The Rationale for Change
As the game and the guild change, the structure of the trials that we run in House Horuset will need to change with them. The structure has stood proud for over seven years, and its core will remain the core of how we run trials - but we need to introduce a little more adaptability and flexibility to the structure, as well as pay heed to the requirements of our playerbase. There will now be three methods in which trials can run - all of these still require the input of the officer team.
The Standard Trial Season
The old style of trials - four trials run by larger gm teams between Friday and Sunday will remain the bread and butter of House Horuset's trial system. These are the trials everybody knows - a focused season of trials with heavy officer involvement, preceded by a concerted effort to recruit for acolytes beforehand in order to ensure that a healthy crop of acolytes are available. However, we recognize that running these is intense, and infrequent, and we often have acolytes left behind in the in-between phases, so we have come up with two other forms of trials to bridge those gaps.
Bridging Seasons
Smaller seasons of three trials apiece, these are intended to be easier to run and will be run as halfway points between the more standard seasons. There will not be recruiting efforts before these seasons, and thus their turnout will quite intentionally be smaller and thus require less gms to operate them. These seasons will also be run from monday-thursday, in order to provide an opening for those who cannot attend trials held at the usual weekend slots better.
Sponsored Trials
A much newer style of trial, still intended to be infrequent and very much a special occasion, Pentarchs and Overseers (plus the Blademaster and Lorekeeper) may now sponsor singular trials specialized to highlight skills and aptitudes that they need or are looking for in their spheres. This is, again, only a singular trial and a time and must still involve seeking the consent of the officer team. The Pentarch or Overseer who sponsors these trials will be responsible for taking the helm in gming them, and must remain unbiased as a GM.
An Example Trial Cycle
As the game and the guild change, the structure of the trials that we run in House Horuset will need to change with them. The structure has stood proud for over seven years, and its core will remain the core of how we run trials - but we need to introduce a little more adaptability and flexibility to the structure, as well as pay heed to the requirements of our playerbase. There will now be three methods in which trials can run - all of these still require the input of the officer team.
The Standard Trial Season
The old style of trials - four trials run by larger gm teams between Friday and Sunday will remain the bread and butter of House Horuset's trial system. These are the trials everybody knows - a focused season of trials with heavy officer involvement, preceded by a concerted effort to recruit for acolytes beforehand in order to ensure that a healthy crop of acolytes are available. However, we recognize that running these is intense, and infrequent, and we often have acolytes left behind in the in-between phases, so we have come up with two other forms of trials to bridge those gaps.
Bridging Seasons
Smaller seasons of three trials apiece, these are intended to be easier to run and will be run as halfway points between the more standard seasons. There will not be recruiting efforts before these seasons, and thus their turnout will quite intentionally be smaller and thus require less gms to operate them. These seasons will also be run from monday-thursday, in order to provide an opening for those who cannot attend trials held at the usual weekend slots better.
Sponsored Trials
A much newer style of trial, still intended to be infrequent and very much a special occasion, Pentarchs and Overseers (plus the Blademaster and Lorekeeper) may now sponsor singular trials specialized to highlight skills and aptitudes that they need or are looking for in their spheres. This is, again, only a singular trial and a time and must still involve seeking the consent of the officer team. The Pentarch or Overseer who sponsors these trials will be responsible for taking the helm in gming them, and must remain unbiased as a GM.
An Example Trial Cycle
![[Image: cCk0d5h.png]](https://i.imgur.com/cCk0d5h.png)