The only person that can decide if your guild is successful is you. Nobody else can decide that for you. However there are some steps you can take to make it a fun and rewarding place for everyone that joins or interacts with your guild.
Anyone can create a guild. I’m sure we’ve seen those that stand around in Stormwind shouting that they are paying 1g for someone to sign their charter. However this isn’t always the best way to attract the quality people you might want. To decide what kind of membership you want, first you have to decide what kind of guild you want.
There are going to be plenty of people that tell you how to build a good raiding guild. What I am going to discuss is building a good Role Play guild. Some elements are the same but others are very very different.
What Do You Want Out Of Your Guild?
This is the first question you should ask yourself. If you want glory, you should probably look somewhere else. Running a guild isn’t about having others fawn over you or having some sort of feeling of control. It is ENTIRELY about bringing others together to have fun. This involves work. And lots of it. And it is a very thankless job. Few others around you realize how much work goes into running a guild.
Now that the lecture is out of the way, ask yourself what you want for your guild. Do you want a light-weight casual guild or do you want a hardcore guild? Do you want big or small? Do you want a guild with a theme or something more free-form? Picture in your mind what you want this guild to be like.
Themes
For the purpose of role play guilds I always recommend that you consider having some sort of “theme” that draws the folks together. This is simpler than it sounds and does not have to be complex or outrageous. If you just have a name and stuff everyone under that banner, what is the link that binds them? That makes them feel like this guild is home? What gives them the reasoning for their character to be there? Everyone that puts on a tabard does it for a reason. Don’t make the players struggle to find that reason.
Some example themes might be a band of Mercenaries. An elite force assembled by some Lord or General or something. A group assembled to research the plague or the dragonflights. A group of demon hunters. Those are all examples of similar professions.
There are other themes that are just as valid too. A group of people that live on the same estate or in the same manor house. A complex aristocratic “family” with cousins, brothers, sisters, wives, distant blood relations or even servants. A performance troup. There are limitless possibilities if you use your imagination.
Find that one thing that ties everyone together. That simple string linking them. Make sure it isn’t too strict though. You want to give your players enough leeway to have fun, but still have something within reach that binds the whole together.
Offline Presence
Do you plan on having a website or forum? Even if it is seldom used, at least having a simple forum is a good idea. It gives your members ways to exchange information when they have differing schedules in game. It also gives an outlet for written RP and a place for someone to let the rest of the guild know if they are going to be gone for a long period of time.
The website or forum can be as complex or as simple as you want to make it. You can put money into it or take advantage of the various free sites out there. Generally with the free sites you have to put up with some form of advertising, however if money is tight this is a viable option. My guild has been on a free site for years and does everything I need it to do. For a basic forum I use Proboards.
There are many Guild specific sites out there too that offer an array of options that you usually can use for free and if later you decide you want the more complex paid options, can upgrade anytime. Guildportal is one such site.
Size
“More isn’t always better. Sometimes it is just more.” I heard that quote in the movie Sabrina and will never forget it. It is pure truth.
It is generally accepted that if you have umpteen zillion members in your guild it is successful. I don’t always find that to be true, however. You can have a successful guild with small numbers too. Especially when it comes to a role play guild.
The more people you invite into your guild, the greater the chance of in-guild drama, and not of the RP variety. If you want to avoid as much guild drama as possible, be sure you have strict standards of who is invited and who isn’t. Make sure anyone who has the ability to invite has a firm grasp of these standards and how they are carried out. If you’re going to have a high standard, it isn’t really a good idea to invite every yahoo that whispers you with “cn i join ur guild”.
Good applicants will research a guild before joining. It is a good idea for the guild to do the same with applicants. Spend time grouping with them. Invite them to RP events. See who their last guild was and don’t be afraid to ask why they left. Someone who is worth having won’t mind the bit of extra time to make sure they will be a good fit for your guild.
Reputation
A good reputation is as important as any other factor. If you’re known for spamming the General channel with your guild advertisement, that will contribute to lowering the reputation of the guild as a whole. As well, the behavior of every person wearing your guild tag influences that reputation as well. If you get a report of an issue with a member, be sure to follow up on it. If you just blow it off, that will be remembered and your guild image will be marred. Whether it is true or not isn’t the issue. That you actually research it and address if need be is what matters.
Make sure your members understand that their behavior affects the guild as a whole. If they are a good fit for the guild they will understand and not be jerks. If they act off in ways that brings the guild down, they are not a good fit for the guild. As a guild leader, you should be prepared to take necessary actions if needed. But do not ever do it lightly. Every action you take as a leader also affects the guild. Remember this.
Level of Role Play
When making a role play guild, you need to decide the level of RP you want it to be. Is it going to be Light, Medium, Heavy or Hard Core.
- Light- Role Play is tolerated but not actively encouraged or sought out.
- Medium- Role Play is encouraged but generally /g is OOC and /say is considered IC.
- Heavy- Role Play is required in some form. /g is an IC channel only with some (( ooc brackets allowed)). Often a separate OOC channel is set up.
- Hard Core- All IC, all the time. No OOC channel, no OOC at all even in (( brackets )).
Different levels suit different people. Whichever level you choose, make sure that everyone is aware of what level it is and be willing to remind them if it starts to slip away from that.
Events and Meetings
It is a good thing to bring people together on occasion to keep the bonds strong. Whether it is an annual event, a weekly tavern crawl, a random party or promotion ceremony. When you bring others together it keeps the bonds strong. It lets them remember why they joined this crew in the first place. If you all hunt together regularly, that works just as well but if many of your members do their own thing, be sure to provide an opportunity to bring them together on occasion.
Never Forget
The most important indicator of whether your guild is successful or not is whether or not it is fun. If it is fun for you, fun for the members, fun for those you drag along with you, then yes. Your guild is a success. Good job!
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I think a large portion of people that start guilds think it will run itself. They don’t realize the amount of work it takes just to keep it together.
I think the key to a successful guild is the interactivity of its members; that’s the whole purpose of a guild after all, isn’t it?