Official: Forsaken and the Light

[Mortiphobia]

Read this post for the whole thing.

There was a Developer Answers thread on the official forums that answered a lot of lore questions. One of the things that stood out to me was their answer on the Light and undead wielding it. Click the link above to read the rest of it.

Q: Can you please explain how "light" works? The lore states that undead are physically incapable of using the light, much like the Broken, but then we have Forsaken players casting healing spells, and Sir Zeliek in Naxxramas using pseudo-paladin abilities.

A: Without spoiling too much, we can tell you that wielding the Light is a matter of having willpower or faith in one's own ability to do it. That's why there are evil paladins (for example, the Scarlet Crusade and Arthas before he took up Frostmourne). For the undead (and Forsaken), this requires such a great deal of willpower that it is exceedingly rare, especially since it is self-destructive. When undead channel the Light, it feels (to them) as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light (whether the healer is Forsaken or not) are effectively cauterized by the effect: sure, the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower; Forsaken (and death knight) tanks suffer nobly when they have priest and paladin healers in the group; and Sir Zeliek REALLY hates himself.

There it is, folks. A definitive answer on the Forsaken priest/paladin debate. It seems both sides were both wrong and right. From what I understand, Forsaken Holy and Discipline priests are not just a gameplay mechanic. They are those among the Forsaken that have the utmost dedication to the Light, and wield it, despite it causing them great pain. Likewise it seems the Light can be manipulated to either hurt or harm whatever target the priest/paladin intends. So that means the Light doesn't instantly kill an undead, but a heal from the Light will still be painful.

I hope this puts an end to the debate. While one could potentially be a Forsaken Holy Priest, it's so unlikely, from more than just a philosophical standpoint, that one would have to have a really good reason for it. I suppose it would be up to the GMs if they want to allow it or not.

[Skaar]

Maybe make it a Prestige Class?

[c0rzilla]

Maybe make it a Prestige Class?

Make what a prestige class? Forsaken priest?

[Skaar]

Maybe make it a Prestige Class?

Make what a prestige class? Forsaken priest?

Holy Priest. I'unno.

[Arrillion]

Or maybe it's just a way to explain something that is more of a gameplay mechanic than realistic. I've seen alot ot those explanations on the forums.

[Mortiphobia]

I honestly think that's going a little far. I've never really had a problem with Forsaken Priests channeling the Light, but I expected a damn good reason for them to. With this information, I still have no problem with it, but I expect the player to RP in accordance to the rules (i.e. doing so with intense pain).

[Mortiphobia]

Or maybe it's just a way to explain something that is more of a gameplay mechanic than realistic. I've seen alot ot those explanations on the forums.

You have to keep in mind that these answers come directly from Chris Metzen himself, the "lorekeeper".

[simianthief]

Who likes to make fake deaths. A LOT. I take it with a grain of salt. I don't know what the discussion previously was, but if I had been Metzen I would have simply said that being redeemed opened them to the ability to channel holy energies. Viola. No need to get all Star Trek - Retconnish about it. As for psuedo-Paladin abilities...."That's a gameplay mechanic, shut up and enjoy the gameplay."

Ah well, what can you expect?

[Piroska]

I have no qualms with allowing a Forsaken wielding the Light. We'd already had a huge discussion proving that this was possible; your excellent find just confirmed it for us.

I'd like to reiterate, however, that the Forsaken are a collective group of people who have fiercely and almost obsessively accepted their new racial identity. Part of that is this concept that the Light has forsaken them, giving rise to their name. They embrace the Shadow and many former priests of the Light wear the dirty robes of their faith in a mockery of what they were and believed. Remember: they're also the only race to give rise to the Lightslayers, individuals who go out and kill people who use the Light.

As a result, I still say that Forsaken priests who wield the Light are fine, but -- just like having interracial relationships -- people should be aware of the consequences. A Light-wielding Forsaken would be, at best, ostracized; I'm of the opinion he'd probably be dead(er) meat if his proclivities were discovered. However, that does provide substantial opportunity for roleplay; I know that one of my Forsaken is wavering between eventually becoming a Lightslayer and pursuing further allegiance to one of the Undercity's underground demonic cults. If I (or others) had a Lightslayer, we could develop an interesting series of character interactions!

Remember: we're shying away from custom lore. We accept the rules of the Warcraft universe as dictated to us by the creators and by resources considered to be lore. We can't arbitrarily decide which pieces of lore we want to accept. If there's proof that Forsaken can utilize the Light (and, remember, we discussed in the other thread how the concept of the Light killing Forsaken was actually the result of White Wolf writing it in the RPG guides and has since been retconned), we should accept it. The end.