The Company

[Bloodrose]

The Company

Description
The Company is a freeform association of mercenaries and agents, much like a casual guild, without political, spiritual, or national affiliation. The politics and outside actions of its members are their own, and Company agents are free to associate with whomever they choose. The only limitations the Company places on its members is that they not do or say anything that would harm the group or its growing reputation.

Anyone is free to join the guild at any time, and their direct level of involvement is up to them. The Company maintains a list of jobs designed to generate revenue and to advance the guild's agenda, and any member is free to volunteer for these assignments.

Membership

Company Leaders:
Teric Bloodrose
Rayse Valentino

Financial Officer:
The Company Treasury

Board of Directors:
(Elected Representatives of the Shareholders)
Director
Director
Director

Shareholders:
Name/Organization - (# of shares held)
Findelfin ap Fingolfin - 42 shares
Ashiakin Azzarak - 35 shares
Teric Bloodrose - 12 shares
Rayse Valentino - 12 shares
Godhand Striker - 11 shares
Dan Lagh'ratham - 10 shares
Melancor - 8 shares
Jame Whitizard-Kaosi - 4 shares
Kelsey Andrea Tesla - 4 shares
Selene Du' Vedevich - 2 shares
Woshington - 2 shares
Drag Harlan - 2 shares
Arkham - 2 shares
Karuka Eithne Tida - 1 share

Total Shares Outstanding: 147

Members:
Name
Dehkan
Justin Freebird
"Nienna Ar'fiel"


Admission
Post your intention to join the Company here in this thread. In your post, please include the following:

1) Character Name
2) Whether you are joining as a Shareholder or as a regular Member.
3) How many shares you wish to purchase.

(Those joinging as Member’s can omit the last item.)

While joining as a Member doesn't require you to pay any GP to join the Company, there are certain benefits to becoming a Shareholder. Shareholders are entitled to dividends generated by Company activity, giving them not only a source of income, but also a reason to see the guild succeed. The methods by which these dividends are determined can be found below.

Location
The Company currently has no centralized base of operations.

Missions:

Hostile Takeover
Compared to some of the older and more recognized organizations operating in and around Corone, the Company is just another uppity little gang trying to move in on other's established territories. Generally groups such as the Company can expect to face tough, and sometimes even outright hostile, oppositions in every market. With this reality in mind, the Company's leadership is looking to send a message, and that message is quite simple: "Don't mess with us." To send that message, the Company has set its sights on the Red Flag Syndicate, a surly group of lowlifes with a fancy name. They deal mostly with cross-continent arms trading, bringing in weapons from Alerar and distributing them throughout Corone.

The Company is looking for two or more agents to initiate a hostile takeover of the Red Flag's business. How this takeover is handled and dealt with is at the discretion of the agents, so long as the arms trading ring remains intact and loyal to the Company afterwards. The Syndicate leadership should be liquidated to avoid future complications.

Friends in High Places
No matter the organization, legal or otherwise, it's important to have powerful friends that you know you can trust. Generally these friends occupy high places of power in civic governments or other organizations, and can be counted on to pull strings if need be.

The Company is looking for one or more agents to meet with Radasanth's Deputy Mayor, Alfred Farnsworth. How the agents convince Alfred to look kindly on the Company is entirely up to them - whether is be through bribery, threats, or some other means - but the mission should not be considered a success until Alfred becomes sympathetic to the Company's needs.

[Bloodrose]

Shares are available to Player Characters ONLY, and may be purchased individually or in bulk. Each share costs 100GP and guarantees the holder 1 VOTE at general shareholder meetings. There is no cap on how many shares any one character may purchase.

Shares also entitle a PC to a dividend generated by Company profits. For more details on how the dividend system works, please see below.




Let's say the PG is awarded 2000 GP as a spoil for a clan thread. For starters a chunk, let's say 500 GP of that spoil, is deposited directly into the clan treasury. That leaves 1500 GP.

Next lets assume the "current" shareholder structure looks like this:

Shareholder A = 10 shares.
Shareholder B = 10 shares.
Shareholder C = 5 shares.
Shareholder D = 3 shares.
Shareholder E = 2 shares.
----------------------------
Total = 30 shares

Because each A and B control 33% of the shares, they would each recieve 33% of that 1500. C controls 16% of the shares, so 16% of that 1500 goes to him. D has 10 percent, and E 6%. So the dividend structure would look like this:

Shareholder A = 495 GP
Shareholder B = 495 GP
Shareholder C = 240 GP
Shareholder D = 150 GP
Shareholder E = 90 GP
----------------------------
Total = 1470 GP

You get a little bit of error due to dropping the decimal places in this example (using 33% instead of 33.333....etc%) so any error (in this case the missing 30 GP) would go into the treasury along with the 500 taken off the top.

EDIT: The same situation would apply pretty much any time the clan makes money outside of member donations or purchasing of shares. So whenever money comes in, the PG takes a chunk, and what's left is divided amongst the shareholders based on holdings.




Company Leader : This position is currently held by Company co-founders Teric Bloodrose and Rayse Valentino. They are tasked with managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, and is responsible for formulating a visionary direction for the organization to take. Leaders can only be replaced after stepping down or retiring.

Financial Officer : This position is held by the Company Treasury, and the Treasury is responsible for monitoring the funds available to the organization.

Board of Directors : The Board of Directors is elected by the shareholders to represent their interests. The Board will initially be elected at the first general shareholder meeting, and subsequent elections will be held on a case-by-case basis to fill vacancies. If the shareholders decide at any time that they are dissatisfied with the performance of a particular Director, then they may call a referendum vote to remove or replace one particular Director, or the entire Board.




From time to time the Company leadership will put forth a decision to the shareholders. The shareholders can then vote, with each share counting for 1 vote, to make a decision.




The Company leaders, currently Teric Bloodrose and Rayse Valentino, reserve the right to veto any decision made by a shareholder vote. The Company leadership will generally abide by shareholder decisions, or at least take them under consideration, and will only enact a veto should an urgent need arise.

Any veto will be accompanied by a written statement explaining why a decision was vetoed.


The Company is now accepting Members and interest from those wishing to become shareholders.

The treasury is located in the Gilded Vault subforum.

[Rayse Valentino]

Thor's PG seems to have never taken off the ground, so I was never a member of it. I am, however, a member of this one.

Join this PG if you like making money. Join this PG if you like being a mercenary or need certain jobs done by mercenaries. Join this PG if you don't like pointless conflict with emotions flaring up in your face and would prefer a little professionalism, civility, and an organization devoted to due diligence!

[Dehkan]

Name: Dehkan
Requesting to join as a regular member
Not currently a member of any PGs.

Do I qualify for a titled position, or just a peon? Or neither?

[Bloodrose]

Welcome Dehkan.

Right now you would just be considered a member, but hopefully as we get the ball rolling we'll be able to find a position for you.

EDIT: Also, at long last, The Company has it's own Treasury Record in the Gilded Vault.

The treasury can be found here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11308).

[Fairfield]

Does buying a share bind me as a member of the PG? Or can i just be an outside investor?

[Bloodrose]

The general idea is purchasing shares will give members of the PG a motivation to participate in ways that give them a return on their investment. Sort of like an employee-ownership program.

That said, you could still purchase a share and not actively participate in PG missions and such in the normal sense of a PG member.

I suppose you could interpret it either way you want to, depending on how you wanted to approach it.

If you have any further questions about it, or need more clarification, feel free to PM me.

[Godhand]

Explain the dividend system and we'll see.

[Bloodrose]

Excellent question.

Let's say the PG is awarded 2000 GP as a spoil for a clan thread. For starters a chunk, let's say 500 GP of that spoil, is deposited directly into the clan treasury. That leaves 1500 GP.

Next lets assume the "current" shareholder structure looks like this:

Shareholder A = 10 shares.
Shareholder B = 10 shares.
Shareholder C = 5 shares.
Shareholder D = 3 shares.
Shareholder E = 2 shares.
----------------------------
Total = 30 shares

Because each A and B control 33% of the shares, they would each recieve 33% of that 1500. C controls 16% of the shares, so 16% of that 1500 goes to him. D has 10 percent, and E 6%. So the dividend structure would look like this:

Shareholder A = 495 GP
Shareholder B = 495 GP
Shareholder C = 240 GP
Shareholder D = 150 GP
Shareholder E = 90 GP
----------------------------
Total = 1470 GP

You get a little bit of error due to dropping the decimal places in this example (using 33% instead of 33.333....etc%) so any error (in this case the missing 30 GP) would go into the treasury along with the 500 taken off the top.

EDIT: The same situation would apply pretty much any time the clan makes money outside of member donations or purchasing of shares. So whenever money comes in, the PG takes a chunk, and what's left is divided amongst the shareholders based on holdings.

[Godhand]

Any bonuses for getting in on the ground floor?

[Bloodrose]

Aside from the possibility of being a/the majority shareholder through the first couple of quests, probably not.

That's the problem with trying to get a PG up and off the ground, is that there's not much to work with until some interest gets generated and there are actually people to get things going with.

[Godhand]

How about a bonus share for, say, every three or four shares bought?

[Bloodrose]

Sort of like a 4 for the price of 3 kind of deal? Sounds kind of bargain store-esque, but hell, an idea is an idea.

ACT NOW ON THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER!!

The first 5 people to purchase 3 shares or more will receive a 4th share free! Buy 6 shares get 2 free! etc...

Special offer to Godhand, since it was his idea, buy now and get an extra share on top, free of charge!

Something like that?

Limit 5 free shares per customer.

[Godhand]

There's a reason people like bargain stores.

1) Godhand Striker
2) Shareholder.
3) I don't know if that Thor thing is still a PG.
4) The regular shares, I guess.
5) Well, why not? Eight shares bought with 800 gold. You figure out the bonus.

[Bloodrose]

8 + 2 on account of the deal + 1 extra for offering up the idea

That nets you a grand total of 11 shares.

I can't take your money, so if you want to post here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11308) that you are donating that 800 gold to the Company, I'll mark you in as holding those 11.

[Godhand]

There you go.

[Call me J]

1) Jame Whitizard-Kaosi
2) Shareholder.
3) Sine Nomine
4) Regular shares.
5) I'll take 4 for the price of three, please.

[Godhand]

Also, and not to tell you how to run your PG or try to get more power but it's just an idea: shouldn't anyone with, I don't no, say 20 or more shares get one IDM vote?

[Fairfield]

I'll take two shares please. Whether or not I participate in clan activities will be determined by the specific activity in question. Basically, consider me an outside shareholder, but if I am interested in a particular quest or such thing I'll hop on the roster. Donating my Gold now.

[Rayse Valentino]

Buying 9 shares, so I'm getting 3 for free.

[Bloodrose]

The roster on the first page has been updated to reflect the number of shares purchased by each person thus far.

Also, since Rayse and I don't just get shares for free (as you might have guessed from his purchase), I'll also take advantage on the deal to purchase 9 shares at 4-for-the-price-of-3.

As to your suggestion Godhand, that might be an issue better brought up at a shareholder vote, or at the first meeting of the board of directors (once we get enough interest to make voting one in plausible. That way the board or the shareholders themselves can decide if people with a certain number of shares or majority holders should wield an IDM vote.

We'll see.

EDIT: Charter Revision 1.02 has been made. No big changes really, just moved stuff around and included the Dividends system example to make it easier for people not reading through the whole thread to find.

[Bloodrose]

Double post, sue me.

I've added a Missions Board to the 1st post in this thread. Since we now have a couple outside investors and a little more interest than we originally had, I figured it was time to get some things underway.

Missions are open to both members and shareholders, and everyone and anyone is encouraged to participate. Ever if you only consider yourself an outside investor, what better way to help jumpstart your returns than to give a hand?

[Tera]

A fine Parchment letter sealed with fine blue wax that bears the seal of Imperial arrives by way of cloaked rider.

Dear Company,

Imperial wishes to invite you to the first annual Imperial hunt. Please send reservations as soon as possible. Due to the size of your group, we would like to see at least one of your ranks join us for this grand event. however due to limitations, we can only accommodate a maximum of three of your members.

There will be prizes for every trophy taken as well as a grand prize for one lucky hunter.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Signed,

Imperial Mother

[Bloodrose]

I've already contacted Tera, and will be participating in the Imperial Hunt. If anyone else is interested, feel free to come along on the contact building, alliance/enemy forming ride...

Also, if anyone cares, you can now select "The Company" as a PG under your user profile from the UserCP.

[Kell]

Kell
shareholder
ill give ya 300gp for shares

I'm actually signing up as the leader of the unofficial PG Geist Fox for the sake of looking for work and members if thats alright.

so if I take a job it will be for the whole of Geist Fox if and when we get some members or i finally just NPC the whole affair.

just to point out, I'm lookin at you Godhand, you know you want to kick ass with me.

[Bloodrose]

Works for me. If you just want to direct that little 300GP in a post in the Company Treasury (here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11308)) then I'll mark you down for those shares.

I believe you're also in time for the buy 3 get 1 free deal. You'd be the 5th customer on that promotion...

[Dorian]

Shares cost 100 GP apiece, and will line the Company Treasury, I'm assuming. Given the following scenario:

Player A - 10 shares
Player B - 6 shares
Player C - 2 shares
Player D - 2 shares

I am assuming this represents their relative stake in the treasury of the company as well; so 10 shares constitutes 50% of the treasury at any given time. If the only amount in the treasury is 2000 GP, the value of the shares at their base level, then Player A would have 1000 GP of the treasury.

If the treasury increases from the base level of 2000 to 5000 (that is to say, through questing and so forth as opposed to people buying more shares), would Player A be able to sell off those 10 shares for 2500 GP instead of 1000, showing that their initial investment bore fruit?

It would make it a bit more interesting, I think; it would also be interesting if you keyed the price of shares to the total shares available and the amount in the treasury. So if there were 100 shares currently purchased and a PG treasury of 10,000 GP, buying a new share would cost exactly 100 because one share is currently exactly 1% of the total shares outstanding, and 1% of the total treasury is 100 GP. But if there were 100 shares and the treasury was 80,000, then the shares would cost 800 a pop.

And similarly, if the treasury has declined to 1000, those shares would only be worth 500, correct?

[Bloodrose]

I apologize for the delay in my response, but since reading your post I've been evaluating the current system I've put in place for managing shares, shareholder's stakes in the Company, and paying out profits to shareholders. During that evaluation period I thought I had come up with several sound arguments in opposition to the idea of keying share prices, but like a lot of quickly deduced arguments, I was able to refute them easily. In fact, I came to realize that the current system is a little lacking in specifics, especially when it comes to selling back shares.

The current system, if you would imagine, works right now on the premise of a profit-sharing scheme. Individuals are essentially purchasing a stake in the Company's future profits, with whatever percentage of their holdings as compared to the whole being what they stand to gain. So for example, if Player A held 50% of the total outstanding shares, and the Company made a profit of 2000GP off a quest, then Player A would stand to make 1000GP off that venture. Not a perfect system by any stretch, I know, but the general idea was to encourage PG activity by giving shareholders an incentive to see the PG become active and profitable.

So in answer to one of your questions, I believe, no - an individual's holdings are not representative of what percentage of the treasury they stand to gain, but is instead representative of what percentage of future profits they stand to gain.

All that said, your post intrigues me, and I'm inclined to incorporate some of the concepts that would brought up into the current system. Live, Learn, Grow. No system is perfect, and I'm always for any ideas that might encourage more participation in the PG.

Perhaps you'd like to work with me on reworking the current system, Dorian? If not, then I think I've culled enough ideas from your post to at least fill in the holes in the current system.

I would encourage everyone to stay tuned for more information.

[Woshington]

Take my 200GP for two shares of the action.

[Bloodrose]

Welcome aboard.

[Sighter Tnailog]

Bloodrose, I am Dorian. And yes, I'd like to work with you and Rayse both on this little venture.

For now, I'm going to enter solely as a shareholder. Some changes to my character will be happening soon that might encourage broader participation.

I'll be throwing 2000 GP your way for 20 shares.

My thought right now is that if done correctly, the Company could go a long way towards really modeling a player-run economy, which is a dream of mine. So I'm in. Let's make some cash.

[Bloodrose]

Awesome. Welcome aboard, and I look forward to working with you.

[Sighter Tnailog]

I'm snapping up 7 more.

[Ashiakin]

I'm interested in becoming a shareholder. I'll purchase 25 shares. For 2500, I suppose?

[Bloodrose]

You would be correct, Ashiakin, and you've been added to the shareholder's list.

I've also updated your number of shares, Sighter.

Since I just submitted the PG Treasury thread earlier today, I'll leave it to sit a couple days before I submit it again. See if we can't get any more interest with all this newfound popularity we seem to be enjoying.

[Liquid Ice]

"Nienna Ar'fiel" would like avail herself of the contacts of The Company and in return will place herself upon retainer for any action required of her.

Assuming Teric is leading this in character this is will be made IC at the end of the quest she's in with him, or something. Joys of liquid time. Sign her up as a non shareholding member and I'll make it in character later.

[Bloodrose]

Excellent. Welcome aboard.

[Kell]

So all split up of this Imperial treasury, how much do you figure each of us will be getting from it?

[Bloodrose]

At this point, it's still a little early to surmise. Considering there is just shy of 100 outstanding shares, you can basically figure that however many shares you hold is what percentage of the take those shares will earn you.

10 shares = ~10%

[Karuka]

Let's make this an even 100.

I'm buying 1 share. That's right.

[Ashiakin]

I'm already a shareholder, but I would like to join as an official member.

[Bloodrose]

I think of both "Shareholders" and "Members" as being a part of the organization, with both groups free to participate to whatever extent they wish.

So even though I don't really draw a distinction between shareholders and members as one being more actively engaged in the organization than the other, I welcome your involvement as a more "traditional" or "official" member.

Looking forward to working with you.

[Ashiakin]

Ah, haha, okay. I'd just been under a different impression about what the two were.

[Rayse Valentino]

A shareholder just means you're an investor, whether or not you're a mercenary that takes one of The Company's posted jobs. A member is someone who actually works for The Company; is part of it in the general sense of being in a PG. You're out seeking business ventures, you might be on the Board of Directors, you're an investor with a more active role, etc etc.

[Woshington]

Are you still selling those shares? I'd like another please now that I've come into some money.

[Bloodrose]

Seeing as we're at a dead even 100 shares right now, I'm kind of in the process of mulling over a couple things on how the shares are going to work. Stuff like being able to sell your shares back if you ever decided to leave. Maybe a couple other things.

If I decide to leave the system as is before selling more shares, you'll be the first to know.

[Vicious]

Yo Bloodrose,

I want to propose something,

I want to challenge you to a battle for membership, a title and maybe like, i dunno, a pile of shares. you like the idea?

[Bloodrose]

If you want to battle for some gold, or bragging rights, or something like that - then I'll be happy to battle you. I'm afraid shares won't be offered up as a reward though, because that would set a pretty dangerous precendent. Were I to battle you and award you shares for a victory, then I'd have every Tom, Dick, and Harry banging down my door to kick my ass and earn themselves some shares.

[Vicious]

Lol,
Honestly, I just want a good reason to have vicious join, she would most definitely pull something like putting a knife in a leader's back just to prove her worth.

so, yeah, money, a title in the group maybe, and definitly membership for now.

[Melancor]

1) Melancor
2) Shareholder.
3) Imperial
4) Regular shares.
5) I will buy eight for whatever the current price is.

I don't get that crap about overruling votes but w/e.

[Heart of Zaga]

1) Senele Du' Vedevich
2) Shareholder, I wont have her ruining around and stabbing people though. Plot-wise she might have some NPC influence, on Salvar though.
3) None as of now.
4) Regular shares.
5) I'll buy her two, or three what ever that '(300)' thingi means, or will leave me with Zer00~

This better work, I am putting all my eggs in one basket *lifts fist*

[Killing Smile]

I've been seeing a lot of people buying shares, but very few actually wanting to do any of the work that would score you some cash (unless I'm mistaken in my cynicism).

So!

1) Justin Freebird
2) I'd like to join as a regular member.

[Bloodrose]

I apologize folks for taking so long to get to this. Been busy the last few days, I'm sure you all know how it goes.

Anyone buying shares, if you haven't already, head on over to the Company Treasury thread in the Gilded Forum sub-forum in the PG forum and post there as well. Then we can get you on board and ready to share the wealth.

Welcome aboard everyone.

[Melancor]

Hmkay, I just went over there and posted the transactions.

Anything else I need to do?

[Bloodrose]

Nope, I've got the rosters and shareholders lists all updated - but I did it in a hurry so if I missed anything than anyone can feel free to let me know and I'll make the changes.

That all said, a few news items:

1) The Clan war is wrapped up, and the results for Group 1 are in. If Group 1's result is any indication of how Group 2 might have done, then things went swimmingly for our side of the conflict.

2) Woshington, I don't know if he's even still around or not, is to be considered a traitor ICly. He betrayed his comrades in Group 1, and is therefor fair game for a hunt thread or bounty or whatever anyone wants to do.

3) The Company has acquired a plot of land in Radasanth, although the land is currently occupied by the charred remains of the building former occupying the plot. There are plans in motion for how this land will be used, and as those plan develop there may arise opportunities for Company members to get involved.

Keep an eye out for more updates soon.

[The Prophet]

Name: Arkham
Position Desired: Member
Shares Requested: 2

Nothing gets me more excited than being a part of something that goes swimmingly. :] I look forward to writing with the lot of you in the near future.

[Woshington]

1) The Clan war is wrapped up, and the results for Group 1 are in. If Group 1's result is any indication of how Group 2 might have done, then things went swimmingly for our side of the conflict.
I can definitely be around for that kind of fun RP. But I made a decision, I'm not going to grind out boring solos, or like quest quests for the sake of lvling, etc. Action, and meaningful stuff, not forced and strained nonsense RP for whatever EXP goal or whatever. I might finish that one solo I started one day. It's awesome. But probably never. Anyway, just hit me up on AIM anybody from Company who wants to hunt Big Wosh down.

[The Prophet]

Forgot to add this earlier; if I am indeed accepted as a member, I'd like to get the mission 'Hostile Takeover' underway. If anyone else wants to be a part of this, contact me on aim as:

VR Slashfan GNR

[Bloodrose]

Hostile Takeover has actually started, although it got buried while the clan war was ongoing. Nice to see you taking some initiative though, so I'll get in touch with you on AIM and we can get you involved if you'd like.

Welcome aboard and all that, just haven't updated the rosters as of yet.

And Wosh, good to see you're still around. Was afraid you'd vanished from the boards on me before we could do a proper hunt thread.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Madison Freebird
Shareholder
15 Shares, please and thank you kindly. ^_^

[Bloodrose]

No, thank you... for your monies!

Welcome aboard.

[Ignition]

I think I might be interested in joining this PG.

1) Tom Carraway
2) Regular Member.
3) Right now my cash is tied up in the Pagoda. If I win there, I'll buy some shares.

[Bloodrose]

Excellent. Welcome aboard.

[Rayse Valentino]

We're in a bit of a lull right now as the mods are reworking some rules that affect the way we were going to procure and HQ. Once we got that HQ, all sorts of stuff are going down.

[Ignition]

Sounds good. I'll be excited to join you guys on any scheme you cook up.

[Bloodrose]

Roll-call!

Who's still kicking?

[Rayse Valentino]

yo momma

[Ashiakin]

After an absence due to a lack of internet, I am back. Also since the NWO has an HQ, does that mean we won the clan war?

[Sighter Tnailog]

I am still alive, just now back from an extended absence.

I'd also like 10 more shares, if that's alright.

[Ashiakin]

I would like to buy ten more as well. Someone must put an end to Sighter's greed!

[Slayer of the Rot]

I'll buy ten shares.

[Bloodrose]

Glad to see people coming back, and glad to have Slayer aboard as a shareholder.

[Bloodrose]

Double-post.

The Company now has it's own Social Group (http://www.althanas.com/world/group.php?groupid=5), if anyone cares to join in.