Guild

A guild is an official grouping of people. The guild system in Shadowbane is modeled after the medieval association of people with common goals and interests. Joining a guild opens up the possibility of easier access to leveling groups and pvp functions. A guild with a city can also host NPCs to craft custom weapons, armor, trainers, and a bind point for its members.

How to Form a Guild

Only players with no guild can create new guilds. In order to form one, a player must visit a Runemaster NPC and purchase a guild charter. Double clicking on the guild charter will prompt the player to choose a guild type, name, motto, and allow him or her to design a guild crest for their new guild. These guild crests will appear in various places in the game to mark ownership. This crest will also be visible on all guild members. After the set up prompts have been filled out, the player will become the guild master of a new, unlanded guild (indicated by only one guild crest. The nation crest will only become occupied if that guild master places a Tree of Life in the game world.)

A guild that has a tree of life is called a "landed" guild.

Charters

Shadowbane offers a variety of guild charters, each designed to favor certain professions, fields of mastery, or world views. Guild charters will only effect gameplay on servers using Loreplay rules. The only other differences in guild charters are names of ranks and the title given to the master of a realm.

There are 17 different guild charters types:

• Amazon Temple
• Aracoix Kh'ree
• Barbarian Clan
• Centaur Cohort
• Church of the All-Father
• Cult of the Scourge
• Dwarfhold
• High Court
• Mercenary Company
• Military Legion
• Noble House
• Ranger's Brotherhood
• Temple of the Cleansing Flame
• Thieves' Den
• Unholy Legion
• Virakt
• Wizard's Conclave

Guild Hierarchy

There are four levels of authority within most guilds. Often, guilds will not uses the named ranks to denote seniority, therefore it is unsafe to rely on this as valid information.

Guild Leader, (also called guild master, GL, or GM) is the highest guild rank. The guild leader is responsible for all areas of guild management, including inviting and banishing members, promoting and demoting member rank, and controlling their city's Tree of Life. The only job a guild leader can not do is collect taxes. This can only be done by a tax collector appointed by the guild master. There can only be one guild leader, so their alternate characters will often be ranked the next rank...

Inner Council or "IC" are the next-highest ranked guild members which can only be appointed by and report directly to the guild leader. Inner Council members are granted the same powers and responsibilities as the guild leader with the exception of appointing new members of inner council or customizing the friend/foe list on structures owned by the guild leader (including the Tree of Life).

Active Members usually make up the bulk of a guild. Active members have far fewer responsibilities (if any) than the guild leader or inner council other than those given to them by the guild's leadership. The only guild function they may perform is inviting new guild members, and only to the rank below them...

Petitioner is the lowest rank within a Guild. When a character accepts an invitation to join a guild, they are automatically ranked as a petitioner. Petitioners are exactly like active members, but can not invite new guild members.

Errant Status

A player with no guild is referred to as errant. Errant players have blank (silver) guild and nation crests. It is safe to assume that an errant players is always an enemy.

A player who is a member of a guild which itself does not have a city will have a blank nation crest and a populated guild crest.

Official Commentary

In many games, Guilds are little more than small groups who simply declare their affiliation and then go adventuring together. In Shadowbane we have expanded the concept, allowing players to form true political units. Guilds form the basic building block of Shadowbane's in-game community and society. Guilds are also the driving force behind Shadowbane's virtual economy, bringing them that much closer to the historical Guilds that arose in the Late Middle Ages and changed the face of Europe.

Guilds within Shadowbane are more than a collection of players banded together for the sake of camaraderie: typically, the members of a Guild share common in-game goals and aspirations. There are several distinct Guild templates in Shadowbane, each built around a common profession, set of professions, field of mastery, or World view. Shadowbane Guilds also allow for the formation of dynamic City-States, Kingdoms, and Empires. In Shadowbane, player created and controlled Guilds can claim and own territories within the virtual world, building entire Cities, strengthening their defenses, and increasing the effectiveness of their City's shops and buildings. City building and territorial conquest are the primary activities of most Guilds. Because Cities are notoriously difficult to pack up and move around, Shadowbane Guilds tend to be more local and stationary than the player organizations seen in other games. A Guild's fortunes are bound to the health of its City and its territory within the game. Guilds may wander around initially, but after gathering enough power and resources, a Guild or an alliance of Guilds will usually settle down, founding or conquering a City-State to use as a home base, open marketplace, or military stronghold.

Furthermore, Shadowbane's game mechanics allow Guilds to pledge fealty to other Guilds, creating an entirely new realm of possibilities for political maneuvering and tactical warfare. A dynamic, constantly changing political landscape has risen, with Guilds expanding into Kingdoms, Kingdoms merging into Empires, and Empires splintering under the strain of revolutions. Alliance, betrayal, and war are commonplace, and the winners of this deadly game are the shrewdest leaders, not the best fighters.

Is Everyone in a Guild?

No, players are able to live the life of an "errant", or a guild-less player. Such a lifestyle is not easy though. But, to account for players with more 'individual' styles, there will be a number of Guilds in the game that are not controlled by players. These 'GM-run Guilds' will be loose-knit organizations, whose members may or may not play cooperatively, as they choose. They will be tied to a common City-State (usually a Safehold) where they can train, purchase equipment, and heal. GM-run guilds will not participate in territorial conquest and can neither grow nor decline in power.

Guild Heraldry

During Guild Creation, the Guild Leader uses an interactive interface to create a custom heraldic Coat of Arms (also known as a Guild Crest). These Guild Crests will appear in various places in the game. The most obvious use of the Guild Crest is its appearance in the Character Information window. Whenever you select a character by left-clicking on them, their Guild emblem will be one of the most prominent pieces of information displayed. With a few exceptions, players will never be allowed to hide their Guild affiliation, making all Guilds ultimately accountable for the actions of their members.

Guild Leader

There are four levels of authority within every guild :

The guild leader is in charge of the guild. He or she is ultimately responsible for all areas of guild management, including initiating and banishing members, promoting and demoting members in Guild rank, and controlling their City's Tree of Life.

A Guild Leader can, at their discretion, appoint worthy members to their guild's inner council. Inner Council members are granted the same powers and responsibilities as the Guild Leader.

Most players within the guild will be active members. This gives them the right to use the Guild communication channel, preferred access to Guild shops and facilities, and the power to invite new players into the guild as petitioners. Active Members also receive the protection of the City Guards while in their Guild City.

Finally, members with petitioner status occupy the lowest echelon within a Guild. Whenever a character accepts an invitation to join a Guild, they are awarded Petitioner status until the Guild Leader or Inner Council officially approves their membership and formally initiates them. Petitioners are given limited access to guild facilities.

Players who are not currently in a guild are considered errant.