Peregrini Vigiliae

Extra Sacramentum, nulla Iurisdictio. Outside the Oath, no jurisdiction.

What this is

The Republic is, first and foremost, a gaming community. Not every player who joins to fly, mine, fight, or build alongside Republic forces has any interest in oaths, ceremonies, doctrinal debates, or in-character writing. That is a legitimate and common position.

Excluding such players — or treating them as lesser members — is poor community design. The Republic benefits from their skill, time, and presence. They benefit from the community, the organisation, and the fleet. Requiring them to perform roleplay they did not sign up for in order to keep that relationship is a barrier that serves no one.

The Peregrini Vigiliae framework is the Republic’s formal, non-stigmatised answer to this. It creates a recognised, stable place within the org for players who contribute without committing to the roleplay layer — while keeping the integrity of the sworn Citizen track intact.

The two tracks are parallel, not hierarchical. A Peregrinus is not a failed Citizen. A Peregrinus is a Peregrinus.

The Concept

In the Roman Republic, peregrini (singular: peregrinus — “traveller”, “foreigner”) were free persons who lived and worked within Rome’s sphere of influence without holding Roman citizenship. They were not enemies. They were not slaves. They were not suspects. They were recognised members of Roman society — trading, serving in auxiliary units, building, working — who had not (yet, or ever) taken the step of formal civic commitment. Rome benefited from their contribution. They benefited from Rome’s order and protection.

The Terran Republic extends this concept directly. The galaxy is large. Not every spacer who fights alongside Republic forces, protects human settlements, mines for Republic industry, or simply calls this community home has the inclination — or the interest — to swear the Sacramentum Vigiliae and enter the doctrinal life. The Republic is pragmatic enough to recognise that contribution does not require ceremony.

A Peregrinus Vigiliae participates fully in gameplay, operations, and the community — without taking the Oath of Vigil and without any obligation to engage with the roleplay layer. They hold no rank and can advance to no rank by this status alone.

What a Peregrinus Can Do

• Participate in all Republic operations (combat, industry, frontier, logistics, engineering — every Branch runs ops that Peregrini can join).
• Use all general community channels on Discord.
• Access operation planning and coordination channels.
• Receive operation announcements and briefings (OOC logistics layer — ship up, time, objective, comms channel).
• Fly, mine, fight, and build alongside Citizens with no operational restriction.
• Interact in voice channels, the general chat, and the ops channels without any in-character obligation.
• Progress socially within the community based on contribution, reliability, and reputation — even if never swearing the Oath.
• Ask to join the sworn track at any point — but only after their own decision, never under pressure.

A Peregrinus may even command an op when competence and trust within that op’s scope warrant it. Operational reliability is the standard, not doctrinal status.

What a Peregrinus Does Not Have

• A rank in the rank table — by canonical prohibition (⊘), Peregrini hold no rank. The rank ladder (Tiro → Civis → Miles → Decanus → Centurio → Praefectus → Praetor → Consul Primus) is exclusively for sworn Citizens.
• The Sacramentum Vigiliae status — and therefore the Ius Gladii Doctrinae mechanism does not bind them in the way it binds Cives.
• Voting authority on doctrinal questions where such authority exists.
• Access to internal doctrinal channels — channels dedicated to in-character narrative, ceremony, Ius Gladii proceedings, Actum Gladii records, Purge Bulletins, and other exclusively IC content.

This is not a slight. It is a structural rule, not a hierarchy of value. The rank table is the chain of doctrinal command of the Republic; it is reserved for those who have sworn to it.

The Critical Protection

A Peregrinus cannot be disciplined, flagged, or removed for doctrinal reasons. They swore no oath. They made no doctrinal commitment. Labelling a Peregrinus a heretic, mutant, or alien sympathiser is a doctrinal category error — those categories apply to sworn members who violated a commitment they made. A Peregrinus made no such commitment.

Peregrini are subject only to community rules (the same standards that apply to all members regardless of sworn status): no harassment, no cheating, no sabotage of org operations, no behaviour that would cause the Republic harm in the community at large.

Removal of a Peregrinus is an OOC administrative action, not a doctrinal act. It does not produce a Purge Bulletin. It does not invoke the Ius Gladii. It is handled by the Praetoria Civium and, if escalated, the First Consul — as a community conduct matter, not as a doctrinal violation.

The Non-Pressure Rule

By canonical decree, no Officer may pressure a Peregrinus to convert to Civis. The conversion question, if it ever arises, is initiated by the Peregrinus. Pressure to convert is treated as a conduct issue and reported.

The Oath is freely offered and freely taken. Recruitment pressure on existing Peregrini is prohibited.

Day-to-Day Expectations

Effectively zero RP. The Peregrinus is asked only to honour the four community floor commitments:

1. Follow the community rules (same as everyone else).
2. Do not actively disrupt the roleplay of others who are doing it in their channels.
3. Be a decent human being to the people you play with.
4. Do not breach the Fiction Disclaimer (no application of in-universe doctrine to real-world persons or groups).

That’s it. The Peregrinus may use their real handle, never speak in character, never read the Manifesto, never attend a ceremony — and remain in perfect standing for as long as they want to be in the community.

A Worked Example

Marina joins the Discord because two of her squadron friends are Republic members. She likes the doctrine aesthetically, but reading the Charter she decides she does not want to swear an oath to a fictional polity, even in jest. She asks for the Peregrinus role. Within the day she has it. She flies in three ops the first week, never says “Pro Humanitate”, never reads the Manifesto, and is treated by every member as a full presence in the room. After six months she is still Peregrinus, still flying, still no rank — and still in perfect standing.

The Path to Citizenship (If Ever Wanted)

The transition from Peregrinus to sworn Citizen is always available and is never pressured.

If a Peregrinus becomes interested in the roleplay layer and wishes to take the Sacramentum Vigiliae:

1. Declaration of intent — they contact any Officer.
2. Orientation — a brief, voluntary orientation period (minimum 1 week) to familiarise themselves with the lore and the Oath. Not a test.
3. Oath of Vigil — the Sacramentum Vigiliae ceremony. Peregrinus status closes; they enter as Tiro and progress normally.
4. No fast-track or disadvantage — time spent as a Peregrinus neither accelerates nor delays their progression as a Citizen. They start at Tiro like everyone else. The community already knows them, which is a natural advantage.

There is no reverse path. A sworn Citizen who wishes to abandon the oath and return to Peregrinus status is subject to the discipline staircase. Renunciation of the Sacramentum is a doctrinal act, not an administrative preference.

Three Paths Into the Republic

All three paths are legitimate. None is a degraded form of another. The rank prohibition on Peregrini is not a penalty — it is the structural boundary between two distinct and equally valid ways of belonging to this community.

Pro Humanitate. Semper Vigilo. The Republic has room for those who fight beside it — sworn or not. ⊘ The rank ladder is for those who have sworn. The community is for everyone.