Category:Chapters

The nucleus of the game.

Definition

A group of Amtgardians that play in the same location at least twice per month, at a regularly scheduled day and time, and hold a Contract. Also referred to as a Park, land, or group.

Chapters are given designations based on attendance. Most kingdoms count the number of unique individuals that attend in a given month, while others average number of people who play each week. Chapters can go up and down in status every six months.

Each chapter has its own officers, who are responsible for running all aspects of Amtgard play.

How to start your own

Well, first you'll need a name. Avoid things like 'Crimson', 'Raven's', 'Mystic' and 'Blood'. they are very common and you might duplicate a chapter who is already in existence. For instance there were once two parks called 'Rogue's Haven' one in California and one in Texas. The same is true with 'Dark Water' they eventually had a Darkwater East and a Darkwater West

You'll need a contract. This is an agreement you make with the Burning Lands (BL) Board of Directors to follow amtgard's rules of play, etc. Follow this link to the BL pages on the Contract.

You'll need to sign up with the ORK; the Online Record Keeper. It also doubles as the Amtgard Atlas. Once you have a chapter started, you sign in to the ORK here. This is the standard place to keep track of credits.

Once you have all that set up you should get yourselves some heraldry, a symbol that represents your park. Find some examples here

Here is some advice for starting your own chapter from Kuma the Painted and GoldCrest.

Chapter designations

• Shire 0 - 5 players required, depending on kingdom
• Barony 15 - 20 players required, depending on kingdom
• County 21-30 players required; only used in the Golden Plains
• Duchy 30 -40 players required, depending on kingdom
• Principality/Grand Duchy 60 - 75 players required, depending on kingdom, some require subgroups.
• Kingdom-75+ players required. As well as several other factors, see the 'Kingdom Page' for details.

Please be aware that you can only advance in designation if you are sponsored by a kingdom, and with the blessing and consent of your Kingdom Monarch. Each kingdom has different requirements for advancement, check with your local for more information. DS requires smaller numbers for example, while IM wants "unique names per month". There's been some recent noise on E-sam to standardize chapter sizes to match the recent awards standardization.

Multiple chapters are joined together to form a Kingdom. You can only be created as a kingdom if you are approved by moth your supporting kingdom and the Circle of Monarchs. There are other requirements as well please check the Kingdom page for more information.

If you would like to read up on how to start your own park check out this article on the in their own words pages, Starting your own Park.

Links

• Beginner's Guide to Amtgard
• Starting a Park by Raven the Muse
• Principles of Growth: From Shire, To Duchy, To Principality by Celdic Fitz Caliston
• Tips for Building a Better Amtgard Park by Matthias O'Lachon
• Keep 'Em Coming Back for More… by SAM Nemoralis (formerly SAM Greystorm)
• Things You Need to Know When Starting a Group by Squeak! Sai Yuk
• How to get along with your parent kingdom by Francis of Ravensholm
• Sublands? by Aramis
• Upkeep of A Land by Arminius
• Shire Troubles and Learning to Let Go by Shalingh
• Building and Evolving Larger Group Awareness and Identity by Dame Sindari Elfstone

[01/13/2010] [Sindari]

This is the head of the chapter grouping. Listed below are various ways to find the errant chapter you seek, chose which ever best suits your purpose.