Guild Rules WIP

this will be a sticky with the rules for the guild.... Attendance: Leadership: Each session the group will appoint a "leader". As the leader, you will move the story forward, by taking the group's decisions but you still need to listen to player's opinions. As a player, you will give your opinions, without pushing it, and also have the responsibility to speak up if the decisions contradict your character's beliefs. If the clash of beliefs is dramatic enough, everyone at the table, as players , will need to decide what happen in game and how to resolve the conflict. Player behaviors: As a collective story telling game(or RPG), Torchbearer is played with other persons. To play the game "right", your interactions should always be with the other players, or the story, or both. AKA no solo play... The distinction between the characters and the players behind them is also crucial. Be honest to other player about your character, don't forget to take a step out and explain the actions of your character to other players.

Per your request, I am taking a first shot across the bow here at an attendance policy for the guild. Feel free to use or modify whatever parts you see fit: Session Attendance: Please make every effort to attend the sessions you have committed to participating in. The Torchbearer Guild recognizes that life happens and sometimes things can pop up that take priority over game time. However, please consider the other players who are relying on you when making your decision, especially if it's last minute. All of us have busy lives, just like you, and for some, this may be the only time in the week when they get the chance to relax. Please do your best to avoid having them spend that time staring at a screen, hoping you'll show up. If you must miss a session: sooner is always better than later to let the GM know you can't make it. We ask that you make every attempt to give them at least (x=2?) days notice so the GM will have a chance to try and get a replacement for your spot. If early notice is not possible, please keep in mind that getting in touch with someone from the game even 5 minutes prior would at least keep people from having to wait around for you to show up. Having said that, we do understand that emergencies happen and in some cases players will not be able to give notice. Individual GM's may expand upon the following policies based on the requirements of their specific campaign: All instances of absences with less than (x = 2?) days prior notification will be reported to Guild management by the GM. In instances where no notification is given, the GM will REQUEST an explanation. The Torchbearer Guild values your privacy and recognizes that emergencies can be of a sensitive nature so it is absolutely up to you whether or not you provide this information. A rolling (x = 3?) month list will be maintained for each player that misses sessions with less than (x= 2?) days notice to the GM. A Date and # of hours prior notification will be displayed for each instance. In cases where no notification was given an explanation will be displayed if one was provided. Explanations will not be requested or displayed for instances where notification was given prior to the event. This list will be maintained in (the Guild forum?) and will be accessible to everyone in the guild. Instances older than (x = 3?) months will fall off the public list. The Torchbearer guild was founded with the goal of (having fun playing the awesome game of Torchbearer with our friends?). We certainly are not interested in making up a bunch of rules for people to follow. However, we wish to protect our players from the repeated unannounced absences that are all too prevalent in the general online community. 

Hi Sean, I understand your interest in setting up good attendance policies given the record of the general community on Roll20, which I see you have a lot of experience with. My personal input is that the primary factor we face in this group is "one and done" players who will appear for a single session to try the game out, not take particular interest, and then are never heard from again. Those who remain active communicate fairly well with the GMs about their attendance. We've tried to keep this an open community for anyone interested in the game of Torchbearer and its related systems. Maybe we do conform more to your definition of a 'meetup' rather than a 'guild' - perhaps I would use the word confederation? Due to the design of the Torchbearer game, spotty attendance does not greatly impact the experience of others so long as there is a quorum. I don't personally feel cause for a system of accountability for attendance since there is only an issue when there is mass-absence. So long as players abide by standards of behavior when they play, I welcome them to join in whenever they are available. I think codified guidelines for advance notice are a great idea, but more specific standards should be things that are worked out in the social contract of each particular play group rather than the guild at large. I would encourage GMs to work things out with their play group when attendance issues arise in a manner that works for those involved. That could certainly entail something like what you proposed if the group decides that's what works for them. Again, just my opinions.