We hail originally from Britannia, and we support the system of virtues introduced by Lord British. These Virtues, which we strive to follow, enabled the Avatar to defeat the Shadowlords of Britannia and provide a means for people to live in a socially stable environment.

However, hard times have again befallen Britannia, and evil hath spread to realms beyond the mysterious Black Moongate. Thieves and murderers appear daily throughout the universe and seek to extinguish the flame of truth with their darkness. We have followed this gate to various realms, and through our strength of unity, we resist and shalt ultimately conquer. After all, we are glowing in the dark, we are crusaders of The Burning Heart...

History of The Burning Heart

The Burning Heart was founded by Daylar de'Otaros in August of the earth year 1996, shortly after appearance of this new evil in Britannia We battled over a year in Britannia before the appearance of the Black Moongate to Norrath. Seeing the evil plight in that land, we have traveled through the Black Moongate to answer this call for help. Wherever evil runs free, you shall find us....

The goals and beliefs of the Burning Heart are as follows:

We strive to follow the eight virtues at all times
We believe fully in good Role-Playing
Having fun, make new friends and enjoy the camaraderie
Helping others, especially new adventurers
Providing a safe haven for our members to meet and advance their characters
Adventure with friends and fellow brothers and sisters of the Burning Heart

 

General Guild Notes:

The guild was created so that its members could have a safe haven, meet up and adventure, and make the Role-Playing worlds that much more interesting. We are not a military guild, and we don't actively hunt p-killers, but we do defend ourselves and the weak . The members of The Burning Heart follow the ideals of the Avatar. All members are subject to the laws of the land and the Burning Heart Code of Ethics. Membership in multiple guilds is not allowed.

We ask that you take the guild and the game somewhat seriously. Don't be a fool and embarrass yourself or the guild in the process. We will try to organize functions where as many of our members can be online at the same time. Please ask the guild leaders before you do something that could be very important. This may include starting feuds between Guilds, getting back at those who have insulted you or anything that will affect the Guild in general. We do this so that the guild can react to the circumstances of the game, so its better for all of us. Please keep the leaders informed of feuds, or other relevant game info. We will try to do the same to all members.....

Guild Organization:

The founders and many members of the Burning Heart are veteran role-players and have vast experience with online organizations. We've seen, made and learned from many of the mistakes that went along with most of the groups formed around MUD's and the earlier online role-playing games. The Burning Heart is a multi-generation organization and we're shooting for something 'different' than what you're likely used to.

The key is balance. There must be a balance between rules and flexibility. There has to be enough structure so that everyone understands what we're shooting for, yet we are not here to play "mom" or "dad" to petty disputes. The leaders are not here for a power trip, and we hope that you realize that some firm leadership is sometimes required to make decisions which will affect the group. Many times, the members are divided on these issues and while the leaders try to follow the consensus of the members, sometimes tough choices have to be made. All we ask is that members respect our thought process and decisions in these matters. The bottom line is that we're here to have fun and to role-play!

The Burning Heart has a very simple organization. Members are simply those who have chosen to take up permanent residence within the Beggar’s Feast Inn & Tavern or Wiltshire Abbey in the name of Virtue. Members follow Virtue and are grouped by their choice of ‘Hand’ (see below). We don't use this to create "divisions" but rather to group people based on the services they wish to provide to the guild as a whole. All members are working toward the same goals, yet in order to achieve larger-scale goals, we have to break them down into more manageable tasks and responsibilities.

Our experience with large organizations has shown this system of smaller tasks to be effective. We cannot merely task everyone to "Go out and teach Truth, Love and Courage to the world." We'd be looking at a bunch of deer gazing in the headlights. So instead, we break the goals into smaller, more manageable responsibilities that each person can take. This ensures the members understand their roles, yet they also understand that their roles are vital to the overall success (or failure) of the guild.

The leadership of the Burning Heart is provided by a single Guild Leader (over all the realms) and one or more ‘Council of the Realm’ (1 Council per realm). With multiple realms, it’s important that each realm have active, unique leadership. Leadership in each realm will consist of a Council of 3 members, each with equal voting right and authority to manage in game membership and activities. The Guild Leader maintains a voting right, same as the Council Members, in all realms in which the Burning Heart participates in. It is possible that a stalemate of votes on a subject could occur. In this instance, the Guild Leader and Council of that Realm will have to deliberate until a decision is agreed upon.

The current Council Members will be maintained in a sticky post on each Realm Forum. In order to maintain a high activity level among Councils, a Guild Member may serve only on 1 Council of the Realm at a given time.

Council Members have the authority to promote Guild Recruits to Guild Members, when they deem the timing is right. They also have the rare authority to demote or remove Guild Members, although reasoning must be documented.

Guild Members have the authority to ‘recruit’ new players to the guild and add them to the Guild Roster as a ‘Recruit’. Prior to recruiting, however, new recruits should be directed to the Burning Heart website to read about our history, organization and ethics.

We understand that membership and even leadership can be dynamic in online games, especially when multiple realms are being played by our membership. The Council of the Realm should always be active. If a Council Member, or the Guild Leader, foresees leaving a realm, we ask that they provide a 30 day notice so that the remaining leadership can make arrangements for a seamless transition. This is simply part of balancing life, time and enjoyment and will not have any impact on a Member’s standing with the guild. Active or inactive in a realm, our Members are equal, regardless of how much time or in game contributions are volunteered to the guild.

While leadership of in-game activities is governed by this structure, the Guild Leader retains the right to protect the intellectual and creative property of the Burning Heart Guild. In rare cases, it is the Guild Leader’s right to remove Council Members or Guild Members who are not acting in a manner consistent with the ethics and ideals of the guild. If the Guild Leader is not active in a realm, a Council Member will be made steward of in game logistics with regard to membership, housing, etc.

Hands of the Burning Heart:

Years ago, the Burning Heart created a membership structure around the idea that we were all ‘hands’ of a bigger ‘whole’. There are three ‘Hands’ of the Burning Heart:

Hand of Compassion – Responsible for helping those in need.
Hand of Justice – Responsible for guild facilities and handling of internal or external disputes.
Hand of Valor – Responsible for organizing patrols and the safekeeping of innocents.

Each Hand has a Hand Leader (for each realm), who also sits on the Council of that Realm. Guild Members may join one hand, although they may change if they ever desire.

Hands are free to hold ‘Hand Meetings’ and plan Hand oriented events. This may include instances or raids, crafting runs, role play events, or even hanging out passing out gear to lower level characters.