Talk about what you like in a guild

[Andreati]

As Krelji said--basically every race but halflings, though the guild is definitely dominated by humans and dwarves.

[caelia]

Asral Clerics are pretty amazing, but in terms of over all bonus I think the Crusade still takes the top seat. A custom mount is pretty weighty.

Adanath and I once had this idea that I could wear a really big robe, sit on his shoulders, cut eye slits and arm holes in it for him, and harden it with Divine Armour so it would protect both of us. Now, if we could get Jalil to set it on fire ("what I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak" ), that would be the ultimate mount.

With a Cleric of Taniel I feel invincible though =D.

I'm trying to think, and I'm pretty sure that Luminier only died on Caelia once, but he was already badly hurt, and really, nothing could have saved him (or her, once she got to where he was). Had she been there the whole time, it might have gone rather differently (and she definitely would have advised Luminier not to go there in the first place, and he got a thorough tongue-lashing afterwards ). No hard feelings, though.

The complementarity between our guilds really does make for some fun play. I'd say that Crusaders win on power, Clerics win on flexibility, and that a team of both (even just one of each) can bring down just about anything.

[luminier]

I figure I had to roleplay some rash moves and hard lessons before I was eligible to say that I had seen it all and therefore fit for a leader role.

Not to be dirty but tounge lashing is hilarious.

[caelia]

I figure I had to roleplay some rash moves and hard lessons before I was eligible to say that I had seen it all and therefore fit for a leader role.

Caelia had plenty of yours to learn from, so she did not feel the need to do the same thing.

Not to be dirty but tounge lashing is hilarious.

Why is it that when sentences start with "Not to be dirty", they're always dirty?

[luminier]

Thats the rule Caelia. You have to say something isn't what it is, it's polite.

[Jalil]

Now, if we could get Jalil to set it on fire ("what I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak" ), that would be the ultimate mount.

Inconceivable!!

[Skragna]

I haven't joined a guild as of yet, but, being a tshahark, I think I'd almost be obligated to be a Crusader. Would be VERY interesting to see some Knights of Doom or something like that, a sort of antithesis to the Crusaders, would lead to some interesting RP. Especially if they had a dark, twisted sense of honor. Or maybe a guild of flat-out warriors or berserkers... with an amazing array of special weapon attacks based on one specific type, E.G, one-handed axes, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, etc. Like two-handed swords would have some sort of pommel attack, or some such

[luminier]

There is, it's called "The Order". and don't think you are obligated to be a crusader there are many other paths to take.

[Kaseo]

Oh yes, being a tshahark doesn't limit you in terms of guilds (generally). There have been some really kickass tshahark Shao. I'm not sure if there've been tshahark Asral priests, but I'm sure it's possible. And it would also be interesting to have a Sathonite tshahark. True, tshaharks are most commonly thrown into the Crusaders, but in my opinion that's just a better reason to find another guild to help you along your quest to take over the world.

[Skragna]

Yeah, being a tshahark doesn't limit me that much, but, being a complete newbie, I figured I'd join the one place that's both easily accessible and completely awesome.

[Delia]

There is no real reason to join a guild for skills and such. Main reason should be if something really intrigues you, fits your RP and so on. You can basically learn most of the skills in the game even if you are not in a guild. Some specific skills are nowadays locked though for non-guildmembers, language and font skills also(which I think is a shame). If you decide not to join the crusade, three cheers for Skragna! Not that it would be wrong, the crussies just tend to gather most if not all the fighter types for being the obvious fighter choice and people tend to bend their characters towards the strict crussie code after realizing it.

[matusalem]

While guilds offer a good number of advantages, it's not to say the guildless are left alone in the dark. I've honestly enjoyed my play with Matusalem far more since he's been without a guild than when he was a Tanielite cleric. Mechanical advantages are nice; however, it's best to choose a guild that's structure and and in-character goals best fits how you see your character. Picking a guild simply for mechanical advantages or a general belief that it's the thing to do may get old and boring quickly. I've seen time and time again the same scenario: Character X arrives as a new player. Character X is very excited by Guild Y. Character X busts his/her hump to get accepted in Guild Y. Character X quickly becomes disenchanted and vanishes, and the rest of the player base wonders aloud or to themselves, "Whatever happened to Player X?" Guilds are nice, but Geas is awfully damn nice even without a guild. So my advice would be to take your time and don't be in a rush to join a guild right away. Just my two cents.

[rafael]

My character has yet to join a occupational guild in his 75 days of play time. I've flirted around with some ideas but none of the guilds are a fit for him.

The clerical guilds look like a lot of fun and it looks like there's plenty of untapped roleplay potential. The gods in geas seem to be "done right". Not too few and not too many and definitely not bland. The orders look like high-paced guilds and seem great for moving along the plot and getting something "started". (Though it's been OOC years since i've run into an Order character (that my character knows of...)) Rangers and shaos have a less delineated role, so its easier to do your "own thing" and to get treated on a case-by-case basis. (Excluding things like wars : P) Druids are interesting to have around, though I admit sometimes a hard fit. I don't think it's the concept but that size of the game that tends to make them inherently weird. With a larger player base the odd druid works infinitely better. They might also not need to come into town to roleplay. I still miss the Triana/Littleone character concept. There's still talk of shaking trees to see if she falls off.

The skalds are also a very interesting guild with a lot of potential. It makes me wonder how easy it is to put in own songs. Also why not get flashy clothes, and put up an elaborate act! Everyday "Matu" looks more the part than most! Hard to get to trust that creepy guy. What else do you need money for, women, booze, fancy clothes? *shake* There also seems to be a dearth of petty criminals, that, or maybe they've all gotten far too good for my own good by now.

Not trying to jump the hoops to join any guild my perspective is that of an outsider, but it seems to me that there have been very few secondary high ranking guild members, other than the head honcho as of late and the trend worries me. Do players not stick around enough or is there just not any new blood? But perhaps that's a topic for another thread.

What do I like in a guild? First, a good theme and roleplay setting. Strong roleplayers can attract me to a guild, but usually its about the character concept I want to play. I don't think there's a guild in geas I wouldn't play except the druids, but that's because I wouldn't know how to play one.

I also like guilds to have a good political structure and goals to achieve on your own separate from the political ranks. Geas does this very well from what I have seen. Ranks are few but significant and there's always a ton of things to do on your own. I like the fact that coded power does not map one-on-one to political power. (Not to say that it's not important!) It's also very important for me to have some short-term goal to keep me busy, even if it's just practicing skills when no-one is around to roleplay with. My character tends to be slow to warm up to people so I do like it that guilds don't all corner one market and you need to contact others and depend on others to carry on with your daily affairs. You might need this resource or that other, you might want to get something done which you can't do alone. (Very, very often the case if you don't play a fighter-type.) This pushes you to interact with others and helps relationships start up. My character would be much more inclined to spontaneously try to recruit someone who he deals with every other day even if they had no interest in his (lay) guild, rather than take up someone who he barely knows, if he sees something in them.

And come on, really, if you start putting up resources in the crossroads shop at a reasonably price you might actually see them sold! (I will regularly start visiting it at least!) I'd like more people to play professions, not just part of guild xyz. As it is craftsman guilds are somewhat unrewarding, it might be better if there were more interaction stemming from it. In any case, this might also be the result of a low player base, and might improve with time.

My rant is getting too long... so I'll ramble on later.

Cheers,

PO Rafael

[Skragna]

I'd love to see a warrior styled guild that may or may not follow Asral, but devotes all their time to learning to fight better. Maybe the ability to berserk and lose the ability to use specials, but ignore fatigue and weight restrictions in combat? I don't know... that might be abusable... but I think it'd be interesting to see a real warrior-type guild, not just the Shao/Crusaders/Rangers.

[isengoo]

There's nothing that says you can't be an Asralite shaolin.

[matusalem]

One of the better conceived aspects of Geas is how the guilds are set up. While many of them have a number of unique skills, the guilds themselves are much more than a mere catalog of mechanical advantages. There are predefined goals and motivations for each guild which supersede their mechanical advantages. A generic fighter guild just to learn to fight better is kind of redundant. Everyone who fights, whether in a guild or not, is trying to fight better, and a particular guild in which that is the crux of their existence would quickly devolve into more of an OOC mechanical club than an intricate addition to Geas' roleplay. Currently, and I hate to say it, there are probably too many guilds in Geas as it is. To the best of my knowledge (which is limited since two are considered secret) there are three guilds not even being played. Should guilds be added, from just my point of view, I'd much rather see guilds based on the three unrepresented deities. (Gwen, Zhakrin, and Lilith.) However, with our currently low player base, there's every reason not to add such guilds. Anyone who's spent time with Matusalem knows he's pining away for a clerical guild of Evren, and even though I've been lead to believe both IC and OOC that one will be formed, as a player I fully understand why there isn't and why there may never be one. If you merely want to be a more skilled combatant, then you're well on your way. Guilds really should be reserved for furthering roleplay, conflict, and IC politics, but this is just one person's opinion.

[rafael]

Yes, I think it would be horrible if you had to join "generic fighter guild" just to remain competitive. I've mentioned in an older post if I recall right (won't bother to try to dig it up), that I would much rather see, if there is ever a need felt for something like that, that the support come in the form of minimal coded support for things like a town militia, get a salary, be forced to wear town militia armour when on duty, and of course protect the city from the numerous attacks and keep the peace without pissing off the judge, kelric or queen. Basically to make it feasible to be a profession and there not be problems rising up for people "impersonating" guards, etc. As it stands something like the guild you describe could be started by players, custom armours or stylized could be ordered with an insginia, etc, a guild concept could go around and someone could recruit people to it, teach studends, etc, etc. Hey, you might even become a very influential group. I'd also like to see more people playing mercenaries. The limitations of npc mercs make me wary to ever hire them again and try to take them to do anything remotely interesting. Chances are that because of a code limitation I'll just end up wasting my money. Maybe I should however, and report, report, report.

In short, I second PO Matu's sentiment. There does seem to be too many guilds for them all to run well with the current player base either.

[Delia]

As for guilds, there is nothing that prohibits you from "starting your own" but that requires tremendous player activity and some friends who are active as well. If your organization manages to settle itself and grow there might even be some wiz-support coming your way! Even sooner if the idea is good and executed with finesse.

Not trying to jump the hoops to join any guild my perspective is that of an outsider, but it seems to me that there have been very few secondary high ranking guild members, other than the head honcho as of late and the trend worries me. Do players not stick around enough or is there just not any new blood? But perhaps that's a topic for another thread.

Shaos have had some nice, fresh new blood as of late but the problem is that there is not equally enough active leadership around to teach and promote them. My and Delia's time being limited as it is I can understand should shao players feel frustrated. I'd wish there was some command like "tell <NPC MASTER>: allow promotion of <PC>" sometimes.

[Minariel]

My favorite concept for a guild is the Druids. It's just very unfortunate that they seem to be a dying breed, and are not accepting any new Druids. I can imagine that they are probably buggy (or at least that's what I've gathered from browsing the forums and talking to people), but the concept is still awesome.

The fact that there's even one guild that gets by without killing anything other than possibly undead is more than a little fascinating to me. Arana would very likely have joined the Druids, if she didn't find out that they were not accepting new members.

It's something that I would very much like to see fixed, and would be willing to help in any way I can. Not that I could do a whole lot currently, but I'd be willing to try and learn the code this game uses to try and help debug them if that's the issue.

It would just make me sad to see such a wonderful, RP intensive class idea die out because nobody could help.

[Andreati]

As far as I'm aware, the reason they don't accept new members is because they're supposedly being replaced. Of course, this is old news, and they're still around, so I don't see why they shouldn't accept new members.

The other part of the problem is that there aren't any active druids able to accept members, or really (m)any active druids at all. Some just stopped playing in general, but I know that more than a few just decided to play different characters, for some reason or another. Often, I think it's because playing is better when you have the option of using the combat system. After all, even if you're allowed to fight undead--what use is that if you're not strong enough to do anything to them?