The Highland Confederacy--Bill of Expectations

The Highland Confederacy - Bill of Expectations


The Highland Confederacy has the following expectations of its officers and members. The society understands that special circumstances can pertain from time to time. However, consistent failure to meet a significant number of the expectations is inevitably grounds for asking if this is the right society for that member.


(1) Common Fellowship

(a) Each member should view the society as their home-away-from-home. Each member should be positive and supportive of other members. Each member should ““Ask not what your society can do for you, but what you can do for your society.” Officers should consider it their duty to foster this fellowship at all times, and to set a good example.


(2) United Upon the Sea

(a) Frequent Teaming:
Members should feel it their duty to team with one another when circumstances allow. This means joining others when teams are announced, and forming your own team if none with openings exist.

(b) Forming a Team:
When recruiting for a team, be clear about the team’s purpose (PvE or PvP, missions or high seas hunting), general location, number of spots currently open, and level range of current members. If a team loses members, be inclusive and announce openings.

(c) Joining a Team:
When someone announces a team with open spots, let the leader know you’re coming. It’s your duty to go find the team and participate in at least one battle. After the first fight you can always bow out, no hard feelings. Not everyone enjoys the same fighting style on any given day.

(d) Positive Results:
Whether you’re a leader or member, near the end of a fight take a moment to congratulate other teammates on their actions. People should be recognized for their contributions.

(e) Avoid Temptation to Clique:
There is a great temptation is just team with your closest friends within the society and ignore others. Resist this temptation. Being inclusive opens up new friendships, and you can never have enough friends.

(f) Getting to Know the Neighbours:
If you have spaces in your team and no takers from amongst the society, send out a call on the nation channel to elicit volunteers. Teaming outside the society helps build the friendships, alliances and trust as well as learning from the fighting styles of others. It is also promotes the society as a fine, friendly, open-hearted group.


(3) Shipbuilding Economy

(a) Coordination:
Society members are encouraged to coordinate their economic efforts to achieve a smoothly functioning economy that makes all items available to all members at reasonable cost.

(b) Shipbuilding:
Society shipbuilders will attempt to make deeds for new ships available to society members, for the personal use of those members, in reasonable quantities and at reasonable prices. A reasonable price is thought to be 10% above the shipbuilder’s cost to create. Cost to create includes raw materials, costs, rent and taxes were involved in creating the deed. This price will vary.

(c) General Goods:
Society members are encouraged to sell their goods to other society members at their cost to create (including business taxes and rents as well as material costs) plus 10%. Each merchant is free to calculate this as they find most convenient. Prices are expected to vary with market conditions, efficiencies of scale, and varying methods of computation. No society member is expected to perform a transaction at a monetary loss to benefit another member.


(4) Coordinated Military Strategy

(a) Port “Calling:”
If two or more ports are in contention, society leaders are expected to “call” the three highest priority ports. These priories are purely a guideline to members about the relative importance the society places on each port. Members are not obliged to fight for any specific port. They are free to ignore the port call priorities.

(b) Strategic Defense Regions:
Thesociety may declare certain regions in the Caribbean as “strategic defense” regions. Members should always keep an eye on the ports in these regions, actively working to prevent or reduce contention through patrols, shipments, etc.


(5) Spirit of the Age

(a) Character Concept:
Members of the Highland Confederacy are expected to have a character concept appropriate to the setting of Pirates of the Burning Sea, and within
the generally accepted conventions of role-playing. An IC (in-character) concept is one of the membership requirements.

(b) RP Stories & Events:
Members of the Highland Confederacy are encouraged to create role-playing stories and events in-game and on the Confederacy’s forums. At in-game society role-play events, members who attend are expected to act in-character (IC). Polite and positive role-playing ideas and interactions are encouraged. Impolite, negative or domineering role-play is discouraged.

(c) Acting In-Character:
Members are encouraged but not required to act in character on as many game communication channels as they can easily manage (such as local chat, nation chat, society chat, group chat, etc.). Members are of course excused any time modern real life information must be conveyed (“my internet connection might go down any minute!”), or where clear communication requires terms and concepts not part of the period. Members are encouraged to mark this OOC (out of character) communication with double parenthesis (()), brackets [], or a similar common convention. Members are encouraged to use private group chat for extensive OOC communication.


(6) Leaders as Servants

(a) The society expects that officers should view their position as one of service to the society as a whole. They are not there to boss around the membership, but rather coordinate, organize and serve the membership by providing procedures, frameworks and guidance that benefit all. Members look to and expect the officers to provide this to them.


(7) Exemplary and Honorable Behavior

The Confederacy is formed of members who have suffered various forms of cruelty, intolerance and abuse at the hands of others. Break the cycle. Do not inflict these plagues upon others. Behave with dignity and honor.

(a) In PvP battles win chivalrously and lose graciously:
Treat all opponents as honorable foes, regardless of how they behave toward you. We are a civilized society, not barbarians.

(b) PotBS forums:
Members represent the Society in their interactions on the forums. It is easy for grown adults to ound like petulant 12-year-olds in heated rejoinders. Resist this temptation; be a voice of moderation and reason.