Khefs, if you don't know, is the Almeddan ranking system. A new member to the guild starts out with no rank, just like an army in real life, and they have the opportunity to gain rank by proving themselves to their superiors. Unlike real life, the challenges rarely involve getting shot or blowing up missile silos.
I use the "Member's List" thread to record Khef advancement. You'll notice on the thread that some people have asterisks next to their names. These asterisks- or Khefs- literally translate into their power in the guild. You can gain up to ten Khef ranks, and all the while your power will increase.
Each House technically has three khef ranks, but only two are important. The first khef is automatically granted when you join the House and we'll no longer even concern ourselves with it. The important Khefs are the Second and Final Khefs. After obtaining your second and final khef in your House, you're ready to move on to the next one.
Now that the basics are out of the way, let's do a simple chart that'll be easier to read (and remember) then paragraph form smile We're going to exclude the first khef of each House, because like I said it's unimportant for rank.
Khef ranks:
First - No privileges
Second - Allowed to join another of the four Houses remaining
Third - No privileges
Fourth - Can become House Lord of only one of the two Houses completed and allowed to join another of the three Houses remaining. By becoming a House Lord, this person may now grant khefs (explained below)
Fifth - No special privileges
Sixth - Can select people for pruning (also explained below) and can join another of the two Houses remaining
Seventh - No special privileges
Eighth - Can become a House Lord of yet another House and can join the final House. Can also demote (explained below)
Ninth - No special privileges
Tenth - Can become a leader of Almedda! Once you get to this point, you'll answer only to me! You'll also be able to grant khefs to any members of all six guilds and maintain all rights gained in previous khefs
Hopefully this makes some sense. If you're still with me, there's just a couple more things you may want to understand.
Granting Khefs
Granting Khefs is a simple, but the rules should be followed. First and foremost, never break the Terms of Service on GaiaOnline when granting a Khef. Also, you shouldn't use the granted Khef to directly profit from someone's items or gold. You can use people to bump threads, do something in towns, or thousands of other inventive things which may help you out, though!
If you have the right to grant a Khef in your House (meaning you've become a House Lord), you can now start a thread with a specific task or simply wait for someone to come to you. You should NOT just hand over a khef!!! The point of having this power is to use it, and provide a challenge for the person who wants to obtain ranking. If they don't want to do your challenge, they can simply go to the next person offering to reward a Khef.
Khef ranks are an important thing here in the Army, and giving them out should be done wisely. Remember that by giving a khef to someone, you're also giving them a portion of the same power.
That's pretty much it!
Pruning
Pruning can only be done by someone who has obtained their Sixth rank. When separate Houses become filled with inactive members, it sometimes negatively affects the House as a whole, especially when it comes to contests. For this reason, people with the privilege to prune can send me a message asking to remove someone from their House. As long as that person hasn't obtained any rank in that House, they will be forced to return to the main guild and find another House to join.
If you've been 'pruned', don't feel bad. Just work harder in your next House, and you'll eventually be able to return to the House you got removed from.
Note: This power absolutely shouldn't be abused. For this reason, I'll do most of the actual pruning.
Getting Demoted
What? Getting demoted?! Doesn't that mean..
That's right! You can loose rank in the Army. If you intentionally break the rules somehow, or abuse your rights in extreme ways, you'll get what's coming. Demoting can only be done by those with their Eighth rank. And don't forget, even if you have the power to demote someone, there's probably someone who has the power to demote you, so don't abuse your rights! eek
Man, that was a TON of typing. I can't think of many more ways to explain the army dynamics. Hopefully, you should now know exactly what to expect when climbing in rank.
