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November 19, 1999
The often whimsical Beobalf is nonetheless renowned as a shrewd administrator. Directed to the seashore near Eastham, our liaison found Beobalf seated alone watching the waves. Reportedly he answered the first questions in a dry tone without facing his questioner, but soon warmed to the interview. Lordly yet casual, Beobalf's manner left our liaison favorably impressed.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
I am an archmage, that is, I am trained in all of the schools of magical arts. With that, I specialize in mana conversion, and practice arcane lore. I have a trusty dagger, which I use exclusively for disposing of the foul Rabbit vermin which threaten our cities.
Do you have any magic items that can only be wielded by characters of a certain rank?
I have an amazing necklace of Fealty Self VI, wearable by rank 10 or higher. Anyone interested in it?
How many total followers do you have in your allegiance? Do you have the tree mapped out?
We have around 260 members, but the number seems to grow every day. I have some of the tree mapped out, and hopefully, when the numbers stabilize, I'll be able to complete that task.
How long have you been building your allegiance?
I met most of my inner circle during the last few weeks of the Beta, on Purple server. We sat down and had some extensive discussions on how an allegiance should be formed, and here we are.
How do you recruit members to your allegiance? What works best?
What works best for me is not recruiting -- merely talking, making friends, and assisting others. If they are then interested in the Alliance, I'll tell them more about it. I don't offer "goods" in exchange for allegiance; that would be just a business transaction. The Eastern Alliance wants friends and leaders to join, not greedy goons who'll swear to the next guy that offers them a Willpower XX helm. If they can be bought into allegiance, they can be bought out of it. We're not here to make a high king; we're here to build a powerful structure of friends and comrades willing to take a few shots for the team.
Who are your major lieutenants?
Smaug and Exeter raise my rank, but I rely on many in the Alliance for its upkeep. Xeromos, Kold, Elden Moor, Verian, Archon Dalesun, Tresnar, Severyn, Xanthus arch-magus, and Zanzan the Mild are all trusted founding members. However, powerful members with promise are starting to arise, such as Gregarious, Tharcarious, Apathos, Ginko, Codas, Sorin, Varthlokkur gai-jin, Woz Bunny Slayer, Shodan, DarkJaguar, Fleshburner, Quique-I, Ripley, Mr Magoo, Radagast, and a whole list of members that I know I'm forgetting?
Do you have an allegiance contract that all your followers have access to? Do you have a certain alignment: good, neutral, evil?
There is no written contract, but there is a set of guidelines (see the website ) that we expect all of our members to adhere to. A complete set of alliance positions can also be found on this page. In a world surrounded by evil, I think we're hard-pressed to find an evil alliance -- we stand together against the forces that seek to subjugate us.
Is your allegiance centered in a certain geographical area? Do you have a town you consider your headquarters?
Eastham is our home. Although it doesn't have the access many of the more pretentious cities may have like Mayoi and Glenden Wood, it is a humble spot from which a strong alliance can train its new initiates in the ways of Dereth, and a quiet seaside retreat for the battle weary.
What do you perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the allegiance system?
The allegiance system really shines when it comes to encouraging player interactions. It is a brilliant scheme thought up to incorporate the players themselves into making the game world more enjoyable for everyone else. I do have a few complaints, though. Number one, I wish it would tell the allegiance member the entire list of patronage, all the way up to the monarch, so that they could access a greater body of help faster. I also wish there were a way for the monarch to broadcast to the entire online allegiance so I could better organize online parties. As it is, I have to scramble through incomplete lists of members trying to "tell" to their names, not knowing if I even have the correct spelling. This lack of interaction leaves the allegiances feeling like they're made up solely of the player, his patron, and the monarch, when there is a whole slew of other possible interactions.
How often do people leave your allegiance? Have you had any major defections?
We have people leave occasionally, but for the most part, it seems due to character deletions rather than converting allegiances. We have not suffered any major defections.
How much maintenance do you think it takes to keep people from leaving?
I wouldn't call it maintenance. It takes assistance, and it takes being on hand to help out. In our alliance, we are free to request help from anyone else, regardless of patronage, so often we end up distributing goods and help across the tree, rather than just down it. People aren't ALWAYS connected to their computer, or at least most aren't, but there is always someone in the Alliance who is.
How often do you team up with members of your allegiance to go on adventures?
Unfortunately, I don't have as much time to go on adventures any more. I'm afraid most of my online time is spent talking with alliance members and meeting foreign dignitaries. On the infrequent occasions I do hunt down the evil minions of Dereth, you will be sure that I have an alliance member at my side. The Alliance has staged a few missions now, and we hope to put more together -- that is -- if I ever get a response from Turbine, nudge, nudge. To have an Alliance-wide adventure, we need the assistance of the game creators, and I'm willing to work with them to help design it. There are simply too many of us to take a mere dungeon captive.
Do you have any alliances with other allegiances?
Yes, the Eastern Alliance has met with leaders of many of the different allegiances, and parted on good terms. I've personally met with Gargamel, Ishamael Creed, Groo the Wanderer, Volkan, R Lestat, Hellhawk, Tavalisk, Azurik, The Bigger Unit, and The Rock. At this time, I would call upon the Crimson Guard (R Lestat), The Sons of Viktar (Ishamael Creed), and The Circle of Twelve (Groo the Wanderer), if the Alliance had need.
Do you ever see your allegiance going PK?
The PK system does not provide adequate motivation nor reward for doing so, so no. It seems that PK'ers tend to be immature or misguided, and for those who aren't immature, they soon realize this and need to switch back. If there were real motivation for killing others, such as experience and castles to be won, and a real cost, such as a vitae penalty for the killER, then yes, we might consider going PK.
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