by Danny Gourley on Mar 27, 2006
By Ralsu
One month has passed since the
North American release of Dungeons &
Dragons Online: Stormreach (DDO), and most of the Day 1 players have
found a comfortable niche among friends. Guilds in DDO help players
match up with like-minded individuals for some good romps through the
dungeons of Stormreach. Parties form more easily with guild mates. When
a night goes sour because of a lethal trap or pesky beholder, friends
from the guild can help lighten the mood with a few jokes or word of
encouragement. In short, guilds increase the enjoyment in a
massively-multilayer online game (MMOG).
Ten Ton Hammer (TTH) formed its guild during the North American beta
and was strong during the Head Start event. The guild currently has
several dozen members and is going strong. I sat down with Karen
"Shayalyn"
Hertzberg, DDO Ten Ton Hammer Community Manager and guild master of TTH
on the
Sarlona server, to find out what makes the guild tick.
Ralsu (R): What exactly are the tenets or goals of TTH on Sarlona?
Shayalyn (S): Essentially, the Ten Ton Hammer guild is about having
fun--that's at the core of everything we do. We're a casual bunch as
far as play style goes. That's not to say that we don't have some more
hardcore members, because we do have quite a few who play the hell out
of DDO on a regular basis, but we're not uptight about our progression
as a guild. There's no pressure to spend hours playing or to be a
certain level. We recognize that everyone has their own pace, and we
respect each individual's style.
We founded the guild on the One Rule principle--One Rule to rule them
all! (Yeah, I just made that up.) Our simple rule is: Respect one
another. If a member can treat others with respect, then he or she is
welcome in our guild family. So far, so good.
R: What are the people of TTH like?
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/Site-Graphics/Shayalyn_avatar_100X100.jpg"
style="width: 100px; height: 100px;" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="2">S:
They're some fine people, if I do say so myself. I've found everyone
I've had the pleasure of grouping with to be exceptionally helpful
and generous. (In fact, every time we open a chest we go through a
round of, "I got such-n-such item--anyone need it?") And many of us
also have well defined senses of humor. I've never literally laughed
out loud so often as when I'm out adventuring with some of our guild
groups. (If you're ever on the Sarlona server and happen across a dwarf
named Brockton, ask him to tell you the sad saga of Spunky the lab rat
and the bizarre glass factory accident.)
What's cool about our guild is that, as a whole, we're not elitist. I
have had many people from other guilds tell me that they enjoy grouping
with our members because we're considerate, helpful, and just plain
fun.
R: Say I am a new player impressed with that description. How do I join
TTH?
S: Just post your request to join in our
href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=35">Initiates
forum, and look for our
href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=990#990">officers
online. Let the officer you contact know that you've visited our
forums and you're interested in a guild invite.
R: What if I can only play once a week? Will you remove my character
for inactivity?
href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/Exclusive_Screenshots/ScreenShot00025.sized.jpg">
alt=""
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/Exclusive_Screenshots/ScreenShot00025.thumb.jpg"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 150px; height: 113px;" align="right"
hspace="4" vspace="2">
S: Right now, we don't have any policy regarding inactivity. If, at
some point, we should happen to reach the guild membership cap we may
start removing inactive members starting with the oldest first. We may
also adopt a policy relating to alternate characters if that becomes
necessary. Right now, though, we like to be open to all play styles,
and play times ranging from daily to weekly to "whenever I can."
R: Pretend I'm on the fence. What are the benefits of being guilded
with TTH when I could be a mercenary?
S: I don't really see a need to talk someone who's on the fence into
joining TTH. We welcome anyone who wants to try our casual community on
for size. If we're a good fit, then you'll want in. If we're not what
you're looking for, there are lots of other options.
R: That works. Does TTH have need of specific classes?
S: We seem to have a pretty good variety of classes in the guild
right now. Our unofficial policy has always been, "Play what you like
best, and we'll make it work." The beauty of DDO is that all classes
have their purpose.
R: Well, is any class under-represented in the guild population?
S: I'd say we have fewer bards than any other class.
R: Really? Well, who's your favorite bard?
[At this point Shayalyn merely smiled.]
R: Fine. We'll just agree that your favorite bard is me and move on to
the next question.
[Shayalyn moved as if to protest.]
R: If you were stranded in a dank dungeon and could only be there with
one bard...
S: ...I'd wave my mace at said bard threateningly and tell him to quit
pandering and sing, already.
R: Right. Okay. No more bard questions. What do you see in the future
for TTH on Sarlona?
S: Hopefully a lot more fun times ahead. As we continue to grow,
it's fun to see how the guild's personality has developed all on its
own. Fun, friendly, helpful, generous...those are the adjectives I'd
use again and again to describe our crew. I'd like to continue seeing
more of the same. And as we move through levels, perhaps we'll organize
and tackle some raid content. We certainly have the skilled players to
handle raid encounters, now.
R: That takes care of all of my questions.Thank you for your time.
S: You bet. Now, back to your lute!