How I Wound Up in Cenarion Circle and My Current Guilds

It's time for another late-night post, fictional readers.  This one's a long one.

I've been thinking a lot about guilds lately.  Y'know: which ones to join, keep, what to name my future bank guild.  Stuff like that.  Up until now, I haven't really been all that picky about what guild I join, except that they must be casual.  I don't have the schedule the commit to raid times or required events. 

I think it's time I got more serious about guilds.

I've been rather cavalier about what guilds I join over the past few years, and recent events have caused me to regret that.  

My main character, whom I've been playing on for over two years, is on a guild that she just happened to get invited to by a random whisper.  It was a guild name I recognized, so I said yes, figuring that least it was a guild that I knew I'd be on around the same time as other members.  I was only in the guild for a few days before it started creeping me out a bit.

There guild was theming its ranks around 'Family.'  Not in and of itself a bad thing, until I started noticing that people seemed to be promoted based on RL factors, and none I saw were men.  Including myself. The GM just whispered me a couple of weeks after a joined the game, asked if I was such-and-such in RL, and upon my affirmation, would I like to be an officer?  I said 'Umm. I dunno.'  I got promoted anyway.

I had only been in the guild for a few weeks!  At this point, I was seriously thinking, 'I'm going to quit this guild.' Instead, a week or so later, I ended up quitting WoW for about over a month for RL reasons (and accidentally missed my Brew of the Month achievement! arrg!).

When I came back, I was still an officer, although no one seemed to mention anything about it or remember that I had been promoted.  I didn't refer to myself as am officer in chat like everyone else, since I didn't really feel I had done anything to deserve the title.  I still had no idea what I supposed to do as an officer, anyway.  I stayed cool, wondering at this point how long it would take before someone questioned my rank.  (It doesn't help that I'm very shy and didn't want to cause a fuss.)

It's been over a year, and I firmly believe that no one even realizes my rank.  It may be the lowest officer rank there is, but only *once* has anyone asked me to do something rank-related, and that was to borrow money from the bank because no one else was on.   We're a casual guild, so there's really very, very few opportunities to assert rank, but still... I've haven't done anything to deserve the rank. 

I pride myself on not being a drain on the guild.  I don't take from the guild bank.  I don't put anything in.  I only started using guild repairs when I realized there was an achievement for it, and I regularly pay the money back.  I help out guildies when I can, but I don't join dungeon runs (mostly due to a poor internet connection).  I don't recruit.  I don't organize events.  I'm, in all honesty, a inconspicuous, mediocre, fade-into-the-background guildie.  I like to think I'm the type of person who's nice to fill out the rank-and-file, but I definitely don't deserve to be an officer. 

There have been some changes.  At some point, all the titles in guild got reverted to their default state, although guild members still frequently use the Family titles in /g.   There are visible men among the leadership now, too. There's more people in the guild, which means there's a lot more variety of people, both and good and bad, but mostly good and helpful.  We're still family-like, which means I don't have to deal with any foulmouthed people, or pushy elitists.  Overall, positive things.

However, there are still a few things that bug me.  I've disagreed with some decisions the GM and the (real) officer council have made, particularly in how they want to address conflict resolution.  I've yet to see any clear rules on what an officer can do, or how ranks are awarded.   I've seen arguments that could be avoided with clear expectations.

However, I'm still in the guild.  Why?  Because it's a casual guild, and I only play casually.  I don't really involve myself with the guild, so very little about it affects me.  It would be different if I actually did group activities.  /g is largely helpful and friendly, which is an improvement over some of the other guilds I've quit.  I've never received any flak from having a bad guild.  Plus, I'm still curious to see how long my rank will go unnoticed! In short, as long as being in the guild doesn't affect anything other than my hearthstone timer, I'm content to stay. 

Now, however, I'm rolling on RP servers where your choice of guild is much, much, more important.  Your guild tells other players what type of player you are.  If you're in a well known RP guild, you're more likely to get RP.  Join a raiding group, you get less, unless you seek it out. The type of RP guild, and its theme, says something about your character.  Three of the main Alliance guilds of Cenarion Circle, where I'm hanging out right now, are Lluchduu Ocheliad, Pia Presidium, and AAMS.  Those three guild have a radically different vibes. In order: villians/shady characters, religious military, and neutral public servants.  You can't just pick one at random and expect to fit in.

I didn't do a lot of research about CC before I rolled.  I wasn't very happy on the first realm I rolled because I had trouble finding RP, and I'm a rather shy RPer.  I had picked it because they had a big ad for a community event I wanted to check out, but the date kept getting moved and I ended up missing it entirely. Then I saw an ad for CC saying they had global OOC and IC channels to help you find other RPers.  They had several regular weekly events open to the public.  The first RP post on their forum I read involved a menacing guy named Ardam, and I thought the idea of a realm with a well established 'villians guild' would be interesting to check out. 

So I rolled Elren, the paladin of little character.  I didn't think it was right to create Derscha, as she still existed on the first RP realm I tried, and I hadn't given up on it yet.  I didn't actively seek any guilds, but it didn't take long to get a few invites.  I decline one, saying I wanted an RP guild, and the inviter understood and recommended Pia Presidium.  I didn't know what guild that was at the time, but I kept it in mind.  In honesty, I didn't want to join a big-named guild when I wasn't sure how long I'd be on the server, or if I even liked CC. 

Then Elren got invited by a guild that sounded all right.  It had a decent name, the inviter said that it was a casual guild, "and yes, we RP."   'Yay!' I thought.  'This sounds like a great place to start out!' 

A few days later, I took Elren to one of the weekly open RP events.  I started to learn who the big RP guild names were.  I was the only one from my guild, but hey, it was a small guild. That didn't mean anything.

The next week, I got to see the same guilds show up again, and this time, I knew who they were.  I knew AAMS, the host, was a neutral "Anytime, Anywhere Messaging Service" that did cross-faction translations and deliveries.  I thought that sounded awesome.  I knew what Pia Presidium was.  I recognized names from the IC/OOC channels and forums.  It felt odd interacting with the 'famous' people. 

Yet, I still didn't see anyone from my guild. 

I started to notice my guild was not mentioned in posts talking about RP guilds on the server.  My guild didn't have a big presence on the RP channels- I'd seen maybe one person on them.  My guild chat was all about dungeon running.  My guild members had decidedly un-RP names.  When I said on /g "Hey, there's a big party in Booty Bay for Pirate's Day! Anyone coming?"  no one knew what I was talking about or was interested in attending.   I came to conclusion that my guild, is not, in fact, an RP guild.  

Well, duh.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake with Derscha.  In fact, I decided she didn't need a guild at all.  Most of the RP guilds are -shock!- rather low level, and I wasn't planning on being a raider, so there was no need to worry about perks.  (Although I do love a 15-minute hearth....)  The OOC channel is like a giant /g chat with all the other RPers on the server, so I didn't feel lonely.  I decided I would level her up on her own, and maybe start a guild for her alchemy RP business when I had the money.

Then something interesting happened this past week.  AAMS, the awesome guild I had been admiring, put out a call on the forums for "alt donations."  They said they needed more bread-and-butter people to help fill their ranks, advertise the guild, and build up guild levels.  You didn't have to be dedicated to playing a diplomat/courier, as long you were willing to abide by their code of conduct.  All you had to do was be willing to RP!

I wanted to say, "Yes! Pick me, pick me!"  I had been totally scared about joining a big-named guild, and this seemed like the perfect, no-risk opportunity!  I'm the definition of a bread-and-butter guildie.  I logged on to Derscha, hit "reply" on the thread, typed out "Sign me up!" and then-

-and then I quickly erased the response and navigated away from the page.

I realized that I was doing the exact same thing- joining the first guild that would have me, regardless of what type of guild it was.  I didn't want to tie up Derscha in a guild that wouldn't fit her.  I had already had Elren in a guild she didn't belong to.  I wouldn't do the same thing to character I actually liked playing and had plans for.

I spent time looking up information on AAMS and thinking it over. I re-read the post a couple of times.  AAMS said they wouldn't make your character do deliveries or be a diplomat, but did that mean I'd only be OOCly part of the guild?  Could I ignore AAMS?  Would I still be able to RP a street vendor? 

I eventually realized that even if I wouldn't be a core member of the group, I'd still have the AAMS name over my head, and thus be representing the group.  There was no way to hide the "AAMS" above my head. I had no interest in turning people away with a, "Oh, no, I'm not really AAMS.  Please ignore that!"  It just wouldn't be worth the trouble, and would reflect badly on a guild I rather liked.   AAMS shouldn't have to worry about educated RPers about who are the "real" members and who are the "fillers" in a manner of speaking.  

For the same reason, I could not be an AAMS courier and a street vendor.  I did not want to imply AAMS was endorsing my goods.  Plus, ICly, it would be a bit awkward to explain her "two jobs," although not entirely incompatible. 

So I thought about it some more.  Derscha, really, wasn't ready to open her shop.  I hadn't leveled her alchemy yet,  hadn't made any money, or gotten any good RP gear.   One of her stated characters goals was to travel and meet new people.  What better way to do that than as an international courier?  

Derscha's new story: her family business isn't doing so well after the Cataclysm.  So she's applying for a job as a courier to pay her travel expenses so she can visit new places and discover new remedies, fuels, and foods to send back home.   She's broadening her experience to help her out when she officially takes over the family business, just like a college student interning abroad. 

I went back to forum.  'Sign me up.'  The next day, I got an invite.  

The past severals days have been a blast. 

I went to the same weekly event- only this time, I was member of the hosting guild.  There was a mix-up where none of the Alliance side translators showed up, so I got a crash course in translating!  I only translated a little bit, but it was tons of fun, as I had Derscha working from a Orcish-to-Gnomish dictionary as an IC way to explain how slow I was.  I made friends with an orc, and got to bond with guildies *in person* as opposed to over a channel.

/g has been interesting, as it's all in-character.  I've had to squash the urge to go 'Grats!' every time I see an achievement.  I never realized how much of an ingrained habit that was. 

So far, this place feels right for Derscha.  I've been tempted to pull Elren from her guild and have her join AAMS, but her character (which I think I've almost pinned down now) won't fit.  Plus, AAMS already has a paladin named Elrenn, which would probably be confusing!  Eventually Derscha may leave AAMS, but it will be to start her own business.  And just like Derscha, I'll be making great contacts for future RP even after she leaves. 

For the first time ever, I have seriously considered a server transfer. My priest in her creepy guild has been my longest toon, the one I identify the most with, and I don't want to leave her behind, but I'm spending less and less time on PVE, I don't raid, and anything I do on that server is just as easy on Cenarion Circle.  I could just reroll her, like I did Derscha, but she's level 85 w/almost three years worth of achievements, feats of strength, and items.  I'd hate to lose that history.  My 85 priest would be happy as a diplomat.  One week may be too soon to call, but if I'm genuinely happy in AAMS, doesn't it make sense pay for a move?

One thing's for certain: I'm through with random guild invites.  From now on, I will think about what guild I'm joining.  I won't be so scared to join the 'big name' guilds.  

And I need to be careful with how quickly I fill up my 10 slots.  4 are already used up on CC. 

Stupid altoholism.