We have now implemented the changes shifting novicehood from guilds to cities. While this is going to be quite the upheaval for our experienced players, my goal is to make the switch as transparent for newbies as possible. You'll notice these changes:

Guilds:
* The guild system code has been essentially rewritten. Guilds now offer ranks 1-5 only, with guildmaster-customizable positions so you can tailor the guild's structure however you like. The other 14 regular guild ranks have been converted to positions so that you can choose what to do about it.
* The Secretary and Head of Novices positions have been removed. Secretaries have been converted into a customizable position.
* Guildmasters can choose to make a position show up on your guild's help file, or choose to let it be contestable through the politics system.
* GUILD PRIVS is rewritten, too, and is hopefully more helpful.
* Guild novicehood no longer exists as a concept. Newbies will not join your guild until they have passed through the introduction and the city's Academy, OR until they have been promoted by an Amassador. At that point, they will enter their class' guild as GR1 members.
* Guild probation no longer exists.

Cities:
* Ambassadors now represent the "Head of Novices" for each city. Ambassadorial aides, therefore, are novice aides.
* Ambassadors and their aides can now CITY PROMOTE <novice> to promote someone out of novicehood (and into their guild) without needing to finish the Academy.

I expect there will be a few issues and unforeseen consequences of these changes, which are very difficult to test outside of the live game. We owe Razmael an enormous debt for his willingness to dive in and help me get this thing across the finish line. Please file bug reports for cosmetic or low-priority problems and ISSUEs for immediate, game-breaking concerns. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact me directly or post in the associated forum thread.

Penned by my hand on Gosday, the 10th of Chakros, in the year 465 MA.