World of Warcraft™

This has been a lesser-tread topic on these forums, but leadership, organization and guild structure is no less important in a Warcraft roleplay guild.

The intent of this thread is to act as a guide to current as well as prospective roleplay guild GMs. It will additionally act as a place to gather pieces of advice and tips from roleplaying officers and GMs, both new and veteran.

Feel free to comment and add to the compendium, I will make an index for well-written, excellent posts.

Roleplay Guildmaster Compendium Table of Contents:
• Post #1: Introduction, Table of Contents

• Post #2: Roleplay Jargon, Dispelling Stereotypes, Roleplay Guild Types
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#2

• Post #3: Roleplay Beginnings - In-Character Story, Out-of-Character Purpose
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#3

• Post #4: Roleplay Beginnings - Guild Structure, We Know Drama
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#4

• Post #5: Roleplay Beginnings - Guild Alignment, Pros, Cons and Choices
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#5

• Post #6: Lift Off - Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks Part 1
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#6

• Post #7: Lift Off - Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks Part 2
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#7

• Post #8: From the Forum Community - Index of Other RP GM/Officer/Roleplay Tips
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#8

• Post #9: Index of Outside Leadership Resources, List of RP and RP GM Addons
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#9

• Post #16: An Approach to Ingame Ownership
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572#16

• Post #32: Choosing Officers for a Roleplay Guild
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572?page=2#32

• Post #33: Personality and Leadership: Both In-Character and Out-of-Character
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572?page=2#33

Introductions

I am a roleplay guildmaster on Earthen Ring, the guild was founded in October 2007 and contains 70 individual members. I have personal RL experience in leadership, event execution, staff training, community building and administration. We host 3 weekly roleplay events and raid weekly. We will use wargames or world PvP as a way to wage war between fellow RP guilds on our server.

In addition to RP, Templars of the Rose enjoys PvE and PvP aspects of the game, and attempts to incorporate its ingame adventures into character storylines. We are considered a medium-heavy RP-PvE-PvP guild.

Compendium Format

The first nine posts will address several aspects of RP GMing, from a beginner as well as veteran standpoint. However, due to limits such as a 5,000 word count, they will often appear as just overviews. Later on, this compendium will add to these subjects in greater detail in essays via separate posts. Look to Post #8 for links to these later essays.

If you see a topic that is missed or not dissected enough, feel free to ask or point it out to me.

If you wish to add on a topic from your own wealth of experience, please do so. If you wish, you can post your topic interest/intent in the thread ahead of time, or contact me ingame. I will happily add the final product to the compendium index.

Disclaimer

This is but one guide, and the quality and helpfulness of its information for the very diverse Warcraft roleplay base heavily relies on input from the experienced. If you see something lacking, please lend your experience here, there is an index set aside specifically for it. All I ask is that posts are kept to this thread for organization sake, written professionally and with current as well as prospective RP GMs in mind.

As such, this guide will eventually contain individual experiences and opinions, and at times conflicting opinions in the case of separate roleplay GMs weighing in the same topic. What this guide can only do is provide extra insight from fellow roleplay GMs - the final decision maker is you. A guide can only guide.

Compendium continued below...

1: ABOUT ROLEPLAY GUILDS

I. Roleplay Jargon

• RP - Short for roleplay.
• IC - In-character, or actions/behavior that your character is responsible for.
• OOC - Out-of-character, or actions/behavior that the player is responsible for.
• Lore - Refers to the Blizzard-published storyline, world and characters for World of Warcraft.
• Emote - Refers to the /e command in the game, which creates a custom emote for your character. Can be used for actions more detailed than what the ingame emote menu offers.

An example:
/nod - Arialynn nods.
/e nods once, her expression unchanged. - Arialynn nods once, her expression unchanged.

II. Dispelling Stereotypes

• CYBORZ!!1 - Not all roleplayers engage in online cybering between characters. The practice varies from player-to-player, and is at times banned altogether from roleplay guilds, or widely shunned by the server. The choice is up to the individual player, and the guilds they choose. To note, public cybering is against the ToS.

• Roleplayers are nerds. - And so are you, fellow gamer. A roleplayer's age and experience can range from teenage and none to forty years of age and decades of tabletop gaming. Tread carefully when insulting a roleplayer, they may end up being much older than you, sonny.

• How thouest be, mine good sir? - Roleplay is not quite Ye Olde English. For direction on how a Warcraft character may speak in a roleplay setting, there is a long list of novels, comics, ingame quest text and cinematics to gain your ground.

• You're all low-level casuals. - Some, but not all. Roleplayers decide how to spend their $15 a month in the same manner other players do, roleplay is simply in their spectrum of choices. A roleplayer can also be a vicious raider or PvPer, pending on the guild they are apart of, or circle of friends they play with.

III. Roleplay Guild Types

A. Roleplay Frequency
The following categories decide the frequency and requirement of roleplay on a guild's members. These categories can be applied to any type of roleplay guild, list to follow below.

• Light - Can also be dubbed as "casual." Roleplay is a tertiary aspect of the game, and is not required of members. In terms of IC v. OOC frequency, OOC moments may occur more frequently. Final interpretations of this style depends on the guild.

• Medium - Can also be dubbed as "normal." Roleplay is more frequent but not overtly required. In terms of IC v. OOC frequency, IC and OOC moments may be more balanced, or leaning more towards IC. Final interpretations of this style depends on the guild.

• Heavy - Roleplay is one of the main focuses of the guild and tends to infiltrate each aspect of the player's and guild's game. In terms of IC v. OOC frequency, IC is favored. In come cases, OOC moments may be banned altogether. Final interpretations of this style depends on the guild.

B. Roleplay Style
The following are different styles of roleplay guilds. Not all possibilities are confined to this list. The labels of Light/Medium/Heavy can be applied to any of these roleplay styles.

• RP - The main intent of the guild is roleplay. Players may engage in PvE and PvP aspects of the guild, but they are considered secondary.

• RP-PvP - The main intent of the guild is roleplay, but with PvP aspects. Pending on faction, the guild may heavily rely on engaging the opposing faction for its roleplay storylines.

• RP-PvE - The main intent of the guild is roleplay, but with raiding aspects. Engaging and defeating bosses at high-level content may act as the center of the guild's roleplay storylines.

• RP-PvE-PvP - The main intent of the guild is roleplay, but with both PvP as well as raiding aspects. Guild considers its PvP and PvE efforts part of its overall storyline.

Compendium continued below...

2: RUNNING A ROLEPLAY GUILD - THE BEGINNING

I. Choosing Your In-Character Story

Before a roleplay guild can begin, an in-character foundation must be laid. What is your guild's IC intent? Will it be a Horde clan, insular but quick-to-react to threats that encroach on the Horde? Or will it be a small Alliance militia, founded to act as a quick and deadly dagger to Horde lines? Or perhaps your guild is simply a collection of merchants, intent on level professions and forging business contacts ingame. Or maybe you are a band of thieves, a noble house, mercenaries, or simply humble teachers. The possibilities are endless...

To begin, take some time to look up Warcraft Lore. One helpful and free online service is the Warcraft wikipedia, now dubbed Wowpedia.

http://www.wowpedia.org/

Other resources to help conjure up ideas include Blizzard-published novels and comics, available at bookstores or online.

Though the intent is to confine to the Lore of the game, the choice and end result is ultimately what you and your guild decides. Keep in mind that various levels of Lore bending, or ideas that go against the Lore (example: a draenei druid, or a guild comprised of gnome airbenders) will be met with varied levels of disapproval or acceptance on your RP server. You indirectly but actively decide on the level of outside acceptance or scorn once you make your Lore choices. In other words: think carefully, and choose wisely for what you can personally handle. If you choose something outlandish and are chastised for it, do not act surprised.

In some cases, collecting scorn from other roleplayers can lead to teachable moments, and growth. Sometimes, the best Lore comb comes from others, and yourself as well as your guild can thrive on it if you so choose. May the phoenix rise from the ashes.

In other cases, you may decide to solely play for your $15 a month, which is entirely your choice, all outside scorn to hell. Good luck to you, but many of the roleplay styles and categories in this compendium can still apply to your guild type and structure. May it be useful to you.

II. Choosing Your Out-of-Character Style

What is your purpose as an OOC community? Do you want to form a light, medium or heavy roleplay guild? Will your incorporate PvE or PvP aspects of the game? In other words: what do you personally want to manage, and let others join in?

The keys are personal preference, and time commitment. Many GMs within this forum can speak loud and true for the time commitment heavy raiding or PvP requires, roleplay is no different. A roleplay GM is often a walking Lore atlas his or herself, and therefore acts as a guide to guildmember in-character creation and storyline writing. This idea-bouncing and Lore editing role can take up a large portion of a roleplay GM's time, in addition to other GM duties such as mediation and general management.

Moreover, a roleplay GM manages the guild both in-character as well as out-of-character: or in other words, a roleplay GM must create a character with leadership abilities ingame, and interact as well as lead the characters in their charge. Outside of the game, the roleplay GM is also required to manage and lead a guild of Warcraft officers and players, enforce guild rules and mediate when drama occurs. You as a GM and roleplayer must choose whether your character's leadership style will differ from your own, or remain the same - the choice ultimately relies upon your personal comfort level as a leader, and writer. More about that later...

Therefore, when adding other time-heavy aspects of the game such as raiding or PvP, be mindful of what you can personally handle as a leader, as well as for your officer team. If you add raiding or PvP to your RP guild, remember that you additionally take on the management and mediation required: raiding has its moments of drama, as does PvP. This will occur in conjunction to the drama RP can also create. You actively choose your time commitment, never let it run away from you or your officers.

Finally, be mindful of adding raiding or PvP aspects that deviate from your guild's IC intent, and personal Lore. A guild of pacifists would not PvP in-character, nor would a guild Horde merchants ICly dance on the corpse of the Lich King. More information about guild alignment and moral choices to follow...

Compendium continued below...

2: RUNNING A ROLEPLAY GUILD - THE BEGINNING - CONT.

III. Roleplay Guild Structure
I've seen roleplay guild rank structures operate one of two ways. If you personally know of a third or fourth ranking option for roleplay guilds, please do not hesitate to post. Please remember that these lists should not be considered wholly complete, and can still heavily improve on more input.

A. Focus on In-Character Roles
Overview:
The intent of this structure is to focus on IC roles, such as a character acting solely as a soldier, conjurer, diplomat or researcher within the guild, to provide random examples. Ranks are divided by character role, and players are given a choice of what their character role will be. Whether a character can fulfill two simultaneous roles or later fulfill a different role is up to the individual guild and its personal structure.

Pros:
• Guild in-character roles are clearly defined.
• GM and officers do not have to consider rank promotions based on guild contributions or activity.
• Guild rank can be an integral part of a character's identity and role in the RP guild.

Cons:
• Structure may be inflexible or stagnant to some players who wish for their characters to fulfill more than one role, or progress through promotions.
• Guild bank permissions are not as easily defined, since new as well as old players can occupy the same rank.
• The guild rank structure may not provide enough roles for all character types, and therefore leave some characters without a place.

B. Focus on Out-of-Character Roles
Overview:
The intent of this guild rank structure is to focus more on OOC roles such as guild activity, length of membership, and helpfulness towards fellow players. Players can progress through ranks based on these aspects, the pace of which heavily depends on the rules and quota set by the GM and officer team. An IC aspect may also be applied to GM and officer considerations in terms of roleplay activity ingame or if applicable, guild forums.

Pros:
• Allows for progression and promotion for guild members, both as a player (OOC) and as a character (IC).
• Can lead to a simpler guild bank permission structure, in which more active and trusted players gain increasing access to guild bank tabs.
• Creates a hierarchy both IC and OOCly, which lends itself well to many guild types - military, noble house, mob or otherwise.

Cons:
• Deciding rules and required quota for each rank may be difficult, since player or character activity and helpfulness is at best subjective.
• In the case of undesirable behavior by a player, a demotion may be necessary.
• Some players may become discontent with a prolonged period at a "low" rank, due to perceived undesirable behavior by GM or officers.

Regardless of choice, a tip for all roleplay guilds...
Always have a rank reserved for probated, hacked or inactive accounts. For probated, at times probation as decreed by the guildmaster or officers may be a necessary part of the disciplinary or mediation process. In addition, hacked accounts can be devastating to the guild bank, and a probated/hacked rank can minimize damage if guild bank permissions therein are completely turned off.

Remember: inactive accounts can be prone to account hacks as well, therefore choose an inactive time minimum (example: 1 month of not logging in) before demoting the character to the probated/hacked rank. This can save you much hassle at a later time.

IV. Roleplay Guilds: We Know Drama

Like any other Warcraft guild, roleplay guilds have their share of drama. An extra layer to the drama machine is IC drama, which is generally encouraged, and OOC drama, which can stem from IC drama or occur without.

Consider the following. If you have not considered it prior to now, do so immediately, it is integral to the survival and sanity of your RP guild:

IC drama is preferred, OOC drama is out. Keep IC and OOC drama strictly divided by a thick line at all times. A character's personality should be considered separate from the player, this is a player's responsibility as a roleplayer to roleplay personality traits and actions outside themselves. Warcraft is the stage, and they are the actor within. Separate your judgment as a GM when considering IC and OOC instances.

In the case of unacceptable IC behavior, outline so in your guild rules, so players know where the line is drawn for both them and their character. Actions such as sexual misconduct, murder, thievery or other crimes should be considered when drafting your IC set of do's and don'ts.

Compendium continued below...

2: RUNNING A ROLEPLAY GUILD - THE BEGINNING - CONT.

I. Overview of Alignments

Alignments refers to your character's moral compass. A character's moral compass or lack thereof can be integral to the character creation and "acting" process, and guilds are no different. Guilds likewise can have a moral compass, and being mindful of such can help keep your guild ICly consistent in its choices - or if desired, inconsistent!

To note, everyone's list of moral alignments varies based on preference. Listed below is a list of alignments from a number of tabletop roleplay sources, and pros and cons for each. Each has endless possibilities for roleplay. Also, do not take everything written above at face value. This is a beginning guide, all research can stem out from here.

1. Lawful Good - The crusader alignment. You are confined to the strictest set of rules, and are known for never compromising. / Pros: You're the ultimate good guy. / Cons: You're likely terrible at politics, and both good guys and bad guys can hate you for your untouchable morals.

2. Neutral Good - The benefactor alignment. You're still a good guy, and lack the inflexibility of Lawful Good. You are the altruistic hero, and can sometimes operate outside the law as a good-guy vigilante. / Pros: You're a good guy without the internal conflict of Lawful Good. / Cons: Staying good while outside the law can sometimes be rough. See: Spiderman.

3. Chaotic Good - The rebel alignment. You tend to lean towards good, but your actions reject law and conventions to the point of sometimes getting yourself in trouble. / Pros: You're a good guy who operates on his or her own set of morals. / Cons: You're likely misunderstood. Playing Robin Hood is fun, but to some, he's considered a villain.

4. Lawful Neutral - the judge alignment. You are strict when it comes to social order, honor and code, and your judgment is impartial to good or evil. / Pros: Excellent for court roleplay, or otherwise acting as a judge of peers. / Cons: These characters are not without their enemies, and villains may target you, or wrongfully accused good guys may go vigilante and target you.

5. Neutral - the undecided alignment. You have no strong preference for law, chaos, good or evil. Your worldview may only carry considerations toward moderation or extreme. / Pros: A variety of roles can fulfill this alignment, ranging from mercenary to hermit. / Cons: Han Solo couldn't stay neutral forever, and you may find yourself aligning somewhere on the moral spectrum in the future.

6. Chaotic Neutral - the free spirit alignment. You follow your gut or heart, but it's you and your goal that comes first. You tend to be disorganized and sometimes favor change for the sake of change. / Pros: I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, mate. Playing a seemingly aimless character may be fun to make fools out of others. / Cons: Your actions will often be misinterpreted, many may view you as simply being weird or disorganized, nothing more.

7. Lawful Evil - the diabolical alignment. You are the exploiter of laws and systems, the king of finding loop holes at other people's chagrin. / Pros: You are playing the devil, cunning in his own right, but confined to a set of rules that he cannot break. / Cons: You can sometimes find your hands tied by your own set of rules. Be careful to not let victims see the rules of your game.

8. Neutral Evil - the malefactor alignment. You are bound by nothing. You are neither lawful or pointlessly violent, you are instead selfish, and after your goal. / Pros: You lack the boundaries of lawful evil and carnage of chaotic evil. You're a dagger diving down towards your goal. / Cons: You have a habit of turning on your own allies if it suits you, or if given a better offer.

9. Chaotic Evil - the destroyer alignment. You respect nothing: rules, orders or lives alike. You can at times be completely sadist, and simply revel in carnage. / Pros: Congratulations, you are Richard from LFG. / Cons: You are a terrible member of any group, given how loyal-less and likely to explode as you are.

II. Choosing Your Guild Alignment

This is entirely your choice. After doing your Lore research, and measuring your personal preference and capabilities, make your decision. If you decide to alter your guild's alignment later on, attempt to do so in such a way that encourages roleplay. Is your neutral guild progressing down the path of evil, or vice versa? Choose a path and have fun.

To note, alignment is optional, and not all roleplayers engage in it. Regardless, perhaps this post can be a moment of thought for you as you contemplate character and guild choices in the grey world that is Warcraft.

Compendium continued below...

3: MISCELLANEOUS TIPS & TRICKS

I. Alignment: Choosing/Enforcing It
Later, different GM approaches to a guild's moral choices will be tackled, but for now, going to stick to the guild alignment approach, and give an overview, pros and cons.

Obviously, guilds are comprised of more than one character, that is what makes it a guild. Therefore choosing and enforcing an alignment becomes tricky for RP GMs - the more active characters within the RP guild, the more frequent the moral choices to resolve.

Keep in mind, the final decision is often defaulted to the GM's main character, the leader. This thought should stay in the back of your mind as your guild grows - the more characters within (including alts), the more frequent difficult RP moral choices will be. In addition, a larger guild runs the risk of more characters committing morally ambiguous or undesirable IC choices, which can either be fun for RP, or a terrible GM headache.

Roleplay guilds provide an additional challenge due to characters of different backgrounds and moral alignments not meshing with the guild's. The key then is to decide what moral choices your guild will accept on a good as well as the evil spectrum - in other words, what moral high ground, and what dregs of moral depravity are yours?

Alignments such as the ones outlined above can be a simple guide for GMs and RPers alike, since they provide a cut-and-dry spectrum of IC behavior. For instance, a guild can claim to be Chaotic Good and above, therefore accepts chaotic, neutral and lawful good characters. This approach can make recruitment simple, in that you can require potential recruits to state their character alignment outright, and therefore remove all question. This approach can also make alignment enforcement simpler, since it carries convenient labels for easy comprehension.

Several points from this portion will be tackled later in full detail: a non-alignment approach to guild alignment/morals, tending to IC drama headaches, and how-to ICly govern a bag of angry cats.

II. Event Dos and Don'ts
Carrying on the theme from above, this is an intro and overview. Several tenants will be addressed later in more detailed essays.

DO host private events for your RP guild. It is a great way to foster guild community. These events provide IC opportunity to interact as comrades, as well as with your character, the guild leader, present. Try to balance between serious and casual RP.

DO host public events. It is a great way to advertise your guild's name, characters and intent. Attendance is one of the most difficult things to achieve with these events, the keys are advertising, networking and "hook" of the idea.

DO encourage officers and RPers in your guild to host their own events. Provide support to help it be successful (brainstorming, guild bank funds, farming, networking, advertising). A GM should never have to host every event, do not make it a habit for your guild to expect so. You will burn out quickly.

DO come up an outlandish idea, then work on it till it fits. Edit and revise: want to host a tournament, but don't know how to make it an even playing field? Host a guild discussion, see if you can make the impossible idea work. You'll be surprised what it can turn into.

DO integrate a regular RP event into the guild Lore. Regular events can become integral parts of guild as well as character identity. You enrich the RP experience within your guild by doing this.

DON'T be dissuaded if a regular event receives poor attendance once, or even in its first month. Tenacity, advertising and addressing your audience wants/needs is key.

DON'T burn yourself out on an event by shouldering too much work. No martyrdom - yes delegation. Acting as a martyr will more work more against than for you. You are a manager - manage by recognizing personal limits, and identifying those with skills who can assist you.

DON'T make RP events mandatory for guild members, or required to work. This will result in OOC dissent and guild member burnout very quickly, since RP events will turn into less fun and more of a job. Instead rely on volunteers, and identify the idea/execution powerhouses within your guild.

DON'T be afraid to test an idea to discover whether it is a success/failure. Perform a guild test run to see how it works ingame. Take what works in beta, modify and adapt to a larger audience once you are confident.

DON'T be fixated on numbers. Fifty characters attending an event is exhilarating, but you are then plagued with chat spam, confusion or OOC drama. Focus instead RP quality. Word of mouth of the experience will carry farther in the long run.

NOTE: many individual points of this post will be visited again in great elaboration. If you see something in particular you want more information on, speak up!

Compendium continued below...

3: LIFTOFF: MISCELLANEOUS TIPS & TRICKS - CONT.

I. Maintaining Guild Morale and Community

This section highly depends on the type of guild you run, the kind of roleplay you engage in, and whether or not you supplement it with raiding or PvP. So I'll quickly outline some scenarios and give examples. The intent is to give you a bit of outside perspective.

Think - how does this apply to my guild and the way that it's run?

#1 Rule: the game should never be more stressful than Real Life. Ever.

If you are primarily a roleplay guild and OOC drama is rampant, or perhaps guildies are simply burnt out on too much intense roleplay, it's time to consider something that is lighthearted and fun. Being a game, there are many options open to you - hit the pause button on roleplay for a few days, and focus on one another. Do old school raid content for transmog gear, mediate between the upset parties, and help the guild gain an understanding of one another: they are in it together, and the game should be fun. Take on more lighthearted RP in the meantime, such as a little tavern banter or simple world exploration. Take less-used alts out for an RP stroll. It's amazing how refreshing roleplay can suddenly be when you change direction for a moment or two, and get out of a stressful funk.

If you have raiding elements to your roleplay guild, remember that all the stresses of running a raiding guild now apply to you. Are your raiders burnt out on grinding on one boss? Did you finally down the final boss, and now that drive to raid weekly has plummeted? Keep these things in mind, and find ways to reward your raiders for hard work. It's more than just a thank you. Give them a democratic option (the Ready Check is great for this!) of what to try next. Do they want a week off? Do they want to do older raid content for fun? There are ways to keep raiding fun instead of a chore - and it always should be fun, not a chore.

This is similar with PvP elements your guild may add to its roleplay. PvP can be very stressful, and is often full of trolls. It's a naturally competitive and stressful environment - the more you subject yourselves to it without a counterbalance, the more stressful it will be. Keep that in mind, and find ways to make things more simple and fun. Is Warsong Gulch weekend not working out for you? How about a little world PvP on a Horde or Alliance town? Duels outside Stormwind/Orgrimmar as an IC training exercise? Think of ways to still PvP but make it less intense, and more fun.

II. For Your Own Sanity

Guildleading is stressful. There will be times when it will conflict with your RL responsibilities, because OOC drama is unscheduled 99% of the time. It's essentially a fulltime position with no set hours - and with any job, that will run sanity thin.

One way to mitigate this is by having officers who are skilled at mediation, and can be online when you are not. Make it known that if OOC drama goes down and you are not online, that these officers can step up to the bat. However, make sure you also put measures in place so officers can OOCly contact you and accurately relay information. Instruct them to take screenshots, set up a guild website or e-mail account where these screenshots can be sent.

More about OOC drama and suggestions on how-to handle it in a later post.

You can also make your personal boundaries clear to your guildies. Is there a certain night a week that you will never be online? Make sure they know this limit right off the bat. Do you need to go to bed early? Make sure guildies know and are considerate. While sometimes explosive OOC drama happens in your off-hours, smaller things can be put off till the next day, when you are playing the game in your freetime again.

Always be careful with the exceptions you make to these personal boundaries and rules. Guildies are perceptive and will notice when you take extra time on one roleplayer, but not another. It's a natural reaction to perceive bias - whether or not that perception is accurate. For the sake of your own sanity, be fair.

III. Recruitment Tips

Coming soon.

4: INDEX OF COMMUNITY GM, OFFICER AND ROLEPLAYER TIPS

There is no doubt a wealth of information from other roleplay GMs, officers and roleplayers in this forum community to share. If you have more to add, please say so in your post, and an index of more tips & tricks can be listed here.

An Approach to Ingame Ownership by Arialynn, Post #16
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572?page=1#16

Choosing Officers for a Roleplay Guild, Post #32
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572?page=2#32

Personality and Leadership: In-Character and Out-of-Character, Post #33
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2029915572?page=2#33

5: INDEX OF OUTSIDE LEADERSHIP RESOURCES

Coming soon.

6: LIST OF ROLEPLAY ADDONS

I. Roleplay Flags/Profiles
The following addons provide an extra flourish to your ingame character: when a fellow player mouses over your character, instead of "John, Champion of the Frozen Wastes," it'll display something along the lines of "Knight John Doe, Captain of [Insert Guild Name]." Your fellow player can go on to read a small profile about your character's appearance and in some addon cases, a brief history. Addons are listed in alphabetical order.

• FlagRSP Cataclysm - one of the first roleplay flag and profile addons I ever stumbled upon, this is one of the most current versions. Provides a customizable profile that fellow flapRSP users can see, including title, surname and physical appearance. Characters can be "flagged" as in-character, out-of-character, or even storyteller.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/flagrsp.aspx

• FlagRSP2 - another variant of flagRSP, the final decision between the Cata version and 2 version is up to player preference. Likewise provides title, surname and physical description, along with roleplay flags.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/flag-rsp2.aspx

• MyRolePlay (MRP) - unlike its FlagRSP sister, MRP can also provided detailed background information on a character, in addition to physical appearance. An additional perk is its interface: it appears as an added tab to the ingame character sheet.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/my-role-play.aspx

• Total RP 2 - a multi-facted RP addon that can likewise "flag" a character for roleplay as well as provide detailed information on appearance and background.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/totalrp2.aspx

II. Item Creation
The following addons can create ingame items to trade with fellow addon users.

• GryphonHeartItems (GHI) - GHI is an addon that both novices as well as coding masters can enjoy. Items such as simple trinkets or necklaces can be created and traded to fellow GHI users, or more complicated items such as lengthy letters, newspapers, and finally items that use ingame sounds and perform complicated effects upon right-click.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/ghi.aspx

• Total RP 2 - though first listed as a character profile creator in this guide, Total RP 2 is likewise an item creator of similar power to GHI. The ultimate choice is on player preference, and popularity within the guild or server.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/totalrp2.aspx

III. For the RP Guildmaster

• Warcraft Instant Messenger (WIM) - though a non-RP addon, I highly recommend this addon to any GM, officer or fellow roleplayer who is "tell-helled" upon logging into Warcraft. This addon creates a instant messenger-esque interface with all tells, making them appear in separate IM windows.
- Link: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/wim-3.aspx

Did I miss a few? Let me know, and they'll be added. Feel free to type up a summary yourself.

BUMP! and vote for sticky!

This is a great guide that should be read by anybody who is in a RP guild. Thank you for the great post and good luck! :)

I would take a moment and point out some Addon resources as well. The most popular is probably FlagRSP but TotalRP is also gaining a lot of popularity around one of the RP servers I hang out around.

These of course add "features" to the game like tradeable RP items, user-creatable quests, user descriptions, and more.

I would take a moment and point out some Addon resources as well. The most popular is probably FlagRSP but TotalRP is also gaining a lot of popularity around one of the RP servers I hang out around.

These of course add "features" to the game like tradeable RP items, user-creatable quests, user descriptions, and more.

Good idea! For some reason, the thought didn't cross my mind. I think old roleplay farts such as myself tend to take some addons we've used for years for granted.

I know the popular addons for my home server Earthen Ring, but if my resultant list misses a few that other servers enjoy, doesn't hesitate to swoop in and add them. List will show up in Post #9.

Very nice guide, Arialynn! Makin' your home server proud. :D

/reported

For Sticky : )

I'm not sure if this would go under your "I. Alignment: Choosing and Enforcing It" But would you also consider listing different guild themes such as racial guilds or military themes, also to include pirate themed, brotherhoods, family, spy, cults, Mercenary, etc.

I know you discused some of that under part one of 'Choosing Your In-Character Story' but i'm a bit curious how you would get people on the same level as your guilds theme since everybody has their own storyline and alter egos, how would you enforce this in the RP world? ...Am I ranting?

I'm so eager to read this once it's complete!

Ummmmm, III. Approaches to Ownership: such as Dictatorship, Councils, Tyrants, Demographic elections for kingship? Pros and Cons?

An essay originally intended to be in Post #6, but stricken due to word count:

An Approach to Ingame Ownership

Scenario: Guild A claims a spot as their headquarters, as does Guild B. Drama sparks while Guild A and B claim various reasons for ownership.

Let's Look at the Source...
Possession is a tricky subject, and a breeding ground for drama in any given situation, ingame or RL. Add this to the need to stick out, be popular and own impressive things, and ingame ownership is a result of wanting too much and being afraid to give it up. The questions are: what exactly are you fighting over, why is it so desperately important, and what are you gaining from it, if anything at all?

First and foremost, note that there are incredibly few guilds who can occupy a location 100% of the time. From an OOC standpoint, this would require plentiful man hours as well as dedication to keep toons camped in one location to chase outsiders away. Second is from an IC standpoint - does it make sense with your guild storyline to stay in one location, never moving? Aren't there meetings to attend, enemies to kill, shipments to escort, Azeroth to save? Staying in one place is very difficult and impractical when you give the idea second thought, therefore the question is this: if you cannot always be in one place at a given time, why is it important to claim an ingame location now and forever? Can others use the space while you are offline, or in an instance? In other words: is sharing possible? The answer is yes.

Sharing: Switching Off, Dispelling Confusion and Proper Labeling
Understandably, sharing a singular location can lead to confusion about what the location is called at any given point in time. The key is communication - with both the group you are sharing with, as well as the roleplay server you are on. This is best demonstrated by a hypothetical situation.

Picture a tavern. It is empty of NPCs, and two guilds want to run a tavern event in that location once a week. After discussing it OOCly, the respective guilds decide on hosting their events on two separate days, at two separate times. Two different names are given to the tavern, pending on the guild who is hosting it. The two guilds then make it clear to the roleplay server that the location is considered "Guild A's Tavern" during one weekly time slot, and "Guild B's Tavern" during the second weekly time slot. A little advertising later, both events are taking off and doing well, and fellow roleplayers on the server eventually follow suit.

Conclusion
This scenario does more than create fun RP for two guilds, as well as two events for the server to attend each week. It also set an example: with a little OOC courtesy and coordination, a location can be shared between two separate guilds. Perhaps fellow RP guilds on your server will follow suit.

The key is to communicate and understand that at any given time, Blizzard can blaze through a location and leave a crater behind - the Stormwind Park is an excellent example. Hopefully no territorial disputes happened there, because that particular real estate is gone now! (Oops!)

Remember: this is a game, and games are meant to be fun. Turning ingame ownership into a war that takes up your personal time and energy is not playing a game, that's creating a problem! You'll have plenty of those without trying, so regardless of the situation, always attempt to extinguish rather than take on one more thing.

As stated before, your OOC drama can often be what you create, or fan the flames...

I'm not sure if this would go under your "I. Alignment: Choosing and Enforcing It" But would you also consider listing different guild themes such as racial guilds or military themes, also to include pirate themed, brotherhoods, family, spy, cults, Mercenary, etc.

I know you discused some of that under part one of 'Choosing Your In-Character Story' but i'm a bit curious how you would get people on the same level as your guilds theme since everybody has their own storyline and alter egos, how would you enforce this in the RP world? ...Am I ranting?

I'm so eager to read this once it's complete!

Ummmmm, III. Approaches to Ownership: such as Dictatorship, Councils, Tyrants, Demographic elections for kingship? Pros and Cons?

The different themes of guilds could definitely be added later, by either me or another RP GM who wishes to jump in. This compendium is being written with a large index in mind, and there is no need for me to act as the sole contributor if I don't cover enough. (;

A little bit of the dilemma you described was discussed in Post #6, but it warrants its own essay in the future, for sure. I'll be jumping on the topic myself as time permits, because as your rant suggested, it's a tough one.

Ownership will deal more with the Guild A and Guild B claim to own [insert building here] ingame, as well as ingame ownership of property in general.

A great read, definitely. Good for any aspiring guild leader for a roleplaying guild! I wanted to sticky, but I have no idea how to with this new forum. >.>
EDIT: Nevermind, was being dumb. Reported for sticky! :D

Awesome job.

Voted for sticky and a push back up.

Bump for RP!