As some of you may recall, a short while ago I wrote an article about my recent experiences at Blizzcon 2009, where I professed to being a World of Warcraft virgin. Being inspired by the comic goodness that flits and flutters around this popular MMO, I’ve penned another article on my recent experiences, as still a relative noob, in this well-established game. In this week’s adventure, I recount how I became, somewhat reluctantly, a guild leader. What a glorious mess.

Not too long ago, I left a guild that I had been a part of since I started playing the game a year ago. A friend that I had met in that guild decided to break free and start a new guild on his own. Let me first tell you that having a Co-Guild leader relationship is worse than being married to Kate Gosselin. It’s a very give and take relationship, but there’s always one that gives a bit more than the other…..in this case it was yours truly. It took a lot of massaging to work together with my in-game friend. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that after a day or two, my friend decided (out of the blue) he wasn’t ready to run a guild and closed it down overnight with out a word to me. As you can imagine I was a little peeved, to say the least. I lost my old guild, and now, thanks to my online buddy, I’d lost the gold that I’d just put into this one. That is the long story short that leads into my sharing this with you, dear readers.

Since I have a great WoW support system, my husband (who plays too), offered to start a guild with me. At the same time my cousin, a WoW veteran, offered to do the same. I was apprehensive at first, especially after my recent experience, but I guess it was her charm and experience that got me. I said yes! The three of us set out to start a really, um, “awesome” guild, though I had no idea what I was doing. Of course, first off, we needed a charter.

We went on the hunt for people to sign our charter. This was harder than we imagined it would be. Apparently people are charging for this now. One person asked for 10 gold. To click a button?! Sheesh! We were getting discouraged, this was taking forever to get just ten little signatures. My cousin, resourceful as she is, found a player that was moving servers. He was looking to sell his guild with 3 tabs, what luck. For a great price as well, and now my story begins….

Even if it’s more convenient to purchase a pre-made guild, it may not have the coolest name on the server. It was an alright name, but not as cool as the name we’d originally had in mind (we were leaning toward <Goes Commando>, but ended up with something else…read on.)

You wouldn’t believe what my cousin had to go through to get our guild name changed. This will give you an idea.

It was pretty lonely in the guild. Only four members. However, my husband and I shared an account at the time, so really only three of us could be on at a time. We needed some growth. Even with several of the old owners alts in the group as well as us, it was still a guild that’s too small for the big world of WoW. I decided to go on a recruiting spree by inviting individuals one by one for two days straight. No rest, no sleep, just a cup of coffee and me at 3am.

I hit Iron Forge, Stormwind city, and the Borean Tundra. As I saw homeless toons without guild families I invited them into ours. I took in the strong, the weak, the brave and the meek and I didn’t just stop there. I recruited everyone, his brother, and his dog.

You’d think this would be a disaster. Oddly, it wasn’t. I found that I enjoyed talking with these players, and I got to know some of the people behind these toons. I’ve made some good acquaintances and started some relationships I think will last. Not only have some of these players told me about their characters, they have shared a bit of their personal selves with me. I’ve learned about the concession worker, the father of two, the customer service rep, and the engineer. I have to say, making friends with these people has been quite enjoyable. Our guild chat is now filled with happy, friendly nonsense. It’s like my own little online Oprah show.

Quite honestly, we didn’t even have a direction or ANY idea what kind of guild we wanted to be when we started. Not surprisingly, we didn’t exactly turn into what you’d call a ‘raid guild’. Most of our members aren’t even 80 yet. And yet, somehow, we’ve morphed from your typical lil’ motley crew of guildless loners, into a nice bunch of instance-running friends, and we’re all linked together now, all cozy-like. It may not be hard core, but it’s certainly pleasant.

A quick sidebar before I wrap this up: a contributing factor in our recruiting success is humor. I’ve learned that a lot of players have a sense of humor, and are much more open to joining if the guild has one too. (When you hear our name you’ll understand.). I actually think this helps us recruit a higher quality player. Quite frankly, most of us don’t exactly blend with the dudes in <Razor’s Edge> or <Super Hardcore Jerks>. We’re different; we are a guild that takes them all in. High levels, low levels, mains, alts, and the non-hardcore are all welcome. They’re all surprisingly proud to say that they are the members of <Wears Hot Pants>.

Till we meet again, over and out….

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