And thus was a new topic made, and there was much rejoicing. "Could I possibly receive a little bit of grounding information on the organizations and politics within the game?" Keep in mind that I have already delved deeply into the HELP files available on the website and the majority of the historical background therein. I'm seeking more for a summary of the standing political stratum and a summary of the kind of experience I can expect from each organization, as a player. Any and all advice will be deeply appreciated.

Overgeneralization of the century!

Celest = Inquisition era of European History (Spain/France)
Magnagora = Stoic industrial era England/Germany
Serenwilde = Celtic wunderland in the era of the Roman Empire
Glomdoring = African tribalism with a focus on Hive mentality

Suppose it'd also bear saying that Glomdoring's the current superpower in the basin, Celest just got squished but is bouncing back, Magnagora's completing a slow but steady comeback, and Serenwilde's on the decline.

I think it would be best if you first decided what kind of character you wanted to be. Do you want to be a warrior who fights zealously for a religious cause? Do you want to be a dark, stealthy killer? Someone dedicated to using Nature? A bard who uses their music to inspire terror and pain?

It will be a lot easier if you choose your class first. Then you only need to focus four organizations, because in Lusternia, your guild tells more about you than your nation and will dictate what kind of experience you have. What you are asking for right now is essentially a complete rundown of 24 organizations (4 nations, and 5 guilds within each nation). If you can narrow it down for us, we'll be able to provide you with better information.

And don't rely on the histories TOO much at this point to tell you what the political situation looks like. Case in point Celest and Mag at the moment.

Interesting. I often felt that I first picked the culutre/city and then chose one of the copy cat guilds within each city. *shrug*

But I guess it is a bit more complicated than that these days.

Eh, maybe it's just my experience that no matter what the city/commune feels like, each guild is totally different from another in the same org. Because of his feelings and beliefs, Ev could never be a Moondancer, for example, and would stab himself in the eyes if he was a Spiritsinger (Ev, not me!).

Overgeneralizations are good for gauging the general atmosphere (or perceived general atmosphere) of an organization if nothing else, I suspect. These generalizations are far more specific than the ones I had in mind, anyway: my initial thoughts boiled down to
Celest = Good City
Magnagora = Evil City
Serenwilde = Good Forest
Glomdoring = Evil Forest.

Vis-a-vis Everiine's suggestion: I'm not entirely sure what kind of character I would like to play. I tend to build up my characters gradually in order to ensure they fit into the context of the game world. I would hate to have a great character concept that's too 'out there' to actually put into practise. Were I to hazard a guess, I'd say my eventual character will probably be one riddled with contradictions, since I find playing a subversive role very attractive. For example, a hired killer with a strong sense of justice, or a Paladin whose knightly veneer succeeds only partially in masking his sadism. Would it to be too much to hope that the standard of roleplay in Lusternia permits both a genteel and generous villain, and a stalwart murderer?

We've already got plenty of Paladins who don't even bother masking their sadism. Trust me.

However, there's lots of flexibility in roleplay. Just don't be stupid about it. Don't be a bold young Illithoid yearning to prove his good despite his evil bretherin.

The illithoids are the soulless worm-men inspired dually by the illithids/mind-flayers of D&D and the star-spawn of Cthulhu from the (expanded) Lovecraft mythos, yes? What kind of apish, sub-human lout would consider playing one as anything even approaching good? Surely they are the most archetypally evil race imaginable?

I think once you have Archlich in your race name, you're more evil.

"Good" and "Evil" is really not a good way to describe any of the orgs. They are all highly principled and they all have principles which are utterly abhorent from a moral standpoint. Every org except Glomdoring wants to genocide one race or another, both forests hate technology, Glomdoring has druids who rip people's eyes out of their skulls as a greeting, Celest wants to kill all the tainted with fire and force everyone to submit to religious rule by the Celestines and Magnagora wants to destroy the ecosystem.

They are also have their good sides. Celest teachs a doctrine of love, compassion and freedom for all people, Magnagora has the highest technological base and considered death an easily treated illness, Serenwilde wants to restore the Basin to a full and lush paradise and Glomdoring is the most culturally diverse and perfect location in the entire Basin.

Fixed, goof.

Soulless does not equal mindless. Yes, Illithoids are evil, even more so than I think most people realize. But it would be suicide, both politically and literally, to come out and say the truth, that they're out to see that the purpose of the Heralds of Magnora is fulfilled, and that all of creation is returned to the void of nothing from whence it came. That's why they have to put up the illusion of normalcy and use what knowledge they've collected in the 60 years since they came onto the scene to fit in and emulate normal mortal society. So far they've been successful. But oh man, if people only knew what went on behind the facade.

It's this balancing act, this dual prospect of an Illithoid's life that makes them the most interesting and most fun race in Lusternia right now.

I dunno, I'm fond of Furrikin, Faeling, and Aslaran...

But yes, the game allows for quite a bit of flexibility. There are somewhat almost sane Geomancers, just as there are Aquamancers that test the border between genius and madness. Generally, though, FROM THE GUILDS I'VE BEEN IN (disclaimer'd!)

The Shadowdancers tend to be sadistic, and sometimes outright bat insane.
The Nekotai tend to be the silent, broody, oh--they've-already-killed-their-target,-when-did-that-happen types, with a few thrown in who push their (very well formed) mythos on one another and the Glomdoring as a whole.
The Moondancers are, were, and probably always will be shrewd, calculating, and precise in the execution of their plans and conspiracies.
The Spiritsingers seemed alright, when I was in there with an alt. I couldn't get a solid bead on them, though, given that the alt had a shelf life of one day when I was testing the flash client.
Same with the Serenguard, except I accidentally made the wrong gender'd character.
The Aquamancers are in limbo between scholars and stereotypical mages, with the whole "PHENOMENAL POWER IS MINE" kick.
The Cantors (though I've not been one in a long, long time) tend to be lighthearted and almost whimsical sometimes.
The Celestines are another limbo group, with some of them genuinely altruistic, and others very, very much "Holier than thou" types to make the Catholic church look like a girl scout troupe.
The Ur'Guard were, in my opinion for the limited time I was there, Ossom in a can. I actually regretted when I came back to find my Ur'Guard alt had been deleted. And he made such a nice chair for Jigan...

I'll add my limited guild experience:

Serenguard are driven by loyalty and the warrior way, lighthearted in good times and deadly serious and dedicated in the hard times.

And uh... that's it for my guild experiences .

My advice would be to simply 'jump in the deep end' as you put it and create a character.

In game, there's a fair amount of 'mechanical' stuff to learn. Early on you'll be able to maintain a low profile and watch and learn first-hand without having to commit to strongly to a character ideal. As you grow in game you can evolve your character as you see fit.

When it comes down to it, in game experience, and interaction with the people that make up the guild and org you choose will give you a much better idea of what will and won't fit, than any amount of discussion here on the forums.

Enjoy Lusternia.

Just to add in on the Celestines. We don't have any "Burn in fire of Righteousness" types around for the time being. But we do have the altruistic type. *raisehand*

Anyway, don't be worried about creating a few alts just to test out the waters.

The Tahtetso (shameless IC plug begins here) have recently suffered because a very large number of old members left the guild. But, the guild in general focuses on introspection, independence, standing by your Virtues, a general adherence to principles of respect, etc. etc. So...if you want a guild with very flexible advancement but doesn't have as many people right now (can be good or bad...gives you room to help out and make a difference in the guild, imho), Tahtetso are for you.

Aquas are a bit more rooted in their traditions, so advancement is a bit stuffier. They're very much needed though, and you'll be expected to help out in defense situations with your mighty melding powers.

Celestines tend to be more involved in their RP. They're kinda the spiritual leaders of Celest.

Cantors, I think, are more light-hearted and try to contribute to the artsy side of Celest (which is still generally missing).

Paladins tend to be more realistic and focused on their own physical strength. Lots of members there who feel like they love waving around their swords and hammers and yelling barbarically (in the most Light-adherent way, of course)

Best advice on this thread.

To add to it:

There's no reason to commit to one character
There's no reason to limit character growth prematurely
There's no reason not to change your mind