Originally posted by Nadius
why would there be guild spies?
?
in a non pvp game there is not gonna be much guild strife. this has been proven countless times in non pvp everquest.... im my 3 years of playing that game i have not once seen a guild war occur
this is actually the first time you brought up this incredably good point.
EQs guilds lack strife, the only guild wars I was ever a part of was purely role playing at it\'s finest.
What EQ lacked was strife between guilds, or incentives to go to war. Now while I don\'t think anyone of the devs wants the game to boil down to being about warring guilds, there will be plenty of incentives for guilds to go to war.
the trick is in finding the balance between good incentives, and loss. Even a guild that wins a guild war should not be able to sustain it over and over and over. because casualties will be short, people don\'t die permaatly. the balance must lay elseware.
As far as incentive to go to war there will be many, and for those that even are guilds of bakers or blacksmiths...they too will often want to go to war even seaking allies.
The other balancing act will be in diswading overly powerfull guilds from praying on less powerfull guilds. and never accepting challenges from equally powerfull guilds.
I predict that by when the game is in beta, there will be at least one guild at war with another 95% of the time. but very few guilds will be at war anymore then 10% of the time.
with most guilds having a 2 day war once every 2 months... though mercenary guilds I am sure will probably be on the high end of the spectum and gatherers on the low. Most guilds I am sure will be focused on adventuring of some type or another.
but guilds I hope will have their own type of progression, like their experience they will have influence and power, or some other commodity depending on the type of guild they are, and often to ensure their position or philosophy they will colode with a guild that wants the opposite, or for the other guild to cease to exist...
that is one option I am not sure will be implemented, but if it was it would go something like this.
Guild War to the death...equal number of coinage or other valuables are put into escrow, guild war begins...will last 14 days, all mercenaries or allies who enter agree to the same terms, (same money is put in escrow) and all on one side share the fate of the main guild they are fighting with.
fight begins, based on overall combat levels of difference (some formula will be made) each member of each guild will only be allowed to die X number of times during the 14 days, after they die more then that, they are no longer part of the fight and can not communicate with any member of their former guild except in say format.
After the end of the 14 days the guild that wins gets all the other guilds holdings and the valuables given and gets 2 times their exp in a ready to burn format (usually guild exp is used for something but that exp refreshes all it\'s use as all uses are temporary, for the winners it will be a one time spending spree. But guild buildings and property will be transfered to the winners. To the loser\'s, they all become ex-members of that guild and they can not join another guild for 14 days nor can they communicate with former members of their guild other then in Say for 14 days. all merc Guilds, assassin guilds, or allies that joined the fray get their share of the loot, or are disbanded again and can not communicate other then in say with any members of the alliance.
Sadly I do not expect that system to be implemented, and even if it is, I doubt it will happen more then twice.
but I share that example so that it shows some of concepts that we have for guild conflict, each guild type will be able to use their exp in different ways, most will use it to enhance skills, some will use it to influence their local government to charge them less taxes, or even pay them for the privilege of being near them and helping their economy, others may use it to get their guildmates in prominate positions of power and then get some of the cool guild quests we have planed. how the points are spent and how the points are gained in the first place is dependant on the guild type...We do not have the types defined yet. and though it will be more likely that a couple of baker guild will have a cook off instead of a war, it also won\'t be unheard of that they might go to war, or hire a saboteur to put foul basilisk eggs in their opponents mix...hell that alone could start a war :-)
also we will likely have ways of annoying other guilds to intice a fight,but it will need to be tailored the right way so that uber guilds do not take advantage of the lesser guilds or that really skilled guilds do not ruin the fun of social guilds.
I hope this whets your appetite for what guilds will be doing, as I said in the past, this game will have intrigue, as well as adventuring, and guilds will have the ability to choose their fate.
I originally wrote out a long description defining a possable system that it could follow, but the time is not right and I would like to have the continues insight of the members of the board. as often very good deductions or insight comes from here.
