Want to make your guild stand out among the rest? Need to make your guild unique and memorable? Let’s face it. 99% of the MMORPG guilds out there are boring and have no theme. No identity. Just a guild name with no substance or role-playing concept behind it. It doesn’t matter what MMORPG you are playing. Whether it’s Star Trek Online, World of Warcraft or Champions Online, if you really want to create a lasting guild that stands out, you need to add a unique role-playing theme to your guild to give it purpose. What type of guild role-playing themes are out there? Well, there are thousands of ways to make your guild unique. Remember a guild is really just a collection or group of people in society that band together under a common purpose. We’ll look at some general areas and by applying your specific themes to these areas, you will take the first steps in making your guild unique. Some examples and references will be provided to give you some ideas Guild History & Origin Guild Appearance & Costumes Guild Members & Leaders Guild Website Guild History & Origin To make your guild unique and give it an identity, you need to create its history and origin. What time period did your guild originated from? (Ancient Romans/Egyptians themes, Crusaders/Templars, Distant future, Alt Universe, etc) Is your guild part of any specific culture, gender, specie, religion? (real-life cultures/religion, MMORPG based –elves, orcs, all women/Amazon, etc) What is your guild’s role in society? (miners, thieves, nobles, outcasts, etc..) What is the history of your guild? Who are the enemies of the guild? (other races, other guilds, other classes, a particular monster/NPC etc., archenemy from your MMORPG) Any important history regarding the guild? ( protecting XYZ, reassembling family/group, escaping prosecution, leader assassinated, etc.) Does the guild have any particular goal or task? (protect sacred heir loom, loot and plunder, uphold the code of the knights, protect the village, etc) Does the guild have any specific codes or laws (truth & honor, code of the warrior/assassin/thief, might is right, Samurai code, etc.) Guild Appearances and Uniforms The appearances of your guild members are important because it provides unity and guild identity. Some MMORPG allow you to customize to the very last detail of your character and its appearance. Others are fairly generic. Depending on the limitations of the game, you might consider appearances based on History and origin of guild. (Ancient Romans would wear helmets, shields, cape) Location of the guild (woodland gear differs from river vs. mountainous terrain) Heir Loom (a common jewelry or weaponry shared by all in the guild) General Style (Goth, Futuristic, etc) Body Styles-Hair Styles, Special Tattoos, certain Build, Scars, etc) Professional Uniform (Ninja/Samurais, Knights, Policemen, etc.) Guild color that best suit your guild. For more on this subject, refer to the Guild Colors articles. Guild Logo-determine a logo/symbol that best suit your guild. Guild Officers & Leaders Now that you have some ideas what your guild identity is, you can enrich it further by reflecting it upon your officers and leaders. Leaders and officers of your guild would follow the same guild theme but certain things would be highlighted. Title-use unique titles to reflect your theme. (Army Rank-Capt, Major, Sgt, Ancient Roman Rank-Emperor, Centurion, Praetor, etc or create your own, etc.) Uniform/Appearance-allow leaders/officers to differ slightly from the standard theme (ex: officers wear white helmets instead of black; officers ride white horses, gold/silver badges/insignia etc..) Weapon-Officers/Leaders carry different weapons (ex: Ninja guild officer carry two swordsinstead of one, officer carries pistol instead of standard rifle) Examples and inspirations Some examples of unique guild theme from movies, TV shows and related media are provided below. Remember, if you see one of these guild members, you know what “guild” they belong to. The following are groups found in recent media with a rich history & definitive identity and purpose. They each have an unique appearance, carry certain weaponry and perform actions that makes their presence memorable and respected. See if these examples help spark some ideas for your guild identity. • Spartans from 300 • Robin Hood’s Merry Men/Archers • Crazy 88 gang from Kill Bill • Lycans/Vamps clans from Underworld • Riders of Rohan/Gondor Warriors-Lord of the Rings • King Arthurs’s Round Circle • Assassin’s clan from Assassin’s Creed • Thundercats/GIJoe/Cobra • The different Pirate clans in Pirates of the Caribbean • The Marguis-Star Trek • The Lantern Corp from DC comics • X-Men from Marvel comics Now, use these examples and guidelines and start creating a lasting guild identity. When guild members are part of a guild that has a clear identity, they feel they are part of something stable and lasting. Overall, this makes the MMO game play more fun and your guild more desirable.