[H] Horde Gathering 25/2, 20:00

Unto all representatives and leaders of the Banners, clans, tribes, warbands and organisations of the Horde,

Several weeks have now passed since the first expedition has set foot through the Dark Portal and has endeavoured to put down the Iron Horde enemy that threatens to tear down the comforts of home and hearth. No doubt we have all suffered defeat and loss alike throughout our time here, for we find ourselves surrounded by a very world of enemies. We face an overwhelming opposition and a superior means of technology, along which but slim chance of survival. Yet it is at a time such as this, when pressed to corner, that an animal cannot hide truer nature, and will expose teeth and snap its jaws.

As such, I hereby call upon you all, brothers and sisters from beyond the Dark Portal alike, to see to your allies in need. Long have we struggled to gain footing in this foreign land. Yet the time has come to make preparations to strike back with unified, iron fist. It is at times such as these that the Banners of the Horde should endeavour to link up arms, and gives support to brother and sister alike upon this earth. The Horde Gathering may have seen certain conflict in more recent times, yet there was a time that it would allow the Banners to work closely together, and be as anvil to the hammer that is the Horde. Let us move from clouded past and turn eye towards pressing future, for the time has come to stand together once more. The Horde Gathering shall await you and one other delegate or personal guard of your own choosing at the 25th day of the second month at the sound of the eighth horn. Find us in the ancestral home of Red Blades of old, Kraag’gol, in the Frostfire wastes.

For the Horde,

Kozgugore Feraleye
Wolfking of Red Blades

OOC explanation, as written by Sadok:
It’s clear that the concept of the Horde Gathering steadily devolved from its initial proposal in 2012 as a diplomatic summit for guild representatives into a kind of “guild made of guilds” where power was being concentrated in the hands of a couple of individuals to the detriment of the many — that manifested itself in the bouts of IC and OOC drama that occurred during the last couple of sessions, and most clearly in the split of the Horde RP community into the Banners and the Ironbreaker Council.

Three months have passed, and it may be time for a fresh start to try and make the concept work again. With Orcs of the Red Blade’s change of GM, we’re eager to try and recast the terms of the Gathering in a more sustainable, decentralised fashion that will create more small-scale, frequent inter-guild RP rather than smother it beneath layers of complexity, giant campaigns and petty grudges.

As such, we’re sending out invitations to every organisation in the Horde RP community to attend the Gathering once more, but with a couple of amendments to bring it closer to the original concept and avoid some of the problems of the past:

1- Representative limit of 2 per guild — Gathering attendance to be limited to the leader of an organisation, and one additional representative of their choice (be that a bodyguard, a personal advisor or anyone else).

A lot of efficiency issues were caused by bringing too many people to past Gatherings — in theory, the meeting itself is a means to an end (coordination between guilds) rather than the end itself, so to make the process go smoother and allow smaller guilds to have more of a voice in the proceedings, a limit of two representatives will be enforced, with no exceptions.

Influential non-guild organisations such as the Silvermoon Council will be treated as IC guilds for obvious reasons, with the same cap on representatives. The inclusion of such organisations will be done on a case-by-case basis, so if in doubt, do speak to the Gathering hosts in question.

2- Host Responsibilities — Ideally, this revived Gathering would have a meeting every month, with a different guild or organisation agreeing to host each meeting to ensure no one guild wields undue influence. The host guild would have to provide the location for the meeting to occur, along with one impartial moderator (this would not be counted in the two representative limit).

The role of the moderator is akin to a parliamentary speaker — they stay out of the actual discussions, do not let their opinion be heard, and mostly try to keep the meeting on subject or prevent everyone from talking over one another. As such, they would try to remain neutral between all the guilds invited and ensure unnecessary antagonism (or even violence) does not overwhelm the meeting.

3- The Agenda — Instead of being a centralised army-style force, the Gathering would allow the leaders of all the Horde guilds to come together regularly, to talk about important issues, their present locations and dealings, and organise any cross-guild initiatives on an independent basis.

None of the guilds in attendance would feel compelled to commit to any action they were unwilling to participate in, and any such initiatives can be run in cooperation by however many guilds pledge their support on a case by case basis. For instance:

“Abulos of Ashal Anore has been having problems with the ogres of Nagrand, and asks the rest of the Gathering whether any might aid him. The Red Blades are stationed nearby for Kosh’harg, so agree to support him; the Blood Wolves are busy elsewhere so cannot commit; the Shatterskulls agree to pledge their support if the elves aid them in an assault upon the ogres of Frostfire.”

In that case, Abulos could coordinate his ogre assaults with whoever wanted to take part, while whoever was unable to pledge their support can simply do as they wish. Organising multi-guild RP on a supply-and-demand basis is probably a more sustainable approach to conducting things rather than having one or two people lead everything the Gathering is involved in — instead, guild-leaders are empowered to do as much as they like, or as little as they prefer.

These proposals are open to amendment, so if you have any feedback about this Gathering reboot, from the rules to the organisation of guilds, do let your voice be heard. Above all, the purpose of reconfiguring the Gathering is to create multi-guild RP rather than suppress it — so we do feel it’s within the best interest of all the Horde guilds to at least give things a second chance.


Date: Wednesday 25 February, 20:00
Location: Garrison (You will receive an invite beforehand)

Do let me know in this thread if the date is too inappropriate for most to attend. If that's the case, I'll look into moving it to an alternate date instead!

I for one welcome the return of this event - The Horde is powerful by the strength of its call. I for one support this.

Meranda

I hugely, hugely welcome the trip away from the great steaming pile of turd the last Gathering turned into but unfortunately I can't make the 18th.

If it was say... on the 19th I'd be all over it like the proverbial tramp on chips.

Not that I expect it to be rescheduled for little ol' me, so BWC may end up sending another representative along.

Note that the event has now been moved one week backwards, and will instead be held on Wednesday February 25! If anyone is still in need of calendar invites, do let me know.

Is there a set means of finding out about this IC?

It seems to me that he is sending messenger/letters in the form of the quote in the first post.
But I could be wrong.

Yeah just not sure how we'd get a letter seeing as we're bumbling around the countryside like homeless people.

Never mind! We'll handwave having received one

*Raises hand.*
Question!

I fully agree that things will got lot smoother with 2  representatives per guild only. But are non-boss mons also welcomed to come roleplay in the garrison? Inn, or at some other place than the main meeting itself ofc. Gatherings have always been nice place to gather for cross-guild RP on more casual level too!

Tantzui wrote:*Raises hand.*
Question!

I fully agree that things will got lot smoother with 2  representatives per guild only. But are non-boss mons also welcomed to come roleplay in the garrison? Inn, or at some other place than the main meeting itself ofc. Gatherings have always been nice place to gather for cross-guild RP on more casual level too!

I don't think there'll be much room (if at all) left within the Garrison phase for the meeting. With eighteen GMs invited so far, their plus ones, the moderator and possibly an AFK alt (Kraag'gol is represented with the level 1 Garrison thus far), that's 38 people. Obviously not everyone will show up, but there won't be room to accommodate every person from every guild.

There may be a possibility for some social RP on the night of the Gathering at a place like Stonefang (dependent on demand), but the proposed reforms amount to a transformation of the Gathering's role. Rather than being a giant festival over a week with tons of meetings and ancillary cultural events, things are being downsized so the Gathering becomes the instrument through which the guilds can coordinate RP amongst one another if they prefer, from shared campfires to helping each other out in battles -- it's the means to an end rather than the end itself.

That'll be how things are this go around, at least. Dependent on the success of these reforms and the attitude of the next host guild, we'll see what happens.

Can you make a post on the blizz defias forum as well?

I would actually like to plan a PvP tournament to go alongside the Horde Gathering if possible, whether on the day before or after, I don't mind.

I had thought about having an entry fee per person (+ guild fee if the amount is too little?) to be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

Vile Thorn will be sending two representatives, unfortunately I am unable to attend.

If at all possible Pariahs Sanctuary, a new Horde RP guild would be happy to join in too!

Anyone interested in the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the day after, please come along!

Balrukin wrote:If at all possible Pariahs Sanctuary, a new Horde RP guild would be happy to join in too!

Invite sent to Thygro!

Thank you sir!

Thanks to everyone who managed to attend the meeting! It was a little humble, granted, but I like to think it made it easier to keep a level head over the discussions that went on. Hopefully we can keep the trend going on a regular basis. The next to host the gathering are the Blood Wolves, which should hopefully be in about a month or two, so we'll see you all then (if not sooner)!

Thought this was one of the more successful Gatherings in the last few years, and it ended in a timely manner, even! The neutral moderator kept people in check, but moreover, people were very civil and even polite by themselves!

Saw more than a few people organising their own little initiatives across guilds, so I'd consider it mission accomplished!