Purpose

The Trial of Grievance (ToG) is used to settle matters of Honor. This Trial allows any member of the Clan to do battle against a fellow Warrior who has, in some form, publicly damaged the Honor of that member.  This Trial is to be used as a last resort and only after all other methods to right the wrong have been exhausted.  It is not to be taken lightly as the ultimate result of a ToG can lead to expulsion from the Clan.   As this Trial is to settle, once and for all, very serious and grave breaches of Honor against individuals of the Clan, approval to conduct a ToG must be given by the Diamond Keshik.  The following procedures must be adhered to, in the order that they appear, before a ToG will be sanctioned by the Keshik.

The Trial of Annihilation (ToA) is the most severe form of retribution recognized by the Clans.  ToA's can be directed against entire Clans, Bloodnames, or individual Warriors, possibly resulting in the destruction of the Trial's target.  For matters internal to CDS, the ToA will be considered a form of ToG with the consequence of expulsion from the Clan.  All procedures for the ToG must still be followed exactly. 

Process Leading to a ToG

1)    If any member of the Clan believes that their Honor has been compromised in any way by another member of the Clan, they are free to privately attempt to settle the issue through non combative means.

2)    If the issue cannot be resolved at this level, the aggrieved party must appeal directly to their commanding Officer who will then act as mediator in the dispute.  If the parties are not able to resolve the issue satisfactorily at this level, the matter will be appealed directly to the Keshik.  Issues of grievance at this level will not be posted to the open forums under any circumstances.  Public calls for a ToG at this step will not be recognized by the OathMaster.

3)    The Keshik will then act as mediator (minimum 3 members of the Keshik) to the dispute and attempt to find an equitable resolution.  If this step fails, and only then, can the aggrieved party issue the challenge for a ToG.  The challenge will proceed as follows:

a)    The challenger, being the one aggrieved, has the right to choose what the outcome of the Trial will determine, ie. public apology, reduction in rank, loss of Bloodname, or expulsion from the Clan (a ToA).  The Keshik reserves the right to limit the sanction being imposed by the challenger depending on their interpretation of the severity of the breach of Honor.  The aggrieved party must make his or her challenge directly to the opponent immediately upon the failure of step 3, and the sanction to be imposed upon the member who is defeated in the Trial must be stated at that time.  This is to be done in the presence of the Keshik.

b)    The Keshik will discuss whether or not the breach of Honor is severe enough to warrant a ToG and whether or not the sanction imposed is reasonable given all circumstances.

 i.    If it is, then both parties are to be informed immediately that the issue is valid and the only resolution possible is by ToG. The contestants are then free to set the Trial date and time.  The OathMaster will inform the rest of the Clan of the impending Trial.  Information posted will include no more than the following: date and time of the Trial; parties involved; the sanction of the Trial.

Note: The general Membership will not be privy to this dispute until this point.

ii.   If this issue is not serious enough to warrant a ToG, the Keshik will issue a resolution to the matter in an attempt to satisfy the Honor of the aggrieved party.  If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the proposed resolution, he or she may petition to the OathMaster and identify the reasons why he or she feels that their Honor has not been restored.  If the OathMaster believes there is just cause to re-evaluate the proposed resolution, the OathMaster shall bring the matter back to the Keshik for their consideration.  The Keshik will issue their final word on the matter after due consideration and this will be the last level of appeal.

Note:  failure, by either party, to conform to these procedures is grounds for additional disciplinary actions which could include expulsion from the Clan.

If, after all of these steps, Honor has not been restored to the satisfaction of the aggrieved party, he or she will not be allowed to pursue the issue any further within Clan Diamond Shark.

Rules of Engagement

If Trial by combat is approved by the Keshik, the challenged party has the right to select the battlefield. Both participants and a witness from the Keshik will meet on a mutually agreeable host, and the challenged party will dictate what mission will be used. At the Keshik's discretion, contestants are allowed to agree upon any rules of engagement, but the default mission settings will be:

    Game Type: Battle
    Visibility: Default
    Weather: Off
    Time of Day: Day
    Time Limit: 60 min
    No Frag Limit
    No Waves Limit
    Stock Mechs: Off
    MaxTons: 100
    Radar: Normal
    Locked Server
    Max Tonnage: 100

Participants may take custom Clan chassis of their choice with no tonnage limit, but contestants are encouraged to bid amongst themselves for choice of chassis.  All mechs must be equipped with Clan tech equipment and weapons only.

The two contestants and a Trial Officer from the Keshik will then drop into battle. The contestants will confirm their readiness to the Trial Officer, who will then issue the command to engage.  If the initial starting positions of the contestants seem unreasonably close, it is at the Trial Officer's discretion to require them to separate before engaging.  The contestants must not have line-of-sight to each other before engaging, however they must be aware of each other's starting position.

All participants must keep radar active unless they are engaged in combat.  It is at the pilot's discretion to use active radar/BAP/ECM when in combat.  The Trial Officer may move at his discretion to witness the Trial.

The first party to destroy the other will be the victor. An explosion due to heat counts as being killed. In the event of mutual destruction, the Trial will be refought with the same mission settings and same mech configurations. The result of a ToG  is  final and must be communicated to the Keshik by the witness immediately upon completion of the the Trial.