House of Durin

Give us a brief description of your guild and why you chose the name you did.

The House of Durin is a Dwarven Role Playing guild with history based on the writings of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. On this date, Brobbet has set his racial creation, the dwarves, to sleep. The eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves of Istaria, Durin IX, will awake shortly before the waking of the Elves. Now is the time for those who wish to join Durin IX in his quest to rebuild the city of Khazad-dum.

House of Durin was the name chosen for the guild because it means the line of descendants of Durin the Deathless (Durin I), hereditary Dwarven-kings of Durin’s Folk. My character’s name (Durin IX) was selected because Durin VIII was the last noted dwarf of the House of Durin in Tolkien’s writings. The history for my character is that he is the first of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves of Istaria and thus dwarves born under him are descendants and therefore members of the House of Durin.

What is the main focus of your guild?

The primary in-game goal for the House of Durin is to establish, build, and maintain our city. Our city currently reserves two names, Khazadul-pend (Dwarven city) if our city is above-ground, and Khazadul-gunud (Dwarven cave) if our city is below-ground. We will be striving to provide high quality crafted items, build the city and residential housing, and provide a large network of travel gates.

How long has your Guild been around?

The House of Durin was conceptually founded shortly after the original Horizons project was announced; however, at that time I felt Horizons was too early in development to publicly launch the guild. On December 11th, 2002 I officially created the House of Durin. The House of Durin is currently one of the largest Horizons-only guilds.

How was your guild founded and who are some of the founding members?

I, Durin IX, am the only founding member of the House of Durin. When I created the guild my goal was to establish an environment that was conceptually different from anything that I’d seen before. I can say with confidence that the House of Durin is not only a unique guild, but is also already successful even at this stage of development in Horizons. When I first launched the website for the guild I had high hopes and low expectations. Today, my hopes and expectations have been far surpassed.

What kind of structure does your guild have in terms of leadership and roles they play?

Once again, in order to establish a unique environment I have avoided giving any members leadership roles. At the launch of Horizons I will be the only player in the guild with any political power. In order to avoid bias promotions I will not be promoting anyone beyond a point until they have proven themselves to be a loyal and valuable member of the House of Durin.

What resources do you provide to enhance interaction between members of your guild?

The House of Durin currently utilizes many custom functions built specifically for the House of Durin and pre-built software packages that include, but are not limited to: forums, events calendar, roster system, news system, IRC, and the Horizons beta.

What are some benefits to being in your guild?

One of the primary benefits that most members of the House of Durin appreciate most is that we have a well-established and very friendly community. Other benefits to members of the guild include but are not limited to: private forums, member’s functions, exclusive releases from Atari, and the ability to make a difference in the guild regardless or rank or division.

What single moment in your guilds time, have you found the most memorable?

Winning the Stratics Central Best Guild/Fan Site Contest and having the opportunity to go to San Francisco for the Ultima X: Odyssey premier has been the most memorable experience for me even though it’s not directly related to the guild. I would have to say that my most memorable guild experience changes everyday as each day surpasses the last as the community grows larger, stronger, and closer together.

What event has changed ‘you’ the most, since you have been in the guild?

The comments and compliments that I have received from members, guests, game developers, and other web-designers is what has changed my outlook the most about how I perceive my own personal accomplishments. The growth of the House of Durin community and the concept of what one person can do to establish a community base is constantly a reminder of the personal changes that I have gone through as the guild evolves.

Does your guild have or will your guild have planned gatherings, and if so, how often? (In game and/or Real Life)

The House of Durin is planning on having regular guild meetings. These meetings will be based on rank, division, time zones, and availability. We are currently planning to utilize our website, forums, IRC, and the in-game communication interfaces to our best benefit. Right now there are no plans for a House of Durin real-life get together; however, who knows what next month will bring?

In a short paragraph, tell us why someone should join your guild.

If you have an interest in the race of dwarves, you’re a Tolkien fan, and you enjoy role playing than the House of Durin is a perfect match for you! The members of the House of Durin are of all age groups, have different levels of role play and MMOG experience, and are from all over the world.

If someone is interested in joining your guild, what application process (if any) must they go through?

If someone were interested in joining the House of Durin they would have to visit the site and apply via an online application. Applications are generally processed on a weekly basis. Not all applicants are accepted; however, each applicant is notified of their acceptance or reason why they weren’t accepted.

What games has your guild been a part of to date?

Horizons: Empire of Istaria will be the first game that the House of Durin will be in. After the launch of Horizons will we be putting a lot of consideration into the creation of factions for the House of Durin. At this time I will not be releasing the names of any games that we are considering expanding into.

What attracted you to Horizons and where do you see your guild in the world when Horizons starts?

I’ve personally been following Horizons since October, 1999 and with each morsel of information that is released I find myself more infatuated with the concepts that are being implemented. The advanced Artificial Intelligence and highly boasted crafting system is of particular interest to me personally because I have been waiting for a change from the standard hack and slash MMOG.

When Horizons is first launched I see the House of Durin members working together to establish enough money and resources to create an in-game guild and to purchase the required plots of land for our city.

Have you ever been a Leader of a Guild before? What MMO and what was the size of the Guild at peak?

My previous guild leader experience includes guilds from the following MMOGs:
· The Realm – The Wrath, Realm shard, peak: approximately 10 members – This was a small guild that consisted of friends and family that eventually diminished as one by one we quit The Realm.
· Ultima Online – The Trinsic Alliance [Trinsic Miner’s Association, Trinsic Dragon Warriors, Arcane Trinsic Arts, and the Trinsic Fishing Club], Baja shard, peak: approximately 80 members – I simultaneously lead all four guilds under the Trinsic Alliance banner. This was my first experience in a leadership environment that did not consist strictly of my friends and family. My learning experience from this alliance has helped me greatly to understand the role that a guild leader must assume. This alliance was moderately successful but failed shortly after many members (including myself) quite Ultima Online.
· Dark Age of Camelot – Infiltrate This, Palomides shard, peak: approximately 50 members – An infiltrator only guild created for the purpose of going against all odds and proving that infiltrator only groups could survive alone. The guild was an in-game presence only (no online resources) and was quite successful; however, the guild failed shortly after I quit Dark Age of Camelot.

Tell us a little about your gaming experience and role as ‘guild master’.

MMOGs have been an intricate part of my free time ever since I was introduced to Ultima Online. The list of MMOGs that I have played is an ever-expanding list that consists of: Anarchy Online, Asheron’s Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Dark Ages, Earth & Beyond, EverQuest, EverQuest: Online Adventures, Final Fantasy XI, Meridian 59, The Realm, The Sims Online, Time of Defiance, Ultima Online and countless others.

My experience as a guild master is highlighted in the previous answer.

As a ‘guild master’, tell what is the hardest set back you’ve had to deal with and how you handled the situation. (Which MMO was it and what was the out come?)

The first that I want to note is that every setback is a hard setback to deal with; there is no such thing a small setback. Every setback that I have experienced in a guild has always started as something small and quickly escalated into something big. A slip of the tongue, an action, lack of action, internet connections, time zones, meetings, and he-said-she-said arguments are just a short list of the experiences that I’ve dealt with in the past. It’s impossible to please everyone with every verdict that you make and thus each situation that has been handled has been a great learning experience towards how to better my role as a guild master. The absolute hardest setback to deal with is when any member leaves a game or the guild without notification. Unfortunately, those instances often lead to further setbacks. I’m confident that with my previous experience that I will be able to deal with all of the setbacks the House of Durin is going to throw at me.

What would you like your guild’s role in Horizons to be?

I want the members of the House of Durin to have fun when they login to the online world of Istaria. Our experience and role in Horizons will only be further heightened with the enjoyment of our game time. With hopes, we will be able to build our city to the standards that we have already formed for ourselves and then further continue to develop goals that will be beneficial to the community.

Where you do see your guild a year into the game?

In one years time I see the city built by the House of Durin being well-established and well-known. The growth and expansion of the city will be properly complimented by the growth and expansion of the guild. Only time will the tell the fortune of the House of Durin.

Any other details about your guild that you would like people to know?

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Horizons Warcry for this interview, Artifact Entertainment for developing such an innovative game, and all of the members of the House of Durin for making the guild what it is today!

For more information on the House of Durin please visit our website: http://www.houseofduirn.com