Darielle
Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
As I reflect on my two years as an archmage and search for a replacement, I decided to put up my list of my top 10 things that make a good archmage. Perhaps other good archmages can add to it or improve on it, so that newer people who suddenly find themselves with fellowships can have a good resource here, for tips and advice from the "old pros." Please jump in and add to my list, whatever you think would benefit new archmages.
1. Always take your fellowship member's two or three star trades, especially if you know those items are scarce and they'll have a hard time acquiring them. Take as many as you can reasonably afford. That's going to vary on how much of a stockpile you have, but anyone who is sitting on 3 or 4 million in rare goods but won't take a 50K, two-star trade simply because they don't need it or want to keep their stockpile is, in my opinion, doing a grave disservice to their member and the fellowship.
2. Never call out a member by name for non-disruptive offenses in public, such as in chat or in a message others can read. For example, if you have a rule that says 2 or 3 star trades only, but someone puts up a one-star trade, remind them in private of the rule. Or you can say something general in chat, such as, "Remember, everyone, only 2 or 3 star trades are allowed." Don't say, "Hal, you put up a one-star trade. That's not allowed." Now, if they're causing a riot in chat, that's very different.
3. Multiple offenders, especially those that disrupt or cause resentment in the group, should be removed with a friendly note. Say something like, "I'm sorry things didn't work out with us. I hope you find a group with rules you can live with. Best of luck to you." And whatever you do, don't keep warning them if they repeatedly break the same rule over and over. Either keep the rule or the person, but not both, no matter how much you need the tourney or spire points.
4. Never let a member bully you into submission. You are leading the group, not him or her. If someone says you're being unfair, ask 4 or 5 of your best members in private if you're wrong. Make sure they know you won't be mad no matter their answer (and mean it!) If they think you're right, then you're right… the bully must go.
5. Always post a positive message each day, even if it's just, "Good morning, everyone!" You may not have an active chat, but people like knowing that their archmage is engaged and active.
6. Seek out members for empty slots, and try to keep your fellowship as full as possible with ACTIVE members. Check Elvenstats regularly, and if a player is gone for a month or two without explanation, remove them and recruit for their slot. The worst thing you can do is to keep more than a few members with "black triangles" beside their names on Elvenstats. That makes your fellowship a target for recruiters. If you have 20 players but 10 of them have black triangles, you can almost guarantee that your active players will be wooed by other fellowships.
7. When you are recruiting from other fellowships, maintain a reputation for kindness. Don't recruit from small fellowships or from new ones where the archmage is active. Whether they're as good an AM as you are is irrelevant … if they're trying, leave them alone and wish them well. Focus on those where the AM is absent or sporadic in tourney scores (you can see that on Elvenstats) and where a large number of black triangles dominate a full or nearly full fellowship. If an archmage doesn't care about the fellowship, don't feel guilty about whisking the best player away. I have found, in 2 years as an archmage and a year as a recruiting mage, most players in that situation are about to quit anyway. You're rescuing them, not poaching them.
8. Find good ways to reward your players for their loyalty to your fellowship. Check Elvenstats (can you tell I love that place?) to make a list of the dates that all of your members joined your group. Announce their Fellowship anniversaries and make a fuss in a message. Give them an anniversary gift of KP, and encourage (but not decree) everyone else to do the same. Also, keep an eye on their scores as they rise through the ranks. We reward players at every 100K level from 100K to a million. It's like the anniversary, but we call it a Milestone Day. You can free up your time as an AM and ask other mages to share the load. We currently have an Anniversary Mage and are looking for a Milestone Mage.
9. Make the spire more fun by offering kp incentives to climb the spire. Not every week, but maybe once a month or once a season. Have spire parties, spire stories (a thread where you start a group adventure theme and everyone adds a line while climbing the spire). Just do whatever you can to promote it and make it fun. Likewise, make the chat more fun by drawing people into chat with quizzes, games or challenges. I know that the only prize available is kp, but people don't get tired of winning kp. It's not so much the prize that counts, anyway; it's the fun of feeling part of a good group. We have our Freaky Friday challenges once a week.
10. If you're going to be away, even for one day, make sure you let people know and leave someone you trust in charge. People like to know that their archmage is consistent and concerned with their game experience. Don't drop off the planet unless you've been hit by a Mack truck. Let people know you consider them first, when you're planning absences or vacations.
If I think of more I'll add them, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. We have a great deal of talent here, so I'm sure you guys can come up with good ones.
March 6: Two things were edited for clarification.
1. Always take your fellowship member's two or three star trades, especially if you know those items are scarce and they'll have a hard time acquiring them. Take as many as you can reasonably afford. That's going to vary on how much of a stockpile you have, but anyone who is sitting on 3 or 4 million in rare goods but won't take a 50K, two-star trade simply because they don't need it or want to keep their stockpile is, in my opinion, doing a grave disservice to their member and the fellowship.
2. Never call out a member by name for non-disruptive offenses in public, such as in chat or in a message others can read. For example, if you have a rule that says 2 or 3 star trades only, but someone puts up a one-star trade, remind them in private of the rule. Or you can say something general in chat, such as, "Remember, everyone, only 2 or 3 star trades are allowed." Don't say, "Hal, you put up a one-star trade. That's not allowed." Now, if they're causing a riot in chat, that's very different.
3. Multiple offenders, especially those that disrupt or cause resentment in the group, should be removed with a friendly note. Say something like, "I'm sorry things didn't work out with us. I hope you find a group with rules you can live with. Best of luck to you." And whatever you do, don't keep warning them if they repeatedly break the same rule over and over. Either keep the rule or the person, but not both, no matter how much you need the tourney or spire points.
4. Never let a member bully you into submission. You are leading the group, not him or her. If someone says you're being unfair, ask 4 or 5 of your best members in private if you're wrong. Make sure they know you won't be mad no matter their answer (and mean it!) If they think you're right, then you're right… the bully must go.
5. Always post a positive message each day, even if it's just, "Good morning, everyone!" You may not have an active chat, but people like knowing that their archmage is engaged and active.
6. Seek out members for empty slots, and try to keep your fellowship as full as possible with ACTIVE members. Check Elvenstats regularly, and if a player is gone for a month or two without explanation, remove them and recruit for their slot. The worst thing you can do is to keep more than a few members with "black triangles" beside their names on Elvenstats. That makes your fellowship a target for recruiters. If you have 20 players but 10 of them have black triangles, you can almost guarantee that your active players will be wooed by other fellowships.
7. When you are recruiting from other fellowships, maintain a reputation for kindness. Don't recruit from small fellowships or from new ones where the archmage is active. Whether they're as good an AM as you are is irrelevant … if they're trying, leave them alone and wish them well. Focus on those where the AM is absent or sporadic in tourney scores (you can see that on Elvenstats) and where a large number of black triangles dominate a full or nearly full fellowship. If an archmage doesn't care about the fellowship, don't feel guilty about whisking the best player away. I have found, in 2 years as an archmage and a year as a recruiting mage, most players in that situation are about to quit anyway. You're rescuing them, not poaching them.
8. Find good ways to reward your players for their loyalty to your fellowship. Check Elvenstats (can you tell I love that place?) to make a list of the dates that all of your members joined your group. Announce their Fellowship anniversaries and make a fuss in a message. Give them an anniversary gift of KP, and encourage (but not decree) everyone else to do the same. Also, keep an eye on their scores as they rise through the ranks. We reward players at every 100K level from 100K to a million. It's like the anniversary, but we call it a Milestone Day. You can free up your time as an AM and ask other mages to share the load. We currently have an Anniversary Mage and are looking for a Milestone Mage.
9. Make the spire more fun by offering kp incentives to climb the spire. Not every week, but maybe once a month or once a season. Have spire parties, spire stories (a thread where you start a group adventure theme and everyone adds a line while climbing the spire). Just do whatever you can to promote it and make it fun. Likewise, make the chat more fun by drawing people into chat with quizzes, games or challenges. I know that the only prize available is kp, but people don't get tired of winning kp. It's not so much the prize that counts, anyway; it's the fun of feeling part of a good group. We have our Freaky Friday challenges once a week.
10. If you're going to be away, even for one day, make sure you let people know and leave someone you trust in charge. People like to know that their archmage is consistent and concerned with their game experience. Don't drop off the planet unless you've been hit by a Mack truck. Let people know you consider them first, when you're planning absences or vacations.
If I think of more I'll add them, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. We have a great deal of talent here, so I'm sure you guys can come up with good ones.
March 6: Two things were edited for clarification.
Last edited: