Party Invitations

[Desicardo]

Armolas was forming a party to go mine in the troll cave in the Battle Fens last night.  He invited 4 or 5 people he know were capable of the trip and within a matter of a minute or so the group had ballooned to 11 or 12 people, some of whom were not even on Mistone.  I am not sure who sent all the invites or why, but I was just wondering what is proper ettiquette for inviting others into a party that you are not the leader of?  When I am not the party leader and someone inquires about coming along, I have always forwarded them off to the party leader to ask for an invite and left it up to them to extend the welcome or say no.  Usually when I am forming a party I like to at least know the people I am taking with me as I am trusting them with my life in game.  I don't mind if someone comes to me and asks if they can invite someone and I agree as party leader, but to just go and send invites to everyone and their brother when it isn't your party seems a bit presumptuous to me.  Maybe I am just taking the postion of party leader too seriously, but when I am leading a party I consider myself responsible for the lives in that party and would at least like to have some say as to who it is I will be leading into combat.  Any thoughts?

[Gulnyr]

I prefer a party to form through roleplay.  That is to say, there is roleplay before the character joins the party, not joining the party before "coincidentally" running across the main body and roleplaying joining forces.  That's an ideal situation, so I have to give a little slack.  Just a little.  Watching as characters join the party from across the server until it ballons to a silly size really turns me off, though.  I've dropped out of several parties because of that. Beyond five or six characters usually kills a lot of the RP.  It tends to devolve into a bash trip.  "We have all these people, so lets see what we can kill."  Headlong rushing through spawns ensues.  Joy.

I normally don't pay much attention to whose portrait has the party leader crown, but I do respect the in-character party leader.  Whoever started the expedition is in command, and it is their call who joins the party and who doesn't.  Joining a party and then inviting whoever you like is, to me, pretty rude.

[Leanthar]

Well said Gulnyr.

I highly encourage people to group up and have fun. But do it in an RP fashion and RP the joining of a group. One should never join a party when they are not in the area speaking to the leader of the party. People should not invite others to a party without going through the party leader, it is the proper thing to do in an RP fashion. Even in RL if you want somebody to come along they don't just tag along, they at least get some sort of "permission" or "aggreement" to be with that group of people.

Parties are great and they encourge and build friendships, but build the party in an RP fashion.

As Gulynr stated, if they get too large it just turns in to a bash fest which is okay some times I suppose but try to keep things in an RP fashion. That is why you play here, at least that is one of the major reasons.

[Desicardo]

I guess that is the way I have always seen it that party forming is a role play thing.  When I am not party leader I am not party owner and have no right to invite without permission of the party owner.  I have had this happen several times when forming parties though where people invite people who invite people.  What I have done is move the party to the start of the quest or active part of the trip and anyone not present at that time I kick from the party, but I have gotten flack from people in the party for booting non participants at times too.  I can't help but wonder why someone would invite, or someone would accept an invite to a party they know they won't participate in?  I guess the best way to put it is if you don't own the party, you don't have the right to add to it on your own.  Good to hear I am not the only one that thinks this way.  That said, I also have to say that I have close friends that are always welcome to join a party I am leading at any time.  Those people know who they are.