Chain of Command
In my real world job, I have a supervisor, a deputy chief and, finally, a chief. That’s my chain of command. Most jobs have a similar structure: field staff, middle management and those in charge. Other organizations have “chains of command” that vary between a strict chain and “nice sounding titles.” A chain of command, in an rp guild or circle, can add a series of boundaries that help define and guide rp.
For instance, the Riders have a boss, a few advisors, muscle, earners and rookies. There is not a real chain of command per se. There are moments, as at the Wrathgate, where individuals bark orders. But it is no where near as formal as other guilds. Rank, with the Riders, is more a mcguffin than a fact.
A guild with a strict chain of command requires a lot of communication. Not everyone likes to be told what to do. Hell, even one designs a paramilitary-rp guild, where the chain of command is paramount, the rules and regs need to be spelled our clearly. These rules need to be enforces consitently. If guild meetings are mandatory, then there needs to be a reasonable consequence that applies to everyone in the guild.
So tell us about your toon’s chain of command! Is it strict, amorphous or non-existent? How does chain of command impact your RP?
Filed in World of Warcraft 3 Comments so far
Itanya Blade on 11 Feb 2010 at 6:13 pm #
Noxilite is very informal. Technically, Pill is an officer, but she is more just a tattletale with a big mouth. While Ghaar technically leads Noxilite, those who wear the eye see it more as family.
The Prophecy of Light is very different. Keltyr is the leader and, when he decides something needs to be done, he gives orders. Dorri serves as his second in command and she’s the one who usually deals with problems. Keltyr tends to let things go. The Blood Knights under his command are a pretty independent lot, but he can rally the troops so to speak.
Keltyr reports to Liadrin, who is the head of all the Blood Knights. She reports to the regent (and probably the leader of the Magisters)
Rashona on 12 Feb 2010 at 12:26 pm #
Rashona completely ignores this whole “chain of command” concept. There are a few people whose wisdom she respects enough to do what they say (that would pretty much be Ghaar, Davien, and a few NPC druids), but for her it’s all about her service to the Earthmother. If that conflicts with orders, then the orders go to hell. Chain of command is for people who are answerable to OTHER people, not to deities.
On the flip side, for the people who she *will* obey, she’ll go to the wall for them. Back in vanilla, one of Rashona’s RP hooks was that she spent a lot of time working for and listening to Chromie in Andorhal; the first time she went in-character through CoS, she was unhappy about the necessity of helping Arthas, but she didn’t question it. It boiled down to “Chromie’s trustworthy, has more information than me, and said it needed doing, so I’ll do it.”
Corise on 14 Feb 2010 at 8:45 pm #
The Boomstick Gang has a system of ranks with the Boss (currently Homrend, now that he’s back from the dead) and his Aces (Corise is one of four) at the top; basically, they make all the decisions, do all the planning, delegate responsibilities, etc. The Boss has final say, but the Aces have quite a bit of influence. Also near the top are Elders, former Aces or Bosses who don’t have any real duties but are still accorded the same respect and can be consulted for their input on any issues the Gang might be facing. Captains are minor officers who may be put in charge of things like organizing guild instance runs, keeping the bank up to date, or whatever else the top ranks delegate to them. Below that, ranks are determined by how long a character has been in the Gang and how much they’ve participated in the guild’s activities.
Although the ranks are definitely clearly delineated in terms of the chain of command, the Gang is generally pretty laid-back. Rank usually comes into play during times of crisis when someone needs to step up and give orders.