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Joining the Right Clan for You

by Calladin

 

Welcome to Legends of the Jedi! You’ve made your first character and are ready to head out into the galaxy. But it would be a lonely one without anyone else with whom to RP and interact! One of the most important decisions you first face is deciding who you want to roll with. You can either go it solo (less recommended) or join one of the pre-existing groups on the Mud: clans!

 

What is a clan?

Clans are the formal (coded) organizations of the galaxy and are an important part of driving the story. Once upon a time, players were able to form their own clans by satisfying certain prerequisites. Nowadays, however, clans are set up by the immortal staff to set up and guide the story as it’s going on. An example of a clan might be the Galactic Republic, or perhaps the Trade Federation.

 

Both the grouping and story-driving aspect of clans are equally important. Clans unite a body of players into pursuing a common goal or task – whether that might be peacekeeping for the Republic or profit for an engineering firm like Incom Corporation (more on types of clans later). Therefore, when deciding on clans it is important to consider what route this clan might be pursuing and whether it’d be fun and engaging for you. Choosing a clan means joining its RP, with some flexibility in how you choose to do so.

 

What are the features of clans?

As formal and coded organizations, clans have advantages that are not afforded to groups of solo players who just decide to band together on their own. Some of these, common to all clans, include:

  • A separate clan comm channel, accessed by ‘clantalk <message>’ or ‘clan <message>’, where you can communicate with the rest of your clan members
  • A roster
  • Unlimited ship ownership (and indeed, large vessels like cruisers and battleships can only be owned by clans)
  • A treasury where clan funds are stored
  • The ability to conduct developments
  • The ability to message other clans
  • A secure clan base with amenities like vendors where players can meet and congregate

 

Clans are led by a clan leader, who is generally set at the start of the timeline / era by the staff. Leadership can pass from person to person through voluntary abdication or death. Clan leaders have supreme authority in the clan and can do as they see fit to support the clan and the MUD story.

 

What types of clans exist?

Several different types of clans exist. These include:

  • Major
  • Minor
  • Engineering
  • Criminal

 

Major clans are the main focus of the story. These are generally important government organizations like the Galactic Republic, the Empire, or even the Rebel Alliance, capable of governing planets and fielding large ground and space forces. Conflicts between majors (of which there are usually two at a time) generally drive the overall story arc, and the fall of a major can signal the approaching end of an era or timeline.

 

Minor clans are precisely what they sound like: small governmental clans that generally govern one or two planets. These might or might not exist in an era.

 

Engineering clans usually have their own ship and weapons lines and fulfill the engineering needs of the galaxy and the other clans. Their primary motive is generally profit, though this is not ironclad and many firms have had important agendas story-wise.

 

Criminal clans include examples like Black Sun, conducting piracy, theft, destruction, and other such activities. While not always present in eras, they can sometimes be hidden.

 

But why should I join a clan?

Joining a clan as a new player brings a host of benefits. It brings you into the story right away as well as connecting you with experienced players who can assist you in learning the intricacies of the game. Most of the time, clan members will be more than willing to help you learn as long as you let them know, even with just a simple “Hello, can someone help me?” on the clan channel; do not be discouraged if sometimes no one responds, as they might be away or AFK.

 

Simply put, a clan is a very powerful support network for any new player to get involved with and begin learning about the story and the game. This is much harder to accomplish on your own, as finding other players willing IC to help you can be challenging.

 

You’ve convinced me to join a clan. But what clan do I choose!?

There are a number of different ways to learn about the clans existing in the game at the time. Typing in ‘clans’ will give you a list of the clans, and the slicer command ‘showclan <clan>’ will, if successful, give you a little readout with the clan description and some other details. You can also learn about the actions and motivations of clans, especially majors, by looking at the news.

 

Another important question is: what kind of character do I want to play? If you want to play a scientist or engineer, engineering firms might be the place for you. If, on the other hand, you’d like to get involved in law enforcement, the navy, politics, or so on, major clans would be your place to go. Furthermore, if you’d like to play a good and peace-loving character, you might think twice about joining the Galactic Empire.

 

Still, clans can always find a use for anyone with any set of skills or background, so do some research and decide which one you’d like to go with; don’t be intimidated if it doesn’t seem the greatest fit at first!

 

I’ve picked a clan to join! But how do I do it?

If you’re still in the Academy, usually some or all of the clans (almost always the majors will) have join rooms at the end that enable you to join them directly from the Academy. You will then be transported to that clan’s base planet and, with all luck, introduced to your fellow clanmates!

 

If you decided to enter the gameworld first, however, do not fret. You can generally reach out on the commnet for organizations, and most clans will list their own public channel in their readout from ‘showclan <clan>.’ For example, the Republic might list channel 100 on their description, and you would then tune your commlink to channel 100 and ask to join.

 

When not joining from the Academy, you must be inducted by a member of that clan who is authorized to do so. Often times this means speaking to a clan recruiter, who may or may not ask you some questions or other things. But, with all luck, there will be no problems and you will now be a part of a clan! Leverage your clanmates to begin learning the game.

 

Can I betray my clan, or can I be betrayed? It’s a dangerous galaxy…

Don’t worry! One of the main goals of a clan is having a comfortable environment where fellow clan members can trust one another and work toward the clan’s objectives. To this end, something called spyapp is in effect (see ‘HELP SPYAPP‘ for most of the details). In essence, spyapp prevents clan members from giving away sensitive information, killing, or otherwise betraying and hurting the clan they are members of. There are exceptions to this if a player applies for a spyapp, but these generally require strong justifications and must be approved by the staff. Spyapp also holds if you leave the clan, unless the clan chooses to target you.

 

Now what?

If you chose a clan, congratulations! You’re already far on your path to learning LotJ and becoming a part of the amazing story being produced by the players. If you decided against joining a clan at first, always keep in mind that you can change your mind any time you wish. Though don’t be surprised if you piss off a clan and then experience resistance when trying to join it!

 

Clans are a major and vital part of the game, and many players’ most memorable experiences have been while as parts of clans. We hope you can find the same enjoyment, and good luck!

 

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Author Walldo
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