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Guide: The difference between game and RP
#1
Sparked by a discussion on the chat channel that quickly got out of hand, I decided to write a quick guide to what the difference is between in character and in game. As you are most likely aware (or I sure hope you are), you're playing a game called World of Warcraft. You level from 1 to 80 and along the way you slaughter thousands of enemies who can just barely dent you, despite wielding gigantic swords.

When you reach that magic 80, odds are you'll have killed somewhere along the lines of:
1,000,000 followers.
Several lore characters like Sicco Thermaplugg, Edwin van Cleef and Illidan, just to name a few.


However...
This means nothing for roleplay. As far as roleplay is concerned, all those people you massacred was entirely out of character. There is no realistic way for five people to invade a city filled to the brink with Troggs and Leper Gnomes and make it out alive. To do that would require an army.

But then why is there a quest to kill him? Why can we go in and kill him with 5 people?
Because this is a game. World of Warcraft was never written with realism or roleplayers in mind. Do you really think that a soldier fighting in Northrend is capable of single handedly wiping out five hundred soldiers in Kalimdor? No, there's simply no way they could do that. These are simply game mechanics. Remember, Blizzard was making a game, not a roleplaying experience.

Then why does this matter?
Because we're not here to play the game. We're here to roleplay in Azeroth. If you want to play the game and raid bosses, this isn't the place you should be at. There are dozens of other servers out there that focus on playing the game. This server focuses on the roleplay aspect of it. On this server you'll likely see things such as Gnomish engineers and Orcish peons who have never lifted a sword in their life. Yet to get anywhere, the game forces them to kill stuff. These things are simply -out of character.- How your character got their training is something you can put down in their history, it's not something you do through game mechanics.


Examples of where this applies:
I'm level 80 and Bob's level 1, I can kill Bob in one hit.
Levels do not apply here. Simply because Bob is level one by game mechanics, doesn't mean he couldn't already be a full fledged Paladin. And that level 80 might be a Peon. On CotH, levels merely mean you can wear certain gear, they have no relevance for actual RP. If you feel that this is "unfair" because you put effort into gaining levels, I suggest reading up on the grunt and character application parts of the wikipedia.

When you have three people vouching that you are a good roleplayer, and your profile has been accepted, you can get your character levelled to level 80 by a GM. That level 1 can get a GM to level them to 80 without ever killing a single mob, as long as they've proven they're a good roleplayer and their character has been accepted. This is what counts on CotH, how well you roleplay. Not how much time you invested in doing quests.

I have three thousand gold, surely I can buy a huge mansion with this?
Gold is, once again, game mechanics. In reality, you wouldn't be going around smacking things on the head and looting copper from their bodies. Just because your character has a lot of money in game terms, doesn't mean they're suddenly a rich mofo. Likewise, a noble would have a lot of cash in character, but this doesn't mean that the character has to be carrying at least 5000 gold around. You could be hauling around tons of gold on your peon, but realistically, he'd own little more than the shirt on his back.

What do you mean, I died when I jumped off the roof? I only took about 30% damage...
This is, once again, game mechanics. Try jumping off a roof in real life, you'll break a leg. Yet you didn't when you did it in WoW. This is not because people in Azeroth are incredibly good jumpers with bones made out of steel, it's because it would be incredibly frustrating to break a leg every time you happened to jump off a roof.

This, however, counts for all types of damage. Do you really think that your character would be able to survive seventy five stabs with a dagger? After five good stabs, surely they'd be bleeding to death, but such a realistic combat system wouldn't make the game any easier. You have to remember that Blizzard made a game, not a roleplay. You might be able to survive a few blows from that Orc, but not five hundred of them.

People told me my gnome riding a tiger is lore-breaking, but I bought it, so it's okay, right?
This is another thing that is a game-term and spawned a huge argument today. The fact that you can walk up to the Darnassian vendor to buy a tiger doesn't mean you could do so in character. For one, Night Elves are rather xenophobic and don't generally even allow people into their cities, much less buy tigers, but think about it realistically.

Why is your gnome riding around on a tiger? Because you think it is cool. But pretend to be the Gnome for a moment. They're, for some odd reason, riding around on a beast large enough to devour them whole. In a city where horses, rams and mechanostriders are the norm. It is very likely that they'd get arrested for taking such a dangerous animal into the city. And even if they didn't, why are they riding it? "Because it's cool" is not a reason for somebody to ride around on a dangerous animal if they're not the norm.

Night Elves raise Nightsabers and are used to working with them, but to a Gnome, they'd likely be scary things to ride. You'd need a substantial in character motivation for your character to acquire such a mount. First they'd need to have some sort of relation to the night elves. Perhaps they helped with a big project in Darnassus? Why would the Night Elves actually sell the mount to your Gnome?

Then there is the motivation of why they want to ride it. "They think it is cool" is not a very good motivation. Most people will agree that wielding a sword with your tongue is an impressive and cool looking feat, but it's not practical. Likewise, it's not practical for a Gnome to be riding around on a tiger that'd likely eat them. Your character would need more than just the 'cool factor' to suddenly switch to something their race usually wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Do they have an incredibly fascination with the beast? Are they trying to blend in better with their Night Elf friends? At least try to put some thought into it.

I killed Edwin van Cleef, so the Brotherhood is dead now, right?
You'll most likely get it by now, but this is also a game mechanic. In lore, there are four-thousand Defias members living in Moonbrook and the Deadmines underneath. The reason why the Defias is still such a problem is because they'd require an army to deal with it. For the game, it's okay if five people walk in there, kill hundreds of Defias and kill their boss. But in a realistic world, you can't do that. And we're trying to roleplay a realistic world.

---


Hopefully, this should shed some light on the whole in character vs in game thing. Feel free to make suggestions/posts, ask questions and the like. ^_^
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#2
Quote:People told me my gnome riding a tiger is lore-breaking, but I bought it, so it's okay, right?
This is another thing that is a game-term and spawned a huge argument today. The fact that you can walk up to the Darnassian vendor to buy a tiger doesn't mean you could do so in character. For one, Night Elves are rather xenophobic and don't generally even allow people into their cities, much less buy tigers, but think about it realistically.

Why is your gnome riding around on a tiger? Because you think it is cool. But pretend to be the Gnome for a moment. They're, for some odd reason, riding around on a beast large enough to devour them whole. In a city where horses, rams and mechanostriders are the norm. It is very likely that they'd get arrested for taking such a dangerous animal into the city. And even if they didn't, why are they riding it? "Because it's cool" is not a reason for somebody to ride around on a dangerous animal if they're not the norm.

I think this is the only part of the guide that I either do not agree with or think is not 100% common sense. The reason I disagree is because it simply states that a player cannot take an IC action based upon IC reaction, which defies the reasoning behind having a guide that separates OOC and IC.

While I understand the logic behind the point very well and see the merits of its reasoning, to think a character could not be spurred to go to the effort of acquiring a tiger mount simply because it looks fierce or cool is rather unrealistic. We all want to RP something realistic, well the reality is that people are driven to make snap choices all the time based on rather frivolous things. Is there a reason why a character cannot decide they'd like an exotic mount for no reason other than vanity?

The position makes a generalization based upon the race of the character, and states that simply because a player chose x race they cannot experience y emotion. Is it strange for a gnome to be riding a tiger? Of course it is. But if he has a legitimate reason for doing so I'm not sure who I am to say "no" to that. it's his character, and if his reason is fine, then why not?
ಠ_ಠ
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#3
I edited that part to better get my point across. I obviously didn't mean to exclude valid reasons, that was actually the point of it. xP To make people put some more thought into the mount they get. (Though this obviously also goes for RP. Stop hogging tier armour if it makes no sense for your character, people!)
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#4
Theik Wrote:I edited that part to better get my point across. I obviously didn't mean to exclude valid reasons, that was actually the point of it. xP To make people put some more thought into the mount they get. (Though this obviously also goes for RP. Stop hogging tier armour if it makes no sense for your character, people!)

Ah okay, much clearer now.

Thank you for providing clarification. :mrgreen:
ಠ_ಠ
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#5
Theik Wrote:I killed Edwin van Cleef, so the Brotherhood is dead now, right?
You'll most likely get it by now, but this is also a game mechanic. In lore, there are four-thousand Defias members living in Moonbrook and the Deadmines underneath. The reason why the Defias is still such a problem is because they'd require an army to deal with it. For the game, it's okay if five people walk in there, kill hundreds of Defias and kill their boss. But in a realistic world, you can't do that. And we're trying to roleplay a realistic world.
Eek! I would also like to add something to this so here goes:

Some of these events have already happened lore-wise.

Take the Ahn'Qiraj gates for example. Before thinking about setting up an IC event where these gates would open and the players online will gather there for an assault do read about it first, chances are the event has already happened in the world.

Another one, The Deadmines. Again, there are hints that say this already happened as well:

From aboard the ship located deep within the Deadmines, VanCleef awaited the moment at which he would strike at his hated foe. Believing his cause to be one of absolute righteousness, he prepared his mighty vessel to depart from its hidden port. Before this could take place, however, intrepid agents of the Alliance, having previously learned of the headquarters of the Defias Brotherhood, entered the Deadmines and assaulted VanCleef's ship. In a fearsome battle atop the juggernaut, the Alliance operatives slew VanCleef, ending a great threat to the security of Stormwind. Yet they were left with the disconcerting worry that not all matters with the Brotherhood were yet resolved, including the question of the corrupt nobles of the human capital city. Subsequent events would prove that despite VanCleef's death, the plans of the Defias Brotherhood were far from finished.

This one's taken from wowwiki.
"Educate yourself in the art of true metal."
"From the Heaven of My Heart" & "Silver Bride" - Amorphis (Skyforger)

"Beyond the Stars"
~ Head over to our own subforum on CotH Worlds and enjoy. ^^
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#6
WoWWiki isn't all that reliable on such events though. They're going by Blizzard's policy that anything pre-WotLK has already happened. And because there's no official word on what really happened to Van Cleef (Unlike Onyxia, who we know for certain was killed by Varian Wrynn), they just assumed the quest is the canon way of how he died. But intrepid adventurers wouldn't realistically take down the giant army of pirates and rogues inside the Deadmines.

I'm not all too certain where the server stands on that though. On the RP forum I was making for my RP site, I kept a list of what bosses were ICly dead. It seems rather odd to say, for example, that an army killed Thermaplug, but neglected to take back Gnomeregan while they were at it. Or that van Cleef was taken down, but the Defias are still as numerous as ever.

But that's a discussion for another topic I think, what I was trying to point out is that killing Hogger with your character does not mean you single handedly ended the Gnoll treat, for example.
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#7
Well, accodring to Blizzard's lore. Currently, every single boss, including quests, dungeons, and even raids, are dead right now. They even said in the Wrath of the Lich King booklet that comes with the game that Illidan, Kael'thas, and Vashj are all dead, and Kil'jaeden was defeated and driven back by 25 people!

So yeah, in short: This server is not Blizzard. What applies to them in terms of lore and what bosses are dead/alive, it is completely different or else everything other than Northrend would be an enemy-less paradise.
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#8
Theik Wrote:And because there's no official word on what really happened to Van Cleef (Unlike Onyxia, who we know for certain was killed by Varian Wrynn), they just assumed the quest is the canon way of how he died. But intrepid adventurers wouldn't realistically take down the giant army of pirates and rogues inside the Deadmines.
Well it says they killed him, the man. I can live with that. Not the whole cave and the threat. The defias threat still exists due to the number of people involved in this both known and unknown.

What I meant is, perhaps it would be best to avoid connecting raids with one of your characters. Surely you can include that perhaps your character was part of some assault that went wrong or anything but avoid making him the one who did the big deed.

People would be meeting around going like:
Character1: Hey check it out. Hogger's paw.
Character2: Awesome, I got the other one! You must have been there when we charged.
Character3: What about this paw? I got it off him as well. D:
Character4: Hey guys. Wanna join the assault on Hogger? He's attacking the travellers again.

And so on.
"Educate yourself in the art of true metal."
"From the Heaven of My Heart" & "Silver Bride" - Amorphis (Skyforger)

"Beyond the Stars"
~ Head over to our own subforum on CotH Worlds and enjoy. ^^
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#9
Of what I understand I agree with most of what everyone has said so far.

In my opinion several of the main and popular threats like Van Cleef and maybe Thermaplug may have been taken down, there are some places in which barely a soul would enter.

Take for example Mauradon, a cave system of evil creatures, centaur, and numerous other beings. Even an army would find that to destroy the threats in here would prove difficult.

Another being the Dire Maul area, the Night Elves wish to free their ancient city but realistically it wont happen. There are more Ogres located inside the Dire Maul then anywhere else in Kalimdor and the Eastern Lands combined. It would take a massive seige army to kill off all the ogres and foul beings inside the Dire Maul, not to mention years or laying seige.

And my last example is this... The Molten Core. We'd all like to think it has been taken care of, but realistically it's not possible. To even get into the Molten Core an army would first have to pass through the Mountain and into it's depths. Then they brave the creatures inside. It would require the armies of the world to collectively even banish Ragnaros, let alone kill him.

So in a nutshell this is what I said.


Yes, some of the worlds better and more popular threats may have been kill. Van Cleef as an example. Other places would be where not even an army would attempt to enter, the people/things in there would be flourishing.
Do you have what it takes to join the Fighting Blues?
Do you have what it takes to defend your homeland?
Will you stand up in defense of the innocent? The weak?
Will you stand up in defense of Justice and the Law?

[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVE3uy8TjirssygDEKMi2...Ia13_WYQpw]



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#10
Well said. I never make myself understood so thank you. :mrgreen:
"Educate yourself in the art of true metal."
"From the Heaven of My Heart" & "Silver Bride" - Amorphis (Skyforger)

"Beyond the Stars"
~ Head over to our own subforum on CotH Worlds and enjoy. ^^
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#11
What did or did not die is not the point of this post though. The point is that killing a certain NPC for a quest does not mean you actually did that in character. The subject of what bosses are, and what bosses aren't dead is a very interesting one, but completely unrelated to the actual guide. If you want to start say... a list of deceased/active bosses, I'd suggest making a new topic for it. :P
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#12
Honestly, what about Kael?
There are two Kael's now, one that is a normal elf and one that is well. Yea, strange. Crystal through his chest.
[Image: lich_king_signature_by_wyrx-d3jo9rm.png]
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#13
The only thing I can say is that I swear WoW is an MMORPG... Blizz just wanted to make the game seem more Mary Sue. You know the ability defy the laws of science? Aye, that one.

But regardless, everything you've said is true.
"I am more afraid of one hundred sheep led by a lion than one hundred lions led by a sheep."
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