Guilds, mandatory or political?

Oceaux

I am new to Lusternia and I am trying to figure out what benefits being in a guild are, over just being a part of a commune or city. Do you lose certain abilities if you aren't in a guild? I have no problem with a guild system, it is just I am a much more "This is my home I protect it with others that are in my home" over a "I am a part of this group, my life is dedicated to this group". Not saying I don't think the guilds are very welcoming from what I have seen, but I am more of a loner and want to strike out and make my own path instead of just following in the footsteps that are placed before me set up by the rules of a group I seemingly HAVE to be a part of. Am I misunderstanding this concept or what? 

Tacita

Guild skills are your primary skills within the game, used for PvE, PvP and other utility. Without them you will only be able to very ineffectually kick and punch people or jab with basic weapons, which isn't really very viable. So, yes, there's a huge disbenefit if you're not a member of one. It is possible to be guildless and there are people that do it, but it's a very hard thing to do.

It is however possible to be within a guild, part of its identity, and still be a 'loner' or more reclusive. There are some guilds whose RP will enable this less and some who will enable it more, of course. I know plenty of people who are in guilds but keep to themselves

If you have a specific city/commune in mind, maybe people can give you more specific advice about which guilds would be a good place for you to do this. At a guess, I'd say mage/druid might be a good option for you, based on the RP you've outlined.

Enyalida

Guilds are basically mandatory, yes.

Lerad

You CAN be guildless, though. That would, however, require you to join it first, and then get class, and then quit it. To continue to access all your abilities, you will need to stay within the org the guild originated from, of course.

Note here that not all guilds will allow this, some demand that only members of their guild have access to their skills. While they can't take away your skills unless you enter the commands to do so, you run the risk of being kicked out of the org etc if the offended guild requests it.

The only class that allows you full access to the skills without being a member of its home org is to be a Tracker Warrior.

Nimhuire

One of the interesting things about the guild/order/city interactions is the ways different people identify themselves within that hierarchy. Some Moondancers, for example, consider themselves worshipers of Mother Moon, who has shown favour on the Serenwilde, and therefore they live in Serenwilde, but their focus is on promoting Mother Moon's teachings first, and the health of the Serenwilde second. Others  view themselves as Serenwilders first and foremost, and the best way they personally can serve their nation is by exploring the ways of Mother Moon. There's not necessarily a conflict in behaviour between the two, but motivations, passion, etc all vary from person to person. Other people are devoted to a particular divine, to the point where if that divine left their nation, they would follow, abandoning their guild in the process.

As others have said, it will vary from guild to guild and nation to nation how the different guilds interact and how easily you can go your own way. I don't think there's any guild that will object to you identifying primarily as a citizen of X, rather than as a member of Y guild. (Note that Hallifax and Gaudiguch don't have monk guilds, but it is possible to become a monk, quit your guild, and then go to either Gaudiguch or Hallifax. However you will not have access to your full range of skills if you do so. I'm pretty sure both Hallifax and Gaudiguch allow unguilded monks). I honestly would have said that bard or warrior might be the best way to do striking out on your own within a particular guild, because the mage and druid guilds tend to be tied to specific pieces of an Org's identity above others. But in this case, knowing particulars of your interests would make it easy to give more specific advice.

Xenthos

Each organization can have a very different view on this.  That is what I like about Glom; everything is geared towards the greater good of the whole.  While Seren even has a history of "rebelling" guilds (see Grutina), where personalities come into conflict and the guilds do not play nicely with one another, in Glomdoring a lot of the "conflict" comes instead on an organizational level (discussions on the direction of the Forest as a whole, instead of infighting between the guilds).

This leaves Glomdoring guilds more as a structure, a focus of study and devotion that allows an individual to find their niche in serving their home... with the understanding that each of the others has their part to play as well.

Daraius

Nimhuire said:

(Note that Hallifax and Gaudiguch don't have monk guilds, but it is possible to become a monk, quit your guild, and then go to either Gaudiguch or Hallifax. However you will not have access to your full range of skills if you do so. I'm pretty sure both Hallifax and Gaudiguch allow unguilded monks).

Yep, this is a thing some people do. With skillflex you can even keep your citizenship in one of the monkless cities if you can convince the foreign monk guild to let you learn their skills.

From my own experience, I can say it's definitely possible to operate in your org without a guild, but it can be a little harder to measure your progress. That is, you don't really have any predefined tasks set before you that you can tackle for advancement - you have to set all your own goals and make your own rubric for success. Maybe that's exactly what you're looking for!

I'd advise at least joining a city ministry or a divine order so you're not a total outsider within your own org.

Cyndarin

Xenthos said:

Each organization can have a very different view on this.  That is what I like about Glom; everything is geared towards the greater good of the whole.  While Seren even has a history of "rebelling" guilds (see Grutina), where personalities come into conflict and the guilds do not play nicely with one another, in Glomdoring a lot of the "conflict" comes instead on an organizational level (discussions on the direction of the Forest as a whole, instead of infighting between the guilds).

This leaves Glomdoring guilds more as a structure, a focus of study and devotion that allows an individual to find their niche in serving their home... with the understanding that each of the others has their part to play as well.

Some Shadowdancers put Mother Night before Glomdoring, or specifically Mother Night's vision of Glomdoring before everything else. Some believe her plan for things supercedes the plans of the creepy one eyed bird who lays in his own crap, and all the lowly mortals. Celina is this way.  They just won't openly say it. Celina probably would if she was asked, because she don't currrrr.

Everiine

Guilds are not just means of social interactions, like in other games. Guilds are the bedrock of life in the cities and communes, both mechanically as well as in the lore of the game. Guilds are the heart of identity. The cities and communes were built around the guilds. They are much more than one's "job".

This is one of the reasons I dislike the term guild and prefer to find alternate titles for the groups. And yes, depending on the place, the guilds can either be very united, or less so. Those fickle Seren have always been a bit independent, preferring to keep to themselves.

Siam

Agreed, Everiine. I always try to find ways to not use 'guild' when addressing them. I say...Coven, Cult, Harbingers, Murder, Ebonguard...just not guild. Guilds really are the heart of identity, or at least part of it. It builds character and character history - one reason why I take switching guilds seriously.

Manjusri

wrong thread...