How to improve the Warders?

[Matalina]

Now is your chance to tell us what is wrong or right with the division and let us know how you think it could be improved.

 

This is not going to be a discussion about each concern, and I or the staff may not address them this go around, but I'd like to know where you all stand with the division as a whole, how your training is going, what could be improved in the division, with your requirements etc.

 

Before you begin I would like to tell you the things that will be worked on in the up coming months.

 

1.  The Warder Webpage will be getting an over haul including updating and adding in information and a new look.

2.  The database will be either fixed or a new one written (second will take a while but I think faster than the first)

3.  Trainee mentor issues

4.  Tower Guard IC Structure and IC staffing issues

5.  Trainee teams and IC Staffing issues.

6.  Power Wrought Swords and how they are obtained

 

Please note, that the training system will NOT change.  The individual requirements may be evaluated if they are not working.  But the numbers of requirements will not be adjusted.

 

Mat

[Sam]

Rightio, no one else wants to take a swing so I'm going to.

 

In order for the Warders to truly shine you need only one thing: uzis . . .

 

. . . or not.

 

 

On a more serious note there are some people out there who like their characters to engage in hand to hand combat, for instance, every Aiel on the planet! Now, while most weapons can take a fairly decent whack at following the sword forms it is a bit hard to unfold the fan with your bare hands and perhaps, just perhaps mind(em)no need to take me seriously(em)a list of hand to hand combat forms would add a little more authenticity and help those people wishing to do it engage a bit more. Everyone likes to spout out foreign sounding things when beating up other people; that's a fact!

 

I've never really had trouble with your requisites, maybe a few more electives here and there would be nice but other than that they're nice insofar as training goes. One day, when I get around to it, I'll even be a tower guard.

[Matalina]

We didn't make up the sword forms we have they are only from the books.  We use to give ppl the option of creating forms but since noone did it they rather kind of died.  We've tried to get ppl to make forms for other various things and again no one did it.  A good idea but hard to implement if ppl won't do the work or know enough to do so with a good bit of authority.

[Liitha]

Req's look on the trainee req's i know that quite in agreement with my minty's the ellectives are pretty much set to sertaint reqs that are seen as ones more highly likely to stall...cant recal which rigth now

 

oh yes the race, and then one more. i may be wrong but its my understanding these are more often worked around with electives, so maybe switch them out and make a couple of the electies take their place, while turning them into electives avaliable for those who want to.

 

not sure if you understand what i tried to say, my head is sort of tired atm

[Matalina]

If you actually LOOK at the reqs Ata for a trainee you will notice the race is gone now. :P

[Liitha]

oh sorry its almost midnite and i am done for. which seldom as i normaly never can sleep for another couple hours

[Sam]

Oddly enough, Matalina, at one point myself and another person were contracted to make forms for various weapons and such, and then the division itself pulled the plug on it. Since I now know it'll be accepted, if I get any spare time I may just whip up some hand to hand forms and E-mail them to you.

[Shaneevae]

The only problem in my opinion is the lack of mentors.  I do realize that I'm part of the problem rather than the solution as I would rather rip out my spleen than do training posts.  So, I'm not much help in that respect.

 

But I've dusted off Petra and I'm helping out on a New Roads to Travel RP and it isn't too bad.  So, any mentors could always point their trainee in my direction and I'll be happy to help with that req. Since Petra is not a swordswoman I find most training difficult.  Though she is pretty good with a bow and arrow. You could offer a class on archery as an elective and I'd be glad to do that.

 

I'd also be more than happy to offer a Shadowspawn Class taught by Shaneevae once a month or  how ever often is needed to help with electives.  You could make it a standard elective if needed.

 

Just throwing out ideas.

[Matalina]

The lack of mentors for trainees is being addressed.  Hopefully next Thursday we will have something to present for additional suggestions by the division.  I don't expect we will need alot of work beyond that point to help alleviate the mentoring issues.

 

As for the "classes" if you are willing to run the shadowspawn class every so often then I will gladly put it up in our class list.  And as for the Additional Weapons training I can add that in as well.

 

Sam, I'm not sure who pulled the plug on you but next time you have some informational things you think would be a good addition to our website for char dev purposes or helping to enhance the information we can provide, just email me directly.  As long as I maintain the website for the warders, I am constantly seeking warderish information to put up on it.  You will notice I have alot of blank pages as well that need filling in.  Which is one of my goals for the new year.

 

Mat

[Wayfarer]

A thought, but maybe the mentor system should be put to the side?  I still remember when the trainees (wards) went through a system where each req had an assigned 'teacher'.  Admittedly, we don't use class structure anymore, but perhaps it is a thought to have a couple of committed people and the system being centralised rather than our decentralised approach where each mentor handles things with their student individually.  One of the problems we have in terms of retaining people is because they get lost in the system when a mentor goes inactive.  Perhaps this could be considered for at least part of the system.

[Shaneevae]

That's not a bad idea and I'd be happy to take on a particular req for each trainee.

[Arette]

We try to offer the Trainees choice in which requirements they want to do. But having some kind of structure would be good so that each Trainee wouldn't have to go through the process of hollering for a teacher with every Req.

 

Maybe we could ask few people to volunteer to do each Req and list their names beside the Req. Then the Trainees, who want to do that Req, could contact one of them directly and ask for a RP.

 

We feel that mentoring is still important although not in the traditional teaching sense. Mentors act as a touching point and can answer the questions of new members. They provide at least one person you 'know' until you learn the ropes.

[DeaconGaidin]

Hey there, I know I am still new in coming back. I am still waiting on approval of my return bio, but when last I left I had been a mentor for a couple of different classes and would be more then happy to help out if there is anything I can do. As for opinions, I think the forms for hand to hand would be a great idea. If nothing else it gives our warders another resource to use when fighting and it might give new rpers a chance to add to their style of rping. Well just let me know if I can help.

 

Deacon Gaidin

Daisho al'Dracon

Bonded to Mandi Sedai Green Ajah

[Matalina]

I don't see an issue with putting names there, but this is just going to go the way of the 'classes' did, for example if there are only two ppl working one req, and we have 5 new trainees working on that req we are going to bog them down with nothing but training reqs and honestly that's not as much fun as you'd think even with the chanages.  And the same thing day after day after day gets real boring from a teacher stand point.

 

I'm not saying we won't try, but I don't see the long term big picutre of it being very useful.  There was a reason why we stopped using the class based system and that was it.

 

I'm not saying as in "class/learning/boring sword form classes" I mean where one person heads on req needed for completion or even just a few.  Unless the person can combine multiple ppl it's really slow and they aren't going to go fast if we do that, so I really don't see the merits to this.

 

The idea of the system we are working on is to provide trainees choices like the TG/Warder system.  All requirements have removed the need of a mentor to go through, and in most cases even the idea of using a senior member of the division has been removed.  As long as you complete the objectives of the requirement you get credit.  For a new member their first point of contact should be their mentor for help if they can't think of ideas or need help. 

 

I do think that perhaps a list of "surrogate" mentors could be useful. This pool of people would be willing to help on any requirement or specific requirements.  Contact information available so we aren't spamming the boards saying... I need someone constantly.  But having specific ppl do specific rquirements I don't think will work on a large scale, if everyone did it but say like Shan suggested she could help with a few specifics a class and one req.  But ppl like myself would be more than willing to help on any requirement (provided they can, ie: void/spring classes)

 

Ali

[Guest Arie Ronshor]

We feel that mentoring is still important although not in the traditional teaching sense. Mentors act as a touching point and can answer the questions of new members. They provide at least one person you 'know' until you learn the ropes.

 

The mentoring system works, when there are members. I know this is under discussion on the Staff, but to forfeit it would do a little more damage than good. If req's are not entirely Mentor/Mentee basis but more well rounded it allows a little more freedom when a Mentor is no longer around.

 

Although, I must say that the Req's are much better then what they were. With Cairma I must have gone through 6-8 mentors before I dragged in Daemon to help me finish her Req's and get to TG Status. (Very irritating), but I still remember who they were and it had an effect on my character as well as my person.

 

To dismiss mentors all together may ruin the 'fun' factor of pairing up two people to scheme up excellent RPs together. Yes, meetings can be a little redundant after the 15th - 16th time, but each one is different and gives us oldies a sense of [corruption] pride to help out a younger member, and the newer member a less sense of [awe] fear at posting on the RP boards. :) Even if it may only be the one RP with the mentor, at least it's a good start in helping them get established in the RP PSW.

 

 

Granted, i'm a terrible mentor. I think I owe *thinks* .. a few threads and it took me a while to respond. *slaps hand* But it's not like i'm not hard to get ahold of and I'm always up for helping out with any of the Req's [heh.. Reque.. too much Nano. ] regardless if its a WY or WT character that is needed. :)

[Matalina]

We aren't scrapping the mentors.  Just alleviating the strain of a small group.  All of the staff feels that the mentor system works, just not well with small numbers, so we are doing what we can to alleviate the mentor shortage, but the system itself is not going anywhere, every new character will get one but it'll be less dependent on the mentor to do all the training and thus making absences hard on trainees.

 

Mat

[Guest Arie Ronshor]

Clarification is good. 8) Thanks Mat.