Nathanial, our Treasurer/Officer on Tarew Marr has written the following guild tax system. We have implemented this system on Tarew Marr to see how well it works. This system is totally voluntary. We will not and never will demand any sort of payment from the members. For those of you members on the other servers, your officers may wish to try out a similar system on your own server, when you feel you have enough people to make it worth while.
Seekers of Lore
Proposed Tax System - May 15 '99
Greetings and well met Fellow Seekers of knowledge.
I am known by you as Nathanial DeVishire. I hail from the lands of Neriak,
the city in the forest of night. I come to you after speaking with our
Founder, Madwand, to propose this treaties of our guild. A guild, as you all
are aware, is a conglomeration of individuals, who come together under a
common cause. To some, this is for the cause of wars, to drip the blood of
our enemies upon the beautiful lands of Norrath. Not heeding that our own
brothers or sisters may to spill their own blood. To others, this cause is
to meet others and explore far off lands that only the most bold of their
ilk dared to see. For us, the quest that binds is, is knowledge. Might may
make right, but knowledge is the power that holds this world together. Alas,
Might and Knowledge, even on this world, is neither cheap, nor free. For
this reason, I and lord Madwand, have spoken in some length. Our guild
cannot have Might, if we ourselves are divided. Our Guild cannot have
Knowledge, if we are alone. Divided we shall fall, both before our enemies
and before our own gods eyes. United, there is nothing we cannot do. Nothing
we cannot achieve.
Brothers and Sisters, all who seek the power of Knowledge, the feel of
victory that comes only with accomplishment, let us stand tall and bring
pride to our guild, our names, and our Founder, who brought us all together
under one family. We cannot do this without each other, and it is for this
reason that I, with Lord Madwand's permission and approval, petition you.
The following is a Summary of a "Tax" system for our guild. Before reading
further, let me make perfectly clear, this is not a mandatory tax, nor shall
it ever be made so. The Tax system is
Purpose:
The reason my brethren, for this solicitation of donations, is that our
guild can do more for us, if it has more. But without the members support,
it cannot. Our Guild is what we make of it. If our guild can build Equity of
possessions and money, then it can be a greater asset to the knowledge we
all seek. It can aid us all more effectively, if it has something to offer
us. But we cannot expect our guild to simply be there for us, if we are not
their for it. Consider the following.
What if instead of having to travel to the dark lands of my birth, Neriak,
to obtain the enchanters spells for silver, you were simply able to check
with one member of the guild, and Petition someone to locate it. Or if you
needed the shaman spells located only in Erudian. If you were able to go to
one member, and request the item, or borrow the component, lore book, Kit or
Last few coins you required to complete a major undertaking. This would make
our members safer, make our quest more convenient, and our endeavors more
efficient in each of our undertakings. If instead of purchasing the Kits for
fletching, you simply borrowed the item from the guild, and returned it
shortly after, or the jeweler to make his rings could spend more on the
materials if he need not buy the kit. Or our bakers, to read through the
books, and then return them once they find their recipes. Each item can be
borrowed, without needing to purchase one on your own, and then returned
that another may do the same. Even the books required by our Mages, may be
stored and borrowed as needed by our casters. This will aid in the
advancement of our researches, endeavors, and even in our growth.
Your Donations, will aid our guild by either being held until they are
needed, or liquidated so that more difficult or more hazardous items may be
purchased for the betterment of all members. Additionally, a small amount of
coins would be retained for the usage by members in need.
Taxes:
All members of the Guild, young and old, strong or frail, are encouraged to
donate surplus or commonly useful equipment to the Guild. By surplus and
commonly useful equipment, I refer to any Armor, weapons, spell materials,
foods, water, or even items found from the bodies of fallen enemies. Any
item that can be converted to a money equivalent may be donated. This
surplus equipment will be catalogued and overseen by the Guild Treasurer,
who is responsible for the distribution of this equipment to Guild members
who are in need, so long as the members who benefit from this equipment make
a pledge to donate items if and when they are able to. At Lord Madwand's
request, I shall be acting as Treasurer for now. If any other wishes to
volunteer for this job, please feel free to call upon myself or Lord Madwand
to advise of your interest. As this position will pertain to the obtaining
of, storing of, and distribution of items of Value, please include a small
report as to why you feel you are eligible for this job and what
improvements you feel you can make by holding this position for review by
Lord Madwand.
Brothers and Sisters, you all know that to become successful in Norrath, it
will take a combined effort from all the members of our guild. Our tax
system will be "Honor Based". You give what you can, when you can, your
primary reward, is the honor of knowing you have aided our Guild to become
better. As I have already stated, this is in no way a mandatory Tax. A
record of all transactions will be kept and maintained by the Treasurer so
that we can all see who contributed the most to our guilds financial
standing. Any guild Member may petition myself, or the treasurer if another
takes my place, and request an update of how much they have given to the
guild. This is in no means, meant for bragging rights, and should not be
used as such. Each member is only allowed to know what they themselves have
donated. Lord Madwand will be the only person, aside from the Treasurer,
that will know the totals for all members. Lord Madwand will be given a
weekly copy of all donations made.
I have stated before, that the primary reward you shall reap, is knowing
that you have helped to improve our Guild, and to help those within our
guild when they are in need. But alas, there is still another benefit for
this my family. Those who donate, can later request a loan from the
Treasurer. Those who don't donate should not ask for large loans. And all
loans are subject for approval. The Coin value of any item donated, will be
based on what the Treasurer can get for that item. For this reason, all
items donated will be rounded to the next Coin Value of pp, gp, sp or cp to
allot for any difference in Faction standing, Charisma, etc that the
treasurer may have over or below the donator. If you have any questions
pertaining to this, please feel free to contact the Treasurer to determine
what he or she may receive for the item over yourself. In some cases, it is
still better that you yourself sell the item and donate what you desire to
the guild.
My family and friends, please remember that in the beginning of this
process, our Guild will not own many baubles to distribute but patience is
the key. If, in the beginning of our Guilds growth, any member has need of
an item, you may still petition. If the item is available, something can be
worked out. Time is not our enemy my friends, with some time, a large amount
of stored wealth can be procured if we stand together, and aid each other.
When our guild is able, and we have the resources to do so, our guild will
have the necessary materials to in such things as procuring items for
members from others throughout the lands, or for locating special needed
items for members such as research materials. Any large Guild purchase, must
be submitted to the Treasurer for review. Any reasonable request will then
be discussed with Lord Madwand. Please do not try to rush this process, as
some loans may need special review.
One thing we ask you to remember, this is a loan. Donating items does in no
way, mean the guild should owe you anything. We make the guild, the guild
should not make us. This tax, is a "donation," what you can, when you can.
The more you donate, the larger future loans will be. All members will be
automatically eligible for a loan of 50% of their total donations. These
loans bare no form of interest provided they are repaid within 2 (Real Time)
weeks. At this point, there will be a daily (Real Time) charge added of 10%.
If an extension is required, as these things do happen, please contact the
Treasure no later than 2 (RT) days prior to the payment being due so that an
agreement may be come to, to prevent any issues. Any loans that are past
due, and have exceeded 3 (RT) days without any form of notification will
merit a notice to Lord Madwand to update him on the situation. Continued
latency, or constant abuse of these loans, will result in that member not
being able to borrow from the guild until such times as they may prove their
worthiness to borrow once more. Please do not abuse your family and friends,
without them, you are truly alone in the world. And in Norrath, this can be
fatal.
Members who show they are responsible, and continue to repay their loans in
a timely manner, will be allotted larger loans and privileges. Each member
my request one loan every two (RT) weeks up to his or her maximum loan
privilege. This initial loan, will be the mark for when the loan is due. If
further loans are required during this 2 (RT) week period, and the member
has not taken his or her full privileged amount, they may petition for the
remainder of their allotment. The later amounts, will still be due on the
initial loan deadline. Please keep this in mind, if you are only a few days
from your deadline and are in need of a loan.
Donation Suggestions:
At this time, we are just beginning this policy, so any item will be of use
for our Guild. If you do however, have need of an item, please feel free to
contact the Treasurer and inform him or her of your suggestion or request.
Please remember, our Guild consists of a family of Warriors, Shaman,
Enchanters, Druids, and members of most classes and races. So any item that
you may not need, of any size is eligible for donations. Once more, to
prevent any misunderstandings, this is not a Mandatory Tax. It is to help
our Guild grow stronger, to aid our guild to become what we all hope it will
be, something worth being a part of. Any suggestions, Ideas, or questions
about the Tax system, please feel free to contact the Treasurer.
Nathanial DeVishire
Treasurer/Officer of the Seekers of Lore - Tarew Marr
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