Hello, so I’m currently thinking about starting up my own RP guild, a criminal/mercenary guild. I’ve thought most of it through from name to how I’d like the guilds reputation to be. Just looking for any advice anyone might have or if there’s anyone here who would like to join that sort of guild and help me 
thank you 
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There are a lot of steps to take when making your own guild.
My first suggestion when doing so would be establishing who you are. Sell the guild that you wish people to join.
What do you offer them, how do you plan to RP.
So let’s go with your ‘criminal/mercenary guild’.
Who are they?
What do they do?
How do you plan to RP it out?
What type of events are you planning to offer?
I also suggest you get a list of rules that you should have in your guild (And you should be ready to enforce). Rules are always good signs of an established guild because it shows stability and reassurance of quality.
Examples of rules are:
Don’t ERP
Don’t OOC in /s
Don’t be a disruptive person.
So let’s start with the basics of what I asked before hand and lets go from there, helping you step by step.
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There are quite few things to think of when starting a guild. First of all you should figure out what sort of RP you wish to provide. Will you be focusing on more social stuff, will it have events, and if yes, what sort of events do you wish to do?
Mistakes I´ve sometimes seen people do when it comes to making guilds/communities is thinking that they´ll get “carried” by just interacting with other people. That just doesn´t work (unless your guild theme is doing casual stuff in Stormwind). You have to do events, since they´re often the lifeblood of the guild.
Events also allow you to do RP that is more catered to what your guild is meant to do. If you come to other players and say “Hi, we´re group of mercenaries looking for work”, chances are you will get total of 0 contracts that you´d be interested in. However, that lord in Stormwind (played by the GM, naturally) who needs group of mercs/shady individuals to take care of rival´s mining operation and bring financial ruin upon him will give you exactly what you want.
This leads me to another point, and it´s that as an officer in RP guild, you have to put in the work. Organizing events is up to you. Talking to other guilds and organizing stuff with them is up to you. Recruiting people, settling disputes, dealing with BS, everything is your responsibility. And you´ll often end up in situations where you aren´t RPing your character because you´re hosting an event for others., then when you hop to your character you have to take care of stuff that is happening ICly instead of chilling.
Now, why would anyone sane ever become a GM? That´s a question philosophers have been struggling with for centuries. But it does offer you a chance to create and develop your stories. Making events that people enjoy has its share of sense of accomplishment that you don´t really get as an ordinary player, not to mention the control you get over the RP. Not in the sense of becoming an evil mastermind that takes over the server, but rather being able to pursue themes and style of RP that fits you because in the end, you´ll be the one providing that RP.
And, speaking of themes and RP style, you should have them in mind when recruiting people and making events. I know that the allmighty +1 is hard to resist and having big guild feels really good, your guild can very easily lose its soul when you recruit anyone. In the end, having guild of 4 dedicated people who vibe well together and with the theme of said guild is better than having 20 randoms for the sake of having big numbers.
Lastly, don´t be afraid to do a little bit of tyranny. Sometimes you´ll have players who will try to pull your nose, be it with the rules you establish (“But I was only griefing RPers in other faction´s capital for fun, it´s no big deal.” “Yes, I was in Goldshire, but it was on an alt, it´s no big deal.”) or in RP itself. Don´t let them. Ordinary members in RP guilds have 0 responsibilities (no, having to log in at least once a week isn´t a responsibility) while GM/officers have to do a lot for the sake of providing content for them.
Guilds aren´t owned by all members as some sort of collective, they are sole ownership of the GM (possibly officers too since they often put in a lot of work too). If some member will be giving you trouble and won´t be willing to learn, kick them. He will be losing much, much more than you´ll be, simply because 9/10 RPers aren´t going to ever do an event and are reliant on people like that terrible, evil GM that just kicked them to get RP content that goes beyond talking with DH bouncer in Stormwind.
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Go on lad, do it
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I like to add to this by having a story.
Stories are important, stories sell, stories motivate.
You’ll easier be buying the bar of chocolate if the commercial told that the original owner climbed the mountains of the Andes just to get the perfect recipe together, than a cheap bar of chocolate without a cool origin story.
Probably expect that making and maintaining a guild is hard work
the sucessful self sustaining guild that seems to run on its own even without your input is not something you get from the beginning.
many people will expect you to pump out events/content to keep them engaged and maybe will only be online for those and little else.
With that in mind I recommend you find yourself some officers who are willing and able to help you run the guild, even if it is small, having one or two dedicated members aid you is a blessing.
just make sure they are actually dedicated to the guild and not just looking for an easy power grab.
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I think a way to help with this is to make sure your guild isn´t outside of major hubs for longer amounts of time when you don´t have much planned, or at least there´s a way for players to get into those hubs from your main base of operations during off days.
For example, if you have events planned for 4 days out of 7 and you´re in Northrend, you´re fine. Even if people don´t log in during those 3 days, there will be enough RP in the guild to keep them occupied.
However, if you want to do 2 events in Northrend spread week apart, you should reconsider. Only larger guilds are self-sustaining to the point where they can be anywhere and still get enough RP without events. Smaller ones often need to be able to reach other players during those off-days and being able to visit hubs is good way to allow your players to play their characters even if you haven´t prepared anything.
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I would emphasize this a lot. Many of your guildies will want to interact and have spontaneous RP and interactions with people. - As someone who has led guilds a while myself I can say that people will get bored or tired of the same faces / places and wonder what is going on in the main hub(s) of RP. So be sure to check in often but not be around as often. In a way.
Another piece of advice would be to plan your events with what works best for your schedule and the others. (Weekend Evenings - Weekday Evenings) Try to schedule and work with your people.
A big big piece of advice is make sure you’re always interacting with everyone in your guild. Never leave people missing out on some interactive behaviour with yourself. Your guild is your extended family in a sense and you want to do your best to always be around them or interacting with them. This helps deter circles being formed. I am very open with my guild and community. Always interacting with them when I can that’s what’s helped me the most is that they will support you in everything they can if you show them the same.
My biggest piece of advice I’ve been giving out recently is be active, be around. Always try to get in people’s faces and chatting with them. Also, if you do not find members for a small while or your members go inactive for a bit after recruitment don’t just abandon them or your group keep pushing and persevering on. You will always, do better with patience.
Being a Guildmaster is similar to a job you need to think of it like this. Although, the same doesn’t apply to your members be mindful of that balance. Your people don’t have to be under your banner they choose to be so always be mindful of that when you’re going on your journeys together. The best journeys are always the ones with people who started with you.
I think that’s a lot of more helpful tips I can give as of right now.
An off shoot would be do not be scared to interact with other groups / communities etc. You want to be as open and spontaneous as possible so that you never end up complacent. If you as a GM becomes complacent your guild will stagnate or you will burn yourself out. Always keep things trickling in maybe change up your scenarios a bit here and there or the way the guild runs. Maybe you start off strict, disciplined but later come a bit laissez-faire and less strict it will give more root to others to join along.
Another off shoot (could be a big one) - Never cut people out of your RP. If guildless people approach to you in your event (Unless you’re saying it’s somewhere else) try and reel them into the event. They may become a hang around or heck even a member.
I wish you the best of luck on your adventures and hopefully if you do go through with it. Wish your guild a long time of running and fond memories. It’s what keeps me in this game a lot. - Never fear mistakes, embrace them and learn from them. You will get the hang of it eventually.
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