08-14-2013, 10:27 PM
So, before I talk about this subject itself, let me start on a tangent. Particularly, I want to talk about the WoW d20 and my feelings on it, because they've both changed a little over time, and I also believe been misrepresented by both myself and others.
Here's the thing: the WoW d20 was created along with a multitude of other d20 games as a result of the particular licence used for Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition. If your experiences with pen and paper systems are limited to the WoW d20, you might be rightfully confused as to what that actually means. In essence, many designers and publishers were given the rights to essentially create systems that were very similar to D&D 3rd, using roughly the same game mechanics. This is also apparent with the WoW d20, and leads to one of the main weaknesses of the d20 as a lore source: much of the information, especially pertaining to things like abilities, racial dimensions, and mechanics, are pulled directly from, or heavily inspired by, Dungeons and Dragons. This especially applies to prestige classes: Shadow Ascendant, as a random example, has a lot of things in common with the D&D Shadow Dancer.
Now, there -is- some good lore stuff in there, don't get me wrong. It's okay to draw certain amounts of inspiration, but you have to keep in mind a few things when you do so. One, mechanics are very different between a pen and paper game and the kind of more freeform roleplay that we do here. There's a good reason that we won't let you get your Wish or Miracle spell. Two, in-game stuff will always trump d20 stuff because d20 stuff isn't canon. And third, you have to be cautious when it comes to d20 lore because not everyone has access to read it all or wants to mess with it. There's more, and I could ramble on it longer, but for now my point is this: I don't hate d20 lore. There's good stuff in it. For example, I -love- the interpretations they gave for Spiritwalkers, and that's lore that I still use.
So, let's talk about ghostly characters!
Spirit companions for Spiritwalkers/Spirit Champions existed in the old prestige system, but the idea never gained much traction. Nonetheless, I'd like to posit their existence again because it's just too cool of lore to ignore, and does have at least some basis in the in-game characters that we see. The idea, essentially, would be the particularly ancestor-based shamanistic cultures being able to call upon the spirits of their ancestors/heroes/dead to fight with them once more. Now, I'll leave the specifics for personal interpretation, but I see this as being another possibility for a new type of "private discussion" kind of character concept, especially since we already do have transparency and ghostly aura trinkets that would work beautifully for this.
Especially because this would be another character concept that might spur on Horde RP, since this would be of particular interest for the Orc/Tauren/Troll characters.
Might ramble on this more, but it's a thought I had.
Here's the thing: the WoW d20 was created along with a multitude of other d20 games as a result of the particular licence used for Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition. If your experiences with pen and paper systems are limited to the WoW d20, you might be rightfully confused as to what that actually means. In essence, many designers and publishers were given the rights to essentially create systems that were very similar to D&D 3rd, using roughly the same game mechanics. This is also apparent with the WoW d20, and leads to one of the main weaknesses of the d20 as a lore source: much of the information, especially pertaining to things like abilities, racial dimensions, and mechanics, are pulled directly from, or heavily inspired by, Dungeons and Dragons. This especially applies to prestige classes: Shadow Ascendant, as a random example, has a lot of things in common with the D&D Shadow Dancer.
Now, there -is- some good lore stuff in there, don't get me wrong. It's okay to draw certain amounts of inspiration, but you have to keep in mind a few things when you do so. One, mechanics are very different between a pen and paper game and the kind of more freeform roleplay that we do here. There's a good reason that we won't let you get your Wish or Miracle spell. Two, in-game stuff will always trump d20 stuff because d20 stuff isn't canon. And third, you have to be cautious when it comes to d20 lore because not everyone has access to read it all or wants to mess with it. There's more, and I could ramble on it longer, but for now my point is this: I don't hate d20 lore. There's good stuff in it. For example, I -love- the interpretations they gave for Spiritwalkers, and that's lore that I still use.
So, let's talk about ghostly characters!
Spirit companions for Spiritwalkers/Spirit Champions existed in the old prestige system, but the idea never gained much traction. Nonetheless, I'd like to posit their existence again because it's just too cool of lore to ignore, and does have at least some basis in the in-game characters that we see. The idea, essentially, would be the particularly ancestor-based shamanistic cultures being able to call upon the spirits of their ancestors/heroes/dead to fight with them once more. Now, I'll leave the specifics for personal interpretation, but I see this as being another possibility for a new type of "private discussion" kind of character concept, especially since we already do have transparency and ghostly aura trinkets that would work beautifully for this.
Especially because this would be another character concept that might spur on Horde RP, since this would be of particular interest for the Orc/Tauren/Troll characters.
Might ramble on this more, but it's a thought I had.