How do I apply?
We have an application page. Please fill out the application. Afterwards, one of our interviewing officers will contact you and set up an in-game interview.
If you are accepted, you will be inducted into the guild at the next ceremony. We generally hold guild ceremonies once a month. This gives us a chance to celebrate you joining, allows our members a chance to get to know the new initiates and helps to build the sense of community that makes Tamarack what it is.
How long is the initiate phase?
You will remain an Initiate for a minimum of 30 days.
What will happen during the initiate phase?
You will be assigned a Mentor who will spend time with you evaluating whether or not you are a proper fit for our group - and you will likewise be evaluating us. What they are looking for is your demeanor in groups, how you handle yourself and loot, etc. Though they will also make note of your strengths and weaknesses as a player and/or how you use your class, that will have NO bearing on whether or not you get promoted. Your last evaluation will come from Dawne. She is the Mentor in charge of Initiates and makes all final determinations on promotions.
Is there an age limit?
We limit membership to people 18 and older. Yes, there are many young people who are very mature, and some "adults" who are not. But in general, this helps to keep our membership on the same level. Most of our members are working adults with families, and frankly when we start talking about bills and insurance, it's not that interesting to a 16 year old anyway. And when we do have conversations that are interesting, we probably shouldn't be having them with minors.
I have multiple characters. Which one should I bring into the guild?
We strongly believe that this is a game that we all play for fun. Play whichever character you most enjoy. We do ask that you try to play the character you bring into the guild during the initiate phase; it's hard for us to get to know you if you are always playing an unguilded character.
What about alts?
Once you are promoted to full membership, you can bring in all of your characters. You are not *required* to join your Alts to the guild upon promotion.
I have alts in another guild. Is that okay?
As we invest heavily in our Members, we expect to be your primary focus and do not allow our Members to have Alts in any other guild on the same server. We do sometimes make exceptions for family guilds (for example, parents who made a guild for their children to be in, or scattered family members that made a guild to keep in touch). We also have a few banker guilds, whose primary function is to stop annoying "Join my guild!" spam. To us, the difference between a "real" guild and a "banker" guild is whether or not there are main characters in the guild, especially if multiple people have mains in it. If it's just a few people who got together to have access to a guild bank, we have no trouble with that at all.
How do I find out when instance runs, quests, raids, etc. are happening?
We use our forums to organize many of our events. Spontaneous runs do sometimes happen, and are usually organized in our OOC channel. To sign up for our forums, drop me a letter, either here or in game, telling me which username and password you'd like to have and I'll set it up as soon as I can. Due to an annoying number of spammers, we've disabled self-registration on our forums. I do apologize for the inconvenience, but it seemed a worthwhile price to pay to keep the spammers out.
Who can set up instance runs, etc?
Anyone! Just make a post on the forums. More people sign up if you give a time and date. If you're not sure, just pick a time and date; if it doesn't work for people they'll generally let you know when they are available and you can adjust from there.
I want to fit in and get to know everyone. What can I do to make this happen?
You are STRONGLY encouraged to use our Forums often. They are very active and all events are planned, announced, and often signed up for by using the forums. It is easy to feel left out if you're not participating on them. You are STRONGLY encouraged to attend as many events as possible. This is how we get to know you and how you get to know us and our guild culture. You will be easily welcomed and assimilated, but you MUST give us something to work with. Pipe up in guild chat / ooc chat as often as possible. If you need help, ask for it or post on the forums a specific need. We can't get to know you and help you be a part of the family if we never hear from you.
How does the Guild Bank work?
You can donate items at any time by placing them in the Guild Bank, but of course you do not have to. On instance runs, level 50+ Bind on Equip blue gear that is not needed by anyone in the party is often sent to the Guild Bank for use by members. Once you're promoted to Member, you can request items from the Guild bank. Due to some unscrupulous people in the past, we do not allow initiates to withdraw most items from the Guild Bank.
What if I want/need crafted items or enchants?
If you need an item, enchant, potion, etc. from another Member, you are expected to provide the materials. Often, if the crafter has the materials, they may offer to make it for you anyway. Sale of items or services to one another for profit is NOT ALLOWED in any way shape or form.
What about tabards?
Your tabard will be provided to you when you are Promoted. If you own one, please do not wear it during your Initiation phase.
Is the Tamarack Order heavy RP? Do I have to RP?
Most people would probably consider us RP-Lite to RP-Medium. We don't work on strict storylines (though some informal ones have sprung between Members here and there), but we stay in character in guild chat and use many emotes, etc. We have an Out of Character channel and we ask that all discussions about game mechanics, local sports teams, etc. stay in it. Our ooc channel is for Tamaracks and friends and is used to organize groups for quests and sometimes instances, etc. We also laugh, joke, make very bad puns and goof off. You do not have to role play yourself, but you must be tolerant of others who do. This IS a role playing server, after all.
Is there a minimum numbers of days/hours per week that I'm required to play?
We have no time requirements. We believe strongly that real life comes before the game, and that family comes first, with the game coming in a distant second. Real life should always be your priority. If you are going to be gone for a few weeks or more, please let us know on the forums. Members who are absent for more than a month without notice will be removed. If this happens to you, just let us know when you return and you will be reinvited. Initiates who are absent for a significant portion of their initiate phase will have that phase extended.
IMPORTANT:
If you decide we are not for you, tell either a Mentor or an Officer. You can take a "leave" to reconsider. If you quit, however, you cannot return to us. The bottom line is we work hard on the induction process and if someone leaves without the courtesy of an explanation, the bridge is burned.
