The Future of the NightWatch

This organization has existed now in varying extents for 9 years. We have come to be known as the protecters of the Graveyard, the Transits, and most importantly, city vigils.

In recent years we have also offered additional services such as training of recruits (we are one few schools that offer financial bonuses based on a show of motivation. (no we don't pay for you powers) We also provide services in the Hall of Binding.

With the departure of AA, and his recommendation to shut this organization down, I am at a loss of words. When the request was made, it was that the fault of the NW was not to blame, rather the city as a whole no longer needing a NW.

Perhaps this is true with the policing aspect, although I'm sure it will remain on a small level with mediation as a primary priority. And use of force being a last resort. Under no circumstances are these services to be used by a member who is clanned and can handle their own fight.

Other suggestions that have been made to me by a clan leader includes an expansion of our training school, and open it to all clans or all members. Our school is unique as we offer financial bonuses to those who show increased motivation to complete their powers. (no we don't pay for their powers) Graduates of these schools can choose to find their own path, their own clan, or stay with NW, or do both.

Ideally, all member clans here should provide a constable to help in this process. Many have not for various reasons, but I again ask for this assistance. These members would be used to help with the training school, various administrative aspects of the NW, and some work with the City Guards.

AA thought I should close this organization as the city no longer has a need for it. I disagree. Our work in the transits, graveyard, and memorials should never die. A redefinition of our duties is perhaps necessary. But I don't see us going anywhere.


Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions.

Unfortunately, I think that the Nightwatch will always be needed in one way or another. Having been in the city for a number of years, I see levels of violence ebb and flow, and if the restraining hand of the law is not currently needed, it will be in the future.

Until it is needed, the other functions: graveyard, transit stations, education, should be pursued.

Just my two cents.

rasputin

Although I have been away from the city for a while due to the ill health of my human, I still try to keep up with goings on.

My Lord AA is truley wise and things he says usually come from carefull consideration. This is something not to be taken lightly.

I am interested in what aspects of the nightwatch he suggested should be closed. I cannot see a need to remove the grave guard and if we truley wish to uphold honour and reverence to those remembered there it is important to let these duties remain with the nightwatch.

The transit guards are a quirky and appreciated part of the city. Traveling within the city would be difficult and confusing for fresh pires and if we wish the city to expand and grow, interaction to increase and the fresh pires to learn our ways then the transit guards are important to the citys structure.

Because the city has no outstanding wars raging atm perhaps there is no need for the nightwatch as AA stated. But..... where do all the pires with questions turn? Yes they can turn to the clans.... if they can find them...... or they can turn to the guards who will point them to the NW. The NW I am sure will help in any way they can.... even pointing curious pires to clans. So this benefits us all does it not? Please correct me if I am wrong.

From time to time need for force by the nightwatch does arise. These are perhaps few and far between but we must ask ourselves this......

Does the peace in the city stem from peacefull bloodlines or does it stem from the fact the the NW is doing it's job and doing it well? Closing the NW and letting anarchy reign in the city is perhaps one way of finding out, but is this a good choice? Peace and prosperity fills our bellys and our pockets but does not fill the needs of the warriour pire. Let us all choose our ways and those who choose safety and security can at least have somewhere to turn.

Because the city has no outstanding wars raging atm perhaps there is no need for the nightwatch as AA stated. But..... where do all the pires with questions turn? Yes they can turn to the clans.... if they can find them...... or they can turn to the guards who will point them to the NW. The NW I am sure will help in any way they can.... even pointing curious pires to clans. So this benefits us all does it not? Please correct me if I am wrong.

From time to time need for force by the nightwatch does arise. These are perhaps few and far between but we must ask ourselves this......

Does the peace in the city stem from peaceful bloodlines or does it stem from the fact the the NW is doing it's job and doing it well? Closing the NW and letting anarchy reign in the city is perhaps one way of finding out, but is this a good choice? Peace and prosperity fills our bellys and our pockets but does not fill the needs of the warriour pire. Let us all choose our ways and those who choose safety and security can at least have somewhere to turn.

Clan wars have never been part of the NightWatch. All clan issues are considered separate. And the NW is actually mandated to stand down if a dispute becomes a clan issue. The mandate of the NightWatch is to resolve small disputes, particularly through mediation, and if all else fails, use of force. Use of force is also used in those who desecrate vigils continuously without remorse. These events are few and far between, but will likely remain a necessary form of our services.

What we can work on are new services to help the city at large, eg: training of new recruits, helping them build powers, and guiding them in the right path, be it a clan, the NW, or both. As far as the NW is concerned, there are no hostile clans in this city. The purpose when I founded the CLA, was so all clans could work together for a common good. I hope that can prevail.

I think it would be a shame for the NW to close it's doors after such a long period of service to the city.

While I fully appreciate what Archangel has done in the past for the Night Watch, I do wonder if his decision to disassociate himself and Clan Capadocious could actually work in our favour. Forgive me if I put it bluntly, but there are those in the city who have avoided positive interaction with the NW purely because of his involvement with it, and have even accused the Night Watch of being nothing but his tool. Now, an opportunity presents itself to show that the Night Watch is an independent organisation, and to perhaps gain the support of some clans and individuals who have formerly oppposed us because of our connection with AA.

In terms of functions, it is purely my own humble opinion that the Night Watch should (at least for now) focus on the services it provides to the city. In particular the Graveguard and Transit Guards. I'm less convinced about the guards for the Hall of Binding, as most people are quite happy to defend themselves if someone tries any funny business there. I also think the Night Watch should, for now, adopt a "mediation only" approach to disputes. We don't have the strength to do anything else, it inevitably causes reputational problems as one side or the other ends up unhappy, and it has proven too easy to get drawn into certain long-running feuds.

One other function should also be pursued: recruitment. Through a combination of asking clans for loaned members (assuming their clan rules allow them to be simultaneously both NW and clan members), and direct recruitment, we need to build up strength to replace those driven away by the recent turmoil. I feel this task will be easier now that the NightWatch can demonstrate that it isn't just an extension of Archangel's will or an arm of Clan Capadocious (although of course I would be only too glad to see Capadocians represented among the ranks of the Night Watch).

In terms of functions, it is purely my own humble opinion that the Night Watch should (at least for now) focus on the services it provides to the city. In particular the Graveguard and Transit Guards. I'm less convinced about the guards for the Hall of Binding, as most people are quite happy to defend themselves if someone tries any funny business there. I also think the Night Watch should, for now, adopt a "mediation only" approach to disputes. We don't have the strength to do anything else, it inevitably causes reputational problems as one side or the other ends up unhappy, and it has proven too easy to get drawn into certain long-running feuds.

Well well though out points DJV. I've always admired your style of writing. As for our HoB services, it is not designed to be a guard in a traditional sense. We do not perform any military work there at this time. HoB Guard simply hands out flowers to those at bindings (when pre registered with us) We also perform a ceremonial honour guard using the transit guards surrounding the HoB for high profile bindings. Its worked pretty well in the past. Hopefully if we can keep BR, she can work with Layak upon his return to make this a reality again.

As I've said before. mediation is our primary goal in small non-clan disputes, and use force is an absolute last resort, in which the CLA is designed to be somewhat of a judge in our actions. Use of force should be limited to get the offender to report in to discuss an issue, when normal requests fail, this force is not to zero. (eg minimal force only) This has worked in the past in solving mediation disputes. And im not referring to fudes or warrants to zero. Hopefully that is a thing of the past, or only in EXTERME cases. Yes, our ability to preform these actions is somewhat diminished, but not eliminated. And in the case of an extreme graveyard or vigil desecration, these actions will become necessary without a doubt as per our mandate.

You are absolutely correct, that recruitment is key. We have brought back Asrial, who has been a great PR rep in the past, and hopefully can do great things for us in the future.

There is also the ongoing request to have clans send us members, or even students to train. We will train them so they become fully powered, and can then report back to their clan. Ideally maintaining some tie with nw, but not overly necessary.

I agree with these suggestions. Nightwatch can overcome this slump, continue it's main efforts, and move on. As an ambassador for Heorot, I will seek out a second for our clan and bring them into the nightwatch as well.

Just as clans have gone through leadership changes and still carry on. I truly believe that NW serves a good purpose in this city and we should not close the doors because its founder is upset and removed himself. I was a bit disappointed to see this as Archangel does have good political views and has dedicated much of his time within these walls. Walking away from a neutral gathered group because his belief in one area was childish just creates more drama then we need. Perhaps this will be a new start for NW, new ties and strengths to wipe away any misleading concerns others may have us the organization.

I would have to agree with everything Jean said as he took the words out of my mouth (and arranged them better than I could have). I do not believe the day will ever come where the NW has absolutely no purpose in the City and it offers valuable services that, everyone I know, uses. The Transit Guards being the big one here. Recruiting is always important after an upheaval like this but I think those who have left will not be a great loss to the organization.

Agreed... returning to basic duties (protectors of the graveyard, the transits, and city vigils) is needed right now, perhaps recruitment too – but I see that task being made easier after some time with the former established. Make more of an image about teaching and offering smaller assistance where needed, as you say the NW has before. I think this has been what's needed for a while.

And the relative peacefulness of the city will end, too; everyone just seems bored. The times of chaos will come again, and if the NW can ride it without becoming mired in it, that would be awesome. Don't shut down at all

We're all in agreement on:

City Services

- Transit Guards
- Information
- Mediation

Protection

- Graveyard
- Vigils
- Honor Guard ( Bindings )

Recruitment

- NightWatch
- Civilian Legislative Authority (More clans/families)


Sounds like we have a good plan for now. Hope we can keep things going and help out the city.

I have always seen NW as protectors of vigils, the graveyard and a source of information. That purpose is still necessary and vital. While it would be ideal to have representatives of all city entities (clans/ families), I don't see that happening for a variety of reasons. I certainly don't think that NW should be a police force for disputes between individuals. The city is not organized in a fashion where a legislative code is enforceable by military action.

Yes, I've been absent for some time. I will be blunt. When the issues became involvement in a personal dispute between tejas and crazyinblack or archangel trying to force personnel changes to the organization, that is going beyond being a guardian of the city. I do not believe that ambassadors or clan representatives have the right or authority to intervene with staffing decisions. Nor do I think NW should be involved in disputes between individuals beyond offering mediation. Offering training is not a bad thought but there are options out there that would be competition. There are some independent schools as well as clans having training programs. Competition is, however, a good thing. I just don't think people know that NW offers a school.

Other clans have lost their founders and kept going. The resignation of one individual does not mean that the core values are not still there or are irrelevant.

I would say the codes we have need an overhaul with many removed or perhaps a new mission statement entirely, However:

If we are to be a mediation service, It should only involve cases that involve clanless individuals, should not involve group disputes, and should not involve family line disputes.

However, how can we mediate if one party refuses to respond? (again, dealing with small cases, not large feuds, not canned individuals, and certainly not clan wars) I would suggest a warrant, which allows minimal use of force to get them to report in, eg scrolling, a gs, etc, whatever is needed until they report in.

I don't think we can just be a mediation service. If an attacked vampire comes to us in need of aid and they are unclanned, have no family and we are unable to get the attacker to report in for mediation, do we just wash our hands of the situation? Would this not make us a citywide joke?

I do believe, while rare, there are times when minimal use of force is required. You state the city is not organized in a fashion where any codes can be enforced. Perhaps you are right as the codes currently stand. However, the Civilian Legislative Authority, to my knowledge, is one of the only groups where almost all clans, and many individuals participate in the well being of the city. That said, this group should have the ability to represent the majority of the city.

I will now refer to two recent cases we've had in the past few months:

In one past case, the NW mediated between two individuals after force had been used. The victim was compensated for their blood loss, and the dispute was resolved through mediation. Because of this, we ended up with one party joining our ranks as a senator.

In a second case, an individual reported in to us about constant attacks. We were initially unable to get the second party to respond and minimal force was used to get the second party to join the mediation table. One this was done, we were able to sort out all the issues and have each party sign their own restraining order so they would ignore each other in the future. This was actually assisted by the senator who joined after our first mediation resolution.

Its small things like this that I think the NW can be doing along with our other services such as vigil/graveyard protection, information, training, shopfinding, etc.

I believe the Civilian Legislative Authority does have the right to enforce legislative action in small disputes. Either by having a motion made then seconded by two members, or by a chancellor, so that we can solve disputes quickly and easily. And try to avoid the use of force or need of warrants at all costs. (We will no longer have warrants to zero someone (outside of a graveyard desecration), nor will we continue to attack someone if they have stopped attacking the victim. But if we are empty handed, in a city like this, mediation can be impossible.

Again, perhaps instead of city codes we need a mission statement, or both to an extent. We will protect vigils and the graveyard at all costs, be a source of assistance to the city through both information and training, and we will do what we can to help mediate a situation, and if an attacker refuses to participate in mediation after say, 3 requests, then minimal force should be used. If it turns out that the force used was in error once the situation is determined, then the vampire in question will be fully compensated once the dispute is resolved. Yes there will be rare cases where mediation will not work, and the case will need to be thrown out if both parties are at fault and refuses to stop attacking each other. But again, that is the point of mediation. To get things like this to stop.