Team Dynamics: What does your team look like?

[David (Daygar) Dickerson]

I am in the process of starting my first team and was curious what your team looks like. What roles are there and how do you operate? How is loot divided and decisions made? Is there a group mission or code of conduct? Let me know your experiences, what worked what didn't?

 

[Cedric]

Barony of Rivervale - About 12 members (it slightly fluctuates due to some members taking on plot responsibilities). We are a noble team led by a Baron and two knights. We stay together each event in the same cabin. Loot is a pooled system, everything goes into the pot and we divide up/make magic items for the best of the group. Politically we are pretty united, but during game we are a bit more spread out. We don't often mod together nor do we usually fight together on the battlefield. We do gather back up throughout the weekend several times to check in and make sure we are all supported. We usually do meals together as we can as well. Between LARP weekends we usually have some sort of meeting or BBQ where we discuss what happened at the event and what we hope to accomplish at the next event. Other than our nobility being our leaders, we all have responsibilities on the team (I'm back up treasurer and I lead on the battlefield).

 

[Gilwing]

I am in the process of starting my first team and was curious what your team looks like. What roles are there and how do you operate? How is loot divided and decisions made? Is there a group mission or code of conduct? Let me know your experiences, what worked what didn't?

I won't go into detail here (I'm sure if you came over to me ig I'd be more than willing to share some wisdom). I week just say this, trust trust trust. There must be trust both ig and oog. With out that the "team" will not last long.

 

[David (Daygar) Dickerson]

Barony of Rivervale - About 12 members (it slightly fluctuates due to some members taking on plot responsibilities). We are a noble team led by a Baron and two knights. We stay together each event in the same cabin. Loot is a pooled system, everything goes into the pot and we divide up/make magic items for the best of the group. Politically we are pretty united, but during game we are a bit more spread out. We don't often mod together nor do we usually fight together on the battlefield. We do gather back up throughout the weekend several times to check in and make sure we are all supported. We usually do meals together as we can as well. Between LARP weekends we usually have some sort of meeting or BBQ where we discuss what happened at the event and what we hope to accomplish at the next event. Other than our nobility being our leaders, we all have responsibilities on the team (I'm back up treasurer and I lead on the battlefield).

I think that is really interesting that you spread out during events. I understand making your own contacts and personal story but I would think forming a group to get mods and mod together would be one of the primary reasons for being in a group OOG. When you say "best of the group" with regards to Magic Items how is that determined. Like is it you are the best a this role and this item helps with that or is it like you are better than group member #2 so you get this magic item?

 

[Cedric]

Some of our members like modding. Others like the political RP. Several of us belong to different guilds. I myself, I like to party and drink. So it just spreads us pretty thin. We are also all pretty experienced alliance players, so finding groups is pretty easy for us. It might be harder if you are new to the game.

So let's say that we make a magic sword, and the three fighters in the group spread it around. Then we make another magic item, and the celestials share it. If someone can't go to an event, we switch it out to another player. If no one has gotten a magic item in a while, we may try and pick up a random magic item in auction and give it to that person.

We want our group to be successful but also to have good gear, so we try and spread that around.

 

[Muir]

I think that is really interesting that you spread out during events. I understand making your own contacts and personal story but I would think forming a group to get mods and mod together would be one of the primary reasons for being in a group OOG.

Think of it cynically. A group that spreads out is likely to be able to have a member go on every mod, which means a cut of every split. Thus if they are pooling coin the ability to be in a position to bid on anything one of them is looking for, no matter where it drops, with a depth of pocket nobody but another team can match.

 

[Gilwing]

Think of it cynically. A group that spreads out is likely to be able to have a member go on every mod, which means a cut of every split. Thus if they are pooling coin the ability to be in a position to bid on anything one of them is looking for, no matter where it drops, with a depth of pocket nobody but another team can match.

But then you are only getting 1/6 of the "split" where if it was all 6 on the same team it's the whole thing that goes to the pool.

Whos to say that the item gets bid on by only mod participants? I guess I'll just chock it up to different play styles for different chapters. I've seen people come back and auction off the item/scrolls to anyone and then split the coin 6 ways. Again if your the only member of your team on that mod you are only getting 1/6 of it.

I was on a mod once where it was 5 of us and one guy from another team. We found a scroll that his team said was worth 60 gold. Ok np, give us 50 gold for it or we will give you 10 for your cut of it. His "team treasurer" didn't quite get that concept. When you don't own 100% of the "thing" you don't get 100% of the value.

 

[Cedric]

Treasure is such a personal thing from chapter to chapter and group to group. I wouldn't worry too much about how other teams divide up treasure. The most important thing I suggest to a team, if they care about treasure, is to have a plan for it. Any plan is better than none. And some teams I know don't care about loot at all.

 

[Draven]

Whos to say that the item gets bid on by only mod participants?

This is common in the NW, because by keeping the auction in-mod, it usually goes to someone for cheaper than it would have cost them later.

 

[Muir]

This is common in the NW, because by keeping the auction in-mod, it usually goes to someone for cheaper than it would have cost them later.

Same out here for everything but town mods, because otherwise it is both vastly time consuming, and runs the likelihood of hard feelings when someone with a pouch full of coin steps in to buy out $ShinyThing that dropped on a mod because they can afford to bid the total of whatever the PCs who were there have in their pockets plus one.

So while you may be getting only 1/6 of the split, you're setting up your group for a shot at everything at the lowest available price, rather than trying to buy out someone later. It's not how I personally like to play the game, but I'd be doing a disservice by not mentioning that it happens.

 

[Gilwing]

Do you realise that the other people receive less money because of that. Also if the same people keep buying others out eventually they will have no money and the others that have been bought out will then be the ones with the coin.

 

[Cedric]

Perhaps we steer this conversation away from Alliance Economy and the best way to buy/sell/auction items and instead back onto IG groups?

 

[Lurin]

My group tends to spread out in small groups of 2-4 (we usually have 6 or so people most events) of similar level peeps. This is primarily because we all chase various personal plot, and we have multiple levels of power as we recruit younger adventurers to join us and be the future. We then come together for the occasional group module, town mods, or anytime a task needs to be done/helped. Our big thing is making sure we always have at least 2 folks on a mod and to send one of our Healers/Heavy hitters on as many of the mods as possible to play chaperone.

We don't do this for loot (although that part is nice) more for the opportunity to have our fingers in all of the plot pies.

 

[Inaryn]

My group comes together to socialize, but generally spreads out for adventuring. But man, screw with one member of the family and will you have a nest of winged snakes coming at you...

 

[Gilwing]

Perhaps we steer this conversation away from Alliance Economy and the best way to buy/sell/auction items and instead back onto IG groups?

How is loot divided and decisions made?

The op did ask about loot so we were being on topic.