Faith Managers

[Mele]

Hey guys!

This is something I've brought up in the past, and I feel like it needs another mention, comb through and some improvement.

When you're placed in a faith manager spot it is not just to quest hopefuls. It is to guide faith members, to hold events(Both faith only and involving other faiths), and to be an active presence in the game.

As much as I strive to make this part of our game, it seems faith managers quickly drop off the radar, and often when I promote people I see no more activity than questing if even that.

Unmanaged faiths get the short end of the stick as it were with no faith manager, faiths with managers should be offering something more exciting - and giving people examples of something to strive for in faiths which lack a manager.

While our playerbase is not huge, it is certainly large enough to achieve this with active well played managers. I don't mean for every single faith - but for faiths that have activity enough for a manager these things should be happening.

The last time this came up, I had asked for a MINIMUM of five hours a week of our faith managers.

These positions are not rewards for good roleplay, but obligations to better roleplay - to share your ability to roleplay and knowledge of your god to make better followers and all over fun for followers. I constantly say, PM me if you need anything - and I mean it. Anything at all. Props for an event? PM me. Confusing over what to do with a certain followers roleplay? PM me. General feeling of lackluster with what to do? PM me. We can brainstorm together!

What I ask of my faith managers now is:

Please PM me with plans for the future of your faith. Do you have event ideas? I know it's hard, sometimes said events simply do not get bites. But think mud-wide, not just faith. IE: Gondars can hold craft fairs, Talosians can hold weather spectaculars calling storms with control weather for a show(which is secretly just displaying His power!) etc. Do you feel this prospect is overwhelming? Are you simply too busy? I know we get attached to these positions, but losing one now does not bar you from ever having one again. In fact, the more honest a player is with what they can and can't do the better their standing for future FM positions when their activity can improves is!

What I ask of the playerbase:

What would you like to see faith managers do? Do you think someone has been overlooked for FM and meets the conditions I would like for one stated above? PM me about them! Is there something I, as the faith admin, should be doing to encourage more activity from a faith manager? Is there something I should do to encourage people to hold events around faiths, by faiths, for faiths? Do we NOT feel faith managers should be more than people who quest? Is a minimum of five hours a week too much to expect? Too little? Do you feel like faith managers should be 'let go' at a certain point of inactivity(Right now I do this at three months when there has been no notice from the player of oncoming inactivity)? Let me know!

[Mele]

I just want to add a note I should have mentioned: As long as you TRY. Even if no one at all comes, but you try, and you keep trying - I am ecstatic to have that activity.

Logic says the more you do the more it will catch on! :)

[Elenthis]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think we have some excellent players, and I know the position of FM can be a daunting one. There are hidden expectations that vary from player to player, and imm to imm. There is a magic wall somewhere that is the "I can do this, but can't do that" wall...and there's also the responsibility of keeping IC faith management pure, while having to bear in mind that your decisions can have a strong affect on other player's gaming experience. What I think makes a FM a GOOD FM is a balance of some of the below skills/actions. Keeping in mind that one's RP should not be compromised, but instead used as a cornerstone for building the faith. Thus, any FM should meet (again, IMO) -some- of these ideas, but not necessarily all.

Delegation: IRL is hard some times, and you can't always be there to drive events, RP's, lessons, train hopefuls, interact with other faiths, preach, and so on...FMing can potentially have a LOT of work involved. It is my opinion that one of the defining qualities of a good FM is the ability to spread these tasks around to your 'underlings'. Keep in mind, too, that one of them may well be the next FM. You want to be sure that they are fit for the job!

Speaking of the next FM. I think it's important to keep in mind OOCly that the position of FM can't be held by someone forever. So make the BEST of your time as FM. Leave a legacy that the next FM will have to work HARD to fill. This means activity more than anything else. I'm a firm believer that one should not feel bad about missing an event, because they should know that in a few weeks, there will be another. I've seen some interesting ideas lately coming around OTHER than the typical "hold a ball" type events we've had so many of. (Not to bash those. Held one myself!). But seeing research expeditions, SafeDay celebrations...anything a little outside of the obvious is to me a VERY enriching experience.

Being there. Mele suggested a minimum of 5 hours a week. I think this is fair as an average. It's an hour a day 1 day a week with 2 days off, and easily met. And I think it's pretty clear that if you're say...a 15 hour a week player, taking a week off while on vacation won't be detrimental (bearing in mind that you can always call on your Inner Circle to take over for the week). The important thing on this point, though...is to bear in mind that if you're in a faith with more than 3-5 people, there's a pretty good chance someone under you would -like- your position. It's much easier for them to be good followers if they aren't grumbling about their FM never logging in. (please note. This is in no way a stab at anyone.)

Last, but not least: Try to keep it fun and inclusive for your players. Encourage them in their personal RPs, whether that's with cake, or whips. Our players are the things that makes FK a thing. When you're a FM, you're a player, but you're also a part of the game. You're a quest-generator, and an advice-giver, and a disciplinarian, and a teacher. You're a PC NPC. You're a goal, and sometimes, you're a challenge!

~Jeff

[Baeus]

What I ask of the playerbase:

What would you like to see faith managers do? Do you think someone has been overlooked for FM and meets the conditions I would like for one stated above? PM me about them! Is there something I, as the faith admin, should be doing to encourage more activity from a faith manager? Is there something I should do to encourage people to hold events around faiths, by faiths, for faiths? Do we NOT feel faith managers should be more than people who quest? Is a minimum of five hours a week too much to expect? Too little? Do you feel like faith managers should be 'let go' at a certain point of inactivity(Right now I do this at three months when there has been no notice from the player of oncoming inactivity)? Let me know!

I've been in one such faith manager run event and it was awesome. It took a standard run thru the Peaks and made it into a team building type of activity that included a random, non faithed person who happened to be there as well. With the population being what it is I think they key here is to make the activity something both faith related and something that is relevant to other people who may wish to participate. This needn't be some Realm wide, sweeping quest. Something as simple as taking control of npcs already present as static spawns can make all the difference in the world and offer something new and exciting to build RP around. My character looked up to his faith manager and got a chance to prove himself.

Having said that, a FM who runs events consisting of dogma related aspects of the religion that are harder to participate in without player embellishment is really adding flavor for everyone present. This is a great opportunity to provide teachable moments and illuminate parts of the faith not commonly encountered. For example, providing forms of community outreach to the npc population or conducting a ritual or celebration unique to the religion. With the pantheon being what it is such activities would be of importance to almost everyone, to include enemies of the faith that may act toward disruption of subversion.

Real life can be a beast on people's time, especially when you aren't getting paid to be the FM and you have to hold down a gig. Thus, I have no expectation that my FM is going to be about to entertain me and I'm thankful when they do organize something. However, from your standpoint in administration I think that three months of inactivity is more than fair to start looking for a replacement. I'm willing to bet that the presence of an active FM has a huge impact on the interest factor of new recruits. Note, this isn't all on the FM either. If you are an active player of your faith you should be prepared to represent, answer questions and even train folks who have interest in your religion.

[Anguin]

This is an idea for faith managers and other high-ranking members of a faith.

When a new hopeful or enquirer appears on your faith list, why not send them a letter of introduction through the magical post?

The letter could include the names of prominent and active members of the faith that the inquirer could seek out for more information. It would, I think, be reassuring to new players that they are not being ignored or forgotten, and would give them IC reasons to seek out other potential faith members. And, everybody loves receiving a letter!