Angst in this server?

[ImagenAshyun]

Just a casual topic of discussion, and one I'd like to hear from anyone who is willing to reply.


When I first decided to join the server and agreed to a character profile, I intended to write my character as I originally intended him to be-- upbeat, child-like, and dumb as a brick. He was also intended to be a child during the rise of the horde and didn't know who his parents were because the orcs killed them; this was all, however, before I learned about Draenei aging, and quick looks around this server's wiki on top of Wowwiki corrected my assumptions. Instead, the ideas I had for his parents before they were killed were transferred to him, which included the backstory where his wife became a Lost One and that he was tragically separated from his son.

WELL, that's much better as far as lore accuracy goes... but it left a bad taste in my mouth. The main reason I had intended Kapre to be a kid during the draenic massacres was to avoid the super angsty background--by not bothering to have him remember his parents nor the massacre itself (he would grow up in hiding until the crash of the Exodar). Now that he's rewritten to be closer to lore, and that according to one of the GMs/admins that the crash occurred 2 years ago, it makes very, very little sense to have Kapre maintain a cheerful disposition unless he's broken in the head. To remedy this, I just simply have him avoid discussing his background as much as possible and focus entirely on recovery, which includes trying to play matchmaker to lonely hearts and getting know parents of children.


Bear in mind, I like sad stories. However, not long ago I was among the writers who'd go overboard with tragedy and angst, and looking back at them, I have nothing but shame and disgust. I think it's rarer that people would bother to write a more mundane backstory or even a cheerful and happy one without the risk of looking "boring".


What do you think, though? I'm afraid I'm only familiar with Draenei and Orc lore (and to some extent Troll), and I've never played any of the Warcraft games, so I wouldn't know the troubled histories of the other races. I am, though, rather curious about your attitudes to sad and tragic backstories and the angst it tends to create. As much as possible, I try to maintain the bright disposition of my character to avoid angst, so I'd like to know how you all do the same.

[flammos200]

...Y'know, Histories can shape characters in good ways, not just cataclysmic ones.

I'm a huge fan of BElves, and it's no secret by now. If one were to perceive them from a tragic point of view, they'd obviously see their civilization slaughtered to nigh-extinction, and them falling to demonic magic and such.

But then, you have the truly great parts of BElves. From fighting in the Second War, to the Restoration of the Sunwell, where their ancient symbol/fount of power was imbued with the Light of the heart of a Naaru, and they were given a chance at redemption by Velen himself. Indeed, a lot of Blood Elves are turning towards the Light, as seen in the cases Voren'thal the Seer and Lady Liadrin, for instance, so it would not be that uncommon to see a BElf going on about the Army of the Light, and how the Legion will fall and so on.

Now, from such heroic epics, one can move to a much more light-hearted environment with ease, because the Light is a warm and generally happy sort of thing. So, most of my Blood Elves that've been through horrific events - after all, the retaking of the Sunwell by the Shattered Sun Offensive costed lives - are pretty happy, knowing that there's a bright future ahead of them, as opposed to one in Fel and Shadow.

The case of the Draenei is similar. In spite of leaving behind their home planet and taking a journey across the universe, seeing so many more worlds, accompanied by Warcraft's garden-variety angels - Naaru, they are imbued with the Light and are practically immortal. Those of the Draenei that don't dedicate themselves to the war against the Legion or helping out in some other way, are still pretty optimistic. After all, the Light is on their side, and they're on a planet with -so- much potential - having fought back the Legion not once, but three times: The War of the Ancients; The Battle of Mount Hyjal; The Sunwell Campaign.

The Draenei can be happy, smiley-grinny people. They're not idiots, nor naive, though. They've lived for thousands of years, and if anything, they're probably the most knowledgeable of the races, save perhaps the elves, and maaaybe the Gnomes, though the latter lack the moral scruples that true wisdom begets.

My Elves speak of the Fall of Silvermoon. But they don't go 'we were slaughtered...' instead 'We survived, and we rebuilt. Together, we will embark upon a better path, a brighter path in the Light, and bring retribution unto the Legion.' or something similar.

As for my Draenei, of which I have only two, one's a calm, happy and peaceful Shaman with a penchant for sparring, and the other's a practical entomologist and engineer, that gets excited at the prospect of flesh-eating insects, weapons technology, Draenic Crystalforging techniques and the like. None of them are '/mopemope /sadsad'.

Fel, even my Warlocks are... well... pretty... uhmmm... happy? Well, that's not the right word. One's Fel-high constantly, and generally just having the time of her life on her chaotic romp across the two worlds, and the other's dedicated herself to fighting the Burning Legion, in vengeance for the Fall of Quel'thalas.

I think the only character of mine that's consistently a tragic heroine is my Night Elven Warden.

[Wuvvums]

Most races have a significant racial event, some also leading to a significant number of deaths. Even the eccentric gnomes have had their tragedies, and goblins and worgen will have hardships to face too in Cataclysm. That being said it's typical to have had a traumatic event for a character, I think it's because of that that some people may be desensitized if you try and fish for sympathy.

That being said a little angst is fine but most people probably already know what it's like and won't really pity you for it.

That's my two cents, at least.

[Beltharean]

That's the beauty of being a rational being, different people have Dordrecht reactions to the same events. While one might look at the destruction of shattrath with despair and devote their life to vengeance against the orcs, another might see it as another event in a long chain of demonic destruction; they would continue living as they had, and look back with not only regret, but acceptance. You can maintain a childish personality if you like, in more than one way. You personality could stay the same through the massacre, Kapre could use 'sillyness' as a coping method... I'm sure you could think of a plausible method to make YOUR character how YOU want it, and I'll do my best to guide your profile in the right direction.

(Posted from moi phone)

[Xigo]

I do the same with Yui.

Outwardly, she has a very cheerful disposition and is rather friendly.

Bring up the hardships the Draenei have gone through, and that will swiftly crack.

It's a coping mechanism. :P

[ImagenAshyun]

To Flammos200:

You provided great insight by comparing the Blood Elves to the Draenei, which I have failed to do despite trying to read up on their lore... perhaps it's because I don't own a Belf, and I don't intend to anytime soon due to the fact that there are already so many regardless of what server I play. I guess the "tragedy goggles" remained over my eyes so long is because I wasn't sure where to seek happiness in the racial stories, but now I know better. Thank you for your input. It's a great comparison and a good based on where I can improve my sense of direction in story without resorting to angst.


To Wuvvums:

I don't intend to fish for sympathy, and I am fully aware that people are most likely to be annoyed by wangst rather than feel for it. The main reason is that we in real life cannot relate to many of the Warcraft characters on just about any level of life unless it's something very mundane. Mundane is good. In fact, that's what I wanted with Kapre--to be painfully normal . Well, normal as a derpy draenei can be.

My worry actually came from the fact of how Kapre is courting a draenei female who wants to get to know him better, so she's actually invoking tragedy from him. I suppose as long as the tragic roleplaying is restricted to just her on the justification that she wants to get to know him and help him recover, then the angst level is reasonable and fine. I otherwise encourage others to be as mean and abusive to my derpy draenei as much as possible, because I actually find that more interesting than trying to fish for sympathy.

To Beltharean:

I thought about using my character's sillier nature as a means of coping, which isn't a bad thing at all. I find characters who maintain a sunny disposition through hardship much more interesting and even inspiring than the brooding kinds. I would think I'm doing a good job by far though I am curious to see how other RPers manage angst should they decide on giving their characters a sad or tragic backstory .

I think my profile is okay... my bad reaction to it is moreso due to the fact I strayed so far from my original intention where I actively avoided invoking tragedy by simply having him being too young to remember them. But guidance is good, especially if I intend to create more characters in the future. I do, though, hope to update this profile sometime in the future, with the GM's permission, but I'll have to decide on what changes I am sure about before I go on and do that.


To Xigo:

Haha, I thought about that with Yui! I had a feeling she was among those who is bright and happy as long as you don't bring up Draenor or Argus, and then should anyone do so, she'd be one of the saddest little puppies you'd come across. I'm glad I'm not the only one who chose this kind of characterization.

...speaking of Yui, I seem to have a difficult time adding her. The game says she does not exist, and when I tried selecting her and then adding her from here, the game still says she does not exist even if she would be standing right in front of me. Huh.

[FlyingSquirrel]

You can't friend GMs, or who them.

[ImagenAshyun]

So I was told. Thanks anyway <

[Amorphous]

Heh, if I may inject my own insanity. A curious option arises when you consider all our irl self-help books, gurus, religions, etc. Plus everyone has advice & opinions. I'm sure there are wowized versions of said manuals to coping with life, trauma, etc. While laughter & being happy can be forced, it boils out at times. Said issues could result in inquiring how others deal with it ic. Wow is filled with plenty of coping beings. Just keep his damn hooves off the carpet.

Edit: typo daemon bit me

Just be prepared when some don't take kindly to those sorta questions!

[Arrillion]

You know? I don't understand what's the problem with tragic stories, it's world of warcraft afterall. There isn't a single square meter that's not affected by war nor a single person who hasn't lost a relative or at least someone he knew. Now some people would call having lost your mother or father, or even half of your family mary sue-ish or whatever, but that would be reality for many. And there are people who shrug and lead on living happy lives, for now, and there are ones who don't. Just like in the real world.

So if you want to roll a character with a tragic history, you have my blessing. I can appreciate such histories and I might even feel sympathy.

[ImagenAshyun]

To Amorphous:

I am curious about self-help options out there in-universe. I think most of the Warcraft cultures provide their own beliefs in the supernatural such as nature, the Light, etc., as spiritual means of coping with pain. It's good to learn more about them, especially in regards to advice when a majority of your people are wiped out without warning. Kinda like the dirt under my hooves. Not that you can do anything about it, cadaver.

To Arrillion:

That is indeed a reality in-universe, and it'd account for the reasons why several characters in the lore would take rash actions. I actually expect a lot of players to have characters with tragic backstories, especially those who would have lived during certain wars. This is why I'm more tolerant of tragic backstories when RPing WoW, and in some races I even expect characters to have some tragedy or else I'd question their understanding of lore. Nonetheless, backstory aside, I was hoping to see how players cope and deal with players who depend on tragedy as its means of story. It certainly is not the only option available, and I'd like to see what others suggest as a way of either coping with tragedy or how to write a convincing backstory without resorting to tragedy to prevent blandness .

[Delta]

Perhaps I just speak for myself when I say this, but I can't really feel bad about hearing about character's mothers, fathers, brothers, husbands, dogs, or chinchillas die if I don't have any history with that character.

It's got nothing to do with whether a plot point is overdone or cliché, or downright generic, it's how you play it off and who you play it off to.