Need feedback on RP ideas (new to WoW RP)

[Leeny]

Before I express any ideas or thoughts I had in mind for RP on this server, I just want to clarify that I am brand-new to the lore and world of WoW. In past attempts to play WoW, I never got entirely hooked, distracted by a previous MMO I was playing (and recently quit). With a few good friends here, I have been drawn to this server, and after learning a little bit of the lore so far, I can safely say I'm very interested in getting into things.

Of course, I want to be able to let my years of role-playing experience shine as I get to understand things more, but I also want to avoid doing anything too cliche, or "wrong." I don't know if I am helping my cause any, but I have chosen to be a blood elf, a priest. Perhaps my reasons for this choice were the same as any; they're pretty and they're elves. I love elves. My friends chose Horde, so I joined them.

Prior to posting this, I went over some lore related to blood elves with two friends and brought up some ideas with them, trying to fit things well to the lore and history of blood elves, while at the same time trying to find ways to work in some creative hooks and ideas. When it comes to RP, two things are important to me, two often conflicting things - keeping consistent with lore, but being creative and not too restricted. I like to view lore simply as a guideline, something you work around and keep in mind without outright dismissing its existence.

My blood elf is named Gallara (I have yet to come up with a last name) and she is only level 3. I have been spending more time thinking up ideas than jumping into playing, planning to level casually when I have the chance outside of work. I chose priest because I was a little tempted by the idea of a shadow priest. I made sure to read the information on classes in terms of relation to blood elf lore, so without rambling any further, here is what I have come up with:

Like any blood elf, the Scourge took loved ones from Gallara, specifically her parents; she was an only child. I hope I am right based on what I've read and that the Scourge was indeed as recent as about a decade. As such, she was about 80 years old at the time and is now about 90 years old. As a priest, I was choosing to have her be a bit more laid-back and scholarly, focused on knowledge and studying, perhaps to a point of being often secluded.

Secretly, she detests the oppressiveness of blood elf society. For the obvious reasons, she would never dare express her views in Silvermoon; in fact, Gallara is rather quiet, fearful of ever exposing her true feelings. She also is devoted to secret studies, believing that through her magic as a priest, she can seek the means to find some form of "cure" for the magic addiction, even if it's one that only lessens it slightly. These studies are what encourage her to begin traveling.

During her travels, I plan to have her pursue the path of a shadow priest and explain this in role-play as her being corrupted by the power she is looking into in seeking her "cure." She maybe ends up making herself more unstable in the long run. That is up to what happens while role-playing with other people, I would suppose.

Long story short, that is about it for what I have in mind so far, as I'm still learning the lore, doing some reading, but mostly gaining knowledge directly from my friends here. I find it easier to have them summarize their own understanding of the lore as opposed to reading everything, as there are likely plenty of things I don't necessarily need to know for the sake of playing my character.

I post this fully open to feedback and input. Again, please be mindful that if something sounds way off or ridiculous, I'm new and learning. I'm trying very hard to look into something creative while keeping the lore and facts in mind; I want to role-play this race "correctly," but have the freedom of creativity to be able to show that I am not new to role-playing entirely. Please feel free to ask me any questions, if only to confirm if there is anything I haven't considered that may in some way hinder my ideas. Feel free to also offer potential ways to expand on these ideas.

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds; I'm leaving to go to work shortly and won't be back until late, roughly around midnight my time (about nine hours from now). I'd be happy to see some responses and get some more ideas so that I can keep working on things.

[Holynexus]

You seem to have gotten the bases of Sin'dorei perks (I especially like to point out that Sin'dorei society is pretty opressing, despite its relative comfort of living in relation to other, less advanced civilizations). I dare say it's pretty good. I'm not really a Sin'dorei expert but, all RP worlds combined (not just WoW), I have more Sin'dorei than anything.

Be mindful that our server has moved on beyond WotLK timeline. Kaelthas was exposed, the Lich King is dead, and most of all and very importantly, the Sunwell was restored. This would make the Sin'dorei "cured" from the fel addiction, at least to the point they don't have to sniff fel crystals anymore. Therefore, I don't know if there is such a need to even find a cure to begin with. Now, "Shadow Priests" are quite typical in the administration and bureaucracy, as well as the government of Quel'thalas. From what I gathered they also get down into dirty work like mind controlling rioters (and we see this in game at some point during BC if I remember correctly). While slightly away from your idea of a cure, you could maybe oppose the Sin'dorei oppresion from within, or at least RP some degree of conflict therewith.

Talking of which! I really enjoy that you put thought in this facet of Sin'dorei society. Most people see a city full of magical tools and with the world's biggest city and where even lowly commoners are living in very high standards in comparison to the nobility of other races, and a kingdom being restored and in a few years managing to overcome the destruction of Arthas. But I feel many people tend to forget that Sin'dorei government is rather opressive, maybe without being fascist or at the very least holding overly unfair power - but it is a sort of absolute monarchy, and the nobles really hold the power. Basically said, freedom of speech isn't very high, and I really appreciate that you highlight this aspect of Sin'dorei. (To some point, I think it's a defining point between a poorly-played Sin'dorei and a well-played one).

Just my sleepy two cents (I'm back from glittering bigots, heh heh), but I think you're rather good to go. You'll find the Seregon, Silverfang and to a lesser extent Novalights the "noble" families of Silvermoon, but there are many Blood Elves.

Welcome to CotH, anyhow! I'm Holynexus and I'm the most dwarven woman in the server. :3

[c0rzilla]

Before I express any ideas or thoughts I had in mind for RP on this server, I just want to clarify that I am brand-new to the lore and world of WoW. In past attempts to play WoW, I never got entirely hooked, distracted by a previous MMO I was playing (and recently quit). With a few good friends here, I have been drawn to this server, and after learning a little bit of the lore so far, I can safely say I'm very interested in getting into things.

Welcome!

If you don't yet know the colors of forum names on here, the purple of mine designates me (and others who share it) as a Forum Helper! That means we guide players on the lore of their profiles and characters.

Of course, I want to be able to let my years of role-playing experience shine as I get to understand things more, but I also want to avoid doing anything too cliche, or "wrong." I don't know if I am helping my cause any, but I have chosen to be a blood elf, a priest. Perhaps my reasons for this choice were the same as any; they're pretty and they're elves. I love elves. My friends chose Horde, so I joined them.

It's true, blood elves have a stigma for attracting the "bad" RPers. But, we're here to help.

Prior to posting this, I went over some lore related to blood elves with two friends and brought up some ideas with them, trying to fit things well to the lore and history of blood elves, while at the same time trying to find ways to work in some creative hooks and ideas. When it comes to RP, two things are important to me, two often conflicting things - keeping consistent with lore, but being creative and not too restricted. I like to view lore simply as a guideline, something you work around and keep in mind without outright dismissing its existence.

That is generally the stance of Conquest of the Horde. Perhaps "guideline" is too soft a term, but we try to keep as close to Blizzard lore as possible, while allowing creativity.

My blood elf is named Gallara (I have yet to come up with a last name) and she is only level 3. I have been spending more time thinking up ideas than jumping into playing, planning to level casually when I have the chance outside of work. I chose priest because I was a little tempted by the idea of a shadow priest. I made sure to read the information on classes in terms of relation to blood elf lore, so without rambling any further, here is what I have come up with:

Just remember, levels have no relevance to RP. You can be level 1 and RP something "powerful" or "experienced". You'll find many other shadow priests here to gain ideas from and bounce ideas off of.

Like any blood elf, the Scourge took loved ones from Gallara, specifically her parents; she was an only child. I hope I am right based on what I've read and that the Scourge was indeed as recent as about a decade. As such, she was about 80 years old at the time and is now about 90 years old. As a priest, I was choosing to have her be a bit more laid-back and scholarly, focused on knowledge and studying, perhaps to a point of being often secluded.

Here is our Blood Elf timeline. Give it a look-over if you haven't to make sure your years are right. Though, when you write a profile, you don't need to use specific years and dates.

If you're unsure, the dark red means it's a link.

Secretly, she detests the oppressiveness of blood elf society. For the obvious reasons, she would never dare express her views in Silvermoon; in fact, Gallara is rather quiet, fearful of ever exposing her true feelings. She also is devoted to secret studies, believing that through her magic as a priest, she can seek the means to find some form of "cure" for the magic addiction, even if it's one that only lessens it slightly. These studies are what encourage her to begin traveling.

Makes sense! And the secret dislike is quite common.

My own character, Ithildess, has a "fear" of the state of Silvermoon. As an ex-Sunfury, she knows well the power of state control and corruption. She ended up giving up her fire evocation to study the Light, though she's yet to learn the whole faith thing and draws on the power of the Sunwell.

During her travels, I plan to have her pursue the path of a shadow priest and explain this in role-play as her being corrupted by the power she is looking into in seeking her "cure." She maybe ends up making herself more unstable in the long run. That is up to what happens while role-playing with other people, I would suppose.

You might ask yourself the question of why she chose shadow as the cure, when the sin'dorei have an entire well of Light to sate their addiction. A naaru did sacrifice its heart to purify it. Sort of a big deal.

The lore of CotH about shadow is mostly fanon, but a consistent attribute seems to be a dulling of emotions. Chaotic instability is more a symptom of fel magics, a la warlocks. Though, with the dulling of emotions, she may take actions that are not "stable", as she relies more on cold logic.

Long story short, that is about it for what I have in mind so far, as I'm still learning the lore, doing some reading, but mostly gaining knowledge directly from my friends here. I find it easier to have them summarize their own understanding of the lore as opposed to reading everything, as there are likely plenty of things I don't necessarily need to know for the sake of playing my character.

There is a lot to read, yes. And fanon can muddle things. But, that's why we Forum Helpers are here to help. We also have a number of guides on here for races and magic, and all kinds of things.

Here's a few relevant guides:

A Cosmic Duality; Sin'dorei and Kaldorei

Shadows of the Sun: A Blood Elf Guide (This one is unfinished, because Beltharean's a lazy nub.)

Shadow and Light: A Guide

I post this fully open to feedback and input. Again, please be mindful that if something sounds way off or ridiculous, I'm new and learning. I'm trying very hard to look into something creative while keeping the lore and facts in mind; I want to role-play this race "correctly," but have the freedom of creativity to be able to show that I am not new to role-playing entirely. Please feel free to ask me any questions, if only to confirm if there is anything I haven't considered that may in some way hinder my ideas. Feel free to also offer potential ways to expand on these ideas.

You sound fine so far! And you coming forward for help is much appreciated. Makes our Helper jobs relevant!

The GMs (green folk) don't bite either. Feel free to PM either groups, or post in the Private Discussion.

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds; I'm leaving to go to work shortly and won't be back until late, roughly around midnight my time (about nine hours from now). I'd be happy to see some responses and get some more ideas so that I can keep working on things.

You're welcome!

[flammos200]

The ideas sound fine. Keep in mind, though, the whole 'brainwash people to serve the ruler' thing is a left-over from pre-Sunwell times. The NPCs haven't been updated(Lazy Blizzard only swapped 'Kael'thas' with 'Lor'themar'). It's nowhere near as oppressive as some'd claim. If anything, it's quite the noblebright kingdom since the Sunwell.

The truth of abuses of power remains, though - See, before the Sunwell was restored, addiction ravaged Blood Elven population and people can do horrifying things to get a fix and get away from pain. Your mileage may vary, though.

All in all, BElves seem to be a blend of a meritocracy(with the most skilled in their respective talents being given rank, recognition and coin), and a bit of a monarchy(complete with the Council of Nobles, and Blood Elven noble houses).

The attitude of Blood Elves is generally "You can't tell us what to do. I choose my own path in life." - They're the ultimate rebels. Trying to talk one into something they don't want to do is as easy as wrestling an Ogre. Due to this, they've persevered in mistakes(Such as Kael'thas continuing on the path of corruption, leading to the events at the Sunwell), but they have achieved great things as well(Being stalwart allies of the Draenei in the Shattered Sun and retaking the ancient fount of power, now overflowing with both Light and Arcane, sating the elven thirst for magic).

The thing with the 'oppressive' nature of things is that nobody can afford to lose ground or get bad publicity, for good reason: Let's say House X specializes in commercializing product Y. A person starts a train of thought that Y is cursed. Nobody buys product Y. House X faces bankruptcy, regardless of whether or not Y was actually cursed. House X may even face dissolution or poverty. Bad publicity can be deadly(It killed Kael'thas, after all.), which is why it tends to be avoided, sometimes very aggressively. As they're elves, Sin'dorei value politeness and cordial arrangements. Due to long lifespans, grudges can also be kept for a very long time, but most rivalries are friendly - meritocracy tends to take care of that. The best people tend to win in the end.

Post-Sunwell, though, I wouldn't say it's any more oppressive than the Human kingdom of Stormwind. Perhaps more Light-oriented due to the events at the Sunwell, sure, if the particular elf feels that way.

...Also, you can totally just side with someone other than the Magisters. Like the Farstriders(Who aren't even an official part of Silvermoon), or the Blood Knights(Who've been reformed by Lady Liadrin into a Knights of The Silver Hand-like order). But since you're a Priest, you can always go with the elven side of the Church of the Holy Light. /shrug

[Leeny]

Firstly, I need to give a million thanks for the replies and links provided. I'm really happy to come back and see so much constructive criticism, where in some past RP scenarios in previous online game RP, I would get thread views, but no one would bother to spend a few minutes replying. It's such a welcome change and gives me such a great impression of this server and what I have to look forward to when I finally role play. I'm so used to seeing role players hung up on their own characters' lives, to the point that they don't care to bother with anyone else.

To be honest, a lot of terms mentioned still haven't stuck in my mind, so I will have to do more reading. Keeping in mind the comments I received so far, I suppose I can eliminate Gallara needing to travel in search of a cure. This leaves me wondering what interesting hook of travel I can come up with, but as I read the link about Light and Shadow, the explanation of shadow priests being more solitary in focus appeals to me. I could simply say she travels out of interest of growing her knowledge personally. I like how shadow priests are described as being focused on individual growth as opposed to the growth of a group; in fact, that inspires me further to really focus on being a shadow priest.

I still am trying to seek the balance of keeping true to lore and having something that stands out. I am hoping that will come to me as I understand things more. When I picked blood elf, I knew nothing, I just know I don't want to be forced to have a very arrogant character or anything like that. I was also thinking of her being the last of her family completely, a noble line; both her parents were lost in the Scourge. I was also thinking (hopefully not too cliche of an idea) that she is so self-focused on her studies because they help her drown out the sadness/bitterness of losing everything.

I might even decide to say she had a few siblings that died as well, but overly-tragic characters don't appeal to me often. I'm all about balance; having her hold some bitterness over the past would be all right, but I could never play a character whose life revolves around that sorrow. Maybe it is better to word it by saying she has found an escape and the ability to move on through personal searching for more knowledge. Perhaps her solitary ways stem from a secret fear of ending up dead, being the last living member of her family, which is also why she continues to seek power and better herself in her abilities?

I am still (and always) open to more input and ideas, if anyone else reads this later. Again, thank you for the responses so far. I'll be doing my homework when I get the time and thinking more.

[flammos200]

You're very welcome.

There's a rub - Nobility is only playable by grunts, and it takes a Special Profile to do so. So you might not want to devote your first character to that. Since in order to become a Grunt you'll need to have an Approved profile, a story(either in your Intro or in the IC forums) and to have played for a month, you can see where the difficulties lie.

Another thing to note is - the Light emphasizes strengthening people's connection to the universe, thus strengthening your own. Basically, the more good you do, the better you are at it, and the more good returns unto you. You can always be a do-gooder that seeks to strengthen their own bond with the universe, by strengthening others'. At the end of the day, both the Light and Shadow are paths that can lead to potentially great powers - but while the Light will have everyone around you benefit from it as well, the Shadow might end up having the power you gain come at everyone else's expense. It's also a question of whether you're able to maintain humility(which Light-followers often try to do), or if your ego rules you(The self is supreme in Shadow). That, and going Shadow might earn ya' enemies. Basically, in bettering others, a Lightwielder betters themselves, whereas a follower of the Shadow seeks only self-betterment, regardless of the cost.

Also, take care not to go off the deep end with the drama as regards loss and bitterness and such. Though the Blood Elves may've lost effectively 90% of their number, they still stand strong, and their general attitude was - rather than mourning their dead, choosing to honor them. They chose to bear the name of the blood of the fallen(thus Blood Elves. The 'blood' bit refers to the blood of those who died defending Quel'thalas). But the elves show great tenacity, in that they rose right back up, rebuilt and decided to try their hand at forging a better future for themselves. Sure, it didn't work out at first, but with a little help from the resident holy blue aliens, they managed to set themselves on the path of redemption. Heh... Redemption seems to be their general theme at times. Must be one of the reasons I love Sin'dorei. But yeah - point is, too much drama can lead to an unpleasant character to play.

Anyhow, good luck!