Posted July 24th, 2008 by JoBildo
JoBildo: Welcome to another one of Ten Ton Hammer’s weekly Clan Interviews, where you can learn a lot about the patrons of Funcom’s Age of Conan. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with us, Phalsadoom.
Phalsadoom: Thanks for talking with us, Jo. Always a pleasure to talk about the gang.
JoBildo: Forget about it. Now, tell us all a little bit about Brotherhood of Sacred Shadows
Phalsadoom: Well, we're a PvE Guild on the Derketo Server. We've been around since November of 2007, and are an accumulation of several guilds from various other MMO's. For instance, I used to be in Ten Ton Hammer’s EQ II Chapter, and had been playing DDO up until Age of Conan released. We have a variety of many members from several of the other MMO's and some that have never played one before.
JoBildo: How would you guys classify yourselves then? As I guild I mean, are you a tight-knit role-play clan, a PvP clan, a cult of some sort?
Phalsadoom: We are a family-oriented PvE Guild, but a lot of us like the hardcore aspects of AoC: raids, sieges, PvP Mini-games (well as much as a PvE sever can offer us anyway). Some of us do like to Role-Play from time to time, and we do appreciate the lore of the game.
JoBildo: Family-oriented but hardcore… so like the Griswold’s Christmas Vacation then. Do you feel like sharing how the Clan’s run? What’s the leadership like, and how do you guys delegate authority? Basically, as I always ask - are you more Hitler or more Gandhi?
Phalsadoom: You could say that... I think as the Guild Leader that it's run fairly. We have several Officers that are in charge of different foci of the game like Recruiting, Mentoring, Crafting, and so on. We also have a Shadow Council which is comprised of six Officers and six regular members. The council basically makes the rules and keeps the guild moving forward with getting our focus on raids, sieges, promotions, and events. They do a good job at keeping us busy now, and it's working out well. I guess you could call us Gandhi-like clan but we (mainly I) have had my moments for tirades.
JoBildo: How many BOSS-folk are there currently in your Clan?
Phalsadoom: We started out with over 300 at launch, but due to many finding the game not very challenging as of late, some that really didn't fit in, and currently with all the bugs, our numbers have dwindled off to approximately 280, still all in all, a pretty fare size.
JoBildo: That’s massive really. Even with the ebb and flow of people coming to and leaving the game, that’s impressive. Changing the subject though, it’s a pretty popular thing in terms of guilds and clans to host events on their respective servers. Is that something BOSS ever does?
Phalsadoom: Not as of yet, about the closest to that I can think of to date, was our Siege against another guilds Battle Keep this past week, other then that I'd say no.
JoBildo: How about this one, to mix things up a bit? If there was something you could ask Funcom for and it would be granted immediately and added to the game, what would that be?
Phalsadoom: Well the first thing that really stands out to me as a Guild Leader, is giving guilds/clans the ability to have much more control of their guilds management. I think it would be great for guilds to have there own insignias on a cloak, or even their city banners, and give us some better admin tools, the ones we have are really bad. I think it would give us a feeling of individuality in the game, and a symbol of pride.
JoBildo: Fair enough! You guys are recruiting for new members, can you tell us what exactly it takes to become one of the BOSS-mites? What’s required of a prospective member?
Phalsadoom: Well basically, no drama queens or kings. If you’re dragging any drama-baggage with you, best just to keep on trucking. We are really only looking for mature players, levels 70+ right now, and our focus is leaning towards Guardians and Bear shamans, as there seems to be a short supply and a greater demand on our server. We're not elitist, but we've gone through the weeding out process already, and I'd rather not pick up that torch again.
JoBildo: Understandable, mate. Well that concludes the interview. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions and letting the community know everything they could want to know about Brotherhood of the Sacred Shadows. It’s been a pleasure.
Phalsadoom: Thanks Jo, it's been my pleasure as well getting some one on one time with you to let the community know more about us. Looking forward to talking with you again sometime soon!