(07-27-2013, 01:11 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote: So I have a group put together already, however the ideas that I have are still fluid and I'm continuing to work on them until launch when I'll be finalizing what I have. So far the idea is that I'll have both a LS and a FC that will be linked to one another IC, the story behind it is that they are supposed to be a secret society of "black knights" (not to be confused with Dark Knights) who serve the same purpose as a typical order of knights, to protect and serve the realm, but do so by sacrificing honor and renown for steely dedication to do absolutely anything to protect Eorzea. That means even if they would need to sacrifice the lives of a small town to save thousands of lives elsewhere, they would do so without hesitation. They make hard choices others cannot, and they do so in secret or behind anonymity.

The society itself is a well guarded secret that has existed since the Sixth Umbral Era, somewhat based on real world secret societies like the Knights Templar or the Free Masons/Illuminati, and like the Free Masons I wanted to give them a very public front that had to do with some form of crafting/gathering. So effectively there'd be a small office or shop that would be the public face of the organization, a place where members can come to receive orders anonymously, or where people who are in the know could contact the order if they needed them for something.

Now down to the point where I need some input, I've decided that the best way to accurately portray this would be to have two different bodies, a Free Compan which would serve as the secret order part named the Blades of Nald'thal, and then a Linkshell which would then be the public face of the group. The logic behind the idea was that while you could only join one Free Company (and thus requiring you to be a full fledged member of the order to join ours) you can join up to 8 Linkshells, which meant that the Linkshell could contain outsiders, such as freelancer contractors, contacts, fences, or regular clients.

So from here I have three questions that I'm seeking some advice/input on. Firstly, what would be a good company to use as a front for an organization like this. I had considered perhaps going with a sort of freelance Carpenters Guild, (aka the Free Carpenters, instead of Free Masons) however this would require everyone to be carpenters in it and that's just not feasible. The other idea I had was that it be some kind of just freelance craftsman guild in general, for any kind of worker whether they be a miner, a weaver, or an armorsmith. Another idea I had as well was that they work sort of like a bank or money lender, and while that might be interesting and definitely something EVERYONE would deal with in a normal fantasy setting, I realize that the retainers effectively serve as banks (both in the sense of keeping your money and your items). So I'm looking for input on what would be a cool idea for a front company that isn't being used a lot already (especially by other LSs).

The next thing I'm kinda looking for help for is a name. While I already have a name for the FC I don't think it would be a good idea if the LS shares the same name. If you heard some shady rumors of a secret society that lurked about Ul'dah, and then there also just so happened to be a shop in the market ward that shared a name with the rumored secret society it might be a bit too obvious. So I was trying to think of a cool name that would work well for the group, or whether people think I should even bother with a separate name.

Lastly, I wanted an opinion on how viable people thought this idea even was in an RP sense. The idea is that the LS and the FC will somewhat support each other. The LS will contain most of the groups crafters and gathers, while the FC will contain the groups combat characters. Now this isn't at all to say that the two are mutually exclusive, just that when I plan events for say the LS I'd be more focused on "shop" type roleplay and things like that, while the Free Company would be more focused on dealing with threats, taking out an NM, or protecting a hamlet. If a person wants to play a DoH or DoL primarily they'd still be welcome in the FC, just the same as someone who wants to play a DoW or DoM can still freely join the LS.

Anyways, this is getting way longer than I meant for it to be. I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts on the ideas, and whether you guys think it's a good idea or perhaps a bit too ambitious.

(07-27-2013, 01:32 AM)Kaln Wrote: Other people interested in the guild OOCly would join up, and essentially be employed at the bar. Then, after X amount of time, they would be aprehended by dark, mysterious figures and inducted into the Covenant.

(07-27-2013, 01:47 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:

(07-27-2013, 01:32 AM)Kaln Wrote: Other people interested in the guild OOCly would join up, and essentially be employed at the bar. Then, after X amount of time, they would be aprehended by dark, mysterious figures and inducted into the Covenant.

This was actually exactly what I had in mind for recruit, which was why I wanted to create a LS and FC that were linked, but separate entities. You'd first join the LS as a staffer basically, for whatever business we decide on, and after working there for so long you'd be black bagged or something, taken out into the desert, and then interrogated. If you passed the test, you'd be invited into the order.

I hadn't actually considered a tavern though, so that's a definite possibility, especially after they introduce FC housing we could always try to set it up as some kind of tavern and leave it open to the public. One of the key things is anonymity, so I had also intended to utilize some kind of guild specific garments, even if it was something as simple as like a hempen cowl and your racial gear (something that can be worn by ever class and is easy to obtain even at early levels). One of the other ideas I had too was colorizing ranks, for example even though everyone is shrouded with masks or hoods you can tell rank by someone having a blue robe, or a red robe, etc. Initiates would have an undyed robe, while an officer might have a red or black robe, something like that.

One of the reasons behind a hempen cowl (beyond how easy it was to get) was that I felt it would humble people. You might be a level 50 Paladin who runs around in shiny white and gold armor outside of the order, but when you are with your brothers and sisters everyone is equal.

P.S. I actually like the idea of having different names with matching abbreviations, that's kind of cool though it might be difficult to do that with BoN.

(07-27-2013, 01:57 AM)Kaln Wrote:

(07-27-2013, 01:47 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:

(07-27-2013, 01:32 AM)Kaln Wrote: Other people interested in the guild OOCly would join up, and essentially be employed at the bar. Then, after X amount of time, they would be aprehended by dark, mysterious figures and inducted into the Covenant.

This was actually exactly what I had in mind for recruit, which was why I wanted to create a LS and FC that were linked, but separate entities. You'd first join the LS as a staffer basically, for whatever business we decide on, and after working there for so long you'd be black bagged or something, taken out into the desert, and then interrogated. If you passed the test, you'd be invited into the order.

I hadn't actually considered a tavern though, so that's a definite possibility, especially after they introduce FC housing we could always try to set it up as some kind of tavern and leave it open to the public. One of the key things is anonymity, so I had also intended to utilize some kind of guild specific garments, even if it was something as simple as like a hempen cowl and your racial gear (something that can be worn by ever class and is easy to obtain even at early levels). One of the other ideas I had too was colorizing ranks, for example even though everyone is shrouded with masks or hoods you can tell rank by someone having a blue robe, or a red robe, etc. Initiates would have an undyed robe, while an officer might have a red or black robe, something like that.

One of the reasons behind a hempen cowl (beyond how easy it was to get) was that I felt it would humble people. You might be a level 50 Paladin who runs around in shiny white and gold armor outside of the order, but when you are with your brothers and sisters everyone is equal.

P.S. I actually like the idea of having different names with matching abbreviations, that's kind of cool though it might be difficult to do that with BoN.

I personally love the idea of a more... subtle uniform. Loc, on the other hand, did not. TMC's only requirement was that it be dark-colored, to be better suited for hiding at night and such. Other then that, you could pretty much wear whatever you wanted. It also had to be different from what you wore, day to day. In some cases, one such was a woman with fiery red hair, a little extra would be needed to cover up the more 'distinguishable' features. If you could be identified by it, it had to be covered. 

But, TMC wasn't militaristic so much as it was banditaristic. I made that word up.

With that in mind, BoN sounds much more organized and militarized, so ranking uniforms may very well work. Though, you might also consider uniforms based on classes, too. Or maybe class-archetypes.

Ranged wears certain type of uniform, casters wear a certain type, melee wears a certain type.. You could get infinitely detailed with it, or you could just have color requirements - IE, each rnak has a color scheme to adhere to - and let them wear what they want. Certain characters may have clothing preferences better suited to their abilities, and such.

I'm still gonna stand behind the market place idea as far as the front goes, but that's mainly because I detest tavern RP. It bores me to death. But! The tavern idea isn't bad.. I mean, it worked and it worked well. TMC actually used a tavern in GW2 from day 1. They RPed there often enough, and well enough, that it was publicly known we owned the tavern.. I can't say if it still works like that. GW2's community went to the crapper. Anywho, I digress.

(07-27-2013, 02:18 AM)Kaln Wrote: Yes. Yes.

Yes.

I won't, have no right to, debate over specifics.. But I think it'd flow just as well, or possibly even better, without the whole.. Dark figure calling them over.

Let me lay out a scenario, a depiction of how it'd go in my head.

Guy comes into a market. Tavern. Whatever. Guy needs help with stuff. Guy heard he could find someone here. Guy goes up to the bartender, or to a merchants stall, and asks. Merchant/tender don't know anything, they say. Guy goes to another, and another. One the last one, whenever the guy gets to what he would consider his 'last one', the merchant/whatever doesn't openly claim to know anyhting, but.. Answers the questions in a more riddly-indirect way. He never -says- he's part of the group, never gives off the opinion that he is.. But when it's all said in done, he's told Guy that Guy can expect the help to arrive when it's needed. Almost like the merchant/whatever is a messenger, but.. AGain, it's never said. Or, alternatively, Guy has no luck finding the information he wants, and he leaves. After he's gone, one of the merchants talks to someone else, who talks to someone else, who talks to someone else.. And the 'story' of Guy's need gets up the grapevine. BoN hears it from said grapevine, and they show up at the event. Surprise! Help is here!

That way, the people who'd want to fight with the BoN wouldn't think "Hey, we can go here, and fight that shadowy claoked guy."... Instead, it's Guy who comes in and asks, and BoN heres it from the grapevine. Or whatever.. That would also allude to more secrecy, because no one would be able to say with certainty where the BoN heard it from, and therfor no one would be able to point fingers at who's in the BoN. Last thing you want is for the eyes and ears of a secret society to not be secret.

(07-27-2013, 02:45 AM)Kaln Wrote: Or if you just need someone to tell you to stoppit, cause that's dumb and you need to do it this way, I can do that too. ^.~

(07-27-2013, 11:07 AM)Kaln Wrote: Ah, well. If that's the point, then all I can say thus far is that you're on the right track. You've got your head in the right place, a solid foundation from the looks of it. Having the support of your members is definitely a big thing as well.

Only thing left, is why is Kaln not in it? xD

(07-27-2013, 12:13 PM)Ashren Snow Wrote: So far you've been the only person to give me any feedback anyways!

(07-27-2013, 12:37 PM)Kaln Wrote:

(07-27-2013, 12:13 PM)Ashren Snow Wrote: So far you've been the only person to give me any feedback anyways!

I've noticed.. Not sure whyfor that is. Ah well.

I'll shoot you a message un momento, and we'll see what we can see. ^.^