MERCENARY BANDS, ADVENTURING PARTIES AND FELLOWSHIPS

This covers groups of characters that are involved in less formal and less known groups than the official organisations like the harpers and Zhentarim. Some of these groups can be members of the official organisations, or be unofficially associated with them, or have nothing to do with them at all. It is a smaller group of characters that form, who have a similar mission, create a charter and adventure together. Please note if we feel that the formation of an applied for group would harm the growth of one of our official organisations, it will likely not be approved. The aim of these groups is to compliment what is already in the game.

Existing groups to date include:

• Fellowship of the Undermountain

Requirements

• We will only consider approving an official adventuring party for long term roleplayed characters. The players of the characters should have a decent amount of kismet.
• It should benefit a large group of characters, would actually benefit the game, not just form a clicky group.
• The group leaders should be prepared to design a small area if appropriate for the group.
• Submission of a charter for the group.
• There must be a good in character reason for the formation of the group.
• Unique group name that is likely to have a good IC reason for being.
• None of the character members can have strikes or be considered trouble makers OOC.

Group area requirements

Approved groups will get area support in the form of a meeting place, a group object, a shop keeper that would sell equipment with the group's logo on it. They will get an object with the charter written on it (ie parchment, book, scroll). So the things to consider when making your application are the kinds of things you want in your area.

• What will be your group logo or colour scheme?
• What objects do you want? Tunics or some other item that will have the groups logo? Perhaps more than one item.
• What kind of restrictions will you have for entering the area. Will a guard require proof of membership in the form of an object?
• What kind of mobile will sell your group items?
• What will your charter be written on? Scroll? Book? Sign in the room?
• Where is the group based? In what city?
• What kind of meeting room will you have? Will it be a room in an existing tavern? A hall? Or will you build your own building?.

Group Charter

Covers things like the

• Name of the group.
• Group logo, colour scheme if appropriate.
• Where the group is based.
• Division of loot/earnings.
• Group purpose. What kind of jobs will they take?
• Things that the group will not do (ie perform evil acts or assassinations).
• Type of characters that would make up the membership. For instance, is it a group of thieves? Or is it a group of Mystrans? Or is it a group of those that are only good aligned?
• Is there a membership cap? Will you limit to only a select few? This one could actually harm an application if the number is too limiting. With special roleplays that require significant set up effort, we want to benefit as many characters as possible.
• How will you handle violations of the charter? How will you handle removal of members from the group?

Sample Application

I got an application that had alot of the aspects that I would want to see in an application but for the one main thing, long term roleplayed characters. However, in every other aspect the application was very good, so I asked the player to keep the application and re-apply when his character was older and more well known. I am using this well thought out application as an example of what I would like to see, and I look forward to seeing it again, with the modifications I suggest below once this character has been around a while.

Aspects he included were:

(I have blocked out pertinant parts so that this player can use this later without his idea being taken from him.)

First he told me the name of the group, and the fact that the group would share loot equally.

I would like to form a group called the ****, the name originates in that each member of the group gets an equal share. Equal share in adventures, equal share in treasures, and so forth. And each member could be specifically called a ****.

He told me the goal of the group, the reason for being

My idea is basically a small group of adventurer mercenaries that help each other out, with work, jobs, adventures, or generally... And help out the people around them willing to hire them for assistance. (like protection on a trip to the Undermountain, escorting someone to Westgate so they can buy themselves a mage robe, so forth)

He went on to give me a very good reason why people would hire a known adventuring party over random unknown adventurers to do a task.

Though mostly what we could do could be solved by unnamed groups of random adventurers we wish to put forth a name, a brand label if you will, something people know can be relied on. Would you rather some random person you asked help you, without you knowing them and the chance that they can cheat you, rob you, or worse... Or a person from a group of adventurers who back each other and are willing to guarantee their work, any client complaints are always serious and are to be looked into immediately and usually remedied by a full refund and the assignment to be redone appropriately for free (if possible, otherwise other arrangements can be made) by the leader and monitored by the clerk (one of the priests).

He then told me where he wanted his adventuring group based. And in his favour he told me a city that was not Waterdeep. And that is a big plus for me. In such an instance, it is likely that we would add area support in the inn or wherever they chose, in the form of a set of rooms. The players could even hang their dwellings off this inn, which would be excellent roleplay.

I was interested in having it based out of ***** (like just hang out in an inn there sometimes to meet) but working all over the Realms, as everyone needs help sometimes.

What he did not have was a list of ppl who would be in the group. He wanted to interview prospectives that matched the classes he wanted to see in his group. Now this is an aspect I do not like. Any companies that would be approved, would have the characters all worked out, and they would be existing LONG TERM characters. And I would want to see a mix of classes. He did however, cover what would happen IF someone decided to leave the group, which was good.

The amount of people in the group I was interested was at max: Three warriors, two wizards, one rogue, and two priests. Each member being personally interviewed and approved by the leader of the *****, along with at least one advisor, (a mage) or the clerk, (one of the priests) if at all possible. If someone leaves the group (which they can at any time, as long as they inform the leader or at least another member) applications will be taken to fill their spot, and interviews done with appropriate people.

I did not mind interviews for filling a vacated spot, but the characters must all exist before coming to me with the application. They should also be long term, and go through the applications process.

He went on to cover how to handle a character who becomes a problem. This kind of thing should be laid out in the groups charter. Approved groups would actually get an object that would list the groups charter as approved by the imms.

If a member of the group is found lacking in skills, abilities, attitude, or have too many complaints, they will be kicked out of the group, and lose all rights to the jobs presented to the crew, and their cut of the rewards.

He covered how to handle rewarding those who found the jobs for the group. Now I don't see this aspect as really needed, but if a group felt they wanted this included in their charter they could.

Basically the policies I was having us work around was, every member always gets a fair cut of every job taken in by using the *****'s name. Even if they do not wish to participate in that job (as is their right) they will get something for being part of the crew. The person who brings the assignment or adventure to the group gets a finder's fee of 10 percent of the pay for that job off the top. And the people who do the job itself split 75 percent of the pay after that. The last 25 percent is split amongst the people who were not involved in the task.

He went on to cover, how to decide if they take a job or not.

Any outside adventures or assignments are routed through the leader and the leader will ask the people he or she thinks will be able to handle it appropriately if they are interested in doing it. The advisors (the mages) will help decide if the group should take the job, and who would be able to handle it, and if they believe the client is able to pay the agreed on payment for helping. If they are not around the leader of the group will either inform the client they have to wait, or make the choice him or herself. All work is kept track by the clerk (one of the priests) who will figure out what each member is due after each assignment is completed.

And he went on to cover the types of jobs the group would not take. Basically saying that evil work was not part of the groups intention. Now this would be different for say an adventuring company of evil characters, forming say out of the keep. (Of course assassin roleplay is frowned upon by the administration because it leads to poorly roleplayed player kills).

Before any statements are made about it, the group is not assassins and will never take on any assignment or job that leads to the murder of another PC. Any person representing themselves as both an assassin and a member of the ****s is not a member of the ****s, and probably not an assassin either and most likely will run away with the clients money, and

Players with strikes etc, will not be approved for such roleplay. Also anyone who starts a company without imm approval will be asked to desist right away. Only those who have presented a detailed application of the quality in the example above, with existing characters of LONG TERM roleplay will be approved. We would also want to see an email from EACH member saying they want to be a part of the company, although only the leader needs to present the detail. It would be treated like other applications and voted on by the deities.

So if you have long term chars, who have a group of friends they get out and adventure with on a regular basis, then get together IC. All of this can be handled IC, very little of it needs to be OOC, really just the application process. The charter etc, would be IC.