Order of Knights Templar is a unique gaming guild.  Thanks to the Guild Master who sets our direction and provides our organizational structure, it has an appealing philosophy that is a bit different than that held by other gaming guilds in World of Warcraft.  Other articles and our rotating 'From the GM' headings give you the philosophy.  But what does that philosophy look like while playing?

 OKT came back to Lothar on December 9, 2006.  We have more than 1 dozen people still in the guild who were charter members or who joined in its first early few weeks.  Those 'founders', still here three years later, keep it what it is--friendly, fun and... well...some of it you just have to see for yourself to see what makes us 'OKT'.

Generosity -- In a game where everyone is often out for themselves and 'PUG' brings to mind some horrible experiences in everyone's history, this is what it looks like in OKT:  "Wow, thats a great item! You take that, you need it more than me."  "No, I already got something this run, you take it."  "I pass, you guys both need it, I don't need anything from this run."  "I'm looking at your gear, it would be a bigger upgrade for you than for me."  "Somebody take it, or I'm de-ing in 10 seconds."

Inclusion -- We make sure there are world events where everyone can go.  That includes boss raids.  You won't see from OKT:  "We're doing For The Alliance, 80s only!"  or "Ysondre's up in Duskwood, 60+ only."  Oh no, on OUR world raids to horde towns, on our world bosses, these are opportunities for the whole guild to do something together that gives lower levels more experience in what is needed in organizing a major 'military' objective.  This is what it looks like in OKT:  "Im only level 20, can I go?"  "Yes."  "Will I die a lot?"  "Yes, and early.  But its loads of fun.  Let's get a lock to summon you, hang on. Also, Im giving you assistant so you can get the level 10-20s organized when they get here.  Keep them off to the side and don't start your group's attack until 10 seconds after the pull."

Team Building --  The game forces us to break down into 2/3-man groups for group quests, 5 man groups for instances, 10/25/40 man groups for raids, and the game has it hard-wired that there can be no playing group larger than 40 people.  These groups that develop aren't clicks, they are just the way you have to play to fulfill game objectives.  But OKT finds many ways to build larger teams or mix groups together.  These team-building exercises run the gamut from fun contests to silly drunken brawls, in-game guild meetings to world pvp.  All of them, even the silliest ones, make OKT a tighter overall team.

Perseverance  --  While this goes along with Inclusion because we do all-guild events precisely for the team-building, one of the benefits of those team-building exercises is that our players learn to perservere.  In Winter of 2006, the guild master had us throwing ourselves at horde invaders in westfall, even though we were low levels and surrounded by skulls.  We died a kabillionty times until the retreats would be called.  It still was fun.  Then we went after horde towns.  And slowly as we levelled, we started killing players.  From OKT you don't hear:  'Im too low for that.  We'll be slaughtered, Im not going.  That is senseless."   What it looks like in OKT:   AFter we threw ourselves at Tarren Mill and Hammerfall again and again, and were beginning our (rez after your pvp flag goes away and we'll make portals) retreat, the horde skull-level players who had been killing us, lined up and saluted our Guild Master.  And learning to persevere through some fun play like attacking horde towns, means raiding is not the soul-draining grind for OKT that it can be in other guilds.  We know we can wipe a kabillionty times without losing heart, and on the kabillionty and first time as we've buffed a little more, levelled a little more, geared a little more, we'll get it done!

Level up your leadership --  Other guilds usually have their highest level members as their officers and leaders.  They target their leadership to playing the game.  OKT targets its leadership into running the guild, of which playing the game is just a part.  OKT has administrative areas, social areas, and help areas that all need active leadership.  And these are areas that any person can lead regardless of their gaming level.  What it looks like in other guilds :  Guild leader is level 80, runs the guild and all its organization, plus leads the raids.  Guild Leader burns out or real life comes up, and the guild must be handed to someone else.  What it looks like in OKT:  Guild Master runs only the big picture.  Everyone, at any level, can get involved and attain leadership of an area in the guild.  Members rotate through these leadership slots...picking them up when they are able, or handing them over to someone else when life comes up or circumstances change or they don't feel like doing it anymore.  Since the structure stays the same, a new leader can slide into a new area easily when someone departs it with little disruption to the guild.  And while they do perform in a leader capacity, they grow their leadership abilities and decision-making capabilities.  

We do it all --  Ingame meetings are part of the 'all'.  In other guilds, one leader has a limited scope and ability to manage multiple facets of the game.  Since we put leaders in different areas, and they manage the guild's activity in those different game areas, we can do much much more.  If there is a game area you are interested in, something you'd like to do, we welcome it!  Bring it on: we'll give you the resources, the support, and the means to organize it and do it.

Good Players --   OKT helps but doesn't babysit.  You'll get a run through if you can't get a group, but we encourage groups and learning to play.  OKT has grown good players because of its larger philosophy and methods.  So, on occasion, we are farmed by other guilds looking for our good players.  What it looks like in OKT:  You too, will get asked to go to another guild.  Some will go because they see an opportunity to get ahead faster with another guild that is more progressed.  Some will stay because there is no other guild like OKT.  We hope you stay, because at the end of the day when your raiding is done, you'll want a home to come back to, and friends to hang with.  You get it all in OKT.