Hydaelyn Role-Players

My own LS has been going fairly strong for about a year now, but I've always been relatively isolated from the greater Balmung community. So, I'm making this topic to ask other FC/LS leaders about the nuts and bolts behind their operation. Questions like: What amenities do you offer your members? Why do you offer them? How do you go about creating said things? What are some of your important policies? What do you look for in your membership?

I'll kick things off by sharing a few of my own implements and the ideas behind them. You can feel free to yoink any of the below things for your own LS or FC if you find anything that would be useful to you (although I'd recommend that you put your own spin on it.)

• One RP event per week
  
• Active Website
  
• Individual introduction scenes
  
• Optional Skype chat
  
• LS-only Membership = OK
  
• EU Friendly (meaning that our weekend events are mid-afternoon NA time, and we have an EU officer who watches and schedules things during EU-friendly times.)
  

The website itself ([HERE]) took about four hours to create, with additional time spent making the background picture fit with any form of decency. It was a trial by fire.

Generally speaking, I strongly encourage website use for members of Rendezvous, although it is not mandatory. I try my very best to make the website both informative and fun, and to reinforce the RP sub-community aspect through it. I still try to make announcements 1-2 times per week over the LS, but it's highly unlikely that everyone will be on when I make said announcements.

Why? From the perspective of a LS leader who has to give information to 50+ people, it's extremely useful from my side of things. The alternative is having dozens of people send me a /tell asking the exact same question/s regarding the plot, story, or upcoming events, and that would get tedious for anybody.

I put a lot of time and thought into the content and layout of my posts there, so that they're as easy to digest for my members as possible. I also use colorful pictures and in-depth descriptions for the Events on our calendar ([HERE]), so that people can have something nice to look at and know what type of event they're signing up for in advance. SO PRETTEH.

To encourage writing and a certain level of interpersonal interaction, I also have a 'Dreams' aspect to my LS concept. Since everyone is tied together by fate, I have a forum set aside where people can post stories about their characters for other characters to experience (via a dream.) [HERE]. To my great surprise, people seem to enjoy this feature. As a leader, I make it a point to read every. single. story. and comment on each one (either in person or on their post.) I think this sort of encouragement is important to have, and I'm extra glad when I see other people leaving comments, too!

Alongside all of that, we keep a neat and organized Dream Index up-to-date, so that dreams can be easily searched for by character.


We also have an "IC Bulletin Board" on the site. This is physically represented in the upstairs of the FC house (Host Club), as a map with some bulletins tacked on top of it. But to read the bulletins posted by myself and other members, one would go to that tab to view and leave notes, themselves.

I have a post on said bulletin board that summarizes the LS main plot up to current day, too. [HERE].

However, since people have still expressed feeling lost in the day-to-day swing of things, we've recently created an IC 'News' section of the site. This IC Journal describes recent goings-on in more detail, and offers a lot more flavor text to keep things spicy. [Here].

For our shiny new members, I've composed a post for them to start at, in the hopes of assisting in their transition with us. It covers topics relating to plot information, how to get involved, and lore resources. [HERE].


For more shy or uncertain new members, we have a Mentorship Program that is aimed to offer them RP with another member once per week for four weeks. Even with the introduction scenes that everyone gets, it can still be difficult for some to jump right in. So, we do that. That is a thing we do. [HERE].

For players wanting to be more ICly involved in the community, we have a structured delegation list. Since I made Maia purposefully inept as a leader, she tends to assign every task that actually needs doing to others. [Here] is what all that looks like!

Since some people were confused at the concept and its potential benefit, I also drew a graph with a lot of arrows. So many arrows. Also a cheeky title. [Here].

After someone signs up for one of those Delegations, I send them a customized IC moogle mail accordingly. (Example in spoiler!)



Some of you may know that we run one public event per month: opening the Host Club to the public. To add some immersive details to this, I have created the following:

• A Menu (with descriptions and image links for each item. It took several hours to put together.)
  
• A Dossier (much like a real Host Club - it's like a Menu, except of the Servers.)
  
• An updated flier graphic each month.
  

Of course, it requires a lot of coordination and cooperation with everyone involved to execute successfully, but it ends up being a fun event on both sides!

The FC house is very much done up in the style of a Host Club, with the exception being in the rooms upstairs (which are "employees only.")


For each event, I'll often make 1.) an event post with additional activities or information, and 2.) a personalized soundtrack for the event. Edit: For plot events, I'll usually pre-write most quickly-happening "cutscene" or detailed description posts in advance, to keep things going without making the players wait for me to type it all out.

Here are a couple of examples:


Here and here are some IC posts that were done in advance of the trial, to coordinate and inform everyone as to what was going on, and organize everyone who wished to participate.

And here is the soundtrack for the trial! *Glee for Phoenix Wright*

In case people are morbidly curious, I also spent like 5 hours transcribing the RP during the trial into a narrative, and posted it in our Dreams section. [HERE]. As you can also see, we converted a room of our FC to create a courtroom, and it was also a fairly successful detail!


This one was a bit different in theme. I try to run a variety of events, from plot-oriented, to casual get-to-know-you's, to comedic, to IC dungeon running. This one was a more casual sort, and was very well-received.

[Here] is the IC post that explained the games that were up for grabs. I took a blank Bingo card and made it "Eorzean Bingo" instead of "Human Bingo." It was a very well-received activity!




It's not too taxing, but it does involve some reading. If anyone expresses interest, we give them the basic information about us up front as they apply on our website. Then, an officer contacts them personally to ask 5 OoC questions. The questions are almost exactly from each bullet point of our Guidelines, so it's really just a verification that people read the rules and acknowledge them prior to joining. Example in spoiler!



I don't buy into drama, nor do I endorse it. I assume everyone who joins the LS is a reasonable-minded adult who is capable of showing consideration and maturity to others within a group setting. If someone tries to recruit me for some bizarre OoC social war they have against Bob MageGuy, I'm not going to get involved. I'm a Psychology Major, but there's a reason I didn't go the "counselor" route.

I ask an aggrieved person if they're filing an official complaint, and request a screenshot of the incident. I can't do much of anything without a screenshot, or it all just devolves into he said/she said. I also try to figure out how said incident negatively effected the individual in question, and thoroughly hear out both sides of the story. I do not attack or bully any individual; rather, I address the behavior, and politely ask that it not be repeated for the comfort of others within the group. If the behavior repeats, then things would be escalated, up to and including a request to depart. (Thankfully, I've never had to do that last part!)

Note: I consider "drama" and "feedback" to be two separate things. I'm more than willing to listen to comments or other constructive criticisms about events that I run, or about the LS in general. I constantly strive to make the LS a better environment with each passing week, so I don't mind new ideas.

In short - I'm in this for RP funtimes, not for OoC social mires. There will always be 1-2 people that someone won't like in a group of our size, but it's up to the individual to focus on the other 45+ people and not fixate on The One Guy Who Bothers Them. Heck, even blacklist if you need to!


Due to the limitation of only having 108 total slots within our LS (as well as officer workload capacity), we only allow one character per player in. So, no alts. Sorry!

Also, while we may initiate an app freeze if things get too hectic all at once, we don't have any intention of closing our doors to recruitment completely. If someone wants to come RP with us and be a part of things, I welcome them (so long as they pass the 5 question screening.) Inclusiveness is very important to me.


I talk about upcoming events and discuss various tinkering with my officers about 2-3 times a week. We're always bandying about and trying to think of ways to improve things for our members. We seriously talk about this sort of evolution A LOT. Thankfully, I work very well with my current team, and they are awesome and hard-working both. I rarely make a decision entirely on my own, and run it through the 'group filter' before getting it down and such.


In my mind, a perfect player is someone who:

• Uses the website
  
• Helps other people (often with questions)
  
• Runs events (not necessary, but it's nice when I can have a break!)
  
• Shows up to events
  
• Supports other's writing
  
• Is patient, friendly, and mature
  

Or pretty much just the stuff written on the bottom of this thread. (I try to do these styles of threads about once per Quarter, just to offer my perspective in what I see and a generally positive message to the LS.)

Also about once per Quarter I run a census to clear out any people who may have gone 'poof' on us without telling me. It's often unclear to me if someone is just busy, or legitimately has no interest in participating in the LS's RP. However, if anyone's ever removed due to being inactive, all they need to do is ask to be let back in and I'll reinstate all of their access and reinvite. ^^v

So, um... what sort of things do other FCs and LSs do? I'm legit curious. Again, feel free to steal any ideas listed above!

I get you with the whole feeling isolated thing. My time-zone doesn't help this one bit, but in general I actually despite everything, find it hard to break in to RP if you would - I go to the quicksand now and again on both of my characters, and then I show up at events but that's about it. 

Anyhow, one of the most important policies is our stance on events. Having lead guilds for the past four years, I've gone away entirely from having one big story-line that involves all of the guild at any given time - It's a lot of work, and I've seen so many officers burn out over time, and officers are just really important and hard to come by, I find. I also do not believe that the responsibility of generating RP should be placed on just a few roleplayers - We are all here for the same thing, so we should all be equally responsible for making it happen. So we have a policy where we encourage people as much as possible to make their own events, storylines and suchlike - involving parts of the FC, in whatever way is possible. It removes a lot of stress from my shoulders and of the ones that help me. 

Of unpopular policies, we have a strict view of the lore. I like to follow it as much as possible, and I find it's very hard to mix different views. I'll just briefly say Fantasia and I'm sure enough people will know the debate. I like to make sure everyone is on the same page, so we do not get conflicts over it. This comes off as really restrictive to some, and we've lost people because of it, but at the end of the day it's something I do not want to go down on. 
Our 18+ policy has been bashed at before as well, mostly by people younger than who feel discriminated. Which is not why we have that rule - We simply want to ensure that we don't have to think twice about cursing, violent themes and other such maturities because someone around us is not old enough to deal with them. 

What we offer.. 
* Active website, we're a part of a community which also has a guild in Rift. Said community is 4 years old. 
* As much guides, lore and information about XIV as we can find/write up. 
* Help with event creation, fleshing out backgrounds, etc. 
* Optional skype chat
* Optional TS server 
* Optional Minecraft server 
* Optional OOC ls. We don't however, have people solely being a part of the LS. We've tried, but it is much too hard to make sure these people get as involved as the rest. 
* Guildmeetings every 14 days, larger events whenever inspiration comes up for them.

Communication goes through IC ls, fc chat and on the forums. We also have an IC board, but the trick is to get people to check the forums daily and post there as need be. Lots of people aren't as into forums as they are to facebook for example.. xD 

I'd say that we're newbie friendly to some extend, but we can't offer people mentors because very few people have the time to take on a mentee. At the same time, it's not always easy for someone who is new to RP, to start off in a heavy-rp guild - again, it can feel very restrictive as opposed to being a challenge on ones creativity. 

What I appreciate in membership.. 

*People applying with characters that fit our theme. To this, our theme is loose and everchanging depending on what people want to do, but it will never make sense to join with certain character types. Rebels are very shortlived, because they can't take orders or keep to a code of conduct, and as such end up getting fired icly. 

*People who are honest. Again with our 18+ rule, if someone says they're 25 when they're not, we usually find out eventually. A lot of lies gets unraveled in the end, and I'm tired of being presented with the truth after a while. 

*People who read about our FC and is fine with our OOC standards. Sometimes people get very surprised we don't have a big storyline, usually down to the fact that they didn't read our description. In general, I like to have people interested in what we actually do, and not just apply because we are one EU guild out of a few choices. 

*People who keep themselves informed. I can't personally whisper all news to everyone. 

*People who are fine with our guildmeeting being mandatory. In the sense that, if one is online during our meeting, you show up to it. We make a few exceptions, but it's the only time we actually require people to come RP. 

*Asks officers/GM for help when it comes to drama, so it doesn't escalate. We have a low tolerance for drama, meaning that we'll make a few attempts to resolve it, but we're not shy of kicking both sides of a conflict if it doesn't get resolved. In our 1½ years as an FC this has fortunately only happened once. 

There's loads more I could say about a lot of things but I am running short of time. As a closing note, I'd like to encourage people to give your resident FC leader a hug today. It's a hard and often thankless job - a little hug for appreciation goes a long way to motivate

I think being isolated is almost something that naturally happens with an FC Leader. You're so busy making sure your FC runs smoothly, it can be really hard to venture out. We have our ooc ls, which we have a few members who are from different FCs in it, but I generally am in the corner a lot.

Uh... for your questions...

Unpopular Policies
Our most unpopular policy, BY FAR, is our strict adherence to lore. Members have gotten tells asking if our lore policy was real, and people have heard it was very strict. Which it is - currently we don't allow anyone in who plays a WHM ICly, and we have a very strict BLM policy as well. When someone apps with us and says they are a WHM (We've had many oddly enough) we do tell them "We can only accept you in you play a Conjurer ICLY at this time" and only 1 or 2 people have actually made the switch to get in. When we see something in someones background that isn't lore compliant, we work with them to make sure it is before letting them in, or - if they were let in first - we work with the before rping with other members again. A LOT of people take this as a slam against their character, they start thinking they are terrible roleplayers or that we are being bullies. But it's not. Most of the time, I'll try to work to make your story the SAME but more lore complaint (I.E. Explaining that being a White Mage isn't necessary to be a really powerful healer and just saying your a talented Conjurer won't change your personal story).

Our second most unpopular is, sadly, the idea you need to practice Coil gates before the guild will clear for you. A lot of people get into the guild and expect carries - since we do T5 runs regularly and we have a group that can farm T9 - and don't actually want to get into the instance to practice before hand. It doesn't matter how many times you say "Practice the fight and when your ready we'll take you through", a lot of people just here that as "I am being unhelpful." Yeah we have T9 on farm, but we aren't Rare Ex, we can't carry someone new to the fight in there.... it would just be a waste of everyone's time because there would be no clear.

What we Offer:

Big Guild Storyline: We have an ongoing, large storyline in the Night Blades that is run by two people - with helpers of about 10. It has it's own villains (Played by FC mates) and is run very much like a story would by the Devs of FFXIV. Since we can't really say we're a part of the main FFXIV story in any way, we wrote or own off to the side somewhere that our FC can affect. The villians become so engrained, people get excited about the idea of taking them down, and they feel just as accomplished as is they were in the FFXIV main story. It's something we pride ourselves on, but it's a lot of work. Because of the workload, we have two officers who's ONLY job it is is to facilitate the main NB storyline. They write it, plan it behind the scenes with helpers and get people involved. They do nothing else. The story has been going on since launch, ever changing but still in the same timeline. It's currently in it's climax and will be coming to a close before Heavensward - where we'll start all over again.

Small Guild Events: The first year of running the guild we learned a lot, and one of those things we learned is that the guild CAN'T rely on the "Main Storyline" in order to succeed. For one, it takes a lot of time to plan so the main story is slower, and two, some people in our FC don't really want to be involved in the main story, but want to rp with everyone else anyway. Because of this, in the second year of operation we introduced more events off to the side and away from the main story. These can be one off storylines such as looking for treasure, or even just Chocobo Racing at the Golden Saucer. All Officers are told to come up with an event once a month and other members are free to put whatever event they want onto the Calendar.

Roll20 events!: You like tabletop RP and miss that feel in FFXIV? We do a lot of Roll20 events and even have our own system (Called UNI-FFXIV) for dice rolls which is accessable by just going to our website (Or looking here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...=694329376)

End Game: On top of RP, we also raid and consider ourselves 75% RP/25% Raid. We currently have one group in Final Coil and are working on getting another group together for T9. We host a lot of practice runs for T5/T9/Shiva Ex/Odin/Ramuh Ex as well as clear parties for all of them (Including getting people to Shiva Ex). We try to help as much as possible in order to help people reach their goals in endgame, though currently we aren't worried too much about it because Heavensward is coming. We still do T5/T9 practice (Have those this weekend actually) and a raid group, but right now our focus is gearing people, preparing for new job changes and making note of who wants to raid come 3.0.

Active off game shizz: We have an active mumble server, an active website, and many many of us talk together on skype.

Active IN GAME Shizz: We have an extremely active OOC ls, and an somewhat Active IC LS that people do use a lot, but I'm actually trying to get them to use it more haha.

What we don't really offer:

Hand holding: To be frank, if your looking for a guild to lead you through everything or feel like you can't jump in on your own unless someone invites you - this probably isn't the place for you. Everything we do - RP, Events, and Endgame Runs - are posted on our website and ANYONE is free to sign up for any of those. If I'm setting up a T9 practice on the forums, this means anyone in the NB is eligible to come along. If someone else sets up a roll20 event - it means the same. We assume most anything is a catch-all invitation and a lot of us get confused by "But you didn't ask me specifically". If people are rping in the Mansion, you are free to join them, no questions asked. People are free to jump into anything they feel like most of the time - the only exception to the rules are private rp or the Raid team (Which is a static). This doesn't mean we aren't helpful - we're very helpful - but when a guild is large we can't just give you one on one attention all the time.

Super Heavy RP: While we have very deep storylines, epic plots, bombs, and deaths, we actually consider ourselves a Medium RP guild because people are not expected to RP everyday. While RP happens a lot thanks to some of our heavy RP members, a lot of our members don't consider themselves "All RP All the Time" people. This doesn't mean our stories aren't deep and engaging, it just means we aren't on the game to rp 12 hours a day.

Total Hardcore Raiding: We are not hardcore raiders. While we keep up with current content, we aren't in a competition with the big raiding guilds on the server - they will eat us alive. Usually we're a few months behind, but hit the content way before it goes into the Duty Finder and we're perfectly fine with it being that way. We play current content, before Echo Bonus and Nerfs, but we're just not as fast as those who only focus on raiding. We like it this way. You may not.

A Hugbox: While I don't allow racist or homophobic slurs, we are extremely brash, vulgar, and playfully mean to each other. There are rules in place protecting this kind of behaivor called the "Thick Skin Clause" that is not only in our charter, but in our application process so people know what they are getting in to.

Quote:The Thick Skin Clause: We are a very talkative guild. Newbie or veteran, everyone is treated like equals and is made fun of equally. We tend to make fun of each others characters, play styles, if you wipe the party during a dungeon, if you didn't stay in the back and tried to tank even though your a mage... in our guild, you will never live any of it down. However, we mean no harm, and it's usually out of love. We wouldn't poke fun at you if we didn't care.

We criticize each others characters decisions, discussing them at length. We pick apart characters' personalities and motivations. To us, this is a show and we are the fans. And we talk as if we are the fans - deep conversations about RP sessions, the characters, and the decisions made. Many RPers can't handle criticism of their characters, wanting everyone to like them all the time, and if that's you - this is not the place for you.

~~~~

We have smaller things, too. Help with getting an FC Room, IC introductions with the IC officers so your character can get "in", a "Friends and Family" plan so if you like us you can bring your friends, guild meetings when needed, Always available Officers in game or on Skype to answer any questions you may have, help with smoothing background, help with storylines you want to start, etc etc.

The Perfect NB Member:

• Somewhat independent - isn't afraid to set up practice runs on Ex Primals and Coil and put them on the calendar for everyone. Isn't afraid to just jump into FC RP.
  
• Thick Skin - Isn't sensitive. Can take criticism of themselves and their characters. Can take a joke.
  
• Isn't there to hit on all the ladies, oocly or icly - strangely, we have a lot of girls in our guild, this has caused some issues in the past.
  
• Drive - when they say they want to raid, they gear up and put in the time - event able to forgo RPing for a bit to do so.
  
• Enjoys darker storylines - We've had two IC deaths in the last month if that tells you anything.
  
• Doesn't take Lore Compliance as an insult. Because it's not one. Really.
  
• Talkative, or even shy but eager - this is a talkative, fast scrolling guild. A talkative person who can jump in or a shy person who isn't insecure are pretty much ideal.

That's us in a nutshell.

(03-20-2015, 01:02 AM)Maia Wrote: [ -> ]Questions like: What amenities do you offer your members? Why do you offer them? How do you go about creating said things? What are some of your important policies? What do you look for in your membership?

I've drawn on my experiences in the past, both as a leader of small to medium sized guilds, and as a member of guilds of all sizes. When Kilid and I sat down to plan out J&H, we recalled all the things we enjoyed in our time playing other MMOs, and the problems or mistakes we made as well, to avoid them this time round.

What We Offer

J&H is a small FC and wants to stay that way. I've had the most fun in smaller guilds because everyone gets a chance to pitch in, play together and develop a sense of camaraderie. I want people to feel like they're an important part of the group and that what they do with us actually matters.

We have long term plots that we weave into our events, to give a sense of progression, but it's not weighty or unwieldy. As most of our regular events involve doing X job for Y person, we wanted to have some of them tie in together rather than every single one being a one off. Say we did a job for X last week; well, now a competitor is cross with us so we'll have to deal with that. It might resolve in a matter of weeks, or we might get ideas to expand and draw it out further, depending on the feedback we get.

Open world RP is a big thing for us. Because we're a newer FC, we missed out on getting a plot and, as a result, mostly RP out in the world or openly in cities. Although we were initially disappointed about this, it's turned into a blessing in disguise as we've got quite a bit of random RP this way!

Although our focus is RP, we also have one night a week where we focus on PVE, running whatever is the most popular option at the time. We'll never be at the bleeding edge of progression but we gear up and make our way through content, having plenty of fun along the way.

From a more nuts and bolts perspective, we have:

• RP events at least once a week, if not more;
  
• Active, regularly updated website;
  
• IC linkshell for events, coordinating on the fly RP and casual chitchat RP;
  
• Optional Skype group for when you're not in game;
  
• Optional TeamSpeak server for PVE and general chat; and
  
• Probably some other things my caffeine-deficient mind can't recall at this precise moment...
  

Policies

I suppose the policy most important to me is resolving any conflicts quickly. Being a smaller guild, problems are going to impact the whole more severely than they would in a big one, so ensuring people mostly get along is a priority. Of course disagreements are inevitable and whilst we hope that they can be sorted out privately, if the leadership is required to intervene, we'll do so.

On the whole, however, we're made up of mature players (18+, although most are well into their 20s, 30s and beyond) so we trust people to respect boundaries and each other, adhere to lore, separate IC and OOC and so on. If for some reason that doesn't happen, again, we'll step in and do our best to help smooth it out.

What We Want

I suppose our ideal member works well in a team, both IC and OOC. That said, stroppy characters who complain about the ineptitude of the rest of the group can be quite hilarious as long as that IC/OOC separation is intact. They'd also have a decent sense of humour and at least tolerate our silly banter, if not join in on it. Someone who isn't afraid to jump in and get involved is a big plus too. Although I do make substantial effort to include everyone, it takes a burden off us when members actively involve themselves or even take the lead and create their own events for the rest of us to participate in.

As our IC theme involves breaking the law a lot from time to time, having a similarly flexible moral code would also be ideal, but not necessarily required. We have some characters with us now who lean more towards lawful good (whilst I'd say J&H is true neutral, or even chaotic neutral at times) and the IC conflict has been quite fun to play out.

I think that's about it. Now I'm going to get some more coffee...

Thank you for sharing all of this! It's refreshing and interesting to see the steps and policies that other leaders take to create a fun RP environment within the community. As mentioned above, it's a lot of work, and often a completely thankless job. XD

I also edited the original post to include an example of a "script". I don't script everything - just the actions/cutscenes that would happen very quickly, or more elaborate descriptions. They usually take about an hour for me to write. (Although this 'planning time' doesn't involve plotting for events, or coordinating the divisions of large groups into smaller groups -- which is something else I try to do.)

As for the Rendezvous story, we're a slow-moving supernatural mystery plot. We have action and comedy alongside, but at the core of it everyone is investigating the strange occurrence that is happening to them. Since it takes quite a bit of writing, plotting, and coordination to run a "plot" event, these only happen about once a month. The same goes for the Host Club event, which also only happens once a month. (Someone once asked me why we don't run them more often, and I was like "Sure! If you want to run it, go ahead! " Needless to say, they did not go ahead and run/advertise the extra session.

It's also nice to see that other leaders take the time to work with each person to a reasonable degree. I have had members join in the past who expect a personal invitation from someone for taking any IC action ("hand holding"), and it really doesn't work out so well. Someone who constantly needs an external IC reason (beyond the premise of the LS, which is kind of a built-in motivator) to ever do anything doesn't usually have a fun time with us. A player needs to take some initiative and OoCly decide "Okay, my character is going to show up for this event."

I've also turned down a couple of applicants due to lore reasons, and have worked with quite a few others to slightly modify their background to be pretty much the same, except with lore-compliant reasoning. I figure that, as a LS, we promise a reasonable level of lore compliance to our membership. It's why I ask question #3: to see if they would ruffle everyone's feathers with their concept or abilities. I'm not too strict on rarities, as long as there's a thorough explanation as to why it's necessary. Basically, if you have an unusual ability or background point, please be prepared to explain its source within the lore, and cite your sources if need be.

Hmm, I'd just offer a slightly different option?

While there is much to be said for organisation and structure in persisting a strong view on things, there are alternatives that push the focus, responsibility and empowerment on individuals and allow some self selection.

I'm not saying any one is better than the other just that how you choose to organise will directly affect the culture of your group.

Personally I prefer the approach that facilitates and encourages individuals to find their own way rather than dictating the way. Any rules are there as a backstop for when things go awry and not a set of tracks people must follow.

Just a thought - There is probably a grid we could draw of Group Identity vs Individual Identity

• H-H = The "A" Team
  
• H-L = Military
  
• L-H = Heroes
  
• L-L = Association
  

(03-20-2015, 08:17 AM)Nebbs Wrote: [ -> ]Personally I prefer the approach that facilitates and encourages individuals to find their own way rather than dictating the way. Any rules are there as a backstop for when things go awry and not a set of tracks people must follow.

That's largely what we try to do. We don't really have any hard and fast rules, just guidelines and a very flexible procedure for dealing with problems that may arise.

Our guild plot, similarly, is not planned much in advance because I want the ending to reflect what each member involved contributes. There is a general idea of where we want to go but the reactions of the group will ultimately decide how it ends. Like one of our most recent events, two participants in particular completely destroyed (in a good way!) what I had planned and the ending was wildly different as a result.

(03-20-2015, 08:30 AM)Inarah Wrote: [ -> ]

(03-20-2015, 08:17 AM)Nebbs Wrote: [ -> ]Personally I prefer the approach that facilitates and encourages individuals to find their own way rather than dictating the way. Any rules are there as a backstop for when things go awry and not a set of tracks people must follow.

That's largely what we try to do. We don't really have any hard and fast rules, just guidelines and a very flexible procedure for dealing with problems that may arise.

Our guild plot, similarly, is not planned much in advance because I want the ending to reflect what each member involved contributes. There is a general idea of where we want to go but the reactions of the group will ultimately decide how it ends. Like one of our most recent events, two participants in particular completely destroyed (in a good way!) what I had planned and the ending was wildly different as a result.

Oh yes!  I love player lead plot, in fact it was one of the main approaches I took in running large scale LARP.

I must come to your events much more!!

I agree that there are benefits to both structured guilds, as well as more freeform guilds! While my players can change a lot along the course of our "main plot", they probably won't change the plot into something entirely different.

For example: The players won't be able to voluntarily remove their marks, even if they conduct the most elaborate ritual or sacrifice all of the furbles in their attempt. Allowing the willy-nilly mark removal (or giving said mark to others, as though it were the world's worst birthday present) would unfortunately hamstring the core concept: that people are stuck with this supernatural destiny. They're stuck with these other people, regardless of walks of life or personal creeds. Although, through player interaction and really selling me on the dramatic element, I've altered this to include permanent character death as being the One means where a mark can be "voluntarily" transferred to another. Because that's a really dynamic and cool idea when used toward a narrative.

We have OoC policies about switching characters or leaving the LS (hence the mark 'disappearing'), but it's just one of those doors that, if ICly opened just a crack, would be blown wide open in the next minute.

I try not to advertise us as a "Looking For RP" guild. Even though we're fine with LS-only, we have our own plot and RP subculture. We also don't RP every single day - although members frequently set up RP with one another to execute certain scenes and conversations. If someone is just looking for Pick-Up RP, I encourage them to join the Open RP LS, or try on some tavern RP at the Quicksand (which is a great place for tavern RP!)

It's just different flavors of ice cream. Some people like rocky road, and others like butter pecan. If everyone were the same, it would actually be boring and sad, haha.

(03-20-2015, 03:40 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: [ -> ]Unpopular Policies
Our most unpopular policy, BY FAR, is our strict adherence to lore. Members have gotten tells asking if our lore policy was real, and people have heard it was very strict. Which it is - currently we don't allow anyone in who plays a WHM ICly, and we have a very strict BLM policy as well. When someone apps with us and says they are a WHM (We've had many oddly enough) we do tell them "We can only accept you in you play a Conjurer ICLY at this time" and only 1 or 2 people have actually made the switch to get in. When we see something in someones background that isn't lore compliant, we work with them to make sure it is before letting them in, or - if they were let in first - we work with the before rping with other members again. A LOT of people take this as a slam against their character, they start thinking they are terrible roleplayers or that we are being bullies. But it's not. Most of the time, I'll try to work to make your story the SAME but more lore complaint (I.E. Explaining that being a White Mage isn't necessary to be a really powerful healer and just saying your a talented Conjurer won't change your personal story).

(03-20-2015, 08:02 AM)Maia Wrote: [ -> ] 
I've also turned down a couple of applicants due to lore reasons, and have worked with quite a few others to slightly modify their background to be pretty much the same, except with lore-compliant reasoning. I figure that, as a LS, we promise a reasonable level of lore compliance to our membership. It's why I ask question #3: to see if they would ruffle everyone's feathers with their concept or abilities. I'm not too strict on rarities, as long as there's a thorough explanation as to why it's necessary. Basically, if you have an unusual ability or background point, please be prepared to explain its source within the lore, and cite your sources if need be.

We also get a lot of applicants who are WHM/BLM icly - But I can almost say that the applicants we get that do this are all exclusively new to the game. We're talking maybe they've played for a couple of weeks, and for someone who hasn't played for a couple of weeks there's almost no chance of actually realizing that parts of the community doesn't roll with this. It's not like the WHM quest starts with a disclaimer xD
We've had success with having several people redo their stories (a perk of them mostly being new means that they likely haven't even mentioned it icly) but we have also had our share of people who go "but I wanted to be special!" and choose another way - which is fine, I'd much rather that people do this than try to fit in, only to end up miserable when the guild doesn't do or offer what you were looking for. 
I always encourage people not to use the jobs icly - even though some are possible via tweaks - as the classes work a whole lot better across the board, and I do not see why someone should be the very best at something when being good at something gives pretty much the same effect and leaves room for improvement in ways where you do not have to boggle your mind to stay within the limits of lore. I'm more on board with Maia there, there has to be a very good explanation behind things that are quite extraordinaire or unique to the world (and I think it's fair to expect, especially in Heavy-RP guilds)

----

As for rules vs. guidelines.. I do not believe in not having rules. Whilst most of our things are guidelines - Like, for example our interpretations of the lore - we do have some things penned down that is not going to stand out as a bright thing if anyone breaks. It usually includes common sense rules, like don't bitch at people in the FC, but we also expect people to behave when they're interacting with the community. So if we find one of ours in a big troll-shout match in Mor Dhona, we won't be so impressed, because that is not what we want to be associated with (and one person can do a lot of havoc to the reputation of a guild).
We've also got various rules/expectations in the field of RP penned down, meta-gaming is one of the bigger ones here. We would absolutely kick someone who metagames intentionally, but fortunately we have never had to. And I think that is also a part of the point I'm trying to make here - Our rules topic is ridiculously long, but most of the rules have never been enforced. Simply having them there ensures that people know exactly how not to behave in the FC. 

Obviously other guilds are more relaxed and, also some guilds are quite small. There's a big difference in what you need to do and have in place when you have to be a leader for 7 people vs 25-35 people. Likewise, if one is for example a light-rp guild, there's chunk of the RP rules from the heavy side that doesn't get used, because it has it's focus on more easy-going fun. Not saying that heavy-fc's do not have fun, but what we find fun takes more regulation to achieve. 
Also not saying that light guilds are worse in any way what so ever, just in case anyone gets that thought - I treat the terms as what they are, a way to define playstyles (Like PvE and PvP), not as a way to rank people's ability to immerse and RP.

MMm.. I wouldn't say our storyline is "on a track" either. How we generally plan it is pretty simple: We plan the beginning out pretty meticulously, finding ways to get as many players interested in it as possible - usually by having a big event or just by hurting a popular, well established character. The basics of the plotline are laid out, I.E: "Ieza gonna wreck shit." then we outline the beginning. "At the start, Ieza is going to do this and this to hopefully get people involved." AND THEN

It's open.

I never really plan beyond that. After that it's left in the players hands. Everything THEY do, the Storytellers react too. Anything they want ("I want to be kidnapped!" or "I want to try to be corrupted") we facilitate. I never know how the story is going to go - the middle and end are all vague to me - because it's the FC that decides it. The Storytellers keep very close tabs on what the players do (Spies, spies everywhere) in order to react to THEM.

I actually don't like scripts. I keep it open and freeform once the initial beginning is finished.

As far as the use of scripts, I'd say that, again, both ways are good!

The reason I use pre-written blurbs is due to some very early feedback I received after running one of my first events. "Your event was great, but it seemed so long at some points. If you know something is going to happen, could you write it ahead of time?"

I tend to describe things in great detail, and that is paired with an unfortunately average typing speed. So if, for example, I know a certain supernatural magical thing will happen when someone wears the magical artifact they set out to find, I'll write that description in advance and copy/paste it in when that point arises.

In the moogle mog "cutscene" above, that was more meant to replace the intro cutscene that happens during the in-game fight. Since I was using the fight for our own comedic plot point, I wanted to supply that for further context.

I also think that the plot genre I run lends itself to pre-written things. In relation to our plot, sudden visions aren't uncommon - so I'll write the description of the vision in advance so that people aren't awkwardly shuffling while waiting for me to type 5 paragraphs on the spot, haha. I imagine this wouldn't work so well with more adventure-oriented plots, though.

So, due to all that, the "plot" events I run are a mixture of pre-written scripting, and on-the-spot improv (because player decisions -do- alter what happens.) I think we can all agree that players > plot! And if I know a character will show up to an event, I'll often try to tailor part of the event to help that character shine. An archaeologist is coming? Oh, look! A really old thing that requires translation in order for us to use it! Or, sometimes I'll make entire events or activities that are tailored toward characters (although not to the extent that it would make them "outshine" the rest - just introducing a thing that a character would find appealing or interesting.) Like, upon finding out that a character who was showing up to the IC moogle mog fight -really- likes moogles, I write in a little up-front moogle interaction at the FC house before heading out.

I find myself very interested in all of my players, and if I get to know them a little, I often try to think of things and subplots that would suit their concepts. Judging by the comments above, I actually think this is something most do - and it's all behind-the-scenes so they'd never know beyond just enjoying the event. But we know. In our creepy stalker way, we know...

For me, running an FC takes a lot of witchcraft. Witchcraft powered by tears and blood and desperate prayers. Okay, but seriously. After a couple years of pain and suffering I think I've finally got this guild leading stuff relatively figured out. (Note: In this post I'm only addressing my advice and experience in running an FC, not necessarily linkshells.) Thank you for posting this, Maia! It's very helpful! I agree with everything you've said so I'll try not to repeat too much of what has already been posted!

Amenities

What we offer...

• Large FC house
  
• Active website
  
• Double company actions
  
• IC linkshell
  
• Access to FC chest full of crafting mats
  
• Optional Skype chat
  
• Optional Mumble server
  
• Optional Facebook group
  
• Plug.dj room
  
• FC specific RP event/meeting every week
  
• Server-wide RP event every week
  
• Help with leveling and progression
  
• Help with making a well-rounded character and general RP advice
  

Website Use

With the help of a member of my company who typically likes to remain anonymous, we've done what we can to make our website both pretty and optimized. We have a custom layout and thanks to the donations of our awesome members we have Advanced Enjin membership to give us a lot of extra goodies and keep the site running smoothly. I like Enjin because it's pretty simple to use, and you only need one account to join as many communities as you please.

Making an account on our website is mandatory to fill out an application for the FC. However, using the website after that is not mandatory but immensely encouraged. It's hard to communicate effectively with an FC of ~100 unique people with in game resources alone. I can only parrot certain things in FC chat so many times before the people who are online often at the same time as me wanna punch me after hearing me repeat myself for the tenth time, and the FC announcements section has such a short character limit that it fits not even half a paragraph. Using a website is necessary for clear communication and also helps add more of a sense of community.

Our forums feature...


The one thing I feel worth mentioning here, we have an "IC Bulletin Board" thread (not to be confused with the "Company Bulletin Board" forum board where all written IC notices are posted). In this thread, we post what our character has been up to IC. It's very helpful for dropping subtle hints or setting plots into motion. For example, things like "So-and-so has been walking with a noticeable limp for the past week but if questioned insists everything is fine" or "So-and-so has not been seen at the company house for two days and any attempts to contact him fail." Basically, it's for communicating IC information that cannot be easily conveyed via actual separate RP interactions on a wide scale with everyone who might have seen your character over that period of time.

Encouraging Involvement

Involvement is the number one way to move up in my FC, and it is how each of my officers got their position. Those who are more involved, naturally, get to play a larger role in our company RP plot. We also like to make it known that our members are welcome to run their own events--they do not need my approval.

One thing we've done recently to encourage involvement is a rewards raffle. Each person gets a "ticket" each time they attend a company meeting, help out, or do something that my officers or I feel should be rewarded. At the end of the month, one person is chosen through a random number generator to receive a prize valued around 100k gil.


Our company hosts a Tavern Night every week. It's good to form ties between our FC members and those outside it, get our name out there, and foster RP in the community. Every few months, we usually have a larger and more uniquely themed community event (date auctions, masquerade balls, holiday parties, scavenger hunts, etc.) ran by myself or other members of our company.

FC Events

Our company has a meeting every week where we discuss various IC issues, introduce new members, and give updates on the recent happenings of the FC. We also do IC treasure hunts most weeks. When we've had a recent influx of new members, we hold a Meet & Greet to help the newer members meet others in the company and find their place in the company's ranks. Aside from this, we have little events pretty sporadically, some pre-planned and some very spontaneous, everything from parties to fighting tournaments to IC dungeon runs.


The application is explained (and can be seen in full) here.

Conflict Resolution Policy

My policy here is mostly the same as Maia's, so I won't echo that too much. I will just say I must stress that these things often involve compromise. When there's a dispute where both sides have contributed but Person A is gunning for me to slam Person B with punishments and let Person A get away freely (while cheering from the sidelines as they watch Person B go down in flames!), I do my best to politely inform them it's not going to work that way. When conflicts arise I like to do my best to make sure both sides can end on friendly terms if possible, and that will take compromise. I like for people to come to with the intent of actually working out a problem, not the intent to simply tattle and get the other person in trouble.


Meetings are Mandatory

There was some backlash when I implemented this, but I think it was necessary. Let me explain what I mean by mandatory--OOC reasons to miss are perfectly fine. And by reasons, I mean even saying "I didn't feel like logging in so I watched a movie" or "I felt like playing another game" is a valid reason. However, if someone is online in FFXIV and the FC, I expect them to be at the majority of the meeting.

No Readmittance?

An open door policy is all good and nice, but frankly, we've had too many problems with fair-weather FC members--the type who will get caught up in the hype of drama and leave amid a mass exodus, or maybe complain of the inactivity following an exodus and leave for greener pastures. Greener pastures that they apparently never end up finding before we bounce back on our feet again and are active once more, and lo! Now that we're thriving, they're suddenly our best buddies and them leaving was just "a break" and they want an invite back to the company that they say is their "home." If someone leaves on decent enough terms and/or sincerely apologizes, I typically don't mind giving second chances... But people asking for third and fourth chances is too much. We've had too much of this in the past and now we're very strict on letting anyone back in. If anyone leaves, we expect them to keep in mind they may not be able to just waltz back in.

TL;DR?

The rest of our rules, I think, are pretty standard and I've had no complaints. You can find them in full here. Some people are put off by the mere length of them, but honestly, it all pretty much boils down to "be mature and respectful of others." In fact, that phrase is more or less all our "rules" used to be--some people just had problems understanding how to achieve that, so we chose to break it down piece by piece.


Not only do we have our own board on the forum, but the staff of my FC also have our own Skype group. We use the Skype chat regularly to collaborate on ideas and discuss concerns, as well as simply relay any necessary information. Also, my boyfriend is the person I made this FC with. He doesn't really play FFXIV much anymore, but he's led guilds for a while and unlike me he's a natural leader, Type A personality who has his crap together, so in almost every decision I make, I consult him and give a lot of weight to his opinions and ideas.


Communication - Communication is key. I like people who tell me when there's drama rather than let it escalate. I like people who come to me when they have a problem rather than silently leaving the FC.

Initiative - I like people who make my job easier and bring more life to the FC! I like people who, rather than sitting and complaining that "I want there to be more IC dungeon runs!" and whining until someone makes it happen, take the initiative to make it happen themselves.

Positive Attitudes - I like people who are friendly and upbeat, and don't fill FC chat with negativity. I like people who make friends and form bonds. I like people who don't get involved in drama. I like people who are open to compromise and not easily offended. I like people who help mediate.

Helpfulness - I like people who help answer general questions about the game and the company, or who help company mates with anything from dungeons to coming up with a character background.


"Always IC"

For clarification, if any member wants to be "always IC," they are more than welcome to. But to me, "heavy RP" isn't about how often someone is IC, it's the quality of the time that is spent IC--how much thought is behind it, how much effort and passion is put into it, how good the writing is, how interesting the character is, how lore friendly the role-play is, how properly common RP etiquette is observed. Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I find "always IC" to be the exact opposite of "heavy RP." There are some situations that just do not make sense for my characters to be there IC canonically, and there just some times I really can't get my mind into the state necessary to play my character well and would end up half-assing my RP. That being said, no one is ever at any point required to be IC.

Strict Activity Requirements

If someone is gone for 100+ days with no explanation and without checking in, they'll likely be kicked. They will also likely fail their membership vote if they are not particularly active in their first three weeks in the FC, but that's not so much a rule as simply a thing that happens. I've seen FC's where people are kicked for not logging in for a week, or even for not RPing once a week. I think that's silly, not only because OOC/RL stuff is obviously more important than RP/FFXIV, but also because someone's not going to be anymore active if you kick them--they'll just be gone. And I don't know how others feel, but if I got kicked for activity for being gone two weeks, I wouldn't reapply--I'd go elsewhere.

Voice Chat Mandatory

This is an RP FC, not a hardcore raiding FC. We don't need voice chat to communicate. I've seen guilds--RP guilds--where voice chatting is necessary because officers like to interview applicants in voice chat, or like to deal with addressing any problems via voice chat. It's honestly just incredibly uncomfortable to me. It makes me feel like I'm interviewing for a job, or being called into the boss's office for a lecture. Those aren't feelings I want out of my FC and my leisure time. As someone with social anxiety issues, it's all doubly unpleasant to me. I find it particularly weird in RP guilds, since a lot of role-players tend to be a little introverted OOC, or like to keep their OOC details relatively unknown for security or immersion reasons. Voice chatting for something already nerve-wracking like an interview or a reprimanding just seems far too personal and awkward.

Always SFW and PG

FC chat is where we, as adults and perhaps the rare older teen, relax and unwind. We don't allow anything obscene. But profanity, teasing and good-natured jeers, and innuendos are to be expected.

Hand-holding

We are willing to help, but we can't walk everyone through every step of the game, or forcibly drag someone into every RP. There's simply not enough time, and it shouldn't be necessary. People have to do some things themselves. This is a large FC, so if someone needs someone else to drag them into being involved with literally anything, something smaller be a better option. I mean a lot smaller, like an FC of 5 - 8 active members.

Dating Services

The FC is not a hookup service for anyone to find sex or romance, IC or OOC. Good for you if you stumble into it! However, we don't foster the environment for someone looking for partnership and nothing more. We are not anyone's personal dating pool.

Leader-centric Plotlines

Let's face it--this is no fun for anyone but the leaders (and maybe their special group of closest friends who are sometimes included). I do actually see some reason in it, because if you rely on others to move your plot along they often drop the ball and the plot can be lost or put on hold, but we find a compromise by letting those who are most active and involved play the largest role in the company plot while keeping the plot large and broad enough to give everyone who puts forth the effort a chance to play their own role in things and have a moment in the spotlight. Faye and her co-leader, Zularti, are not meant to be the "main characters" of the plot. Their role is not to be the heroes of the story, but rather to be the hook that connects the plot to the company as a whole and make it personal for all of our members.


We are a large FC and like anyone else I do have real life responsibilities, including two part-time jobs. I cannot do everything myself. Fortunately, I have some trusty officers to rely on! Each position has a definitive IC role, but I'll just explain solely the OOC facet of what each branch does. The current hierarchy beneath me is...

Primarch - This role is filled by my boyfriend who serves as my co-leader (or did, when he still played regularly)! He is the person I bounce ideas off of or seek advice from. He also brainstorms up the overarching company plot and sets each step of it in motion. It's helpful to have someone who I can very easily communicate with OOC no matter where I am or what I'm doing, as well to have someone I can trust enough to say, "Hey, log into my account and do this for me."

Warden - My Warden is that trusty Val fellow! He's someone I can get in contact with relatively easily and know very well, so he's kinda like my personal assistant and fills my shoes when I'm busy or offline. He helps me out, relays information to people when I can't be online, and helps judge applicants to the company. He's also someone I bounce ideas off a lot, and he looks after the Mumble server for me.

Chronicler - My Chronicler is a great fellow who's been around since nearly the start of HoD years ago on TERA. His position is mostly IC, but he helps plan events and plotlines for the company and I value his input a lot.

Saints - I have four of them--one for each branch of my company! The Saints are each responsible for running their own branch--they plan events and content for their branch, hold regular IC meetings with their branch, and they are the go-to person (IC and OOC) for the needs and concerns of the members of their branch. They help judge applicants to the FC, ensure the FC's rules are followed, and give me feedback on the problems and ideas I go to them with.

Lieutenants - Each Saint can appoint a couple LT's from their respective branch. Lieutenant is an IC position, but they help ease the burden of the Saints who sometimes have more to deal with IC than they have time for OOC, or sometimes just can't be online thus leaving the LT's to fill in. LT's often help run/make RP events and relay information for their Saint.

??? - I haven't decided on a name for this rank yet, as it was only created just last night. However, before a member joins a branch, they are an "acolyte." Since they are not in a branch yet, they do not have anyone specific to go to for their IC and OOC needs. So I've remedied that by appointing someone to this newly created position. Basically, his role will be to help answer the questions of new members and help get them settled into the company. He is also responsible for encouraging and directing people toward joining a branch well-suited for their character to ensure they can have the opportunity to be involved in the FC and our role-plays which branches may often play a large role in. Consider him the "Saint" of the acolytes!

It should also be noted that all officers aside from LT's can help with purchasing and activating company actions as well as handing out invites and approving in-game applications.

I also think it's very interesting to see the different structure types between smaller guilds and larger guilds. I know they both have their own unique challenges and merits. At 30-50 members (some variance based on activity level) in Rendezvous, I'd describe us as "medium sized."

I only have 3 officers, but they're all extremely helpful and pop up like little garden gnomes when a lot of things need doing.

I think that's an interesting idea about the raffle, Faye. I'm extremely grateful when members take initiative and offer up fun and interesting things for other members to do, so I think it's great that HoD has a tangible reward system for that!

And another point has been brought up, which brings up a question I'd like to ask other leaders:

What sort of minimal activity policy do you have?

For example, if someone joins but you've never seen them at events or see that they've logged into your website for a few months (Shivtr is very nice by telling me how long it's been since a member's last log in)... how long would you wait before taking any action on that? Also, what sort of metrics do you measure to weigh activity? If they speak on the LS once or twice but they've never shown up in person, is that taken into consideration?

I understand that RL happens, and sometimes characters get swept up into other plots and just can't check in. I try to be super understanding about that, actually! But is there a point where I should draw the line, and concede that they're probably not going to really dive in with us at all?

I just feel that a lot of the time, people go through screening and then receive their intro scene, but we never hear from them after that.

It's a decision I have a lot of trouble making, so advice is welcome on it!