House Etchmarc: An Introduction

[etchmarc]

House Etchmarc: An Introduction


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…..1…..A Roleplay-centric guild
…..2…..Roleplayer’s etiquette
…..3…..Non-roleplayers
…..4…..Our neutrality and politics
…..5…..Notes for those interested in joining
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…..1…..A Roleplay-centric guild


The purpose of House Etchmarc, as it exists In and Out of character is:
…..to provide a pleasant social and intellectually stimulating environment
…..to encourage research of the lore and development of characters
…..to foster roleplaying and overall enjoyment of the game itself
for each and every one of our members.

House Etchmarc is a diverse group of dedicated roleplayers. Our members range from those who are just now entering the world of roleplay, to those who have been roleplaying for over a decade. The backgrounds of our experienced roleplayers are based in various (and usually multiple) sources, such as: text-based roleplay, from chat-room roleplaying to MUDS and MUSHs; previous MMORPG immersion; as well as table-top roleplaying or LARP game systems. From this group of unique individuals we are able to experience a multi-faceted roleplaying environment that has a great potential for mutual enjoyment.

Those that have little to no experience with roleplaying, but are eager to learn and involve themselves in such a setting, will be met with great enthusiasm from the members our guild. Simply put, new roleplayers have no need to be timid or nervous concerning their ability or familiarity with roleplaying.


…..2…..Roleplayer’s etiquette


Concerning characters. We are interested in adhering to the clear limits of the history of Ryzom, as contained within the manual, timelines, and lores. Ryzom has a rich and well-developed story that leaves many things open to interpretation and innovation, where character development and history is concerned.

Immersive Roleplay. House Etchmarc engages in an immersive roleplaying environment. By this, we mean that we do roleplay across any and all standard channels of communication (Around, Team, Guild, Region, Tells). The Universal channel is designated for questions and answers and is not a social channel, and as such is usually dealt with out-of-character (OOC). Flexibility is within the nature of the game and the players themselves, but we try to stay in-character as often as possible.

Communication. While we roleplay across any and all standard channels of communication, this does not mean that we reserve all of those channels strictly for roleplaying. We designate our out-of-character communication by enclosing them in parentheses “( )” or brackets “[ ]”. By doing this, we seek to maintain the continuity of the roleplaying experience for all characters involved.


…..3…..Non-roleplayers


Roleplayers such as those found in House Etchmarc are in the minority when it comes to the in-game environment found on Atys. We do not expect non-roleplayers to change anything about how they play the game simply to indulge us in our enjoyment of the way that we play Ryzom, just as most return the same courtesy. Most of us continue to separate IC/OOC communication even when only around non-roleplayers. We must also remember that there are ‘none-semi’ and ‘semi-high’ roleplayers that follow a different set of guidelines than we do.

When trying to maintain an in-character mentality even while surrounded by non-roleplayers, we engage in a sort of selective perception. When someone would say ‘brb afk’, we simply translate that in-character by assuming that their character said something more fitting to the situation. When the subject of conversation drifts very distant from what can be re-thought to fit with the scene, we simply choose to ignore that statement from an in-character stand-point and perhaps respond OOC.

The last thing we want to do is give non-roleplayers the wrong impression, such as that we are snobbish or deliberately withdrawn from their style of game-play. Some of us choose to simply break character when we find ourselves in a situation devoid of any other roleplayers, or while in tells with a non-roleplayer. However one chooses to deal with such a situation, the focus should remain on not offending or alienating those around us that do not share our interest in roleplaying.

On occasion, we run into some individuals who are more familiar with roleplayers, but choose not to roleplay themselves. I find myself complimented when I know someone who doesn’t roleplay chooses to use brackets or parentheses when communicating OOC with myself or others in our community. Likewise, some non-roleplayers pick up the simple verbs and action syntax (such as *smiles*, *hugs*, etc.), and choose to use those when interacting with us.

Regardless of whatever else you take away from this section, most of us have more friends who do not roleplay in the immersive style that we choose to, than those that do. Given that, we do not want any misunderstanding about our respect for and enjoyment of those individuals who play strictly outside of our own niche and are focused on the generally accepted culture of Ryzom.


…..4…..Our neutrality and politics


House Etchmarc is faction and civilization neutral. There are a few different interpretations of what neutral is or should be, and here we will further define how our neutrality operates in the political system of Atys. From my experience on Atys, there are four different basic forms of neutrality:
…..Neutral, non-combatant
…..Neutral but affiliated with one faction alliance or the other
…..Neutral but aligned with a faction for teleportation pacts
…..and Neutral combatant, not affiliated with one alliance or the other.

House Etchmarc is most in-line with this fourth form, being neutral combatants that are not dedicated or aligned with one faction alliance or another. We participate in outpost battles to defend ourselves as well as friends and allies, while maintaining friendships, mutual defense agreements, and alliances with guilds from both factions and other neutral guilds.

We form our agreements with guilds on an individual level, whether they are Kami, Karavan, Neutral, or whatnot. We have two main types of mutual defense agreements. One states that both the House and the other guild will defend one another regardless of who the potential attacker may be. The other makes an exception to the defense of one another in the event that there is a severe conflict with other allies. Ultimately, we may easily end up on the defending side of a battle in which some of our allies are working with the offensive.

While this may put a certain amount of stress on relationships, we believe that each and every one of our allies has a full understanding of our position, and knows that regardless of whether or not we happen to be defending someone that they feel justified in attacking – we may very well be defending them in a similar situation soon enough. We justify this position in that our relationship with other guilds and individuals are on a much more personal level. There are good homins, and friends, on both sides of the faction war. When one of our allies attacks the other, we believe that defending an ally is ultimately a less-offensive action, and one that can be empathized with and understood by our current allies.

I believe that despite the stresses of being in a neutral position in a very heated war between two religious factions, our course of action is the best for our guild. We take great pride in helping homins, meeting new faces, and developing friendships, without regard to faction, basing such things upon the individual themselves.

Our greatest pride is in our affiliation with Braveganzar and her community outpost. We commend the efforts and hard work she has put forth in such an endeavor and are happy that our weekly contributions to these efforts result in helping so many other guilds and homins. We believe that her community outpost is one of the great examples of how homins can come together regardless of faction to provide for one another, and we will continue to be dedicated to helping her with this goal by whatever means and resources we have available.


…..5…..Notes for those interested in joining



There are a few basic things that we look for first in potential members. These things serve to ensure the continuity of the game play and preserve the social environment that we maintain.

Concerning the types of roleplayers and characters that we involve in our guild; we avoid characters whose idea of roleplaying is centered on relationship conflict. Furthermore, and of paramount importance, is the honesty and integrity of a character that is looking to join us. We do not recruit undesirable characters simply because they happen to roleplay.

Characters need to be grounded in the lore of Ryzom. Cross-gaming and meta-gaming are not as attractive as characters congruent with the lore and world. Regarding character's back-story, we hope to see that the background is reasonable in accordance with the accepted history of Atys.

Keep in-character communication in-character. Try to see from the character's perspective, based upon their heritage and upbringing. This doesn’t mean anything has to be standard, just keep true to the character and the role-playing environment itself. Saying that one is answering their cell phone or getting pizza while communicating in-character isn’t acceptable; although, quite acceptable out-of-character.

When it comes to meeting us, all are welcome to speak with us out-of-character first, instead of hoping for an in-character happenstance to open an opportunity. We also invite you to say hello on our forums at http://Etchmarc.com.


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In conclusion, I would like to thank all of those who took the time to read this and get to know our guild just a little bit better. Further, I would like to invite roleplayers across the spectrum to seek us out to interact and have fun. For those who are looking for a guild to contact myself [Enon], Kasdimojin, Kedino, or Jeziellia on an out-of-character or in-character level to work on getting to know us.


My Thanks,

Enon Etchmarc
House Etchmarc

[cheryl]

*bump the thread with her bum*

A guild worth checking out *smiles* if you are into role playing with friendly/mature people.

*Polish her Amplifier for the next encounter with Enon for oggling at her sisters.*