How to Become a Hawk

Rules Up-dated by Vote of Council March, 2009

The "Guest"

When a visitor to our site finally shares his MSN, gets the game working and joins Hawks on the field, he becomes an official Hawks' "Guest". He is fully functional as a playing person and is our "Guest" on the field. This is different from a "Visitor" who only posts at the Forum or stays in a purely social relation to the club.

Naturalization

Once the Guest has finally taken the field with a Hawk, whether it be a small 1 vs 1 or in an epic battle, the period of "Naturalization" has started. This period starts without any action on behalf of the Guest other than fighting in his first battle."Naturalization" is a period of time that our Guest will be learning many things, including how to play the game, how to keep up on maps, join or host a room, and most importantly, our battlefield ethic. There are many nuances to playing and joining Hawks battles not least of which involves conduct on the field and MSN.It is also during this two month Naturalization period that Hawks will be observing and forming opinions of the Guest as to Character and Conduct. This will be important for potential membership. A Guest may NOT become a Member before this time has elapsed.

Intent to Join

At any time after becoming a Guest, a player may announce Intent to Join to the Hawks Leader letting him know of his wish to be listed on the Roster at some time in the future. The Guest may even wait until long after the required Naturalization period has elapsed. It is completely up to him as he may just as well choose to never express such Intent to Join and remain a Guest indefinetaly. However, Intent to Join is only recognized once a player has become an official Guest (is playing either EW, HDN or both).

The Vote

If a Guest has announced his Intent to Join, and the necessary time of Naturalization has passed, his name goes before the Council for a Vote. It is in the Secret Chambers of the Hawks Council where the presiding members of the Council of Seven, the Marshalls and Leadership will first Debate the Guest.They will consider his conduct on the field, whether they think he will be an active member, how often he has played, whether he joins Campaign Weekends, understands how to load maps, participates at the Forum and many other aspects of being a good Hawk. It is during this Debate time that any members not familiar with the Guest will learn from others who have had personal experience.At this time, the Guest will be informed that he is being considered, and will be asked to answer a few questions like what his game name will be, what he hopes to get from and contribute to the club, etcAfter Debate, the Candidate will go up for the Vote. He will receive Endorsement or not, and will be informed as to the outcome.

The Challenge Battle

If the Guest passes muster, he earns the Right to Challenge. This means that once he wins a Challenge Battle against any Hawk, in the Hawks Game of his choice (currently EW or HDN), on the field and side of his choice, he will become a full fledged member of the club. His name and national flag shall be added to the Roster. He may fight as many Challenge Battles as he needs against as many different Hawks as necessary to attain his Victory.At this point, a Welcome Letter will be sent and the Guest may add [HWK] to his name and call himself one of the elite masters of the field, the Hawks.

NOTE: This procedure is in place for a reason. Nothing is more annoying to members of the group than the petty quarrelling, bickering, accusations of cheating, foul language and poor sportsmanship often seen displayed among "death-match" players at the server. The Hawks are historical gamers who enjoy the sheer spectacle and exhilaration of commanding huge armies in real-time epic conflagrations. We muse over our defeats while congratulating the winners on jobs well done. We take our victories lightly, knowing that our next battle may see crushing defeat. This process is in place to make sure we welcome only those Guests into our club who fit our collective ethic and ensure our club's integrity for as long as it is in existence.