Application: Coyotzin

[Coyotzin]

About the Player
Main Character Name / Primary Alt Name:
Scylla of Clan Shattersoul / Tetsuko Thundercloud.

Enjin / WildStar Central Username:
Does Tumblr count? I'm not active in any communities; I just lurk.

Primary Character / Alts Joining the BlackSky:
Scylla on the Sovereigns, Tetsuko on the Malverines

IM Contacts:
Skype: alejandro.melchor

What is your primary region / timezone and playtimes?
Central Time (-6 GMT); I play evenings, any given day except Saturdays. Saturdays are Sacred Tabletop RPG Day

Are you eighteen or older? (Please state your age if you can.)
Yes; over twice over (41)

Did you read and do you agree to abide by our Rules and Policy?
Yes

Where did you find us and why do we stand out?
Found you on the Wildstar Roleplay forums, then @ShadowedSin started following me on Twitter (@Alex_Melchor) and reminded me that launch date was closing and it was time to start looking for people to play with . I was impressed by the thoroughness and thoughtfulness with which everything was put together: the site, the IC story, the OOC considerations, etc.

Would you like to join our Guild Skyp Group? And or the Guild Mailing List?
Sure, although I would very rarely join any voice-based activity. I usually game with the TV on and can go afk for any given reason.

Are you a member of any additional guilds, circles, warplots etc?
Not yet.

What are your primary playstyles?
RP varies between casual and medium; I will always try to solo PvE, but I'm very glad to help others and not afraid to ask for help when I hit a brick wall. I'm also a casual raider and love the group challenge of dungeons. Also, love crafting. I always end a game session with an attempt at crafting advancement of some sort.

About Roleplay
What is your roleplaying experience?
I've been RPing since I was 12, with the original D&D red box. It's all downhill from there I play RPGs weekly with my friends, and play in a number of PbP games under the Mutants & Masterminds system. I used to be a hardcore RPer in WoW, but since my main circle disbanded, I've been drifting towards more heavy PvE over the years.

What are your primary Roleplay Limits?
Torture and gratuitous violence. I'm not afraid of some grimdark stories, but my narrative style is much more about finding the light in the darkness than just wallowing in the shadows.

Are you okay with the R rated (content in our guild contains adult language, violent situations, partial nudity, narcotics) nature of our Roleplay?
Sure am.

What do IC Consequences mean to you? Would you be willing to deal with the consequences listed in our lore? Such as humiliation? OR even being beaten within an inch of life or worse?
I'm a big, BIG advocate of consequences to actions and about responsibility, both in RL as in my narrative pursuits, and I'm more than willing to let things happen to my characters if its justified by their actions, and creates an interesting story.

Would you be willing to take consequences if your character left the Club or Agency and warranted them?
Sure, see above, but I'd want some previous agreement.

About the Character
NOTE: If you are unsure about a main character at this point, answer these questions as best you can to help us understand you a bit.

What is your character's name / race / class / path?
I plan to have two, one for each faction:
- Scylla of Clan Shattersoul / Draken / Spellslinger / Explorer
- Tetsuko Thundercloud / Exile Human / Engineer / Settler (or Scientist... haven't decided)

What faction is your character joining?
Both! I'm very good at keeping OOC knowledge strictly OOC, and my long experience as a GM (and writer) helps me keep characters separate both IC and OOC.

Tell us a bit about your character's personality, include three strengths and three weaknesses.

- Scylla: Fun-loving and energetic, always poking her nose in other people's business and a bit kooky by Draken standards. Strengths: Persistent, fast on her (clawed) feet, bold. Weaknesses: Reckless, oblivious to others' feelings and needs, fickle.

- Tetsuko: Intelligent and hyper-capable, refuses to give up on anything she embarks on, but she keeps herself on a tight leash... most of the time. Strengths: Insightful, creative, enduring. Weaknesses: Prone to violent reactions when frustrated and might inadvertedly hurt others (apologizes later), has VERY high-standards for people, and suffers from abandonment issues.

What would your characters occupation or job within their faction? Are they employed by a guild business or have their own?

Scylla: Scout and search-and-destroy, her officers mostly want to keep her busy and away from sensitive equipment and situations.

Tetsuko: Tech support, used to run her own shop but it caught the business end of a Dominion mortar and now she's on retainer with the Exile forces.

Why would this character join or become a Prospect of either the Malverines of the Sovereigns?

Scylla: An opportunity to get into new and exciting places and situations, and because she finds Draken society to be crude and boring. Her clan is small and, while not disgraced, they are seen with a bit of mistrust, as they are a clan of tricksters, troublemakers and always pushing the boundaries of proper Draken society.

Tetsuko: Dire need for a job, not only financially, but because being idle is akin to hell. What began as a good-enough job would later become a cause, and the Malverines fulfill her need to belong.

(Any of the above is subject to change before Launch Date!)

[ShadowedSin]

Whoa a Malverine, and a Sovereign <3

1. What are your thoughts about conflict resolution and drama in general? In that regard what did you think of our rules?

2. We as a guild focus on building a sense of brotherhood and guild identity, and how to bring members closer together in our collective community. What are your thoughts on that?

[Coyotzin]

1. Drama and conflict is the basis of Western narrative... Wait. You mean OOC conflict and drama, right? ^^;; In that case, I won't have any part of it. Good communication is the key to both avoid drama and to resolve ensuing conflicts between people. That's one of the things I liked about the rules: they stress speaking out and immediately contacting an officer, in order to nip any silly drama in the bud.

2. I admire your dedication I'm really lazy when it comes to organizing things like that, but I will participate and help as much as I can. A strong sense of guild identity will definitely pay off in the long run; not only does it build a more tight-knit community that will enhance the game experience for everyone in the guild, it will also help shape the personality of whatever server we are going to belong and create a positive image of our members... and that will help us recruit in-server.

[ShadowedSin]

1. Our guild has an open freedom of character types, but we ask that characters have a strong tie to the guild before earning their full membership that fits the theme of their chosen faction, and also follow our Character Standards, what are your thoughts on this?

2. We asked you about R rated content, your Rp limits and consequences. Can you tell me why these are important things to ask someone?

[Coyotzin]

1. Ultimately, you are running the game, so it's your right and privilege to say who gets to play. That said, I think the thematic element of each faction is a little restrictive and may limit background choices somewhat. Note that I said "description", because as I read the rest of the guild's lore I started realizing the range of options was broader than upon a cursory read.

Unlike a non-RP guild, an RP guild is an organization not only of players, but also of characters. Players gathering in a group have the common OOC goal of enjoying the game, characters need a better reason, especially in a guild that stands for an in-game organization, which also needs justification to exist in the setting. However, I disagree a little that the ties have to be strong. Taking Firefly for example, the Tam siblings don't have strong ties to the Serenity crew other than their need to be on the run; the ties that they develop start with individuals, and they grow over the series until they remain there not because they need to, but because they want to.

Also, characters have no agency of their own, their every action and thought are dictated by the player, and even their backstory is subject to retconning if it fits a story or player's desires better, so a character can have a flimsy reason to belong to either BlackSky faction, but as long as the player wants to stay, that flimsy reason is enough, and the story will very likely progress for the character to forge stronger bonds to other characters, and ultimately to the faction.

2. Misunderstandings are the bane of a healthy RP group, so establishing what themes may get used in any given story is both disclaimer and fair warning. From the other perspective, knowing what other people find uncomfortable or distasteful will help people running the storylines to avoid pressing those buttons if they are not important to the story, that is, avoiding gratuitous uses of such themes. Basically, if everybody knows what's on the table, there will be no nasty surprises and things can be talked out more calmly if someone starts feeling genuinely creeped out by something. Roleplaying in MMOs is an exercise in collective storytelling, and if everyone is comfortable and excited by the story being put together by everyone, everyone gets to have fun.

[ShadowedSin]

1. What did you think of our two factions? Do you see any problems arising from them, or any good arising from them?

2. What about the Sovereigns interests you the most?

[Coyotzin]

1. I see a potential problem in the Malverines if people start trying to out-cool each other. Not a problem regarding drama or anything, but escalation of "I'm so cool that..." may lead to some silly RP. I like that neither faction is inherently good or inherently bad, so there's potential for any kind of development.

2. The idea of being a private military force within the Dominion, but not part of the Dominion hierarchy, yet still being well-regarded by Dominion authorities for their competence.

2b. (since I'm submitting one of each ) About the Malverines, it's the sense of family despite being basically a hair's breadth of being a cartel rather than a club.

[ShadowedSin]

1. As a member what do you desire from a good guild leader? Give us some examples and let us know what a leader should bring to the table? What about officers?

2. Now what about members in return? What should they do to make the guild a better place?

[Coyotzin]

1. I give people a lot of room and guild leaders are no exception, after all, they are playing too for fun. The absolute minimum I require from guild leaders is communication: They MUST keep the guild informed about what's going on and what's going to happen, more importantly on decisions and discussions that could affect the guild as a whole. One example of bad leadership just happened to me a few months ago in my WoW guild, where I was the guild's raid leader and an officer; the guild leaders decided that our server was dead and the guild was moving, and gave us one week's advance notice on the move... but not a peep about the wish to move; not even officers knew a move was being considered until the decision was final. Considering that character moves cost RL money and most of us had multiple alts, such a decision had RL impact, and it SHOULD have been discussed, even if only among the officers.

However, one thing I expect, but not demand, from a guild leader, is the willingness to coordinate efforts and resources, say, a guildie needs some crafting materials, so the guild leader encourages her to ask another guild member known for being a capable farmer and auction-jockey. Or encourage team activities like dungeons and (Wildstar-exclusive) adventures, even if the leader doesn't participate in them.

I expect officers to be a little more hands-on than a guild leader, but only in their respective fields of authority, but also more informally so. Like the leader, the officers must communicate well with both members and leaders, and should also have sound discretion and initiative to handle cases such as complaints about a guildie's behavior by non-guildies, or internecine proto-drama.

Both leaders and officers should also have a good mix between flexibility and decisiveness when it comes to resolutions.

2. In the wise words of Wil Wheaton: Don't be a dick. The bare minimum guild members bring to the guild is a good disposition; they can lurk and barely speak at all, but being around to help if only for a single quest is as good as being all chatty and making guild-chat a fun place. Guild membership is voluntary, and every guild member is someone who plays the game for fun, so nobody is forced to do anything. I expect a guildie to try to resolve a problem on her own before asking for help, at which point I'll help gladly if I'm not too busy with something else. I also detest gold beggars; nobody is owed anything for being a member, and a guild is not a shortcut or a crutch.

The only obligation a player has as a guild member is to try and make the game experience for guildies as fun as possible, but without any outlandish demand on her play time.

[ShadowedSin]

1. In our guild we do split our stories into Seasons which each then feature an event obviously named an Episode. What are your thoughts about having Episodic content organized into ongoing story arcs?

2. With that in mind, what do you think about our core story elements such as the Grey Line, Adult RP and how it will affect our stories?