Where We've Been

Kindred - A group of persons having the same beliefs, feelings, and attitudes; similar in quality and character; like-minded in spirit and deed. At least that's what the dictionary says, but it's right on the money.

Kindred got its start in Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) years ago when, by happenstance, an American offered to buy a greatsword from a Canadian. Miraculously, they were able to overcome the lingual and cultural barriers between them and complete the sale. The Canadian was part of a small group of family members who were such a joy to be around, that the American asked if he and a small group of his friends could join their guild - The Kindred. Wonderful times were had by all and, as a small, tightly-knit group of friends, The Kindred went on to defeat much of the DDO content of the day, all the while having a rip-roarin' fun time mocking each others' accents. Slowly but surely, however, DDO began to, well, suck, and one-by-one, The Kindred dissolved into the ether. The American decided to give World of Warcraft a spin, where he joined some long-time friends in another small social guild, Ense et Aratro. As word got back to remaining members of The Kindred in DDO that WoW was far superior a game, one-by-one a great (albeit tiny) migration brought friends old and new together on Cenarius. As members of Ense began to drift from the game, introductions were made, and on 11 July 2007 Kindred (sans "The") was (re-)born.

Members of Kindred know each other by name; we know where everyone lives; we even know where Canadia is. We are friends first, gamers second. We're adults - we have jobs, families, lives. We believe in each other, support each other, cheer our successes and mock, uh, I mean weep at our failures. Some of us have been playing since beta, others only a few months. But we all play for the same reason -- we enjoy each others' company and we're constantly and consistently impressed with what WoW has to offer. We're Kindred.

Where We're Going

Kindred is, and is not, a lot of things.

• First and foremost: We are not a raiding guild. We do like to raid, but it is not our guild's focus or raison d'être. If your primary desire for wanting to join Kindred is the opportunity to raid, you may want to look elsewhere.
• We don't recruit classes or specs. We recruit people. We're far less interested in your leet gear as we are in your ability to have fun, to have a conversation, and to care about your fellow guildie.
• We help. We always lend a hand when asked, even if it's the nth time we've done something. We might grumble (oh noes, ST again?), but it's only meant to make you beg. If it is Gnomer we may have issues though...
• We don't think leveling is a chore. Leveling a new character is an experience unto itself that shouldn't be considered a means to an end. It's not the destination that's important, it's the journey.
• We enjoy quests. All of them. From the epic-length to the simple fetch-and-return, from Hogger to Zuluhed, we endeavor to tackle all the content Blizzard has created.
• We're not loot whores. While we realize that phat lewtz are the carrots at the end of the stick that keep us playing, we play to enjoy the content. Also, to that end, we don't believe in DKP. Loot distribution is always handled based on greatest need over greed.
• We're patient. We never hurry anyone, we understand that there are Real Life events that happen, and we know that there are learning curves.
• We're neither 'hardcore' nor 'casual' - we know how to play our characters, and we constantly strive to better ourselves. We are, however 'dedicated' players, and while we play to win, we also play to have fun.
• We share. We chant each others' equipment and we donate copious amounts of items to our chanters to DE; we gift blues and purples to each other; and we farm mats for each other.
• When we do raid our times fluctuate as we try to accommodate the greatest number of guildies each week with their varied RL schedules. Most of us play in the evenings and on weekends, though you'll often find a few on during the daytime hours as well.

So where does all this lead us? What's next for Kindred?

• Our focus has shifted into preparing for Wrath of the Lich King. With all the current class changes we are taking the time to really fine tune our play style again. Smiley This is the perfect time to join Kindred as we head to Northrend. All of the new quests and dungeons will definitely be a bonding experience.
• We've mastered the easier lvl70 heroics and Karazhan. We're still working on mastering the tougher heroics (SH, Arc, SV, SL) and are now toying with Zul'Aman. We also have a standing alliance with the guild Enshadowed, which provides our more hard-core players an opportunity to raid the starter 25-mans (Gruul, SSC, etc.).

If you've read this far, and it still seems like Kindred might be the place for you, read on...

• You must be 21 or over. Sorry for such a hard-and-fast rule, but we've learned from experience that including minors in our groups doesn't work out. There -may- be exceptions to this rule, as we recognize that there are a few out that under 21 that outshine their elder counterparts in the maturity department.
• You must be mature. By mature, we mean: you're able to take (and dish out) a joke; you're understanding of delays or cancellations; you're ok with occasional R-rated language; you're not petty or whiny; you're able to follow the leader, or step up and lead when needed; you're not interested in guild drama (but certainly interested in our Real Lives).
• You must understand that we're not in any rush. We don't run instances or grind rep every single day and -push- for advancement. Some days we like to do little more than play alts, knock out some daily quests, and chat on vent.
• You must be willing, if your application is approved, to accept a tenuous position in the guild. We want to take our time finding the right mix of people (as well as characters). The only way we can do that is to spend quality time with you and make an objective decision as to our overall compatibility.

If you'd like to discuss Kindred in-game, just ask any member of our guild if Matt is on I have an alt problem and don't stick to one character at all times. Any of us will be glad to chat with you and give you a more live-and-in-person feel for who we are. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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