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Special Sections: Shadowbane Related
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Shadowbane's impending Beta: Guilds - Medar (10-03-00)
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Note: This Article originally appeared on our Shadowbane Affiliate Site, Aerynth Atheneaum
Since the beta for Shadowbane is now in the near future (hope I see some of you in there ::grins:: ), I was re-reading the FAQ and various articles I have saved regarding the game. Some thoughts have come to light regarding the groups with which I interact. According to all written material, the name of the game looks to be "cooperation". How will your guild fare with respect to that daunting word?
I will speak honestly on my guild, the Sacred Silver Blades (SSB). While we will always be considered a newb guild by those older than us in our cherished "NWN" circle, we are in fact over four years old, older than any Ultima or Everquest guild. We have a fairly standard guild setup, with a council (not one person) leading the overall guild, which is splintered into two games. Each game chapter is still a part of the whole, and we all interact with each other. However in Shadowbane, this idea will be taken not just one, but many steps further.
Due to the fact that SSB is not one "type" of guild, we have traditional legions we have used since day one. The Weaponmasters are the defenders or warriors of the guild, usually led by one of the better PvPers in the guild (currently SSB Rath in UO). The Enlighteners are the trainers of the guild, teaching newer members the ropes of SSB, and/or teaching players about the game itself. The Plunderers are the gatherers or workers of the guild, encompassing the merchants and adventurers (PvMers). In Shadowbane terms, this is FOUR separate guilds, with three declaring fealty to the general guild. For our concerns, this is a good thing, but how well will this work for other guilds?
I have been paying attention to the words and ideas of many NWN guilds that I follow, namely KAAOS, UDL, BDA, COR, and a few others. Each has their particular style of gameplay and history to follow, and each will certainly make their mark in Shadowbane. However, who will soar as a group while other elder guilds stumble?
To date, one of the two best prepared to hit Shadowbane running is KAAOS, who have been shaping their idea of guilding and sub-guilding for months, if not a year or more. While I will not go into detail on their setup, I will say they have positioned themselves with other powerful guilds and some hand-picked individuals. This alone makes them a formidable force for Shadowbane, at least from a "we will stomp your ass" perspective. I do not see KAAOS taking over and running a city ("Why yes, Hedron, I would like to buy that chainmail codpiece you have in your wares"), but I do see them as either an authoritative voice in a city-state, or a Mercenary force to be reckoned with. The only negative aspect of their setup is currently their numbers. KAAOS has never been known for having a large membership, and this has not usually hurt them in warfare - ask a guild called Darkenbane in Everquest. But in Shadowbane, numbers will be as large a part of winning combat as skill, and they seem to have realized this and have been planning around this for some time.
Not quite as prepared, but just as positioned is the Undead Lords. UDL has a similar structure to SSB, albeit a bit darker. There are various inner factions (ie. UDL already has sub-guilds) within the main guild that will lend themselves to becoming "sub-guilds" under the whole banner. UDL has been strong in Ultima for quite some time, and also has membership in EQ. They have the numbers, the mentality, and discipline to be an impressive force in Shadowbane. Ask any number of guilds on the Siege Perilous server of Ultima. Having a strong tradition helps any group coming into the game, and UDL is another elder guild that is steeped in history. They could pull off running a city-state, both supporting the PvP side of defense, and the vendor side of merchants and shops. Their strong numbers will not be a worry for them, and those figures will only improve as their membership begins to dump UO and EQ, and come into the new world.
Bregan D'Aerth, while one of the most interesting guilds left from the
Neverwinter days, has suffered in the years since the closing of NWN. Ultima Online and the years BDA has spent in the game has seemingly diluted the guild from a strong roleplaying and PvP group, to the smaller core of old BDA'ers, and a larger contingency of members that don't know a "vendui" from a "velve". Now don't get me wrong, I am not bashing BDA, as I have some extreme respect for many of the older members. What I am saying is that the guild has gone from a world where they were free to roleplay AND play in their own style, to successive worlds where their style of playing was hampered by the game itself. This has made it very hard for BDA to retain the level of perfection they have always kept. Shadowbane could change this yet again, as it allows that perfect niche for a guild such as BDA. On the outset, Bregan D'Aerth would be perfect Mercenaries for hire...as is the idea behind the guild. Of course there are many other ways BDA could fit into Shadowbane, and I am sure we will all be surprised to see just where BDA rears their dark heads when the time suits them.
The Crusaders of the Realm have stayed strong since NWN closed, and retain much of what the guild once was, and all of what the guild has always stood for. COR is within a year or two of being ten years old as a guild, and you do not make it that long without some strong membership and various interests in gaming. They are unlike the above guilds in the respect that they are of a good alignment, and they do not 'quite' have the strictures as some of the above guilds. They do have their own personal style, and this has served them well for years. They have a fair membership, some strong roleplayers, and I see a guild like COR becoming allied with similar guilds to form a city-state that would welcome other respectable players. Whether they are the lead-guild, or swear fealty to another guild is yet to be seen, as many of these ideas will be tested and decided upon in beta, but either way, COR will be one of the NWN guilds that will thrive in Shadowbane.
And for kicks, I just 'know' you are dying to find out where SSB will fit in all this. SSB will not be a one of the leading city-state guilds. Our numbers are not strong enough, and we do not have the overall guild skills to last at this level (ie, we have many casual gamers, and a smaller number of PvPers). However, we will most certainly be knocking our heads together and allying with or under some stronger guild, preferably an older NWN guild. A few of us have
already been debating it for some time, and there are definite advantages to this for our guild. This is not a negative thing for our guild, this is merely the truth...and we are smart enough to recognize it at the beginning.
Where will you as a gamer fit in? If you are heading into Shadowbane as a single player, I would urge you to look hard at a number of guilds before deciding upon one that could best fit you. And if you are thinking that guilds do not fit your style, I urge you to play for a small while and think on it again. The one of the features that will hopefully kick Shadowbane far above the similar games of Asheron's Call and Everquest is the guilding system, and its usefulness in enjoying the game. Yes, you can play solo and join a general GM-run guild, but that cuts out all the intrigue and interaction that goes with joining a guild of your equals and peers.
If you already belong to a guild, how will your group fare? Yes, you still have months to plan, and as soon as beta starts we will all be flooded with information on exactly how things work, but having a strong, united front is always a good way to be ready for competition. And believe me, Shadowbane will be a competition...are you ready?
Discuss: Questions? Comments? Concerns?
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