And now, let me take off my officer hat for a moment and just talk as an ordinary guy, with some fond memories in mind.
What does Orcs of the Red Blade mean to me?
Admittedly, I’ve spent far too long with OotRB over the years since 2011, and Sadok as a character has almost monopolised my RP time as a result — alts have withered on the vine, outside initiatives abandoned due to lack of time. I don’t consider that a bad thing, however. Before I got my claws sunk into the tribe, I was a serial alt-o-holic who could never stick with an idea or a concept — I was with SGE, the Cult of Shadow, Three Hammers and even OotRB itself, on a pre-Sadok toon (Grimgash).
What encouraged me to stick with OotRB full-time wasn’t so much the concept, though it was interesting; nor the events, though they were engaging; or the globetrotting around Azeroth, though it certainly kept things fresh! OotRB’s strongest attribute, and one it retains to this day, is its sense of community — when I first joined, I was struck by the friendliness of the officer-team, the easy informality of its tribe gatherings, and the deliberate efforts taken to make me feel included and welcome.
When you scratch my back, I scratch yours — so it’s no surprise that I’ve tried to give back, and continue the spirit of the OotRB I fell in love with years ago. Some of the faces are still the same, many others have come and went, even the character models look a bit more spiffy — but we’re still a community, we still help one another out, and we still have fun at the end of the day.
Our finest hour as a community, at least in my opinion, was our move to Argent Dawn earlier this year. We were able to have a discussion as a guild about the benefits and drawbacks to realm migration, and I’m proud that so many people contributed — and that when the majority had spoken, we were able to keep virtually all of our core intact, including crowdfunding for those who couldn’t afford the move. Argent Dawn was a feast or famine proposition — if handled poorly, it could have split the guild apart, but we haven’t just survived but thrived on our new home.
I’ll continue to brainstorm plots and events, answer applications, interview applicants, tinker with the forums, produce video montages, chat around the campfire, train New Bloods, train Gosh’kar, train Thur’ruk, theorycraft initiatives, bump recruitment threads, patiently tolerate passive-aggressive whisper tirades, photoshop pizza trophies, sing spoof songs in officer Skype chats, and everything else that comes with the territory because I do take a sense of pride in what we’ve created together, and everything we’ve accomplished over the years.
A few shout-outs (I’ll have to stop somewhere, but I may post some more later):
To Kozgugore:
At this stage, with apologies to Akesha and everyone else, it’s not much of a stretch to say that Kozgugore is Orcs of the Red Blade. He’s been around forever, he’s left his stamp permanently on the guild and its community, and in the process, he’s become kind of a big deal.
Even before I joined OotRB, Kozgugore was considered an institution on DB — his name and Morgeth’s were the closest things to RP celebrities I could recall amongst the realm, and I’ll confess to being a little trepidatious on first contact. Especially since you forgot to answer my app for a whole seven days, you madman — I thought my character’s backstory was so horrible, you weren’t even dignifying it with a response!
Even if we may remember him as the Grumpy Chieftain, Koz is above all else just an all-around good guy, and it’s amazing he’s kept so well grounded and sane after all the madness he’s been exposed to.
To Morgeth:
The yin to Kozgugore’s yang for many a year, Morgeth completely deserves a tribute all to herself. An RP guild doesn’t rise and fall based on its events or plots, but on how fun and engaging it is — and Morgeth was a uniquely engaging character, and behind the scenes, a wonderfully supportive person.
There’s no such thing as a boring night around the campfire with Morgeth — she’s never short of a quip or a snarky comment, doesn’t let her nuanced and tragic backstory stop her from getting stuck in trees, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I took heaps of inspiration from that when it came to turning the Sadok character into one of a facilitator.
Morgeth was the one who brought me into planning events and plots, months before I was even an officer. Her enthusiasm, can-do attitude and pure ability to turn chicken shit into chicken salad when the worst struck was a tremendous asset for OotRB (and the wider RP community when it came to her Truthteller markets and blind-dates), one I think we still miss to an extent.
To Mazguul:
Dunno if you’ll end up reading this, but I’ll still write it. You were the friendliest, bubbliest and wackiest character and person I can recall from all my years of RP. Even if you weren’t the dynamic personality organising events and initiatives, you were the bedrock of the guild’s culture — always there, always supportive, helping everyone feel welcome and involved.
In the end, you’re probably the closest thing to a mentor figure Sadok ever had — your approach to being Thur’ruk and a spiritual RPer in general is one I’ve tried to emulate wherever possible, and have formed part of the intangible background fabric of the guild and its lore. I’m not sure anyone else, but I’ve personally missed having you around these past three years, and we could certainly use two or three (or four) more Mazguuls.
To Karak:
The Karak character is my favourite of all time, actually — the textbook case in how to RP outside of the box while remaining completely consistent to the setting. Watching Karak shrug off all the mockery and all the tragedies while his mind slowly broke down was amazing stuff, and his ascension to Rrosh-tul and subsequent fall from grace for sticking to his principles was a tremendous character arc.
Of course, you’re hanging around nowadays on Siyah-gosh, but the energy and activity you’re able to bring are unmatched, and although I think two or three (or four) more Karaks would be overkill, having one around is just perfect.
To Rhonya:
As an officer, you’ve more than adequately filled the shoes of Mazguul as the tribe’s ‘mother’, and I think you continually understate your worth to OotRB. You’re basically the glue that keeps all of us hormonal males from tearing each apart — the voice of reason (sometimes), the anchor that’s always around for a serious chat or a wacky comment.
Personally speaking, your two characters Rhonya and Kyrazha have stepped up to become the two orcs Sadok feels closest with, and you’ve provided me with countless hours of entertainment and friendship. So thanks!
But above all, though you haven’t been around forever, your presence has become increasingly integral to making sure OotRB feels like a warm and welcoming place, and I think your red hair is rad!
Other assorted shout-outs, that I’ll name as important influences for Sadok over the years (I may come back and expand upon these):
- Vashnarz, for being a great friend and partner in crime for my early years;
- Drustai, for being a genius and inspiring me to get better at RP through making me look like an amateur by comparison;
- Groshnakk, for being an unabashed drunken Dane of awesomeness;
- Krogon, for always bringing passion and enthusiasm to the table;
- Keishara, for the completely unique and very tragic arc with Sadok over the years;
- Mozrogg, for showing you can be a kick-ass brute and the life of the party around the campfire;
- Orok/Thrugar/Kargnar, for showing that your history is not your destiny, and being the model of why we should give people second chances;
- Raxxok, for dem meaty thighs.
Some favourite moments from our many events over the years, provided without context:
- Grek’thar the Stew Shaman, deflecting everything with his shield, even in defiance of the laws of physics;
- Grim as the worst midwife ever, delivering Vashnarz’s baby (PUUUSH, PUUUUSH);
- Finally getting the RBG wolf as part of our guild team;
- Bad cop/even worse cop with Ildranor and Drustai, when Mazguul and Sadok were kidnapped;
- Finally getting the Grommash’ar throne shot for the trailer, after approximately seven lifetimes of outtakes;
- All those evenings in Mazguul’s cave, because everyone gathered there for no reason;
- All those laggy, horrible RP-PvP battles that were still worth attending;
- Trakmar and Sadok re-enacting the fate of Oberyn Martell;
- Morgeth taking the tribe aside to scheme against the Kor’kron, under the excuse that she was giving them cake;
- Intermittently Rickrolling people ICly for the giggles;
- Two of the most inappropriate typos ever: Krogon shitting his mouth; Vashnarz accusing Drogu of practising ‘negromancy’.
- Luk being able to mangle people’s names to their face, and getting away with it (Genital Bloodfart, etc);
- The sense of satisfaction that comes when people say 'thank you'. Maybe it was all worth it, after all?
RecentNew arrival says hello! by Kozgugore
Razaron Madeye by Razaron
Home again by Bamm
What Comes After by Rhonya
Application: Dharra by Nakobu
Thiama
by Thiama 
Total Members: 1193