Guild:The Fallen Legion

The Fallen Legion is a Level 90 Guild on the Everfrost Server.

Overview Edit

Comprised primarily of players from the United States and the United Kingdom, the guild is comprised of approximately forty individual accounts and some one hundred and eighty characters, spanning nearly every level and class in the game. The majority of players range in age from approximately 20 to 40, many with friends and family in the guild. The organization includes adventurers and both primary and secondary tradeskillers .

The organization is colloquially referred to internally as "TFL" or "The Legion." Members of the guild are usually referred to as "Legionnaires," regardless of rank. Its symbol is a white crested, open-faced Macedonian helm in profile. The guild colors are Green and Black.

On the continuum of guild styles, The Fallen Legion refers to itself as a "family-style" organization. ^[1] The organization has consistently remained a non-raid organization, a conviction grounded in the idea that the MMORPG community has a need for high-quality, high-capability guilds that consistently engage in non-endgame content. This is not to say that TFL is not integrally and regularly involved in endgame content, but rather that its activities consistently include a full range of content. Consequently, the group has enjoyed significant longevity as compared to some other groups of similar style.

There are no restrictions on city of residence or alignment, nor is there a cap on the number of alts a player may have in the group. TFL is one of the few successful organizations that permits and supports "boxing," or playing more than one character simultaneously, along side single-account players. The leadership has stated that The Fallen Legion wants "every player to get the gaming experience he or she wants," provided that experience includes fair and respectful play.

Mission and Motto Edit

According to the guild's website, its mission is "to serve its membership and the community and to help all players to succeed at respectful, fair, and cooperative gaming for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone involved." The Fallen Legion has maintained that website, www.TheFallenLegion.org , since 2006. From the day of its inception, the website has always borne a quote from "Of Personal Merit" written in 1688 by French essayist Jean De La Bruyère:

"From time to time there appear on the face of the earth men and women of rare and consummate excellence, who dazzle us by their virtue, and whose outstanding qualities shed a stupendous light. Like those extraordinary stars of whose origins we are ignorant, and of whose fate, once they have vanished, we know even less, such people have neither forebears nor descendants: they are the whole of their race."

Heraldry Edit

The formal definition of the guild's heraldry is Quarterly vert and sable, a crested Macedonian helm argent, all within a bordure argent of braid. To the layperson, it is a four-way checker pattern of green and black with a silver helmet in the center, outlined by a braid of silver.

The White Helm Edit

Taken from the introductory passage "All Hail The Fallen Legion," written by the player of Sesketh Ekalibis , the unofficial motto of The Fallen Legion is "Where Goes the White Helm, The Fate of Norrath Follows." The White Helm insignia of the guild was also designed by Sesketh , and was recently embodied in-game in the form of the Freeport Legionnaire's Helmet , a Sony Cash Marketplace -purchasable cloth armor item. Legionnaire Klerg Krushbone identified the item as a "must-have" for members of the TFL leadership, and it was consequently discovered on the Everfrost server by The Fallen Legion.

History Edit

Founded 22 March 2005 on the Grobb server, the first five members of TFL were the players of Senger Vampeer, Kronin Magnumus, Rayven Noire, Maulclaw, and Dead Morbid. TFL was Everfrost's first Level 51 guild (14 Nov 2006), the second Level 60 guild on the server (14 Dec 2006), and was the second Everfrost guild to reach Level 80 and the twentieth worldwide (21 Jan 2008). It is the fourteenth-oldest operating Level 80 guild on Everfrost, the oldest being Heroes Fate (9 Nov 2004).

There was at one time a second organization called "The Fallen Legion," created on the Everfrost server. In the months leading up to the merger of Grobb into Everfrost on 15 Feb 2006, then-guild leader Sesketh Ekalibis conducted interserver negotiations with the other, largely-defunct organization to successfully avoid a name change. TFL should not be confused with any of three other organizations current in existence: Guilds named "Fallen Legion" (note the lack of "The") on the Kithicor and Mistmoore servers (Levels 21 and 10, respectively), and " Legion of the Fallen " (Level 6) on the Najena server.

The guild leadership founded the first Everfrost Raid Alliance on 17 Mar 2006. This eventually went defunct, and was replaced by the current Raid Alliance.

Apprenticeship Edit

New recruits into The Fallen Legion enter into a program known as the Apprenticeship.

The Apprenticeship, begun in 2006, is a mentoring and education program for new members of any level that allows an invited player to learn about the guild through participation as a member. While Apprentices are restricted from certain activities, such as withdrawals from the guild bank and the purchase of earned rewards like mounts and city merchant items (to prevent fraud), they are able to communicate and collaborate effectively with other Legionnaires. Over time, the theory is that Apprentices will earn the trust of their colleagues and become full Legionnaires.

In March of 2009, The Fallen Legion significantly revised its published Apprenticeship policy. Concerns over the past three years had indicated that the lack of a basic set of concrete, scaffolded objectives for new members was contributing to unnecessary attrition. Consequently, for the first time quantitative as well as qualitative criteria were deliberated and ultimately adopted by the Council of The Five.

Policies Edit

The organization has very high standards of personal conduct, and adheres strictly to the EverQuest II Rules of Conduct and the EverQuest II Play Nice Policies , as published by Sony Online Entertainment , as well as several additional policies that raise the bar for guild member behavior in the MMORPG community. The organization is particularly proud of its strong commitment to and adherence to the observation of nondiscrimination.

TFL does not use DKP [1] or tracked looting systems, but generally practices a "Need Before Greed" policy, a standard practice amongst family-type guilds.

Guild Hall Edit

TFL's original guild hall was a Tier 3 structure located off the Antonica Docks, and featured a large number of functional amenities. In 2009, the upper floor was sealed off, an in-game decision intended to maximize appearance of the main floor while dramatically improving load times. The Council determined playability and enjoyment of game time was more important than rarely-seen decor.

The uppermost room in the hall was the Council Hall, usually closed to the public with a barred gate, reserved for official meetings of the Council of The Five.

Outside on the rooftop was a multi-tiered stadium style arena constructed in a Sathirian-Orc hybrid order of architecture, integrated into the structure to provide unique stair and at-level access to the raised observation decks and the arena ring itself.

The lowermost room was the Transportation Dock, featuring Ulteran Spires , a Druid Ring , Mariner's Bell access, a Sinking Sands carpet, and a Guild Strategist . Beyond the dock, on a rocky outcropping in the middle of the subterranean lake, is a shrine containing The White Helm of The Fallen Legion, its symbolic relic.

In February 2011, the guild leadership opted to save funds and downsized to a Tier 1 structure in South Freeport, expanding the overall set of amenities while downsizing the physical space.

Leadership Edit

Since 20 September 2005, TFL has been led by The Council of The Five, a democratic body of guild leaders charged with preserving the core mission of the organization. The Council's ad-hoc chairperson is the Chief Administrator. Two additional named positions, the Chief of Recruitment and the Chief of Commerce have relative responsibilities encompassing member recruitment and retention, and securing and managing the finances and material assets of the organization including the Guild Hall .

The current Chief Administrator is Grandmaster Sesketh Ekalibis the Ebon Dragon . The current Chief of Commerce is Lord Rancour. Lord Julak, Hunter of the Wastes , and Tikkamasala, and complete the current membership of the Council of The Five. One appointment is under consideration to fill the vacancy left by founder Sengerr Vampeer upon his resignation from the game in mid-July 2010.

Though the guild's council was not based upon it and developed independently, another great governing council bore a similar name, specifically the faction-representative body that governed Qeynos through the Age of Cataclysms , The Circle of Five .

In February of 2011, the guild leadership opted to leave the fifth seat vacated by Tikkamasala unfilled, instead giving the fifth council vote to the membership at large, effectively ensuring the democratic voice of the people was more directly involved in the leadership decision making process.

Alliances Edit

In September of 2007, the guild leadership established a formal alliance, informally known as The Chicago Alliance , with fellow Everfrost guilds Dynasty of the Flame , Guild of Hours , Masters of Nothing , and Order of the Phoenix . The Fallen Legion also has an alliance with Second Hand Heroes .

Historically-key diplomatic allies have included Taubin Darscrios (of DotF) and Rudhi Bega (of GoH).

In March of 2009, the guild entered (on a trial basis) the Everfrost Event Alliance, an in-game interguild chat channel .

During the Fall of 2009, some members of the organization developed a relationship with the guild Mithril (Guild) , utilizing one of their high-level toons to participate in very high level raid content. This was largely facilitated thanks to the preexisting relationship with one of TFL's esteemed alumni, Slysedgewick. Notable individuals raiding with Mithril include Rancour, Julak, Drille, and Kronin.

• note a special thanks to Lord Drille and Slysedgewick for their incredible efforts in bringing the guild from lvl 16 to 30 back in the early days of TFL.. they truly made TFL a notable guild.

Personnel Edit

Desired qualities in a Legionnaire include a demonstrated commitment to fairness, honesty, and cooperation. While there is no formal age requirement, adolescents have not always been successful in the group given the expectations for mature conduct and universally-appropriate language, a likely contribution to the general age range of Legionnaires.

It is common practice amongst Legionnaires to refer to one another by their main character's name, rather than actual player names. (For example, a player named John whose character is called Shadow would always be referred to as "Shadow." Few guildmates if any would know his real-world name is John.) This allows for a healthy level of friendship and familiarity between players while respecting one's right to privacy.

Countries of Origin Edit

TFL has included members from many countries around the world, including:

• The Commonwealth of Australia
• The Kingdom of Belgium (Koninkrijk België)
• Canada
• The Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska)
• The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
• The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (中華人民共和國香港特別行政區)
• The Italian Republic ( Italy ) (Repubblica Italiana)
• The Kingdom of The Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• The Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska)
• The United Arab Emirates (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة)
• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• The United States of America

Ranks Edit

The guild rank system has undergone major overhaul no fewer than five times in the past four years. Currently, the system provides for basic differentiation between the leadership, the membership, and the apprenticeship, while further differentiating between main characters and alternative characters, or alts.

• Council of The Five - Guild leadership
• Council Reserve - Alts of the guild leadership
• Legionnaire - Guild membership
• Legionnaire Reserve - Alts of the guild membership
• On Leave of Absence
• Apprentice - New guild recruits
• Apprentice Reserve - Alts of new guild recruits

The rank "Guide of the Legion" was discontinued in mid-2010.

Notable Alumni Edit

Sengerr (originally Senger Vampeer) is regarded as the Founder of The Fallen Legion (and as such, is a member emeritus). The Exchange and Arcade in the TFL Guild Hall is named for him.

Golden Sun Rayven Noir is a founding member and long-time veteran of the organization. Since late 2009 she has been on hiatus, her position on the Council of The Five passing to her brother, Klerg Krushbone.

Savior Targ the Loyal was a notable "boxer," or player of multiple simultaneous characters. Having contributed tens of millions of status points and hundreds of platinum to the treasury of the guild over his years of service, Targ is regarded as one of the Legion's primary benefactors, and is enshrined through the naming of the TFL Guild Hall's primary room in his honor and the placement of a large statue of Targ, a member of the troll race, in the center of the main courtyard, bearing an eternal flame in his hand of the guild's trademark green hue.

Slysedgewick McFly is an accomplished raid player and served as a member of the guild leadership for some time, helping to preside over a period of significant growth and development for the organization.

Dead Morbid was the ad-hoc guild leader of The Fallen Legion throughout much of the second half of 2005 and early 2006. He later moved to full time raid content prior to granting access of his account to a friend. The current player of the character Dead on Everfrost is not the same player.

In early 2010, founding member and longtime Chief of Recruitment Shackle Grandmaster Kronin Magnumus of The Seventh Hammer retired from the game, naming Sengerr to his previous post. The Great Library of Kronin Magnumus in the Guild Hall of The Fallen Legion is named for him.

In mid-2010, Klerg Krushbone, renowned for his generosity and likely the Legionnaire who had done the most for player advocacy and community building throughout Norrath, retired from the game, appointing Tikkamasala to his place on the Council.

Longest-Serving Regularly-Active Members Edit

1. Sesketh - 4/21/2005
2. Leyos - 6/22/2005
3. Simbul - 11/12/2005
4. Maitai - 1/6/2006
5. Ainur - 1/10/2006
6. Makken - 2/15/2006
7. Rancour - 2/16/2006
8. Achilees - 4/10/2006
9. Lens - 11/23/2006

Last updated 8/21/2010

Links Edit

• The Fallen Legion's website
• The Fallen Legion on EQ2Players.com

References Edit

1. ↑ www.thefallenlegion.org, "Our Philosophy"

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EverQuest 2 Guild Information

Guild	The Fallen Legion website
Server	Everfrost
Peak Playing Time	1400-2200 EST
Guild Hall	Antonica (Tier 3)
EQ2Players	EQ2Players Guild Profile

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