Guild Moderation
Guild's are a vital part to the game, adding depth
and interest to many levels of play. However, it should
be remembered that they are not vital, and that players
who want to go the solo route should never feel that
they are penalised for not wanting to be in a guild.
It is our intention to make the game consistently enjoyable
whichever style of play you prefer. For this reason
we constantly add new areas and features to the game
for players to explore, whether or not they are members
of a guild. However, guilds will also benefit from new
features in two ways. The first, Guild upgrades, are
described elsewhere in this section of the web site.
The second, Guild Moderation, is specific GM intervention
into the game in the form of limited hand-moderation.
How Does Guild Moderation work?
Guild moderation is not announced to the guild itself,
directly by the GMs. This is work behind the scenes
which integrates the guild specifically into the overall
game plot. The only way guilds will find out about moderation
which affects them is by in-game play, through interaction
with GM-controlled PCs, and by watching the various
areas of interaction the game supports (Player Noticeboard
on your turns, email discussion groups, newsletters
and suchlike.)
Why Is This New?
Well, technically it isn't. It has been going on for
a long time. The difference is that with the advent
of the new guild structuring, there will be a lot MORE
of it, and it will be far more visible. Previously,
with many guilds not obviously active, it was hard to
be sure which guilds deserved specific moderation, and
in what way that moderation would best be implemented.
With the new guild rules all guilds will need to be
highly active if they wish to stay official, and that
activity will give us more obvious pointers for where
to add moderation.
Is This Great For The Guild?
Yes, and No. Yes, because anything which integrates
your guild into the overall game plotline will be exciting,
interesting and encourage roleplay and activity. No,
because these things will not always be GOOD things.
In fact, quite often they will be the opposite. Moderation
could result in terrible events occuring which your
guild will be flung headlong into. Nor is there any
guarantee of a 'let up'. You can't be sure that after
a period of awful events things will get better. They
might just keep getting worse and worse. No attempt
whatsoever will be made to keep a 'balance' here, nor
can you be sure that you'll get the same balance as
another guild (or even close to it). You might get endless
bad luck, while another guild might seem to get endless
good luck. We make absolutely no promises, or apologies.
Why? Because that's life. Or, more specifically, that's
life in DungeonWorld. What we do guarantee is that you'll
be in for real adventures every step of the way. Challenges,
spiralling events, deep and involving plots and counterplots.
Will We Ever Know What Happened?
Maybe. Maybe not. We wont ever tell you, that's for
sure. But the truth, as they say, is out there. Hopefully,
some people will piece together the info and be able
to determine some of what went on. Sometimes everything
may come out into the open. You need to remember that
the GMs will be balancing the actions of many complex
NPCs, along with the counteractions of many player-controlled
characters and other guilds. You'll need to have faith
in us, because sometimes it'll seem like we're out to
get you (and sometimes we WILL be, but always in good
spirit.) Madhouse do make this promise; we have no favourites,
no bias, and we are not worried about 'commercial' effects
of game plots. We feel that an exciting and vibrant
game will always be commercially viable and we wont
be tailoring events based on what may, or may not, lose
us money. We'll just trust our players to know quality
when they see it. The best place to get secrets out
of us is after a beer or two at a minicon or convention,
of course. ; )
When Does All This Start?
Now. It's part of the ongoing evolution of Dungeonworld.
It has become clear to us that guilds are becoming more
and more vital to the overall enjoyment of the game.
It's YOU who've made this clear to us, we are just responding
to your own actions and comments. We've seen what you
want, and we're going to give you more, and more and
more of it. In spades. Of course, this will mean much
more for you to think about, fight against and generally
contend with if you are the sort of player who gets
heavily involved in guilds. Just remember, when your
in the thick of it all, you asked for it.... <evil
grin>
|
