JoBildo:
I’m here with Greyhawke from the League of Titans, one of Champions
Online’s premier Supergroups.  Greyhawke, welcome to Ten Ton
Hammer, and thanks for taking time out of your busy day beating bad
guys to do this interview.

GREYHAWKE: Hi, JoBildo. Thank you
for selecting us to be one of the first to participate in your Supergroup
Showcase.

JoBildo: Tell us (that is the
entire world or at least those reading this) a little bit about The
League of Titans.

GREYHAWKE:  The League of Titans
was founded by a group of individuals who met on the original City of
Heroes fan forums, while that game was still in development. We found
ourselves running into each other on the same roleplaying threads, and
began to form a circle of friends. When the game released, we decided
to incorporate all of our characters from various teams into a new League
of Titans.

While not all of our CoH members have
come to Champions Online, we have a significant number that have, not
to mention quite a number of new friends who have joined pre- and post-launch.
We have a wonderful group of people, and a great sense of family and
community that has kept us together through the waxing and waning of
several games. We run the gamut from die-hard role-players to the most
efficient min/maxers to the casual player who just grabs an hour or
two here and there. 

We manage it because we enjoy hanging
out together.  It’s that sense of family that binds us, and no
matter where we go that League of Titans channel always feels like coming
home.

JoBildo: How would you guys classify
yourselves?  Are you a tight-knit role-play guild, a PvP focused
group?

GREYHAWKE: We are a community of friends
first and foremost. Our goal is to provide an environment where are
members can relax and have fun with their friends.  For some that
means helping one another with missions, for others it’s the creative
stimulation of roleplay.  Some folks just like to have somebody
to talk to while soloing. 

I classify us as an
“RP friendly” supergroup, but not
“RP required”, with most members being light to medium RPers. Though
there are some who do not RP at all, and
some who would never stop if I didn’t keep reminding them that our
main channel is for OOC chatter.  Our roleplayers range from casual
to mature RP.  As we are a family-friendly supergroup
– several of us are parents whose children also play
– we do expect our members to show discretion, both in character names
and in keeping “NC-17” chatter in private channels.

As for PvP, it has not been a focus
for our group in past games. We have had a few members who enjoy the
challenge, but we have never done anything serious with it as a group.
In Champions Online the PvP seems to be more friendly to the casual
PvPer, and I imagine that as our membership grows we will have a segment
of our members who will explore this more and more.

JoBildo: How’s the Supergroup
run?  I mean, is it managed a certain way?  What’s the leadership
like, and how do you guys delegate authority?  Basically, as I
used to ask the Age of Conan clans, are you more Hitler or more Gandhi
when it comes to how things are run?

GREYHAWKE: We hold periodic elections
to decide our leadership. Currently in Champions we have two Captains
(what we have named our top rank) and a good group of veteran officers
(Lieutenants) who have made the leap from City Of Heroes. We have a
charter that we use as a guideline to get us through the rough spots,
but for the most part it boils down to a good old-fashioned democratic
republic and a healthy dose of common sense.  With the next election
cycle, new members will have the opportunity to step into leadership
positions – and we hope they do!

JoBildo: How many Titans are there
these days?  Do you guys spend time across more than one game? 
I noticed you come from a background in City of Heroes/Villains.

GREYHAWKE: We’re over the
100 unique member mark as of this interview and growing daily. Not all
of our new folks will decide we’re right for them, and we expect to
settle out somewhere between 75 and 125 players. 

We were fortunate enough to have around
20 members from our City of Heroes group become active in Champions
Online, which gave us a good foundation on which to build. We’ve been
active on the CO boards from the day they opened, so that’s helped
a lot with people knowing who we are and what we’re about. With a
significant number of our officers having lifetime subscriptions, I
am confident that we will have a consistent and long lasting presence
in Champions Online.

City of Heroes is where we started,
and where we initially built this community that became kind of an extended
family. (In fact, my wife and I met as members of the League Of Titans!).
As mentioned, we have been active there since the beta boards. We still
maintain a small presence there, though some of us have put our subscriptions
on hold until the Going Rogue expansion. We also have several members
active in Lord of the Rings Online, DDO Unlimited, and a few in WoW,
although not under the name League Of Titans.

JoBildo: One of the trends we
see with some of the larger guilds in most MMOGs is the hosting of server
or guild-wide events.  Is that something the League Of Titans ever
does?  Are you very active in the community, or do you mostly keep
to yourselves?

GREYHAWKE: We have had a few forays
into guild wide events, but have discovered that is one of the areas
where Champions Online is in dire need of improvement. We’re still
exploring the game for possibilities for more events, both for our guild
and for the server as a whole. We did host a few events in City Of Heroes
and have some experience at doing this kind of thing. Hopefully we will
see improvements in the coming weeks that will facilitate planning and
management of large group events.

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

GREYHAWKE: Our recruiting process
was one of the things we felt we needed to improve in Champions Online.
We decided to make ourselves more approachable for the person showing
a casual interest by incorporating a recruit level rank to our membership.
In order to become a recruit, all that is needed is to provide some
basic information to help us get to know you better. This process is
outlined in detail in our thread in the Superteam Section of the Champions
Online forums (http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=44632), but essentially it boils down to letting
us know your global handle, a brief character background, and a little
bit about the player behind the character.

Our recruits have the same in-game
permissions as a member, but our officer nominations can only be made
from those of member rank. Recruits that decide they enjoy our supergroup
enough to take the next step can attain member status by continuing
their application on our website at leagueoftitans.net and having a
bit more in-depth review.

In the end, what we are looking for
are mature (which doesn’t have to mean old) and helpful members who
are active in our community.  That may be through forum or RP participation,
or by actively helping in our events or helping those who ask the craziest
questions over our global channels. It boils down to looking for new
friends who enrich and enhance that sense of family and community I
mentioned earlier. 

In character, Titans have run the
gamut from traditional four-color superheroes to acid-spewing demons. 

What the Titan characters all have in common is that they have the desire
to help their community in some way, whether it be on a personal basis
or in general fighting crime.  We do not allow characters who routinely
use lethal force, which isn’t to say that we don’t have darker characters. 

We expect our players to be able to
walk that sometimes fine line between playing a hero (light or dark)
who has chosen to join a known supergroup, and a vigilante.  Our
members are welcome to (and often do) have other characters they play
that may not be appropriate for the League of Titans SG itself. 
That’s what our global channel is for, so we can still keep in touch!

JoBildo: Would you like to add anything more about Champions Online or gaming in general? I'm sure the developers are reading, so say what's on your mind.

GREYHAWKE: 
Being a part of a great supergroup is what makes a game worth playing,
for me and for many players of Champions Online. It is this camaraderie
that draws us, and often what keeps us going through the tougher times
of a game’s growth.  I hope Cryptic has many good things in store
for supergroups on the horizon - things like bases, supergroup missions
and supergroup rewards based on life cycle of the team, etc.

That said, there are
many things that need to be implemented as soon as possible to aid supergroups
in helping their members enjoy the game more. These things include better
management tools for large group functions, information on last login
date for activity management, and an increase in the number of characters
allowed in a supergroup, even if this is tied to life cycle of the supergroup
(i.e. supergroups that have been around a month can increase membership
by 50, six months adds another 200, and so on.)

JoBildo:
Alright, that concludes our first Champions Supergroup Showcase. 
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 League of Titans.  See you in Millennium City!

GREYHAWKE: Thanks to you as well,
JoBildo, and to Ten Ton Hammer for spotlighting this important segment
of the game!

Please continue to page two for all the information on The League of Titans in one place...

OPENING STATEMENT: The League Of Titans is a group of friends
gathered together with common gaming goals. Our purpose is to create
a community that enjoys all the aspects of multiplayer gaming. This
includes:  

• 1. Facilitating grouping.
• 2. Facilitating roleplaying (although this is not a requirement for
  membership, it is encouraged), both in-game and on our forums. This
  includes helping players flesh out their characters' history, enriching
  the playing experience.
• 3. Facilitating technical and strategic discussions about character
  creation and game play.
• 4. Fostering a sense of community through casual conversation on our
  forums and in any global channels in-game.

RECRUITMENT: Taking Applications

PVP: Casual

ROLE-PLAYING: Role-Playing
friendly

ALT POLICY: Due to the limit
of 250 characters currently in place in Champions Online, we are limiting
our members to one character each in the League Of Titans supergroup.
Members are allowed (and encouraged) to place any number of alts in
the additional supergroups we have created to work around this game
limitation. Communication across supergroups is maintained via our global
chat channel “League Of Titans”

INACTIVITY POLICY: 90 days
of inactivity could result in removal from the supergroup. Exceptions
made for active military and for those who notify in writing with an
expected return date.

COMMUNICATION: Forum Communications
out of game, both on our site and the CO forums.  We also use Team
Speak on a limited basis, mostly for large raids and event coordination.

WEBSITE: leagueoftitans.net

WE DO NOT WANT: Those who
do not play well with others. Those who think communication means knowing
the latest leet speak.