NORstalgia

NORstalgia

I was looking for just the right word to call all of this. I think I found it. NORstalgia. If seeing that word makes you go, “Mhmmm, yep, I’ve got that too!” then you can probably skip over reading this whole thing. If not, maybe you’ll have some NORstalgia for yourself by the time I’m done or you’ll at least know how to get it.

A little bit (or perhaps a lot) about me to set the stage: I grew up playing single player games on PC, PS4 and Wii. Those games were fantastic and contain a lot of memories with my siblings. I experienced my first MMO in 2010 and I was not prepared for how addicting it would be. Having a community to play with that is just as obsessed with the game as you are is a whole new level of gaming. I was a part of some guilds in that MMO which didn’t survive usually due to
unchecked drama. That first MMO of mine was shut down and I found myself on the game’s staff for its fan-made remake. After a while I ended up removing myself from it for my own sanity.

This led me to check out LOTRO and SWTOR. I’d play one for a couple-ish years and then switch to the other, and vice versa. LOTRO I always played solo. I never had a kin (that’s what guilds are called there) that I was dedicated to. In SWTOR I was in a few guilds and each one inevitably followed the same pitfalls as my first MMO. Before the drama tore everything apart though, there were some great times I’ll never forget. There were friends and laughter and
all-nighters and dying and blowing up and all the fun things. Some of these friends even taught me how to be a good sorc/sage in SWTOR and I can still use that knowledge today.

Fast forward to 2020 where I took a break from all games and did things like reading and word puzzles. Gaming didn’t interest me…. until I was sharing LOTRO with my mom who had grown bored of SWTOR. (She actually played SWTOR before I ever did!) Explaining LOTRO to her gave me the bug to play it all over again. So I played it from late 2020 until 2022 when my relationship with the handsome Squire Mesmeric Moon began and gaming took a back seat. In November 2022 we were married and during our honeymoon I got him hooked on LOTRO. We bought him his own laptop, every expansion to date, and a year subscription. (This is even more impressive as a wifey feat because he was addicted to Call of Duty on XBOX previously.)

At the very end of 2023 I grew bored of LOTRO again and SWTOR started to sound appealing. At this point, I’d say it was roughly 5 years since I last played. I logged into my SWTOR account and began the agonizing process of relearning everything. It was not much of a surprise that all of my old friends were gone and the ones I reached out to weren’t interested in coming back. So I was on my own, starting from scratch.

In March 2024 I decided I was reacquainted with the game enough to try finding a guild again, a family like I used to have. On a side note here, I remember thinking back in 2011 how this fun gaming thing can’t last forever; I need to grow up at some point. I guess I haven’t grown up yet!
Back to the point: I first paid attention to guild ads that were posted in Fleet chat. Nothing seemed to fit what I was looking for. So I took to the internet and searched something like SWTOR guild communities. I came across a community website with several to choose from based upon various factors. I wanted a guild that was on my server, that had a guild on both Pub and Imp sides, that was active but not too many people, and that did all kinds of activities
together. I narrowed down my options to one: New Outriders.

First impressions? Not sure what I thought about the name. It didn’t stick out but it wasn’t silly either. Needing to submit an application to apply? Wow. These people are either geniuses or very exclusive. Since I had so many guilds fall apart in the past due to drama, I decided this must be their way of filtering out the troublemakers. So on March 3rd, 2024, I filled out the NOR app and submitted it. The next day, I received a whisper in SWTOR inviting me to put on the
NOR jacket. I had no idea what I was walking into but I’m glad I did it because there are zero regrets.

Okay that is more than enough about me and thanks for making it this far! Now let’s talk about NOR. Let’s see if I can figure out where to start.

NOR is BIG. Some of us poor recruits have no idea that we’re applying to a guild that spans several games (unless you’re a good little recruit that actually reads the website before applying). Is that not the coolest thing?! For example, I can play both SWTOR and LOTRO at the same time for the first time ever, and NOR is with me the whole time! That same warm fuzzy feeling we all love when playing our favorite game with our favorite people is ALIVE here in
NOR. All the new gaming friends you could ever need are right here at your fingertips.

The more you learn about NOR, the more you want to be a part of it. NOR has been around for 33 years!! We all know the dedication, perseverance, and organization it takes to maintain a guild for that long without losing integrity. This was no accident or long string of luck! NOR’s founders built a strong foundation and turned it into a legacy by training leaders with their same heart. NOR has been around so long that those early members are now bringing in their children and grandchildren. And sometimes it’s the other way around! Grown children bringing in their parents because NOR is that special.

We have all kinds of players here. Some play for just an hour or two a week and keep to themselves because that’s all they want. GREAT. Some play every day as much as they possibly can because, ya know, addiction. Some NORbies are quiet. Some NORbies stick to their realm. Some very social NORbies get themselves involved everywhere. Whatever your interaction comfort level is, do it.

It’s okay to be a noob. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to not join activities. It’s okay to not join voice chat. It’s okay to not be an expert at your game. It’s okay to take things slow. It’s okay to make 672 alts if you can manage to keep them all straight! It’s okay to take a hiatus if IRL starts getting in the way. It’s okay to have fun and be silly and try to kill your fellow NORbies during activities. It’s okay to struggle and die a bunch when trying to make it through a dungeon. It’s okay to hang in voice but not have someone talking 100% of the time.

If any of that describes you, congratulations on finding your way home. We have a special place prepared for you.

Once you’ve reached the point where you’re saying to yourself, “How did I get lucky enough to be a part of this?! How did I not know about this sooner?!” then this next section is for you. Ask not what NOR can do for you, but what you can do for NOR.

All of us are currently reaping the benefits of the hard work of those who have gone before us in NOR. What can we do to make sure we preserve NOR for who comes next?

Start with how much you love the game you’re playing. Share screenshots of it. Share your favorite things. Share why you log in again and again. Make your game attractive to others. Make the fun contageous and irresistible! The very same environment that you keep coming back to, create that environment for someone else. Make memories.

As you get to know your fellow NORbies in your realm, start paying closer attention. Put your ear to the ground and really listen for ways in which you can plug your unique set of talents. Have some meaningful conversations. Greet your fellow NORbies when they log in. Make each one feel noticed and welcome. Show up to activities and participate. Be encouraging.

If you’re brave enough, take this environment you’ve cultivated to NOR’s discord server. Engage in all the silly banter and celebrate with the other NOR realms as promotions and special events take place. Jump around in various voice chats to get to know others.

For those NORbies who serve as officers and leaders, it’s a lot of work. Fun work and voluntary work but still work! But it’s not all just recruiting and promoting and organizing and keeping the roster updated. There’s LIFE and PURPOSE in this – maintaining the pride we have in NOR so it’s still there, preserved in all its warm fuzzy glory for others to enjoy right alongside us. We are a part of and extending the legacy of NOR. Already it’s a joy to look back over 33 years of history. Remember why all those tedious tasks are done! But don’t forget to take some time for yourself, to enjoy YOUR game just the way you like it.

Our gracious and humble leaders of NOR deserve quite a bit of respect from us. We love it here, do we not? We have them to thank for that. Let’s do our part in supporting and encouraging them as best we can so they have a reason to continue on our and NOR’s behalf.

We all started in the same place – filling out an application and spending time as a recruit. Did you know you have a profile on the NOR website? Did you know you can earn medals that get pinned there? Did you know your profile reflects your home realm and also any realms you’ve visited? Did you know you have the opportunity to earn promotions? You can watch your profile grow just as your realm grows and just as NOR as a whole grows!

What made you join NOR? What made you actually fill in the application and press submit? When did you begin to realize that you made a very smart decision? When did you start to become personally invested in either your realm or NOR as a whole? What lit the spark? Remember that, hang onto it, and bring someone else to that same point! It’s all been worth it, has it not?

This is NOR.
We are *NOR/.

Baroness Cheysa
*NOR/BA-LotRO