Merit Badges

The TarValon.Net Membership Manual contains additional information on this topic.

Description

One of the key items on the 2010 Admin Meeting was the topic of Merit Badges. A Merit Badge Focus Group was set up to discuss the number and requirements for badges.

Intended as rewards for continued and dedicated service to TarValon.Net the list of badges became available in February 2011. In January 2014 a second focus group was set up to review the badges and identify any areas that were currently unrecognized, or any that were too difficult to achieve. These changes were implemented in the Fall of 2016.

While a reward in itself, merit badges may also used to determine other rewards members could receive. See below for privileges.

Merit badges will be attainable by members of all ranks though some may only be attainable by members of certain ranks and none will be easily attainable. They will be designed to recognize the members who go above and beyond normal service, typically only the top 2-5% of people contributing in a given area will earn the badge.

Merits Awarded

Main article: Total Merits Awarded (by Member)

Main article: Total Merits Awarded (by Merit)

The first Merits were awarded at Anniversary Party 2011. Dralyn Montsier and her minions worked hard in the weeks running up to it compiling information and verifying emails sent. Later in the year, at Euro Party 2011 and Dragon*Con 2011 more merits were awarded to the members attending those events. Merits were then awarded in January 2012, January 2013, October 2014, May 2015 and every three months starting from January 2016.

Privileges Earned

1. Badges – Each Merit has a badge that can be shown in the member's Who's Who profile page.
2. Official Events Discount – Members who have the Events Attendance Gold Merit plus one other Gold Merit related to Official Events plus three other Gold Merits of any type (though only one Gold Merit from the Membership Category counts), will receive a 10% discount on tickets to our Anniversary Party, Euro Party, Fall Ball, and South Pacific events for the rest of their membership at TarValon.Net.
3. Extra Bond – Members who have the Tower Sworn Gold Merit plus four other Gold Merits (not including the Membership Gold Merit), will have the ability to bond one person above their current limit. This means that Green Aes Sedai will be able to have four bondmates, Red Aes Sedai will be able to have two, and the rest of the Ajahs and all of the Gaidin will be able to have three bondmates.

For all members who have earned one or all of the privileges above, see this page: Privileges Earned from Merits.

List of Badges

Please click on the Merit name for more information.

Current Merit Badges

Category	Name	Silver Requirement	Gold Requirement	Platinum Requirement	Notes	Icon(s)
Membership	Membership Merit	2.5 consecutive years as a member	5 consecutive years as a member	20 consecutive years as a member	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum
Membership	Tower Sworn Merit	2.5 cumulative years as a Tower Sworn	5 cumulative years as a Tower Sworn	20 cumulative years as a Tower Sworn	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum
Events Leadership	Local Liaison Merit	Be a Local Liaison 1 time	Be a Local Liaison 3 times		Can only earn once
Events Leadership	Committee Head Merit	Serve as a Committee Head 2 times	Serve as a Committee Head 3 times		Can only earn once
Events Leadership	Camp Nurse Merit	Serve as Camp Nurse 1 time	Serve as Camp Nurse 3 times		Can only earn once
Events Leadership	Local Events Merit	Host 3 local events	Host 10 local events		Can only earn once
Events Leadership	Extraordinary Service Merit	Perform an extraordinary service for someone or the Tower at an Official Event	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once
Events Participation	Events Participation Merit	Participate in the Amyrlin's Tournament 3 times Participate in trivia 3 times Participate in the costume contest 3 times Participate in committees 3 times	n/a	n/a	Can earn only one per sub-category
Events Participation	Virtual Events Merit	Coffee Talk - Host 5 online chats or virtual meetings Movie Buff - Host 5 online movie watch events Achievement Unlocked - Host 5 online quizzes or trivia Online Social Butterfly - Attend 20 or more virtual events Lonely Hearts Club - Host 20 or more events that do not have the required minimum attendance Epic Event - Plan an epic event	Coffee Talk - Host 20 or more online chats or virtual meetings Movie Buff - Host 20 or more online movie watch events Achievement Unlocked - Host 20 or more online quizzes or trivia		Can earn only one per sub-category, Epic Event can be earned more than once
Events Participation	Tournament Winners Merit	Win 2 events in the Amyrlin's tournament	Win 5 events in the Amyrlin's tournament		Can only earn once
Events Participation	Attendance Merit	Attend 10 Official Events/Conferences	Attend 20 Official Events/Conferences
Events Participation	Amyrlin's Champion Merit	n/a	Win the Amyrlin's Tournament		Can earn more than once
Online Spirit	Gleeman's Merit	Run 2 Mafia or Assassins games	Run 4 Mafia or Assassins games, including at least one mafia		Can only earn once
Online Spirit	Logo Design Merit	Win the competition for the logo for an official event	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once
Online Spirit	Spirit Merit	Receive 2 “Spirit of _____” awards, given out for each of our official freeweeks	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once
Online Spirit	Epic Prank Merit	Perform an epic prank	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once By nomination only
Online Spirit	Members' Choice Award Merit	Earn a Members' Choice Award	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once
Wild Card	Alchemist Merit	n/a	Earn enough silvers that do not convert to Golds		Can only earn once
Wild Card	Amyrlin's Award Merit	n/a	Earn an Amyrlin's Award		Can earn more than once
Wild Card	Officer's Award Merit	n/a	Earn any Officer Award apart from Initiative of the Year		Can earn more than once
Wild Card	Officer's Award Merit	Earn an Initiative of the Year Officer Award	n/a		Can earn more than once
Wild Card	Group Pride Merit	n/a	Serve one full term each as the Head/Company Commander and Heart/Honor Guard and Sitter/Warder Councillor for your Ajah/Company
Wild Card	Climbing the Ladder Merit	n/a	Serve in a staff position, as an Administrator, and as an Executive for at least three months at each level.
Wild Card	Globetrotter Merit	n/a	Attend at least three Official Events on at least two different continents
Wild Card	Rock Star Merit	n/a	If you do something really, really off the charts epic to help someone		By nomination only
Administrative Service	Staff Merit	Serve in Staff Positions for 2.5 years	Serve in Staff Positions for 5 years	Serve in Staff Positions for 20 years	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum Does not include positions eligible for the Pro Bono Merit or Reporter Merit.
Administrative Service	Administrator Merit	Serve as an administrator for 2 years	Serve as an administrator for 4 years	Serve as an administrator for 16 years	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum
Administrative Service	Executive Merit	Serve as an Executive for 1.5 years	Serve as an Executive for 3 years	Serve as an Executive for 12 years	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum
Administrative Service	Officer Merit	Serve as an Officer for 1 year	Serve as an Officer for 2 years	Serve as an Officer for 8 years	Can earn more than once, caps at Platinum
Administrative Service	Group Service Merit	Be recognized by Community group leader as having provided service to the group in an unofficial capacity	n/a	n/a	Can earn more than once By nomination only
Pro Bono	Pro Bono Merit	Provide legal, graphical, IT, HR, or financial expertise to the Tower free of charge for 1.5 years in an unnamed position	Provide legal, graphical, IT, HR, or financial expertise to the Tower free of charge for 3 years in an unnamed position		Certain positions in the Departments of Marketing and Technology qualify, along with the Legal Research Team. Admin and Exec positions qualify for merits under the Administrative Service Category.
Publishers	Editing Merit	Spend 1.5 years consistently editing the Library	Spend 3 years consistently editing the Library	Spend 10 years or more consistently editing the Library	Can only earn once
Publishers	Reporter Merit	Write 20 articles for the TVT	Write 50 articles for the TVT		Can only earn once
Publishers	Writing Merit	Write 20 articles for the Library	Write 100 articles for the Library	Write 500 articles for the Library	Can only earn once
Publishers	Copywriting Merit	n/a	Put in an exceptional effort in copywriting for our website
Raising the Next Generation	Mentoring Merit	Mentor 5 members who rise at least 1 rank	Mentor 10 members who rise at least 1 rank
Raising the Next Generation	Classroom Participation Merit	Participate in and complete 6 classes or discussions	n/a	n/a
Raising the Next Generation	Teaching Merit	Teach/Lead 2 classes or discussions	Teach/Lead 5 classes or discussions
Raising the Next Generation	Sponsorship Merit	Sponsor 5 people for admittance to the Tower	n/a	n/a

For different reasons, it was decided that some merits do not serve the purposes they were intended for, therefore it was decided to retire them. The people who have already earned those merits, will keep them, but they will not be earned by others in the future.

Retired Merit Badges

Category	Name	Silver Requirement	Gold Requirement	Notes	Icon(s)
Events Leadership	Committee Leadership Merit	Be chosen 2 times as having demonstrated outstanding Committee Leadership	Be chosen 5 times as having demonstrated outstanding Committee Leadership	Can only earn once
Events Participation	Events Participation Merit	Serve as Da'covale 3 times
Online Spirit	Spirit Merit	Be chosen as a great participant for the forums or chat	n/a	Can earn more than once