~PORTRAITS:An Intimate Look at the United Guard

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

Hello there. I am Finduilas Ancalimon (better known as Fernelf) of the Safe Havens of Arda. As most of you know, one of the goals of the SHoA is to promote communication between the various Kinships of MEO. It is for this reason, I present to you Portraits: An intimate look at the United Guard. I began preparing for my interview with Legebrilril as I will with future interviews, by visiting the United Guard’s home site and reading previous threads posted by its’ members. I will admit, I was a little nervous before I began the interview, but Legbriril was quick to put me at ease. We began our sessions with a few pms passed back and forth, before I knew it we were on a roll. I am very proud at this time to share with you the result of our conversations.


1) Thank you Alexander for allowing myself and the community a chance to spend some time with you and your Kinship. Tell me about Alexander...when did you become interested in Tolkien?

Well I actually became interested in Tolkein after seeing the first movie, once seeing that I was hooked. I have read the books from that period on and am amazed by the amount of detail. I love trilogies and epics and Tolkein's work is something that will keep me entertained for a long time.


2) How was Legebriril born. Tell me why you chose that name and how he has "evolved in your mind?

Some might think that my characters name, Legebriril is just because I was trying to get as close as possible to being portrayed as Legolas. This is not the case, I used a name generator where I put in my real full name and Legebriril was the result. I like it and stuck with it.


3) What makes Alexander and Legebriril both important aspects of The United Guard?

Well in real life I have been studying military strategy and tactics for my entire life. I have read countless books on the subject and really do enjoy it. I am hoping to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point some time in the future, I was not admitted due to some medical concerns. Legebriril is really just myself placed in Tokien world. Legebriril is a tactician, commanding the United Guard and leading it to victory.


4) How much of you are in Legebriril and if he were to meet you today..would he like you as an individual?

Haha, well Legebriril isn't really that different then myself since, in reality he is myself. As I said before, Legebriril is me, just in Tolkein's world.

5) I have been browsing your home site and it is a very
well thought out and organized site:

www.unitedguard.moonfruit.com/

I have noted that members of the United Guard have expressed their satisfaction concerning previous experiences with yourself in other role play games. The United Guard advertises "Strong Experienced Leadership". Can you take a moment and tell us about some of your previous role-play adventures?


The United Guard does believe in strong experienced leaders. I personally have participated in many MMORPG's including Everquest, Earth & Beyond, Eve (Beta), Star Wars Galaxies (Beta and Launch) and some others. I was the founder of a player association in Star Wars Galaxies, which was known as the City of Sparta. Two members of Sparta have joined me in the United Guard, RuCain who is the Executive Councilor and Falke, the Recruiting Officer. These two individuals are great leaders and our friendship has grown, I have no doubt they were the perfect choices.



6) Some may feel a little intimidated by the militaristic aspect of your Kinship. What would you like to say that may help viewers to understand how that part of the Kinship will influence the game experience?


Only those following the Sauron should be intimidated by our military structure. The United Guard was created to unite all the races to do battle against the forces of Mordor, so our purpose is of a military nature. However, we do not restrict our members to combat; there are many commercial related fields in the United Guard, all of which are just as important as combat related fields. The United Guard is a very organized and well structured kinship. Its purpose to set a routine that way everyone knows what is expected of them, giving them confidence and letting them know the rest of the Guard is there for them.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

7) So you feel a well structured Kinship breed’s security for your members and I agree as I do think most of our viewers will. You have touched upon something I found very interesting while doing some background on The United Guard. One of the goals listed for your kinship will be to "unify middle earth". How do you plan on accomplishing this?

I believe a well structured kinship keeps the organization on task and headed in the direction it was originally intended. It also simplified things, making everything clear and direct trying to answer all questions easily. The less confusion among members the more successful the kinship will be. Of course there are other factors a determining the success of a kinship though I feel this is an important one.

It is the goal of the United Guard to unify middle earth; this is the reason for the formation of the UG, at least for role playing purposes. In the past elves, men and other races came together in the Last Alliance which resulted in the defeat of Saurons forces. This proved that a unified Middle-Earth could accomplish great tasks. The United Guard wants to capitalize on this, bringing all the races together, working as one towards the common goal.


8) Do you have a certain area in Middle Earth that you will settle in or will you be a nomadic kinship? If you plan to settle will you share with us where that will be?

The United Guard will have a primary base of operations, this will provide for a clear place for our members to meet and organize their missions. Where UG's headquarters will be located is undecided at this point. UG's headquarters most likely will not be kept a secret, it may however during the earlier stages until we get ourselves settled.


9) Does your Kinship already have a history per-say or will you make your own history as the game evolves?

The kinship has a history in the sense that it tells the story of how it came to be. High Council Legebriril gets permission from Lord Elrond to start the kinship and that’s exactly where we leave it off. This gives a lot of room to expand on the history, making our actions in game effect the role playing aspect of UG's history. This gives each member a chance to be a part of a constantly evolving storyline.

10) I love the idea behind your evolving history....a fact that your Kinship will have a kinetic storyline makes room for freedom of choice. It will be interesting indeed to find out just how your history develops.
I did note that all races are invited to join the United Guard. However hobbits will have a special place in your kinship. While other races may be the force of your clan, it would seem in my opinion that hobbits may end up being your backbone. Am I right in this...will they be the ones to provide various needed supplies and skills such as armor repair, master craftsman wares etc?... maybe you could give us a look at how you see the hobbits roles in your Kinship .

Hobbits in the United Guard are automatically place into the Civil-Service Legion, which specializes in the commercial aspect of the game. This does not mean that Hobbits are not allowed to have combat skills, they certainly may. In order to stay true to Tolkien we feel it would be best that Hobbits not be a combat oriented as many of the other races. This is the reason for them only being allowed into the Civil-Service legion. Who knows though, this legion may be needed for combat and Hobbits may be able to make a significant change.

The Civil-Service Legion alone is the backbone of the United Guard, providing the necessary supplies and equipment. The Civil-Service Legion is not restricted to just Hobbits however; all races may join this legion. So this gives all races in this legion a major role in the United Guard, whether Hobbit or not.

11) If I may I would like to get some information about how one goes about seeking membership for the United guard. Is there a probation period and if so for how long?....Also what do you look for in members? Do they have to be serious role-players? What is most important to you when it comes to choosing a new member?

Membership for the United Guard is completely under the control and direction of Commander Falke, our Recruiting Director. In order to gain membership with the United Guard the applicant must go to our forums and fill out an application located at the Application Board. This initiates the process and informs us of your interest in membership. From there on Commander Falke will stay in contact with the applicant, answering any questions they may have. For about the time period of a week the applicant is encouraged to post on the board and gives an idea of what they are looking for in this game and how active they will be. Commander Falke makes the decision of acceptance or rejection.

We feel that it is very important that all of our members remain active and are respectful at all times. This is a mature group and immature or disrespectful behavior is strongly frowned upon. We just want members who want to enjoy themselves with the rest of the Guard, individuals who work together as a team.

United Guard is a role playing kinship, though it is not mandatory. No one will keep track of which members role play and which choose not to. We want our members to stay involved and role playing is one way of doing that. If a member does not feel comfortable with role playing however they can choose not to.
When choosing members we feel it is most important that they are dedicated to the cause and goals of the United Guard. It is extremely important that they are active within the community and respectful. We also want members who understand the structure and organization of the Guard, and those who trust and obey the orders given to them.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

12) I would also like to go back to something we touched on earlier. Will the United guard impose certain requirements of its members in regards to skills or types of characters ( occupations so to speak)?...or will there be room for almost any type of skilled person. I guess what I want to know is will the members be asked to fill any positions that may be needed?

We want to give our members the most possible freedom we can in order to enjoy this game. A kinship is meant to help each other out, not restrict what skills or types of characters they can have. When becoming a member of the United Guard you will have the choice of which skills you want to work towards and what race your character will be. This choice places you into one of the four legions of the United Guard, each of which has specific purposes and specializes in different skills. So basically, we plan to have a place for every skill.

13) I think that as well structured as your Kinship is, it will be easy for members to find "their nitch" so to speak....ok I have 2 more questions about members and then I would like to move on to relationships between Kinships. It seems very obvious that you have delegated certain leadership roles to other individuals of your Kinship. This to me is a sign of that "experienced leadership" we talked about earlier. I think too many responsibilities on one shoulder leads to chaos. If a player were to join your kinship as of now..are there still leading positions available and if so could you go into some detail as to what those positions are?

There are plenty of leadership positions available. Since the United Guard is still one of the newer kinships created those on the High Council (Myself, RuCain, and Falke) have decided to wait for our membership count to rise before appointing the rest of the positions.

The United Guard structure is one that has many small unit leadership roles, an individual watching over as small as six men. These small unit leadership roles are vital, every soldier has an officer they can contact for help or assistance, giving each soldier the attention they need and deserve.


14) Before we move on to other areas...tell us how decisions will be made for your Kinship. What type of society is your Kinship?

This is often a topic that can stir up some great opinions and ideas. I have learned from past experiences that when it comes to MMORPG's, democratic structured guilds have many disadvantages to them. The purpose of the United Guard is to provide a simple and concrete structure, keeping our forces organized in the face of destruction. This disciplined force must follow orders regardless of what they might think. Decisions are made by the High Councilor, who in turn delegates his objectives and orders to those under him, usually the Executive Councilor. The Executive Councilor, then in turn ensures the task is completed, overseeing the progress of the officers beneath him. Plenty of room is left for the small unit leaders to make decisions they feel will be best at completing the overall objective. So the entire process is one smooth motion. The High Councilor outlines the objectives, the Executive Councilor oversee's the progress and the small unit leaders make the carry out the task as they deem fit.


15) Ok one more..(smiles as she sneaks one more question in about members)...How large will your Kinship be or has that been decided yet?

As of right now there has been very little talk as to how large we expect our kinship to grow. We are still at the early stages though we expect the United Guard to grow considerably. I do not believe a number will be set in stone, if the Guard overall organization begins to suffer due to large numbers then restricting membership may be considered.

16) It sounds as though you have put some thought into making your Kinship. I want to ask some questions about how you see your relationship with other Kinships...Will The United Guard be involved much with other Kinships....or will you be fairly self supporting?.

The United Guard is currently in the Alliance for the Western Free Races. We feel allying ourselves with other kinships working towards the same goal will be an important aspect in determining the outcome of this war. The United Guard is designed to support itself in the absence of such an alliance.

17) How do you plan on developing your strategies....(laughs)..no I don’t want any trade secrets...I mean will you plan on weekly meetings and such outside the game? Give me some idea how you plan to keep everyone in your Kinship and if another kinship is involved...up to date?

The website and forums will likely remain even as the game is in progress; this way if some members do not have the chance to meet one another in game they can do so out of game. There will likely be meetings in game, as for how often, that has not been decided yet.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

18) Well the game is still a while aways so there will be plenty of time to figure out meeting schedules and such. Speaking of schedules...Are most of your players in the same time zone. If they are will this detract you from accepting somebody or a small group in a different time zone?. If you already have members in different times zones...How are you planning to incorporate this in game play?

This is a great question. Recently we have started discussion regarding this and have come to the conclusion that it would best to divide each of the units into time zones. This way each unit will be able to get in game during the same time period, keep them organized and unified.


19) As a player and Kinship leader what game play issues most concern you? What is the one thing you want most in the game and ...what is the last thing you want to see in the game.

Based on the what I have read from the Devs so far I have confidence that they are doing a great job. They seem to listen to the voices of the players and are doing everything they can to make the game authentic to Tolkein. I guess that’s the primary thing I would like out of this game, have it as close to the books as possible. There isn't all that much detail out yet regarding the game and I am looking forward to hearing about what the Devs have been working on.

One of my major interests is to see how they will implement kinships into the game. How can kinships affect the storyline and plot? What types of tools will each kinship be given? Some of this was briefly explained though I am looking forward to hearing the specifics.

20) Don’t you just HATE those brief explanations..?(rolls eyes but smiling at the same time). They really know how to keep that carrot dangling in front of our noses eh?. (laughingly)..no that was not a question just a comment on my part. As we all anticipate the release of the game, we all have different reasons. Tell me if you will why you anticipate MEO online..and also why you play games in the first place. Why do you think those of us that enjoy RPG’s do? Also, why do you think we enjoy online role play games?

I am anticipating MEO online mainly because the world Tolkein created is one that interests me greatly. I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading his books and watching the movies. Middle-Earth online is a game that throws me into that world, making me feel as if I were actually a part of it.

This is the main reason I play MMORPG's. It allows us to live in the worlds that we enjoy and often cannot experience any other way. Its just plain fun, I get enjoyment out of building my character, watching a kinship develop, role playing and just interacting with others that feel the same way.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

21) I agree the thing that is great about online Role-play is it allows us that have a common interest to share that experience together. I am looking forward to meeting you in game Alexander and of course Fernelf is looking forward to crossing paths with Legebriril. I am thankful I have had this opportunity to get to know yourself and the United Guard better. I hope our viewers come away from this interview feeling as if they also know you a little better then before. Before I open this up for questions by viewers, is there anything you would like to add?

I too look forward to meeting you in game Fernelf. You are fantastic at performing an interview and I strongly encourage all kinships to do this at some point. For those of you searching for a kinship, remember to take your time. Get as much information as possible, look for the kinship that suits you best.Don't join one and then try to make radical changes. Remember, above all to have fun and enjoy yourself.



While getting ready to post this session, it struck me at how down to earth Legebriril is. Anyone that would like to contact Legebriril about the United Guard will soon find out how quick he is to put one at ease. Remember the only dumb question is the one not asked. I enjoyed my time with Legebriril and look forward to an additional interview with other members of his kinship.



~~Annon



END NOTE: please feel free to leave any questions of comments to the United Guard on this thread.

Any general questions or comments about future interviews please leave on the "an intimate look at kinships" thread.

PLease be polite!!


Thank you

Fernelf aka Finduilas Ancalimon

Messenger of the SHoA