[H RP-PvE] Zandalari Guild (interest check)

Moon Guard
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*Shouting to be heard over the ambient clamor of the Zocalo, a ragged fishermon preaches to passersby. *

“For dem dat be born wid da gift of da Loa, ya become powerful priests o’dem, and for d’ose who don’t, if ya be gifted wid sword and spear, ya become a warrior… D’oes who can’t be doin’ either… well now, dey be the lowest caste; expected ta spend der days beggin’ on da docks or in da streets.

T’was from da gutters of Zuldazar dat I watched de Alliance invaders slay da defenders of Dazar’alor. Mother’s, faddah’s, sons and daughters all fell. Wid hands too shaky for bow or spear, I could only watch in shame.

No more! I declare dis now! For all dem who weren’t born wid da Loa’s blessin’, I call ta ya. Now is da time! Fishermon, merchants, vagrants and refuges; we gonna rise up together now and show da Loa dat we are worthy of der embrace!”

~ Fishermon Poctandi

Foreword:

This is an interest check for a Zandalari troll guild, aimed primarily at Zandalari trolls who come from humble backgrounds and are not already skilled warriors/casters blessed by the Loa, and troll refuges of every tribe interested in proving themselves to the Loa of Zandalar.

Guild premise:

The concept as it currently stands, is that by choosing to walk either that Path of Ritual, or the Path of Strength, guild members will be set upon a journey with a number of IC tasks and events through which they will prove themselves worthy of a chosen Loa’s blessing; becoming champions of that Loa and teaching others their ways. There would also be an overarching guild storyline, and casual social gatherings like pub nights ect.

Initially, the guild would launch with paths to becoming blessed by only the six Loa represented in the ‘Embrace of the Loa’ Zandalari racial trait, but there’s scope for additional Loa not represented in that trait (Gral, Torcali ect) to be added down the line.

Timing:

Potentially the guild would launch as Zandalari trolls become playable. Events would be largely from 7-10pm EST and be rather small (maybe about 10 people max) until I have proper officers/guild hierarchy set up. Once established and if membership allows, RP events could be offset with raiding or PvP nights.

Interested or have additional ideas or concerns? Please let me know in the comments, or message me on Discord (Blay#5081).

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I love this idea, fantastic! I really hope this gets lots of interest and this guild can get off the ground be successful!

Any idea what you’re going to call it?

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I would definitely be interested in something like this. Plan on rolling a Zandalari when they release and was hoping to gonna some others interested in RP’ing them. Anyway to contact you more about it?

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I gave the troll guild a shot, did not work out but would still love to see it happen. I would totally be down if or when you do this.

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A billion times yes. I can’t see myself making a Zandalari troll (just because I don’t have any max level Hordies and unlocking allied races tires me) HOWEVER I do have a troll druid sitting there, waiting to be leveled.

I’d love to see this happen and to be there when it becomes a thing. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the responses everyone; I really appreciate you taking the time. I’ve added my Discord details into the original post and don’t yet have a name picked out for the guild while it’s still in the conceptual stage.

On that note I’ve put together a little teaser of possible tasks for Guildies walking ’ The Path of Bwonsamdi ’ to better explain what I mean by the ‘IC tasks and events’ mentioned in the premise section of the original post:

~

Da Other Side

“ Slippin’ away like a dream, many a Troll been gifted wit an accidental glance into "Da Other Side" when on da brink o’death… few be foolish enough ta go lookin’ on purpose.”

Either alone or with allies to guard you, devise a way to achieve a state of near-death. Write a short story recalling what you may glimpse through the veil, as the memory may quickly fade.

(Written story)

Makin’ Voodoo Mask’s

“ To honor the Loa of Death, Zandalari don masks in their rituals and pray to him. Bwonsamdi in turn answers in kind, or curses dem with pain, depending on his mood. Ya better craft a mask that make him like ya”

Using materials you believe will please the Loa of Death, create a ritual mask befitting his worship. Prepare a large event or multiple small events to gather these materials, and craft them at a location of personal significance.

(Event series)

Shadow of the Necropolis

“ Looming in the northern-most reaches of Nazmir sits Bwonsamdi’s temple, de Necropolis, a flood of souls forever streaming into its depths. Attune your spirit to dis place through pilgrimage and leave a nice gift for Bwonsamdi.”

Placing a coin over each eye and a blindfold on your head to bind them, walk the path from Bwonsamdi’s Burrow to the courtyard of the Necropolis barefooted, and blind. This will require the aid of a companion willing to risk their soul, and Bwonsamdi’s ire.

(Casual RP with IC report)

~

Though these ones are potentially for people seeking Bwonsamdi’s blessing, each of the other Loa would also have their own alternative rites of passage. These are very much just early concepts but I thought I’d throw them up here to show you where my head is at.

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Krizzle… I gotta level my troll the moment I get home, now. I love how involved this all is; it really feels like a full character arc from point A to point B, from the way you’re describing it.

I don’t know much troll lore at the time of writing this, I’ll admit, but I absolutely GOTTA read up on it now. :smiley:

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Thanks very much for the kind words Farmhand :slight_smile: I’m thinking each path will launch with five different tasks, so members will have plenty to chew through while I try and bolster the ranks, so to speak.

~

“ For all dem who da Priesthood be turnin’ der back on, we welcome ya wid open arms!”
~ Fishermon Poctandi

I’ve been doing some work on the on the background of the guild and have expanded out the concept a little more. Originally I had been thinking that the guild and it’s Loa-themed path system might only suit lower caste Zandalari, but as I’m working with the concept it’s developing more into an alternate method of training pesudo-priests, available to those who the normal Priesthood might not touch:

  • Lower caste Zandalari Trolls; those judged to have little connection with the Loa and have instead become merchants, craftsmen, fishermen, beggars ect.

  • The castelesss; refuges of other Troll tribes or Zandalari Trolls that were not assigned a caste for whatever reason.

  • Disgraced priests, former priests, or those who have lost the favour of their Loa. The guild’s paths would give those who have known but strayed from the Loa’s blessing to reaffirm themselves in their eyes.

  • Those blessed by the Loa, but unable to attain formal training from the Zandalari Priesthood for whatever reason, possibly known criminals, or the sickly for example.

(In this context, I’m referring to ‘Priests’ as the spiritual rule caste of Zandalari culture, not the playable class)

Hopefully this opens up the guild concept to lots of other types of Zandalari and non-Zandalari Troll characters.

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My advice has nothing to do with your guild concept. Guilds do not grow and stay healthy because of their concepts, but because of their playerbase. My advice to you is to thoroughly investigate each person you are bringing into your guild.

Has this person tried Horde/Troll RP?
There is no question that players tend to chose races/organizations based on what kinds of RP they like. Those inspired by Tolkein tend to gravitate towards Dwarves and Humans, those interested in “house” politics tend to prefer Blood Elves. Those trying to relive WCIII like playing Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren, while those trying to relive the Holy Roman Empire roll Human Male Paladins.

There is a great deal of thematic crossover between Trolls and Zandalari, especially because Zandalari RPers have been swimming around in the Troll pool for years at this point, so someone who definitely does not like Troll RP may struggle to like Zandalari RP. Both societies are incredibly hierarchical, religious, xenophobic (Darkspear being the largest exception), and draw from the same real life influences (primarily Mesoamerican, South American, and West African cultures). The only significant distinction the Zandalari have is their love of gold and their upright spines. If those two things were the only thing holding someone back from playing a Troll, they may not be in it for the long haul.

Is this person joining as a main, or as an alt?
As a new race accessible to those who have completed an entire campaign on a fully leveled character, it is very likely that the majority of your applicants will be “alts”. It is much easier to sustain a full stable of alts with a reasonable amount of effort than it was in the past, so this is not necessarily a doomed status for a prospective member. However, you may want to consider this scenario:

Let’s say your new guild has 10 members. Hooray! Now you go ahead and plan your first event. Naturally, you want the event to happen during peak hours to ensure that the largest amount of people will show up. Unfortunately, 3 people cannot go due to their life situations, and that’s fine, they’ll try it next time. But because you’ve planned the event for peak hours, guess what? 5 of your members are alts of people with mains in much larger RP or raiding guilds, and by the very nature of being a main, take priority. Now you’re left with your one other buddy (see: future officer) and not much of an event.

Scenarios like that are why I always advise prioritizing people who show that they are invested beyond filling out a site application. Did they pay $15-25 to make their main character a Zandalari? Did they have a Zandalari/Troll character prior to the Zandalari announcement? Just some things to consider.

How much content does this person produce? Does this person have any ideas they would like to contribute to the guild?
Most of the issues arising from a player using an alt in a brand new guild are participation-based, so if you can grab players who are not afraid to produce content (RP, writing, fanon, etc.), you can minimize the impact that their lack of dedicated time may produce. Most people do not play Trolls, let alone Zandalari, so do not mistake unfamiliarity with the subject for uneasiness towards participating in building up the guild. Find people who are self-motivated and are willing to contribute their ideas to the overall guild idea. Otherwise you will be left with a guild full of followers who want to be handheld through a story, rather than build the story cooperatively. This can lead to early burnout from those creating content, and as a result, a dead guild.

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Thanks for your insights Yokumba, I very much appreciate them and the time that went into writing your post.

I’ll certainly have a think about the points you raised, though I feel if I actively excluded people from the guild who are playing alts, or have never Rped a troll before, I may inadvertently end up alienating 90% of the roleplaying population. Moon Guard doesn’t seem to have a tremendously large Horde RP population to begin with, so I’m hoping to keep entry as open as possible :slight_smile:

On a different note, looks like we now have a release date for Zandalari Trolls. I’m working on a website for this guild behind the scenes and will post up a link once I have it finished. If anyone wants to give Zandalari RP a go while your leveling up your shiny new alt then keep me in mind!

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I adore Yokumba, but I have to agree with you Krizzle!

When you’re starting up a guild, you can’t be too fussy. You’re better off to get a good handful of players, and even if you only get one person who shows up regularly, go out of your way to spend time with them when they’re on (even if it’s just an alt). Pretty soon you’ll find them wanting to spend more time on that character because they enjoy that time with you.

Of course there are always going to be alts that log on once in a blue moon (for all of 5 seconds), then log out again. Those people also tend to /gquit without saying goodbye. Let those ones go. They’re not going to help you much.

People are mostly in guilds for social interaction. I’ve heard that on non-RP realms guilds are dying in a big way. You don’t need to be in a guild to play a certain character. But if you want to interact with other people like yourself, then guilds help. I think as long as Krizzle talk to her members (and she certainly has the charisma!) then her new guild will be prosperous!

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On my latest voyage to Pandaria I tripped over a lore object and found a name for the guild!

It has certainly taken a bit of time to put together, but finally I have a website ready for everyone who’s interested to take a look at (just remove the spaces from the URL). It’s got all the guild information there in a tidy little package:

https:// tinyurl. com/shadowsoftheloa

An official guild recruitment thread for <Shadows of the Loa> will be coming once the allied race releases on the 12th!

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Took a look around the website: It looks very clean-cut and professional, definitely recommend anyone else that are even slightly interested to take a quick peek at it. Already talking to Krizzle about joining!

Looking forward to seeing the official guild recruitment thread later! Cannot wait to see more info soon. :slight_smile:

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DUDE this website. Hooooly crap!

I’m gonna try and push my plain ol’ troll druid to level 20, just so I can be there with everybody else as Zandalari go live. :hearts:

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That website is next level! Amazing job! Moment those Allied races come out I am looking to join this guild.

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Simply amazing concepts, execution, vision, and website. I now REALLY can’t wait for tomorrow!

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Website does not work for me.

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Take the spaces out of the web address

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Yeah i got it. Soon as i sent that i was like “ohhhhhh duh”

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Thanks so much for the feedback everyone,

I was originally planning on launching the new guild & recruitment thread today, but I’ve decided to launch it closer to the weekend instead to give people a chance to unlock and get settled in on their new Zandalari toons. Looking forward to meeting all the new trolls out there!

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