I.  Eligibility for Registered Status

1. The Registered Merchants Caste of Gor follows Merchant Law as depicted in the ancient scrolls of the philosopher John Norman. A merchant who does not comply with Merchant Law is not eligible for registered status. A registered merchant who refuses to comply with Merchant Law shall be removed from the caste (Send log to the caste council for review).
2. All muns must be over the age of eighteen years. Any merchant character over the age of majority (17), may register with the caste using the application form provided on this site. The applicant must score 80% or better on the test (anyone scoring less must reapply and undergo further mentoring), and complete the mentoring process with a registered merchant mentor (the link to the mentor list goes here).
3. Children of merchant fathers may register prior to gaining majority by submitting the application for children. Said children shall not have voting rights within the caste nor shall they practice except under the tutelage of a parent or guardian. Upon majority, said children must complete the mentoring process before their registration numbers are issued (link to child's app here).
4. A common rule of role play is that three mun months equals one Gorean year.  Rapid Aging of a character is frowned upon by the RMCG.  No merchant whose character has undergone rapid aging shall be registered as a full member of the RMCG, but shall be registered as a child with non-voting status until the character attains the age of majority.  Proof of rapid aging shall be considered the testimony of a registered merchant who has interacted with the character accused of rapid aging and, thus, has IC knowledge of the character's approximate age.  This guideline only impacts eligibility for registration with the RMCG and shall apply despite the guidelines of an individual city whose laws only extend as far as its gates. (GORAS**)
5. Delete/restore characters shall not be eligible for registration; provided, however, that should a registered merchant have mun need to temporarily delete, his/her status shall be maintained provided that the caste is notified in advance and promptly upon return.
6. Dual registration is not allowed. Slavers, although a sub- caste of the merchants, should register with the slavers caste (provide link). No individual registered with another caste shall be allowed to register with the Merchants Caste.
7. Freed slaves may register provided they submit a copy of manumission documents with the application.
8. Referrals from one merchant to another may only be made to and between registered merchants.

II. The Merchant's Council

1. The Merchant’s Council shall consist of the first, second and third chairs elected to those positions and shall act as the executive council of the caste for all caste business. Any registered merchant may bring a matter before the council by written notification. The council may deliberate the issue based on the information provided, or, when needed, request the presence of the merchant (s) in question to provide further information.
The council has the right to name committees to delegate certain business matters; however, final decisions on all matters are the prerogative of the council.
2. Elections
 
A. Officers of the Caste
i.. First Chair -- responsible for the day to day business of the caste, keeping the caste informed through a bi-monthly newsletter.
ii.. Second Chair -- assumes the duties of first chair when he/she is unavailable; coordinates with the Lower Court Judge on matters submitted for deliberation; maintains the caste guidelines and revisions; oversees elections.
iii. Third Chair -- responsible for the application, mentoring and registration process, including notification to the scribe of additions to the web site.
iv. Lower Court Judge -- investigates and deliberates complaints against or by registered merchants.
v.  Scribe -- a non-elected position; the scribe is appointed by the Merchant Council and serves at the pleasure of said council; the Scribe shall be a registered Scribe; archives all applications for registration and updates the web site.
B. Eligibility
 
i.. Nominees must be registered with the caste for at least one mun year to hold elective office.*
ii.. An individual may hold a particular office for no more than two successive terms, but shall be eligible for any other office after two terms.
iii. No two companions, guardians/wards or members of a house may run for office at the same time.

* Amended by caste vote  4/1/07
C. Term of Office
Officers serve for 2 Gorean years (6 mun months)
D. Election Process
 
i.. Elections shall be held in the mun months of April and October.
ii.. Election Committee -- The Merchant Council shall appoint a committee of three registered merchants, not currently holding or seeking elective office, to serve for the current election process one month prior to elections; said committee actively seeks candidates, issues a call for nominations, determines if the nominees are eligible for office, obtains the consent of nominees, prepares and delivers ballots, counts the votes, and reports the results to the Merchant Council within 20 Ahns of close of election.
iii. Balloting -- All ballots shall be returned to the Screen Name ________aol.com and are due one hand (5 days) from the date and time of their mailing. The termination date shall be noted upon the ballot.
iv. The Merchant Council shall report the results to the caste within 1 day of receipt from the committee
E. Vacancies
Vacancies in any of the caste officer positions may, at the discretion of the Merchant Council, be filled by unanimous appointment by the Council. The merchant appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve out the remainder of the term of the officer whose position he/she was appointed to fill. In the event of the resignation, enslavement, removal or death of the first chair, the second chair shall assume the duties of first chair.

III. Meetings

1. Merchant Council Meetings may occur at anytime as agreed between the elected officers.
2. Caste-wide meetings shall occur at least once per term of the Merchant Council.

IV.  Deliberation Process

1. All complaints regarding a registered merchant shall be submitted in writing to the Lower Court Judge (logs included).
2. The Judge may request additional written information from any and all parties.
3. The Judge shall set a hearing date and time to take evidence.
4. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Judge shall either issue a decision or notify the parties that he/she shall issue a written decision within 20 Ahns.

V.  Sardar Fair

1. The Merchants Caste sponsors the Sardar Fairs up to four times per year (although the books indicate their were Fairs in each season, there is not always Gor-wide interest in doing them so often).
2. The date (s) shall be chosen by the Council.
3. Anyone interested in chairing the Fair should contact the Merchants Council two mun months prior to the proposed date.
4. The Council shall name a registered merchant to chair the Fair

VI.  Standards

1. Pricing of Commodities
Whenever possible, goods sold by registered merchants should be priced according to the Norman scrolls. Since the scrolls do not cover every possible item one might sell, merchants are urged to use reasonable judgment when setting prices, keeping in mind that the average Gorean earns less than one gold in a year. Prices vary during times of war and other turmoil within cities, and it is not dishonorable for a merchant to increase prices during such times because of the increased expense of obtaining his or her wares.
2. Weights & Measures
The Merchant’s Foot and Stone by which all cities calibrate their own such devices are kept in the Sardars and are available at each Sardar Fair. The individual cities’ normally keep their devices in the government facility and should be protected by the En’Merchant and city guards. A merchant’s personal devices shall be calibrated against the city devices.
3. Shaved Coins
The use of shaved or underweight coins by a registered merchant is forbidden and will result in expulsion from the caste.

VII.  Miscellaneous Provisions

1. Enslavement.
Any merchant who becomes enslaved forfeits all rights under Gorean Law and loses his/her status as a registered merchant.
2. No flaming of fellow merchants will be tolerated. If you have a dispute that cannot be satisfactorily resolved between yourselves, please submit a written complaint to the Second Chair but DO NOT use the caste mail string to air your grievances.
3. Deleting caste mail is frowned upon. Repeatedly doing so shall result in loss of registration.
4. Dice. Merchants are not warriors and if attacked or attacking shall role 2d20 regardless of gender. This section applies only to registered merchants
5.

Haggling is a fine art among merchants. If one is not comfortable with role playing such sales, a simple dice system may be used.
A customer rolls 1d5

1 = 10% discount
2 = 5% discount
3 = no discount
4 = 5% above quoted price
5 = 10% above quoted price

I. Requirements for Mentors

1. Mentors must be registered with the caste at least 2 Gorean years (6 months)
2. Mentors must exhibit a thorough knowledge of the monetary system of Gor and the information maintained on the caste web site by which we, as a caste, role play merchants. While there are other reference tools available, in order to standardize our caste as much as possible, we must rely on one source as the basis of our role play.
3. The Merchant Council shall interview (either in person or by email) all mentor volunteers to ensure they are adequately equipped to teach a new merchant.
4. If a mentor fails in his/her duties to an applicant without just cause, the mentor may be placed on probation after an investigation and hearing.
5.

A list of qualified mentors shall be maintained on the caste web site.
6. A list of mentors with specializations shall also be maintained on the caste web site.

II.  The Mentoring Process

1. The applicant chooses a mentor.
2. The applicant submits his/her application and test to the mentor.
3. The mentor reviews the application and, if there are errors, reviews those questions with the applicant. If the applicant has scored less than 80% on the test portion of the application, the mentor shall have the applicant re-apply
4. The mentor forwards the application to the Third Chair.
5.

The mentor then works with the applicant (either in role play or in writing; provided, however, that the third session must be in role play) on three specific areas of training, logs of which shall be provided to the Third Chair:

A. The coinage of Gor, its value, and pricing of goods.
B. The definition, expectations, sub castes of and interaction within the caste with emphasis on the applicant‘s areas of interest/expertise.
C. The interaction with and sale of goods to a customer which the mentor must observe.
6. Each session should be a learning process. If the mentor believes the applicant needs more work on a particular matter, another session on said matter should be completed and logged.

A longstanding basic rule of roleplay has been that the proper aging of one's character is 3 mun months equals one Gorean year. Realistically, if you age your character it affects not only your character but the characters of others your character would interact with, whether they are PC or NPC. While the Caste does not seek to police members on the aging of characters, if, during the pending period of registration, a complaint comes before the Chairs that a character has been rapidly aged from a registered member that has had interaction with your character, said rapidly aged character will be registered as a child, with a "C" after their registration number, with non-voting status until the age of majority is attained. This guideline, of course, impacts your standing only within the Gorwide Caste and has no impact on the guidelines of your individual City. If they wish to accept you as an adult, that is their business.

Guidelines submitted to the Council and accepted 1/23/2007
**GORAS [Gorean Rapid Aging Syndrome] voted in 9/03. Amended 1/26/07