The Sundered Guard was formed as an organization intent on playing the guild vs. guild combat-focused MMORPG known as Shadowbane. As the Guard was formed in the pre-release, or beta stage of the game, the foundation of the guild lies in the deep and meaningful connections that were established between its members through the forums and chats, as we were united by the unbridled hope of playing a new and too-good-to-be-true game together. When Shadowbane was finally released, many in the guild found it to be far different than they had hoped, and a number of good members left Shadowbane altogether. In the process, they were forced to depart the Guard as it continued on its life on Aerynth, and many good friends were lost.

As the Guard is a family above all, this was a blow that we never wanted to feel again.

The reborn incarnation of The Sundered Guard, as begun in October of 2003, is one of a Massively-Multiplayer Online Gaming Community unchained to any one game, and continuing with a strong focus on roleplaying the aspect of a Ranger's Brotherhood, as signified by the phrase, "Nature's Sword, the People's Shield".

As the list of MMOGs available to play grows more with each passing year, the chances that everyone in the guild will want to play the same game will drop. Rather than having family members with years of history together depart simply because of differences in gaming choices, they will be encouraged to generate interest within the guild to start a Chapter for their game of choice, allowing them to still adventure with their family members.

Even those that depart gaming entirely will still be able to maintain a sense of brotherhood with the Guard and remain active in its community if they so wish, through The Sundered Guard Proper.

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As a Chapter is the incarnation of The Sundered Guard within a specific game, it has to be more than just a couple of members loosely playing together. Indeed, there is a whole process for creating a Chapter.

When a full member (with a rank of Pathfinder or above) of The Sundered Guard Proper becomes interested in an MMOG, and wishes to generate interest for that game, they should make a request to the Elders that an 'Interest Forum' be created in the Aldarem.

A single message board will then be created in the Glades under the category, "Aldarem", and the person that made the request will be made the official 'Advocate' for that game (though having more than one Advocate for a single game is possible). They will be made the moderator for the game's interest forum, and it will be their responsibility to encourage interest within the Guard for the game.

A Chapter is created when five Pathfinders or above of TSG-Proper step forward and declare to the Elders that they will be the Stewards for the game. This signifies that those five members have become dedicated to the game the Chapter is intended for, and will work hard to make the Chapter operate successfully. It is not sufficient for the five members to be merely interested, such as saying they "may or not play". Dedication on the part of the Stewards is necessary. In this case, dedication can be considered to be "the near exclusive interest in one particular game and the desire to pursue that game with more energy than any other in the forseeable future." If a problem arrises in the interpretation of "dedication", the Elder Council will make a judgement.

At this time, the Chapter will become officially created: a new category will be opened on the forums, a section will be opened on the website, and documents explaining the new Chapter's goals will be written up.

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As written above, when the Chapter is created, it is initially under the responsibility of the five Stewards. However, the in-game leadership and administration of the Chapter is not necessarily the responsibility of the Stewards. In every Chapter, an Inner Council must be established to be the supreme leadership for the Sundered Guard in that game.

Whether the Inner Council for the Chapter is to be elected, appointed, or drawn from a hat, is decided by the full members of TSG-Proper that wish to participate in that Chapter. The structure and nomenclature of the IC, (such as how many members will be in the council, and what the council members' titles should be, etc.), is also decided by the Chapter's participants. The original TSG template for Inner Council structure and ranks is recommended for Chapters to use, and can be found here, but using it is not required.

Once the Inner Council is fully established, the Stewardship is dissolved.

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As a Chapter is a pillar of the whole Sundered Guard, a primary goal of every Chapter must be to maintain itself in the image of the Guard. A Chapter that ignores the Guard's focus on community, honor, code and fun, is considered rogue and will be dealt with accordingly. For most people that play a game, the Chapter will be the only interaction they have with the Guard, and so it is the responsibility of that Chapter to ensure that their image is fully in-line with that of The Sundered Guard Proper.

That being said, the specific in-game goals of a Chapter are left up to that Chapter's council and membership to decide.

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While The Sundered Guard is a Ranger's Brotherhood, that term may mean nothing in a game where there are no such things as Rangers, or in a game where the idea of what makes up a Ranger is greatly skewed. To us, "Ranger's Brotherhood" means more than a group of nature lovers. It means a family of those who believe in the role of a protector. What we protect can change from game to game. Though no matter what role a Chapter may take, "Nature's Sword, the People's Shield" should always embody, as closely as possible, the mentality of the Chapter. A Chapter can decide its own culture to follow, with some restrictions. For example, a Chapter choosing to play as a contingent of rebel Space Marines is fine, while it is prohibited for a Chapter to undertake the role of an undead cult, or any other naturally destructive entity. The Sundered Guard is fundamentally a "good" guild, and this cannot change.

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A Chapter's rules on membership are left up to the Inner Council of the Chapter to decide. Such rules may include:
Whether or not certain classes or races should be denied membership;
Whether or not petitioners should be required to post on the forums before allowed membership;
How long a person should wait before becoming a full member;
How restrictive membership is in terms of maturity;
Whether or not the Chapter will recruit openly.

While such choices are left up to the Chapter's Inner Council to decide, it is recommended that the choices made will be similar to those made in the The Sundered Guard's past. While a Chapter can mass recruit, if it wants to, and allow anyone and everyone to join and instantly be granted full membership, such an action will likely draw a great many people that break the rules that The Sundered Guard employs, regardless of Chapter. If such a thing were to occur, the Elder Council of the Guard would get involved in the Chapter's doings, and measures would have to be taken to ensure such a thing would not occur again.

Furthermore, if a group of immature members of a Chapter were to deface the forums in any way (outrageous cursing, insults, spam, etc.), those members, and the Chapter leadership, would be reprimanded and punitive action may result.

The Sundered Guard is a mature, respectful community. If a Chapter chooses to grant membership to people that do not fit this description, it had best make certain that those members do not negatively impact the reputation of the guild at-large.

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The Sundered Guard Proper employs the use of a ranking nomenclature originally found in Shadowbane. Traditionally, a "Yeoman" is considered to be a person who has petitioned to join the Guard, and is awaiting full membership. "Pathfinder" is the title of a full member. "Tracker" is the title of an exemplary member. "Seeker" is either the title of an exemplary member, or the third-tier of leadership, being second to "Protector". "Protector" is the title of a principle leader. "Lord/Lady Protector", or "Guardian", is the title of the first-tier of leadership.

The choice for what names a Chapter uses for ranks, and how many ranks exist, is up to the Chapter's Inner Council, with some limitations.

While a Chapter may choose its own rank nomenclature, the forums will not reflect this. No matter what rank titles a Chapter chooses to employ ingame, for in-chapter use, the standard TSG ranks will be used whenever the Chapter members interact with the rest of the guild, including on the forums. The reason for this is simplicity. The forums cannot realistically handle over a hundred different rank titles, nor can the guild's members keep track of what each title means. So while, for example, the Shadowbane Chapter may name its petitioners "bunnies", those people will still be known as "Yeomen" on the forums and to the rest of the guild.

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The leadership of a Chapter is the responsibility of the Chapter's Inner Council and the Chapter Leader. When the Chapter is first established, it is up to the full TSG-Proper members that wish to participate in the Chapter to decide how leadership is to be structured. Such decisions may include how many members should be on the Inner Council; whether all members of the Inner Council should have the same voting power; and whether the general membership of the Chapter should have voting power.

Regardless of what decisions are made, some rules will apply. The most important rule is this: A majority of a Chapter's leadership MUST be full TSG Pathfinders - as in, full members of The Sundered Guard Proper. As a Chapter is merely the extension of The Guard, it must be led by full members of the Guard, who are familiar with and participate in the full community.

Exceptions to this rule are possible. Such exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis requiring the issue to be brought up in the Hollow, and discussed by the general membership. Ultimate judgement on the matter is decided either by the Elder Council or a two-thirds majority vote by TSG Proper Pathfinders.

Failure to follow this rule will result in the involvement of the Elder Council. If this rule is repeatedly broken, the Chapter may be disbanded. If it happens that the Chapter becomes led by a majority of non-TSG Pathfinders, or there exists no significant presence of TSG Pathfinders in the Chapter, it may be disbanded.

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The Elder Council has the power to dissolve a Chapter, as does the full membership of The Sundered Guard Proper through a vote. If a Chapter is forcefully dissolved, its forum section will be locked or erased, its website section will be closed, and the guild will officially deny the continued existence of the Chapter. If the former chapter members wish to continue to use the name The Sundered Guard as their guild's name, they will do so with the understanding that they are using the name, originally established by Voronwe Eldalom in 2001, without permission. The name is trademarked (though not registered), and the artwork and literature is copyrighted through legitimate use.

A Chapter can be dissolved for the following reasons:
There are no TSG Proper members participating in the Chapter (making the Chapter a separate guild on its own).
Non-full members of TSG Proper hold the leadership of the Chapter, and such leaders refuse to give up leadership.
The Chapter declares that it is breaking off from The Sundered Guard.
The Chapter becomes overrun with a malignant and immature membership, and the reputation of The Sundered Guard is being severely tarnished by the Chapter's existence.
The Chapter takes up an "evil" role, such as an undead cult, and refuses to change.
The Chapter disbands itself ingame.

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