Guides of the Shattered Lands
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The Guides of the Shattered Land are a group of volunteers officially sanctioned by SOE. The main job of a Guide is to roleplay with the populace of Norrath and contribute to their positive experiences in the game. Guides have a limited number of quests they can run (sometimes called GM Events by players), as well as a small range of goodies they can hand out as treats. Usually, these are in the form of tasty snacks but can sometimes be decorative holiday items for a character's home.
Guides operate under a number of restrictions and are limited in the interactions they can have with Everquest's players. For example, Guides are not allowed to accept any item from a player, and they do not operate with Customer Service privileges so may not change bad names, ban users, or take other such actions. Guides can assist players with some issues, however, and are allowed to answer questions about game mechanics, provide players with general advice, and assist characters who are stuck and unable to move or who find they've fallen under the world.
Guides can be spotted around the lands of Norrath and will have a prefix of "Apprentice Guide", "Guide", "Senior Guide", and "Elder Guide" as their Prefix, and will likely belong to Guides of the Shattered Lands as their guild. Guides can also be identified by their "Invincibility of the Guide" buff. They can also often be found by using the /who all guide command.
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The Perks
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In addition to being able to participate in Live Events, Guides receive one account and all expansions free of charge for use as a guide. All Guides have Guides of the Shattered Land as their guild tag and a buff that makes them (mostly) unkillable. Guides also have access to special Guide-only equipment. Guides are rewarded well by interacting with the Citizens of Norrath, some of the best people in the world on a daily basis. Once a volunteer reaches the status of Guide their play account may be flagged as exempt.
How To JoinEdit
The Guide Program is not for everyone, and there is a lengthy process which must be undergone before becoming a Guide. See more information about the Guide system on the program FAQ page
ApplyingEdit
First, one must fill out an application which can be found at the Guide Program website [1] This application tests roleplay ability, general writing skills, and game knowledge. Note that some of the questions in the Game Knowledge section are not supposed to be known off the top of one's head. This section is testing one's ability to find information, not to know it instantly. Essentially, you are supposed to use the Internet to fill out this section thoroughly.
Do not be discouraged if one does not hear back immediately. The Guide Program receives a lot of requests, and some applications have taken up to a month and a half to be processed. One will only be notified via e-mail if one's application has been accepted, not whether it has been graded.
Becoming an ApprenticeEdit
Basic OrientationEdit
If one's application is accepted, one is now considered a "candidate" for the Guide program, and will need to attend basic orientation. The orientation is done in IRC, and includes what the Guide Program is about and what one's responsibilities will be as a Guide. There are usually two sessions of IRC orientation.
In-Depth OrientationEdit
Once one has completed basic IRC orientation, one will be given a special Guide account, asked to make a character on a specific server, and will be asked to schedule a more in-depth and in-game orientation. In the past, this was the Grobb server, but since the original Guide program was put into place, the Grobb server was merged with another server.
In the in-depth orientation, one learns the basic do's and dont's of being a Guide, receives level 30, the "Apprentice Guide" title, a nice 30 slot 99% weight reduction bag, and is invited to the "Guides of the Shattered Lands" guild. At this point, one will become "buffed" (in the Guide Program, this term is used to indicate an account being flagged as a GM account), and is now considered an Apprentice Guide.
Being Promoted to a Full GuideEdit
While one is an Apprentice Guide, one is "mentored" (in the Guide Program, this term is referring to a Guide training an Apprentice Guide) by members of the Training Team. These mentors are generally Guides who have been in the program for at least a year and know the ins and outs of the program. However when an Apprentice Guide is online without a training team member, they must remain anonymous by using the /anon command.
Every Apprentice Guide receives a copy of the P&P, or Policies and Procedures. The Apprentice Guide must demonstrate his/her knowledge of this document. In addition, one must also demonstrate a competent role playing ability by role playing with other players.
When an Apprentice Guide is being mentored, usually he/she is being quizzed on the P&P, or just having the mentor follow him/her around while he/she talks to players, all the while giving suggestions on how to improve their role playing ability.
It is also important to note that all levels of Guides are required to complete four sessions per week. One session, at minimum, is interacting with one player.
Being a Full GuideEdit
Once one is promoted to a Guide, one may be online and un-anonymous without the presence of a training team member online with them. Guides have the ability to summon a player, go to a player or static NPC, and zone to non-restricted zones.
Non-restricted zones are generally the Tier 1 and Tier 2 zones, as well as the cities of Freeport and Qeynos. A Guide may not zone into a restricted zone without the approval of an Elder Guide or above.
Guide RanksEdit
These are the ranks from lowest to highest.
Candidate - Has been accepted into the program but has not yet completed the in-depth orientation.
Apprentice Guide - Has completed in-depth orientation and is training to become a Guide.
Guide - Has completed training as an Apprentice and is ready to set foot in Norrath, alone.
Senior Guide - Overlooks the Guides on a particular server. Completes weekly and monthly server reports, auditing Guide actions and time sheets.
Elder Guide - Overlooks the Guide Program and writes/makes amendments to the P&P. Elder Guides must be elected into their position. Currently, there are only two Elder Guides in the program. In addition, this is the highest rank a person can reach without being employed by SOE.
GM (CSR (Customer Service Representative)) - Employed by SOE. Usually are the ones to solve problems submitted via the ticket system.
GM Admin - Employed by SOE. Generally these are developers, however John Smedley is included in this list, along with the CSR manager and the Guide Liaison. The Guide Liaison is responsible for communicating everything that happens in the Guide Program with the rest of SOE.
