The League of Historians begins...

[Embrys]

Hail, citizens and denizens alike, I bid you fair greetings. I am Embrys, Senior Worldmaster and Horizons Liasion.

Throughout ancient history, the scribes and wise men took part not only in recording history, but in creating it. The victors took their lore forward, leaving forgotten the stories of the fallen and vanquished.

We beseech you one and all to take note of the times, woe and strife abide... where are the great ones? Who among us will form the company of heroes that leads this generation into the pages of history, the tales to be told by our descendants? Shall we leave no mark, no lore, save a blight upon the fair pages of time? Nay, I say not... I say not.

We shall not fall, nor shall we be vanquished... but carry our stories unto the future, bright of hope and faithful heart.

One and All I call, hither and yon, to send the best among you. The sage and wise, the strong and proud... send to me your best from among your guilds to represent yourselves. The League of Historians is impending.




......
Apply to the League of Historians by sending an email to [email protected] , with APPLICATION in the subject line.

Every guild leader should send one application for the person chosen to represent their guild.

Non guild affiliated individuals will also be considered during the application process. Apply in the same manner.

Application should include:
Name, Race, Class, and Level of the representative
Names of the active members
Name and Shard of the Guild
(Optional) Brief history of the guild.

[Nayuaka]

I really wanted to apply to this *cries* unfortuantly I can't because as of the 18th I will no longer have access to my charactor.... *sniffles*

[LaughingOtter]

What is it that you want?

Stories of what guilds and players did in the past? That's fan fiction and role play. There's nothing wrong with that, but how does it serve the future? Filling in the history of each shard is not lore, however.

Lore exists to help guide the story of the world and provides references and a framework within which to build new content. Lore is independant of any player actions because it is universal by definition; the history of any individual guild or player cannot be lore because it is meaningless on a different server.

For lore to have any meaning or purpose, it must shape new and enduring content. Spawning the Maggot Lord and attacking Bristugo might amuse a dozen people for half an hour or so, but when he despawns for the last time, the world is changed not one whit, and he might just as well have never been there in the first place. Add a new quest to find and defeat the Maggot Lord, and then you have something that endures.

So, will the tales this league tells endure and shape the world in the telling, or will they fade and vanish, each speaking of only one world among many?

[awdz]

one person only from each guild? aww crumblies... what is the deadline so i can be sure to discuss it with as many members as possible before we figure out who to submit?

and just to clarify... are these folks to bring to you storylines/quest ideas that may be implemented in game, based on the characters in their guilds and maybe npc's? or are you looking for something else?

[Garfonso]

Lore exists to help guide the story of the world and provides references and a framework within which to build new content. Lore is independant of any player actions because it is universal by definition; the history of any individual guild or player cannot be lore because it is meaningless on a different server.

If I am not mistaken, one of the main ideas of EI was to seperate the lore/story of the shards and let them be developed in their individual directions, at least within some limits...
So, you are right, the lore of a guild or character doesn't matter on a different server, but it can matter on one server...

My question:
Do you want the unity people to applicate, too, in best hopes for a working transition, or should we still wait and see?

[FleshRoast]

I would ask, as Garfanzo has done, about the Blight shard as well. There was no thread regarding the history of Blight as there was for Unity, Order and Chaos. No fall festival activity and no visits from the owning company, to my knowledge, since the July sale.

Are the guilds of Blight to send representative application?

[snickel]

Hello Embrys,

when the idea of the league of historians was first introduced, among the general interest expressed by many players the general outcome of the discussion was: Please tell us a little more about what you have in mind, what task it is that those historians shall set out to do.

And that question was never answered. Please do it now.

Do you want people who have been part of the history of their shard and remember it well?
Do you want people who are masters of telling stories?

Is it the fact-collectors or the poets you are looking for? For they are not necessarily identical....

[Vlisson]

i agree to snickel

it would be very interesting if we would get more detailed informations about this interesting NEW feature!

we asked this several times and we would appreciate it if we would get an answer

[Embrys]

The League of Historians will be a body of players designed to represent their guilds. Historians will receive a title, and will be the primary conduit of information to their respective guilds. We want your heroes... the players who have shown exceptional skill or devotion... to be the ones who are in charge of coordinating the activities of the League.

This will not be a focus group, or a storytelling group. The League of Historians will add a dynamic element to gameplay, and it will allow guilds to leave their mark upon the tomes of Istarian History. Information, Artifacts, Quests, and Lore will stem from the League. Although some quests will be designed in the traditional manner, others will be run in a dynamic fashion. The Worldmasters will be more present in providing action and new content.

Unguilded individuals will also have a chance to participate, although the majority of effort will be spent on guilds.

This is not a matter of spawning a few creatures for brief amusement... although creatures will be spawned. Combat is an integral part of strife, and the Withered Aegis remains strong, and who knows what other enemies may arise?

The League of Historians should provide an exciting new twist to Istarian life, and we will do our best to fulfill and exceed the expectations of Horizons players.

We'll be announcing the first meeting of the League soon, and hope that many more guilds will apply.

[Takora Drakan]

And again the Question what was not answered:

My question:
Do you want the unity people to applicate, too, in best hopes for a working transition, or should we still wait and see?

[Embrys]

I've received a few private messages related to some details about the League of Historians.

League members will not be in the role of passive lore creators.

The League will be a more hands on, gameplay impacting occurence. We plan on having the representatives relay information to their respective guilds, and then offer goals to the various guilds and individuals. Goals will be achieved through quests, heroic actions and efforts, and other methods. While it will require alot of effort, I think the end result will be a more "real" world, with actions and events that have long lasting results and consequences.

Yes, Unity guilds should submit applications. We will deal with the details as time goes on, but for now, we will accept and process applications from all Horizons guilds.

[LaughingOtter]

We plan on having the representatives relay information to their respective guilds, and then offer goals to the various guilds and individuals. Goals will be achieved through quests, heroic actions and efforts, and other methods.

So will all goals and rewards be equally availalable to all guilds, regardless of size or identity, and to all unguilded players?

[Takora Drakan]

Sorry for my dumb question but what is exatly meaned by "Level of the representative"? The lvl of your character or the "level"= rank in your guild

[Embrys]

Yes, all goals, prizes, and events will be equally available to all participants.

Participation largely depends on the guild's willingness to become involved.

We have also designed some of the competitive elements to allow lower level and newer players to have just as significant an impact as a player who's spent 1000+ days online. A full range of skills will be required, from combat to crafting.

Some prizes and goals will be unique, others will be distributed upon completion. Meaning, plainly, that there will be winners and losers, and participation can have real consequences, in the sense of acquiring land, economics, and storyline related content. Some of the branches of storyline we've worked on will be dependent on player actions.

Effort will always be rewarded, but the rewards for heroism and dedication will be great.

It will be much more difficult for an unguilded player than a guild of 20 players. This is intentional. We want to see groups, guilds, and community be much more important and central to gameplay.

We will also have events that are oriented towards the individuals and Lone Wolves, but these will be less common.

Level means the Level of the character chosen to be representative.

[Deth]

Oh now I see it is contest then. I.E. Each guild must say build a building and the one that does it fastest wins or the Guild must craft X weapon or item with X techs so some one must hunt the componets up then give them to the crafter to craft up the items.

[Leviathan]

Some prizes and goals will be unique, others will be distributed upon completion. Meaning, plainly, that there will be winners and losers.

Do you mean winners and losers within each guild? or will guilds be in direct competition with each other? I believe the latter would be bad, as it would perhaps put smaller guilds at a disadvantage and sow discord among our community.

I am in a larger guild, but I wouldn't want to see our community torn apart, as Im sure you wouldn't either.

[Steelclaw]

I'm still unclear of what this all means, though what has been said so far has brought up a few questions in my mind.

I notice that there does not appear to be any restriction on the number of characters per account or per subscription that can apply.

Does this mean that someone with 10 characters can make 2 guilds and apply twice? Can someone with 5 characters can apply 5 times as unaffiliated characters? Would 5-6 people with 10 characters each be able to create 10 guilds and apply 10 times?

Would the rewards and mechanics introduced by the League of Historians (whatever they may be) make such activity desirable to those who want to get more coin or items?

Would being a Historian grant an advantage (through title or possession of items) that would alter the balance of current game mechanics?

[Ming]

I'm not really understanding what actually will occur as all the language describing what the League people will do and when. What type of events? A "for instance" would be helpful. Right now everything is much too vague for my gnome brain to dissect.

[Garfonso]

I am with Ming here... could you just describe one example of this activities or whatever... It got much clearer now, but it's still not tangible for me..

Maybe you could describe just one instance in detail from the view of a historian (and maybe also from a view of a non-historian player, because I didn't quite understand what the difference between them is, or if non-historians may participate or what?)

Please help that confused cat...

[Royal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMCRru6JEo8