Children Of The Grave- NOW RECRUITING

Have you suffered a curse, brother? Have you felt the warmth leave your flesh as it hardened to lifeless stone before your eyes? Breathed in the rank, heady fume that swirls through the empty madness between the body and the mind? I am asking, my friend, if you have ever felt despair. Yes, despair; the despair of death that haunts even the undead and hollows out their souls. For you see, they are one and the same. They are all connected; the curse, despair, and death. Connected to the Gravelord, who is the sleeper in the open coffin, the shadow that hovers over the cenotaph, and the ruler who stands above the Three. And now ask yourself. Will you suffer the Three? Or will you rule them? Inflict them? Bow your head and raise your arms to The Gravelord Nito, and let us worship the dead.
                  -Excerpt from the Somberlain’s Grimoire of Giants; Sermon to the Young Necrophiles

Our Purpose: To instill despair in the Undead of Lordran through the Curse and demonstrate the strength of Nito through combat with other players. To this end, we Gravelord high traffic areas of the game from PvP hotspots like the Moonpit and Burg, to centers of questing activity like Anor Londo and the Township. Our level system is explained in more detail below, but we are essentially a SL100 covenant. If you need information on Gravelording , from its basic mechanics to its subtleties, read this thread: https://soulswiki.forumotion.com/t3296-gravelord-instructions-how-to-properly-spread-misery before joining the covenant.  We also have a commitment to lore- each member must contribute character backstory to become a full member, and our lore will be expanded upon as we hold events and gain members.

 
Joining:
The Children of The Grave are dedicated to becoming and remaining a small userbase of skillful PvPers. To join, you will have to face me in a test of skill and prove you are well versed in both honorable and dishonorable methods of combat. In other words, impress me. If you show up to the test with a DWGR spear build and roll turtle me to death, or buff a Washing Pole with SLB and spam r1, I can’t gauge your skill level and thus probably won’t admit you, so show me something special. I also reserve the right to omit a test if I am well aware of a player’s skill level from previous duels.  For now, we are PS3 only. I may start an Xbox division and appoint an Xbox leader with enough interest. 

Requirements for Members:
You must create one “Lord” build which fits the spirit of a Gravelord as interpreted in lore, and who looks the part with a cohesive character design and equipment to match. Lords must be SL 100 with no exceptions, and must wear equipment which sets them apart visually from rank and file Gravelord Servants. You must post your Lord build in the thread and allow the Somberlain into your world to initiate you into our ranks. The Somberlain has the final say over whether your build fits the criteria or not. Of course, these toons must be members of the Gravelord Servant Covenant. They must be in NG+ or higher. Your Lord builds will be used in co-operative Black Phantom hunting events as well as in attending the rituals that will accompany covenant events. You should Gravelord with them normally as well, but a Lord also has his Servants to spread despair and gather the Eyes of Death. You must write lore about your Lord’s backstory and IM it to the Somberlain. This, for example, is my Lord build, the Somberlain: http://mmdks.com/2s04

You may have as many “Servant” builds as you desire- these builds must follow the below equipment rules but do not have to be designed to conform to Grave-lore and are more open to what you might see as PvP meta setups. These builds do not have to meet the Somberlain for initiation and may be any level you desire. They must be members of the Gravelord Servant Covenant (or what would our cov be for?) You may end up doing most of your Gravelording with these efficient, powerful builds, and that is perfectly alright.

“Hyenas” are those that follow Parches the Hyena in dress, manner, and even appearance. They must be SL55, and wear all of Patches’ gear including the Winged Spear and Eagle Shield. Creating such a build is optional, and these builds will not be Gravelording. Instead, they will either invade as a member of the Darkwraiths or be summoned as a White Phantom and proceed to trick the host to their death. Post in the thread to specify if you want to join this subsection of the covenant.

Rules of Engagement: Respect those with the courage to bow in the face of their own demise: see to it that those who ask for an honorable death are given it. Otherwise, you are answerable to none: fight as you see fit, but be warned that those you anger may return with a vengeance, for hatred is a flame that burns against the cold dark of despair. Needless to say this works against our goals.



Ranks:
The Somberlain- Leader of the Covenant and Left Hand of Nito. He organizes our forces and serves as high priest in Nito’s occult rituals. In other words, me.

Hierophant of the Open Grave- Highest rank available to members, Hierophants function as our covenant’s council, with input on organizing events and a say in our activities and future. This rank is to be awarded specially after exemplary service to the Covenant, the Somberlain, or Nito. I may also delegate specific responsibilities to them individually.

Whom Shadows Move Towards- Second highest rank. Those of this rank have the responsibility of training newer members as well as providing equipment and materials for builds. Must have a history of service to the cov, the Somerlain, or Nito. Must have an unusually high degree of skill in PvP. Must participate in lore and/or role play. I may delegate specific responsibilities to this rank on an individual basis.

Nightbringer- A medium ranked member, you may achieve this after enough time in the cov and enough participation in threads. Has the responsibility of helping other members in functions that may or may not be related to the cov, such as co-op and basic trading.

Legionnaire of the Black Light- A low ranked member. Legionnaires have proved loyalty to the covenant by rolling a “Lord” build and undergoing a personal initiation including a riddle they must solve, proving commitment to our lore. Must provide lore in the form of their Lord’s character and backstory. May participate in rituals and covenant events.

Sworn to the Dark- Passed the Somberlain’s test and is now an honorary member of the Children. Will advance to Legionnaire by rolling a “Lord” build and undergoing the Somberlain’s personal initiation.
 

Equipment restrictions and dress code: No more than one piece from any of the following sets of armor. Try to follow a dark or evil theme in your dress. Exceptions may be allowed, just ask first. There are no weapon, spell, or miracle restrictions.

Crystalline
Maiden
Elite Knight
Silver Knight
Giant
Sun (excluding gauntlets)
Glorious
Catarina
Antiquated
Painting guardian
Ornstein
Moonlight
Favor
Xanthous

Viral_Ensign
Typhus

Thread is now open! We are now recruiting new members!

first post, im interested

Thanks a lot Bo, and Paragon, I will be sure to set up a test for you if you want to join.

Very interesting. Haven't gravelorded in a long time. It really is a serious test of patience sometimes. Are you sure about the SL100 though? I remember having more success at 120 as you can catch a ton of NG+ people and if you do Lord certain hotspots you can catch fight clubs left and right.

I'm not entirely sure how I'd go about joining. Impressing you is a really subjective thing, as is what looks gravelordy. Since Xanthous is on the list of no-nos, while I personally feel it's design reminds be of a slightly egyptian pharaoh kinda thing, and those guys come back from the grave on the regular. (I mention this because I previously used xanthous as the base for my gravelord, with a whip to really push the revived pharaoh theme) And on impressing you, should I just not use the best available tools? I mean if you can't gauge skill when someone is using proven tactics like poke rolling or buffing does that mean I should be weary of using Tickstabs or dead angles? It seems a little odd that in the honor code you make a point to say the Lords answer to no one, then turn around and say "don't use anything too good on your test"

http://mmdks.com/2s0z  that's my favorite build and all he does is gl, cool concept dude.

I'm sure about SL100 because though the Lord builds are required to be SL100, you can gravelord with any other level build as a part of the covenant. At SL120 you start to get away from questers, and most high traffic areas are plenty active in NG+ at SL100. 

You're right about the Xanthous, I'll remove it from the restricted list. As for my reasoning behind the list, I don't want to ban anything outright because mix and match can produce some very interesting and good looking armor sets, even if certain pieces are from sets that don't match the theme. I also said that I would give exceptions to certain setups if you tell me what the setup is. 

In terms of "impressing me", I just want to gauge your skill and see if you're a decent PvPer. Personally, I find it hard to tell if people who do things like roll turtle with a spear or use buffed dex weapons have skill or not, because the tactic is so powerful that it overshadows the player. The point of the test is not to win or beat me, I might even request a fight with +0 weapons to prolong the spar and get a good look at your playstyle. The test would also include things like roll bsing, counter bsing, parrying, etc. In other words, just fight like you normally would until I ask you to demonstrate some things, and trust in yourself to get through. 

If you want to join, shoot me a PM and add my second PSN: ringo_mogire_SZS

And that build looks good Rant, just send me a PM and add me on skype (ghadis_god) so we can set up an entry test.

This is an amazing and it looks like a well thought out plan.

Unfortunately my sole loyalty is to the messengers.

From a lots perspective we have to be enemies. I encourage Messengers to use gravelord signs and swiftly deal with them even if they elude the book of the guilty.

I wish for your success nice covenant idea.

Very interesting Cov Count me in already have a build 4 it.
http://mmdks.com/2s7i

Nice Ghadis, hoping to be infected sometime soon.

I said i would join once you got it up, for nito!

Billy and Shadowz, I've dueled you guys enough to know you're worthy, so you guys are both in as rank 1. Once I initiate your builds and get your backstories, you're official rank 2 members.

I'm really interested in this covenant; but I really need to get better at pvp, so I'll leave my "Lord" build for consideration while I practice. http://m.mugenmonkey.com/?c=238772451165870465

Ghadis mind if i try to join also? Only thing for the test is i can't use skype.

Count me in, ill do your test tommorow when im back home. I think you're on PS3 right?

That's right Wilks, and anyone who wants to join add me on skype (ghadis_god) and I will add you to the cov chat to arrange a test.

Twilight, add my second psn and we'll do this with messages

Dusk- the build looks fine, and you do not have to use the Gravelord sword, as long as the armor looks the part it's good.

If im not mistaken it should The rank just gives more power on top of that like DMB for Dm's

The Gravelord Miracles increase in damage with the MAdj of your talisman. They also increase in damage 10% for each rank of the GL covenant, from -10% for a non-member to 30% for a rank 3. If you want the miracles to be a significant part of your playstyle, I would invest in at least enough faith to wield the Thorolund talisman.

I'll tweak my build some more before officially submitting it.

Hows this for a lord build? http://mmdks.com/2sn5 I'm not sure for a good secondary to buff but i thought the poison from the club might be a good combo with the toxin.