Name: The Imperium
Play Orientation: RPvP (probably)
Role Playing: Light
Guild Size: Large (~125 members)
Time Zone: US East, but we have many EU members
Communication: Our Forums and TeamSpeak or Ventrilo (Yet to be determined)
Guild Hall Thread: http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=6681
Web Site: http://www.road-of-kings.com/
Red Steel, leader of the Imperium has answered my questions to your enjoyment.
So, Enjoy š
Here we go:
What is unique about The Imperium?
When I read about the Roman Republic and how their government worked I thought to myself that this was a perfect recipe for building a large guild. In the Roman Republic the power was divided between the Senate and the Assemblies. The Senate was an advisory body but in times of desperate military need the Senate declared a special office of Dictator who took absolute control over the Republic and its Military for a period of time. The Assemblies was where the Republic was actually run from, where they passed laws and elected the magistrates. The magistrates were responsible for administrating various areas of the Republic like the treasury, maintenance of buildings, planning festivals, to running the courts. The Imperium will take its inspiration from the Roman Republic and in doing this will support a large guild and be able to build and defend the largest cities in the Age of Conan.
In the Imperium, all leadership positions will not be static but can change and would be attainable by all members. By this Ax I Rule! Through individual merit, personal and military prowess, and popular support would all be factors in determining who gains and maintain various leadership positions in the Imperium.
In the Imperium all members will be organized into groups called Militias. Each Militia will contain both dedicated members that will be able to make most guild events and casual members or members that have sifting schedules to fill the gaps in the line. Throughout the game members of the Militia can support each other to make their characters stronger and work closely together to make their Militia an efficient killing force. The Militias will act like smaller guilds under the greater guild of the Imperium. The true importance of the Militia will take shape in the Massive Battles. Each Militia will act as a strategic unit on the battlefield. This will allow the Supreme Commander to look over the battlefield and not see hundreds of members but instead strong individual Militias awaiting orders. This will allow the various commanders of the Imperium to efficiently issue commands and control the ebb and flow of battle and devastate our enemy.
How are you structured socially?
The top ranking members of the Imperium will control the guild structure and rank progression, middle ranking members will be the ones to control the in-game guild direction, and the lowest ranking members would be the military and social core of the guild. Basically the players with the rank of Senator will control the structure of the guild. Senator rank would determine rank progression. The Senators would declare an eligible player and move him to the rank of Imperator (Dictator). The player with the rank of Imperator would have absolute control over the military structure and can appoint players to the Assembly. The Assembly is where the guild is actually run from. Patricians will represent approximately the top 20% for the guild members that demonstrated organizational or leadership abilities. In order to gain the rank of Patrician you must organize and lead a Militia or successfully serve out a term in office as one of the Magistrates (ex Aedile). The majority of the guild will be made up of Plebeians and Auxilia and will be the true strength of the Imperium, Beware the Mob!
There will be various Titles that will be sub-levels to guild rank. Rank gives a players position in the guild the Titles gives a member responsibilities and authority (or Imperium). Here are a few Titles that are in the Imperium:
- Praetor – this Title is for the chief judicial officer and commander under the Consul. He will have authority over the courts and deal with bad player behavior that can not be handled by the Militia Commander. The Praetor will be able to command multiple militias and initiate smaller scale battles.
- Aedile – a player with this Title administers public works, arranges for festivals, gladiatorial games, The Triumph, and other events. The Aedile manages the construction and repair of the guild buildings in the cities of the Imperium. Also the Aedile has authority over the Imperium markets and is the leader of the crafters helping them refine their craft.
- Tribune of the Plebs – a player with this Title acts as the Plebeian representative in the Senate. The Tribune can veto any abuse of power directed towards the Plebeians. As a result when dealing with internal guild related matters effecting the Plebeian population the Tribune of the Plebs has the second highest Imperium.
- Master of the Cavalry – this Title is appointed by the Imperator. A player with this Title is 2nd in command under the Imperator. The Master of the Cavalry as the name implies is head of the cavalry and will determine what members of the guild are qualified to fight in the massive battles as cavalry.
- Centurion – a player with this Title leads greater then one Militia units in the massive battles. Appointed by the Imperator and answer directly to him/her. This player is responsible to train and lead multiple Militias. A Centurions position is in the front to lead the charge.
The Stygian Mages and Scions of Set are going to have a Special role in the Imperium. When a member creates a character that is a Stygian Mages or Scions that character will automatically be considered belonging to a secrete cult called the Circle of Acheron. The Circle of Acheron has infiltrated the Imperium with the desire to rebuild the long lost Acheron Empire. But outwardly they maintain the guise as scholars and pilgrims looking to study the strange ruins that are hidden in various places in the north. Members of the Circle of Acheron will be free floating and will join individual Militias when needed and gain points that they can used to become more powerful in the Circle.
What excites you most about Age of Conan?
I am a long time fan of the brutal world of Hyboria. I first become interested in Conan through reading the Savage Sward of Conan when I was like 14 years old. Many years later when Roman TW came out I thought to myself that it would be wild if they made a version of this game based on the Hyborian age. Then looking at all the different buildings in the cities and watching the battles I thought to myself it would be really wild if they let us create a character in this game. If only I could walk around the city and go into the buildings have a drink at the local tavern or fight on the battlements long side the legionaries. At the same time I was heavy into the Morrowind game and thought what if they had some RPG elements in the game and you could interact with the characters in the game. How cool would it be if you could be given missions to spying on the enemy or to sneak into the governor’s palace to assassinate their general? What if they had groups of players working together representing the different factions like in an MMO? If they could combine all those aspects in one game they would have the perfect game for sure. Have epic strategic battles and be able to build glorious cities, have RPG elements and have support for having multiple players working together to build an empire, and all this in a Hyborian setting. Not so long after thinking this I found out that someone was actually making this game!
What is your take on player cities?
I like to see the Imperium have both the PvE city (that will be our capital) and a PvP Battlekeep (this will be like a frontier fort). It is hard to say which one is more important since I’m sure the Imperium will make full use of both types of cities from massive Siege Battles in the Boarder Kingdom to having the Imperator march into the capital in the Triumph celebrating the conquering of our enemies.
What is your take on Role Playing?
The Imperium overall will maintain a Light Role Playing environment. I want to attract players that enjoy the setting and story line of the game but are not fanatical about Role Playing. Members of the Imperium would be expect to maintain an In Character persona when playing the game and respond to situations as their character would. So basically the Role Playing in the Imperium would be Situational or Lore based Role Playing. So if you are a Aquilonian Soldier who is crawling through a dark Stygian crypt and are confronted by some ancient evil that was last look upon by the eyes of serpent-men, you should say ‘Mitra! Save us! ….and not OMG!!! …..
What type of servers are you planning on playing on?
We have an ongoing poll and so far the RPvP server is getting the most votes and then PvP. It is safe to say that we will definitely favor a PvP oriented server but with the theme of the guild and the fact that the Imperium guild will maintain a light role playing we will most likely play on a RPvP. But we will have a final debate on this just before the game goes live.
How do you look at interacting with other guilds?
At the moment before game release we are maintaining a friendly relations with all guilds but we are not making alliances at this point. It would be premature to do that at this time. But once the game is released and the time is right we will send out emissaries and diplomats.
What is your current guild size?
Currently we have over 125 people that join the Imperium and we are still growing. Considering that there is no game yet the Imperium community is very active. I feel we are a friendly group of friends that care about the Imperium community and not just a group of players looking to simply play a game. I know that one of our strengths will be that we are brothers and sisters forging a great Empire together and the walls of our cities will be built will the bonds we have with each other.
What software are you planning on using for communicating in-game?
We will ultimately have some sort of Voice Communication. We experimented with Team Speak and I set up a server to play with the setting. Recently the Patrician Assembly held meetings over Vertrilo. The one we use in the massive battles would depend on the ability for the commanders to effectively switch between communicating with each other and their Militia.
What type of people are you recruiting for your guild?
The Imperium is hoping to attract players that are Mature and that enjoy RPG and Strategy games. If you have ever thought to yourself that if they made a game that mixed Oblivion, Rome Total War and Hyboria together they would have a perfect game then the Imperium maybe for you!
How to apply?
Joining is simple go to the Imperium homepage and click Join the Guild and fill out the application.
www.road-of-kings.com
Final words:
My hope for the Imperium is for it to take on a life of its own and with a well defined structure that lets all the members have a role and place in determining its future. I don’t want people to feel that they are mere members of a guild, but to feel that they are actively building and maintaining the Imperium, that the Imperium is their home, their community; an extension of their virtual self that you can take personal pride in. I want the Imperium to become like a living creature that exists beyond the will of one individual. I want the lifeblood of the Imperium to be YOU the true citizen of the Imperium. As long as that blood courses through the veins of the Imperium then we as the Imperium will live forever.
If you have any questions, or you want to have your guild spotlighted, contact Mr.Ixolite at his very own E-MAIL! INDEED! an E-MAIL address.
Found here: [email protected] (BRILLIANT!) š
Published: Jul 23, 2007 10:43 am