SSB Government

The guild is governed by the High Council of SSB, which presides over Chapter and Outposts, appointments and retirements of GM's, and any issues it deems guild-related. The High Council is comprised of the SSB Founder, the Chamberlain, the Chancellor, the Arbiter, the Consul, and also includes one Duke GM for each Chapter and one Baron GM for each Outpost. Their duties and responsibilities are found on the High Council page.

Chapters each have one Duke GM. The GM is appointed by the High Council, and is responsible for choosing his game council, comprising at minimum of two Barons, and at maximum one Baron AGM and three Legion Barons. Membership of your main SSB character on a server with a chapter is mandatory (see Characters in the Guild below). A chapter will be dropped to outpost status should its membership fall below 15 members.

Outposts each have one Baron GM who is appointed by the High Council. The GM holds a non-voting seat on High Council and will choose an AGM of Knight rank as his backup with High Council approval. All recruit applications to join an Outpost will be approved through High Council, and membership of your main SSB character in an Outpost is voluntary (see Characters in the Guild below). An Outpost may petition High Council for Chapter status at any time its numbers exceed 15 members, and must be petitioned should membership exceed 20 members.

The High Council may at their discretion appoint an existing High Council member as GM over a game chapter. In this event, the chapter AGM will be voted in by High Council, and will receive non-voting High Council access until they assume full GM duties.

The High Council reserves the right to override any game council appointment by a GM.

SSB Meetings

Daily discussions are held in the High Council forums and are for the purpose of discussing any guild issues. Any member wishing to have a topic discussed by the High Council should Private Message the Lord Consul on the message forums, and the item will be placed on the agenda.

A GM will hold a game council meeting every month. These meetings are for the purpose of discussing issues related to the operation of the chapter. Any member wishing to have a topic discussed by the Game Council should email or private message their game's GM, and he item will be placed on the agenda. Each GM will provide a summary Chapter report to the High Council at the end of every month.

Guild meetings may be set by any member, and are encouraged to keep guild ties and bonds strong. Any dispute meeting will be chaired by member of the High Council.

The Sacred Silver Blades are divided into Orders and Ranks. New recruits to SSB start out Squired, and work toward attaining full membership and the title of Knight. Once Knighted, the member may be granted a title depending on their duties in the chapter (Master Knight, Baron, or Duke), but they will always carry the rank of Knight and full member in any SSB chapter.

When Knights take on further duties in SSB, they begin to earn Orders of Knighthood. Simply put, Orders are higher degrees of Knighthood. They are a measure of the member's overall commitment to the guild, thus the more involved you are in SSB, the higher the Order you will earn.

To Join:

All potential recruits need to first visit our website and read the Charter and the History of SSB. They must have a referral from a member of Knight rank or above. This referral will sponsor the recruit and teach them about SSB. The Sponsor Knight will be held 100% accountable for the recruit's conduct. SSB Knights can only sponsor two recruits at a time as to make sponsorship into SSB a meaningful experience, and the Game Council reserves the right to replace a sponsor at any time.

The Ranks of SSB

Knight	- Full Member of SSB
Lancer	- Petitioner for membership
Squire	- Initiate of the guild

Squire to Lancer:

1.	Serve as a Squire for two months or more.
2.	Attend guild events and raids to a satisfactory degree.
3.	Demonstrate knowledge of the Charter, Bylaws, and Chain of Command.
4.	Post introducing yourself to the entire guild, and continue posting on a regular basis as a further method of recognition in the guild.
5.	Receive no negative remarks from any active Knight of SSB based on the above requirements.

Lancer to Knight:

1.	Serve as a Lancer for four months or more.
2.	Attend guild events and raids to a satisfactory degree, and continue posting on a regular basis.
3.	Travel with members of all Legions, and post in your game board who you traveled with and what they taught you of their Legion.
4.	Completion of your Knight's Quest, given to you upon your promotion to Lancer by your Duke or Baron Enlightener.
5.	Receive no negative remarks from any active Knight of SSB based on the above requirements, and receive High Council approval.

It is the duty of your sponsor to request your promotion from Squire to Lancer, and from Lancer to Knight. The sponsor will post a Request for Promotion on the Knight's Board, and the membership will discuss the readiness of the recruit. If approved, the sponsor will then notify the recruit of the pending promotion.

The Orders of SSB

Order of the Shield:

1.	Attained the rank of Knighthood.
2.	Contributed 150+ overall posts on the message forums.
3.	Served 1 year or more in guild.
4.	Performed in a leadership position (Master Knight or higher) for 6 concurrent months.

Order of the Guard:

1.	Served as a member in good standing in the Order of the Shield.
2.	Contributed 200+ overall posts on the message forums.
3.	Served 2 years or more in guild.
4.	Performed in a leadership position (Baron or higher) for 6 concurrent months.

Order of the Tower:

1.	Served as a member in good standing in the Order of the Guard.
2.	Contributed 400+ overall posts on the message forums.
3.	Served 3 years or more in guild.
4.	Performed in at least 2+ different leadership positions (Baron or higher) for 6 concurrent months.

Order of the Sword:

1.	Served as a member in good standing in the Order of the Tower.
2.	Served 4 years or more in guild.
3.	Have made a significant contribution to SSB with a positive chapter-wide effect. (recognized by unanimous vote of the High Council)

Order of the Crown:

1.	Served as a member in good standing in the Order of the Sword.
2.	Served 5 years or more in guild.
3.	Have made a positive significant historical contribution effecting the entire Guild that has brought SSB positive recognition. (recognized by unanimous vote of the High Council)

Leadership Titles of SSB

Titles are temporary, and are granted to members who are currently serving SSB in chapter leadership or High Council roles. No related/involved members will serve in voting positions on the same Game Council at the same time.

Duke/Duchess	- Chapter GM, 1 per chapter. All High Council members also retain this title.
Baron/Baroness	- Legion Commanders, Up to 4 per chapter, one may serve as AGM - Outpost Commanders, 1 per outpost.
Master Knight	- Assistant Legion Commanders, 6 per chapter (2 per Legion) - Assistant Outpost Commanders, up to 2 per outpost.

These are just for promotion and do not include the responsibilities of office. Exceptions to the requirements or progress of the ranks can be made only at the High Council's discretion. All requests for promotion are reviewed.

Squires and Lancers - Sponsors that have Squires and Lancers showing no interest in promotion will not allow their recruits to stagnate at their rank. Lancers have 8 months and Squires have 4 months to show interest in promotion before they are demoted or removed from the guild. High Council will decide upon any valid reason for remaining at rank on a recruit by recruit basis.

Sponsorship - If as a Lancer your sponsor does not think that you are doing your duties, they may decide to no longer sponsor you. If this happens, you will be reduced to Squire.

Legion Duties - If the Baron of your Legion feels that you are not participating, a Council vote may be held to reduce you in rank. You may appeal to the High Council if you deem the action unwarranted.

Stepping Down - Any member who is titled as Master Knight or above may step down from their position. When they do this, they will again use the rank of Knight.

Demotion of Baron - At such time the members feel a Baron is not benefitting the chapter, a request may be sent to the GM asking for demotion, detailing the complaint, and offering a solution to the issue, and if warranted, a High Council vote will be taken. The High Council may call for a demotion of any of the game council Barons or Master Knights at their discretion.

Demotion of GM - At such time the members feel a GM is not benefitting the chapter, a petition may be sent to the Lord Consul asking for demotion, detailing the complaint, and offering a solution to the issue. A High Council vote will be taken to decide the issue. The High Council may call for a demotion on any GM at their discretion.

Personal Involvement - Any related/involved members will exclude themselves from any "official" actions towards the other person including acting as a sponsor for the other.

These are the historic first legions, each commanded by a Baron. Each Baron will command an appropriate number of Master Knights. These are a model to be used as an example of Legions and their purpose, and will be used where possible.

	The Enlighteners	Main duties and responsibilities are to recruit, train, and help all citizens of your chapter. The Enlighteners are the Sages of the Guild, knowing how best to complete a task, and answering questions about the Guild itself. Their main function is to train and teach recruits about the history and government of the guild and their chapter/game, and determine the worthiness of the candidate.
	The Plunderers	Main duties and responsibilities are to scout and obtain items which can help the Guild. The SSB Vault is handled by the Plunderers, and is used to assist newer members. The Plunderers also map the surrounding lands, and know the lay of the lands well. The main function is to lead exciting hunts with membership in areas that the hunt leader knows well.
	The Weaponmasters	Main duties and responsibilities are to be the soldiers and guards of the guild and assist the other legions with their mission. During times of war all legions will assist, but the Weaponmasters will be at the heart of the battle, searching and destroying the enemy. Their main function is to defend the membership against agressors, and to train the membership in defense (or offense as the case may warrant).

Upon acceptance in SSB, a recruit will be listed on the roster by his forum username. This is his "Member" name, and should reflect his most often played character. Any character tagged as SSB is an extension of the member, therefore once a character is tagged, they are a part of the guild. Untagging your characters for any reason may be viewed as quitting the guild, and the High Council will vote on your removal from SSB.

Exceptions to this rule include discontinuing game accounts, deleting a character to reroll, or belonging to an SSB outpost. A Leave of Absence no longer than 30 days is also allowed. Disagreements, protests, or rash reactions to arguments are NOT valid reasons to untag, and will result in removal from the guild at the High Council's discretion.

Please note - if you have a question as to the validity of the character name you choose, post on the forum asking if the name is acceptable before you roll the character. Popular culture and common literary names are strongly discouraged, and having "SSB" in your name is highly discouraged due to the prevalence of accounts being bought and sold.

At the beginning of each month an in-game Promotion Ceremony will be held. All requests must be posted on the general board a minimum of two days prior to these dates. Any requests not posted in time will be carried over to the next ceremony.

This is the Charter of SSB. To be granted Chapter or Outpost of SSB, you must apply to the High Council if they have not already sanctioned Chapter or Outpost status in your game. Any message boards or website space needed will be provided by the guild and maintained on Bladekeep.com.

This Charter is subject to change by a vote of the High Council. Any deviation from this Charter may result in the suspension or removal of an SSB Chapter.