07-12-2008, 04:56 PM
I was going to post this in another thread, but I thought it better to just create a new one.
The other day I was thinking about the reborn shard system and how it can affect roleplay/lore as an in-character action. The main problem see with it is that while it is an honorable action to show loyalty to a faction; it does not necessarily *help* that faction in any way, other than giving them the peace of mind in laying their fallen to rest. (and stopping the scourge from raising them, but that doesn't really change anything, as all factions are more or less enemies of the scourge regardless of what they are to one another)
Now it has been established that anyone who turns in reborn shards gains favor with the faction that they turn them in to; the in-character explanation for this isn't really made evident (why factions would grant so much favor to complete strangers over something that has no constructive value doesnt make sense to me, but I'll not question that bit). But as noted above it doesn't give said faction any kind of advantage over the others.
First off, if it's an in character action, then it must be implied that any character in the world is capable of it from an realistic perspective. That means that if they should so choose, massive amounts of orcs could deliver shards to the Exodar and all be given honorary status with the Draenei. Being a possibility, this could and would change the world of azeroth drastically.
By now you're thinking: why would the orcs ever want to help the draenei lay their fallen to rest? This sounds like a completely insane and 100% unrealistic occurrence, right?
Wrong. Dead Wrong, in fact.
Since the deliverance of reborn shards does not actually "help" an enemy faction (give them an advantage over other factions), the orcs, despite their hatred for the draenei could very likely gather reborn shards and turn them in simply so that they can infiltrate the Exodar without resistance. They might not like the idea of laying fallen draenei to rest, but would be willing to do it to gain an advantage (false trust) over their enemy faction.
Perhaps a better example is in order:
A group of blood elves decide they want to travel to Ironforge and attempt to assassinate King Magni Bronzebeard (whether PC's or not, it's all the same in the eyes of the lore). Being the clever, scheming blood elves they are, they decide:
"Hey why don't we each give the dwarves of Ironforge a bunch of reborn shards so they'll befriend/honor or even revere us. Giving them these shards wont help them at all, or help the alliance defeat us, all it'll do is make them happy, a small price to pay. Meanwhile they'll trust us and let us into their city, so it will be far easier to get to the throne room and kill the king, being we can (at least temporarily) bypass a large amount of the guards and populace."
Now this may be a somewhat exaggerated example, that doesn't account for *every* hindrance that the described blood elves would encounter, the point still remains. Any character who wants to gain prestige with a faction can do so by turning in reborn shards, and would have little qualms about doing it to an enemy since it doesn't really help their enemies to defeat them, it just gains them trust.
Another more practical example:
If a night elf character wanted to spy on Orgrimmar, he could just turn in a bunch of reborn shards. He believes all souls should be put to rest regardless of their actions in life so he has no qualms at all about. In the same sense, he holds no loyalty to the Orcs, he's just feigning loyalty (by doing something that doesnt really at all help the orcs, but for some reason still gains him immense prestige) so the orcs will allow him into their city, where he would steal their secrets and turn them into Darnassus/The Alliance without the orcs even knowing.
But beyond all of this, it's unrealistic to think that the kinds of examples noted above would not already have happened lore-wise. It's unrealistic to say that SI:7 would not immediately use the reborn shards to their advantage in infiltrating enemy factions at their very first opportunity. The same goes for other intelligence groups.
In the end, the whole reborn shard system seems very unrealistic and is almost crippling to the lore as being an available IC action. Now if there's something I missed, some fact about the system I overlooked, please don't hesitate to note them. If anyone has an argument against the points I have just related I welcome it, but as of right now I see the reborn shard system as a major problem. (not even mentioning all the cross-faction interaction problems it no doubt contributed to)
The other day I was thinking about the reborn shard system and how it can affect roleplay/lore as an in-character action. The main problem see with it is that while it is an honorable action to show loyalty to a faction; it does not necessarily *help* that faction in any way, other than giving them the peace of mind in laying their fallen to rest. (and stopping the scourge from raising them, but that doesn't really change anything, as all factions are more or less enemies of the scourge regardless of what they are to one another)
Now it has been established that anyone who turns in reborn shards gains favor with the faction that they turn them in to; the in-character explanation for this isn't really made evident (why factions would grant so much favor to complete strangers over something that has no constructive value doesnt make sense to me, but I'll not question that bit). But as noted above it doesn't give said faction any kind of advantage over the others.
First off, if it's an in character action, then it must be implied that any character in the world is capable of it from an realistic perspective. That means that if they should so choose, massive amounts of orcs could deliver shards to the Exodar and all be given honorary status with the Draenei. Being a possibility, this could and would change the world of azeroth drastically.
By now you're thinking: why would the orcs ever want to help the draenei lay their fallen to rest? This sounds like a completely insane and 100% unrealistic occurrence, right?
Wrong. Dead Wrong, in fact.
Since the deliverance of reborn shards does not actually "help" an enemy faction (give them an advantage over other factions), the orcs, despite their hatred for the draenei could very likely gather reborn shards and turn them in simply so that they can infiltrate the Exodar without resistance. They might not like the idea of laying fallen draenei to rest, but would be willing to do it to gain an advantage (false trust) over their enemy faction.
Perhaps a better example is in order:
A group of blood elves decide they want to travel to Ironforge and attempt to assassinate King Magni Bronzebeard (whether PC's or not, it's all the same in the eyes of the lore). Being the clever, scheming blood elves they are, they decide:
"Hey why don't we each give the dwarves of Ironforge a bunch of reborn shards so they'll befriend/honor or even revere us. Giving them these shards wont help them at all, or help the alliance defeat us, all it'll do is make them happy, a small price to pay. Meanwhile they'll trust us and let us into their city, so it will be far easier to get to the throne room and kill the king, being we can (at least temporarily) bypass a large amount of the guards and populace."
Now this may be a somewhat exaggerated example, that doesn't account for *every* hindrance that the described blood elves would encounter, the point still remains. Any character who wants to gain prestige with a faction can do so by turning in reborn shards, and would have little qualms about doing it to an enemy since it doesn't really help their enemies to defeat them, it just gains them trust.
Another more practical example:
If a night elf character wanted to spy on Orgrimmar, he could just turn in a bunch of reborn shards. He believes all souls should be put to rest regardless of their actions in life so he has no qualms at all about. In the same sense, he holds no loyalty to the Orcs, he's just feigning loyalty (by doing something that doesnt really at all help the orcs, but for some reason still gains him immense prestige) so the orcs will allow him into their city, where he would steal their secrets and turn them into Darnassus/The Alliance without the orcs even knowing.
But beyond all of this, it's unrealistic to think that the kinds of examples noted above would not already have happened lore-wise. It's unrealistic to say that SI:7 would not immediately use the reborn shards to their advantage in infiltrating enemy factions at their very first opportunity. The same goes for other intelligence groups.
In the end, the whole reborn shard system seems very unrealistic and is almost crippling to the lore as being an available IC action. Now if there's something I missed, some fact about the system I overlooked, please don't hesitate to note them. If anyone has an argument against the points I have just related I welcome it, but as of right now I see the reborn shard system as a major problem. (not even mentioning all the cross-faction interaction problems it no doubt contributed to)