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Arcanum Of Guild Law Revision 1.04 Dated March 30, 2007. By Tellerian Hawke Grand Order Of The Osprey. Entry
001.01
Winning 1st place (i.e. being a member of the winning team) in an officially sanctioned Kingdom Level relic quest. Attainment of 6th level within one’s current character class (including monster). Attainment of the title of
King, Regent, Lord, Baronet,
Kingdom Champion,
or Knight is what is known as a HIGH AWARD. Attainment of any one of
these
titles by an initiate will grant the member instant Middle Grade (Order
Of The Kite) status. If the member in question is already a Middle
Grade
officer, then he or she will be promoted to the station of Full Grade
Officer
(Grand Order Of The Warhawk). Full Grade Officers who attain such a
title
shall be promoted one step in rank, up to the rank of Grand Order Of
The
Firehawk, which is the maximum rank attainable when The Osprey position
is occupied. One promotion maximum per title; in other words, winning
King
twice would only grant one promotion, but winning King and then being
made
a Lord would count as two promotions, even if they occur during
the
same ceremony.
Attainment of the title of Sheriff, Baron, Duke, Kingdom Level Guildmaster, or Local Level Champion. One promotion maximum per title, as above. Winning the entire tournament of Beltain or Samhain. Every year of membership. Attainment of 5th level in a given order (5 Orders of The Rose, 5 Orders of The Smith, etc.) Mastery (10th level) in a given order (Master Rose, Master Smith, etc.) Mastery of a given class (Master Warrior, Master Wizard, etc.)
Entry 001.02
For the purposes of this law, the following definitions apply: Backstabbing = To attack an enemy when he is unaware of your presence. An attack from the rear against an enemy who knows you are there shall NOT be construed as backstabbing. This is known instead as a rear flank attack. Example: If you charge someone from behind, screaming “Death to my enemies!” and he turns and sees you, but is unable to get his defense up in time to block your charge, you have just executed a rear flank attack. Cheesing = To commit a dishonest act or an act which goes against the spirit of fair play; This includes, but is not limited to: Rhino hiding, calling “light”, calling other people’s shots, use of excessive force in combat, knowingly playing with unsafe weaponry, knowingly and purposely hurting someone, & arguing with a sanctioned reeve. In “Kill Your Killer” backstabbing is considered legal for all. Why? Because it is a TRAINING exercise, and it’s designed to teach the participants all aspects of fighting, including the harsh, but necessary lesson of watching one’s back. Learning how to spot assassins is a useful skill that all Birds Of Prey (as well as Amtgarders in general.) need to have, and the only way to learn that skill is to become involved in a situation where it can happen. In Ditch Battle, Quest
Games, & / Or Full Class
Battle Games,
backstabbing should be utilized only under the Rules Of Reciprocation,
which are as follows:
Assassins, Archers, and
Anti-Paladins are allowed to backstab
regardless,
as such is the function of their class. Opponents who are playing
these
classes who backstab are not being dishonorable, and do not fall under
the Rules Of Reciprocation!
Knights & Paladins should NEVER backstab, even if provoked; It is beneath them. All other classes should not backstab unless provoked; If someone backstabs you, you and any other Bird Of Prey that you see fit to inform of it at the time may backstab that person. Return treatment you recieve, but do it three-fold, to teach your opponent the folly of using such tactics against us. If you are backstabbed once, backstab that person three times, and eventually, our opponents will learn that to use such tactics against us is to invite ruthless and overwhelming retribution. Under any circumstances,
cheesing is NEVER allowed. Such
foolishness
is beneath us, for we are an honorable breed. There is but ONE
exception,
and it is as follows:
If someone is KNOWINGLY rhino hiding against you, return the treatment. Remember, if the other side cheats first, you are not cheating by reciprocating, you are merely evening up the odds. On the battlefield, all Birds Of Prey members should act honorably and politely, and show the appropriate amount of both vengeance AND mercy. If someone is honorable towards you, show that person an equal amount of honor and respect; Likewise, those who cheat deserve NO MERCY, and even less respect. Birds Of Prey members
should always respect the
judgement of reaves,
even if they do not agree with that judgement; Birds Of Prey should
NEVER
argue with a reave; Instead, he should bring his concerns and arguments
before The Osprey, and The Osprey will then speak to the reave in
question
OFFICIALLY and DIPLOMATICALLY. Throwing tantrums on the field is
grounds
for suspension, demotion, and possibly even EXPULSION if it continues
to
be a problem.
Entry 001.03
This award has been moved to the status of reviewed advancement only. This award is given at the sole discretion of The Osprey. However, the following is a list of criteria that the Osprey will consider in order to determine a candidate’s eligibility: The candidate in question must possess the HIGHEST levels of honor and integrity both on and off the field. The candidate must possess CONSIDERABLE prowess on the field of battle, because such skill is intrensic to the concept of being known as a DEFENDER. The candidate must always act in the best interests of The Birds Of Prey, and his behavior should reflect the quintessential essence of what The Birds Of Prey stands for. Other Birds Of Prey members should be able to look to the candidate as a role model. The candidate must always be ready to represent our guild. In other words, he must always be in BOP Garb while attending any Amtgard function, whether it is the regular meeting, a fighter practice, or an away event. This is seen as a display of both loyalty and commitment to the guild, and is an important part of being a Guild Defender. Such people are the most recognizable members of our company, and their appearance says a lot about us. The candidate must have been a member of our guild for at least 1 year before consideration will begin. Once the criteria have been met, the member will recieve a special belt favor, which will bear the BOP Guild Defender patch upon it. (No rank insignia will appear on these special belt favors.) The Osprey will pay for this belt favor, and shall personally award it. Any member who attains this
title is among our elite, our most
respected
and loyal members. They are the leaders who will bring us to the
forefront
of our craft; they are the people who embody the very spirit of our
guild.
Entry 001.04
All Birds Of Prey members MUST purchase a belt favor when they
join.
Belt favors cost 20.00 dollars. A breakdown of this is as follows:
Birds Of Prey belt favors are of the HIGHEST quality possible; All emblems are embroidered, not screen printed, and all insignia pins are STA-BRITE military style insignia pins, therefore, the belt favors that we wear will endure long hours on the field of honor with no appreciable loss of fabric integrity. Members may wear tunics or tabbards, their choice. The uniform standard for garb is as follows: All sanctioned garb will be comprised of two colors: the MAIN color and the TRIM color. Trim on garb should be one half of an inch wide. A breakdown of color schemes allowed follows:
All color schemes besides those listed above are forbidden. Members may add personal flourishes (feathers, personal symbol, etc.) to their uniform if they wish, as long as the main body of the uniform is standard and recognizable. Sanctioned garb will bear the 3” diameter BOP emblem on the front, and the 8” diameter BOP emblem on the back. The back emblem must ALWAYS be centered in the middle back. The front emblem should reside at breast level, on either side of the chest, depending on how rank insignia is worn: If rank insignia is worn on the garb itself, the front emblem MUST be worn on the VIEWER’s right, and the rank insignia and pins MUST be worn on the VIEWER’s left. If rank insignia is NOT worn on the garb itself, the BOP emblem may reside on either side. If rank insignia is NOT worn on the garb itself, the member should wear their belt favor if at all possible. Members are not required to wear their rank insignia at all, only the BOP emblem; However, all members are encouraged to wear their rank insignia whenever possible, because it shows others (especially our opponents) that we work as a team, and that in turn lends to the ferocity of our reputation as a whole; People who see the insignias percieve a highly disciplined, regimented organization, which will be extremely difficult for them to defeat. They will be intimidated, especially by those members wearing the most “brass”. It gives us a strong, psychological advantage over our opponents, even before the first sword blow is landed. Acceptable insignia: All insignia pins worn by the Birds Of Prey are either the gold or silver standard types. We use a brand called “STA-BRITE”, which can be purchased at any GI Surplus store. Color (gold or silver) is member’s preference. Gold is typically used on police uniforms, silver being the type used on military uniforms. Either color is acceptable for wear on the BOP uniform. The most commonly available at GI Surplus is the silver, military type. There are two types of chevrons which may be worn on the belt favors and garb of a Birds Of Prey member: Type I: Marine
Corps style chevron, with rifles
removed,
turned upside down. The color of the chevron is black, and the trim
around
the chevron is red. An example follows:
Note that the insignia pin for this type of chevron is worn ABOVE the chevron itself. The rank represented here is that of INITIATE OF THE SHRIKE. Type II: BOP
native design chevron: The
colors for
this are red, black, and silver. When using this type of insignia, the
insignia pin should be worn BELOW the chevron; An example of this is as
follows. For comparison, the same rank, Initiate Of The Shrike, is
shown:
All other types of insignia are
NOT approved for use by the
Birds Of
Prey. The reason for this is simple; Uniformity must be maintained, and
our rank system is designed to be simple, and easily readable, even by
those who are unfamiliar with it. Belt favors should bear the BOP
emblem
at the top of the belt favor, and the member’s rank insignia on the
bottom.
All BOP belt favors are BLACK. Period. An example of a belt favor
follows:
For those of you who would rather buy the patches and sew the actual belt favor yourself (thus lowering the cost for a belt favor from 20.00 to 16.00, by taking away the 1.00 fabric fee and the 3.00 sewing fee), then you should look at the following information very carefully. You will still need to buy the patches, because all BOP insignia must be EMBROIDERY, NOT PAINT. This way, the favor lasts longer, and looks more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The exact specifications for
the Birds Of Prey belt favor are:
Take
a piece of BLACK CANVAS CLOTH (You can get canvas at Wal-Mart for about
4.50 per yard.) and cut it 6.5 inches wide, and 15.5 inches in length.
Then, loop the top three inches
backward
and sew a straight line (with black thread) across the favor, to form
the
loop. An illustration of this appears below:
What you should end up with is a belt favor that is 6.5 inches wide, and 12.5 inches long, with a large, three-inch loop that should accomodate most standard belts, and even many non-standard ones. Also, notice the bottom of the illustration. The circle is the Birds Of Prey main crest patch, which is approximately 2.5 inches in diameter. It sits 0.5 inches below the loop seam. The sides, which are marked with 1's, represent a distance of two inches. (Thus, the main crest sits EXACTLY CENTER on the favor.) The distance between the main crest and the rank chevron is marked with a 2. This represents a distance of one inch. Be sure that when you sew on your patches that you follow these guidelines PRECISELY, because uniformity is important. Non-uniform belt favors make us look rag-tag and unorganized, and makes it difficult for anyone to take us seriously on the field of battle. Below is a picture of a former member, Porthaus of Darkmoor. Although the picture is kind of fuzzy, the one thing that you can make out clearly is the Birds of Prey belt favor. Porthaus' belt favor is recognizable because it follows the precise format presented here. Check it out: 
Entry 001.05
Any Birds Of Prey member who
wishes to may join the Wetlands
Saracens.
Birds Of Prey members who are also Wetlands Saracens are known as
WARBIRDS.
The Birds Of Prey recognizes the Wetlands Saracens as official allies,
and brothers in arms. Warbirds must still wear the BOP uniform,
although
they are authorized to wear the black and red Saracen belts, as well as
the following shield device, in order to display their Warbird status:
Last but not least, BOP members
are also authorized to wear a
silver
(military type) eagle pin centered 1/2 an inch underneath the BOP Crest
on their garb in order to display their Warbird status. An example is
shown
below. However, it should be noted that the wearing of all
Warbird
devices is entirely optional.
Entry 001.05 Dated
July 20, 1999.
Entry 001.06
Acknowledgement of New Chapter The Birds Of Prey chapter in Buffalo, MO is hereby recognized as a separate entity under the command of Myrddin Slagrar, Grand Order Of The Osprey, who is hereby granted all rights and privileges pertaining thereto. This chapter is responsible for its own government, under the provisions of our sacred charter and Arcanum Of Guild Law. Long live the Birds Of Prey! Entry 001.06 Dated July 18, 2006.Entry 001.07
Powers of the Founder It should be noted that the Original Founding Chapter of the Birds of Prey (hereafter referred to as the "OFC") resides in Jasper, TX., in the Duchy of Ravenswood, Kingdom of the Wetlands. The founding Osprey (hereafter referred to as the "FO") is Tellerian Hawke. Since all new BOP chapters are granted their charter authorization from article four of the OFC's charter (i.e., The OFC Guild Law Arcanum, which you are now looking at), it subsequently follows that the FO, being granted the power to modify articles four and above of the OFC charter, has within his purview the power to revoke said charter authorization, thereby making the chapter's existence null and void, thus revoking the membership of that chapter's Osprey and all of that chapter's membership. Only the FO has the power to create new chapters of the BOP. Ospreys of other chapters DO NOT have the power to authorize the creation of new BOP chapters. Therefore, only the FO has the power to revoke the charter authorization of a BOP chapter. It also logically follows that law articles in the OFC Guild Law Arcanum (which appear on this webpage) supercede those of other chapters' Guild Law Arcanums. This means that the Osprey of a branch BOP chapter does NOT have the power to challenge laws and edicts enacted by the FO. I, Tellerian Hawke, hope in all sincerity, that I never need to actually invoke this power. I would prefer that branch Ospreys organize and lead their companies in a manner consistent with the OFC's code of honor and conduct. However, I recently realized that in order to protect the good name of BOP, the enaction of this policy would be a good idea, therefore, acting within the limits of my power according to the OFC charter, I hereby make the powers of the founder an official Guild Law Edict of the OFC Guild Law Arcanum. Long live the Birds Of Prey! Entry 001.07 Dated October 09, 2006. Entry 001.08
Suspension of Buffalo Chapter The Birds Of Prey chapter in Buffalo, MO must, from this
day forward, surrender its charter, and all rights and privileges
pertaining thereunto. Myrddin
Slagrar is no longer sanctioned to hold sovereign authority within our
guild, and must surrender his rank of Grand Order Of The Osprey
immediately. The reason for this is as follows: Myrddin
Slagrar did knowingly and purposefully construct an unsafe Amtgard
weapon, using pennies taped into slits to cause the weapon to be heavy
and capable of inflicting injury. This violates the standard of conduct
for The Birds Of Prey. It saddens me to write this edict, but the
reputation of our guild must be protected, and our code of honor must
be upheld. |
