IF you prefer less words see the Organizational Chart
The guild will be structured around smaller groups of Cohorts that will be campaigning together. Members will be free to move around between different Cohorts to find ones that better match their playing preferences, available playing times, and ……”just because”, so long as the leader of the Cohort they wish to play under is willing and has the resources to accept them. The leaders of Cohorts will usually have a free hand in how the Cohort campaigns and gathers resources: as a loose collection of individuals, as a more organized playing group, as mercs for hire, etc.
The guild can be divided into two basic groups, Optiones and Leadership.
Optiones are members who just want to enjoy the game and campaigning with a group. They are members for the social and strategical advantages that organized groups have. Although not always called Optio, others in this category would include players or alts that are dedicated to enjoying non-campaign roles within the game, such as crafting, trading, and whatever else the DEVs design for us. Optio will be organized into Cohorts of mutually fun and/or advantageous play stiles.
Leadership is a burden. The Leadership of the guild are those tasked with ensuring the enjoyment of the game by the Optiones. To fulfill this role, they will need the benefits of authority that leadership possesses. There are 3 basic styles of Leadership: Campaign Leadership (called Officer of the Vanguard,) Resource Leadership, and Providers of Lore and Meaning. This last one may need some explaining. Learning to kill a rat with a sword to collect its tail for a reward is fun. Doing it 1000 times is a grind and boring. By creating lore, by RPing as though a quest giver, and by organizing group events beyond the basics of game play in a campaign, this category of leader seeks to make the game enjoyable for everybody by trying to create meaning for the members’ actions. Their role is to fight everybody’s feeling of grind and to enhance the lore elements of the game provided by the DEVs.
Cohorts exist for strategic advantage and/or social fun.
Leadership exists to provide members of the guild with a unified culture and purpose, as well as structure.
Every member will belong to at least 1 Cohort, including the characters played by leadership, but none are required to take on the burden of leadership unless they feel the calling to do so.
Optio
Optiones form the Vanguard. They are not initiated into the 13th’s deeper mysteries, nor obliged to engage in its quests and duties. In exchange for service, they are provided shelter and any of their cohort’s equipment not already allocated for other use. [Shelter means at least a free minimum plot of space on a guild EK, whatever that size plot ends up being. And free access to any boosting mechanics placed in the EK, such as idols.] They will report to and serve under an Officer of the Vanguard who functions as their Cohort’s group leader. Optiones are free to change their Cohort, and are encouraged to do so if they are interested in advancement, for the experience this brings. These changes of Cohort may also be encouraged by the availability and needs of campaigns they are participating in. To change Cohorts, they only need the acceptance of their new Officer of the Vanguard, who will be assuming any EK tax burden for their shelter, and they will need to inform their previous officer as well as a representative of the [Keeper of Records].
There is no need for an Optio to ever advance. They can remain in the Vanguard for the entire time of their membership in the 13th Legion, should they find life in the Vanguard fully satisfying. However, if their Officer of the Vanguard informs them that the officer will no longer be providing for their shelter, the recruit will have until the end of their current campaign or 1 month, whichever is longer, to gain acceptance into a new Cohort by that unit’s officer.
Functionally
Ideal for those who just want to play the game with our guild
Benefits: Access to general Forums. Access to any unused equipment. Provided smallest unit of owned land on EK tax free. Incorporation into a group for Campaigning and general enjoyment of the game.
Expectations: Cooperate within the Cohort to achieve Cohort goals as established by Officers and Optio Principalis.
Optio Principalis
Optio Principalis are Optiones who have been elevated to leadership rank within their Cohort, but not within the guild. They have no additional duty to the Legion as a whole, but they are recognized by the Legion as speaking and acting with the authority of their Officer. Within their Cohort, their duties are whatever has been arranged between them and their Officer, but they are assumed to have leadership over the other Optio in the Cohort. A Cohort may have as many Optio Principalis as its Officer desires; every member of a Cohort could bare this title in a level power structure, or no one in a cohort might have it, if its officer wants all of the authority and responsibilities of leading the cohort.
Functionally
Optio Principalis are a way to have the guild access of on Officer without the requirement to maintain a player’s own Cohort. The title is suitable for a Cohort’s 2nd in command, but it also can be used just because the player wants the access and his or her Officer is comfortable being accountable for it. Alts are allowed this title with no concerns outside of the Cohort. Should an Optio Principalis leave their Cohort, however, they will have 1 week or the end of a current campaign, whichever is longer, to be accepted into a new Cohort with the title of Principalis, or be busted back down to simple Optio.
Benefits: Access to the same forums, information, and in-game resources as an Officer, while maintaining the benefits and freedom from leadership responsibilities of an Optio.
Expectations: They will not abuse their Officer’s trust and good reputation.
Officer of the Vanguard
An Officer of the Vanguard is indoctrinated into the deeper mysteries of the 13th Legion, and has unrestricted access on forums and records to all but the [Legate’s Inner Circle]. They are charged with upholding its mission and duties. However, their primary task is to lead the Vanguard in campaigns. They must provide their Optiones with a plot of land and a standard level of equipment for their Cohort. They will be provided with [large enough unit of land…TBD] within the 13th’s EK(s.) They will also have free access to any common equipment of the Legion that has not been specially allocated by [Tribune of Iron.]
An Officer’s main duty is to take his or her Cohort on Campaigns. [Depending on campaign tools and structures,] the officer determines divisions of booty and accumulated resources for their Cohort within each campaign world the Cohort fights in. From these, the officer is also expected to maintain their Cohort’s plot(s) of land on the 13th’s EK and to provide [TBD resources for maintenance of the 13th as a guild, this is meant to be similar to the guild tax system incorporated into games like EVE online]
After the game launches, Officers of the Vanguard will also be charged with determining the worthiness of candidates to join their ranks as well as the worthiness of anyone seeking a higher leadership position. It will take the nomination of 3 Officers to elevate a member to the rank of Officer, or to accept an entire group of players into the 13th as a pre-formed team with their own leader. In this way, a smaller guild or group of friends could join the 13th and stay together without having to find spots in existing Cohorts. [Prior to the game launch, it will be hard to determine campaign leadership potential, and so the 13th will accept anyone as an Officer who is capable of demonstrating his or her leadership by recruiting 3 players from the CF forums into his or her Cohort.] After the game launch, should a higher leadership positions be vacant, nominations will be sought from within the Officers as nominated by the Officers. (The [Legate’s Inner Circle] will vote to determine who among the nominees will be elevated.) [Prior to the game launch, other leadership positions will be granted to those who can demonstrate the skills or responsibility for the tasks involved.] Additionally, three officers together may challenge the right of leadership of anyone in higher authority. This will generate a vote of confidence. If a majority plus 1 of Officers vote against the higher authority, then the position will be considered vacant and a nomination process will begin. The former holder of the position will be considered an Officer of the Vanguard, with all rights, including the right to be nominated for the position they lost. They may hold this temporary title and rights for 1 month or until the end of their current campaign, whichever is longer, unless they are selected for a new title through the guild's nominating and electing process.
Officers of the Vanguard have the freedom to organize their Cohorts as they see fit. They should establish [an identifying marking/name] for their Cohort. They may elevate any of the Optiones under them to the title of Optiones Principalis. An Officer’s Optio Principalis is assumed to speak with the authority and rights of the Officer both within and outside of the Cohort. Officers will be held accountable for anything an Optio Principalis says in his or her name. Other titles and ranks may be created to meet the needs of the Cohort, but those titles and ranks will not be recognized outside of the Cohort.
Functionally
Officers of the Vanguard do not have any lore writing nor RP function beyond what they wish to engage in. They contribute to the enjoyment of the guild by organizing members in actual campaigning and by feeding resources to the guild from those campaigns. It is possible for an ALT to be an Officer, but it will require significant game time to meet an Officers duties.
Benefits: Access to Tribunes Forums. Ability to appropriate from the 13th’s “supply chest”. Ability to place requests for guild resources and activities (ex: to [Commander of Iron]“please construct 10 of this anti-fire helmet, we are campaigning against Confessors”) Control of [large enough unit of land TBD] on the EK(s) of the 13th. Ability to collectively mold the guild’s membership and leadership.
Expectations: Officers will organize guild participation in campaigns by training, equipping (to a Cohort minimum), and leading their Cohort within the campaigns. Officers will arrange for the collection of sufficient resources by their Cohort to maintain their Cohort’s property and equipment, along with [a TBD amount] of resource for the maintenance and growth of the guild as determined by the Legates Inner Circle. It is not desirable for these taxes to be a burden on the Officer. Ideally, if a solo player can usually earn X resources, and a group of organized players can each earn a larger Y amount of resources, then.....[tax is less than 1/2 Y-X; when Y is larger than X.] So, the intention is that the officer, and each member of his or her cohort, can each earn more playing together than separately, even after the Officer has allocated some of the Cohorts winnings for EK and guild maintenance. [If actual game play mechanics and results do not allow for this formula to exist as a usual outcome from campaigning, than a tax structure may not be possible, and the entire system for supporting the guild may need to be re-determined based on the game delivered after launch] What I am trying to say is: "Our goal is to create a system where it is better economically to play together than separately, AND at the same time, the guild can grow allowing more resources to be made available to members over time."
Auxilia
Auxilia are equivalent to Optio. However, they are not oriented towards campaigning. They serve a function for the 13th on its EK or as representatives of the 13th on other EKs. While they are not prohibited from campaigning, it is an activity they have voluntarily set aside as secondary in favor of focusing on some other element of the game that attracts them. They will be organized into Auxilla Cohorts, with their own leader(s).
Functionally
Until a lot more is known about the game mechanics, it will not be possible to flesh out the Auxila. The Devs have mentioned that it will be possible to play the game solely on EKs and that there will be a player based economy, but there have not been a lot of details to suggest if such play style will be fun or useful. When more is known, the Auxila will be fleshed out better. It is not even known if the Auxila will have enough function to support the numbers needed to justify having multiple cohorts under different Officers, or if they can just be lumped together under one Leader who oversees them and provides their culture and lore.
Leadership
There are 3 leadership ranks above Officer of the Vanguard: Tribune, [Legates Inner Council], Legate
Council of Tribunes
[Tribune of External Resources]: Manages external game resources: website, teamspeak, forums, training videos, other tech, etc. There may end up being more than one of this position, depending on skill sets and on the amount of work burden used to fulfil the guild's needs.
Tribune of Iron: leads the Auxilia or leads the officers who lead the Auxilia, manages guild resources by: keeping records of resources, planning growth, organizing crafters, planning market strategies, proposing tax rates
[ Tribune of Personnel]: keeps a record of each member's archetypes (main and ALT), current Cohort, previous Cohorts, specialties, dislikes, typical playing hours, notes of interest, etc.
[Tribune of Campaigning/War]: Leads all Officers of the Vanguard. Organizes and plans out multi-Cohort campaigns.
[Tribune of State]: manages relations with other guilds, recruits, or freely associating players, such as those visiting the 13th's EK(s) or those in temporary alliances within a campaign.
[Tribune of Culture]: There may end up being multiple tribunes in this position. They would focus on writing up lore documents, creating art/graphics/banners, and organizing guild level social activities. Anyone who regularly contributes these sorts of things and is nominated by 3 Officers of the Vanguard, may be selected by the [Legates Inner Council] for the title.
Legate's Inner Council
Any or all members of the Legates Inner Council are as vulnerable to a vote of confidence as the Tribunes. If these votes occur as more than a very rare occasion, than the guild is likely spiraling apart in a drama fueled explosion and nothing written here really matters.
Keeper of Records: Manages the Tribune(s) of External Resources, Tribune of Iron, and the Tribune of Personnel. Basically he or she manages the out-of-game elements of the guild.
Primus Pilus: Manages the [Tribune of Campaign/War] and the [Tribune of State.] Basically he or she manages the in-game "playing" elements of the guild.
Contrasting examples:
Example 1) A player joins the guild for the purpose of causing grief. Using his character and information acquired as a member of the guild, he sabotages a guild effort and generates a troll war of hard feelings. The Keeper of Records and his or her Tribune staff ensure that that player is not only watched out for in the future, but any guild that accepts him is held as suspect.
Example 2) The Primus Pilus makes contact with another guild out of the game and asks them to secretly send a spy/saboteur against us within a specific campaign world in order to launch a "grudge-match" muti-guild war within a specific campaign world. The Primus, on the Council's secret forum, informs the Keeper and Legate of the plan, so that the Keeper knows it is an in-game event, and the Legate can get the lore writers worked up in focusing on the story unfolding in the specified Champaign against our "bitter arch rivals." Fun occurs. After the campaign world falls to the hunger, the Legate informs the guild of the Primus's hard work in organizing the event and the Keeper ensures that the players from the other guild are recognized as honorable players of "the evil enemy" characters.
Legate: Is the chair of the Inner Council and directly oversees the Culture Tribunes. The Legate is the head of the Guild. By chair, I mean the person who calls the inner council to vote on issues of interest to the whole guild, such as: nominations to Tribune, demotions/expulsions. While the de facto leader of the guild, the Legate requires the support of at least one of the other member of the [Legate's Inner Council] to enact changes beyond the guild's lore and art styles. Ideally the [Inner Council] shares information and debates issues freely behind the doors of a private forum, and then presents a unified front on more public forums when policy is established. However, The Legate may "de-classify" anything discussed in the private forum. If two policies proposed or acted on by the Keeper of Records and the Primus Pilus are in opposition to each other, the Legate casts the deciding vote.