the House. Therefore
the bylaws may state that the Chairman of the House has
veto power (especially true if an autocratic governing
system is adopted, but this should be stated in the bylaws,
not just implied).
b. External Disputes
If the two parties in a dispute are members of different
Houses then the complainant may petition the Chairman
of his or her House to request a tribunal from the other
character's House. The Chairman, after reviewing the facts,
may then contact the Chairman of the other House and attempt
to arrange a Tribunal which works similarly to the Internal
Dispute system with the exception that one judge must
come from each House and the third judge must be a member
of neither house. It is very bad form for a Chairman to
refuse to bind one of his/her members to a tribunal that
has merit unless the two Houses are not on good terms.
The Cooperative of Houses of Elanthia has made a standard
of allowing for House to House membership dispute resolutions
in this manner. If the Chairman refuses, the member may
try for an open tribunal; however given the circumstances
this is unlikely to work.
If the other party of the dispute is not a member of
any House, and will not submit to a tribunal, then, after
review of the facts, the Chairman may submit a request
to the CHE to blacklist the character from joining any
other Houses. The CHE maintains a general blacklist which
most Houses should respect regardless of circumstances.
1.There shall
at all times, except when a house is newly chartered, be at
least three HOUSE OFFICERS, with the option of filling
all six spots. These are the house CHAIRMAN and CO-CHAIRMAN,
who are responsible for the induction and expulsion of house
members and the investiture of house officers; the house SECRETARY
and CO-SECRETARY, who keep the diary of the house and handle
the official correspondence of the house, and the house TREASURER
and CO-TREASURER, who are in charge of the finances of the
house. A person may hold only one office at a time. Note:
Internal/Free accounts are not eligible to hold office, although
they are welcome to be general members.
2. GAMEMASTERS may act as House
Officers. In certain circumstances,
such as when House Officers are not available, not yet elected,
or when the GameMaster decides, in his or her infinite wisdom,
that it is necessary, a GameMaster may act
as a House Officer. Due to the doctrine of GameMaster
infallibility, witnesses, normally required for some House
rituals, are not required when these rituals are performed
by a GameMaster.
3.Official
business of the house, such as the initiation of new members,
investiture of officers, and management of house finances,
may only be done in the presence of the
Clerk of the Cooperative of Houses of Elanthia, whose
office can be found in Moot Hall.
4. The sole exception to the
previous rule is expulsion of house members (see below).
5. Residence of Officers: All
House Officers must spend a minimum of 8 hours a month resident
in the town or all known surrounding lands. If the House
is a public one that accepts applications from the populace,
the said Officers must make their presence known on at least
four occasions during each month in such a manner that applicants
may seek them out for questions or other business as well
as the general public or other Houses who may have need of
consulting. Failure to maintain these standards may result
in penalties or dissolution of the House as outlined elsewhere
in this document.
6. Residence of Members: To
maintain active House status, a House must
have a minimum of ten active members at any given time.
An active member is defined as a player who has been in the
game a minimum of four hours per month. In the event of a
very small membership base, a House may provide for reasonable
absences for vacations, school, etc. Aside from the House
Officers and the minimum of five active members, no requirements
are placed on other House members as to the minimum amount
of time they must spend in the game.
1. It having been determined
by the House that a person is worthy of membership, the Chairman
of the House, the prospective new member, and a witness (the
witness being either the Secretary of the House, the Treasurer
of the House, or a GameMaster), will proceed to the Office
of the Clerk.
2. The person to be inducted
will kneel. He or she will have on his or her person a sum
of silver equaling or exceeding the Initiation fee of the
House.
3. The House Chairman shall
stand before the inductee, his or her right hand holding a
weapon, and left hand empty.
4. The House Chairman will then
INITIATE <person>. For example, INITIATE MIRIANI.
5. The Ritual of Induction will
then commence.
6. In the event the Chairman
of the House cannot be located, the services of a GameMaster
may be used instead, if one be available and willing. This
request must come from another House Officer and will entail
a fee of 10,000 silvers for special services. If the initiation
is performed by a GM, the House Officer shall forward to the
House Coordinator a letter detailing the event and explaining
why the Chairman could not be found. Abuse of this will be
a presumption of resignation by the Chairman and withdrawal
from the House, absent reasonable emergencies.
1. In the event that expulsion
becomes necessary, the House Chairman and a witness (as described
above in Initiation of New Members), shall physically confront
the member to be expelled.
2. The House Chairman will then
EXPEL <member>. For example, EXPEL MIRIANI.
3. The Ritual of Expulsion will
then commence.
4. This procedure may take place
at any location.
5. If the member to be expelled
is uncooperative, assistance may be sought from the House
Controller, who can expel a member regardless of his/her location.
This service is at the discretion of the House Controller.
6. In all cases above not otherwise
covered, a GameMaster may be used provided a fee is paid and
explanations submitted as listed above.
1. It having been determined
by the House that a change of Officers is needful, the Chairman
of the House, the new officer, and a witness (as described
above in Initiation of New Members), will proceed to the Office
of the Clerk.
2. The Chairman may not invest
himself with another office. He or she must first invest another
house member with the office of Chairman, and then in turn
be invested.
3. The Secretary or Treasurer
may be invested as one of the other officers. In this situation,
all three officers must be present: the Chairman to do the
investiture, the officer being invested, and the other officer
as a witness.
4. When an officer is invested
with a new office, the previous officeholder is invested with
the invested officer's original offices. Thus, if the Secretary
is invested as Chairman, the Chairman becomes the Secretary.
5. As in the Initiation ceremony,
the person to be invested shall kneel, and the Chairman shall
stand before him or her with weapon in right hand and left
hand empty.
6. The Chairman shall then INVEST
<person> AS <office>. For example, INVEST
MIRIANI AS SECRETARY.
7. The Ritual of Investiture
will then commence.
8. Again, in an emergency, a
GM may be consulted as noted in several passages above.
1. The House Treasurer is responsible
for the financial well-being of the House. Only the Treasurer
may withdraw money from the House Accounts, borrow money on
behalf of the House, or prepay such loans.
2. All financial dealings must
be done in the presence of the Clerk.
3. Each House has a GENERAL
FUNDS Account, an ENDOWMENT, MONTHLY EXPENSES, and a LOAN
BALANCE.
4. The names of House officers,
and the state of the House finances, are available to all
House members. Simply INQUIRE of the Clerk.
5. Any House member may DEPOSIT
<amount> into the General Funds account.
6. Any House member may ENDOW
<amount> into the Endowment. The Endowment is inviolate,
and may never be reduced. Each month, a sum equal to 5% of
the Endowment is added to the General Funds account.
7. Only the Treasurer may WITHDRAW
<amount> from the General Funds Account.
8. Only the Treasurer may BORROW
<amount> from the Cooperative. A House may not
borrow more than their current Endowment, except in the case
of the original incorporation of the House. A 10% "loan
origination" fee is deducted from the loan amount, and
the remainder is placed in the General Funds account. Each
month, 20% of the current outstanding amount must be repaid
from the General Funds account. This sum consists of interest
payments of 10%, plus principal repayment of 10%.
9. Only the Treasurer may PREPAY
<amount> off the current outstanding loan balance.
A 5% prepayment penalty will be assessed.
10. If the House charges monthly
dues to its members, it is the responsibility of the Secretary
to collect these dues from members and deposit them into the
General Funds account.
11. In the event that a House
is unable to provide for its monthly obligations, and its
General Funds account becomes negative, no House members,
other than officers, will be allowed into the premises of
the House, until such time as the deficit has been repaired.
In all cases not covered above, or in the absence of all
known Officers, a written petition from remaining House members
may be submitted begging aid in Investing new Officers if
accompanied by bona fide signatures (as by email letters)
of a majority of known active House members or of such a number
as may be found that will satisfy the Coordinator. New Officers
shall be appointed and a record made of the proceedings in
case of dispute. Fees for service may be waived in dire emergency
at coordinator discretion.
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