Allies and Their Roles

[Godric Whitetree]

Seeing as how we don't really have anything currently running at the moment, I thought I'd post an idea however sub-par quality it may be.

How about we create a list of the close allies we currently maintain with a brief description of their role (if there is one currently, and if not then what they we eventually hope to see them attain) in our society. By allies I'm referring to the Red Order and Genoa, unless Genoa will only be a subordinate state to us.

I think this is fairly important because it will give current members an idea of who they are and why we are actually in contact with these people, and it will also give new and potential members a better idea of who we hope to become as a state. I think finding out who one's friends are is a valuable tool in deciding how you would want to relate to the person or group.

What do you guys think?

[Surly von Fishbarrel]

I like the idea pretty well, but our diplomatic outlook is relatively introverted right now. We're traditionally quite isolationistic until at least beta. Of course it's never too early to foster good opinions about friendly guilds, or at least point it out to members.

[Beric Veincrusher]

Only reason why we should ally with someone, and not have them join our ameba like structure is if they need their ego stroked with a special name. And their too cocky to truly come under the wing of the Duchy of Wessex, and display our name.

[Godric Whitetree]

I believe alliances may serve us well in the stead of clan mergings, at least in some situations. Attempting to absorb an egocentric clan such as one you've mentioned may actually breed conflict, either with the other clan as a whole or between their members and our existing ones, depending of course on our individual playstyles and personalities. Also in many cases it would not make sense to actually merge with a particular clan, such as the Red Order.

I also think maintaining trade agreements between clans will be a huge boon to us and our allies individually as well.

I understand that the list will remain short, at least until release and possibly beyond that. Still, I think it is a worthy venture.

[Beric Veincrusher]

In the grand scheme of things I would propose that it would be best if Wessex grew on its own graces. We might have some alliances, but they'd be really touch and go nothing really dedicated.

I would agree that trade agreements would be beneficial. Regardless of enemy or ally I wouldn't want to avoid trade. I really can't think of a specific situation in which you would not want to trade with someone.

Wessex is set up so we can evolve and grow. For example we're about ~100 strong, and we currently have two lords, and a couple knights. Just as easily we could have 10 lords and thousands of members. Breeding the loyalty, and unified purpose is best within Wessex, and alliances may detract from that since as tight as we might be with someone it could come down to them back stabbing us, which I admit is very well possible within Wessex, but not as much.

Holler back to your original post, information is power and if we don't already have all that info about our allies on hand we should start collecting it. It would be like a CIA world fact book so it couldn't be taken as hostile. Knowledge is power.

Hope I didn't steal any of your thunder, Sayton.

[Godric Whitetree]

I think we are in agreement for the most part, then Beric.

You did give me another idea, though for the time being it is really irrelevant. We could add clans to the list as we encounter them; not just allies, but enemies and neutrals as well. Obviously it would be focused on clans with whom we have regular contact, and it could be updated and maintained to make sure collapsed clans and new ones are removed and added, respectively.

Data to be entered could include leaders' names, clans' missions or purposes, economic conditions, exact relation to the Duchy, etc. We could also include names of prominent members of the clans.

I would be glad to do some research myself, though I can only say that I'm aware of two current clans with whom we have foreign relations, and a handful of ones we were contacted by in the past. I'll look to see if there are more that I am unaware of, but if anyone knows of more just post it here or PM me. It will take me a little time, but I'll work something up in the next week or so.

(Hrmm... a bit of envoy work now, it seems....)

[Beric Veincrusher]

I believe a number of these projects were under taken, but either weren't finished or released.

As you mentioned above, this information would benefit all of Wessex. So we could probably include everyone in on this effort.

[Tagrun Urit]

First one would most likely be Brando. I don't know many of our allies. Maybe XB...if they still are. Not sure how all of you would want to set it up? Excel? Database?

[Chrono Veincrusher]

I like your idea to collect info about our allies, encountered and such.
But try to make it as public within WSX as possible.
Like tables in a thread or something, not everyone got access to Excel and such.

[FrMerrin]

This is a very worthy endeavor. The Red Order maintains a similar list for its members to refer to as well.

In Shadowbane, one of the most common questions asked by guild members throughout the day regards whether or not they can kill so-and-so of clan so-and-so. One of the most frustrating experiences I shared with so many other players throughout my years in the game was not knowing what level of guard to maintain when foreign players were around. Nation members need to be fully aware and kept up-to-date on friend and foe alike.

How this consideration of enemy and ally will be dealt with in Darkfall is as yet unknown, as it will not be so easy to identify a player's origin. While Wessex may have bona fide uniform and pole flags members carry on their backs, not everyone will.