For some guilds, MMORPGs are all about Raiding. However, there are other things you
can do with your gaming experience (both in game and out of game) to keep things fresh
and fun. In The Syndicate, one of the chief comments I hear from people joining our guild
is that their old guild was boring. It never did anything. Or it only raided. So if your guild
isn’t simply a “raid raid raid!!” type guild then you may find some of these events to your
liking:
Guild Dinners: Few things bind a guild together like a real life encounter. If you have
members that live locally near you, setup some guild dinners and get together. Have
dinner, drink a beer and talk about the game and the guild. Ultimately your guild will be
stronger for it. Certainly this isn’t possible for every guild to do but it is very effective. The
Syndicate, for example, as a 15 to 25 person guild dinner in Northern Virginia every month
and a 100-200 person real life conference every year somewhere in the US. If your guild
has the resources to do those things, they are powerful tools to bind you together as a
stronger, longer lasting team. Remember that no matter how motivated you are today,
99.999% of the guilds that form today will not be around in a year or two. Most will be
gone within 3 months. As such, anything you can do to swing the odds more in your favor
is value added.
Craftsman Day: Long ago, in Ultima Online, The Syndicate started a tradition called
Craftsman Day. The event was so popular that it spread to most UO servers and
eventually spread to other games. Today it exists in the WoW world and it is a great
event for your guild. First of all, it's free to host. All you need is your time. Second, it is of
great value to anyone in the gaming community that doesn’t have a craftsman. Third, it’s
a great way to meet people and other guilds. The event is very simple: Gather your
craftsman together in a central spot (like Orgimaar bank for the Horde or the Stormwind
bank for the alliance) and offer your services, for free, to anyone who wants them. Offer
to create any item for them that they wish, if they supply the ingredients for it. Since you
cannot ‘fail’ in the creation of an item in WoW, the person risks nothing unless you steal
their resources. That can only happen about one time before word spreads and your
reputation is tarnished so only pick members you trust to represent your guild at those
events. Craftsman Day lets people who could not normally make an item and don’t wish
to pay the huge auction house prices, get items created for the cost of the raw materials.
If you make it a regular event, they can save up materials and plan to attend a future one
to get your help.

Scavenger Hunt: The Scavenger Hunt is a great event for both the general public as well
as for your guild to help keep members happy and give them something creative to do.
There are a lot of interesting items in WoW whether its parrot droppings or troll sweat or
wines that you can only buy in a specific location. With a little creativity you can easily
come up with a list of 20 or 30 items. Pick a time and have your members online. Read
off the list in guildsay and the first person or team of people to get back to you with all
items (or the person or team with the most items when time expires) will win.
Fight Night: Fight Night and variations on it have become very popular events across
online gaming. They can be private for your members only or they can be public contests.
They can have persistent ladders that carry rankings from week to week or be fresh
events every time. They can be solo or group events. The general premise remains the
same: It is an organised pvp event where individuals or teams duel to determine a winner.
From a guild standpoint they offer a change of pace and a good chance to practice pvp
tactics and develop new ones with friends.