Server:Earthen Ring US/SASU

Introduction
SASU is an Alliance raiding coalition on Earthen Ring (US). SASU is an acronym for Swords And Spells United.

Structure
SASU is primarily an association of Earthen Ring guilds. Every member of SASU's member guilds is automatically a SASU member (assuming that said individual wants to participate in SASU and is willing to be bound by SASU rules). SASU also has a number of free agents: these are SASU members who do not belong to a member guild. Free Agent membership is intended for non-guilded Earthen Ring players, or for players whose guilds are not current members of SASU for whatever reason.

SASU runs multiple raids to almost every instance in the game. Each raid has a single raid leader, who is responsible for that raid. Raids may form their own policies regarding loot, skill and gear standards for raid members, signups, and so on. Raid leaders choose the time and date of their raids at their own discretion.

SASU's primary bank is the guild bank of , and the bank's primary function is to help SASU members exchange useful materials with each other. Being /ginvite-d into  is optional for SASU members, but only those who are already SASU members (either by having a character in a SASU guild or by being a Free Agent). SASU Raid Leaders may, at their own discretion, maintain their own raid-specific banks.

Every SASU member guild has one or two Guild Representatives, who serve on the Representative Council. Three Free Agent Representatives also serve on the Representative Council. A 5-person Administrative Council is elected by the Representative Council approximately every 6 months. "The 5-person council coordinates the day to day operations of SASU and settles disputes among the guild representatives. Guild representatives may veto any decision by the 5-person council or remove council member by a simple majoirty." ( http://www.sasu-er.org/index.php?topic=7303098.0 ) The Administrative Council chooses five Coordinators to handle issues specific to: Membership, Charter/Rules, SASU Forums, SASU Bank, and Discipline. The Raid Leader Officers and SASU Keepers of the Bank round out the set of all SASU Officers.

SASU membership currently numbers in the hundreds; there are over a thousand users registered on the SASU message boards, but not all of them are full SASU members. The membership policy is fairly open door; SASU's goal is to provide raid content for all interested parties, and joining is fairly simple as either a free agent or as a guild. Joining SASU by any method requires agreement and compliance with the SASU Rules of Conduct ( http://www.sasu-er.org/index.php?topic=7301504.0 ), though for members of SASU guilds, agreement is usually implied.

History
SASU was founded in 2005 by guilds including Skyseekers, Explorers of Evermoore, and Templars of Light. The first Figurehead of SASU was Ortega, guildmaster of .

SASU made slow progress into Molten Core throughout the summer of 2005. In September of that year, internal arguments and dissension resulted in the departure of both the Skyseekers and Ortega, leaving SASU without a leader. Diallia, then the guildmaster of Lunarian Knights stepped up to take the figurehead role.

In the fall of 2005, SASU began serious attempts at Zul'Gurub (led by Ulveig) and restarted its Molten Core run (led by Ninshubar). Both runs made substantial progress; Hakkar the Soulflayer was finally downed in early February of 2006. Ragnaros was killed later that spring.

By that time, Ulveig had moved on to Unified, a high end raiding guild, and two new Zul'Gurub runs were created to fill the void. Another Molten Core run was also started in that time frame. This set the pattern SASU continued to follow: a loose framework of guilds with multiple raids to any given instance at any given time.

Diallia stepped down as figurehead in March of 2006; Razov of Nature's Elite took on the role at that time. In March of 2007, Razov stepped down as Figurehead and Gladlyn took on the role. In March of 2008, Gladlyn stepped down as Figurehead and the Figurehead position was replaced with a 5-person Administrative Council.

Progression
As of the release of Burning Crusade, SASU has completely cleared Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, Zul'Gurub, Molten Core, and Blackwing Lair. SASU has also killed Onyxia. SASU raids have ventured into Naxxramas with little progress, and a SASU raid has killed The Prophet Skeram multiple times but has not seen success against Battleguard Sartura.

As of October 9, 2008 (approximately a month before the release of Wrath of the Lich King), SASU has completely cleared Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, The Eye of Tempest Keep, Serpentshrine Cavern, and Mount Hyjal. SASU has also completely cleared Black Temple with the exception of Illidan Stormrage. SASU raids have gotten to Kalecgos in Sunwell Plateau, but have not succeeded against him.

As of Auguest 3, 2009 (Patch 3.1.3, Build 9947 at the time), SASU raids have full-cleared Naxxramas-25, Malygos-25, Sartharion+Vesperon+Tenebron 25-player, and freed all 4 Keepers in Ulduar-25.

For more specific progress information on particular SASU raids, please refer to the SASU forums ( http://www.sasu-er.org ) and consult the boards under "SASU Raid Groups". Different SASU raids are identified by a unique name; the current raids which have SASU forum boards are: CNGH (Clever Name Goes Here), Fat Pandas, Friends & Lovers, Gladlyn's Food Fight, The Honor Guard, Hoodscooters, Plankton, Section 8, TRUST, and Valhalla's Chicken Party.

Message Boards
http://www.sasu-er.org/