Guild Relations:

Intra-guild Relations

The relationships we have with members of our own guild are not to be overlooked.  Often, we must remain civil during times of competition, when the patients are few and the hours are long.  I've addressed some issues of the Empaths' guild below, offering my own humble opinions as guidelines.

-The Shelf.
-Patient-stealing.
-Taking without asking.
-Waiting your turn.
-In times of crisis.

The Shelf:
Seemingly trivial, the shelf has indeed caused arguments among the members of our guild.  Some think that only novices and young Empaths should take things from the shelf, where as others have more of a "first come, first serve" attitude.

To compromise between the two views, I suggest that any debtless or well-off Empaths able to support themselves (through healing or otherwise) should add an item to the shelf for every item they take off -- or at least try to make an equal exchange.  And I'm not talking crap items, either.  No taking a pair of expensive slippers and adding a crossbow bolt.  Be fair.  Add a couple cebi roots or some hisan salve.  Something useful for the younger members of our guild.  And try not to take ALL of a certain thing on the shelf.  For example, if there are 5 boxes, leave two or three.

This way, you can still have a "first come, first serve" attitude toward the shelf, but at least you're making an exchange of some kind.  Honestly, if you don't take it, someone else will -- and who's to say they're going to be a novice?  At least if you add a mortar and a pestle, some countable stones, or armor pieces every now and then, they're more likely to go to the younger Empaths who need them.  Again, just try to be fair about it, or you'll eventually upset someone.

Patient-stealing:
Probably the biggest no-no of the Empaths' guild is patient-stealing.  It can cause some serious feuding between Empaths.  The simple rule is just not to do it.  Do not lay a hand on anyone else's patient unless you're asked to.  Of course, things don't always work out that way.  The often chaotic nature of the Crossing Empaths' guild, for example, can create a bit of misunderstanding.

If you don't have a familiar window open in the WizardFE and you touch someone, the wounds can take up so much of the screen that you wont notice if someone else touched a person the moment before you did.  Therefore, I suggest you leave open a familiar window, even if you use the Crutch and don't pay attention to it.  Make it small, hide it behind other windows... whatever you want.  Just make sure you can clearly see the order in which things occur in your main window.

Another suggestion is to highlight the 'touch' strings so that you can easily tell when another Empath touches someone first.  Anyone who intentionally doesn't highlight the 'touch' strings is just asking to steal patients and make enemies.  Not recommended.  It's a general rule that if you're the first one to touch a patient, that patient is under your care and not to be touched by other Empaths without permission.  (In my personal opinion, "calling" a patient by nodding or speech is NOT a valid way of claiming a patient, but  for more on that, read the section on Waiting Your Turn.)

Of course, there will be at least one time in which you touch a patient and begin taking their wounds, only to realize a moment later that someone else had started before you.  The best you can do when this happens is offer a sincere apology, maybe a gem too.  I guarantee that if you haven't done it yet, you will, and someone will do the same to you.  It's just a product of the guild and how busy it can be.

Taking without asking:
This may seem a silly thing to add.  Of course you don't just take things without asking.  But, believe it or not, there are Empaths out there who think it's okay to take without asking on a regular basis.  Apparently, these Empaths think it's their sole right to take the wounds of anyone they please simply because they're in the guild or Infirmary.  Unless there's an invasion or an emergency, I would beg to differ!

Never, never, ever take a stranger's wounds without asking if it's not an emergency, no matter where you are.  I have two reasons why it's a BAD idea:

1.) First, freely touching someone is considered by many warriors to be consent for attack.  Though it's unlikely a warrior would strike down an Empath solely on these grounds, if you kept taking their wounds, and they said stop, they might just act upon it.  And really, it's unacceptable and extremely rude to walk around touching people and healing them without their asking.  Doctors in Real Life don't go applying medicines and giving injections on the streets or to people who don't ask for help.  In the case of the patient, what if they're waiting for a friend's touch?  What if they don't even like to be touched at all and are extremely wary of strangers touching them?  How would you feel in their place?  Have the decency to ask for permission.

2.) If you're standing in the Empaths' guild and you heal people without their permission, you are effectively stealing from them AND the other Empaths who are present.  Wait your turn like everyone else.  It may be a bit ridiculous to have four Empaths jumping for a patient the moment they ask for healing, but it's even more absurd to steal from your own guildmates, in my opinion.  The least you might do:  if you notice someone with wounds who hasn't asked for healing, is to ask them if they need it.  If they do, then that's fine.  If they don't, then that's that.  It's just a bit of courtesy.

Now, this sort of thing changes with an emergency, so be sure to read the section "In times of crisis."

Waiting your turn:
If there's anything worse than fellow Empaths who take wounds without permission and steal patients, it's Empaths who hog all the patients.  Just because there's an unspoken rule stating that anyone you touch effectively becomes "your patient" does not mean that you should, during slow periods, be healing three people at a time while there are ten other Empaths waiting to do healing of their own.

Alternatively, I don't believe in the practice of "calling" patients before touching them.  If an Empath is not free to touch a patient immediately, then they should let the next Empath have a turn.  An Empath who is stuck in RT, busy healing their own wounds, or otherwise occupied should not "call" patients for the following reasons:

1.) Most Empaths, including myself, are kind enough to honor this practice, though they may not do it themselves.  If you happen to call a patient who is dying, and you're not even ready to take care of them (whether you realize they're dying or not), you could put that patient in serious danger because other Empaths may not feel comfortable touching that person.  If the patient ends up dying because you were too preoccupied to heal them even though you said you would, you're the one to blame.

2.) A major foundation of the Empaths' guild is cooperation.  If, during a slow time, you "call" up a line of patients before you're even done healing the last one you touched, you're effectively stealing from other Empaths who have been waiting their turn.  And with the changes to Empathy, there is absolutely NO reason Empaths should be quarrelling over patients or fighting about the competition.  Honestly, it's a bit ridiculous, and it gives our guild a rather poor image when people come in and see Empaths fighting each other over healing experience...

3.) And the reason for an infirmary is first and foremost, in my opinion, for the treatment of the wounded, not for the experience of the Empaths.  Sure, they could go to the Hospital if they couldn't stand to wait, but should Empaths be so haughty as to make patients stand in line just because they can?  Don't make strange patients wait in your particular line by "calling" them when they could sooner be healed by a free Empath -- really, would a doctor do that in an Emergency room?  I doubt it.  On the other hand, if a patient whispers to you, asking if they can join your line, that's perfectly fine.  The patient has a right to choose who they're healed by.

After having said all that, if you are free to touch a patient, it's perfectly fine to "call" them (by nodding to them or by speech) immediately after touching them.  This way, you can still make sure other Empaths see you claiming a patient fairly and will be less likely to steal your patient by mistake -- a real concern for Empaths when there's high traffic in the guild.  Consequentially, you wont be stealing experience from anyone else and you'll be getting those patients in and out of the infirmary as quick as possible, which is what a real hospital would do.

Have patience and wait your turn, ESPECIALLY when there are a lot of other Empaths and barely any patients to go around.  Otherwise, you're going to tick off your guild mates and earn yourself a rather unsavory reputation.  Also not recommended.

My final recommendation?  If you're really that concerned with experience gain, try perceiving the health of the room every few minutes for a learning rate boost to your Empathy skill.

In times of crisis:
In times of crisis, such as disease epidemics and invasions, the necessity to save lives takes precedence over some forms of etiquette.  My suggestion, however, is that you try your best to be considerate of your guildmates and the work they're trying to do along side you.

Don't use these situations to your advantage, as excuses to steal or hog patients.  Rather, use your best judgment while healing, choosing patients, and working with your fellow Empaths in order to maintain good relations with them, as with the other guilds.

And speaking of relations with the other guilds... 

Inter-guild Relations

-Receiving tips.
-Thieves.
-Working with Clerics.
-Hunting Parties.

Tips:
In exchange for your healing, most people will offer tips.  Since we don't have any real way to earn our own income, and are providing them a very valuable service, many consider it an unquestionable courtesy.  However, not all patients and Empaths view it the same way.

Some Empaths refuse to take tips.  They believe it cheapens the value of their gift, to consider it worth money at all.  I personally see it as them trying to offer us something tangible in appreciation for our efforts, and will always accept.  It usually makes the patient feel better to have repaid your kindness.  Also, refusing tips can turn people away from offering them to those who will accept, or need some way to earn a living.

Many patients you encounter won't have anything to tip you with at the time, especially if you go to them when they didn't expect to be healed.  However, most Empaths feel that if they get a sincere thank you, that's worth more than the tip would have been.

One thing that irks many Empaths, though, is when a patient looks extremely rich, or is hunting in an area where money is easy to get, but they tip with a few coins or a small gem.  It will happen sooner or later, and it's up to you what you do about it.  Some of us just smile, thank them, and secretly hope they trip over a goblin, while others will stand up and berate them for it.  It's tough to look at someone who is obviously wealthy yet offers less than the cost of an herb.

Thieves:
It used to be that there was a certain level of respect Empaths were given by thieves, in that those who followed the "Old Code" would never steal from us.  We have no way to earn money on our own, and no way to fight back if we're stolen from.  To steal from an Empath, therefore, is truly cowardly.  To steal from the Empaths would save their lives, also, is a bit disrespectful.  

Not many thieves follow these old ideas, unfortunately, so be on your guard when in town.  Always remember to deposit those coins when you're through healing or leave the Empaths' guild, and close that gem pouch, too.  If you do happen to catch a Thief stealing from you while you're in town, you can accuse them at the Guard House in town.  Just DIR GUARD HOUSE to find the way.

Clerics:
Empaths and Clerics have to work together in order to prepare corpses for raising.  This isn't always easy, as we have different priorities, and use different types of mana.  If you're working in a place like the Cleric guild building, where there's good life and holy mana, that's not so much of a problem, but elsewhere, you may have to work around it.

If a raise is intended, it's often best to let the Cleric do their work in a decent holy spot first, as the dead person's memories will continue to be lost while they're being healed.  And unless the you're working far ahead of the Cleric, it's usually a good idea to heal only what you have to so that each corpse can be raised, and worry about minor wounds later.

Hunting parties:
Empaths may not be able to actively hunt for themselves, but they can still be a valuable part of a hunting party.  You have your choice, if you hunt somewhere around your level, of joining in and dodging the opponents while healing the hunters, or if that's not your style, you can stay back for the most part, be guarded, and still be able to heal the party and carry loot.  Or, if you don't want to get involved in the fighting at all, you can find a safe healing spot and wait for the hunters to come back to you when they need to be healed.

For more information on hunting and combat, visit the Combat page.

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