We are happy to announce that there will soon be a formalized progression for players to create their own clans in-game, and leave a lasting impact if they succeed. We will be implementing documentation for this player-side and staff-side after we spend a bit more time revising and developing, and launching within the next few weeks. This announcement is intended to get information out there in advance and assist in answering questions.
First, the progression.
1) Registered Merchant
A registered merchant is someone that is an independent merchant or trader. They are not affiliated with an existing organization, and at this point, they are only starting out with this official venture.
Requirements:
- Must be selling something. This can be a good or a service.
- Must register via local authority (the templarate, via a PC templar).
- 500 coin licensing fee.
- Taxation at templarate discretion.
2) Warehouse Lease Holder
This is someone that has persisted in business and now requires a warehouse to expand their opportunities.
Requirements:
- Must have held licensed status for one (IC) year with no problems, paid all fines/fees/taxes as required by templarate.
- Must register via local authority (via PC templar).
- 2000 coin licensing fee.
- Taxed 1000 per year.
You may now lease a warehouse if one is available. At this time, there are two warehouses available per city-state. Leases are approximately 5000 per( IC) year, and paid to Nenyuk. Warehouses may be used for the storage of goods, the crafting of goods, and training, but NOT for housing. Warehouse lease holders will receive two keys, nothing more than that.
3) ShopkeeperThis is someone that is licensed to operate a single public location to peddle their goods or services.
Requirements:
- Two (IC) years of tax history recorded with the local authority (templarate) as a warehouse lease holder.
- Must register status with local authority (via a PC templar).
- Fee is 5000.
- Taxed 2000 per (IC) year; may face additional taxation on goods (or services) sold, depending on situation and what is being sold.
You may now work with your clan staff to set up a shopkeeper to sell your goods (if you have any). You will be able to load up your sales on the NPC and also take away any earnings the NPC has made on your behalf. If you are selling a service instead, you may work with clan staff to set up a "hawker" that can "advertise" for your business venture, and be utilized for limited communication purposes in-game. In both cases, you must work with clan staff to find a proper location to set it up, presumably one where it is public. In both cases, you can expect that your bank account will be affected negatively in order to pay for your hired NPC shopkeeper/hawker. This won't be a massive amount of coin, but you will need to keep this in mind!
4) Trading Company
This is someone that is licensed to open up more than one location for sales, and can establish a compound for the use of their organization.
Requirements:
- Tax history of 5 (IC) years at previous level (shopkeeper) with total taxes paid of at least 50,000 coins.
- Must be approved by staff prior to seeking IC approval; this will be passed on as approval from a templar's superior.
- Must seek registered status with local authority (PC templar).
- Licensing fee is 10,000 coins.
- Taxed 5000 per (IC) year.
- Contract is specific to the founder only.
A trading company may now operate out of a "clan compound", which will be in an area of the city-state designated for such. These will utilize something close to the apartment system, with template locations and the basics needed for a clan compound. A trading company will be allowed to utilize an official coded clan as well as an internal in-game message board (akin to the ones in taverns). Clan name, ranks, and pay will need to be determined with clan staff. Autopayment is a possibility for employees, but not necessary. Some amount of customization of the clan compound will be allowed, but it will cost IC money and potentially IC resources. NPCs may be "hired" but only in traditional NPC capacities, such as guards, cooks, or paymasters. Each NPC will also need to be paid out of the clan account. All PC recruitment MUST be done IC.
At this point, the clan will move from Independents to the appropriate local staffing team--either for the city-state, or GMH.
5) Minor House
This is a trading company that has persisted for some (IC) years, with an established history of taxation as well. It has established a good relationship with a sponsoring organization (typically a Great Merchant House or Noble House). It has also passed approval in the local "legislative body" (Senate/Triumvirate).
Requirements:
- Must have an established tax history of 5 (IC) years as a trading company, with total taxes paid of at least 100,000 coins.
- Must have an established line of progeny (two generations of family). This means you've had children (virtual children) that have grown up to a point where they are not only possibly playable, but they actually ARE being played by a player. Should your clan end up becoming a minor house, family roles rules begin to turn into sponsored clan roles rules.
- Must have a "clan compound".
- Must be approved by staff prior to seeking IC approval, and must agree to stipulations involved with becoming a minor house.
- Must be sponsored by a major existing organization in-game in the city-state in question; this is typically a GMH or Noble House. This organization will back them in the Senate/Triumvirate.
- Must be approved in the Senate/Triumvirate.
- Must pay licensing fee of 50,000 coins.
- Taxed 25,000 annually.
Once approved, a minor house may now establish its own separate estate (and vacate their current "clan compound"); this is a customized estate that will be built with staff assistance. This will require IC funding as well as (possibly) IC resources (whether coded or virtual, but paid with IC money). It will be listed in the helpfiles (with any other minor houses). It will have a clan forum set up on the GDB, complete with documentation written by the founding player and with the assistance/approval of staff. All PC recruitment must be done IC. All purchases and operation of House must be funded with IC money. It
may be possible to secure virtual contracts from groups in-game.
Stipulations of becoming a minor house:
- You must understand that becoming a minor house is not insurance against being affected by external events. Your house can be destroyed, subverted, or conquered. The very act of becoming a minor house more than likely means that you are an extension of larger IC organization's ventures as they backed you to get to this point.
- Should the clan itself (or those within it) create a problem IC or OOC, this will be dealt with as it would be dealt with for any other clan, by staff.
- We will not be closing down your organization frivolously/for no reason/etc. However, you will need to understand and agree to the fact that if the "family" dies or stores, staff will reserve the right to shut down the house. If the clan goes entirely inactive (particularly the "family"), staff will reserve the right to shut down the house. Should staff close the clan and later see a need to re-open it, this is up to staff determination (though the opinions of the founder(s) will be taken into account for sure).
Expectations:
- At the earlier levels (registered merchant / warehouse lease holder), we recognize that PCs may have to sell things to NPCs in order to make ends meet if they are selling goods. However, from Shopkeeper up, goods and services should be geared towards fulfilling PC needs. Spamcrafting or flooding NPC merchant shops may face an OOC/IC response (blacklisting at merchants, for instance). Use common sense.
- All NPC, shopkeeper, or clan-compound related additions will be limited by mastercraft slots if those are available. (If they are not--because you are perhaps not someone that does mastercrafts--they will be limited to a reasonable rate as determined by what is requested--more than likely, one per RL month.) All purchases at this time will be expected to come from actual IC money, not virtual funds.
- Communication is expected, particularly as one progresses up these levels IC and OOCly. As one becomes a leader, one must fulfill at least the communication aspects of a sponsored role (which is to say..weekly reports).
- Levels 4 and 5 must have staff approval. These levels place a greater amount of responsibility and expectation to keep to the rules of the game in the hands of the player. As such, the player needs to prove (both with account notes/their play and communication over the previous levels) that they deserve that trust. Things that staff would view as problematic are as follows: Habitual untrustworthiness with code (abuse), habitual failure to communicate adequately with clan staff, habitually abrasive or otherwise problematic attitude with clan staff, or evident OOC coordination. In short, you will be reviewed the same way as you would if you were applying for a sponsored role, because in a way, you are becoming one--you will have your own clan. Rejection for OOC reasons will be communicated to the player at that time.
- Should you reach the level of a trading company/minor house, you will be expected to keep to a clan cap, a cap which will be determined in discussion with your clan staff. While you will be unlike a normal clan in that the majority of things you can fund must come from your own generated money, a cap is still something expected for all clans, regardless of what kind of clan it is.
- Creating a clan that lives beyond your PC will (at this time) only be possible with successfully creating a Minor House. This may seem difficult or next to impossible. However, it is possible, and can be done with hard work and overcoming IC adversity.
- Don't see a way to pay the taxes on your own? Struggling to make ends meet? This is where IC political intrigue comes in. You will more than likely need to be in someone's pocket--someone/some House with a lot of money--to succeed.
- This will likely change over time. We will need tweak things and adjust them, as this is new and experimental. One potential area of concern is the funding requirement for each level--it may be too low, it may be too high, or it may expose areas of the game that need tweaking (or it may expose abuse of the economy system). We will do our best to work with players on this, but understand that we will have to make decisions here that we feel are the best for the game. However, our base expectation about having a player path forward to one's own clan should not change.
Discussion thread here (http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,48318.0.html).
Player documentation is available for this now. This system is live.
Documentation located here (http://www.armageddon.org/help/view/Player-Created%20Clans). Discussion, as before, is located here (http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,48318.0.html). Feel free to chime in if you have questions, are seeking clarification, etc. We'll have templar-specific docs available soon as well.