07-04-2011, 05:28 PM
I had an interesting conversation today regarding retiring characters, and I thought it might be a neat idea to allow characters who are coming upon the end of their overarching goals to be retired in style.
Say, for instance, that my character Kaghuros has been questing through Azeroth for many long and troubled years but finally wants to settle down. If I decided I wanted to let his character concept finally rest, I could organize an event or forum thread about finding and marrying a she-Orc and then leaving the adventurer's life.
If it were a series of server events, the player would plan and run the parts of the ending that they could use to involve all the people who are part of the character's story thus far. Say, a ritual for turning a Fel-Sworn into a full demon after a solemn farewell letter is delivered to their trusted servants, or a courtship and wedding for an Orc with all their myriad friends in attendance. At the end of the plot-line, the character rides off into the sunset in a grandiose forum post and disappears.
For a forum thread or story, the player could open it or leave it a self-written epilogue of their character finally coming to terms with their final obstacle. Whether that's death, triumph, or simply fading into anonymity, the character's book would have a closing chapter in a way that the player feels is fitting.
Certainly some endings are impossible to step back from, but if a player ever did want to bring a character back from a happy ending, they could easily make another story that involved their character being thrust into adventure against their will (though of course some character endings would preclude this, like turning into a demon or dying at peace).
In all, I think it would be cathartic for some players to lay their crafted characters to rest in their own way if they feel they want to.
Say, for instance, that my character Kaghuros has been questing through Azeroth for many long and troubled years but finally wants to settle down. If I decided I wanted to let his character concept finally rest, I could organize an event or forum thread about finding and marrying a she-Orc and then leaving the adventurer's life.
If it were a series of server events, the player would plan and run the parts of the ending that they could use to involve all the people who are part of the character's story thus far. Say, a ritual for turning a Fel-Sworn into a full demon after a solemn farewell letter is delivered to their trusted servants, or a courtship and wedding for an Orc with all their myriad friends in attendance. At the end of the plot-line, the character rides off into the sunset in a grandiose forum post and disappears.
For a forum thread or story, the player could open it or leave it a self-written epilogue of their character finally coming to terms with their final obstacle. Whether that's death, triumph, or simply fading into anonymity, the character's book would have a closing chapter in a way that the player feels is fitting.
Certainly some endings are impossible to step back from, but if a player ever did want to bring a character back from a happy ending, they could easily make another story that involved their character being thrust into adventure against their will (though of course some character endings would preclude this, like turning into a demon or dying at peace).
In all, I think it would be cathartic for some players to lay their crafted characters to rest in their own way if they feel they want to.