The Articles of the Foundation of the Order of the Templar of Steel, or simply the Articles of Foundation, are the set of laws, conduct, and ways of order of the Templar. The entire paper is many hundreds of pages long, and becomes quite tedious to read. So on this site, only important exerts are included.
The Articles of Foundation are separated into Branches. Each Branch is then separated into clauses. Clauses are rules and laws related to their Branch. Their are many clauses within each Branch, but not all are listed. The exception to everything listed above is Branch I, The Statement of Goals for the Templar of Steel. That Branch is simply a statement of the Templar's Mission Goals. Here are the Branches of the Articles of Foundation.
Here are the exerts of the Articles of Foundation that new members, veteran members, possible members, and even people who interact with the Templar, should know.
May He-Who-Is-Three-Faced bless this article, and the articles to follow. On the first full moon of the third month, all Templar have agreed on the principles and goals of the recreated Templar of Steel. The Templar are to be based on three great principles; Honor, Courage, and Discipline. Also to be followed are the rulings of the Circle of Templar, the Council of Sages, and the great God Ionness. The Templar are to be honorable and trustworthy whenever able, but merciless in battle. The honorable phrase 'Kill when needed, and only when needed' shall be used to justify the ruthless slaying in the name of righteousness. The Templar shall be up for hire as a militia, and may take payment, but will refrain from fighting for, no matter the pay to be gained, and no matter the financial situation, a cause deemed unrighteous by the Circle of Templar or the Council of Sages. These principles shall not be the only rules governing the morale of the Templar of Steel, nor should the Branch for the Bylaws of Order and Conduct. They are to be taken as guidelines and examples for the Circle of Templar and the Council of Sages to further form morals and ethics.
This article is held secret for reasons of the obvious.
Clause A : The ranks of the Council of Sages shall be as follows: one Sage Overlord, two Sage Warlords, and two Sage Diplomats.
Clause A : The ranks of the Order of Knights shall include Sergeant, Knight, Informant, and Private.
Clause A : All members of the Templar of Steel shall respect the laws of the Guild and the laws of the governing body in which they are in as equal, important, and something not to be broken.
Clause A : On the first full moon of the third month, Founding Day shall be observed to commemorate the origin of the Templar of Steel.
Clause B : The main purpose of the Council of Sages shall be to find allies, recruit knights, lead troops, keep strong relations with allies, and to enforce laws.
Clause D : The motto of the Council of Sages shall be 'Friends in peace; Enemies in war.'
Clause G : The Council of Sages shall head any court to determine the guiltiness, or lack of, any members of the Templar of Steel, as well as determine punishments.
Clause J : The goal of the Sage Warlord shall include, but not be limited to, lead troops if possible, to determine tactics for battles and wars, and to give militaristic advice to the Sage Overlord and the Circle of Templar.
Clause K : The goal of the Sage Diplomats shall include, but not be limited to, find and make allies, keep allies happy, make and enforce peace, and to give diplomatic advice to the Sage Overlord and the Circle of Templar.
Clause L : The goal of the Sage Overlords shall include, but not be limited to, to take advice from Sage Diplomats and Warlords, give advice to the Circle of Templar, and lead troops if he would like.
Clause O : In any votes for new laws, interpreting this Article, changing laws, and the like, all Sages shall be in attendance. Everyone has 1 vote.
Clause P : Sages must meet once a month in the Guild Hall in Zerdargia, or wherever the Guild Hall be located.
Clause Q : All Sages shall be assembled to form a Tribunal of Sages to determine the guiltiness, or lack of, for any member of the Templar of Steel, as well as a punishment of needed. Like any other voting procedure, Warlords and Diplomats have 1 vote, while the Overlord shall have 2 votes.
Clause R : Sages are to consider themselves equal.
Clause S :Sages must consider any and all advice that is given to them.
Clause C : The goals of the Order of Knights shall include guarding key guild locations, doing the bidding of the Sages and Templar, and protecting the innocents.
Clause E : The motto of the Order of Knights shall be "Anyone can give orders, but we have the ability to make it be."
Clause F : The goal of the Sergeants is to lead men into battle, make orders given to them by Sages and Templar happen on the front lines, and to set an example of bravery and skill to the Knights. Also, when a Sage Warlord in unavailable, a Sergeant shall be given command of the all troops the Sage would lead.
Clause G : The goal of the Knights will be to serve Sergeants, Sages, and Templar, to complete any and all missions assigned, and to aid helpless people when possible.
Clause H : The goal of the Informants is to gather information. The are considered Knights, but have different goals. Their goals are to gather information about enemies, plans, and the like.
Clause G : The goal of the Privates are to survive training. Until they are Knights, the serve no Sage or Templar
Clause J : One half of all Sergeants must meet once every two months at any place that will assure absolute privacy. They shall make recommendations to Sages at these meetings.
Clause K : All Knights, Sergeants, and Privates are not equal. The weakest Knight is better than the best Private, while the weakest Sergeant is better than the strongest Knight. If one Knight has more experience than another, and is a better fighter, he is considered better. This will be known, but nothing important is to come of the fact that you may be better than someone.
Clause B : The common logic of all members shall be used as a guideline when laws of governing bodies are in doubt.
Clause D : In the event that a member of the Guild shall commit a crime on foreign soil, he shall be punished by the Tribunal of Sages. The offender shall not be punished by the foreign power, but the foreign power is entitled to send one witness to watch the Tribunal to assure themselves that the member shall be punished. If the offender will not be given back, then force will be used to reclaim this member, and the Tribunal shall proceed as normal, with the exception that the foreign body will not be entitled to send a witness.
Clause G :The punishment of any member who breaks the laws of the Templar of Steel or a foreign body shall be punished as the Tribunal of Sages sees fit.
Clause B : As of the date this article came into being, the cost of joining the Templar of Steal is 200 Allerian Crowns. This number may be changed due to inflation.
Clause D : Any member of the Templar of Steel must give a Sage a hand written letter of resignation. If one is not received, than that person is still considered a member, and may be put on trial by the Tribunal of Sages for not responding to orders, ect.
Clause H : When a member of the Templar of Steel is a Private, he gets his training. When he is a Knight, he gains his uniform.
Clause K : When you are promoted, you must give the helm back for a new helm.
Clause L : When you quit the guild, you must return your uniform.