Age of Conan at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

JoBildo: Let’s get the courtesies out of the way first. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with us. It’s always great to get to know one of clans a bit more.

THE KINSHIP: Thank you very much for the opportunity to be interviewed by TenTonHammer.com! We are frequent users of the site and enjoy it greatly. I am Cole, Guild Leader of the Kinship, and I am with Zodiac who is our Assistant Guild Leader.

JoBildo: Don’t mention it. I do this every week, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the job. Tell us, as in the whole world (no pressure), a little bit about THE KINSHIP.

Cole: Well, at the simplest level, we are a gaming family made up of brothers and sisters, who believe in camaraderie, fun, and loyalty. It has been important from the onset that we label ourselves as a guild who strives to make the game an enjoyable experience for everyone on our Wicanna Server.

JoBildo: How would you guys classify yourselves? Are you a tight-knit role-play clan, a PvP clan…?

Zodiac: We are an "everything" guild basically. We like to stay competitive on the server through means of PvP, PVE Raiding, City Building (T3 in progress, coupled with T2 Battlekeep) and Roleplay events. We think of ourselves as a tight-knit guild who likes to remain personal with our members. A personal touch and atmosphere is what makes us different than your standard multi-faceted organization. Our community has grown together very strongly through our competitive means, similar to how a sports team grows together.

Kinship members DO NOT get lost in a ‘juggernaut’ type guild where people become ‘numbers’ or ‘bodies’ to fulfill multiple purposes. Our members are all mature, like-minded folks who really have a genuine love for our organization. Our Ventrilo server can be very social indeed, which inspires our members to join Ventrilo just to chat or interact if they so desire, whether they are in game or not. It is a family in every sense of the word.

Here is a link to our screenshot library.

JoBildo: Well, do you feel like sharing how the Clan’s run? What’s the leadership like, and how do you guys delegate authority? Basically, as has become my running joke (though it’s never funny) are you more Hitler or more Gandhi?

Cole: I am more of a Gandhi-Hitler so to speak. At least that's what Zodiac thinks. Seriously though, it is a tier based structure where delegation is received and given. The roles work backwards as well. I ask my officers and Zodiac for opinions and advice and most of the time I tend to take it. Half of my officers have in the past been guild leaders in their own successful guilds, including Zodiac. I am proud of our organization, and its ability to attract such quality leaders and officers. I am by no means a Hitler, but structure is important for our members and officers.

JoBildo: How many members are in The Kinship currently?

Zodiac: We boast a large number of members from different backgrounds and interests. Our numbers are in the hundreds, but like I mentioned above, we play and feel like a smaller tight-knit group.

JoBildo: Now, it’s a pretty popular thing in terms of guilds and clans to host events on their respective servers. Is that something The Kinship ever does?

Zodiac: We love events, as they build strong bonds in the community. In addition, it encourages people to meet up and to get to know each other. Currently, we are only hosting events within our own guild, like Scavenger hunts, gold raffles, horse give-aways, PVE/PVP Raids, etc. We will soon be hosting events for the whole server to take apart of, as it is one of the things that are on our "to-do" list.

JoBildo: If you guys are recruiting for new members, can you tell us what exactly it takes to become one of the The Kinship? What’s required of a prospective member?

Cole: Yes, we are, but we are close to closing recruitment back down again. We tend to be very selective with our new members. In the application that is on our website we first find out if our applicant is mature and willing to help out the guild and the members in it, to be a team player so to speak. Secondly, they have to go through a sponsorship process that will ensure that they are a good fit for us. Once they pass those steps they will be granted full membership.

JoBildo: Alright, that concludes the interview. Thanks so much guys for taking the time to answer these questions and letting the community know everything they could want to know about The Kinship. It’s been a pleasure.

THE KINSHIP: Again, thank you for the opportunity; you help out the community in a large way.