Wait a minute... Just how're you guys gonna regulate who's the best? Will you look at a person's strength level or his base level? His ability to RP? It's just complicated, and will arouse many a person higher up there around Shrimp, unless you design a way to say who's the best.
For example, I'm a thief. I know about four other thieves on the
entire server. How will you say who's the best? Our ability to act like a thief? Our level of agility from stealing? Maybe our ability to make bows and arrows or daggers.
I don't know, I just see the whole thing turning out to be a popularity contest, or at least a big scandal of everyone continually bad mouthing.
I think there should be actual Guilds, not just one man or woman with a tag that says they're number one. I think the Guild Master should watch over his members, and anyone in any nation can join the Guilds as long as they meet the guidelines.
Imagine it: Warrior's getting together to go out training, or thieves running a black market with the items they've stolen.
Just another element of RP that will never be implemented on Stefan's game, I guess.
EDIT: Also, you mentioned a tournament as a way to determine leadership. Sorry, I just don't see how a Thief would enter a tournament to determine how good he is. A thief should be streetsmart, and have influence in the underworld or at least be extremely fast/rich.
And guys, Thieves don't wear guantlets... They wear gloves. Imagine being pick pocketed by a big hefty pair of metal guantlets. How stealthy is that, I ask you.
What about Priests too? Do you want the guild master of Priests to be the Priest who could cast fastest? The Battle Pope, if you will. I think for some of these things, you need to come up with different ways to differentiate. I'll help if you guys ever actually get this off the ground.