The Order’s History
Order of the Shield began as a paramilitary group comprised mostly of mercenaries and the occasional reformed criminal. The Order gained recognition from the Alliance during the invasion of Deathwing, but once his immediate threat had passed, the Order lost its sense of direction and began to fall into decline. Many of its greatest knights moved on; some of them disappeared altogether. However, a small yet tireless core remembered and honored the glory days and refused to give up.
The Order’s founder, Koontakintay, passed the mantle of leadership to his trusted lieutenant, Brigitte of Lordaeron, an envoy from the Argent Crusade. With the help of the dedicated few (and the stubborn mindset of a Crusader), she began to restructure things, and the Order received an official charter from Highlord Tirion Fordring which was then approved by King Varian Wrynn. This raised Order of the Shield to a fully-recognized knightly branch of the Argent Crusade, in service to the Alliance.
With the current situation in Azeroth, even the noble Argent Crusade was forced to note that there are things a neutral faction simply cannot accomplish. Order of the Shield sets aside the Crusade’s neutrality and forms a bridge between the Crusade and the Alliance, getting their hands dirty where the Crusaders cannot. This does occasionally lead to tensions between the Order and the Crusade, as many Argent Crusaders feel that the Order represents a dangerous departure from the Argent Crusade’s mission. Tirion Fordring assures the skeptics that the Order is necessary in changing times, keeping his own concerns to himself. However, he does keep a close watch on Brigitte… and should she stray from his directives, the Order could find itself under the wrath of the Highlord.
A dangerous world requires treading a dangerous path.
The Order’s Ranks
Starting from lowest to highest, the ranks of Order of the Shield are as follows:
Page – Pages are aspirants to the Order. In game terms, probationary members, including their alts.
Conscript – Conscripts have been signed into the Order for pure military force. In game terms, this is the alt rank for accepted members.
Pikeman – Pikemen have been fully inducted into the Order and are considered loyal and true soldiers. They may be assigned limited command over the Conscripts (their own alts). In game terms, Pikemen are fully accepted members. They may have one character at this rank and their others at Conscript. At the player’s discretion they may claim their Pikeman character to have command over their Conscript characters if it fits with their personal roleplaying concept.
Squire – Squires have been noted for their exceptional dedication to the Order, and may possibly be singled out for knighthood. In game terms, this is a rank for extremely active or helpful members.
Knight – In game terms, Knights are core raiders, core pvpers, or otherwise reliably involved in the Order’s endgame content.
Knight-Errant – In game terms, this is the officer alt rank.
Round Table – In game terms, these are core officers.
Bannerman – In game terms, these are the leaders’ alts, given their own rank so as to duplicate most of the abilities of the guild leaders.
Chancellor – In game terms, Chancellors are co-leaders of the guild. Responsibility is split pretty evenly, but fluctuates.
Grandmaster – In game terms, the official guildmaster.
More info coming soon…