Participation in the Ajah Benefits system is optional.

One either has a Benefit, or not, despite the varying numbers of requirements to earn said Benefit. Benefits indicate an "expert level of knowledge or aptitude", if they are not Power or Talent Point Increases, that are formally recognized by the Ajah in question and the Tower in general. This does not negate, for example, experience with Daes dae'mar. Those with the Benefit of Daes dae'mar Mastery would simply be a master or expert compared to the average Aes Sedai or Asha'man.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who Administrates the Ajah Benefits System?
How many Benefit points do I receive when I join an Ajah?
How do I gain Benefits?
How do I get more Benefit points?
How many Benefits can each Ajah have?
What kind of Benefits are there and what do they cost?
What if my character got training before joining the Ajah?
How do evaluations work?
How do I find a teacher or an evaluator?
How do the Amyrlin and M'Hael gain Benefits?
How does the Keeper of the Chronicles gain Benefits?
What are Benefit "sets"?
How do Ajah weaves work? What are secret weaves?
Can Warders gain Ajah Benefits?
Are Warder Advantages transferable to Ajah Benefits?
I am an Ajah Head, how can I edit my Ajah's Benefit Tier?
My character has been part of an Ajah before this system began, what should I do?
What would the life of an Aes Sedai look like as she benefits from association with her Ajah?

The Administration of the Ajah Benefits System:
When Aes Sedai, Asha'man, or their bonded Warders complete a form requesting recognition for activity in their Ajah (through gaining Benefit Points), or submitting proof of earning a One Power Strength Increase or Talent Increase, or submitting proof of learning a skill or attribute or weave, that form is received by the Keeper of the Chronicles. The Keeper then will forward a copy of your request on to your Ajah Head in most cases and retain a copy (should your Ajah Head be on shara, the Keeper will process your request). Your Ajah Head will then review your request and decide how it should be processed. Your Ajah Head will inform you and the Keeper of his or her decision. The Keeper will then update the Benefit List with your information. The Keeper will notify the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael of any One Power Strength increases and the First Seeker of Talent increases, and they will update those listings respectively. If you apply for a skill, attribute, or weave that belongs in another Ajah tier, then that Ajah Head will review your request.

The Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael review Ajah Head activity and award Benefit points, based on usual evidence, but also voting records. The Keeper of the Chronicles will review and recognize Benefits (in the form of skills, attributes, weaves, One Power Increases, or Talent Point Increases) based on role-played evidence that they have been learned.

The Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael's Benefit requests will be processed by the Mistress of the Novices or Master of Soldiers respectively.

The Benefit requests of the Keeper will be processed by the Head of the Ajah from which the Keeper was raised, unless the Keeper applies for skills, attributes, or weaves in another Ajah tier. The exception is if the Keeper applies for a Benefit from the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael's tier, in which case, recognition of learning those skills or weaves or attributes will be processed by the Mistress of the Novices or Master of Soldiers. Those skills, attributes, and weaves that come from the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael's tier will cost two Benefit Points, as if the Keeper were requesting them from another Ajah.

Number of Benefit Points per Aes Sedai/Asha'man/Bonded Warder:  
The cap is three Benefit Points per member which are gained upon raising. More are available later with demonstrated sustained activity in the Tower and one's Ajah.

Ajah Benefit Evaluation Rules:

• You can not evaluate yourself or play an NPC to evaluate your character.


• Evaluations are a one-shot test. You either get the skill/attribute/weave recognized, or you don't in that one sitting.


• Must have an Evaluator with that skill/attribute/weave.


• Minimum of 8 posts required with posts at least 200 words long.


• If a new Sister or Brother is evaluated for more skills/attributes/weaves then allowed at the beginning, then once she/he reaches that cap (3 used Benefit points) she/he has to wait until she has sustained activity long enough to earn more Benefit points to get the rest of her evaluated skills/attributes/weaves recognized formally. The advantage of this is that once that 6 mo. time is reached, that Sister/Brother may gain one more Benefit point and be recognized formally for one of the skills/attributes/weaves she/he was initially evaluated for. She/he doesn't have to wait to RP out learning that skill/attribute/weave after earning an additional Benefit point.


• All Ajah Benefit evaluations should occur within the first six months of being raised (OOC)

In other words, the same amount of OOC work goes into getting skills/attributes/weaves recognized as Benefits of one's Ajah, as it would be learning it after being fully raised; but IC it makes more sense. A character doesn't have to learn it twice, just wait for it to be recognized (if she/he has a lot of skills/attributes/weaves evaluated).

How can this be justified IC you ask?

In New Spring Siuan certainly has a knack for solving puzzles and is well on her way to becoming an Intelligence Specialist when she's raised to the shawl. She is immediately swept up with tests via the head of the Blue Eyes and Ears. But she'll have to wait several years before getting the recognition, experience, and clout to be an Intelligence Specialist. She doesn't get all of the Benefits of being a Blue right off the bat, even if she had the skill to justify it.

Or

A new Yellow Sister to an elder Yellow: "I can organize these tents! Why do you doubt me? You know I was the Wisdom of my village and I've studied under you for years. I am an Aes Sedai now."

The elder to the new yellow: "That's nice, dear. But you don't have the experience to organize efforts to douse this plague in a city. You have not done this as a Sister of the Yellow shawl long enough, and you do not do it sufficiently our way. Why don't you go and Delve that woman and tell me what you find?"

The new Yellow, muttering to herself: "Flame it, I'll have grey hair before they recognize my skills.""

Sets of Skills/Attributes/Weaves:  
Sets of Benefits are available to lump related specializations (such as Current Events, Eyes and Ears Network, Mastery of Daes dae'mar, and Deduction under one Benefit "Intelligence Specialist"). One may identify what under the set one specializes in ( i.e. one may specialize in having a wide Eyes and Ears network, while another Sister may be more capable of seeing patterns in events through Deduction, and yet another Brother may be most skilled at conveying and receiving messages others would miss through body language and tone of voice with a specialization in Mastery of Daes dae'mar).

About Ajah Weaves:  
Ajah-specifc weaves include several weaves that are available through a specific Ajah as one Benefit (i.e. "Green Ajah Weaves"). An Ajah Weave Benefit is like the benefit of Knowledge of Languages, which is an umbrella for multiple languages. Secret Ajah Weaves are also an additional Benefit, but have an additional restriction: not only are they available only through particular Ajahs, but by a specific person within that Ajah who can teach others. If that member quits the Tower, a role-play may be made out of uncovering the secret weave from a lost document, journal, or ter'angreal and reconstructing it. Secret Benefits are almost never, if at all, shared outside the Ajah.

These individuals who register previously earned Benefits rather than requesting recognition of new ones agree to be teachers and evaluators for newly raised or bonded Warders of Ajah members.

Please direct all concerns about the system to "Big Sister", Father, or the Amyrlin Seat. If necessary, we will open a new Hall of Sitters discussion to address the kinks in the system.

Examples:  

Example One:

Alessandra decides to join the Blue Ajah upon donning the shawl. She decides to take advantage of her new position and connections by learning the Blue Ajah weaves, prophecy lore, and mastering Daes dae'mar. Each successive benefit requires increasing study with Sisters and Brothers of her new Ajah. The weaves come quickly, whereas prophecy lore requires more time, mastery of Daes dae'mar (being a skill she has not had a great deal of experience with before) takes her almost six years to master. However, many require more time to master the skill, for Alessandra has an aptitude for it and was allowed to assist with an important long-term mission with the Head of her Ajah to the White Tower, in which she practiced those skills daily.

(OOC: She was raised with 3 Benefit points. To learn and be recognized for her first 3 Benefits, she completed a thread of 4 posts on her part to learn the weaves, 6 for prophecy lore, and one major RP to master Daes dae'mar).

Through this period of six years, Alessandra Sedai has been a productive and active member of her ajah. She has served on missions of justice and milked her connections. She has passed the first test. Pleased with her progress the Head of her Ajah has opened the doors for new possibilities. Alessandra, thankful for recognition, decides to pursue the Ajah's secrets and learns that there is one who can teach her the Blue Flame weave. That someone is the Amyrlin Seat, who was raised from the Blue Ajah. Once Alessandra contacts the Amyrlin Seat (with a referral from the Head of the Blue Ajah) it takes some persuasion, but the Amyrlin Seat does not wish the weave to be lost from the Ajah. They spend a short meeting together in which Alessandra gains her trust, and the Amyrlin in return teaches her the secret weave. Shortly after, Alessandra begins to learn from her the art of seeming as she wishes over the next five years.

(OOC: After six months of playing an Aes Sedai, Alessandra requests to be evaluated for her activity in the Ajah. The Head of the Ajah notes that Alessandra has been an active member and participated in the major RP, and thus, grants her the maximum 2 additional Benefit points for that time. Alessandra, the player, decides that her character should learn a secret weave, but this has to be role-played out personally with someone who knows that secret. Because the Ajah Head knows the Ajah's secrets', Alessandra role-plays that she persuades her Ajah Head to tell her who could teach her the Blue Flame weave. Unfortunately, the last person to know that weave is it's creator, who was raised to the Amyrlin Seat. This requires more role-play, in which the Ajah Head vouches for the 'new' sister and Alessandra gains an appointment. Some prelude to the role-play with the Amyrlin Seat includes gaining her trust with the secret, and then, Alessandra is taken under the Amyrlin's wing. In their thread, Alessandra writes 4 posts in which she learns the weave. Later, in a separate thread, Alessandra's character learns the Art of Seeming as Wished through three fanfics in which the Amyrlin Seat teaches her the Art [by permission of the Amyrlin's player]).

Alessandra has done much and gains the benefits of her experience in the Blue Ajah. Twelve years have passed since she gained the shawl, and she feels an increase in her overall ability to wield the One Power. Working with weaves has expanded how much of saidar she can channel.

(OOC: Alessandra's player has taken the time to update her character's biography. This was noted by her Ajah Head, when Benefit Points were requested, and Alessandra is granted another 2 Benefit points. She decides to increase her character's One Power Strength. She uses her 2 remaining Benefit Points to do this, but does not have to role-play the effort learning how to do so, because it is not a skill, weave, or attribute.)

Example Two:

Kohan knew he was destined to be a healer since before he donned soldier black. His mother was a Wisdom, and if he had been born a girl, he would have been her apprentice. Nonetheless, he knew how to prepare bandages and which herbs were medicine, and which were poison to aid his mother. He made preparations to apprentice under a nobleman's military surgeon before an Asha'man recruited him. When Kohan became a Soldier, he studied under Brothers of the Yellow Ajah at every opportunity. His biography chronicled his apprenticeship under his Mentor. Thus, when he was raised to wear the yellow cord, he was immediately recognized for his ability to heal. The Ajah acknowledged his skill with the Ajah's weaves, First Aid, and herb-craft. He was placed on shift in the Infirmary.

(OOC: Kohan is an exception to the normal rule. He had written three skills into his biography and clearly demonstrated how he would know them. However, he could not be recognized for these skills as Benefits by association with the Yellow Ajah until he was both a fully raised member of the Ajah and evaluated for each of those skills. For each of the three Benefits, he completes a thread of 8 posts on his part consisting of at least 200 words with an evaluator who had that particular skill. It was a series of one-shot tests for the skills: Yellow Ajah Weaves, First Aid, and Herbcraft. He managed to complete all of the threads before the six-month Benefit point evaluation.

Although he had experience organizing in the Infirmary when he was a Dedicated, Kohan was not recognized for this skill so quickly. He was told flatly by the First Weaver, that it would be six years before they would place him with the responsibility of coordinating the Infirmary.

(OOC: Kohan had also completed an evaluation for Organization within his first six months as Asha'man, but he could not add Organization to his Benefits because he had already used up his first three Benefit Points. Kohan had to wait until his Benefit point cap was increased through continued activity, after six OOC months. The plus side of this, was that as soon as he earned those Benefit points, he was able to get Organization and not wait to 'learn' it through the requirements in Tier 3. For Benefits on Tier 3, six months is a very short time to wait, particularly after earning other Benefits. He was able to do so because he had role-played from day one that this was his character's destiny and actively completed four evaluations as soon as he was fully raised.)

Many years passed, and Kohan was called to be the Keeper of the Chronicles. He still found it twice as difficult to gain beneficial experience with other Ajahs compared to his own. In exchange for extended study with a Brother of the Green Ajah and teaching a class of Yellow and Green Brothers, Kohan learned how to save 'lost' Warders whose bonds had been severed.

(OOC: Kohan was active as Keeper of the Chronicles, gaining two Benefit Points, but he was still tied to the Yellow Ajah. Thus, he gained his Benefit Points under review of the First Weaver, and it cost him both Benefit points to gain a skill from the Green Ajah. Since Saving 'Lost' Warders is on Tier 3, he completed a role-play of eight posts on his part with a member of the Green Ajah to teaching him, as well as teaching one class on the subject to gain this Benefit.)

But then, Kohan was called to be the Father of the Tower. In his place in ' all Ajahs and none' he gained the benefit of his experience and found it equally difficult to learn all of the skills, attributes, and weaves that the Ajahs were willing to teach him. In exchange for a favor, the Brown Ajah Head taught Kohan more effective study techniques, which enhanced his memory. He also learned knowledge of the Secret Histories from studying vaulted documents that were opened to him upon raising.

(OOC: Kohan was also an active M'Hael and gained 2 Benefit points. With that, he gained an Enhanced Memory from the Brown Ajah through a role-play in which he posted 6 times. He also gained Knowledge of the Secret Histories from writing about his character studying manuscripts in a single fanfiction.)