TEC should make the referral system ask for a person's WA name or a code that is given to each account to identify them. When the person inputs the code of the person who referred them, it creates a link between the Refer-er and the Refer-ee. The benefit for referring new accounts should be tier'ed. Simply getting someone to make an account should be tier 1, getting them to sub (1 time) basic should be tier 2, and getting them to sub premium (1 time) should be tier 3. If a person plays free for 6 months then decides to sub basic, the Refer-er should get something as should the Refer-ee. Something like this:

Action                                         Refer-er reward
Create Account                            VC2 package to start
Sub Basic                                    Deposit of 50t to 1 character
Sub Premium                               100 GSP and 1 custom item.

If someone goes from free to premium, they get both Basic and Premium reward at the same time. And with the perk system, it is EASY to code this because you just create new "perks" and have them hand out when accounts do those actions for the first time.

For the Referee, it might be this:

Action of Refer-er                          Reward
Create                                          Account 10 RPs plus
Sub Basic                                     1 Bonus point plus 100 RPs
Sub Premium                                2 Bonus Points plus 250 RPs

And I think even add it as another monthly contest alongside RPotM. Referer of the Month (RotM). Will people create fake accounts? Yup, probably. Is 10 RPs per account really worth the trouble? Not really. Can GM's see the activity and question it due to accounts from the same IP? Absolutely.

I doubt with such a small player base it would be too difficult to catch someone "cheating" the rereferral system. But this would incentivize new players by giving them a perceived advantage (VC2 isn't all THAT better than a regular start, but it sounds neat!). It would also incentivize current players to invest in new players (teaching them, hunting with them, etc) because there is a benefit to them as well ON TOP of the "new player" added to the world. Years ago I saw a report when he new "free" accounts for games was first being introduced. Something like at least 10-25% of new players will end up paying "something" for the game at least once. And of those, like 20% will end up subscribing for 6 months. So really, you don't have much to loose, and it would be something to try and get new players to join. The current referral system is too reliant on the new player to send an email asking who referred them. With a code, they are more likely to copy and paste it in since it is a one time thing they have to do. Sending an e-mail requires a lot more effort.