What Does It Take to Lead an RP Guild?

Wyrmrest Accord
21

This is such an important perspective to be aware of, at all times. In my own guild leading experiences, I’ve found that the flatter you make your hierarchy the more comfortable and safe the space generally feels for newcomers and veterans alike. Going the extra mile to foster new leaders and RP hosts within your own community/guild who aren’t necessarily administrative officers or leaders within that community is genuinely one of the best ways to help a space thrive and watch collaboration blossom. Being involved enough to recognize when formerly loud and eager voices go quiet is also part of this. As GL it’s important to find the time to reach out and know everyone on your roster, even if you feel your leadership team does a sufficient job to cover all your bases. Not only does it go such a long way to ensure everyone feels comfortable and welcome, it also provides you with the opportunity to ask for feedback and let those people in your community know how much you genuinely care about them and their experiences in the community space you’re building together.

Authenticity carries so much weight where empathy is concerned as well. The more authentic and true to yourself you are, and the more empathetic you can be to others, the more trustworthy you will be overall. As a guild leader you will become someone who juggles concerns from mundane feedback (i.e. the roll system could use updates, the website isn’t loading, Discord channels are missing -etc) to serious complaints (i.e. fomo, clique concerns, IC/OOC issues -etc) and deep-talks on serious subjects (i.e therapy-grade trust talks -etc). Having an open-door policy in which anyone can come to you with a concern goes a long way, but it can be arduous to balance as well if you have people-pleasing tendencies. For example, don’t give up too much of yourself for the sake of others in any leadership role, as it’s not healthy to do so and it’s okay to acknowledge that you won’t be able to solve every issue that comes your way.

8 Likes
22

And if you wanted to go the cult route, you could also mass-marry your guildmates together at your total discretion.

1 Like
23

Listen, this is EXACTLY why I should never be a guild leader!

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A lot of good advice on the roleplay side of things has already been dropped in this thread. Going to focus on the OOC, leadership, and longevity side of things and frame it with these questions you had.

Easiest Part
The easiest part is coming up with the guild concept. It may not seem that way, but ideating on a fresh IC concept/OOC community will pale in comparison to keeping one engaging and stable over the long term. Include scalability, set your personal boundaries, and recruit/coach a solid, dependable officer core and respect their boundaries as much as they respect yours. Remember to foster a team — and remember you’re every bit as accountable to them as they are to you. You are one another’s check and balance; never be the “I’m the only one that can do it!” dictator. You’ll drive good people away and eventually burn yourself out.

Hardest Part
Interpersonal conflicts. They’re going to happen. Whether they’re internal (in the guild) or external (guild v. guild or community), mediation, conflict resolution, and restorative justice are great skillsets to have. If you don’t have them, have someone who does but also don’t lean on them so heavily that you burn them out. This is an unpaid volunteer position after all, so maintaining your boundaries and respecting/protecting others’ boundaries is equally important. I will reiterate that as much as I have to.

With this, understand that most communities live out a revolving cycle and guilds closely mimic it: Inception, Growth, Maturity, and Mitosis. There are many resources on this and some of the words for each stage vary, but the general gist of it is:

  • Founding a guild (Inception - easy in comparison to what’s to come)
  • Growing of a guild (Growth - medium/harder)
  • Maintaining stable guild (Maturity - easy or hard, depending on your ability to delegate, maintain/respect volunteer boundaries, navigate tough personalities, communicate-communicate-communicate, and adapt to ever-changing environments)
  • Fording splits in the guild on niche or interpersonal disputes (Mitosis - hardest, but it can be quick or drawn out endlessly depending on leadership skill)

I could make an entire post about the above and include lived examples but if it’s not something you’re interested into diving in right now but I’m under several deadlines and have to put energies into other work!

General Advice
Make friends with trusted veteran guild leaders of stable guilds and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion. The hardest part of being a GM is feeling a massive weight on your shoulders from a unpaid, often misunderstood CEO-esque position in an online video game and having few people or mentors to talk about it without having to first start the conversation with: “So what a guild master is, is…” Make a good support network and don’t isolate yourself when things get hard. Be self-aware, know your limits, do the best you can muster at that time, and never be afraid to say you were wrong or could have done better. By holding yourself accountable and encouraging self-growth, you set the example for others to do the same in your guild. You’re human, not a god — treat yourself like a human and treat others the same way. Grow together, learn together, stay together.

Have Fun
All the above stuff aside, remember to have fun. If it’s not fun for you, pause, reflect, ask for advice, and then make a change. There’s no reason to burn out or martyr yourself, especially considering you’re essentially self-employed and working for free. As such, be your own best boss and make sure you’re having as good a time as your guildies are.

That’s a quick spattering of stuff off the top of my head. Don’t hesitate to reach out and best to you.