FAQ/Guilds and Families

Q. I read somewhere you start as part of a family?
Yep! As part of character creation you pick a family. This impacts everything from where you start, to which possible skill bonuses you begin with, to what physical attributes such as hair color you can select.

Q. What game mechanics are tied to families?

 * Family members on the same continent can send private messages to one another.
 * Members can always sense that a family member has been slain and is Spirit Walking.
 * Members can find their way to a family members' body
 * Family members help increase each other life span by creating a reason to live
 * Line of succession as well as items naturally pass on to heirs when someone passes away.
 * Family members automatically get keys to shared household resources and can access and process the land without breaking laws.
 * Family members can always see through disguises.
 * Family impacts fame, which effects how much spirit you lose when Spirit Walking.

Q. Does it have to be a player-run family?
No. You can select NPC parents as well, but they tend to be less talkative in Family Chat.

Q. What if I don't want to be constrained by family genetics?
You can opt to start as a Ward of the State. You get more flexibility in character creation, but lose most of the starting benefits of a family.

Q. How I do I make sure my friends start in the same area as me?
As part of character creation they will have an opportunity to pick a family that is close in proximity to yours.

Q. Will our characters be pregnant?
Pregnancy is not going to be visible in-game. You will choose to have a baby with a PC or via surrogacy (contract with NPC). There is a four day (real time) wait limiting how soon you can sire a new child. The child will appear in the world around the age of 8 and start growing / maturing from there.

There is no chance of miscarriage or losing a child as the resources required to be spent in order to have a child are going to be significant a cost in itself. Additionally the mechanic of losing a baby cannot be envisaged as a fun system in any way you look at it.

Q. Are same sex marriages supported?
Yes. Marriages in CoE are contract-based so they can be between any two players regardless of their sex/gender.

Q. Can same-sex marriages still have children?
Yes. Just as marriage is contract-based, you can also create contracts for having children, particularly for picking heirs. The couple can use an NPC surrogate via contract.

Q. Are there guilds?
Absolutely! With a metric ton of new features I'd say we're really the first MMO to support guilds, there will be a Design Journal on this coming out in December in depth.

Q. What if I want to bring my guild with me to Chronicles of Elyria?
Great! We'll be providing codes which will allow you to bring your entire guild into your family or guild so you can get a jump on building a powerful dynasty or enterprise.

Q. How do I make sure my friends start on the same server?
If you share your child’s code with a friend, then after the child reaches age 15 they’ll be able to join your family as your child. This system also breaks an important barrier to entry on a server. Players can always join your server as your child if you share your child code with them, even if the server is closed for new players.