Interest Check - A Guild Suited for People Not Bound by Morals + Survivors of The Scarlet Crusade

[Daubeny-crusader-strike]

I am looking to form a guild some time soon that is best suited for characters that were once members of the Scarlet Crusade and or Lordaeron, Brotherhood of the Light members or worshippers of The Light that do not let morals keep them in place. When I say Scarlet Crusade, I do not intend to reform the order. This is not the Scarlet Renegades 2.0. This guild takes much inspiration from the Brotherhood of the Light, because they are described as such.

" What is the Brotherhood of the Light? Well… We are all members of the Argent Dawn at the core - members of the Argent Dawn that aren’t held in check by morals, guild and useless human emotions. Consider us Scarlet Crusade minus the stupidity, lack of leadership, and blind zealotry." -Korfax

The reason I mentioned the Scarlet Crusade at all, is because my character is a survivor of the assault on The Scarlet Enclave. While not the most lawfully aligned, my character does wield the light and seeks to wipe clean Lordaeron of any unholy corruption. Having been raised under Scarlet law was not a problem, initially, until the gross zealotry surfaced. My character was just a civilian at the time of the settlement’s fall and took up the Scarlet banner shortly after. Unfortunately with time and witnessing thoughtless murders and zealotry, this person defected from the organization. Grouping with other survivors of the settlement is ideal, but I tend to never really see anyone with a similar upbringing or birthplace.

So, this guild is for characters that seek to extend the long arm of justice, but without the morals that many other holy orders carry. The more Scarlet defectors, the better. Chaotically or neutrally aligned characters might fit in best. Selfishness is not uncommon for this order and getting the job done by any means necessary is a primary function of the guild. The guild is not for crime or mercenaries. The undead, death knights, demon hunters and warlocks will not be accepted. Druids (Kul Tiran) and shaman (dwarf) may have a place within the ranks. People that role play their class or race as something else entirely may also be welcome depending on the situation. For example, a destruction warlock that role plays as a pyromancer or a dracthyr that uses their visage as a half elf. It is still undecided if all races will be accepted or only humans, Kul Tirans, dwarves, gnomes and perhaps half/high elves. Worgen might find a place if they were previously members that got infected. The guild might end up recruiting any races, but that is to be seen with time.

There is a lot to iron out, like story, base of operations, goal(s) and functions of the guild. Characters of the following professions would be needed.

• Crafters of all sorts like blacksmiths, seamstresses and alchemists.
• Tradesmen and experienced caravan travelers.
• Navigators, be it on foot or with portals.
• Clergy members.
• Trackers, hunters and hound masters.
• Spies and information gatherers.
• Medics, scholars and historians, simple civilians, stable hands, farmers, etc.

And more. But I thought I would check around here to see if there’s any interest for this sort of thing.

[Gnoragrets-moon-guard]

I’m not here to give advice, I’m only here to watch the fireworks from a lawn chair on a grassy knoll with a pair of tiny binoculars on a stick as I munch popcorn.

[Driftwood-moon-guard]

Very humorous to me that this interest check is made by a male human paladin player named Daubeny.

[Zakary-moon-guard]

As someone who RPs an Argent with a strong affinity towards the Brotherhood of the Light when it comes to moral scruples and pragmatism, I feel like you have misunderstood what the Brotherhood of the Light represents.

The Brotherhood of the Light has no love for the Scarlet Crusade. They are a more cutthroat, extremist arm of the Argent Crusade, but they still largely adhere to the core ideologies of the order. Their methods and the lines they are willing to cross to ensure ultimate victory simply differ from the average Argent.

In-game dialogue explains that the Brotherhood of the Light views the Scarlet Crusade as fools blinded by zealotry and weakened by a lack of leadership, but also recognizes that the Argent Dawn themselves are held back by dogma and moral grandstanding which leads them to inaction and hamstrings their ability to combat the threats they fight against.

Whereas a normal Argent may prioritize civilian lives when clearing out a village of undead, the Brotherhood of the Light would likely focus the full of their attention on the undead themselves. Would they capture, torture, and/or kill the civilians in order to ‘cleanse’ the village of unholy taint? No, because that would be 1) Unnecessary, and 2) Defeats the purpose of clearing the undead out of a town in the first place. The intent is to ensure the town is habitable for people. Razing it and everyone inside to the ground does not accomplish that goal.

Obviously, this is my own interpretation of how the Brotherhood of the Light operates, but they are still beholden to Lord Maxwell Tyrosus and the presiding Highlord to some degree. I don’t think the Crusade would allow a high-profile rogue element within their own ranks commit atrocities under their noses.

In short, I’m not sure the Brotherhood of the Light necessarily fits the theme you’re going for, though I can see why you’d take inspiration from them.

[Rhanda-moon-guard]

Having an interest in the Scarlet Crusade is a noble pursuit. Despite what others say, not all members of the Scarlet Crusade were total zealots, especially those who were part of the order in the beginning.

Some players forget that the Scarlet Enclave wasn’t just a Bastion of soldiers. There were also settlers and farmers living there, normal people doing normal jobs (like picking apples in the orchard). To assume all of them were fanatical zealots is bias ridiculous nonsense especially from anyone serving in the A/lliance. Some just wanted to live free from the undead or have some sense of normalcy. Let the guards worry about the rest.

Forming a guild off the survivors of the enclave is a nice idea, not all of them were slain by the knights of Acherus after all. Whose to say that some of them did escape or fled when they had the chance?

The Hinterlands are not that far off and they can have survived/camped there, by boat down the coast. (Whose to say otherwise!)

Even defectors who chose to live rather than fight the undead is still reasonable. The army from hearthglen would have no doubt had some who fled when given the chance. Mount up and flee, or played dead among the corpses to wait out the slaughter of their former allies.

The Scarlet Crusade was founded by those who sought to fight back and reclaim lordaeron, and there are those who still fight to this day, regardless of what banner they now serve under.

Not hide out in Stormwind! I do recommend avoiding playing in stormwind unless recruiting. Keep it real and close to the plaguelands. Tyr’s Hand still stands of course. So do ruined cities like Strahnbrad or other settlements near the ruined crater of Dalaran.

(Ambermill has an intact farm north of the town hall and west of the crater i use myself and close proximity to Pyrewood village gives some that worgen/bitten clause to serve.)

[Saesha-moon-guard]

It feels as if there are a lot of assumptions here, and not quite enough reading of what Daubeny actually wrote, just because the Scarlet Crusade was mentioned.

Personally, as someone that plays characters who view them in varying shades of light, almost all of whom border pure hatred and disgust for the Crusade, I think the idea of indoctrinated members of its ranks growing disillusioned with its horrific methods is kind of neat and an interesting plot.

When you gut the Scarlet Crusade of its horrific nature, the closest you will land is the Brotherhood of the Light, who, by their own admission, are very similar. It’s just that they aren’t xenophobic, torturing psychopaths blinded by zeal or corrupted from within like the Scarlet Crusade ended up becoming.

All of this said, why not simply have them be assimilated into the Brotherhood of the Light in particular, rather than create an organization that is not quite Brotherhood of the Light, but also not quite Scarlet Renegade? I feel like there might be a little more traction with the former’s path.

[Daubeny-crusader-strike]

@Saesha-moon-guard

It feels as if there are a lot of assumptions here, and not quite enough reading of what Daubeny actually wrote, just because the Scarlet Crusade was mentioned.

You would be correct. I did not and do not need schooled about any of the orders mentioned. I’m well aware of what each stands for. Perhaps I was misunderstood, given the assumptions made. I simply mentioned that characters that fall in line with some of these orders might find respite here. I never said the Brotherhood was the Scarlet Crusade or they were they same or that they even liked them. I just mentioned a quote to show that they do not pull punches in their mission. The mention of the Scarlet Crusade was and is a part of my own backstory, and I thought perhaps I could find more refugees because I find the lore interesting, and if they hail not from The Scarlet Enclave, then perhaps people of the brotherhood would be interested or those that seek to bring justice by unsavory means.

Someone else mentioned what you said on another post. “Why reform scarlets when you could just join the Argent Dawn?” They asked. The answer is simple. People do not want to and want to take their own stab at their own order. I could drive down the street to pick up my coffee, but I think I’ll take the backroad because I like the scenery. It may not seem practical, so why do something out of line? You know? That was all I meant.

@Rhanda-moon-guard

Forming a guild off the survivors of the enclave is a nice idea, not all of them were slain by the knights of Acherus after all. Whose to say that some of them did escape or fled when they had the chance?

Yes, I quite thought so. You understood me. There is no shortage of holy orders out there, but I thought that I would work on something. The forums are by no means the voice of Moon Guard, but some people frequent here, so I thought that I would ask and see who comes around, if any. Instead, it was assumed that I don’t understand. Silly, but perhaps it was my wording. In any case, thanks for the tip, Rhanda. I have noticed that certain orders or characters catch flak in Stormwind. Silly, really. I also had an idea for Dark Riders but I highly doubt that would take off. Still. It’s fun to think about and I might do it. Either way, thanks.

[Rainaa-moon-guard]

If I wasn’t so turned off by Scarlet Crusade stuff on this character I’d join on my main. But I do have a few alts that I can throw into the fold if this gets more interest.

That’s kind of the crux of Moon Guard is that there’s going to be people who try to dictate what people do with their $15. I really wish people would just say “Hey, it’s cool that you’re doing this, but I’m not interested.” Which is a lot better than “Well why don’t you do x instead of y.” Normally my response to something like that is, “Why don’t you just be quiet?” It’s a question of whether or not people are interested in something which is usually a yes or a no. Not a reason to dismantle someone’s idea because you don’t like it.

But on the other hand, there is probably more interest in something like this than what the forums portrays or even than what the server as a whole may think. There’s always a few people willing to give it a try. Whether they’ve done the whole Scarlet thing before or they’re new to the idea and think “Why not?”

[Daubeny-crusader-strike]

@Rainaa-moon-guard

I really wish people would just say “Hey, it’s cool that you’re doing this, but I’m not interested.” Which is a lot better than “Well why don’t you do x instead of y.”

Right. I completely agree. I’ll never understand the purpose that. Even outside of role play, when people make generic requests, people do the same thing. It’s silly, really. I have a mage hunter that isn’t fond of the Scarlet Crusade, so I understand. I’ve been doing a little research and writing, so I’m working on the guild’s origin, should it even come to fruition. I actually sought to start a guild specifically for Dark Riders once, but death knight guilds don’t seem to be very popular. I love Dark Riders with a passion. I know of two guilds, primarily one, that are themed as such. My only other idea was a magic academy, specifically for sorceresses, where they are neutral to discuss their kingdom(s) they hail from, train other women in various schools of magic and offer magical services. I actually really like that idea, but I’m not sure it has legs. I’ll keep working on things.

Well, if I ever see you around, I’ll say hello, albeit with a little grumpy tone since my character isn’t the sweetest. She does her best. Hopefully we meet on good terms and not by her profession(s). The morgue doesn’t seem like the best place to socialize.

[Rainaa-moon-guard]

That’s a mood. I’ve had several ideas myself about what guilds to make or run but I don’t think the larger community would be interested in them. I’ve kind of given up myself.

Heh. Raina makes friends with people that don’t like her or are rough around the edges.

[Daubeny-crusader-strike]

@Rainaa-moon-guard

I’ve kind of given up myself.

Unfortunate. I have been at that point for a long time, honestly. I like to imagine things working out one day, though. We shall see.

@Rainaa-moon-guard

Heh. Raina makes friends with people that don’t like her or are rough around the edges.

Well we would be just the best of friends, then, haha. I tend to choose my forum character based on which one I am playing, so I will probably swap to her some time soon since I’m leveling her, finally. But, if you happen to see a wayward cleric with a bit of an attitude problem named Fringilla. Be sure to say /hello.