Before I go into detail how I think this guild should be run through both IC and OOC, I would just like to point out that most of the jobs that can be offered at the guild are more akin to the little events run by the Imperial Guard or shops like the Might Makes Right: just short events that do not necessarily have significant follow-up storylines and have small payoffs in mehrials.
Really, the intention of creating such a place is just to give characters something to do that can help them earn money other than working in shops, working for nobles, or fighting as a gladiator at the Arena. The characters who take up such jobs, however, do not get paid on an hourly basis (refer to ‘Rewards’ below).
At the same time, players can have their characters work as Guild Clerks to help run the jobs to perhaps get a feel on how to run an actual Quest. Or just cater to those players who just want to run a small event for fun.
Also, I was hoping that the Guild would have its own thread on the Message Board, much like the Arena and its Gladiator Hall.
Like the little events sometimes run by the Imperial Guard or shops like the Might Makes Right, the jobs will mostly be simple, straightforward, and linear – nothing like the complex quests that must go through our Quest Team that can reward 100 mehrials to each Adventurer and even give the Quest Runner a chance at earning a Special Item.
These jobs are more towards ‘hunting’, ’delivery’, ‘escorting’, and maybe even help with catering or volunteering at a shop for a day or two. Each job can only accommodate up to 4 Adventurers (to make it easier for the Guild Clerk and/or Guild Master; refer to ‘Positions’).
This, of course, also means that an Adventurer can take a job alone if they want to rake up the money for themselves, but it might not always be easy. And ICly, this could be frowned upon by either the Guild Master or Guild Clerk, which could hinder the Adventurer from ranking up comes their interview.
Jobs, however, will not always be available: they will go with a ‘first come, first serve’ basis; in a month, I was thinking that maybe 3 to 4 jobs per ‘rank’ (refer to ‘Ranks’) will be posted in the Message Board. Once a new month rolls in, new jobs are posted (except the jobs that were not taken, which will remain until otherwise).
Each Adventurer can only take 1 job per month – no matter if they succeed or failed. This will be recorded in the Message Board so players cannot abuse this to get easy money. They will be recorded like how Gladiators’ wins and losses are recorded on the Message Board: one thread per Adventurer.
For now, I’d rather that the jobs follow consistent types to make it easier for the Guild Master, Assistant Guild Master, and Guild Clerks to run or watch over. Of course, Adventurers CAN die (or worse) in most of these jobs if something goes wrong, so they must be very careful when choosing them.
NOTE: Death, rape, or slavery are NOT necessary consequences of failing jobs if it is not the players’ cups of tea, but they can make for extra RP. Heck, there might be players who might actually WANT their Adventurer to fail and be subjected to these kinds of punishments.
Bounty Hunting Jobs
For these jobs, Adventurers will go through a quest seeking out one or more individuals that need to be brought down to justice either dead or alive depending on the job. Stats will be provided by the Guild Master to their workers (either in private or publicly in the Message Board). How the jobs will be narrated is all RP fluff; what will truly matter is if the job is done – success or otherwise.
The harder the difficulty, the tougher the target. Harder jobs would see Adventurers tasked to take down more than just one target.
Beast Hunting Jobs
This mostly requires the ranked skill Hunting/Trapping. The simpler jobs would just have you hunt down the animals in the forest via the hunting mechanics here: viewtopic.php?f=216&t=18951&p=128162 (mind, it’s being reworked but it is the best I could find so far), or going up against lesser beasts like giant rats.
The harder beast-hunting jobs will pit Adventurers against the likes of wild jhores, mephos, and even the giant flying scorpions of the desert. Much like the Bounty Hunting Jobs, stats will be provided. How the jobs will be narrated is all RP fluff; what will truly matter is if the job is done – success or otherwise.
Escort & Delivery Jobs
These kinds of jobs can be mostly just RP, but they can usually take a while to finish. In these jobs, players just need to roleplay escorting/ delivering someone or something from Point A to Point B. Simple escort jobs go for two days IRL: day one for the Adventurers to set out; day two for the Adventurers to arrive at their destination. These jobs are very roleplay heavy.
The harder jobs would see more than just two days of travelling. These jobs, however, are unique in the sense that ANYTHING could be thrown the Adventurers’ way between leaving and arriving: combat, accidents, etc. So, Adventurers need to be very prepared, especially once Adventurers are tasked to help escort or deliver something or someone VERY important.
Other
‘Other’ jobs are jobs that do not fit into the other categories, but they are unique in the sense that they could be pretty much anything: from giving someone a massage, to helping a restaurant cater for a party, to get something from the General Store for another Playable Character, etc. ‘Other’ jobs are most likely going to be roleplay heavy.
I have not really decided how much the guild can pay Adventurers, but I would like it to be reasonable and not something easily abused. As mentioned above, the reward/pay is encouraged to be split among Adventurers who take the same job – of course, this is all up to IC: if one Adventurer thinks they deserve a bigger cut than the rest and the others agree, then the Guild will pay them as such.
If the Adventurers cannot decide, the Guild Master or Guild Clerk will split the reward evenly. Payouts will be done AFTER the job/quest is done (or by the end of the Month).
On an unrelated note: divided rewards will result in more Copper coming into play, which I think is nice since Adventurers can eventually rake up the Coppers and then convert them into mehrials – a function of the !bank that a lot of players tend to forget or just plainly not be aware of.
Since the maximum number of Adventurers taking a job is planned to be 4, I would say anything beyond 400 mehrials is ‘too much’ or else it will undermine the rewards typically given out after Quests.
Pay will depend on an Adventurer’s ‘Rank’ in the Guild as well so someone who just recently joined would not be able to earn a potential 100 mehrials per job. They have to work their way up, meaning they have to finish a certain number of jobs to continue ranking. Which brings us to…
(Note: I’ve opt to make their Manager and Assistant Manager earnings lower than what a standard Manager/Asst. Manager would earn considering the nature of the job mechanic-wise)
Guild Master
Basically the ‘Manager’ of the Adventurers Guild. He or she will be the one handling !payouts for the Adventurers who succeeds in a job and will also be able to watch over and play out the jobs (similar to a Quest Runner). Like most jobs with a Manager position, they earn 20 mehrials per hour, including a bonus of 250 mehrials for the first 4 hours, plus 50 mehrials per Master Skill (to a maximum of 3; refer below).
Assistant Guild Master
Same duties as the Guild Master, except they earn a bonus of 200 mehrials for the first 4 hours on top of the 20 mehrials per hour, plus 50 mehrials per Master Skill (to a maximum of 3; refer below).
Guild Clerks
The only other workers in the payroll besides the Guild Master and Assistant Guild Master. These Guild Clerks are the ones who stand behind the counter and help keep records of how many jobs an Adventurer has taken in the Message Board. ICly the Adventurers will report to the Guild Clerks if they wish to take a job and/or if they wish to report finishing it. Guild Clerk players will help run the narrative side of the jobs if a Guild Master or Assistant Guild Master cannot. They earn 20 mehrials per hour, plus 50 mehrials per Master Skill (to a maximum of 3; refer below).
Appropriate Ranked Skills (only to a maximum of 3 can be counter for bonus pay):
Cartography
First Air/Triage
Heraldry
Navigation
Scouting
Scribe
Soldiering
Tending/Etiquette
The following ranks are for non-guild workers (which also means Guild Master, Assistant Guild Master, and Guild Clerks cannot take jobs while they are on the job). ICly, each registered Adventurer will receive a tag made from the exact material of their rank.
Rank 10: Obsidian – 50 mehrials
All adventurers start at Obsidian rank. The jobs are usually very simple, if not more like chores… and also nothing to really write home about. Like killing giant rats. Jobs at this rank have a difficulty of ‘Easy’.
Rank 9: Steel – 75 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Bounty Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Intermediate). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 3 jobs/quests posted under the Guild.
Rank 8: Sapphire – 100 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Beast Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Intermediate). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 6 jobs/quests posted under the Guild AND must pass an interview session with a Guild Clerk.
Rank 7: Emerald – 125 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Escorting and Delivery jobs (Difficulty: Intermediate). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 9 jobs/quests posted under the Guild.
Rank 6: Ruby – 150 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Bounty Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 12 jobs/quests posted under the Guild. Special Quests/Jobs will now be available to the Adventurers.
Rank 5: Bronze – 200 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Beast Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 15 jobs/quests posted under the Guild, finish 1 Special Quest/Job, AND must pass an interview session with a Guild Clerk and Guild Master.
Rank 4: Silver – 250 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Escorting and Delivery jobs (Difficulty: Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 18 jobs/quests posted under the Guild.
Rank 3: Gold – 300 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Bounty Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Very Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 21 jobs/quests posted under the Guild.
Rank 2: Platinum – 350 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Beast Hunting jobs (Difficulty: Very Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 24 jobs/quests posted under the Guild, finish 2 Special Quest/Jobs, AND must pass an interview session with a Guild Clerk, Guild Master, and a Noble.
Rank 1: Mithril – 400 mehrials
At this rank, Adventurers can now take Escorting and Delivery jobs (Difficulty: Very Hard). To achieve this, Adventurers must finish 30 jobs/quests posted under the Guild, finish 3 Special Quest/Jobs, AND must pass an interview session with a Guild Master, and two Nobles.
Adventurers can take jobs from lower ranks if they want, but they cannot take jobs from ranks higher than their current rank.
In total, to get to Mithril Rank a player would have to spend more than TWO YEARS IRL doing jobs. And that is only if they manage to succeed every single month. Either way: here’s hoping that it creates long term roleplaying.
To become an Adventurer of the Adventurers Guild, a character must first Register ICly by meeting with the Guild Master, Assistant Guild Master, or a Guild Clerk. They will be interviewed ICly (questions like ‘ambition’, ‘intention’, and might even involve the character filling up a form asking things like name, hair color, etc. – with the reason being so the Guild can identify their bodies if something were to happen) and if they are approved, they will be given their Adventurer tag (Obsidian) and their names will be posted on the Message Board via a new thread.
Like everything else on this post, this is just a work-in-progress, but I would imagine that the job listings would look like this:
Name: “Get Rid of the Rats!” (Type: Beast Hunting) (Difficulty: Easy)
Reward: 50 Mhl
Max Adventurer Capacity: 4
Info: A shop owner is having problems with some really big rats hiding in his basement. Help him drive them out.
Enemy: Giant Rat x5
Status: Available
Name: “Help Out at The Works” (Type: Other) (Difficulty: Easy)
Reward: 50 Mhl
Max Adventurer Capacity: 2
Info: The Works need some help moving some of the heavier equipment around.
Enemy: -
Status: Available
Name: “Wanted: Kill McKill the Killer” (Type: Bounty) (Difficulty: Easy)
Reward: 50 Mhl
Max Adventurer Capacity: 4
Info: A serial killer is on the loose and he was last spotted in Old Town. Capture him – dead or alive!
Enemy: Kill McKill the Killer (Level 3 Warrior)
Status: Available
I was thinking a specific thread would be dedicated to players submitting ideas for jobs. Probably will not be doing this right off the bat until I get a good feel of where I can take this idea in.
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A lot of this were written on a whim and probably not well-thought out - got a feeling a lot of the things I brought up here might not work out like I would hope - but I'm open to reading what you all think about the idea. It might get turned down in the long run, but I am sure there would be no harm in trying.
As for Work Tags, I'd imagine 'Guild' (for e.g. Abby-Guild) would suffice. And I was thinking this Guild can be somewhere in TLI-Town.