His Lordship

His Lordship
His Lordship in 2020
Status	Active (OSRS)
Combat Level	109
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Founder of the Wilderness Guardians, YouTuber
Other Names	Lordy, Gene
Clan	Wilderness Guardians

His Lordship (July 2003 - Present) is a RuneScape clan leader and YouTuber for both OSRS and RS3. He served as the leader of The Wilderness Guardiansclan from December 2003 to 2015, making him the longest serving clan leader in RuneScape. He has produced several popular YouTube movies (and is a Runefest Golden Gnome finalist), and has visited Jagex studios twice.

He is often associated with his tag line "Hi, I'm His Lordship, the leader of the Wilderness Guardians" with which he opens most of his Youtube videos.

The Wilderness Guardians

The Wilderness Guardians is one of Runescape's most well-known clans, and was founded by His Lordship on 6th December 2003. He considers his clan's longevity and fame to be his proudest achievement in the game. The history of the Wilderness Guardians is inseparable from that of its leader.

The Anti-RPK Era (2003 - 2005)

In December of 2003, His Lordship was killed by a team of PKers at the Dark Knights' Fortress in the Wilderness. He came to the belief that all PKers were bad, and posted a topic on a fansite entitled "Read This If You Hate PKers". On December 6th 2003, the clan known as the "PK PKs" was formed. and gained momentum quickly thanks in large part to its unique principles.

The clan was based around the concept of Anti-PKing - a style of gameplay whereby players would only attack other PKers in the wilderness and leave non-PKers alone, sometimes offering such non-PKers protection. Despite an initial surge in popularity and over a hundred active members by the end of 2004, the clan remained relatively unknown within the wider Runescape community, and was weak compared to other clans of the time.

The Powerhouse Era and Teamspeak Rant (2005 - 2006)

A milestone for WG was their fight against on June 4th of 2005 against The Unbreakables, led by His Lordship. The victory is widely recognised as WG's initiation into the top tier of clans. Shortly after, WG fought Dead on Arrival in their first P2P fight on July 9th. The war was the first official clan fight to make use of the ancient spellbook, specifically ice spells. The war was crashed by Followers of Malkov, but it received an incredible response from the clan world community. The video for the war has repeatedly been voted the most enjoyable clan video to watch by RuneScape community, and has attained "classic" status. His Lordship cites the DoA war as the greatest fight of his clanning career.

Presided over by His Lordship, WG grew in fame and became a top 3 clan in strength in Pay-to-Play wilderness throughout 2005-06, and a top 10 clan in free-to-play wilderness. At its peak the clan had over 350 members, making it one of the largest clans of all time.

During this time, His Lordship as an individual came to fame for a controversial recording of a rant on Teamspeak, in which he shouted emotively at members of his clan who mutinied their clanmates at a wilderness event. This dramatic recording humiliated a then-17-year-old His Lordship, and the recording would continue to entertain the clan world at his expense for over a decade. After this event, His Lordship became a household name amongst PKing clans.

Decline and the Bounty Hunter Era (2006 - 2008)

In mid-2006, His Lordship was forced to step down from leadership due to real life pressures. Tmal34 and Twizzlers300 were elected in his stead. The new leadership made several drastic changes that His Lordship disagreed with, and he returned to close the clan and depose the leadership on December 1st of 2006. WG re-opened within a few hours, however over 100 members left in the timeframe and over the next few days. The event is known as "D-Day", and is the only time WG has closed.

His Lordship returned to full leadership of WG, and began the restoration of the clan. A reasonable portion of the clan members who had left returned in March of 2007, and the first signs of catering strongly for the community aspect of the clan showed during the year. WG was also one of the clans who helped organise the Falador riots on December 10th of 2007 due to the removal of the Wilderness and free trade. Despite the lack of compromise, WG would adapt fairly well to the new system of the Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars Arena.

The Real Life Era (2008 - 2011)

In response to the removal of the wilderness there was a transition from in-game focus to a real-life community focus within WG. WG's first Real Life meeting was hosted by His Lordship on 12th January 2008, in London. The group played some RuneScape pranks and broke into the Jagex's London offices (which were closed). A recap video was produced by His Lordship, which quickly gained fame in the clan world. A second meeting followed in Paris that August.

The clan was mocked harshly at the time for meeting up, as they were one of the first clans to do so and it seemed a "nerdy" pastime. Later that year His Lordship began manufacturing branded T-shirts (with over fifty sold in its first print), further tarnishing his standing with the clan world. In 2009 a third real life meeting would take place in the USA, and a fourth in Singapore.

In August 2010, the clan attended RuneFest 2010 as part of their fifth real life meeting. At Runefest the clan gave away branded pens and T-shirts, exposing themselves to a new demographic of players and to most of Jagex. Through this network His Lordship would go on to be interviewed as part of the Clan Submissions blogs, and WG would be featured on the RuneScape main page no less than five times over the next two years.

Within the game, WG was unable to recover from "D-Day" (see previous section), and the removal of the wilderness, and could not reclaim its former place as a top tier clan, although through these years it secured a few key victories, most notably against the Crimson Raiders in 2009, bringing it back into the top 10 league, and "The Battle of Turning Tides" which ended a six-month losing streak and provided a crucial restoration of clan morale.

Retirement and the New Wilderness Era (2011 - 2012)

The wilderness and free trade was returned to Runescape in early 2011, but like most PKing clans the Wilderness Guardians were unable to restore their former strength. It was around this time that His Lordship distanced himself from in-game activities, leaving most of the everyday running of the clan to Mojohaza1 (Mojo), spending most of his time on recruitment media and real life events. The clan was never able to recruit more than 60 active players despite tireless recruitment, and could not achieve a ranking amonst the top tier clans. Despite this, the Wilderness Guardians became increasingly famous due to their endorsements by Jagex and their stability, having become one of the oldest clans to remain open during the years without wilderness PKing, when over three quarters of PKing clans closed.

By September 2012 His Lordship and the clan had met ten times across four continents, including at Runefest 2011 where the clan became increasingly well known amongst the wider Runescape community. It was also during this era that His Lordship became well known for his Runescape documentary movies (see section below).

The Evolution of Combat and Old-School Era (2012 - Present)

The already suffering PKing clan world was dealt a further blow in late 2012 with the implementation of the Evolution of Combat update. His Lordship at this time was mostly retired, participating only occasionally in clan events and producing clan media, but along with most PKers, rejected the changes imposed on the game on the strongest possible terms. WG's strength was further weakened as it was forced to adapt to a new combat system that was unsupportive of PKing, and the clan was at its weakest point in its history.

Upon the release of old school Runescape, the clan attempted to remain strong on both versions (OSRS and RS3) simultaneously, but it became clear that the clan had better survival prospect sin old school, which was also His Lordship's preferred version. Despite this preference, His Lordship continued to support RS3 PKing through his videos and suggestions, and refused to close the RS3 portion of the Wilderness Guardians. Sinking back into retirement, the clan continued to be run by Mojo with His Lordship's occasional input.

Media

His Lordship is one of the most diverse contributors to creative media in the Runescape community, with creations in Flash animation, Runescape documentaries, music, digital art, literature and cosplay. His creative output reaches back to January 2004.

Runescape Documentaries

His Lordship's documentary videos are so named for their in-depth exploration of Runescape issues, particularly those surrounding PKing. The title of documentary is sometimes misleading, as the videos often do not present facts and findings, but also subjective opinions and suggestions. His videos very often attract the attention of key members of Jagex, and have prompted significant changes to the game.

The Wilderness: An Unauthorised Biography (2012)

The first of His Lordship's videos to go viral, The Wilderness: An Unauthorised Biography (2012) is a visual history of PKing clans and a plea for Jagex to improve the mechanics of the wilderness. It was made in collaboration with Vio (DG Keanu) and was acclaimed universally by its many viewers. Over the years Jagex have referred back to this video in various streams, forum posts and conversations, citing it as inspiration behind the old school wilderness rejuvenation amongst other initiatives. His Lordship considers it to be his most important video.

Why Runescape is Dying: His Lordship Speaks Out (2013)

Frustrated with the lack of progress on Jagex's part to improve the wilderness for the PKing community, His Lordship created a video entitled Why Runescape is Dying: His Lordship Speaks Out (2013) in which he stands in real life before a camera explaining why the game has declined over recent years, blaming the fall of the PKing community. The video became an instant and unexpected hit amongst PKers, and renewed the fight for improvements to combat and the wilderness.

What Regular People Think of Runescape (2014)

What Regular People Think of Runescape (2014) is a comparison video between RS3 and OSRS, where His Lordship shows six friends both versions of the game and asks them which version they prefer and why. It analyses the tutorials for both versions and offers both criticism and praise. As of January 2016 it is his most viewed video by far, and has prompted discussions on how to attract new players to the game.

What Famous Players + J-Mods Think of Runescape (2014)

At Runefest 2014 His Lordship went around asking a number of key figures in Runescape (such as Mod Mark, B0aty, Chrisarchie and Mod Ash) for their opinions on specific aspects of the game. The variety of responses was compiled into a video entitled What Famous Players and J-Mods Think of Runescape (2014) and offers a glimpse into the way in which these people perceive the game.

Other Documentary Videos

His Lordship has created a number of minor videos which have not achieved the same view count as those above.

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	The Runescape 2007 Servers	Himself
2014	The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fixing Runescape	Himself
2014	Review: Runescape Legacy Mode Combat	Himself
2015	Why Runescape Needs PKers	Himself
2015	A Suggestion That Might Revive PKing	Himself

Flash Movies

His Lordship's first Runescape creations were Flash animations about his clan the Wilderness Guardians. They are rare examples in this genre, increasing in quality over time.

Year	Title	Role	Awards
2004	The Wilderness Guardians	Director, Animator
2005	RuneScape Guardians	Director, Animator
2007	Wilderness Guardians	Director, Animator
2010	Wildguard: The Trailer	Director, Animator, Narrator
2010	Golden Gnomes Animation: The Wilderness Guardians	Director, Animator, Narrator	Runner Up: 2010 Golden Gnome Awards

Original Music

His Lordship is a musician in real life, so his lack of musical contributions to Runescape's community is striking. Two notable entries are recorded.

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	The Guardian Power	Composer, Singer	Clan Theme Song
2011	Tales from Port Sarim	Composer, Singer	Original RSMV

Comedy Videos

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	The Runescape Workout	Himself	Featured in RS news
2014	His Lordship's Cold Water Challenge	Himself	Jagex accepted nomination

Official Runescape Videos

His Lordship has made a few appearances on the Runescape Official Youtube and Twitch accounts.

Year	Title	Role	Platform
2011	The Wilderness Guardians Challenge the P.P.o.P.	Himself	Youtube
2014	Official RS Twitch Live Stream, April 1 2014 (7000 viewers)	Himself	Twitch
2016	Happy 15th Birthday, Runescape!	Himself	Youtube
2016	Runescape Documentary (forthcoming)	Himself	Multiple

Artwork

Although His Lordship has produced a great number of digital art creations (mainly for his clan the Wilderness Guardians), only one has garnered attention amongst the wider community. The Wilderness Guardians from Runescape's Players Gallery 21 remains one of the clan's most iconic images.

Cosplay

In 2013 His Lordship attended Runefest 3 in cosplay of the RS3 version of rune armour, partnered with Vio (DG Keanu) in OSRS rune armour, holding the Wilderness Guardians vexillum. The pair came second place to Saradomin in the cosplay competition, and were featured in the Runefest Cosplay video for that year. This marked His Lordship's second Golden Gnomes nomination.

Literature

In October 2012 His Lordship announced his intentions to write a book about his experience growing up alongside Runescape. As of 2018, this project has been mothballed due to a lack of interest.

In-Game

His Lordship has been playing Runescape since July 2003, but his in-game accomplishments are few; he is best known for his community contributions, most notably for being the longest serving leader amongst all Runescape clans.

In his early gaming career he wrote the first guides to numerous quests, including Troll Romance and most impressively Monkey Madness, a feat which took over twelve consecutive hours without any assistance.

Upon the release of construction in 2006 His Lordship was ranked in the top ten players for the skill after three days, and kept this position for approximately one week.

He is one of the oldest continuous subscribing members to appear on the forums, with his membership extending back unbroken to October 2003.

Aside from these minor achievements His Lordship has no significant in-game accomplishments.

Jagex Office Visits

His Lordship has been invited to visit Jagex's office twice. The first visit was on April 1st 2014, where he and nine other high-profile players were invited to visit Jagex to help develop the upcoming legacy mode for Runescape.

The second visit was in May 2014 and was a more informal tour of the offices as part of birthday celebrations of a fellow player and friend, Marbian. The visit included a preview of upcoming game content followed by dinner with Mark Gerhard, Mod Pi, Mod Jane, and Mod Slayer.

Controversies

As with many high-profile veteran players, a number of controversies have surrounded His Lordship over the years. These controversies make him simultaneously respected and hated by the Runescape community.

Teamspeak Rant

In August 2005, A group of Ex-WG persuaded some WG members to mutiny the clan on a PK trip while His Lordship was absent. Owing to time zone differences, His Lordship found out the next morning while the perpetrators were asleep, and so recorded a "rant" to be played to the so-called "TeamSpeak Crew" later. All of them were banned and exiled from WG, but the recording was leaked. A soundboard of the rant was made shortly afterward, and whereas before His Lordship was unheard of anywhere outside his clan, he was not infamous amongst PKers.

The PKing clan world continues to mock His Lordship over this incident in 2005, often quoting most intense phrase "nothing left". His Lordship was interviewed by Jagex about this rant many years later, and admitted that he himself found it funny. Despite the age of the recording, it is still brandished against him.

Real Life Meetings and Merchandise

His Lordship has held over a dozen real life meetings with his clanmates around the world, including at Runefest. Whilst these are social events, around the time of the first meeting such events were very uncommon. As such the clan's antics at its real life meetings were mocked for being nerdy, with the community assuming WG had taken the game too far. However, His Lordship viewed this as the opposite of being a nerd as the events turned online friendships into real friendships.

His recruitment movies for the Wilderness Guardians are of him personally facing a camera and talking about his clan, and the enthusiasm with which he talks is often considered to be taking the game too seriously.

Additionally, His Lordship has manufactured clan merchandise such as T-Shirts and pens, and sold these to clan members around the world. As an individual His Lordship has always demonstrated unconventional behaviour, and is keen to merge his online identity with his real life one. Because such behaviour does not exist elsewhere in the community it is often ridiculed.

Ego

On numerous occasions His Lordship has been accused of egotism due to the manner in which he speaks, and his often competitive nature. This is particularly prevalent on fansites such as Zybez. One notable example of egotistical behaviour was when he was snubbed by Jagex for inclusion amongst the finalists of the Golden Gnomes video contest. His entry, Tales from Port Sarim, was overlooked even though it was popular amongst players, and so he took to the official forums to rant at Jagex, promising them he would one day "mail you a picture of my Oscar".

His Lordship has often had to apologise for being egotistical, and has attributed his behaviour to childhood bullying. During his adult years there have been far fewer accusations.

Clan Failures

One common criticism of His Lordship is that he is unable to effectively lead his clan. This stems from the fact that whilst he has been a clan leader for twelve years, it was only during one of those years (2006) that the Wilderness Guardians was recognised as a top tier clan. The criticism is further strengthened due to the fact that the clan continued to grow stronger after he stepped down from leadership for a few months that same year, and that the clan's success in Darkscape came about whilst he was absent.

Amongst his own clan members, however, he is highly respected, and claims of ineffective leadership have lost momentum since around 2010.

Initial Opposition to OSRS

The PKing community was infuriated by His Lordship when they read that he opposed the establishment of old-school Runescape. Prior to this, His Lordship had secured their good will following the enormous success of his campaign to revitalise the wilderness (see The Wilderness: An Unauthorised Biography, above). This was shattered with a forum post and subsequent video denouncing the old-school servers proposal.

His Lordship's main fear was that the clan community would be divided and the PKing agenda would become diluted; he still had hope for a total restoration of the main game. The stance that he took would inflict lasting damage on his reputation. He remains uncomfortable with the fact the game is divided into several player bases because players who choose an allegiance will inevitably miss out on content; RS3 players lack support for PKers, and OSRS players lack new content such as Prifddinas.

Real Life

In real life His Lordship is known as Gene, an Australian of Asian ancestry. His major passions outside Runescape include composing music, bodybuilding, travelling (and hiking) and cooking, and is an avid collector of board games.

Trivia

• His Lordship has a tattoo of his clan (WG) on his back, a souvenir from a drunken real life meeting with clanmates in 2013.
• There is currently downloadable content for Age of Empires II on Steam of his teamspeak rant.
• By his own reckoning His Lordship has successfully repealed four permanent bans on his one account.
• His Lordship has been to five Runefests

External links

• Wilderness Guardians Official Website
• His Lordship's Official YouTube Channel