I admit I really like this idea and I've been kind of mulling over it since the OP to properly organize my thoughts on it. At first glance it reminds me of what I had hoped for Crystalline to be prior to ARR - that is a sort of "secondary" linkpearl that RPers across a variety of "main" companies could fall back on if RP was scant or just for the sake of variety. With Crystalline being repurposed in ARR I was hoping that at least one or two of these sort of networks would crop up to help tether everyone together, and from what I have read so far I really admire the direction that this has taken.
For ideas, I played a text-based game (MUD-ish?) about 16-17 years ago called GemStone III (I think it's still around in some form now as GSIV but it's been a very long time). In this game there were a couple of societies, one called the "Council of Light" which is similar in many ways to what you are describing. There was a sort of leadership structure in place, but they were all NPC's and the signs were integrated into the game's coding, so everyone who was RPing was essentially all on the same standing. This is to say if you used the Sign of Recognition (the very first sign you receive), you would automatically conduct a seemingly random emote such as: "You touch your right index finger to your left earlobe inconspicuously." Anyone else in the same room would receive this text, and you in-turn would notice their reply, whatever the emote may be - I think it might have been random or possibly based on rank but this was a long time ago and I don't really remember. Anyone not belonging to the organization would simply not be privy to the signals. You can read a little more about it here if you're interested: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Light">http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Light</a><!-- m --> - though it also goes into information about the mechanics of the game. But one thing that was paramount was that you not talk about the council to anyone not belonging to the council. Kind of "Fight Club" and since RP was actively enforced by the GMs, if anyone was found out than assassins were hired against them and such. It was actually pretty well-conducted and you may be able to draw upon some aspects of it for what you're trying to do.
I'm not really sure my character could fit into such an organization, not because I think it's a bad idea or any such thing. Just given the direction she's going lately I'm not sure it would make a lot of sense from a RP perspective. But I do think it's a great idea and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it (at least OOCly
). I know at the game's launch a couple years back there was a fellow who was making a kind of LS geared towards Duskwight Elezen characters only, possibly along a similar vein but somewhat exclusive in that regard (I know yours isn't but the underlying theme feels similar in a way). I think this could work for any race/clan designation but seems most fitting for Duskwight ICly given the kind of xenophobic nature the lore suggests at. I always liked the idea of having a LS like this as a secondary and was sad when he sort of disappeared from the RPC. Forgive my tangent there.
Very seldom have I ever carried only one linkpearl though. Having options is what makes the game so great and keeps RPers interacting across the boundaries of multiple LS's, and being able to RP in a sort of subgroup like that which spans across several other groups is such an awesome concept. For Crystalline it was just an amalgamation of friends. You could do something more interesting, or even more sinister with it where it's like a secret fraternal order that has agents scattered across other groups. I bet there are a lot of fun possibilities there!
I do know there's been at least one "secret society" LS, but I think this was intended to be a kind of primary linkshell for its members also. I never belonged so I don't want to make any assumptions but I just wanted to put that out there. One who was a member of Stormguard may have further comment on that.
I think that's about all I had on my mind, but from kind of an outsider perspective I think it's a great idea!
For ideas, I played a text-based game (MUD-ish?) about 16-17 years ago called GemStone III (I think it's still around in some form now as GSIV but it's been a very long time). In this game there were a couple of societies, one called the "Council of Light" which is similar in many ways to what you are describing. There was a sort of leadership structure in place, but they were all NPC's and the signs were integrated into the game's coding, so everyone who was RPing was essentially all on the same standing. This is to say if you used the Sign of Recognition (the very first sign you receive), you would automatically conduct a seemingly random emote such as: "You touch your right index finger to your left earlobe inconspicuously." Anyone else in the same room would receive this text, and you in-turn would notice their reply, whatever the emote may be - I think it might have been random or possibly based on rank but this was a long time ago and I don't really remember. Anyone not belonging to the organization would simply not be privy to the signals. You can read a little more about it here if you're interested: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Light">http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Light</a><!-- m --> - though it also goes into information about the mechanics of the game. But one thing that was paramount was that you not talk about the council to anyone not belonging to the council. Kind of "Fight Club" and since RP was actively enforced by the GMs, if anyone was found out than assassins were hired against them and such. It was actually pretty well-conducted and you may be able to draw upon some aspects of it for what you're trying to do.
I'm not really sure my character could fit into such an organization, not because I think it's a bad idea or any such thing. Just given the direction she's going lately I'm not sure it would make a lot of sense from a RP perspective. But I do think it's a great idea and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it (at least OOCly
). I know at the game's launch a couple years back there was a fellow who was making a kind of LS geared towards Duskwight Elezen characters only, possibly along a similar vein but somewhat exclusive in that regard (I know yours isn't but the underlying theme feels similar in a way). I think this could work for any race/clan designation but seems most fitting for Duskwight ICly given the kind of xenophobic nature the lore suggests at. I always liked the idea of having a LS like this as a secondary and was sad when he sort of disappeared from the RPC. Forgive my tangent there.Very seldom have I ever carried only one linkpearl though. Having options is what makes the game so great and keeps RPers interacting across the boundaries of multiple LS's, and being able to RP in a sort of subgroup like that which spans across several other groups is such an awesome concept. For Crystalline it was just an amalgamation of friends. You could do something more interesting, or even more sinister with it where it's like a secret fraternal order that has agents scattered across other groups. I bet there are a lot of fun possibilities there!
I do know there's been at least one "secret society" LS, but I think this was intended to be a kind of primary linkshell for its members also. I never belonged so I don't want to make any assumptions but I just wanted to put that out there. One who was a member of Stormguard may have further comment on that.
I think that's about all I had on my mind, but from kind of an outsider perspective I think it's a great idea!
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
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