I think there will certainly be support for various types of Organisations, with Guilds being just one of them. The Organisations Developer Journal is on the list of ones we are going to see in the future and I think that is going to give us a much better idea.

However, what we have at the moment is the impression of is a variety of Organisations including Guilds, Schools and something like Associations. We know a bit about Guilds and Schools from the Research and Technology Developer Journal. It looks like we have Guilds which get a benefit on the production of goods and can patent their research. School who get a benefit when researching, but can not patent anything they find. And some more social type of associations, I would love to see neighbourhood watch groups springing up for example along with those who go adventuring and are mercenaries for hire!

"That said, what do you folks think should be the support, if any, for in-game Social Groups? Something that more closely reflects what the typical MMO vet would think of when they hear 'guild'?"

My immediate reaction would be to say no. I think if you're going to reach out and do something new and different in a genre (or, at the very least, something not seen or attempted very often), you're hopefully going to have a playerbase that will not only grasp that guilds are different in CoE, but hopefully be desiring that kind of thing, too.

I really don't understand what you are trying to say here. Some guilds will probably love cats. Heck I can see whole guilds dedicated to breeding one type of animal just because they want to. Guilds are just that fluid. To try to pin down what a guild is in CoE is impossible.

Of course you have the RP based guilds who's purposed is something for a god or whatever. You have the Pk guilds who just want to kill people, rob, and create story that way. You have guilds who are together because they share a similar real life experience or lifestyle. Guilds can be whatever the player wishes them to be. Play with who you want in whatever style you want is what I say. Nothing is restricting you.

Don't try to force people into a guild cookie-cutter forcing all of those who fall outside your lines out. :P No mater what the story goes on. Let everyone play at their own pace and to the beat of their own drum XD After all just because they like cats doesn't mean you can't help or hinder them in the name of creating more story ;)...in my case, hinder.

I'm sorry Jormungandr? I think you've got the wrong end of what I said.

The first par is the chap I'm quoting. The second par is me.

I don't think what I said has anything to do with "forcing people into a guild cookie-cutter" guilds? What I'm getting at is CoE is seeking to do something different with guilds and so, rather than hope for structures, tools, etc, that are akin to old-fashioned guild models, I think this is a great chance for all of us to play around with a new way of doing things. Something which, I think, will still enable people to do what they want... it will just play out a little differently between the guild and family structures in the game (the latter being what the OP wants I think), rather than trying to replicate the old way of doing things.

I'd like to see guilds be largely player-organized, with tools in-game to help that out, such as contracts and a way to give each other things like membership cards or tokens, and ways to give 'ownership' to members of a guild or members of a town/city etc. But I don't really want to see the game become too... restrictive? A loose involvement in groups, rather than a "Click here to make your guild" and then a UI to track your members and invite people.

I imagine a lot of things in the game being handled with contracts, and I don't see why groups can't be handled in the same way, with small versions of contracts existing as cards or tokens for members. This way you can easily be a member of different guilds, and deviants can even forge memberships to infiltrate a larger group.

... It's a little hard to put it into words. XD

Posted By Omner at

From what I've been seeing, CoE really does have a different definition of the word Guild. In other places, WoW being a notable example, a Guild is a group brought together using in-game tools available to the players. These include special chat to other members, community storage, visual recognitions and other in-game perks. It wouldn't be inaccurate to parralell them with a social club, even when there is a discrete focus to the group. (Raiding, RP, PVP, etc.)

In Chronicles of Elyria, it seems a bit different. The purpose of the guild is brought to the fore. You can have a guild of miners, dedicated to the art of mining. They'd help eachother gain mining skill and interact with respect to mining related issues. Social connections and relations may naturally follow from that.

With that in mind, it makes sense that in CoE, one can be a member of multiple guilds. (as was discussed in an Earlier Thread ) For example, the local leader of the RedIron Blacksmithing Guild may also secretly be a core member of the Thieves Guild, fencing stolen items and storing them in a secret hidden player-built area beneath the smithy. Or a troubadour from the Temuair Theatre Company may serve as a teacher at the Arts Academy of Annuile Arathia.

That said, what do you folks think should be the support, if any, for in-game Social Groups? Something that more closely reflects what the typical MMO vet would think of when they hear 'guild'? Should there BE a distinction, or should we have Social Guilds fall in the same framework as Professional Guilds? (A world with both the Assasin's guild and the Cat Lovers guild)

My answer is Kingdoms, Duchies, counties and international trade organizations.

You got three types of organizations: schools, guilds, and associations. As long as it's non-profit and not about production, research, or learning, then the organization is most ideal as an association. Your traditional type of guild would be an association in CoE.

Various examples of organizations that are best suited as an association is: clubs, unions, orders, administrations, councils, and various other cultural and religious institutions.