Old School RuneScape clans have been an unofficial thing for as long as the game existed, but in 2021 Jagex made it official and introduced the new clan system. While there are various platforms where you can find OSRS clans if you want to join one, this new OSRS Clan Spotlight series will bring you a different insight into what to expect from some of the top OSRS clans, with unique interviews with the clan leadership.
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OSRS Isle
This week’s clan spotlight focuses on OSRS Isle, a well established Old School RuneScape international clan that does loads of social events and community oriented activities on top of loads of PvM! LadyVela, the owner of the clan, agreed to share a lot of interesting info about the clan she and her team have been successfully running for over five years.
Clan name: OSRS Isle
Primary language: English
Size: 450+
Date founded: 2019
What inspired you to start your own clan in OSRS?
To be honest, I was never sure if starting and having my own clan was something that interested me. I was initially a bit overwhelmed with everything when I first was given the keys to what I grew into OSRS Isle, and I wasn’t sure if it was something that I actually wanted to do. I was new to game itself. In the beginning we were kinda just the left overs of an abandoned community. The things I enjoy in OSRS are all community based activities– mini games, group bossing, bank-standing and chatting, raiding, so as my account progressed and I started meeting people, the clan grew very organically. 5 years later this is still the main reason why I log in everyday.
What differentiates your clan from other clans in OSRS?
What my team & I have aimed to create here, at OSRS Isle, is a place in which anyone and everyone is welcomed. We strive to just be decent ordinary people that can offer a space for anyone who has a love for RuneScape to be and feel welcomed in. We are all here to play a game and unburden ourselves from the stresses of everyday life, make friends, and have fun while making these memorable connections. We also truly try to keep our clan Social. Period. Yes, we offer PvM masses, events & competitions, and raid mentoring multiple times per week, but we also do just as many social or skilling events, offer space for lower leveled players, and tons of discord activities.
How would you describe the overall culture and atmosphere of your clan?
Easy going, fun vibes while playing a game that we have all been able to connect through. We want each and every person who joins us both in game and on discord to feel that they have a place here. We put a priority on making people feel welcomed. We don’t want existing or new members to feel like just another number.
I also actively work to keep the mods and admins in check, as well as myself. The common denominator in horrible stories I hear from other clans falling apart always starts with the leadership. The staff holds each other accountable and respects the feedback each team member provides. As the leader, I intentionally pick my staff based on people who I think are level headed, can accept constructive criticism and also GIVE me the criticism. I am a firm believer that people can’t do better if they don’t know better.
I also think as anyone progresses in the game it’s good to be constantly reminded of where you came from. There was once a time where you didnt know how to do a high level boss, or what gear you need, or how a certain activity works. So because we have just as many new-to-runescape players as we have experienced players, we keep the culture of our community very friendly and helpful.
Can you share a particularly memorable event that your clan has organized?
Out of all the PvM masses, bingos, discord events, there are two that stand out and ironically both were at Barrows of all places. During one of our bingo events, we gathered as many members as we could and all went to Barrows as a group, starting at the same boss and moving to each one together. Then the final chest at the end. There was so much chaos! The other one we hosted a New Years Eve party at Barrows. There’s something about over packing a voice channel and hearing everyone laughing and having a good time that makes something so mundane and boring like barrows turned into a blast!
What types of events and activities does your clan regularly host?
Everything! Like I said we are social first, and always will be. Because we have all levels and types of players we try to host as many things as we can so people have a variety. We normally always have a skill or boss of the week going, alternating weeks. We host regular bingos — about every 4-6 weeks with some ‘mini’ bingos in between. Because we do bingos so frequently we switch up the theme or style in which it’s played. Some are more traditional, some are based on board games, some are themed in nature or cater to a certain type of player.
We tend to find stuff that works and keep a consistent schedule too. If one week people are busy and no one shows up that’s no biggie, we still offer it as an option. Some of these include Nex’ing on Thursdays, Movie Mondays, Fishing Fridays. We also take these opportunites to teach content too. We’ve found that a lot of what holds people back from participation is the fear of messing up. Our Nex events are a chance to teach a new person the mechanics, talk about gear, and provide other options like FFA worlds or small teams. We want to set people up for success and give them a taste so they feel more comfortable seeking out that content on their own after the clan events are over. We do this with all content too not just PvM. Our Fishing Fridays are an opportunity to teach some lower levels how to do Tempoross.
We are also a widely spread clan, so a lot of our regularly scheduled events end up running at two times. One for EU and one for US. Thanks to my Mods for making this happen to accommodate both time-zones.
What’s the most wholesome moment you’ve witnessed in your clan?
One thing that comes to mind was one day the game went down for unscheduled maintenance during peak hours of many of our members. Quickly thinking, one of our leaders put together a spontaneous art competition for anyone and everyone to partake in. The goal was to create OSRS Isle “art” using only Microsoft Pain. At first there wasn’t much engagement, but as the day went on, and the game came back online, more and more submissions were entered. We ended up doing prizes and turning a lot of the memorable images in the art into emojis or stickers for our discord.
What are some of the biggest changes you’ve implemented in the clan over time?
This year in particular, we’ve seen a boom of new members. I have had to make a great many decisions as to ways in which we can continue to grow our community while keeping the same fundamentals and beliefs that were initially established. We’ve decided to transition into more of a “community” vs just a “clan chat”. Guesting has always been there but we encourage it more. We also allow multi clanning. If you are apart of another in game clan chat, you are still able to ‘rank up’ in our community. We have opened up a lot of our events to non-members as well. Since our ranking structure is based on activity, folks can just hang out with us 🙂 The more friends the better!
How do you handle recruitment and ensure new members fit well with the clan’s culture?
I do a majority of the recruitment myself. In the beginning, the clan grew very organically from myself and my co-leader, friends of friends would join, maybe the occasional forum or Facebook post, but we never really drove the recruitment hard. Since Jagex removed the website forums, we started advertising in the official OSRS discord in their forum section. I just keep our post updated with our information and post pictures of events and stuff we got going on and it seems to drive the recruitment itself. I have always felt that most clans offer the same types of things as far as community, memories, fun, events etc — new prospective members won’t know what they like or want out of a community until they try something out. I just let OSI speak for itself. If you hang out with us for a little bit you’ll know if it fits your vibe or not. There are so many great clans and communities out there, big and small. I encourage everyone to try out the spaces until you find an environment that works well with your personality and goals.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a clan owner for you personally?
The members! Watching the account progression. Seeing people find new content for the first time and really loving it. Having members set goals and achieve them and also being able to share in those milestones and memories. The members are so wonderful <3 Everything they do from how helpful & supportive they are to each other, how friendly and welcoming they are to new folks, and the generosity in giving back to the community. I literally couldn’t do it without them. We all know this is a game that most people play in cycles. You grind for months, then take a break, rinse and repeat. My goal is to keep exposing members to new content and keep things interesting and fun. So the most rewarding feedback I get is when someone reaches out and lets me know this community is the reason why they are still playing and enjoying OSRS. That makes all the stress, planning, organizing and hard work, worth it.
What’s the best way for players interested in joining OSRS Isle to contact you?
You can find us on discord at discord.gg/osi
