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The creation of a new unit of Eryndor

2007-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

What is “The Crusade”?

The years of battle across all parts of The Continent has worn the strength and energies among those who carry the Everledden Tree. Along the way, Maegamarth’s forces have slain many of our close allies while many others have had their spirits shaken or broken by the endless toils. Many of our close allies – like the Cirion who stood by our side against legions of black orc, and the young would-be “knights” of the shining cloth – have parted ways with us. Our allies all know that we are destined to stand together once again as these shadows grow darker, yet we hope beyond hope that our paths cross again during better times.

Yet, there are those who fight on. The Lifetree has touched us all, but for some warriors it has resonated within them so deeply that they are compelled to press on. City to city, region to region, we find those who shine and draw them to bear arms against dark forces. Village to village, east to west, we slay reanimated corpses and cut short the lives of necromancers. The spirit of Everledden persists.

On the face of our worn and tattered shields, the mark of life can be seen. The Lightbringers still fight for this Continent, and the Light still shines. We are The Crusade, and we will forever persist.

First off, “The Crusade” is almost certainly not even going to be called “The Crusade”! The name of this unit is going to be decided by all of the initial members of the unit from a list of possible names (right now we have about 4 good ones).

But that’s probably not what you were wondering. So let’s see some of the things that The Crusade is:

One of the new units to be forming as a result of the new structure of Eryndor
A unit that the High Council and Envoys of Eryndor are a part of
A unit that is going to be led by the High Council and Envoys, but much more leadership and decision-making will be done collectively by ALL members.
A unit that is focused upon being true to the core spirit of Eryndor, which means:

For roleplaying:

Highly integrated into the ongoing storyline of The Continent
A rag-tag group of warriors from all walks of life
A group that is bound by the spirit of the Everledden Tree, thus the original Eryndor chapter symbol is also the symbol of “The Crusade”
Committed to building a coalition across The Continent ready to match the forces of Magaemarth… the war has already begun to break out throughout the Continent, we are ready to face it
A unit that still uses the “classic” ranking system of Eryndor, and possibly with some new approaches to ranking

In real life:

Honorable fighters on the field
FUN fighters on the field (we take great deaths and add some flavorful roleplaying!... and, of course, we still have our eeeeevvvillll personas as well)
A unit that welcomes all types of people and fighters, whether they are new and struggling, or veteran and badass
Helpful Dagorhir members on and off the field who care about helping to make grow and thrive all of Dagorhir and all of Eryndor (including its other units!), as well as working to make a great unit all our own
Take pride in looking good on the field… helping people make awesome persona garb and armor is very important
Drama-free in terms of members joining and leaving the unit
We know how to have a good time off the field J
Eternally tied in friendship and spirit to all other Eryndor members and units that believe in everything the chapter Eryndor was and still is about!

Simply put, we envision “The Crusade” as a unit that is very similar to the traditions and styles of Eryndor at its most fun, most ferocious on the field, and most fantastic off the field.

How do I join “The Crusade?”

Anyone can be a member of “The Crusade.” However, we want people who want to be part of the unit! In short, we would love to have you if you would love to be part of us! We WILL NOT recruit you, you have to choose to be part of us.

While the requirements for joining are very simple, there are a few other things that we will expect, as a requirement, of our members before they become official (and we’ll help with meeting these requirements!).

Character name (with the expectation that a background storyline will be developed as they become more knowledgeable about the storyline)
Meets garb standards (with the expectation that they will eventually go above-and-beyond minimum garb)
Made, bought, or was gifted with their own gear (can’t expect other people to equip them)
Helps with all duties the unit takes on (running a day event, assisting with heralding at a campout, etc.)
Carries the Eryndor symbol on their shield **
** - the unit will decide if this is something we want to expect from each other

TO JOIN, send an e-mail to Athron at athron@dagorhir.com to confirm that you intend to join (this applies to everyone… I just sent an e-mail to myself to tell myself that I’m joining). Please include your current e-mail address and a phone number you can be reached at. We welcome any current members of Eryndor or any other interested Dagorhirrim.

Other Stuff

Here’s a few other things you can expect being ready before January 1, 2008:

The name of the unit decided (by November)
A new unit website for “The Crusade”
A unit discussion forum and e-mail list for decision making
A unit-wide discussion of any adjustments / improvements we want to add to the unit. (hey, this is our chance to maybe add some cool new things, let’s see what we all want!)

The future of Eryndor

2007-09-12T17:48:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Change is never easy, and as a general rule, any change is looked at with dislike and distaste – even when the change is for the better. The reason is actually pretty simple (but still baffles economists, social studies researchers, and political scientists to this very day) – we tend to think of any negative change as REALLY bad and tend to think of any improvement as only a LITTLE better. In other words, it takes a LOT of “betters” to overcome even a few “worsers.”

For the first time in 5 years, Eryndor is staring smack-dab into the face of one of these big changes. And, my fellow Eryndorrim, I’ll be completely honest with you – these changes will be bringing to our chapter many “betters,” but also some “worsers.” It is my hope in this message to explain a few things:

· WHY is there a need for a change in Eryndor
· WHAT is this change going to be like for all of the members
· WHAT are the benefits of this change? WHAT are the downsides to this change? And most importantly… why are these trade-offs ultimately worth it for Eryndor?
· Or maybe even MORE important… how can we make the downsides as minimal as possible? HOW are we going to make sure Eryndor and Dagorhir still is a wonderful place to be, despite this change?

Whew. That’s a lot. And I’m sorry to all my “keep it short and sweet” friends out there… this will not be a short and sweet letter. Its going to be long and detailed. Go grab some Cheetos and a Mr. Pibb. I’m gong to try to answer as many questions ahead of time through this letter, and I’m going to try to make things as clear as possible.

But when this post is all said and done, PLEASE don’t “shoot from the hip” with your impassioned response (whether its good or bad). Because if you care about Dagorhir and Eryndor at all, you likely WILL be impassioned. Think it over… chew on it for a little bit. REALLY think about it… does it make sense? What is still unclear? THEN post your response. And keep in mind… nothing is set in granite… just etched into bark… changes CAN be made and WILL be made if that works for everyone. Also note that, believe it or not, I’m not covering everything… ask for missing information, we may already have an answer.

To make this thing work, we’re all going to have to collectively ask the question: Despite what’s best for ME and MY EGO personally… what is REALLY the best thing for Eryndor and Dagorhir as a whole… even 10 years from now? THAT question is what was the guiding point for this entire change; I hope that shows in the following response.

WHY is there a need for a change in Eryndor?

I think at this point, the need for change in how Eryndor is organized is a bit self-evident. The current model for the structure of Eryndor was designed 5 years ago and was premised on two very incorrect assumptions: (1) Eryndor would, at its best, grow to 40 people, and (2) The High Council would forever and eternally have the energy and resources necessary to keep a successful chapter rolling.

As we speak today, Eryndor is somewhere between 120 and 150 members. We’ve had people like Aratar, creator of Dagorhir, say that “Eryndor is what Dagorhir is supposed to be all about.” We’ve had some Dagorhir veterans call Erydnor “the savior of Dagorhir.” And simply, no chapter in the modern history of Dagorhir has exploded in size as fast as we have. In other words, Eryndor has succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, and we blew our first assumption to smithereens.

However, with our success, we are now WAY too large to think that any one small core group of individuals can organize and manage such a large group for the long-term. Further, its pretty darn clear that the “never-ending aspirations” presumed by the High Council some 5 years ago is simply a flawed assumption. Life has a tricky tendency to kick you in the face for trying to predict into the future – as it turns out, things have changed. Some of the High Council have different passions than we had 5 years ago, and some of us literally don’t have the resources available today to continue to try to “run” a huge chapter. And with that all said… burnout is very much a reality as well… having all this fun sure can be hard work! (and by the way, this is the point where the astute reader notes that this so-called “chapter leader” is writing this letter from about 700 miles away)

Thank the heavens, but for many years there have been MANY, MANY members of Eryndor who have picked up the slack. There have been “official” leaders like Envoys and unit leaders who have proven to be a savior at every turn. Even more, there have been “unofficial” leaders at every turn – Volunteer-yndor and Share-yndor is certainly NOT just a cute play on words – that have kept this chapter achieving beyond all of our wildest expectations.

But this is where the wheels fall off of the current chapter model. Despite all of these leaders at every corner, we’re stuck in a model where all the ultimate decision making power resides squarely in the “High Council” – three guys who, for various reasons, have absolutely no business presuming to be “in charge” while there are literally dozens of caring and passionate leaders throughout Eryndor who have every right to be the real leaders who should really be making the decisions and determining the future of Eryndor. Look at the image below, this is how Eryndor currently works. There’s the High Council at the top, Envoys just below, and “everyone else” filling out the chapter. Some people are not members of a unit, some people are solely members of a unit, while others seemingly straddle both membership and non-membership in Eryndor units.

Looking at this image, a few things will become clear: first, this is definitely how Eryndor is currently designed… but it is definitely not how it actually plays out in practice and it's most definitely not how it should be. If the High Council is to claim this totalitarian-like ruling position, the three of us must be willing to put the time, effort, and passion into it that makes us deserve to have that spot – and like I said before, all of us know that’s simply not how it is these days. Secondly, we currently have no way to manage “turnover” within the leadership – how do new leaders step forward and “grab the reigns”… how do leaders experiencing burnout “take a short break” while they recharge their batteries, without hurting the forward progress and organization of the chapter? Further… the units of Eryndor have emerged as some of the most important and influential groups in all of Dagorhir… yet in the current model they still play “second fiddle” to the authority of the Envoys and High Council – clearly… something is amiss.

Thus, as the last “authoritarian” action of the High Council of Eryndor – an action that is going to strip us of the title High Council of Eryndor, we are going to fix this problem with the chapter design of Eryndor – Eryndor is going to restructured in a way that ensures that ALL leaders and groups have their say in the future success of Eryndor… while ensuring that Eryndor is still a large and beautiful place to be years from now.

WHAT is this change going to be like for all of the members of Eryndor?

Holy cow. That prior piece was a mouthful. But the essence is this – Eryndor is going to be redesigned in a way that makes it easier for many leaders to step forward, for leaders to “take their turn” at the helm, and for the chapter to be successful in the long-distant future.

How are we going to do this? First off… the High Council of Eryndor is going to be gone. Instead, the High Council, Envoys, and some other passionate Eryndorrim are creating a unit of Eryndor, with the placeholder name “The Crusaders.” In this unit, the High Council and other Eryndor members who wish to join are going to work together to build a unit that is inspired by the tradition of what Eryndor has always been about – fun, friendship, inspired role play, hard fighting, good honor, and working to build Dagorhir and Eryndor. But our “in charge-ness” will only be over the domain of the “The Crusaders,” NOT all of Eryndor. In short, the High Council will become UNIT leaders, not chapter leaders… and even lesser leaders than that, as “The Crusaders” is going to be ran much, much more collectively by all of its members.

In the place of the High Council will be annually-elected chapter leaders of Eryndor (president, VP, secretary, etc.). These leaders will be responsible for all the administrative aspects of running a successful chapter. These are important positions that will shape and guide the future of Eryndor, but the “tour of duty” will only be for a single year… meaning:

· leaders won’t experience “burn out,”
· leaders doing a poor job will rotate out after a year
· many different people will have an opportunity to step forward and help build this chapter

How will these people be elected? Well, they’ll be elected by a “Unit Leaders Council” – a member from each official Eryndor unit will sit on this “Unit Leaders Council” to make important decisions and elect the chapter leaders of Eryndor for the year. In other words, a member of “The Crusaders” as well as all the other Eryndor units will each have a single appointee who will sit on this Unit Leaders Council and work together to make decisions. In this way, EACH unit will have equal representation toward Eryndor.

This makes clear a few things about how Eryndor is going to be changing. First off, the unit becomes much more important to Eryndor – in short, we need caring, successful, passionate units to step forward and develop to help make Eryndor succeed – Eryndor will perish without them. Let’s take a look at this model and see what’s different:

Here we see things are quite a bit different. First off, everyone is still a member of Eryndor. We’re all still members of the same, big ol’ posse. However, what we see that is different is quite a few things. In place of the High Council is the “Annually-elected Chapter Leaders.” We also see the “Unit Representative Chapter Council,” where each official unit has direct say in the running of the chapter. Also note how we see two-directional arrows between the Unit Leaders Council and the annually-elected leaders… they are equal parties who work together to building the chapter… neither group is “above” the other, they have a different set of responsibilities (which group is ultimately responsible for what is something we don’t quite have worked out yet… the Aratari chapter model is a good framework to work from, however…we hope to have an initial Eryndor by-laws ready soon).

Secondly, we see more units. Eryndor NEEDS more good units to develop and form. We need a bunch of units who are willing to take shape and commit themselves to not only build up a successful unit, but also to build up a successful Eryndor. In short, everyone needs to take a collective step forward… NOT just for the “sake of their unit,” but also “for the sake of Eryndor,” and “for the sake of Dagorhir.”

Further, we also see that there is plenty of room for people who don’t want to commit to being part of a unit. Mercenaries and unofficial units will, of course, still be welcome and loved members of Eryndor – they just won’t be given a direct appointee on the Unit Leaders Council.

Lastly, we see that if people are part of a unit, they are only part of that unit. The official unit is going to be the “unit of work” in the new chapter model – units will be the ones committing to running events and assisting with chapter-wide projects. In short, an official unit needs to know who really is in their unit so they know who can be relied upon. With that said, its TOTALLY COOL to have multiple personas! Maybe you have a pirate (cirion) alternate persona, so sometimes you roleplay and fight with the Senegal’s (even though you’re not officially part of them) – this is totally cool and will help build camaraderie among units!

WHAT are the benefits of this change?
WHAT are the downsides to this change?
And most importantly…
why are these trade-offs ultimately worth it for Eryndor?

I’ve already attempted to outline some of the benefits of this change. But, I feel it is essential to recognize that there is a wide array of benefits associated with this change. Here is the complete list of benefits that I can most easily identify (sorry for being repetitious in a few instances):”

· Longevity of the chapter. This new model is not personality-dependent. In other words, the new chapter model does not rely on any specific individuals… different people can be plugged into different positions and, so long as they know their duties, can fulfill the roles and keep the Eryndor Train running smoothly.
· Avoiding leadership burn-out. Leaders are no longer like the Pope (in it ‘til they die… haven’t you ever seen how tired and burnt-out that poor guy looks?), they’re now like elected officials (who only have the job for a single term, after which they can either temporarily retire and re-energize).
· Minimizing “abuse of power.” Simply put, in the current model there was always the risk of leadership abuse of power. I’m not really sure what sort of abuses we could have done, but on the other hand, this new model will create a lot more transparency in decision making and monetary and budgetary policy.
· Empowering all individual leaders. More people have more direct say in the chapter now, and this is only appropriate – people with great ideas and great care for Dagorhir should have lots of say in how things are done.
· This does not change the status of anyone’s membership in Eryndor. Everyone is still an Eryndorrim. Eryndor isn’t going anywhere.
· For people who “don’t really care” about anything and “just want to fight” (side note: is this just an interesting way of saying you don’t actually want to help make the thing you love actually happen?), this doesn’t impact them in any way.
· These changes only impact the administrative aspect of the chapter… it won’t change any of the roleplaying or rank issues (see the last section for a more detailed treatment of this question).

I’ll be honest… I believe, with all of my mind, that this change is necessary for the continuation of the chapter. Personally, I truly believe there isn’t “some other way,” this general model is what its going to take to keep Eryndor alive and thriving. However, this does not blind me to the potential downsides of this new chapter model. I’ll cover some of the potential downsides. I’ll also argue why these issues are irrelevant, misdirected, or are not as severe as some people may think.

· Nobody is willing to take a serious leadership role and the chapter dies. This is the same problem that basically plagues every small organization that has ever existed from day one. There HAS to be some people who are willing to “bite the bullet” and make it happen… if no one is willing to raise their hand, Eryndor will be in a lot of trouble. Of course, this is the same problem we have today… so this is a rather irrelevant point.

· Everyone becomes part of their own “unit clique.” I see this as a legitimate concern… anyone who knows national Dagorhir knows that there are many units who like to be their own little “clique” of (well, at least they think so anyway) “cool kids” who are better than others and like to be elitist. This new unit model opens the door to this type of “cliqueness” to form among Eryndor units… we no longer all become friends and instead all bikcer and become our own little middle-school style posses. My argument to this is that people choose to let this sort of silliness happen… magically adding units doesn’t create “cliques.” In other words, the people who are in or run units may be elitist jerks who create a “holier than thou” attitude… but being part of a unit doesn’t force otherwise cool people to suddenly become these kinds of jerks, they were that way long before. I would argue that Eryndor units should counteract this possibility by actively refusing to become “cliqueish.” Hang out with other units! Be friends with other units! Always be welcoming and friendly to everyone! Recruit together! Practice together! Give each other chocolates during Valentine’s Day! And, I know I personally speak for at least “The Crusade,” that that sort of “eliteist” behavior is something we will never, ever, EVER let happen. Dagorhir is about friendship and love, and I suspect that most, if not all, Eryndor units believe in the original spirit of Eryndor.

· Related to the last point – we won’t all be friends anymore! First off, Eryndor was not “all friends” in the first place. With 150 people, we ALL likely had a few people we didn’t like or care for… that’s life, and its okay. Its okay not to like someone – to unnecessarily be a jerk to them is not cool. But on the other hand, we definitely did have a very broad sense of “super-mega fun friendliness and camaraderie.” Why should that go away just because we have units? My argument to that is I think the friendships in Eryndor are stronger than being broken just because we all are now a part of different pretend groups who paint our shields with different colors of acrylic paint. I sincerely hope all of the friendships I made with Eryndorrim are stronger than seeing a different logo on a shield cover.

· Earlier I said units need to be not just about themselves, but about Eryndor and Dagorhir as a whole. What do I mean “for the sake of Eryndor and for the sake of Dagorhir”? Well, that’s pretty simple, actually. I mean that units must be willing to take a step back from your own unit’s self-interests and not treat every new Eryndor member as though they are a piece of meat to be weighed, measured, and fought over. During some long and honest conversations with many members of other established chapters, this “fighting over the recruiting pool” is a HUGE problem in some unit-heavy chapters, and it REALLY turns people off of Dagorhir. Fast. I’m sure many of you have either felt personally, observed, or maybe actually engaged in this “Dagorhir Meat Market” yourself… it was an unfortunate consequence of the Erydnor battle ranks requirement of recruiting new members… there were plenty of times I saw people instantly descend upon brand new members (who had been fighting for all of 20 minutes), trying to “claim them their own” as soon as possible so that they could reach their recruit number. This was a sad and pretty selfish behavior that was an unfortunate consequence of a bad design in our ranking system. I potentially see this problem as being even worse in a unit-centered Eryndor model… units desperate to grow their ranks with fighters could be tempted to pressure brand new members to join a unit before the new fighter has hardly even had a chance to experience Dagorhir. Simply put, we need units and unit leaders to not let this “mad grab” mentality to become pervasive throughout Eryndor. Eryndor WILL become a less fun place to be and WILL become a much worse place for new people if we let this happen. In short, if new units only worry about themselves, we’ll very quickly not have much of a chapter to be proud of. This is something we need to address amongst all of ourselves in an honest and open manner – how do we make sure this doesn’t happen? It IS a problem in other chapters, so it IS very real… let’s make sure its not a problem in Eryndor.

This ALSO means we need to respect the sanctity of each unit. Trying to recruit OTHER members away from another unit is bad, bad, bad form. It doesn’t grow the chapter, doesn’t grow Dagorhir, and it only hurts feelings. But on the SAME token, we need to all be cool and respect that individual fighters may CHOOSE to leave one unit and join another. We need to all NOT take this personally. Fighters have a right to go where they are happiest… but by their own choice.

Unresolved or Pressing Questions

When is this all going to happen?

We’re looking at rolling this new chapter model out starting January 1, 2008. Before that, however, we’ll need to have units form and register for official status. We imagine doing that sometime right after Badon Hill II, giving units somewhere from 4 to 6 weeks to get their paperwork and other stuff together. In some cases, like the Senegal’s Finest, this will be a pretty straight-forward process… just a little extra leg work to get things together. For newer units, they’ll have to get some stuff together and down on paper.

We hope to release new unit official requirements sometime immediately after Badon Hill II. These requirements are different from the current requirements for an Eryndor unit, but they’re about the same with just a few modifications.

How do we identify the first batch of chapter leaders?

This is an interesting question. On one hand, it seems like it would be appropriate to have the first “unit council” elect the leaders… after all, that’s what they’ll be doing for the years to come. On the other hand, some Eryndor members have expressed concern that we need the “guaranteed right people” in charge that first year, since it’ll be a transition period – suggesting that the High Council appoint these leaders for this first time only. I’ll be honest, I like the second option because there definitely will be plenty of unresolved issues that we need to account for “on the fly” with these job titles… but the last thing I want to do is make it seem like the High Council is secretly controlling this new Eryndor – that’s the last thing Eryndor needs. (I think Muhdurin would point out that in Episode II Senator Palpatine said something very similar to this… but I would rebuttal because there is no clone army present.)

So, what exactly makes for an official unit?

As said above, things are still not 100% certain. Here’s a third draft of the unit requirements so far, as well as a rationale for any of the policies.

Requirements for Official Units of Eryndor

Requirements for Official Units of Eryndor	Why this policy
Basic Requirements: 1. Name of the Unit 2. Distinctive Symbol 3. Leadership Contact Points 1. Phone 2. E-Mail 4. Roster of active members 5. Unique style and culture	1. & 2. Because that’s the whole point of being a unit – your own unique fighting force. 3. The boss(es) always need a nameplate on their office door – in short, if you’re going to be the leader, people throughout the chapter need to know who’s the “go to” people. 4. Knowing who really is a part of your unit is essential for determining official status. 5. What is the story of your unit? To want to be a unit, the must have been a purpose and a passion behind it… share that passion with others. Also, sharing “what your group is all about” will help potential members know what you are… and what you are not.
Unit-to-be must have a website with contact information (see “Basic Requirements” above. This does not need to be an elaborate website	Publicity and accessibility is the fundamental growth point for Dagorhir, and the Internet is one of the primary mediums through which we as a national organization grow. Besides, even if computers terrify you, there are many tools online that help you make a simple, easy website… for free. See www.geocities.com for one such example.
Minimum of 6 core unit members that are not current members of another Eryndor unit	The number of 6 is admittedly a bit arbitrary, but to be fair, having a unit so small that you can get them to a battle in a single Geo Metro just doesn’t seem quite right… In all seriousness, it would be best to be an unofficial unit until you get large enough to be an official group... helping to run events will be one of the requirements for official status, and you’ll need enough manpower to make that happen.
Units must have their own Community Armory (weapons & garb).	If you’re your own thing, you have to be your own thing. Which means you need to be able to equip and care for yourself and your members.
Unit must hold at least 2 open practices per month during the battle season (re: during months of scheduled chapter battles). Units are expected to be courteous and not conflict practice schedules with other local Eryndor units.	Fighting “out in public” helps to recruit and spread the game. The latter part (being courteous and not conflicting practice schedules) emphasizes that we are all REALLY one big group with a common goal, and having same practices on the same day in the same town really just means you’re having smaller and less fun battles. Work together!
Registered a written (characterization) Unit History/Description.	This is the “character” aspect of your unit. What is your group about? Are they good or evil, or neutral? Add some cool flavor to the game! You don’t have to be from The Continent if you don’t want to (for example, your unit could be based on the REAL Dark Ages), but it’d be great if you stayed part of the rich roleplay history of Eryndor.
Requested that they be considered for "Active Unit Status" (see below).	The elected person in charge of checking official unit status won’t be able to read your mind… you’ll have to let them know that you want to be checked as an official group. Groups “official” or reduction to “unofficial” status will only be checked at the end of any giving fighting season, unless there is some extremely rare situation that comes up.
At Ragnarok, ALL units must prereg only as "Eryndor." Space will then be divided amongst the units. In other words, Eryndor all camps near one another.	We work together at Ragnarok as a chapter, and represent at Ragnarok as a chapter. This is the time that Eryndor can show the Dagorhir world what we’re collectively made of! Besides, all cooperating on some camping stuff together (like firewood or tiki torches) can be a big help!
For Eryndor Events, units are required to host or co-host ON AVERAGE at least 1 event per year.	The success of Eryndor now rests solely on the shoulders of units working hard and working together to make events happen. If units aren’t willing to contribute, then they don’t know what it takes to actually make a chapter successful and fun, and they won’t be recognized as an official unit.
The Unit's recruiting method must consist of targeting new foamfighters , not other unit's members. Simply put, actively trying to “steal” members from another unit is considered very poor form, but it is understood that members from one unit may choose (of their own decision) to join a different unit. Thus, people may switch units if they so desire, but can never be active members of more than one unit over the course of any battle season.	Units need to be built from the ground-up. Recruiting from other groups does nothing to grow the game, does everything to create bad blood between groups, and it pretty much demonstrates that you’re a big douchenozzle and care more about what’s best for your little crew than what’s best for Dagorhir. For God’s sake… go out and find NEW BLOOD and get them involved in the game! If your unit’s recruiting plan is “we’ll let everyone else do the hard work then we’ll handpick and steal all the good fighters,” you need a different plan. And a conscience.
Official units will have an appointed representative (chosen in whatever manner is suitable to that unit) that sits and votes during official Unit Council Leader meetings.	Eryndor will need the guidance and thoughts of all its caring and passionate leaders to succeed into the future. Official meetings will be the place where the most essential decisions are decided upon – official units need to represent to make sure their insights are added to the group.
Official units are expected to work with and not against other units for the growth and success of Eryndor and Dagorhir.	We fight ON the field, not off the field. It is expected that all units understand that no one benefits from acting like elitist pricks or caddy, talk-behind-your-back jerkholes. Get along off the field, slaughter each other mercilessly ON the field.

Eryndor committed to running day battles at Ragnarok next year… what does that mean for all of us?

I’m sure no one except for me actually is worried about this. However, Eryndor (me being the “point man”) committed to running day battles at Ragnarok this year. I’ll be honest – I think we can bring some of the best and most epic fighting to Ragnarok that we’ve seen in years. However, there is NO WAY this can be pulled off without the help of the entire chapter. I am crossing my fingers that all units and Eryndor members are still willing to help make this project a success – the most important part of Ragnarok depends on all of your help!

Wait, the High Council is just bailing out of leadership of Eryndor? What!?!?

First off, we’re not going anywhere. However, some people have expressed concern that suddenly “letting go of the reigns” is a bad idea and will harm the chapter. But of course, this misses the point that we have already let go of the reigns a long time ago.

On the other hand, we would, of course, be happy to offer any insights and knowledge we’ve picked up about running a chapter – but only if that’s what you guys want. It was suggested by a few people that the High Council could be a non-voting position on the Eryndor Unit Leader Council, where we just speak up if we can be of assistance. I see that as possibly a good thing, but that’s something we want the chapter war council to determine if they think it is a good thing or not… we don’t want to “decide” that ahead-of-time for the chapter.

Wait, what about roleplay? What about my rank?

One of the things that amazed me so far since we announced a change in Eryndor is that the overwhelming amount of concern about the new chapter is “what about the role play”? and “what about the ranks”? In other words, people were worried about role play issues, and weren’t worried about administrative issues regarding Eryndor. Please understand – this chapter restructuring is an administrative change, not a roleplaying change!

The epic storyline of the Continent isn’t going anywhere, that wild and intriguing world will be developed and explored as long as everyone wishes to do so.

Eryndor ranks, on the other hand, will be slightly adjusted. The Eryndor ranks are going to become a quality of “The Crusader” unit. However, we, as a unit, have decided to recognize our ranks among any other Eryndor units who have been here since the beginning of the new chapter structure. In other words, units like the KoSC, Senegal’s Finest, and other new units (Dugans? Imperial Guard?) will have members who are welcome to become fighters, hunters, earn masteries, etc. The point is simple – regardless of the Eryndor unit you may be in, you are more than welcome to keep your current Eryndor rank and pursue higher ranks.

I should clarify that we’re not entirely sure how we’re going to handle this issue, this is only a working idea… but we WILL solve it so people are all still happy.

What’s going to happen to Eryndor.com?

The Eryndor.com website will turn into more of a “chapter portal” with Dagorhir info, unit links, battle dates, etc. The “unit stuff” will be spun off into a “The Crusaders” unit website.

You said we can only be part of one official Eryndor unit, what about non-Eryndor units?

You can only be part of one official Eryndor unit. However, you can be part of any other “unofficial” units or any other national units that may exist out there… whether or not “dual membership” is allowed will have to be something you’ll need to figure out with your Eryndor unit.

What are the elected positions going to be?

This is still up in the air, but we have a pretty solid idea. Here are the positions we’re currently considering and the outline of their job responsibilities:

President	· Any administrative duties not defined by the other positions are presumed to be the responsibility of the president (these tasks may be delegated) · The president is the communication channel for other organizations, games, media sources, etc.** · Is one of the two Ragnarok War Council representatives for the chapter · Prepares all board meeting agendas · Responsible for coordinating all non-battle chapter events (units will ultimately elect to host or co-host events) – works closely with magistrate to design a schedule for vote
Vice President	· Fulfills the role of President in the absence of the President · Is ultimately responsible for the storage and maintenance of any Eryndor community equipment (herald bags, weapons checking gear, etc.) · Responsible for maintaining the Erydnor website, advertising, and public relations
Treasurer	· Maintenance of publication of chapter expenditures and deposits, published regularly · Oversight of event fees and collection of event funds ** · Distributes funds authorized for distribution by unit council · Distributes funds authorized for distribution by board of directors · Never has a vote on funding allocation issues, nor may allocate funds for own use · Has only direct access to chapter bank account · Collects all receipts from expenditures
Coordinator	· Serves as liaison between board of directors and war council / manages the war council meetings · Responsible for coordinating with unit leaders and presenting battle schedule for war council’s approval · Responsible for determining official/unofficial unit standing · Maintains wavier database · Collects signed waivers from events, distributes list of signed waivers · Keeps notes of all war council meetings **
Magistrate	· Other RWC representative · Responsible for coordinating all non-battle chapter events (units will ultimately elect to host or co-host events)**

** = TASK MAY BE DELEGATED

I need more info… where?

We’re all gonna be at Badon… that’s a great time to meet up all face-to-face and chat this out.

You don’t actually specify wHat the Unit Council will be doing, how they vote, etc. Seems like we need a simple by-laws… right?

Right. A simple-form by-laws will be delivered to the Unit Council and the Executive Board when they start their tenure. It’ll explain how does what and how. But there will be ambiguities and mistakes… it will very much be a “work-in-progress” and the council will have to work to make it a better document for Eryndor to function with.

Wow, this is a lot of planning and organizing for a bunch of kids who play dress up and hit each other with pillow sticks, why?

Because we got bored with actually being on the field and fighting, we figured sitting around and organizing things would be way more fun.

In all seriousness, turns out making this kind of fun last takes some planning and organization… ask the Aratari who’ve been doing this for over 25 years.

End Note

For those of you who actually read this far, congratulations. Instead of an excessively long Athron speech, you’ve now read an excessively long Athron manuscript. I truly and sincerely hope that this letter alleviated many fears associated with the new direction of Eryndor. I put forth some blunt realities in this letter, and a few of them are not necessarily the easiest or happiest things to chew on. But, when you let all this stuff simmer around in your mind (as I’ve done for about 2+ years now), I hope you can step back at see all the little trees for the beautiful forest they create. Eryndor is sitting on the brink of a glorious and beautiful new moment, a transition that – if done well – can literally set forth the beginning of a Dagorhir tradition in Michigan and Ohio that will flourish even when our kids are able to run around and swing foam swords. Seriously.

In turn, I would like to issue a friendly challenge. I don’t know how many different times I’ve heard many of you say “I love Eryndor,” or something along those lines. I humbly ask you to stand behind your own words. Eryndor is in a transition, and the beauty of the butterfly that emerges from this cocoon is directly dependent upon how much of YOUR love you put back INTO Eryndor. Change is hard, but change is also an opportunity to create something better. Put your love back into Eryndor, help it grow, leave your own beautiful mark on this crazy chapter – let this be the beginning of new legends.

My love to all of you,

Athron, servant of Eryndor

The birth of one ugly baby...

2007-05-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

Because the heavens knows we desperately needed yet one more voice screaming across the interwebs...