Name: Black Lotus
Play Orientation: RPvP server (PvP, PvE and optional RP)
Role Playing: Yes, light, but not mandatory
Guild Size: Medium (~50 members) and growing
Time Zone: US and EU – we are extremely varied
Communication: Our Forums and Ventrilo
Guild Hall Thread: http://forums.ageofconan.com/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=50290
Web Site: http://blacklotusguild.com/
Liana, leader of the Black Lotus was more than happy to answer my questions and her amusing demeanor made me laugh 😀
Here we go:
What is unique about your guild?
Our atmosphere. We’re small enough so we can get to know each other before the game comes out. A lot of guilds go for numbers for the prestige bonuses, or just to have a large force to show at launch. We like our little ‘family’ type group. It brings us closer and makes us stronger. We’ve already started playing other games together to get a feel for the group in a game atmosphere. I think that will give us a huge edge when AoC launches.
Who are the people of your guild?
We’re unique in nearly every way and thats what I like about us. Every time I turn around there’s something new going on, someone just wrote a wonderful story, or told a fantastic joke. The people of Black Lotus are the people you would want at your side in a fight. They’re people you can count on to make you laugh on a day you’re feeling down. The kind of people you can trust and value as a friend.
What is your take on Role Playing?
Role Playing is fun! Everyone who wants to do it should be able to, but it shouldn’t be a requirement for those who don’t feel like participating.
What is your main time zone?
We really don’t have a main timezone, we cater to people from all over the world and pride ourselves on being one of the very few if not the only international guild for AoC.
What servers are you gunning on?
It all depends on the type of servers available for an Eastern US/UK time zoned server(international availability) and/or a PVP/RP server. I hate to say it, but the FFA PVP servers tend to attract the kind of immature attitude our guild strives to stay away from.
How do you look upon interaction with other guilds?
Other guilds are a necessity, socially and economically. They can be our friends, our enemies, our customers or our suppliers. In the end it all comes down to how we interact with them as a whole. Alliances can be formed and broken. Wars waged and won. It’s a shifting world and we plan on taking part in all aspects.
How is the Black Lotus structured socially?
We’re a bit odd in our structure, we’re not a typical guild hierarchy or democracy. We’re a society and as such we’ve created a structure that reflects that. We’ll have an elder of each archtype that will help new members of that archtype find and fit into their role in the guild. We’ll have a Loremaster who will be in charge of the game lore and guild ‘placement’ within that lore. We also have our small militant groups. Commanders, Leaders, and so on for the pvp and pve raids. Here’s how we have things set up:
General Gameplay:
Guild Village:
PvP Battlekeeps/PvE Raids:
What is your take on player cities?
I love the player city aspect of the game. It’s one of the features that drew me most into Age of Conan. We plan to utilize the city to it’s fullest in order to supply our guild members with money, armor and weaponry. To us, the city will not be just another way to have fun, it will be a building block to every other aspect of the game.
What is your take on in-game taxes and loot distribution?
I’m hoping taxing guildmates wont be required to run a successful city. If indeed it is something that needs to be done we’d like to keep the taxes at a moderate rate. We don’t want to hurt anyone financially and having a high tax rate would go against everything I value about the guild. We share and we help each other. Nobody will go without items they need, and nobody will be forced to go bankrupt by a corrupt tax system.
What excites you most about Age of Conan?
We love how it’s being developed to cater to nearly every aspect of MMORPG gaming. It really gives us a game that can sate all our desires. Not only does it have revolutionary PvP, but the player cities, actually building yourself up and becoming an economical force of great magnitude. The game society plays a large role as well, the guild having the prestige class bonuses to promote larger and more social style guilds. With all these different aspects of gaming and more included into one MMORPG it guarantees to bring all types of gamers into view. We can’t wait to test our own against some of the best from other games all over the world.
Without a sense of humor you’d probably get lost in most of our conversations. We tend to pick on each other like siblings will. If you look for that kind of close-knit family atmosphere, you’ll fit right in.
How are you planning on communicating in-game?
Our guild will have a ventrilo server. Currently we have a shared server with a previous guild of mine from another game but we plan on relocating to a private ventrilo server for the launch of AoC. Ventrilo is a wonderful program and I hope everyone in Black Lotus will use it, even if they are only able to listen in.
What are you looking for in a potential member?
Personality! You have to fit in and be able to just sit and chat with us. Gaming experience is a plus but games can be learned. Maturity is a definite. Without a sense of humor you’d probably get lost in most of our conversations. We tend to pick on each other like siblings will. If you look for that kind of close-knit family atmosphere, you’ll fit right in.
What do you expect from members (in-game or forum activity)?
We expect our members to be respectful at all times. Black Lotus has a Code of Conduct rather than a set of guild rules. Our code is fairly simple. The short of it is to show respect to others at all times, to their person, property and opinions. If you’d like you can view our Code of Conduct and Mission Statement in their entirety on our website: www.blacklotusguild.com
How to apply?
We have an application thread on our forums, or you can apply in private on our website application form. Make sure you read our Mission Statement and Code of Conduct before you apply. We usually require a certain amount of time on the forums (pre-launch) or in the ventrilo server and in parties with us (after launch) so we can get to know you before we’ll officially invite you into the guild.
Final words from Liana:
Like trash talking? Love talking like ph30r or swearing a lot? Are you the type of person who loves to camp corpses? Do you steal other players kills or loot? Do you get pleasure from griefing other players?
–If you can answer yes to any of the above then Black Lotus is not the Guild for you. In fact, you’re the type of person we kill on sight. You might want to run now…
That being said, I’d like to thank all the members of Black Lotus for helping me with this interview, it was a combined effort and I think it shows the opinions of the guild as a whole.
I’d like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a spotlight guild. A big thanks to the other guilds for being our competition and support throughout the pre-launch wait and into the game. Most importantly I’d like to thank the readers who take the time and read about our guild. We’re small, but we’re strong . We’ll be a name to remember!
