Conquest of the Horde

As it is my first post- hello, everybody! So... here I come!

And I really hope my English isn't that bad! ><

First and foremost: Tell us about yourself as a player:

My adventure with RPG started about um… too many years ago, to think about it. Let's say it was 10 years ago. I started with Warhammer, then happened to play AD&D and some other, based on D20 (such as Star Wars RPG), as well as Witcher RPG and “Dzikie Pola” (English translation would be something like “Wild Plains”, but I doubt the game was ever officially translated). My MMORPG experience is, however, limited only to World of Warcraft. Right now I'm studying hard at my university, so I happen to play WoW rather casually than “hardcore”, what makes me rather crappy teammate for raids, arenas, and such. RP is far less time-demanding, so I think I can afford it even now, having abandoned everything else Blizzard staff is serving us. I treat the game as a pastime and, primarily, source of “fun”, not a activity I would like to put “effort” (=time spent grinding/raiding etc.) to achieve awards (gear etc.). As such, I want the game to be fun for everybody participating, though I take role-playing pretty serious, and I think my knowledge of lore is pretty good, at least when it comes to lore connected with my characters.

What country do you come from? What is your primary language?:

I come from Poland, and so my primary language is Polish, as you probably already noticed English isn't. My English is not the best out there, but I try to keep it from being the worst. I passed my FCE with A, and then CAE with B, but it was a while ago, and since I try to keep my skills from rusting, for example by participating in project of translating WoW quest texts to Polish. (Yeah, I know it's English->Polish translation, and here I will need to do it the other way, but I'll do my best.)

How did you get into Warcraft?:

It was the way: Warcraft III->Warcraft II->Warcraft->hesitation and distrust->World of Warcraft. Well, I started playing WIII just for fun, and really liked the universe behind the game, so when I first heard about MMORPG being on the way, I was worried it would spoil the whole thing. I started to play along with my friend and roommate about two and a half, maybe three years ago. We were both on universities back then and we quickly abandoned retail, because we deemed it not worthy to pay so much money, while not willing to put as many hours of game per week as most of the players. We ended up on a Polish RPG server, and stayed there up till now. The server was not ideal, though, and at this point I started looking for alternative, which brings me to this introduction .

What made you seek our server over others?:

Well, I just queried google for “best private rpg wow server”, or something like that, and after a few minutes, I was on your site. The most appealing to me things, were:
- Description of differences between official lore, and local server lore (“Wow, actually something is happening here.”)
- “Horde” in the name of the server (Pretty self-explanatory, I think )
- Introduction system, which tells me, that people on this server are chosen from the lot of people who would like to play on it. (“Hooray, no letting in of idiots and LOLOMFGPWNZORDINS!”)
- In general, I think your site is great.

What kinds of roleplay do you enjoy?:

I'm not especially into fights, though I value consistency in RP, and won't back off from a fight, when my character deems it necessary. I prefer RP which requires the character to put an effort in different way than obvious hack'n'slash. I admire playing involved in a community, when there are a lot of cross-character relations, teamwork (even if it goes wrong), and co-operation. I have a particularly soft spot for journey-theme, or other kinds of roleplay that involve struggling with natural, day-to-day problems (be it winds of Stonetalon, cutting to the bones those unprepared, dealing with draught in the Barrens, or unmerciful sands of Tanaris Desert, that get everywhere, in your eyes, boots, and so on).

What is your favourite race/class? Why?:

Tauren, definitely Tauren. Partly, because I view myself as more of a “good guy” than “professor evil”, and I like my characters to have at least a little bit of myself in them. Tauren have their aura of peace and serenity around them, that radiates even to the other side of the screen and brings relief after chasing everything and everyone the whole day in real life. Plus, Tauren fit perfectly to the journey-nature-theme, which I mentioned earlier. Last, but not least, I am 192cm high, and being taller (or at least comparable) than everyone else around feels pretty much natural for me. And my favourite class is druid. I've played druid for the most part of my adventure with WoW, and I simply can't force myself to pick any other. I tried playing warrior, hunter, shaman, rogue, but every time I go back to my druid. I like them as much for their in-game mechanics as for the lore behind them. Especially given that tauren are relatively new to the druidism. (Not including “first” tauren druids, long before WoW takes place.)

What are your expectations of this server?:

I would be most glad to find RP-friendly environment, which doesn't force me to put much effort in any sort of grinding to be able to be viewed on par with other players.(Though I expect to have to put effort in roleplay before I could even dream of being some kind of “equal”.) I would also be delighted to find server free of overly epic characters. By that I mean mages having been trusted with egg of the new Blue Dragonflight Aspect, Orcish Warlocks, being the best student of Gul'Dan and having surpassed their master, or Indestructible-banshee-dark ranger-rogue-hunters, and such.

Out of all of our rules and regulations listed on our server, which appeals to you the most?:

Respect is the one. I believe, that foundation of social relations should be good will. Good will is, however, immeasurable, and therefore, cannot by applied as a rule. Respect is single most important result of it, and it can be, to a some degree, measured (By that, I mean, you feel whether the other player respects you, however, you have no idea about his good will.).

Lastly, tell us a story! It can be short, it can be long; but most importantly, we want to see your work in action. Go!:

((Disclaimer: The following story is part of my roleplaying experience on my previous server, but I fully understand that it cannot be incorporated into any of my possible characters on Conquest of the Horde(If there, hopefully, will be any.). The story was roleplayed in-game and all characters appearing there are PC (Apart from one, which IMO is obvious, but I don't want to put spoilers in here )

He stood on the edge of the Elder Rise. Wind was blowing hard, playing with braids of his beard. Tauren's fur was gently wavering under the element's touch. On the horizon, An'She was setting down behind rocky hills. “A little too dramatic.” – He thought – “But then, on the other side, it was my choice, wasn't it?”.

Images of his friends raced in his head. “First was Thuka, that silly Grimtotem, who drove his sword between his own ribs, and I couldn't do anything to help him, even Earthmother denied my pleas.” He opened his eyes for a moment and directed his gaze upon Red Rocks, closing them back after a while. “Then it came for Commandant Berra. She had it coming, after all these quarries with Night Elves, but then, was it really necessary? In battle, yes, but why alone?”. Young tauren shivered, as winds brought to him what he recognized as a faint scent of Ashenvale's great trees. “And then Gorgh, who just went missing a month ago, but everybody knew- Gorgh wouldn't leave without message.” His imagination made him hear barely recognizable orcish prayer to ancestor's spirits. Tauren's ears waggled. “And you still didn't have enough, did you? After Gorgh's death, Brah went to Plaguelands to find her father and now she has returned. At least, what remained of her, returned. Why did you have to take her away from me? Why her?”

He stood on the edge of the Elder Rise. “If you insist on taking lives of those, who are around me, then you will have no more of this. Be silent, if you wish, I can sense you even now, I will not play by your rules, do you hear me?” He opened his eyes once again, staring downwards. “Earthmother, here I come into your embrace.” He leapt from the cliff.

The fall was short, his thump was surprisingly soft. He lay on the grass, motionless, loosing sense of time. He felt nothing, no pain, no sorrow, no relief. Up until he heard his name called upon. “Erdhuin, rise up!” He tried to raise his eyelids, but was unable to. “Erdhuin, stop acting silly and rise up, when I'm calling you!” He couldn't resist this commanding voice. He tried to move, and to his amazement, his body seemed unscathed. He stood up and looked around. Where was he? Thunder Bluff has disappeared, and as far as the eye can see, there were limitless plains. Tall grass was rolling like a sea under gentle wind, here and there, beautiful flowers sprouted, like jewels framed in gold. And then he spotted the one who has been calling him. He had no doubt about who it was, she had ideal figure, with maybe a little too wide hips, her almost golden fur was rolling along with grass surrounding, and her horns, large for a female, Erdhuin had to admit, were crowning her proud head. Wind seemed to playing merrily with her long dress. The outfit seemed so light, that nearly nonexistent, and yet it kept the sanctuary of her body away from tauren's sight. She stood with her back to him, rendering him unable to speak. Her voice came to him like carried on the wind. “You make me very sad, Erdhuin.” Young tauren's knees started to shake, but she seemed oblivious to this. “And what do you think you have been doing, Erdhuin?” He forced himself to speak. “I said my farewell to this… that world, my Lady.” She remained silent, so he went on. “Spirit of death was chasing me, killing those around me, I couldn't do anything else to protect them.” She burst into laughter that sounded like a handful of rocks speeding down mountain's slope, a beginning of avalanche. “And so you handed your life over to him. And here, just a few days ago you have sworn your life to me. What makes you think I have relieved you of your oath? Tell me, Erdhuin, whom do you serve?” Words came of tauren's mouth reluctantly. “Yours, my Lady.” She asked another question, still standing with her back to him. “And did I say anything to you about the end of your servitude?” He obediently replied. “No, my Lady.” Her voice changed a bit, and Erdhuin was able to sense a hint of anger. “I thought higher of you, Erdhuin. I thought you aren't so selfish. You can't keep those you hold dear forever by yourself. The way of your life must constantly undergo changes, just like nature does before your very eyes, though many fail to notice. Balance does not mean stagnation. Where old trees fall, a new life will sprout in time. You are my beloved child, but you are not the one to decide which trees should fall.” Young tauren wanted to say something, but deep inside he knew she was right.

Then happened, what he was afraid of from the beginning. She turned to face him, and he has seen her eyes. Or rather, her eyepits, stained with blood, that dried long before his oldest remembered ancestors had stained the plains with blood of the game. Bloody tears have marked their way down the regular, flawless face, even marking her long dress. Her fingers were also covered with her own blood. Erdhuin has been expecting this, but he couldn't have prepared himself, even after witnessing what was left of Brah. She spoke, her voice calm and warm once again. “My child, don't make a mistake, I know your sorrow well. Maybe better than you. I will not order you to forsake it. But every time you don't have strength to cope with it, always turn to me and I will quench it as much as I can. Don't worry, Erdhuin, you will meet your friends again, when you return to me at the end of your path. Just be patient. For now, my child, I have need of you. There lies a task ahead of you, and I will ask of you to put your sorrow away.” He took his time to recover from the shock, when his breath become regular and slow, and his eyes stopped watering, he straightened himself up, and responded in as confident voice as he could. “I understand, my Lady. I am grateful for your lesson. I hereby renew my oath to follow your will, no matter the cost.” This said, he knelt down on one knee before her, lowering his head. She smiled, and despite her being covered with blood, Erdhuin felt as if sunshine had touched him warmly all over. “And what is the task you set up before me, Lady?” Suddenly, her voice became more distant, and he raised his head only to see her walk away from him. “When the time comes, you will know, my child. As for now, you need your strength to recover.” He stood up and tried to follow her. “Recover, but I'm…” He couldn't finish as the plains have suddenly disappeared.

He felt excruciating pain in one of his legs. His body tensed and he gritted his teeth to not cry out. What an unpleasant way to wake up! “Oh, thank the spirits, you are awake, brother!” Voice belonged to a young, black-furred tauren female, sitting beside him. He felt the warmth and heard the crackling of nearby fireplace, but was too weak to move. “Where… where am I?” He asked in a voice not much louder than whisper. “Oh, you silly, in Bloodhoof village, I found you unconscious just at the shore of Stonebull lake. “ Voice of young female felt like bells ringing, increasing pulsating pain in his head. “Lake? Impossible…” He wasn't able to say any more. “Stay calm, don't overexert yourself. You'll tell me everything once you get better, for now I'll again ask the spirits to put your legs back together. Don't move, please. Oh, and my name is Vanhdi, sorry for not introducing myself first. I can't wait till you tell me, what has happened to you. Right, but now you have to…” She was young for a shaman, younger even than Erdhuin. And her mouth just didn't shut, but tauren had no strength to talk anymore. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Is there anything else you would like to add, ask, or otherwise clarify?:

Not really, apart from mentioning, that I'm still not sure how long and how intensively will I be able to play.

Yo hi Welcome to the Server :mrgreen: