Questions to the Mistress of Heralds

((Only Nira should respond, Offenders will be Violated))

Good Evening Mistress Nira, congratulations on your well deserved promotion to Mistress of Heralds. On behalf of the Ducal Chronicle I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Could you give us a short summary about your duties as the Mistress of Heralds?

My primary role is to oversee the other heralds and pursuivants. This means helping to distribute workload, providing constructive feedback to our artists, teaching and promoting the arts of heraldry, organizing special projects, and serving as the decision maker on the range of heraldic issues.

Can you give us a summary of your journey in the Duchy of Wessex up until this point? What did you play before?

I joined up with Wessex in December '05, and jumped right in with making forum signatures and the coats of arms for our first esquires. I had only a passing familiarity with heraldry from my involvement in the SCA, and while I had decent Photoshop skills I've never been a superb artist. His Grace provided me with the background and feedback I needed to learn the job of herald, for which I am continually grateful.

I also designed the theme for our forum system and did some basic php scripting to set up various request forms, and I otherwise provide light assistance in the maintenance of the webserver and forums. I have a strong background in computers which has served me quite well.

My previous MMORPG experience is primarily DAoC, which I played for about three years. I was heavy into the RvR scene, though I tried to avoid the politics. I played mostly support and support hybrids, as I'm a team player and not a glory seeker.

As a Pursuivant or a Herald what would your duties include? What should your strengths be?

Historically, heralds fulfilled a range of duties and worked closely with the nobility. A noble was dependent on his herald both in his court and on the war field, and having a herald in his retinue was an important status symbol.

We've tried to recreate that as much as is practical here in Wessex. A herald's duties are many and exciting.

1. Designing and recording coats of arms, forum signatures, and other graphic design work.
2. Taking notes, writing stories, and making videos of valiant deeds in battle (so that the duke can give out medals, and to provide some super cool material for the Duchy's archives for all to enjoy).
3. Serving as advisor on matters of etiquette and diplomacy (the herald must know who's who, what they have, and what they want).
4. Ceremonial duties.
5. Message-taking and other sensitive errands that can't be entrusted to anyone else.
6. Organizing and running duchy events like tournaments.
7. Promoting the Duchy community and the goal of a functioning feudal society in appropriate and creative ways.

The heralds are at the heart of Duchy society, and it's a very important position. That's a long list, but it's not necessary to be skilled in all of these areas - not all heralds have to be graphic designers, and not all have to be politicians.

A few things are required for any herald though. You must have strong communication skills, be able to keep your cool under pressure, and be willing to RP your position for the benefit of foreign dignitaries - be a people person, basically. Artistic skills either literary or visual are a big plus. The ability to work independently, good organization, patience, and a willingness to learn and adapt will also serve you well.

If a member of the Duchy of Wessex is interested in becoming a Herald, how best can they pursue this goal?

That depends on your interests. For the artistically inclined, we have a lot of work to do in this pre-game period, and we're willing to help you learn and develop the skills necessary. That's not limited to graphic artists - writers and imaginitive thinkers can also contribute a lot to the atmosphere and promotion of Wessex. Not only will you be developing skills that will benefit you for years to come in school, work, and fun, but you'll earn medals and commendations for your efforts. If you're interested in helping the community, stop by our IRC room and let's chat!

Could you clarify how a Herald would charge for their services in the Duchy of Wessex?

Historically a noble would provide his herald with room and board as he must always be close by. Their services at tournaments, ceremonies, and as messengers would also be rewarded by "largesse" - gifts or tips. It's how they made a living. In the Duchy this will likely equate to tax breaks and other considerations.

Heraldic services such as graphic design work will be much like any other craft - people will be expected to pay you in coin or barter for your work. Yeah, getting paid game money for Photoshop work and story writing - I think that's pretty nifty!

Now, as the best Herald in the land, how are you handling all your Suitors?

One job at a time! No, I'm hardly the best artist among us, and we have a couple of people who contribute quite a bit of their talent.

What goals do you have for the Duchy of Wessex in the near future as a Cabinet Member?

My immediate concern is with promoting the office of herald and teaching the arts of heraldry. There's a misconception that being a herald is all about graphic design - and while that's the biggest part of what we do now, it will not always be! To achieve all of our goals, we're going to need more heralds - ideally each Lord with a fief will have his own herald, in addition to those working for the Duke's court and the clan in general.

My second concern is development of the Wessex community and the promotion of our clan and its goals.

You’ve made some reforms on the Forums; do you have any master plans?

The forums are a continuing project, and anything I'm doing is directly related to the above two concerns.

What are the attributes of a good leader?

Communication, patience, forgiveness, the ability to give constructive feedback, and being firm when necessary. My real-life experience is as a stage manager, which actually has a lot of parallels with the position of head herald: responsibility for record keeping, communication and recall; management of human resources; serving as confidante to moody actors; and working closely with the director (duke) and production staff (cabinet) to achieve the goals of the production (clan). I'm generally pretty laid-back about things, which has both plusses and minuses for me as a leader.

If you could ask the Developers of Darkfall one question, what would it be?

I want to know more about the clan management system and the heraldry system.

What’s your opinion on roleplay in Darkfall Online and the Duchy of Wessex?

A PvP-centric game with a mix of roleplayers and anti-roleplayers is a different environment than most MMORPGs. The duke's vision of roleplay as the function of our offices is a great approach. Instead of just pretending to be knights and heralds and priests while we go about our gaming, we perform their real duties and actually become these offices. This is very exciting to me - for the historical accuracy, for the immersion factor, for the roleplay possibilities, and for the strength and efficiency it gives us as a competitive organization. We can accomplish more and do it in a way that brings us together in a real, functioning feudal society. It's a revolutionary approach and I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to be a part of it.

Is there anything else you’d like to say or add?

Just how proud I am of all that we've accomplished together so far, and how excited I am about the future of this clan. Wessex really is an incredible idea and a great group of people. I'm looking forward to Wessex in Darkfall more than I have anything in a long time. There are great times ahead for us. This is going to seriously rock, guys!

In advance, thank you for your time.