i am more about the 'max number of skill points' as compared to the 'skill degeneration'.  i do see both making sense though.  would it be too complex or hokey to try to meld the two?  they do seem to be the 2 main systems that people keep bringing up.

In order for this to work with the factions, the guilds would have to have more of an in game presence.  I mean be less of a forum based chat and a title, and more of a flag to gather under that is recognized by the Plane Shift world.  i really do like the idea of factions though; because the landscape would change according to guild power struggles and so on.  there could always be the option of loner types having a place, maybe being able to make temporary ties with a guild or something.  sorta mission based but having the mission actually made by a human being in the guild.  and there would probably have to be a max to guild size to prevent one guild from taking over completely.