Guild Wars 2

Join the Firstwatch Irregular Company [FIC]!

We are…

In-Character. The Firstwatch is a story of do-gooders and would-be-heroes, adventurers that came by their trade in odd ways and, at times, make for an strange and motley crew. Some are ex-soldiers, some were merchants, some were nobles or scientists or former criminals looking to make good. Together, though, they’ve become a powerful guild family that is as unlikely and multicultural as one would ever expect of a group born from Lion’s Arch.

Out-of-Character. FIC is an RP-PvX guild dedicated to two things: 1) high-quality roleplay, and 2) a strong, tight-knit membership that loves to play together. We keep our membership small so that no one is ever an unknown name in our guild chat – we strive to be not just a guild you’re in, but a community that you want to log in for.

Dedicated. We’re not the kind of guild that’s just going to dry up and blow away in the wind. The guild’s core has been together for over four years and our GW2 incarnation has been creating roleplay for the GW2 universe since May of 2011 – we’ve been at this a while! You might have known us in other games as well: La Compagnie des Iles Occidentales in PotBS, Legio XIX in Aion, or Sierra 3 in STO, to name a few.

Active. There’s always something to do with the Firstwatch. There’s RP scheduled weekly with a distinct, long-running plot to follow, along with opportunities for spontaneous RP throughout the week. We also believe heavily in playing the game itself – we run dungeons, set off guild missions, and do romps through WvW and Orr. We believe in providing a reason for our members to log in and play together.

Lore-abiding. While we don’t know everything about the GW2 universe, we believe in staying true to the source. Sometimes we use our imaginations to fill in the gaps, but we always correct and/or retcon if we discover that it’s not accurate to the lore. To us, the game is our framework, not just our inspiration, and we don’t allow things and characters in our guild lore that isn’t in sync with everyone else in the community.

Adults. We have a strict 18+ policy, and everyone flying the FIC flag has both the freedom and the responsibility to behave, think, and talk like an adult. We have jobs, families, and real lives outside of the game, and this is where we come to let loose. We don’t take our characters personally and we don’t get the IC-OOC lines crossed – we roleplay for fun, and we don’t let real-life bad days or in-character drama get in the way of that.

If that sounds fabulous to you, great! Come by our site, check out our Guild Membership Requirements, or submit an application today!

Looking for a high-flying experience you’ll not get anywhere else?

The Firstwatch is always looking for qualified adventurers to come aboard our privately-owed airship, the Lagborough, and take part in a venture that’s unlike any guild in Tyria!

Positions available for qualified adventurers:

Skilled fighters
Mechanics, inventors, and technicians
Scholars and scientists
Explorers of all types!

Modest weekly pay and room/board on the ship included.

Combat experience strongly preferred. Ability to work with all of Tyria’s races with a minimum of prejudice is essential. Must not be wanted in connection to crimes in any municipality.
If interested, send a pigeon to:

Adirah Parshem
Owner, Firstwatch Irregular Company

An IC preview of the guild:

“Who are the Firstwatch? Well, I suppose that depends on who you ask.” Adirah chuckled at her own statement, then cast a glance down at the brandy she was gently and idly swirling in her glass as she thought how best to answer the broad, vague inquiry.

After a moment, she looked up again and settled her golden brown eyes on the questioner. “If you’re asking me what I think of us, I think we are an adventurer’s guild that, with the help of a wealthy enough benefactor, has the luxury of being choosy with our work. And that allows us to be a bit more morally upright than most, of course – when you don’t have to worry if there will be bread on everyone’s table tonight, you don’t have to take on work that skirts the law or keeps you up at night wondering if you’ve done the wrong thing.

“And so because of that, the Firstwatch has a reputation for benevolence, I suppose, to some. We take on charity cases now and then – the farmers and merchants that operate nearby to Lion’s Arch know us for that, and they probably do think we are a charity for how little we charge to run off pirates, bandits, and centaurs.” Adirah leaned in and dropped her voice slightly. “Truth be told, though, we don’t do those things for the charity of it. We do it because we live here as well. It’s simply good business. Who will hire adventurers who can’t keep their own turf safe?” She pulled back then and took a sip of her brandy, then, smiling, looked at the questioner again. “Besides… I enjoy the publicity of charity work, personally.

“But not everyone likes us. We sometimes run afoul of money and power here in town; the Captain’s Council certainly doesn’t like that we keep an airship so close nearby, for example, though at least now they have their own, and Kiel’s own goody-two-shoes nature tends to keep us in their better graces. The Lionguard has a love-hate relationship with us, of course – they love when we’re working to help them, and hate when our work is causing them to have to work harder. There’s no shortage of criminals around in a city like this, either, and every now and again we’ll anger a cartel enough that they’ll target us directly. Oh, and the Inquest particularly dislikes us, but who don’t they dislike?” Adirah laughed at that.

“I suppose at the end of the day, we think of ourselves as the ‘good guys’. That’s important to me, to be the ones that are trying to make the world better. Certainly we’re no Pact, or any peacekeeping force, or anything like that. We haven’t the discipline or the numbers for that kind of vast impact, and frankly? That’s fine with us. We operate best when we’re a small company like this. A family, of a sort, where you have grumpy charr and eccentric asura for cousins.” Adirah shrugged at her own depiction, a bit of a sheepish expression playing over her Elonian features. “Every member counts, and we make our mark on Tyria in small ways instead of big ones. We help when we can and we’ll go anywhere we’re needed to do it, and the rest of the time? I suppose we just make our mark on each other instead, as families tend to do.

“So that’s the Firstwatch, as best as I might explain it. If that doesn’t satisfy you, go badger Kraddock on the topic instead and leave me to my brandy in peace.” A moment later, she added with a slightly devilish grin, “Though he does have claws, so I don’t recommend it.”

Recently, we had a question from one of our recruits: why are we the “Firstwatch Irregular Company”, and does it have any significance?

Well, there’s actually a lot of significance to it in an OOC manner – probably more than we probably realized at the time we made it almost three years ago.

Firstwatch: We came up with this part of the name because we were basing the guild in Lion’s Arch, so we originally wanted a little bit of a “throwback” to GW1’s Lionguard. The “Firstwatch” part specifically comes from Firstwatch Sergio, the leader of the Lionguard in GW1. This was kind of our quiet signal flare to longtime fans of the GW franchise, though I think it flies under the radar more often than not.

Irregular: That one’s kind of a double meaning. Originally we were a lot more “military-esque” than “adventurer/mercenary” like we are now, so we wanted something that communicated that – “irregular” can mean “a member of an irregular military force” so we figured that was a good description of what we were at the time. These days, we like the term “irregulars” because of its other meaning: we are all pretty odd, and so are some of our characters.

Company: Again, multiple meanings. “Company” can be a military unit, which was the original idea, but now it’s probably more “company” as in mercantile activities, because they are a private, for-profit force. In a more OOC sense, it’s also “company” because it’s a good allegory for what a guild really is (and apparently was an alternate name for a guild at some point in history). Finally, “company” because of its definition for companionship and fellowship, which is something we value a lot in the guild.

So all the meaning in layered in there somewhere in an OOC manner! Though, in our guild lore, this is the name because that’s what the company’s original owner wanted it to be. They didn’t pick it, and when the company’s ownership changed hands ICly, the new owner declined to change it, because that would have meant paying for new stationary.

FIC is a great guild of folks, and we’re always looking for more great folks to join us. Think you might be up for FIC? Here’s a checklist of four “must-haves” for any potential applicant to our guild:

Activity and Representation. We’re an active guild and we have dedicated players that play together every night. We’re looking for folks who are willing to be dedicated and invested in what’s going on in our guild. For this reason, we require eight hours of playtime while representing FIC during the evening hours per week.

Activity Times. Almost all of our scheduled events, both the RP and OOC ones, have a starting time around 9pm Eastern on various days throughout the week. We want potential members that will be able to play around that time of day so they might participate and enjoy activities with us. See our calendar for examples of our typical schedule.

Lore-appropriate Characters. We do take the lore seriously and feel it’s important for the characters in FIC to be representative of the game’s lore. Character names and backgrounds should be representative of their race and make sense within the world of Tyria without departing too far from established lore as seen in-game.

Long-term Interest in the Game. While we are roleplayers, we are also gamers that enjoy the game thoroughly on an OOC level. We dive into dungeons, work towards legendaries and titles, assault camps and towers in WvW, do our dailies, and simply play all aspects of GW2 in accordance with our interest. We believe that both RP and gameplay are important pillars of our guild experience and we want members that feel the same.

If we’ve just described you and you meet our qualifications, click here to visit our forums, register, and fill out an application.

Thanks for your interest in the Firstwatch!