ABOUT US
The Elder Sages Guild (TESG) is an international online community of enthusiasts centered around
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, an MMORPG published by
Zenimax Online Studios. TESG is not affiliated with ZeniMax Media, Zenimax Online Studios, Bethesda Game Studios, or Bethesda Softworks.
We provide practical help and strategies, host group play events, and share our members' insights and experience with like-minded ESO players.
You are welcome whatever your playing style: solo, small or large groups, RP, PvE, PvP -- or all of the above. Join any of the three Alliances, play on any platform, anywhere in the world.
The Elder Sages are highly diverse. The
Guild Motto of TESG is
Tamriel:
Exploring,
Sharing knowledge,
Gaming, any way you want. Our goal is to help each other have a great gaming experience, Novice and Veteran alike, with the masterpiece that is the
ESO. Our
Guild Slogan and primary goal:
Have Fun!!
EARLY GUILD HISTORY: FORMING TESG
The Elder Sages' Guild (TESG) was founded by a group of enthusiastic participants in the
ESO Beta who met on the
Beta Forums. The primary thread for these budding groups was nicknamed the "
Greybeards" discussions.
The term
Greybeards came about since the name was prominent in
Elder Scrolls Lore. Participants shared a
mature-minded attitude toward gaming. We held an inclusive attitude about gaming in general.
"Greybeards" encompassed those with varying experience. Many were aficionados of the
Elder Scrolls series. Some had little or no MMO experience. Others preferred solo play but were willing to give ESO a try. Still others had played MUDs (early Multi-User Dungeons), RPGs, MMORPGs, or full MMOs.
A common denominator was a shared love of gaming.
Having discovered others who shared a mature-minded view of gaming (regardless of our assigned testing group) we enthustically used Beta Forums threads whenever they were online to share ideas, exchange viewpoints on the Beta, the
Elder Scrolls series, and other games we enjoyed.
PMs and
posts led to developing ideas on how to approach
ZOS to find ways to discuss ideas about the
ESO Community when the Beta Forums were
off-line. The exciting concept of
Player Guilds arose. The official
Community thread was encouraging, posting that the
social community would be a
key component of ESO to promote interaction between players. Our desire for
Player Guilds seemed possible.
Implementing off-line groups, or
Player Guilds, was more difficult than might appear now. During
NDA the Beta Forums were
only available briefly before and during scheduled Beta Test sessions. Between tests the
NDA strictly prohibited discussing anything about the ESO Beta, including
confirming or denying participation! To complicate matters further, ZOS wiped most of the ESO Beta forums content between sessions. Fortunately for the
Greybeards, the
social community threads were usually preserved.
Our informal
Greybeards group grew and thrived. Several participants reached out to the
ZOS Community Managers. We presented our ideas on the concept of
Player Guilds. Officially the Player Guild feature was not yet ready to be tested, though rare hints appeared in the Beta Forums and Patch Notes.
We proposed testing Player Guilds off-line through
private, hidden, invitation-only, Facebook pages. Our proposal included guidelines for vetting membership, requiring confirmed participation in the Beta. Invited applicants would need to provide their @name, confirmed by Beta Forum PM and acknowledgement. The Facebook group would prominently post the ZOS License Agreement, the NDA, and a link to ZOS Beta Support.
Once applicant Beta participation was confirmed by a Guild leader (placing no burden on ZOS), the prospective member had to agree to the
ZOS License Agreement,
NDA and
Code of Conduct, as well as the
Guiild Charter and
Rules of Conduct to be accepted. Public posts or images by Guild members were expressly prohibited and violators would be immediately reported to ZOS.
The fruits of the these
Greybeards discussions were the formation of several player guilds, including
GRIN, our friend-guild
Elder Moot, and
The Elder Sages' Guild, abbreviated TESG.
TESG FOUNDED AUGUST 31, 2013
THE ELDER SAGES CLOSED FACEBOOK GROUP CREATED
TESG on Facebook
With the permission of ZOS Assistant Community Manager Gina Bruno, our first web presence was a hidden, closed, and private invitation-only
Facebook page. Members of this fledgling Facebook group had to pass the same vetting process outlined in our proposal to ZOS.
Although this sceenshot shows a group photo, no images of any kind were permitted until after the Non-Disclosure Agreement was lifted. Our Elder Sages' Guild Facebook group continues. No longer hidden or private, it is still invitation only. Visit
our TESG FB group and send a PM to request an invite.
FIRST TESG WEB SITE ON GUILD PORTAL
[center]
Early Guild Masthead and Logo
Shortly after establishing our Facebook group, we reached out to ZOS Community Support for permission to establish a hidden web site. Our leadership council had discovered it was possible to create a hidden sub-domaIn using a gaming site host provider. We promised to follow the same strict guidelines and vetting process used for our established Facebook group.
ZOS Community Support granted permission and our first web site was established as a hidden sub-domain on
Guild Portal! From the beginning, ESO has been a dedicated and innovative guild -- both in in-game through /bug reports and /feedback -- on the ESO Beta Forums and our Facebook group.
We were one of the first ESO Guilds to have a web site.
Between Beta test sessions, we posted our notes and experiences with the prior test. While anxiously awaiting the
next Beta sesson Invite, we'd formulate plans and set our Guild goals and agenda for the next test.
From the onset,
fun was a prime objective. We started a
Guild Lore project based on a hidden
"Glade in the Mists" where early age Sages had gathered Lore. These ancient Sages sought to preserve and protect these tomes and the wisdom they contained against the coming of Molag Bal's minions. This Lore was saved for posterity in our Guild Library hidden in an alternate portal. Other members wrote back stories for their characters, aligned with our "traditional Guild Lore".
On a practical side Guild business included editing and refining our
Guild Charter,
Code of Conduct, establishing Guild
Ranks and administrative structure . One talented volunteer designed member Guild Banners. we created custom Guild logos, rank badges, recognition awards, and other site graphics. We placed these in our Gallery for members' convenience.
In short, we rapidly organized an effective working guild framework, with room for adapting this after ESO launch. Power is not vested in any individual, rather the Guild as a whole.
Guided by the principle
"play when you want, where you want, any way you want", we decided to open TESG to members of any Alliance or play style, so long as we all
Have Fun!! While our structure is hierarchical, power is vested in the Guild membership as a whole. Strategic vision is set by the
Leadership Council (Master Sages), advised by the
Elder Sages' Council (Officers), with input from our
Sages' Council (full members). Our
Aspirants, a provisional rank, gives new members a chance to get to know us and we them. Aspirants normally advance to Sage quickly.
This responsive structure has served us well, and continues. Not all of our founding members are still with us, but our
Founders have done an amazing service to the guild, so special thanks go to them. Active or not, each one holds a place of special honor and permanent
Founder recognition in our
TESG Scroll of Honor.
SITE MOVE TO GUILD LAUNCH
TESG GL Site Header and Logo
Several months after creating our growing Guild Portal web site, we experienced serious problems when our host provider went down during active Beta test sessions. Since the tests were over weekends, host Support was unavailable, leaving us in a
site down condition.
We therefore created a newer, more reliable, site on
Guild Launch. We also obtained a
custom domain for our guild! Co-Founder @
ArenLiore, our official graphics designer, created professional-quality graphics and implemented a complete GL site makeover.
With the lifting of the ZOS Non-Disclosure Agreement, site activity increased dramatically. We expanded our ESO Discussion topics, posted complete Patch Notes, and added in-game member and guild screenshots. (Monthly we change our site wallpaper with a new member screenshot).
END OF BETA PARTY
TESG held an
"EOB Party" during the
final Beta Test session. Guild members met at a popular location in
Ebonheart Pact territory, formed a group, then mounted a lighthouse, where they danced. As the server shutdown timer approached one minute, members leaped off the parapet to the rocks below for a
glorious end -- and
End of Beta!
Log-in server issues delayed my arrival. I entered the Lighthouse but missed our group who were out of view, outside on the lighthouse parapets. I departed the lighthouse, an in my final Beta session ]battled several enemy NPCs successfully, followed by a celebratory solo dance nearby the lighthouse. Our
EOB Party was the first of several we've held, with future events planned.
Auldjohn TESG EOB Party Video
TESG EARLY ACCESS/LAUNCH PARTY
EARLY ACCESS
LAUNCH DAY!
We prepared feverishly for
ESO Early Access in late February and March, 2014. Our
Charter and
Code of Conduct were revised, and our forums slightly restructured.
Great effort went in to planning and executing a seven-day Guild
ESO Launch Party. We posted notices on the ESO Forums and our Facebook page inviting players to group with us in-game. Members also chimed in on
TeamSpeak.
At the earliest possible moment of
Early Launch, after servers were up, TESG met on
TeamSpeak. We talked our way through the
Character Creation screen, then proceeded to
The Wailing Prison. In
The Wailing Prison TESG formally created our
permanent in-game Guilds on both
NA and
EU meGaservers! After this brief ceremony players on the same megaserver and dungeon instance formed groups to reconnoiter
The Wailing Prison as guildmates.
The
TESG Launch Party continued throughout
Early Access and on through
Launch Day, 4/4/14. The principle of
Have Fun!! was applied with gusto.
ELDER SAGES FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY
August 31, 2014 TESG celebrated our one year anniversary with an in-game
First Birthday Party held simulataneously on
TeamSpeak. Special guests included distinguished members of our friend guild,
Elder Moot with whom we've established diplomatic relations to organize inter-guild events.
Both guild had by then exchanged official representatives, termed
Envoys by
Moot and
Wandering Sages by TESG. We each created and Embassy on our Guild Forums for the other Guild, where leaders and officers can exchange ideas and plan joint events, to the benefit of the members of both guilds.
First Birthday Party Group Photo
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THE ELDER SAGES' GUILD NOW
New Guild Logo
When our Guild Launch
Ultimate subscription was about to expire, we decided to change to a Group Pay model. However it seemed we would lose our essential TeamSpeak server since Group Pay could fund our site subscription but not a voice server. Our Leadership Council decided to explore other options.
ArenLiore, our webmaster, set up a free test site on
Enjin, home to our friend-guild
Elder Moot. Guild members were given an opportunity to test the site and provide feedback. When we were satisfied with the results, we moved from Guild Launch to our new home on
Enjin.
Our New Home
New
ArenLiore graphics adorn our current site on Enjin. He also designed our site layout and the majority of our forum structure, eliminating rank-based forums in favor or a topical arrangement. We completed a migration to our Enjin site:
Web site:
Home Page.
Most of our social media activities are on now our
Facebook Page:
The Elder Sages' Guild on Facebook
This is our 4th year as
The Elder Sage's Guild, and have expanded to embrace multi-platform. TESG has in-game groups on
PC NA, EU, PTS, as well as
PS4 and
XB1.
Our PS4 group has their own Facebook page:
The Elder Sages Guild PS4
Join Us and Have Fun!!
Application[/b]. To be added to our FB group click
Join and mention you were referred by
Auldjohn.
Join us as we adventure together in Tamriel! [/b]
• • •
TESG uses the free Discord cross-platform Chat app