To become a brother

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I look forward to the day I move from being an FNG to full brother. This entails proving your worth to the company by passing a a few common sense criteria - be a serious gamer, be in it for the fun, get along, stick around.

I have passed the initial initiation, which was to agree to the Company Charter, submit a rather serious yet fun questionnaire, run with the Old Crew for a couple of months and participated as a meaningful member of the team. I have joined the Supply Division (more on that later) and I'm starting to get to know the ropes.

The final stage of my initiation from recruit to full brother is to successfully recruit another member.

So now I am recruiting.

What are the differences between The Black Company and other guilds out there? I think there are several stand out areas: maturity, organisation, history, RP and sense of brotherhood, not to mention the great books by Glen Cook. I guess it boils down to an overall quality gaming experience.

Did I mention we are a mercenary outfit? Plus follow a structured Military organisation. It works very smoothly. It's role playing right? But lots of these guys have either been in, or are still in the military and have applied the common sense military structure to their gameplay. And the guild runs like a well oiled machine that's had a few beers on a Friday night. Combat for pay is the goal, and we get commissioned to help other guilds fight in such situations as sieges for Battle Keeps.

Are we that hardcore? Well, some are. But there's no pressure. It's about commitment and attitude. Some of these Old Crew are masterful MMO players, including PvP. And they are more than willing to share their experience. Me? I'm just a noob who tries to pay attention and keep up. I try to make up for quality of game skill with witty observations and comic relief.

The Old Crew (Glen Cook reference) have been together for several years across more than one MMO. One day, when AoC gets old, broken or boring the Company will redeploy to another battlefield. I'll go.

It's a membership that is earned, and life in the Black Company is good. If you're interested, head over to our HQ and read the forums, examine the charter and think about life in TBC.

Tell 'em Xtra sent you.