Organizations

WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATION

An organization is any group of characters united behind an in character purpose. These reasons can range from social, religious, professional, or criminal. A troupe of actors, an offshoot religious sect, a mercenary company, a crafting hall, an explorer's guild and a band of pickpockets would all be considered organizations.

Organizations fall into two groups: NPC organizations and Player-founded organizations.

NPC organizations are, as the name would suggest, run and founded by the various NPC interests on Hyphae. They are generally very structured, with well defined internal ranks -- the highest echelon of which are generally occupied by very powerful non-player characters. NPC organizations tend to be very stable, permanent fixtures of the game world that serve to provide necessary societal structure as well as a relatively secure source of income/RP for players joining them. Members of an NPC organization tend to have pre-defined roles and responsibilities based on the societal purpose of the organization they're in. NPC organizations include the militia, the Church of Delar, and the Offices of the Magistrate. Compared to PC organizations, NPC organizations tend to be less flexible in their purposes, more bound by rules, but enjoy greater prominence and authority (enforcing laws, writing laws, collecting tithes, so forth).

PC organizations are founded by player characters. Their purposes, culture, and structures are as varied as the player characters themselves, ranging from commercial to exploration to a wine-tasting club. PC organizations can be as structured as an NPC organization or be totally unstructured. The administration and activities of these organizations are entirely up to the members of the organization, including if and when members are paid, if the organization charges dues, and what ranks/roles are part of the organization, if any. These organizations can range from anything from cults to recreational sporting leagues to an agency of bodyguards. On average, a PC organization is much more flexible than an NPC organization as to its purpose, but generally wield less authority, essentially being socially unknown when they're founded. PC organizations, however, can become as paramount as NPC organizations through longevity and proper maneuvering through roleplay and accomplishments of its members.

FORMING AN ORGANIZATION

NPC organizations are preformed and exist perpetually unless disbanded by IC (plot) events.
PC organizations, however, must be formed. In order to form an organization, a person requires three things:

1. A general purpose or operation for the organization. Examples of purposes are: a hunting company, a group of political dissidents, or the owner and employees of a tavern. This purpose will only be set by the current organization head, and will not be viewable by anyone save for staff members in order to get an at-a-glance understanding of the intent of an organization (see: etiquette)
2. A headquarters for the organization. This can be any building you own that is not in a residential zone of a settlement. Organizations cannot be run out of a residence. Valid structures range from warehouses to taverns to secluded cabins or forts far from civilization.
3. At least two additional PCs willing to participate in the venture.

If at any point one of these criteria is not satisfied for a period of 24 RL hours (ie, 24 hours spent with less than three members or without a headquarters), the organization will lapse and no longer exist (until refounded).

JOINING AN ORGANIZATION

Joining an organization is an entirely in-character event. In order to facilitate new players joining organizations, each NPC organization has a clerk stationed at their headquarters. Simply ASK CLERK RECRUITMENT and your current short description will be sent to the PC recruiters of that organization when they next log in (or immediately if they are currently online). You may use this system once per 24 hours.

Joining a PC organization requires you to contact the recruiters of that organization. If the organization has set up a hireling clerk, you can additionally ping a message to recruiters via that method.

A character can be a member of as many organizations as they wish, though one should consider the consequences of having conflicting loyalties (ie, a member of the militia moonlighting as a mercenary must hope neither of their commanding officers uncover this fact).