The Order of St. John
I.) Purpose: The Order of St. John is named in honor of Saint John Chrysostom. We exist to protect the Holy Land and to spread the Orthodox Faith.
II.) Membership: The Order will consist of sergeants and knights.
-A.) Any man who agrees to follow the rules can join the Order as a sergeant by swearing to a member of the Order's feudal chain.
-B.) To be a full knight, a sergeant must be single, possess at least 2 chivalry, at least 3 piety, no female retinue, at least one province, and must be accepted by at least 2/3 of the current knights of the Order. Once a knight, the man will be addressed as Brother. For the purposes of the rules, knight and Brother are used interchangeably.
-C.) If at anytime a knight fails to meet one of these requirements, their status may change depending on what requirement has been violated.
--1.) If a knight loses a province due to it being conquered, the Brotherhood must do what it can to get that person a province. Excess provinces can be given to satisfy the requirement. New conquests can be authorized if excess provinces are not available. During this process, the person remains a knight and can keep the position of Grandmaster or Marshall.
--2.) If the knight drops below 2 chivalry or 3 piety, he has 10 turns to rectify the situation. If he does not raise his stats to the required amount within 10 turns from the date of his violation, then the person drops in standing to a sergeant and loses the position of Grandmaster or Marshall. Once the sergeant gets his stats to the required amount, he is automatically brought back to the status of knight. This rule does not apply if the reason for the stat drop is illness.
--3.) If a knight gains retinue that are not in keeping with the Order's values, they must remove that retinue immediately or they will be demoted to sergeant and lose the position of Grandmaster or Marshall. Once the retinue in question is gone, the man is automatically brought back to the status of knight.
--4.) If a knight ever gets married, they permanently drop back to sergeant and lose the position of Grandmaster or Marshall.
--5.) If a member of the Order ever becomes Caesar, they are immediately demoted to sergeant and must give their provinces and relics to members of the Order. They will also lose their position as Grandmaster or Marshall.
--6.) If a member loses their position of Grandmaster or Marshall, a new one must immediately be chosen.
-D.) Breaking from the Order's feudal chain, without immediatly reswearing to another Order member, will result in automatic expulsion from the Order.
III.) Voting:
-A.) Changes in the feudal structure and in the Charter can happen at any time as long as there is no dissent from among the Brothers.
-B.) If there is dissent, there will be a vote among the Brothers at any time, but no less than 1 "turn" before the Senate goes into session.
-C.) In voting, one Brother will equal one vote.
-D.) Changes in the feudal structure of the Order, as well as it's Charter can be changed with a vote from 2/3rds of the Brothers.
-E.) The decision of this vote will be binding on all including the Grandmaster.
-F.) A vote made be made without a Knight if they have been inactive for 48 hours. (OOC: "inactive" means not on the board for 48 hours or, if the person uses invisible mode, no posts for 48 hours.)
IV.) Grandmaster:
-A.) The Grandmaster will be at the top of the feudal structure of the Order. When the Grandmaster changes, the feudal structure will reorder itself to place him at the top.
-B.) He will be chosen from amongst the other knights by either unanimous consent or a 2/3 vote to reorder the feudal structure.
-C.) When captured, Jerusalem will be the province of the Grandmaster and must be transferred to the new Grandmaster if the title changes hands.
-D.) When relics are acquired, the Grandmaster gets first pick from among the relics possessed by members of the Order. When the title changes hands, the new Grandmaster will then get first choice from among the relics.
-E.) Upon the Grandmaster's demotion, death, or retirement, a new one will be chosen immediately from amongst the knights.
V.) Marshall:
-A.) The Marshall is expected to be the Grandmaster's second in command and shall swear directly to the Grandmaster. When the Marshall changes, the feudal structure will reorder itself to place him as second in the chain.
-B.) He will be chosen by the Grandmaster from amongst the other knights. This can not be contested by a vote to reorder the feudal structure. If the members wish to contest a the Grandmaster's pick for Marshall, they will have to pick a new Grandmaster.
-C.) The Marshall will have the province of Antioch when it is captured. Antioch will transfer to the new Marshall if the title changes hands.
-D.) When relics are acquired, the Marshall gets second pick from among the relics possessed by members of the Order. When the title changes hands, the new Marshall will then get second choice from among the relics.
-E.) Upon the Marshall's demotion, death, or retirement, a new one will be chosen immediately by the Grandmaster from amongst the knights.
VI.) Rules: Rules are binding upon sergeants and Brothers alike.
-A.) All members of the Order must ensure that all prisoners they take in war do not come to harm so long as they remain in the custody of the Order.
-B.) All members of the Order will occupy all settlements.
-C.) All members of the Order will make sure that the church and Ikoner's studio in their settlement is at the highest level possible before building something else. Wall upgrades are the only exception.
-D.) All members of the Order will attempt to have no tavern line buildings in their settlements. If necessary for public order, only the lowest level of tavern possible is allowed. But if a choice must be made between lowering taxes, and building a tavern, then building a tavern is allowed.
-E.) All members of the Order will expel negative retinue as soon as they appear. This includes the adulteress, outlander adulteress, foreign fruitcake, and pagan magician.
-F.) All members of the Order will ask that the Megas deny all marriage requests for their person. Adoptions and "Man of the Hour" are allowed.
-G.) Territory and relics belonging to Order members is forever the property of the Order.
--1.) Therefore, while a member may leave the Order at any time, he must first give his land and relics back to a member of the Order.
--2.) Property and relics in wills must be left to members of the Order.
--3.) At no time may an Order member give his provinces or relics to a non-Order member.
--4.) The only exception allowed is if a member of the Order leaves the 1 province and 1 relic minimum to someone that they know will join the Order. (OOC: This means the player can give 1 province and 1 relic to their next avatar if that avatar is going to immediately join the Order once the player switches over.)
-H.) Thieve Guilds and Assassin Guilds are not allowed within the territory of the Order. The Megas will be requested to deny any requests of this nature. If the request is accepted, the offending Guild building must be destroyed immediately.
-I.) Members of the Order are expected to behave in an honorable manner.
--1.) No member is to disagree with another member in public.
--2.) A member should expect his edicts and CA's to be seconded by his fellow members.
--3.) Members are not to verbally fight with other senators in the senate.
--4.) If a member is having a problem with a senator, he is to go to the Grandmaster with his concerns so the Grandmaster can talk to the offending senator's lord.
--5.) Members may go to the Hippodrome but must act in a manner that is in keeping with the Order's values. No gambling is allowed.
-J.) No member of The Order can ever use the services of the Hashishin.
VII.) Punishment: Failure to follow these rules may result in the demotion or expulsion of the member.
-A.) Punishment will be decided from amongst the Brothers not being considered for punishment. Punishment can come about from a unanimous decision or a 3/4th vote at the normal voting time. A brother in question can not vote regarding his own punishment.
-B.) Demotion will consist of the knight being demoted to a sergeant. The sergeant may be considered to be a full knight again once all of the knights agree.
-C.) Expulsion will consist of the subject's lord breaking fealty with him, as well as the subject's vassals breaking fealty with the subject.
-D.) Anyone who refuses to break fealty with the subject will be expelled as well.
-E.) The expelled subject will be asked to leave the Order's lands and to give back any land to the Order. Land not given back to the Order will be taken back by force.
