Guild Update - August 23, 2026

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It is with great sadness that I must announce that our weekly progression raids have, for the present time, come to an end. During the past two weeks, fewer than a single full group of friends and companions has gathered for our appointed raids. We have also lost three members who had consistently stood among us week after week, and unfortunately, we had no reserves prepared to take their places. Others have been called away by responsibilities beyond Norrath, while some have simply lost interest in participating. Further still, our progression effort has suffered greatly following the opening of the new Time-Locked lands of Wuoshi, which has drawn away both prospective recruits and some who once marched beneath our own banner.

 

When we began our progression raids at the fiftieth season, we began with tremendous strength and enthusiasm. There was excitement within our halls, and we possessed enough willing adventurers to field three complete groups with nearly enough companions to form a fourth. We had momentum, and for a time it appeared that we possessed everything necessary to carry our progression journey through many ages of Norrath. Yet as the weeks passed, our numbers slowly dwindled. Members departed faster than new companions arrived to replace them, until we finally reached our present state, where there are simply too few of us remaining to continue raiding as we have been.

 

I would also like everyone to understand that this has taken a considerable toll upon me. I enjoy wandering the lands of Norrath as much as anyone within this guild, perhaps more than some. Yet being the leader of a guild can be both rewarding and burdensome. One attempts to guide the guild toward something greater while constantly receiving complaints, suggestions, requests, and expectations from those within its ranks. Everyone possesses their own idea of what the guild should be doing, where it should be going, what content should be pursued, and when that content should be undertaken. Yet when the time comes for someone to step forward and help turn those ideas into reality, there are remarkably few volunteers.

 

I have spent countless hours speaking with new recruits, helping them choose professions that would strengthen our ranks, assisting them in gaining seasons quickly enough to join our raids, and providing whatever guidance they required along the way. Far too often, after all that effort, those recruits never appeared for raids, departed the guild entirely, or lost interest after attending only once or twice. Each time this happens, the work begins anew. Another recruit must be found, another conversation must be had, another adventurer must be prepared, and another hope must be placed upon someone who may or may not remain with us.

 

Ultimately, every adventurer is going to follow whatever road brings them the greatest enjoyment. When that enjoyment disappears, when responsibilities beyond Norrath demand their attention, or when another path suddenly appears more appealing, many will simply leave. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but it creates an extraordinarily difficult situation for any guild attempting to maintain a consistent progression raid force. A progression guild depends upon people being willing to gather together consistently, and when that consistency disappears, no amount of planning can replace the missing bodies.

 

Leadership also requires decisions, and nearly every decision inevitably disappoints someone. Schedule raids too early, and certain members cannot attend. Schedule them later, and others cannot remain. Decide that we shall remain at level fifty, and some members stop adventuring until progression reaches a level they prefer. Advance too quickly, and others believe we have abandoned the purpose of progression. Suggest that we attempt something different in hopes of attracting new blood, and existing members may disagree with the change. Remain exactly where we are, and our numbers continue to decline. We have found ourselves in the unfortunate position where nearly every road before us displeases someone.

 

Throughout all of this, I have repeatedly asked whether anyone would be willing to step forward, become an officer, and help carry the responsibilities of running and managing the guild. No one has accepted that responsibility. Instead, I frequently hear what people personally want to do, what they expect from the guild, what hours they are available, what content they prefer, and what decisions they dislike. Suggestions and disagreements are not themselves the problem. Every guild needs discussion, and leadership should listen to its members. Yet there is a tremendous difference between offering an idea and accepting responsibility for making that idea succeed.

 

Because no one has stepped forward to share these burdens, I have found myself enjoying my own journeys through Norrath less and less. I maintain our website, prepare these guild updates so everyone may understand the state of the Society, continually recruit new members, assist adventurers with gaining seasons, answer questions, organize our direction, and attempt to provide whatever aid our members require. I have always tried to make myself available whenever someone needed assistance. Yet I cannot continue indefinitely carrying every responsibility while also attempting to find time simply to enjoy Norrath for myself.

 

A guild is built upon teamwork, and a progression raiding guild requires commitment. The commitment that the Norrath Secret Society has asked from its members has always been remarkably small. We have asked for approximately one and one half hours each week. Ninety minutes out of seven entire days in which those wishing to participate in progression raiding gather together and dedicate that small amount of time toward the guild and the companions standing beside them. Yet even this modest commitment has proven difficult for enough members that we have reached the point where the very undertaking upon which this chapter of the Society was founded is no longer possible with our present numbers.

 

Therefore, we must decide what comes next. I have considered several possibilities, and I have spoken with some members about the roads available to us. None of these choices is perfect. Each carries advantages, sacrifices, and risks, but remaining where we presently stand is no longer a viable path.

 

The first possibility is moving our progression efforts to Wuoshi. We already possess a guild presence there, and moving our operations would not be particularly difficult. Yet this would mean once again beginning our journey through content many among us have already conquered. Our purpose has always been to progress steadily through the ages until we eventually reach the present age of Norrath. Beginning again upon Wuoshi would move us backward rather than forward, and the history of Time-Locked realms gives me little confidence that beginning yet another journey there would provide the lasting foundation we seek.

 

The second possibility is beginning again at level fifty on our current server. I believe this would also be a poor choice. The Norrath Secret Society has already restarted its progression journey from those early seasons more than once, and doing so yet again would mean returning to the same recruitment efforts, the same leveling efforts, and much of the same content. Personally, I cannot begin that journey from the beginning for a third time. If someone wishes to organize level fifty raids upon an alternate evening, take responsibility for recruiting those needed, and lead that undertaking, I am willing to support the effort. I simply cannot carry that responsibility myself again.

 

The third possibility is pausing progression entirely until summer has ended and hoping that more adventurers return afterward. While this may sound reasonable, I fear it is largely wishful thinking. At our present level of seventy, we are competing directly with Wuoshi for precisely the sort of adventurers we need. Before restarting our progression journey in May, I spoke with several people who expressed interest in joining the Society but ultimately decided to wait for Wuoshi instead. We have since lost existing members to those lands as well. Waiting several months will not necessarily change that reality, and attempting to recruit level seventy progression raiders while Wuoshi offers similar content upon a fresh realm places us in a competition we are unlikely to win.

 

The fourth possibility is advancing directly to level ninety and continuing near the place where our previous progression journey ended. Several members have told me that they are waiting for us to reach those later seasons and that they would return once we do. There is certainly some appeal to this option, but there is absolutely no guarantee that those members would return consistently. Even if they did, we would still need new recruits, and those recruits would require a significant investment of time to reach our progression level.

 

Historically, much of that responsibility has fallen upon me. I recruit new members, speak with them regarding which professions might strengthen our raids, help them gain seasons quickly, and attempt to prepare them to join us. I no longer wish for that to become my primary occupation within the Society. Advancing to level ninety merely because some members say they may return would place yet another obligation upon my shoulders without any assurance that the effort would actually restore a stable raid force. I do not wish to sacrifice what remains of my own enjoyment merely to repeat the same cycle at a higher level.

 

The fifth possibility, and the road toward which I presently lean most strongly, is advancing directly to adventure level one hundred. I believe this option addresses several of the problems that have plagued our progression efforts while also opening an entirely new chapter for the Society. Most importantly, it would provide new and returning adventurers with a much easier path into our progression raids. Those wishing to join us quickly could obtain a level one hundred adventurer and begin preparing to stand beside us almost immediately. Those who prefer to gain their seasons through the traditional path may certainly continue to do so, but no one would be forced to endure a lengthy climb merely to participate.

 

This would greatly reduce one of the greatest sources of exhaustion we have repeatedly encountered. New recruits would no longer face the prospect of advancing through dozens upon dozens of seasons simply to reach us. Existing members would no longer feel pressured to spend countless evenings helping new recruits advance. Leadership would no longer need to organize endless leveling expeditions simply to maintain the raid force. The road into our progression company would become considerably shorter, allowing us to focus our time upon adventuring together rather than constantly preparing people merely to begin adventuring together.

 

Advancing to level one hundred would also bring us into eras of Norrath that many within our ranks have never properly experienced. We could begin with the adventures surrounding Chains of Eternity. Though much of that content belongs to the ninety-fifth season, we could make an exception to our traditional prohibition against mentoring for those raids. We could do the same for Tears of Veeshan. Once our journey carries us into Altar of Malice and the level one hundred era, our strict rule concerning unmentored progression raiding could take effect once again.

 

Perhaps most importantly, these would be new adventures for many among us. We would enter halls where we do not already know every corridor. We would confront enemies whose tactics are unfamiliar. We would experience stories and raids that many within the Society have never seen. Instead of beginning yet again at level fifty and repeating battles we have fought numerous times before, we would finally move forward into chapters of Norrathian history that remain unexplored by much of our present membership.

 

We could also schedule group nights around this content, allowing members to explore heroic lands together while preparing themselves for raids. Such gatherings might restore some of the fellowship that has slowly disappeared from our progression journey. It may also awaken interest among those who have grown weary of repeating the earliest eras while giving returning adventurers something genuinely different to experience.

 

This path would also remove us from direct competition with Wuoshi. Rather than attempting to persuade adventurers to abandon a fresh Time-Locked journey so they may repeat similar level seventy content with us, we could offer something entirely different. The Norrath Secret Society could become a home for those wishing to explore the later ages of Norrath without immediately being cast into the very newest battles of the present age. We could offer progression through content that many returning adventurers missed entirely, while providing them with a relatively easy path into our ranks.

 

None of this guarantees success. Advancing to level one hundred will not magically fill our raid force, nor will it solve every difficulty that has brought us to this point. Whatever road we choose will still require commitment from those who wish to see the Norrath Secret Society continue as a progression raiding guild. What it may provide, however, is a new beginning that does not require us to return to the beginning.

 

If you have read this far, then you understand the position in which the Society presently finds itself. I encourage everyone who cares about our future to bring their thoughts and ideas before our weekly gathering on Monday. I welcome disagreement, and I welcome alternatives, but I ask that those who oppose a proposal also make the effort to offer another path forward.

 

It is easy to take another person's idea and explain all the reasons it might fail. It is far more difficult to create an alternative and then commit oneself to making it succeed. If your only contribution is to tear apart every suggestion placed before you, then nothing shall ever be built. If you believe there is a better road, bring that road before us. Explain it, defend it, and most importantly, be willing to help walk it.

 

The Norrath Secret Society has endured through many long ages, and within its ranks still stand souls of great knowledge who remain ready to lend their aid. Yet no guild, regardless of the weight of its history, can survive upon history alone. A guild is not merely a name above one's head or a hall in which treasures are stored. It is a fellowship maintained through the actions of those who claim membership within it.

 

We now stand at another turning point in the long chronicle of the Society. Perhaps our level seventy progression raids have reached their end. Perhaps this chapter has closed sooner than any of us wished. Yet the closing of one chapter need not mean the ending of the chronicle.

 

The banner of the Norrath Secret Society still hangs within our halls. Our name still carries the weight of the years behind it, and there remain adventures before us that we have yet to undertake. What happens next will depend not merely upon what our members say they want, but upon what they are willing to help create.

 

I have carried this burden for a long while, and I shall continue to serve the Society. But if we are to build something worthy of the name we bear, then the burden can no longer rest upon one pair of shoulders alone. Those who wish to see the Norrath Secret Society endure must now decide what they are willing to contribute toward its future.

 

Bring your ideas on Monday. Bring your concerns. Bring your hopes for what this guild may yet become. Above all, bring a willingness to help transform those words into deeds.

 

The next chapter of the Norrath Secret Society has yet to be written. What is inscribed upon those pages shall depend upon all of us.