What is the name of your allegiance and how many members do you currently have?
Ishido Kai (Order of the Stone Way) -- Currently we have around 90

What is your current rank?
Shi-chueh (Rank 4)

About how long have you been playing Asheron's Call?
Since August -- I started when the coupons were sent to the Beta Testers last summer...

What world is your allegiance on?
Frostfell

Are any (or all) of your allegiance player killers?
No -- I do not allow those who have pledged themselves to the demon remain in the Allegiance, though any who decide to do so are let go by the patron so there is no penalty to swearing to someone else. As a (roleplaying) Monarchy that is dedicated to the teachings of Master Jojii -- having player killers doesn't seem to exactly fit what we are after.

Is it female only or co-ed? Do you have a variety of player types or are you limited to one or two types (like an all-mage allegiance)?
The Ishido Kai is co-ed, with a variety of skills and talents represented.

Do you allow mules to pledge in your allegiance?
Of course -- as I said above that we are a roleplaying Allegiance, so it makes sense that those who are servants of the warrior types be welcomed into the group as well -- we have one branch that is almost primarily such scholars, squires, and pages . . . along with others scattered throughout the tree.

What do you offer your vassals and what do you expect from them?
I offer them friendship, knowledge, support, and sometimes equipment. I expect them to maintain the honor of the Ishido Kai and to share their friendship, knowledge, and support with others in the Allegiance as well as those outside it. I also expect them to uphold the Four Stones of Master Jojii.

Do you organize your followers according to an allegiance tree or just allow them to join and recruit at will?
I myself am accepting no more Direct Vassals -- I have seven (one for each of the Three Elders and the Four Stones), so whenever I am approached I try to match potential members with those in the group who seem most appropriate -- in terms of roleplaying style, times of availability, etc. As for my Vassals and followers -- they are encouraged to recruit as much as they wish as long as they take the time to get to know potential members and that they recruit only other roleplayers (quality over quantity). As for the Ranking system -- I never dictate where main characters should go -- but I may suggest places for secondary characters or servants to join. The ranking system is there, we might as well make use of it whenever possible .

Does your allegiance have a history in any other games?
No -- though some of my followers know each other in real life and have done things together before coming to AC.

Were you ever a part of another allegiance? If so, why did you choose to leave them and start your own?
I was in an allegiance during the Beta -- and when retail started I had more time than the two others who also started playing retail on the same server. One of those people (my brother) decided to go it alone for awhile, and the other (my beau) is now the Champion and Second in Command of the Ishido Kai. This happened simply because my level was higher, but ended up working well since I am much happier dealing with the constant communication and bureacracy that comes with being a Monarch. Things have grown tremendously since then...

Do you recruit new members or just wait til people ask to join? If you recruit, how do you go about it?
I don't recruit any more (see above) -- but when I did I did not actively seeking vassals. I helped people in the name of Mater Jojii's Stone of Compassion, and some of those with whom I maintained friendships eventually joined the Ishido Kai. I gave whatever aid and advice was needed, warned them about the Vassal-Sharking that goes on in Dereth, and then maintained contact. Sometimes, just taking the time to really be attentive to the needs and concerns of a new arrival is more important than whatever item or money you give. Basically, I made friends and sometimes those friends joined.

Do you have an allegiance contract?
We have something called "The Book of Fang" which gives information and guidelines of things I expect and do not expect from members of the Ishido Kai.

Do you have a town that you consider your headquarters?
The beautiful little town of Yanshi . . .

Do you primarily adventure in one geographical area or do you cover the world?
I myself like to travel as much as possible -- I get too restless to stay in one area and am often jumping all over Dereth as much as possible to see as much as I can.

How much maintainence do you do in order to prevent your vassals from becoming unhappy and leaving? What do you do to keep their loyalty?
I don't consider it maintainance, really. I think of followers as true friends, and I firmly believe that this makes a big difference. I talk with members as much as I can to see that they have what they need and are happy -- and because they are fascinating people. I also give away a lot of nice items. Not that I think that I need to buy their loyalty, but it makes a follower feel important when their Monarch thinks enough about them to give them a really nice piece of armor, equipment, or anything else. MWhen it comes right down to it, however, I really think it is about being friends with the Allegiance members.

Do members of your allegiance regularly team up to go adventuring, especially to do some of the more difficult quests?
I would venture to say that there are some members of the Ishido Kai hunting together every day. Sometimes I go along, sometimes I don't. I also schedule semi-regular Hunts for the group -- only last week we gathered some of the higher levels together to obtain Hamud's Pyreal Katar for one of the members.

Would you like to see allegiance wars implemented in the game? If so, how do you think they would affect the game and how would they make it better?
I am not in favor of the current PK system -- so if they are going to implement Allegiance Wars, I hope that they also implement some sort of rule system to keep it from becoming continual bloodbaths to see who is bigger and better and stronger. I do, however, really like the idea of duels . . . in a game where honor seems to be built into the history, then it seems almost imperative to include a way to defend the honor of one's allegiance or Monarch. As a philosopher who follows the teachings of Master Jojii, however, I don't find the unleashed ability to kill one another particularily appealing.

Are there any allegiances that you currently have feuds with?
No

Do you have any minimum rank-required type items that you use?
I use no magic (for now anyway . . . ), so I would obviously have to say no. A couple of the members in the group do, however -- and as my Second in Command is the same rank I am, I pass the things I find along to him.

What do you think is the best thing about the allegiance system?
The friendships and built-in community that comes from a closely knit group. Being able to have an entire network of support to adventure with, call on when you need aid, have look for that rare item you really need, having someone always to talk to -- it is these things that make the Allegiance system -- and Dereth itself -- rewarding.

What would you change about the system if you could?
The ability to talk to all my followers at once -- they can tell to me as the Monarch, and to their Patron -- but I cannot do so in return. The fact that I cannot reply to vassal/follower tells does not help either -- makes for a lot of repetitive typing of names. An Allegiance List would help also -- since I have 90 or so followers and only 20 places on my Friends List, there are a lot of people who get left out. I'm not saying that the game should supply me with the name of every follower, but there could be a separate list that is larger to maintain my list of followers like the friends list is maintained. Fellowships that can be created regardless of level. I would love to have Allegiance conversations with any of my members who were around so that everyone else didn't have to listen to us -- but so many of my followers are lower level that I cannot fellowship with them. Lastly, colored dots. There is no Heraldry in the game, so colored dots would be a nice replacement. It would be nice to see if your allegiance-mates were in town since we cannot have any other insignia.

Are there any in-game tools that you would like implemented in order to help you manage your allegiance?
See above . . .

Do you think men and women monarchs differ? If so, in what way?
It's really hard to say -- because I would imagine that some of the female characters are being played by men, and some of the men are being played by women . . . so it is difficult to make observations about the gender of Monarchs -- or players -- in general. I also do not know any female Monarchs (which says something in itself) which makes it hard for me to know if they are being run any differently . . . this is a tough question.

Do you think men and women differ in their playing style? If so, in what way?
Same as above . . . I mean I have been treated well by my followers as well as by other players in general -- but I really don't know if that is because I am a woman or because I happen to have a lot of really nice followers. I tend to think that in the case of my followers that they are just all around nice folks -- regardless of whether they are male or female. Outside the Allegiance, I've had numerous gifts of armor, items, money, and countless invitations to join other monarchies -- but who is to say that this is because one player was male and the other female?

Would you ever consider putting together a female-only monarchy? What do you think the pros and cons of it would be?
No . . . I think I would lose a lot by limiting myself in any way -- whether I say all-male, all-female, all-mage, all-Sho or all-something else . . . it just narrows (in my opinion) the scope of experience that you can have as a group . . .

Does your allegiance have a website?
Yes -- http://home.stny.rr.com/ishidokai