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Overdone Character Concepts
#1
This thread will be controversial.

After the server came back up, I've come to notice certain...trends among the playerbase concerning character types. Trends I don't at all like. Certain character concepts that should be altogether rare, yet end up stupidly common. Or character concepts that are outside of what the race/class should be RPed as, and in numbers too high for that to make sense. I'm going to name two, the two I see as the biggest problems since the server came back up.

1. The Obvious Warlock

Warlocks practice very dark magic. They summon demons, they inflict diseases, and produce curses. Very few sane people think that messing with such dark powers is a good idea, particularly since Warlock-magic is very addictive and corrupting. Even those who enter the profession with good intentions don't end up completely unchanged.

What is worse is that Warlocks are typically treated like dirt in most societies. Orcs view them as beneath even peons. Humans have a very strong distrust over it due to knowing first-hand how corrupting the arcane can be. The only races which view delving into the darker arts as any sort of acceptable are the Forsaken, Blood Elves, and sometimes Gnomes. To everyone else, it's an abomination to be shunned.

This is why walking around Orgrimmar or Stormwind with a Succubus or Imp out in plain sight is a patently *bad idea.* It is also a patently *bad idea* to go singing about your less-than-noble profession in the middle of such cities.

2. The Idiotic Orc

Every time I see one of these characters, I want to smash someone's face in. Usually it's from someone who should know better.

Orcs aren't stupid. They're uneducated, and maybe slightly less intelligent on average than a human, but they aren't out-right stupid. In addition, Orcish is an Orc's native language, so they should have no problems speaking it. It's literally designed for their mouths and mental abilities.

So WHY, then, are there already *at least* three completely brain-damaged Orcs in the game already?

In isolation, this isn't so bad. Every race has their idiots. One can see the humor in such a character, especially with a brutish race like the Orcs. The problem lies in the sheer numbers that this overdone character concept is done at. It pushes past the realm of the believable and enters the realm of the completely ludicrous. Every other race is filled with intelligent beings, while half of the Orcish characters in-game are acting like they have IQs below fifty.

If you *must* play a galactically stupid character, there are other ways to go about it, and other races to play. Including the Forsaken, which actually has a plausible reason to be moronic without resorting to being a one-in-a-million idiot from birth.

I'm done ranting now.
Have you hugged an orc today?
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#2
I feel a referance to Grit somewheres in there. I am pretty sure he was the first stupid orc. But if not I just wanted to say I didnt copy anyone. I am acually planning on him to eventually get smarter. But nobody is willing to teach meh.
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#3
Kaelvan Wrote:I feel a referance to Grit somewheres in there. I am pretty sure he was the first stupid orc. But if not I just wanted to say I didnt copy anyone. I am acually planning on him to eventually get smarter. But nobody is willing to teach meh.

Grit is one of many.

And no, you aren't the first. Maybe the first since the restart, but this character concept has been overdone since about six months ago.
Have you hugged an orc today?
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#4
Quick note: Not ALL warlocks are evil and devious. Especially Gnome ones, quite a lot of Gnome warlocks are actually good. (Kudos to that gnome guide!)

But MOST of them are. Don't think it'll be any better for everyone to roll a flower skipping warlock who accidently burns all of them. (Like Grakor, I dislike overdone characters. It makes roleplaying boring! Everyone knows what you're going to do before you do it!)
"I am more afraid of one hundred sheep led by a lion than one hundred lions led by a sheep."
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#5
And there's one less than you think Grak, after your criticism last week, Gullsnikk is a changed Orc! He was never meant to be stupid, but I got a little carried away with his disguise...

Thanks Grak.
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#6
... *Looks at Valyr's Profile*

What have I done?!?!

*cries in common Warlock corner*

However, I don't walk around Ogrimmar with demons, so I chalk one point up in the "Not an idiot" Category. Two points really, Valyr refers to himself as a 'Fel Scholar' not a Warlock, so (though slightly obvious) more secretivish... That's a word.
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#7
Very helpful, I've never really thought about that with warlocks.. And that information regarding Orcish is something I haven't thought about either. Thanks for this! :P
Hethel: Crazy toad lady. [Human]

Rathyl: Arrogant, selfish little girl. [Blood Elf]

Elenore: Wheezey old warlock. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. [Forsaken]


"Didn't there used to be an axe on that table?"
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#8
I'll say I often regret Kaghuros' dialect, seeing as he is speaking his native tongue, but I hesitate to edit it out as it's become so ingrained in his character. Funnily enough, however, having the dialect makes people automatically assume he's unintelligent which I enjoy dearly. People rarely get past the deeply-rooted cultural practices that make him focus on his combat (And the psychoses that lie therein) and find out that he's really quite intelligent and mindful of the world while still retaining the outward trappings of a "Barbarian."

All in all: Perceived Orcish stupidity is a way to mess with people's assumptions of a character and sometimes enlighten them in tiny glimpses. It's fun stuff.
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#9
Kaghuros Wrote:I'll say I often regret Kaghuros' dialect, seeing as he is speaking his native tongue, but I hesitate to edit it out as it's become so ingrained in his character. Funnily enough, however, having the dialect makes people automatically assume he's unintelligent which I enjoy dearly. People rarely get past the deeply-rooted cultural practices that make him focus on his combat (And the psychoses that lie therein) and find out that he's really quite intelligent and mindful of the world while still retaining the outward trappings of a "Barbarian."

All in all: Perceived Orcish stupidity is a way to mess with people's assumptions of a character and sometimes enlighten them in tiny glimpses. It's fun stuff.

I have Grakor with an accent as well. There's a big difference, though, with an accent caused by, say, laziness or slang than one caused by idiocy. A lot of native English-speakers speak in a very relaxed tone and pronounce the words slightly differently due to regional differences.

It really depends on WHY you're trying to cause your orc to speak differently. The tusks or the average orcish intellect should never factor into the equation for Orcish because the language was designed around them.
Have you hugged an orc today?
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#10
It should be noted that Blood Elf warlocks are not considered to be below anyone else. In fact, many respected Blood Elf arcanists and magisters are warlocks. So it's excusable if you're open about your warlockness, and you're a Blood Elf, and you're in Silvermoon or other lands belonging to Blood Elves. I suppose that there wouldn't be anything anyone could do about you if you were open about it in other places, but they won't trust you, and they may try to kill you.
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#11
Still, I think based on the Orcish culture, their language probably wouldn't have a lot of big and fancy words, and they probably wouldn't focus on grammar too much also. It's not really an excuse for the stupidity though. Then again, some orc NPCs even talk like idiots when you click on them, mostly the peons. (Of course, that might just be Blizzard's stupidity)
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#12
ulteo29 Wrote:Then again, some orc NPCs even talk like idiots when you click on them, mostly the peons. (Of course, that might just be Blizzard's stupidity)
The thing is, Peons are lesser. They're not the brightest Orcs-- Labourers. They have no real need for correct grammar or too much intelligence. They just need to know how to gather resources and petty tasks.
Edit; Though I say this, most Orcs should be more intelligent. A Warrior, which is typically known to be more 'primitive' should have more grammical and intellectual skills then a peon. This goes along with the rest of the classes, because (unfortunately) you can't be a peon (as a class).
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#13
Silvermoon has a funny relationship with warlocks. They're not hated, but their practices are kept out of public eye. They need them, but they're not flaunting them. This may not have been this way between the time they found the fel and the time they joined the Horde, but I can see them "re-arranging" things to appeal to the Old Horde who have very little trust for the warlock art.

From what I've read and seen, they are held lower in regard than mages, but still not nearly as low as rogues (who are at the bottom of Blood Elven society). I think this is only an image issue; they want to look pure and glorious without having demons all over the place.

I think the Blood Elves, being the weird fel/mana addicts they are, hate that they need warlocks, maybe.

I don't think a lot of RPers have a good perception on Warcraft's global acceptance of warlocks in general. The lore keeps giving off this "taboo necessity" vibe.

I think the only society that doesn't try to hide their Warlocks are the Forsaken.

No one else has anything to contribute? These can't be the only "overdone tropes".

Edit: Oh, that whole intelligence thing. See, there's wisdom, and intelligence.

Example:
Orcs aren't the most intelligent, but they're EXTREMELY wise.
Goblins are extremely intelligent, but they have no common sense (wisdom) whatsoever.
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#14
The "really stoopid" stereotype goes for trolls, too, although I haven't seen that as much. Not every troll has a massive IQ, but they really prize cunning strategies.

I think the one that gets on my nerves as far as trolls goes is the Darkspear/Horde cannibal. Read just a little bit about trolls in WoW and one of the first things you'll see is that cannibalism within the new Horde is OUTLAWED. Some NPC trolls openly complain about it (the cook in the Filthy Animal Inn in Dalaran), while others just hint that they miss the old times. Still others (and at least what they would hope is perceived as the majority), are glad the old dark days when your heart would be barbecued if you looked at your neighbor's raptor the wrong way are past.
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#15
Oh yeah, another overdone one is the "human on the inside" type of character.

And by this I mean people who RP a race that has not even the most token behavior trait their race tends to have. I'm not saying everyone should adhere to their race's stereotypes -- god no; everyone has a different story behind them -- but in some cases, why not just roll a human?
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