Vignette
“Get a move on with the boxes, Harry.”, whispered Alan as loud as he dared.
The sun had barely set over Stormwind Docks. Workers carried on under lantern light to get the last of the cargo ashore, but two men had the opposite idea.
“Why don’t you give me a bloody hand instead of standing there whinging!”, huffed Harry, as he sprang back and forth between a rowboat and the jetty, piling crates of liquor bottles into it’s hull beneath a ragged tarp.
“I’m on the lookout you fool.”, said Alan, wrinkling his hook nose, brandishing a rusty sabre in his knurly right hand.
“You wouldn’t need to lookout if we got out of here faster!”. Harry tried to keep the sound of the rattling bottles to a minimum, but the distinct clink carried over the air.
“Will you try not to draw a frickin’ crowd and keep it down!”, Alan said, turning to face his rat-like companion, whom he could barely see in the twilight . “How many left?”
“Three more, get ready.”
Alan nods, and stowed his sabre. He crouched by the jetty and began to unwind the rope securing the rowboat as Harry put the last crate down. “That’s it, get in!”, urged Harry.
Alan fiddled with the rope as his greasy tresses flapped in the sea wind. “I’m trying, but this is a bloody granny knot! I thought you said you were in the Navy!”
“Quit moaning, cut the rope then.”
Alan stood up, and drew his sabre. There was another rattle. Harry glanced at the bottles, but they were still. It sounded more like steel. He looked up and squinted through the receding light.
“Drop it.”, said a deep voice, as the tip of a shortsword pressed into the back of Alan’s neck. Drawing a sharp breath, the man dropped the sabre.
Harry looked on, blood draining from his squat face as a cohort of guards surrounded the boat to the sound of drawing steel and the click of rifles. One lit a lantern and held it high. Their armour and the gold trim of their surcoats bearing the Lion’s Head glistened as light poured over Harry and the boat, revealing their surreptitious cargo.
The guard with his sword at Alan’s nape walked around and tucked his blade beneath the smuggler’s chin. Beneath his visor, dark deep-set eyes narrowed suspiciously at Alan, whose beady blue eyes darted around. On his surcoat, the pin of a Sergeant Major.
“Now then, let’s see some papers, please.”
Golf Company, 1st Battalion The King’s Footmen
Golf Company, or the King’s Footmen, are a sub-unit of the Stormwind City Guard dedicated to the defence of Stormwind City and its neighbouring provinces, from all threats foreign or domestic. Primarily serving law enforcement duties in Stormwind City, we are here to protect the peace and prosperity of the city and its citizens.
As a soldier in Golf Company, you will pledge your allegiance to the King and faithfully execute your duties as a protector of the Kingdom.
FAQ
What is this?
We are yet another guard guild for all your power-tripping needs! No, not really, we are here to facilitate good old-fashioned guard RP which is satisfying for citizens, criminals and ourselves.
Why do you exist?
Guard RP outside of that famous satellite community didn’t really exist anymore. We came onto the scene in December last year to fill the gap. Since then, we’ve undergone some changes and have been trying to work out what our philosophy for Guard RP is. You can read more in the More information section below.
What races and classes do you accept?
We accept any Alliance race or character class so long as they have got a reasonable motivation to want to join the Stormwind City Guard. Ebons, Illidari and Lightforged will probably (read: certainly) not be welcomed, given their devotion to their own causes.
Does my character need military experience?
No, we welcome anyone from the dazed rookie to the most grizzled vet.
How active are you?
We’ve active daily and run set events once or twice a week. Random RP while patrolling the city is our bread and butter.
Do you only RP in Stormwind?
No. We’ve done exercises and deployments outside of the city in the past, and will surely do so again, however we mainly RP in Stormwind as we are a Stormwind City Guard guild.
More information
Philosophy
Guard RP has always been a contentious subject. Everybody seems to have different ideas on how guards should act. This section is designed to summarise our philosophy toward Guard RP.
1. Soldiers first
The King’s Footmen are Stormwind Army soldiers primarily assigned to law enforcement duties in the City. Given what we know about the Stormwind City Guard and the Stormwind Army in the lore, we think this is the most probable assessment of what the guards are. That is to say, we are not an analogue for modern-day cops.
Our purpose is to defend the City and Kingdom from threats, and protect the peace and prosperity of the city and its citizens. Our philosophy and definition for crime is predicated on whether an action constitutes either a ‘threat to the City or the Kingdom’ or a ‘danger to the peace and prosperity of the city and its citizens’. We think this encapsulates rather well what the Stormwind Army would be aiming for in the City.
2. Realistic outcomes
Leading on from that, we strive for ‘realistic’ outcomes in our interactions with citizens and criminals. ‘Realistic’ may seem like a pretty meaningless word when talking about a high-fantasy universe with magic, dragons, spaceships and robots, but stretch its definition from meaning ‘true to life’ to ‘true to the setting’ and it becomes quite useful.
In other words, we ask:
- Is there a precedent for it in World of Warcraft’s setting?
- Is it likely to occur given the context?
Our context is Stormwind City, an absolute monarchy where power is delegated but its source is the authority of the King. Fortunately, for the citizens of Stormwind, the King is a benevolent one and the City is wealthy. But any rights citizens may enjoy are not inalienable and there are dozens of examples where Stormwind and it’s Army have run roughshod over citizens for one reason or another. Punishment of criminals in Stormwind is especially harsh too, with various extreme sentences for even the comparably minor crimes being handed down.
Without giving too much away, this is where our inspiration is sourced from. That is not to say we want to perfectly emulate how guards treat citizens, particularly criminals, as this would be anathema to most roleplayers, but it’s important to remember that the Stormwind Army do not need anyone’s consent but the Crown’s to operate in the way they do. We want to get close to this.
3. Community involvement
So, for us to successfully get there, we need the involvement of and the consent of the community. We’re not trying to ‘police RP’ or force our own perspective of things on anybody - we are trying to re-create law enforcement in Stormwind in the most realistic way, and in doing so, facilitate good roleplay for guards, citizens and criminals alike.
Part of this is the ‘Stormwind Law & Crime’ Discord, which maintains the ‘Community Lawbook’ project. There is more on that in its own forum post. I would encourage anyone who is interested in sharing feedback with us, to join that Discord.
How to join
Approach any of our guards, make your way to our Headquarters, situated in the SI:7 building next to Old Town, or whisper an officer.
Recruiting officers: Tenebries (GM), Gnorfolus, Galrick, Thewarder, Morganieana, Clare.
Any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to one of us or make a post on this thread.
Long live the King!
Edit 1: Spelling and formatting
Edit 2: To reflect change of officer team
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iwhs there was more of that