The Legendary Sisterhood shakes up Sentinels
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 4th 2008 at 4:00PM
They're formed a guild called "The Legendary Sisterhood" over on Sentinels' Horde side-- it consists only of Blood Elf female mages and priests. It's a weird cross between a cult, a party, and a griefer guild-- the denizens of Sentinels have reacted to their actions with the expected confusion. We only know there are rules: every member of the guild must have a name that starts with "Sister" (as in Sisteramy), and there is a hierarchy within the guild, topped by a dark and mysterious Queen. It's an RP guild for non-RPers-- there are weird rituals, various attacks on opposite faction capital cities, and just general mayhem. In short, it sounds awfully fun.
I'm not a huge fan of RP-ing (our own David Bowers knows much more about it than I do), but I'm not sure this is RPing or not-- they're just having fun with an old fantasy mechanic of the secret society and playing together in a way that doesn't necessarily require reaching the endgame. The guild is the character in this case, not the players themselves.
[Thanks, Mark!]
(Post updated after the jump)
Someone from TLS contacted us to say that yes, they are an RP guild, even though they consist of a bunch of people who haven't RP'd much before. They also would like those on Sentinels to lay off-- apparently a lot of "legit" RPers have attacked those behind the guild (see forum thread linked above), and there's no basis for things like that. They say that they have had a few beggars in the guild, but they're working with those players to cut that out.
It should be interesting to see where this goes-- apparently one of the guild's leaders has been working on actual lore behind the guild for a while, so it'll be intriguing to see how it all pans out.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Blizzard, Humor, Leveling
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alchemistmerlin Feb 4th 2008 4:05PM
"I'm not sure this is RPing or not"
How is it not? In fact, how is it Anti-RP in any way?
Todd Feb 4th 2008 4:13PM
Eh, names are important. I could not be happy with a name that is really a compound. One of these days, Blizzard should implement spaces among the names, last names, or surnames would be decent.
Naix Feb 4th 2008 4:28PM
The BG relm I play in has a rp pvp server in the rotation. When ever I play them in a premade I always imagine them wearing viking hats, yelling at the screen, and lying on the ground IRL after I melt their faces.
Then I start to laugh....
Alchemistmerlin Feb 4th 2008 4:39PM
The BG realm I play in has a regular pvp server in the rotation. Whenever I play them in a premade I always imagine them wearing braces and sitting in a basement screaming about how they "Pwnzor the nubs!"
Then I start to laugh.
Naix Feb 4th 2008 4:50PM
If only a rp pvp server could beat a pvp server. I have known many people who rp. I fail to see them out in public at bars, night clubs, and the work force.
I guess whatever makes you happy.
Sean Riley Feb 4th 2008 5:25PM
Wait, wait, wait.
It's an RP/PVP server?
And you say the premades from an RP_PVP_ server are actually roleplaying? Holy unexpected, Batman!
Which server was it? I'm making a character on there, pronto! I've been dying for an RP/PVP server with actual roleplay on it!
Naix Feb 4th 2008 5:34PM
I can't remember everyone we beat. Gosh!
Just look for the rp pvp server with the lowest wins I guess.
Sean Riley Feb 4th 2008 5:57PM
What's your battlegroup? There's only ever one RP server per battlegroup.
Cynra Feb 4th 2008 4:34PM
I fail to see how in this guild displays anti-RP sentiment or how this is not roleplaying! To me, it appears that they're roleplaying some sort of all-female cult. In fact, the forums thread listed in this very post mentions that they're emphasizing roleplay!
"Q: But Why Sisterhood?
To Roleplay! Anyone is allowed to join us if they are a member of the forums here at urealms! However, if you wish to participate in our Roleplaying on this server you will need to roll a Female Blood Elf Mage or Priest. You can have alts and such but for our direct roleplaying with the server, if you want to participate you will need to a female blood elf mage or priest. If you don't have a preference, I suggest you go mage."
(http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=4311207133&sid=1)
I don't usually correct WoWInsider posts, but - please - you posted this article yourself and referenced the post. You may not be a roleplayer, but they consider themselves one and that's enough. They clearly copied the contents of the site which says in plain text that they're roleplayers. I don't see anything in the guild that fails to conform with basic roleplaying ideals, even if they're taking the unconventional method of doing an all-blood elf (which has been done), cult (which has also been done!) guild.
Sean Riley Feb 4th 2008 4:36PM
That's roleplay. It's fluffy, tongue-in-cheek roleplay, yes, but it's roleplay nonetheless.
I think I'm beginning to realise why there's so much anti-RP sentiment out there -- People don't realise what a broad, encompassing term it is, and ergo, how much variety exists within the ranks of roleplayers themselves.
Cynra Feb 4th 2008 4:53PM
Hear, hear, friend. And stated much more eloquently than my hasty (and somewhat scathing!) response.
In retrospect, I fail to see what it is that makes the guild "an anti-RP RP guild". Is it the fact that they've got restrictions on class-type, race, or gender? Is it the fact that they are geared towards what could be potentially viewed as quirky cult by outsiders? Or the fact that they engage in PvP, even - le gasp! - world PvP?
The first two questions don't seem to be restraints to roleplay. Different organizations exist and it makes sense that they'd have restrictions. We already have the idea of Horde and Alliance; I know of quite a few guilds that are either all of one race or all of one gender (there was an Amazon-like guild on Feathermoon US for some time, though I'd be damned if I could recall the name; they were fun, quirky, and roleplayers that put on a number of events for the Alliance).
Being a roleplayer doesn't mean that you don't engage in other aspects of the game. A number of roleplaying guilds are actively raiding, having progressed to T5 and some to T6. A lot of us PvP too, whether it's in the Battlegrounds, in the Arenas, or even world PvP. The guild that comes to mind for world PvP is Insurgency of Westfall (H), who I believe was considered a "griefer" guild for some time because they advocated attacking Alliance locations in order to provoke a response; their almost sole emphasis was in promoting world PvP.
So, having toned down my initial reponse, I'd be curious to see why the writer perceived this to not be "an anti-RP RP guild." Though maybe it's how their popularity has caused them to go out of control a bit and gotten some copy-cats or bad apples.
Jonas M Luster Feb 12th 2008 7:41AM
Agreed. To be honest, these guys seem to be better RPers than most - a welcome break from the "orphan gone prodigy looking at you with a deep, sadness filled, smile" cookie cutter RP backgrounder. A welcome break from the ever-same guy or gal playing an idealized version of themselves and - while insisting no one else does - taking every action in game as an affront not towards the character they play but the player they are.
Sentinels, like most every other RP server, is a RP cesspool filled with faux Shakesperean speech, openly nazistic or segregational viewpoints un-cleverly disguised as role-playing, and RP as a means to further their own players agenda, not as a way to play with others. "Thou dost not address me as such, knave, I shalt loot this BoE epic for it's my birth right (((see my background, I am the long lost son of a prince and warrior queen, highly trained in martial arts and very charismatic, you will not argue with me but happily let me take this sword which I will auction off, because I am of higher standing and not accustomed to sharing with a low peon like you))".
Along comes the "Sisterhood", people who actually RP. They spit, they point, they laugh, they grief, they beg for money, they threaten, they're paranoid, they're seclusionary - wow, it's RP, people. Which, of course, offends the regulars.
Heleth Feb 4th 2008 4:44PM
There was a similar 'guild' in the matrix online beta (horrible game lots of great rp) called the sirens.
Smurk Feb 4th 2008 4:46PM
LOLPATRIOTS now recruiting on Maelstrom.
Kaljin Feb 4th 2008 4:49PM
Dammit, get off my server...
Tseran Feb 4th 2008 5:49PM
I started a companion guild to my alliance guild on Kirin Tor with the theme of fun and silliness in RP myself. Currently it is small, and doesn't really have much in the way of rules, but depending on the reaction, I may change that. What is the name of the guild? Which is of course appropriate since the guild leader is a Warlock. But what I may end up doing is recruiting more folks, and having it as a fun guild that goes around trying to collect taxes for the Horde army.
MartinC Feb 4th 2008 6:19PM
Hmm, sounds an awful lot like RP to me.
In case you didn't know, RP stands for "role playing".
Kibbler Feb 12th 2008 7:07PM
The concept of the guild sounds interesting enough, and if they really do intend to RP then more power to them. However, I don't think the community of Sentinels should suddenly be considered the 'haters'.
Suddenly 300+ blood elf mages and priest appear out of no where, is kind of worrisome. It's like living in a small town and suddenly having 200 new people appear out of the blue. You kind of wonder "WTF is going on?" As far as I know, the only reason the Sisterhood was ever mentioned was because someone was wondering why there were so many of them. (There was a thread before mentioning them, though I don’t know if it had the same out come as this one.)
Sure maybe the people on Sentinels were harsh, but unless you've actually hung on that server then you probably don't realize how dedicated some people are to role play, and are there because they wanted to escape what the bad apples of the Sisterhood have apparently done. It just isn't fun to have people like that around.
And while I can understand the whole secrecy thing, I don't think it would've been to difficult to inform people on the server who were going crazy that the guild's purpose is currently secret but as time goes on, it's story will be revealed, and that anyone having problems with members should just send a message to the leader to deal with it. Wouldn't have to give away any details about the guild all, just let people know "Hey, don’t worry; we intend to do something RP." If you actually consider what's being posted then you can tell that's all the people of the server really want.
I don't doubt they'll be an interesting RP guild. So for the Sisterhood I wish good luck, hopefully the bad apples will rot away and you'll actually be true to what you intend. Don't bite on other role players though when they don't understand what's going and you don't give them any comfort about their worries.
PS: To be honest (from what I've heard) I really hope a GM didn't say the whole "Sister" thing was acceptable, 'cause while it may be a guild role play concept it's a clear contradiction of the rules and is unfair to other 300+ people who might've wanted a title in their name. That’s the issue I have on that. I want to be KnightGeorge if someone can be SisterTabby!
nav Feb 4th 2008 7:26PM
'They say that they have had a few beggars in the guild, but they're working with those players to cut that out.'
Working??
Either they stop outright or kick them, otherwise any criticism headed the guild's way way is valid. This sort of thing isn't something you negotiate on, or give people time to fix.
Jonas M Luster Feb 12th 2008 7:57AM
Why would begging be wrong. Are you offended IC? Then react IC. If the Sisterhood's IC belief is, that begging is right, then why should they kick anyone. If anything there might be IC punishment for acting "strange", that is speaking OoC, or anything else that can be done IC, but you're suggesting the guild act OoC where the criticism seems to be that they're not acting IC. That's kind of a reversed, very skewed, logic, no?