I'm trying to join fortress with a melee class. Should I be trying to get a kill before I approach anybody about joining?

Fortress is divided into to parts Acolytes & Scribes on one side, and Marans & Squires on the other. Scribes and Squires are the initial rank upon entrance.

You only need to have an evil pk to be a squire, and that epk must me where you got the killing blow.

Acolytes are protecters of light and Marans are vanquishers of evil. Pick your poison and adapt and blend as you desire for your character's story.

It depends on whether or not you want to be a squire or a scribe.

The helpfile for Maran says that you should "come not unblooded before one of the commanders of the Brigade." So get a kill if you want to be a squire.

That being said, pledging is the easiest way to get detect evil which obviously helps land an epk.

Pledge and send a note to "fortress" introducing yourself and stating whether you want to be a squire or scribe. It doesn't have to be very long or involved. The important part is for you to let the leaders know which path you're going to pursue so they right leaders know to look for you.

When you pledge you start showing up in the output of the "members applicant" and "who applicant" commands. Also the Watcher announces your log ins and log outs on the fortress leader channel. And you get favor of the sun.

Captain/Marshall can't induct scribes and Cardinal/Prophet can't induct squires, but there's isn't any automated way for them to know which one you're going for. That's why the note is important.

My process is basically this:

1. Check "members applicant" for pledges that are bloodied.
2. Check "who applicant" to see if any of them are online.
3. If they are then check my notes to see if they want to be squires.
4. If they do then talk to them.

Also realize that "members applicant" doesn't automatically update when you get an evil PK. Sometimes it takes until the next crash/reboot.