Statement of Purpose - Introductory Short Story of the Guild
It is often said that the last time something truly exists is the last time someone remembers it. Time itself, however, moves forward with relentless momentum, steering the ebb and flow of culture & civilisation, of peace & conflict, of achievement & failure.
We, however, wish to remember the world & what was before – who persevered and who collapsed; who fought and who contemplated – details that we, ourselves, can complete the greater histories of the world with. To catalogue, understand, and study Azeroth, to learn what the lessons of the past might offer for our present & future, and to learn how to protect our collective home from any harm that might come its way, no matter its origin, and ultimately - to bring peace and harmony wherever we may tread.
As Vulpera, we have persevered for many generations in our homeland – our resourcefulness and cleverness, along with our curious & social nature, has assisted us in our acts of self-preservation. Now that our kind has adapted to & embraced the wide world of Azeroth, stretching past our homely dunes, we are able and capable – more than ever before – of weaving our own path of meaning, and of understanding what and who we can truly be.
Hope is the highest strength and blossoms from our unity - and it is through that we will show the world what the strength of teamwork, optimism, and enthusiasm can achieve.
This is the Meridian Edict – the ambition of the Vulpera and their newfound allies & friends from across the wide world, who wish to make a positive difference in their shared home they call Azeroth, both alongside their kin and the world’s many denizens – and not dissimilarly to the spirit of a Caravan – to travel together, to help each other as family, and to decipher the mysteries & cultures that have been swept under the vagaries of time. From whichever corner of the world you are, all are welcome, whether fellow kin or other like-minded curious fellows!
Together, we can foster peace, harmony, and a haven for all curious minds who yearn for the opportunity to travel, research, and help those in need, be it through skill of combat, crafting, healing, or research.
Warm sands, greetings, and hello to all reading this post!
I am the founder of the Meridian Edict, a dear project of mine about which I am here to talk with you! Along with being a RP guild with heavy roots in Voldunai philosophy - so basically a Vulpera guild which is willing to take others in - it is also our major goal to forge a community and a true safe space for everyone who shares a liking for our theme and energy, wishes to join us in adventures and trades across Azeroth, and is also looking for a sincerely welcoming and positive place! So, let’s get into details…
So, what is the Meridian Edict?
We are a Vulperan academic research & exploration guild, our principal goal being to document, understand, and catalogue the vast and manifold mysteries and cultures of the world. The guild, though not a Caravan per se & more of an extension of the idea, nevertheless embodies and promotes their values and principles - kinship, harmony, mutual support, resourcefulness, and good times! We are accepting of all races and are faction-neutral - we are believers of peace and universal cooperation; in order for meaningful progress to be made, we must work not as part of our factions that have historically bound us, but with authenticity to our values and principles
In effect, I am hoping to create a guild for well-curated and qualitative Vulpera roleplay which is also suitable for non-Vulpera, if they decide they like us! - what we value most is how one thinks of the world around them!
Much as the meridian line traverses the globe from north to south, so do we wish to traverse Azeroth across its entire span - region by region, island by island, continent by continent - we wish to preserve culture, protect and assist those in need, and contribute to making the world a better place with each step we take in it.
Our goal, IC and OOC, is to form a truly inclusive, long-term community that rekindles and promotes the positive aspects of RP; we wish to create a welcoming, friendly, cosy, and fun space, one in which everyone is included and in which everyone gets to have a say in our direction - for it is together with you that we can achieve the vision that we have! The guild is mainly and predominantly focused on RP, though it is also in my sincere interest to create a vibrant and lively space in the true spirit of a community, as opposed to a hierarchy or to a system where the members are expected to follow the instructions of the officers at all times. I want to encourage for things such as our guild campaigns to be worked on by everyone, where the contents and the events are tailored for each person and where each person’s thoughts, actions, and opinions, are counted in when it comes to steering the outcome and direction thereof!
Our principal themes when it comes to RP are themes of exploration, philosophy, artefact research & preservation, diplomacy, and intrigue.
In less formal terms, we aspire to be a place where the vibe is all about friends who hang out and get up to fun things - and most definitely not a place where it feels like one simply follows instructions from officers & is part of a rigid system.
In summary…
The Meridian Edict is a Vulpera guild that is oriented around exploration and cultural research & the safekeeping and preservation of relics and endangered cultures alike. We are also accepting of anyone who shares in our ideals.
We are striving to be more than a guild - namely, to be a community of friends and to adhere to a spirit of harmony and cosiness as opposed to that of authority and hierarchy.
Now! A few other important details…
We are also branched out in trading, and our mercantile branch is called 
The Solstice Bazaar .
The Solstice Bazaar is a weekly activity we have, where we travel throughout various key hubs to sell artisanal goods, chat with people, and even provide medical or academic assistance where we can! We travel to Dalaran for the market night, twice a month; in the beginning of the month, we are in Booty Bay for the market night, and the fourth Bazaar night is often a bit of a wildcard, to season things up a little!
As of currently, our members can specialise into either Pathfinders and/or Artisans, depending on each character’s goals! As Pathfinders, the characters are signed up for the main adventures we would go on – for now, this includes any speciality pertaining to adventure, including scholarly and combat-oriented; as Artisans, the characters are registered with the Solstice Bazaar (and, of course, with the Edict!), as either or both crafters and vendors of the goods we or they make. We will happily feature Artisans on our shop page if they have wares of their own!
Also, note that a character can be both an Artisan and a Pathfinder, that is totally fine!
If you got this far in reading, thank you for taking the time to do so! I will now post a FAQ that will hopefully serve to answer any additional questions you might have! And if you happen to have more questions, please do reach out to us!
FAQ Time!
What level of experience do I need?
Any level of experience is okay! We are ourselves experienced roleplayers and our guild is friendly to beginners & we’ll make sure to help you out if you’re just starting out with RP. The right attitude, to us, matters far more than the level of expertise with RP.
Are there any exceptions for accepted races?
The only exceptions are particularly powerful & exotic non-playable races (such as Dragons (but not Dracthyr, they are also accepted, of course!), Liches, Elementals, and so on). Even though we have strong Vulpera themes, we accept any races willing to work with us on our shared goals.
What about classes such as Demon Hunters or Death Knights? Can they join?
Yes, but it might be a little trickier. What matters a lot to us is -how- a character uses their power. If they use it to alleviate suffering, to do good in the world or in otherwise-positive & constructive ways, then there may be a place for them, too. The only exception would be particularly powerful characters, due to balancing reasons. Unfortunately, however, the very design of these classes as per lore could make it more challenging for them to join the Edict (for instance, Death Knights having a constant need to inflict suffering around them). But, nuance is important, and we will consider everyone fairly at all times.
What do you NOT accept?
We do not accept particularly powerful & exotic characters, evil-aligned characters, sexualised/ERP-driven characters, characters who are ICly homophobic, racist, or particularly hateful or discriminatory towards other races for any reason.
We also do not and will never accept anyone who OOCly subscribes to hateful ideas and beliefs. The guild has many members of the LGBTQ+ community for example - amongst other subcultures - and therefore we can never accept those who subscribe to harmful or counterproductive beliefs. People who, for example, make fun of pronouns (by having joke pronouns or insulting pronoun preference in general), or play racist, misogynist, or homophobic characters, will never be tolerated in our community.
From a character design perspective, we -do- allow creative liberties, so a degree of lore-bending (to mean, something which may be, for example, a more creative/unique design that can nonetheless be explained with the existing lore) is generally acceptable, but lore-breaking is definitely not.
Can loyalists to the factions join the guild?
Unfortunately, no, as we are a neutral guild and we therefore cannot accept members who are staunch supporters of either the Alliance or the Horde.
How is activity planned?
We generally have two events per week, along with any other social RP that might happen in between (and also seasonal activities)! The two events we will always have listed are: One adventure/plot event on (most of the time) Saturdays, one Solstice Bazaar event (which are always two Tuesdays and a Wednesday, with a wildcard for the fourth event). We also allow other members to host activity & events, just message us first and we can plan from there!
What kinds of themes can I expect?
Our themes essentially revolve around mystery, intrigue, research, and of course, exploration! We will travel a lot through Azeroth’s corners, be it to retrieve a lost artefact from the hands of malicious users, document a small uncharted island, or establish a new connection with some locals! Anything goes, in the spirit of a travelling group of adventurers, and the nature of a plot or campaign will ideally be decided likewise through feedback from our members about their preferences and wishes.
Ultimately, a major goal of this is also to facilitate interpersonal & individual character development – as would naturally happen in a team!
Does the guild have an IC headquarters?
We do! We use a small settlement in Val’sharah, ICly called Elanaar, as our more permanent quarters to serve as a meeting & resting point in between expeditions.
Do you have any specific time investment requirements?
We do not, everyone has lives and things to attend to, after all! What I ask, however, is that if you do decide to join the guild, it is because you do wish to try be part of the community with us!
What system are you using for things like combat and so on?
We are currently using a mainly-freestyle combat system, as we want to reward creative freedom when it comes to the actions players take during events. We do feature a dice-rolling system which is used for things such as perception checks, skill checks or (mis)fortune rolls, where applicable. The roll system is also sometimes used for other miscellaneous purposes.
We also make very extensive use of the TRP3:Extended system, and it is generally required that you have it installed alongside TRP3.
Our Rules of Conduct
We wish to be a safe, friendly, and welcoming haven for everyone who joins, and thus we ask only for common sense and congruence with our vision and theme from our members.
We do not and will never tolerate racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, or any other forms of discrimination on the basis of our nature. This means that we will never accept anyone in the guild who, for example, does things such as being insulting or degrading towards the LGBTQ+ community, towards minorities, subcultures, and generally being a hateful person. Most of the members of the Edict OOCly are themselves part of these communities, myself included, and therefore this is exclusively not tolerable.
We also will not tolerate OOC drama & we expect everyone to be mature and common-sensed whenever disagreements occur, and ultimately for all of us to work together towards our goals, IC and OOC. IC drama is perfectly fine, of course, so long as OOC and IC are kept separate and everyone is OOCly having fun!
If you are interested…
…then feel free to contact us for recruitment or any other questions, or ask us directly here on the thread, and we will respond as soon as we can!
We can be contacted on:
BattleNet: GM - Ken#23262, Officers - Kariota#2481, LuckyGriffin#2932
Discord: GM - kennec_, Officers - kariota, luckygriffin
Directly in-game at: (Horde) Raphai, Korrei, Fenji, Voirang, Isthareth, Dharrach, Ksar, Vilinyar; (Alliance) Daerron, Takado, Rhaethas, Goldfrost, Upyr.
Our Solstice Bazaar website can be found here! https://sites.google.com/view/solsticebazaar/home
Our Solstice Bazaar forum post can be found here!
Our IC advertisement, which can be found on noticeboards in major cities and hubs can be found here! Feel free to have your character come into possession of it.
https://i.imgur.com/XOmkEyb.png
