Istarian Syndicate

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

We chose this name primarily because we are an association of Istarians, both adventurers and crafters. We are not a race-exclusive guild, meaning that any one is welcome without regard to race, so we wanted to choose a name that did not imply such. We are going to keep our guild small with less than 50 or 100 members. As a result, there are rules that you must agree to in order to join the guild. There is also a process for membership, though it is not difficult. For membership, you need to have an officer in the guild sponsor your membership. You may contact the officer however you wish, in game or via email, and ask for their sponsorship. You will also need to post some basic information in our forums.

What is the main focus of your guild?

The main focus of the guild is to have fun. We’ll accomplish this through guild-organized events such as adventuring, questing, and crafting in groups. We will also focus on becoming a self-sustaining guild with an expert in each area of crafting and a superior military force for to do our part fighting the Withered Aegis.

How long has your Guild been around?

Our guild has been around since the beginning of October 2003.

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

Koldar and ZenRabbit founded our guild. We have played MMORPG’s in the past and we have a passion for online games. We see the different experience that Artifact Entertainment is creating with Horizons and so we have decided to venture into the Empire of Istaria.

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

Our structure is pretty simple. There are regular members and then there are officers. The regular members are not expected to perform any specific roles other than what we have outline in our rules; they are to be courteous to other players, etc. Officers will have other duties assigned to them such as treasurer, coordinator, etc. To become an officer, the other officers and the founders must vote you into office. There are some other ins and outs outlined in the rules listed on our website. One for example, is a recall vote for renegade officers.

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

The resources we will provide are a forum on our web site to help with communication while away from the game, and guild property (hopefully) in game to enhance all members’ gaming experience. Our guild property will be used for meetings of course, but we will also hopefully be able to implement a guild vault for our members to use if they can’t afford their own property, vendors to sell our members’ wares, and possibly some community structures once we have the needed resources, to help provide for the community as a whole.

What are some benefits to being in your guild?

Some benefits to joining are guild includes a camradery, a guildhall (someday), events, the knowledge that as a member you are taking a firm stand against the Withered Aegis, and, and all of the benefits you would normally expect form a decent guild.

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

The most memorable thing I have experienced to date…is still under Artifact Entertainment’s NDA. Sorry! The only thing I can say without risking my beta participation is that the game is unbelievable.

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

Well, the guild is still pretty small and my experience is limited, but I would say seeing 10 silver pieces in my inventory was exhilarating…and the next day there was a player wipe.

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

I can see us having an informal monthly meeting online. This might get expanded to a bi-monthly or quarterly meeting if our time online is limited. I plan on using the forum on our web site if we have any major announcements to guild members as well as using in game chat. I don’t want to tie up member’s time with a large get-together if they only have a few hours per week they can play.

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

Arg, so many questions. Join because you want to have fun and help the guild succeed; do not join if you only seek to profit from the guild. Surely I will say it again, if you are interested in our guild please visit the web site to learn more about us. Our guild will most likely change as we grow to accommodate thoughts and ideas of new members. Nothing is written in stone.

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

I mentioned it briefly before, but to join our guild one must get an officer to sponsor their membership. This is to “weed out” any people that are joining the guild just for personal gain. They must also post in our forum a little bit about their character (name, race, class, etc.). After you request membership, you will be accepted into the guild on a probationary basis. The officers will vote monthly on new membership requests. To get accepted, one must comply with all of the rules listed on the web site. Failure to do so would be followed with removal from the guild.

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

Horizons is our maiden voyage into MMORPG’s. We have played several in the past and we have been involved with other guilds in the past, but this is Istarian Syndicate’s first instantiation in the gaming world.

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

Artifact Entertainment has taken such a radical approach to MMORPG’s that we couldn’t resist. Their crafting system, community structures, and player development has us very excited about the possibilities of Horizons. Granted, some of the new ideas such as playing a dragon worry some of us since it will most likely be a popular race to play in the game, but it will add a good taste of diversity in possible adventures that one could experience. As a comment on that statement, we still allow dragons into the guild, we are just concerned that a good portion of the players out there might find it tempting to choose a dragon as their primary character.

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

This is my first experience leading a guild. I know that there is going to be a learning curve to my role as a guild master, but I’m pretty excited about the chance to lead a guild in such an unbelievable game.

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

I have played several MMORPG’s in the past and I have gown up playing games my entire life. I’m trying to forget about the real time counter that EverQuest had on my characters, a truly enjoyable part of my life that I gave to Sony. Other officers also have gaming experience that humbles mine. I think that these experiences will add to our guild, as I know that many of the members also have similar gaming experience. I look forward to delving into Horizons.

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?)

As a guild master, the hardest part I deal with is the title “guild master”. I have a hard time with “founder” even. I don’t like to think of myself as being some great person that founded a guild; I like to think of myself as one of the members that is working hard to help the guild succeed. Since this is my first experience as a guild master, I really can’t speak of any situations I have had to deal with as a guild master. I’m looking forward to the challenge though – bring it on!

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

I think that our role in Horizons will be one that helps the community. From our experience, and this is going to sound like a broad generalization but I must continue, many guilds are an exclusive group of people who establish procedures that hurt the gaming world. Some guilds are power levelers, others are kill stealers, and some are guilds that try to make a difference in the online world; we will be one of the guilds that tries to help enhance everyone’s gaming experience. I’m hoping we will be able to accomplish this through providing crafted goods and adventuring services.

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

I can see the guild in one year with a guildhall, nothing too large but large enough to hold meetings in. I can see several characters that have seen many battles and quests in the company of fellow guild members. Beyond that, it is hard to say for certain. I know I’ll be around in a year and several other members will be as well. Over time, if our guild has enough members that are devoted to the cause of the guild with more prospective members, I will look into expanding the guild.

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

I would like to direct anyone who is interested in learning more about our guild to visit our humble web site and have a look around. Feel free to contact me or any other officer if you have questions.