Neutral Organizations

Theris

I thought about posting this in General Questions, but I wanted more of a discussion.

Theris is not currently a member of any city or any house. I did this because I want to take some time to experience the game world as a neutral entity; I'd like to explore the places and people who exist in the game without having to worry (too much) about a good portion of them trying to murder me. I think that joining a city would cut off some of those opportunities for me, because it seems like no matter what city you're in, there are people from another city who don't want you walking into their territory. I realize that conflict between groups is what makes the game interesting for a lot of people, but I think that if I ever do decide to align myself with a faction again, I could make a much more informed decision if I've had a while to explore each city and talk with its citizens. I know the best way to learn about a city is to join it, but I really don't want to deal with changing my citizenship a lot (leaving Mhaldor cost me my head last time!) or creating a bunch of alts that I'm just going to throw away later.

However, being a rogue is lonely. I don't have many people to talk to, and I don't really ever know what's happening in the world. I'd like to join an organization, perhaps a clan or city-unaffiliated house, that would give me an active and enjoyable community to be connected to without getting me on anybody's bad side.

Basically, I'd like to know if there are any good neutral organizations out there, with active members, which are fun to be involved in.

Orzaansyn

You can always buy a clan and create your own neutral organisation. But as you said, conflict is rather what makes the game interesting, so you will find an idea to gather people into something neutral and interesting.

Kayeil

I think there's at least one or two rogue clans. I suppose you could look to join one of the more neutral pre-Orders, but it only makes sense if your character agrees with the Divine's teachings. Depending on your class you could join the Merchants or CIJ Houses.

Tael

Probably your best bet is to be proactive. If you want to learn more about various cities, spend time in them and try to strike up conversations and RP with people.

Being aligned forces you to interact with people, which is one of the reasons it tends to be preferable, but you can make interaction happen without it. But, even more so than usual, you can't afford to sit around and hope interaction will come to you because it really, really won't. Most people who play the game find it difficult to be proactive in creating interaction and RP already, and the additional necessity of this for rogues is probably the biggest reason rogues tend to go inactive more frequently.

The only rogues that stay active have clear goals in mind. They have goals beyond "remain neutral" because the easiest way to fulfill that goal is to just do nothing of interest ever.

So figure out an RP excuse to interact with people. Are you writing a survey of each city's culture? Are you a sort of Achaean Alexis de Tocqueville? Is your character trying to decide which city to join and thus seeking to speak to people from each city? Find an RP pretext you can use to approach people, ideally one that will intrigue them enough to want to continue interacting with you in the future.

If you want IG friends, figure out some reasons people might be friends with you. Are you interested in combat? You can probably develop some friendships with people via that, even as a rogue. Are you interested in comparative IG philosophy? Same deal. But, just as in real life, if you don't cultivate and seek shared interests and you avoid situations that force you together with other people, there isn't much hope of finding friends.

The rogue clans in the game are generally split into two groups:

1. Rogue clans with a clear agenda that are not "neutral" and might leave you unwelcome in various cities.
2. Rogue clans that are boring/largely OOC/inactive/full of people who were kicked out of cities/etc.

Neither really sounds like what you're looking for.

But, on the whole, making an "informed" decision about which city you end up in is profoundly overrated. Ending up in a city that isn't what you expected or what you would necessarily have chosen to play in if you knew everything about each of the cities is generally fun, not something to be avoided. Making sure that every decision you make in the game is the "right" decision and is fully informed means nothing is ever surprising - you get what you "want", but it's ultimately pretty boring. Fear of commitment is absolutely fatal to enjoyment of the game.

Bluef

There are three rogue clans. Each one is a bit different.

1. I believe Ottis' clan is a bit dormant (because he's a bit dormant). Still, you'll find a lot of old timers in this clan with a lot of experience to share.

2. Nessy's Wanderer's clan (CLANHELP WANDERERS) allows the true cityless and rogue clans to interact. There are a few rules to this clan (like treating each other with respect, etc.). Any of the Co-heads can induct you.

3. Rogues and Wanderers (CLANHELP RAW) is a clan for anyone who is a true rogue (cityless and Houseless). There are absolutely no rules, which means you might find a good friend or a new worst enemy in the clan. There is some documentation of the history of various roguish cultures and locations in Achaea in this clan as well and we're working on a directory of taverns so people know where they can hang out, meet others, etc. Anyone in this clan can induct anyone else, provided they are truly a rogue.

There are also the High Clans (HIGHCLAN LIST). You might find some ways to be involved in non-city and House related orgs there, depending on who your characters is IC.

Finally, there are several normal clans (HELP CLANLIST).

There is also the Taverns clan for those who want to post advertisements for different kinds of roleplay experiences (CLANHELP TAVERNS) and of course RPWHO might gain you some worthwhile interactions. You might also try HONOURsing people because some clans don't show up on that list for very good reason (some are secret, others private and require an invitation or open recruitment period, etc.).

Good luck!

Kakotas

I think it's kind of sad how many of the old treaty/pact orgs fell out of play when houses came into play. They often offered neuteral or midline organizations that would make for interesting RP now that everything is getting decentralized.