Kingdom

What is it?

A Kingdom is only as strong as the character of its citizens.

The highest status an Amtgard Chapter (or chapters) can attain. The rules set forth by the Burning Lands for kingdom formation include a average of 75 people, in one or more parks.

Kingdom Styles

There are two basic styles of Kingdom Government; Floating Crown and Static Crown.

Rights of a Kingdom

Kingdoms can bestow any awards, including four Orders of Knighthood. Knighthood cannot be granted without authority from a Kingdom.

Kingdoms of Amtgard

There have been 16 kingdoms to date in the history of Amtgard below are those that remain active in the order they were founded.

• Burning Lands, the original, in El Paso, TX
• Emerald Hills centered around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area of TX
• Celestial Kingdom in central Texas including San Antonio and Austin
• Golden Plains in Amarillo, TX
• Iron Mountains in Denver, Colorado
• Goldenvale in Nashua, NH
• Dragonspine in Las Cruces, NM
• Wetlands in eastern Texas including Houston
• Neverwinter in Florida and southern Georgia
• Blackspire in Oregon, Washington State, and parts of Idaho
• Rising Winds in the midwest around Indianapolis, IN
• Crystal Groves in Hagerstown , MD
• Desert Winds in Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming

Defunct Kingdoms

• Valley of the Silver Rains(Kingdom Status 1995)(defunct 2005)
• Mystic Seas(Kingdom Status 1993)(defunct 2005)

See Kingdoms Formed to find the time line of Kingdom Formation.

Groups nearing Kingdom Status

• The Duchy of Western Gate (RW) Bid for Status 2009
• The Principality of Northern Lights (BS)

Also keep your eyes on

• The Principality of Westmarch (DS)
• The Principality of Winter's Edge (NW)
• The Principality of Rivermoor (IM)
• The Duchy of Wolvenfang (GV)
• The Duchy of Frostlands (RW)
• The Grand Duchy of Stormhaven (BS) Bid for Status 2009

How to become a Kingdom

1. - An aspiring group must declare their intent to apply for kingdom status at Clan, the year prior to the group being voted on.
2. - The aspiring group must have the written/stated support of their sponsoring kingdom's monarch.
3. - Every group that wishes to petition for kingdom status must have a valid contract with Amtgard Inc. This contract must be at least five years old at the time of the request for status change.
4. - A group must have seventy-five(75) unique/individual sign-ins per month, averaged over the year immediately prior to applying. The group must supply Amtgard Inc with copies of all the sign-ins over this time period as proof of their numbers. They may also be required to provide copies of character/player records to corroborate sign-ins.
5. - The group's intended kingdom seat must be at least one hundred and fifty miles from the nearest, neighboring kingdom's seat.
6. - The group must show proof of their NPO status and show that they have a current bank account.
7. - They must create a kingdom-level corpora which will be reviewed by Amtgard Inc for any discrepancies. This corpora must comply with the laws that govern the group's NPO status and must not violate the contract with Amtgard Inc, the Rules of Play, or any ratified agreements by the Circle of Monarchs.
8. - The group must sign an agreement with Amtgard Inc that states that they intend to abide by the contract with Amtgard Inc, the Rules of Play, and all ratified agreements by the Circle of Monarchs.
9. - Once all of the above are calculated and confirmed, Amtgard Inc will open discussions with the group to ensure they are prepared for what lays ahead. This is nothing more than a short orientation period that should not prevent a group from being handed over to the Circle of Monarchs for approval.
10. - After meeting all requirements, Amtgard Inc will confirm the group's eligibility to the Circle of Monarchs (providing them with copies of all paperwork, if requested) and will defer to their decision as to whether the group's status is raised to kingdom or not.

Principalities, etc.:

In recent times, there has been a surge toward the creation of multi-group entities such as Principalities, Grand Duchies, Confederacies, etc.

While this has led to smaller Amtgard groups operating as a Roving Crown Kingdom would, which inherently is not a bad thing, it has posed some difficulties when it comes to how a group would normally achieve kingdom status.

To combat these issues, Amtgard Inc has set guidelines for this transition. They are as follows:

1. - Every contracted Amtgard group is seen as an individual group regardless of its relationship to other groups.
2. - Multiple groups under a collaborative banner cannot simply add their numbers together to meet kingdom status numbers. The only way these groups can supplement their numbers is to travel between one another. One group must bear the burden of being the principal group with regards to numbers and record keeping.
3. - Ultimately, it will be the principal group that applies for kingdom status, its corpora defining the participation of the other groups once the status is reached.

Note

There is currently no provision for removing Kingdom Status, but there is a discussion about it on Esam

A word from players on the subject of Kingdom Status

Kurse

I've made it clear that I will accept Principalities, etc., for kingdom status as long as the provisions I've laid out are met. The specifics of this can be found here:

http://www.amtgardinc.com/blpages/kingdomstatus.html

We will not accept ten shires of ten members each, spread across the country attempting to become a kingdom. We will, however, accept a cohesive set of groups that have the willingness and determination to travel, support a single group, and operate loosely like a kingdom.

I personally don't care what a kingdom calls their groups, be it principality, grand duchy, etc, as long as the group abides by contract, the RoP, the CoM, and is working toward the betterment of Amtgard as a whole. I will gladly support any group that does so.

The only other qualification that is not listed on the referenced page is this: The group must have a representative come before the CoM the year before they come up for a vote for kingdom status. This is to give the CoM plenty of time to come to an educated decision.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be glad to answer them, either on the list or in private email.

For a listing of the kingdom heraldry check Kingdom Heraldry. See also the Heraldry page.

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The above link to the amtwiki pages for each of the Kingdoms. You can also use the Kingdom Websites page to go directly to the kingdom websites.