Sol Wrote:I'm not sure why everyone is so adverse to Taurens being paladins and priests. It's already been explained as a form of An'she worship, which isn't that bad a cop-out excuse in my opinion.
Pardon my jumping in, but, I gotta. So, I gotta. I'll toss you a newspaper you can roll up and smack me on the nose, if it's appropriate.
Before I launch into my spiel, let's get some cultural things out of the way. This is my interpretation, YMMV, and differences of opinion will occur. Offer not valid in Florida, Massachusetts, or The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea.
Tauren society is, as a whole, very spiritual. This is an important detail. It's not just Shamans and Druids - it's Hunters, it's Warriors, it's everyone. It's customary to properly honor any life taken, especially in the hunt. How that's done is going to vary by tribe and by person. Remember, Tauren are socially very fragmented. However, the Earth Mother and the Hunt are two of the core commonalities. Even the Grimtotem follow these two core tenets; honor the Earth Mother, and honor the Hunt.
All of
that said, let's get down to the matter at hand - Paladins and Priests.
Priests, make sense. Why? Within Tauren society, there is ... well, I'm having trouble expressing it. I think the simpler way to say it is that Healers are highly respected, if not revered. Healers protect life, and the sanctity of life. Additionally, the tending to of wounds is not strictly the realm of the Shaman (though they may specialize in such, see Resto tree.) That also extends to animals - Druids are not the only ones who tend to Kodos. There is always a place at the fire for those who tend to the needs of others.
Yes, this is absolutely a very, very narrow view of Priests as healers. Bear in mind, I'm
not that familiar with the class. But it is not at all unreasonable, unfathomable, or even the least bit strange that there would be Tauren who would seek the Earth Mother's aid in manners more akin to a Priest or Priestess than a Shaman or Druid. (But there also would be shared components to the overall thing, yes.)
As far as Shadow priests go, I honestly don't know. If I were asked to take a wild stab at making it fit, I would most likely lean toward Grimtotem using the stuff of the Nightmare. Possibly viewed as a half-way point between now and the potential of Warlocks, as with their Forsaken allies. Or one could toss it out as "the Forsaken taught us, okay?!" (Use the voice of that kid from the old anti-drug ads. It's funnier that way.)
So okay. We get my opinion on how Priests fit into lore, and I'm all "yay Tauren Priests!" I honestly am. It's something that I've felt has been lacking since I started playing.
Tauren Paladins? Now we get to why I
really had to reply. If you were to say they rubbed me the wrong way, I would probably hand you a giant trophy for the understatement of the year award.
In the culture of Azeroth as a
whole, adventuring Paladins do two things. They heal people with the blessing of the Light, and they smite the crap out of them with the Light.
See that part about smiting? Yeah. That does. Not. Work. Tauren do not just honor the hunt; they revere
all life. Taking a life is a very serious matter, at all times, no matter what. (It's my opinion that the Scourge aren't considered to be living. That's another discussion for another time and place.) The idea of using the Earth Mother's power to end a life is not just frowned upon, it's utterly abhorrent. Things like that get Elders on your back, possibly literally, because as far as everyone is concerned (excepting maybe Grimtotem,) it's more wrong than wrong. That's the sort of thing that reaches hosting parties in the Nightmare levels of wrong.
Bear with me as I veer just a touch here, so I can clarify my views on things. In my view, no class available at this time actually deals with the Earth Mother directly. Shamans deal with elements, spirits and ancestors. Druids deal with the Earth Mother, but like Shaman, deal primarily with elements and spirits. Nobody draws directly from the Earth Mother herself.
Paladins look at that, then start tap dancing on it. Yes, 900 pound bull in full plate armor tap dancing on a shared ethic. It's not a pretty sight. Even striking down foes that aren't, well, anything but undead and claiming to do so in the name of the Earth Mother? We just upgraded that bull to an entire tap dancing troupe. Tauren don't kill in the name of the Earth Mother; just invoking her is a very, very big deal. In their view, there are almost no circumstances where She Herself would demand a life be ended. Even in the pursuit of justice, it's the proverbial line in the sand. (Yes, yes, Grimtotem. I view Grimtotem as culturally distinct in many ways. Another discussion entirely, there.)
Not only that, Paladins culturally are considered "holy people." They speak for whatever so and so worships. For that to be true, you'd have to have a cultural shift of epic magnitude occurring in an impossibly compressed timespan and contradicting thousands of years. In more succint terms; it basically tries to say that Shamans don't exist or matter. Shamans are not just "hey, light my pipe with that fire trick" and "ask my dead mom if she likes my mane." Though you've got to admit the fire trick is handy. Again, culture thing - Shamans are the holy people among the Tauren. While the Earth Mother is the overarching key element, it's more appropriate to commune with the nearer spirits which directly affect daily life; to please these spirits is to please the Earth Mother and honor one's ancestors.
Boy, long and convoluted, isn't it? Sorry. Bear with me just a bit more though, please. And remember, this is just my opinion. There will be differences of opinion. I'm just sharing my views.
So jeez, we just covered a
ton of territory on Tauren culture there, didn't we? We only covered Paladins claiming to be channeling and/or acting on behalf of the Earth Mother. But still, there's visible ways to work Paladins in isn't there? In my opinion, there really isn't. The idea of a Tauren converting to the Light is something akin to an Orc looking in the mirror and going "I hate green." You're going against thousands of years of widely common cultural elements. There are two distinct paths I see for it; Tauren asserting that the Light is the Earth Mother, ooooor Tauren being completely ostracized at best. Would you want to hang out with someone who basically took what you've been taught your whole life, and spit on it?
The other idea is that instead of the Earth Mother, they're working with the spirits and the ancestors. In which event, I propose we slap Shaman stickers over every inch of their plate, because that's what they are. Shamans with swords and plate. It's not totally unreasonable, but again, it would signify and require a very substantial cultural shift. Shamans, with the exception of the feared Battle Shaman, are not generally in the "smashing faces" business. Shaman are in the "protecting our people" business. Does that require smashing faces? Sometimes. But it's a last resort, not a first action. To elaborate further; Shamans serve a great many functions - diplomats, teachers, psychiatrists, etcetera - and those sorts of actions take priority over going out and just melting faces when something threatens.
Basically, Paladins as they are? Just. Don't. Fit.
It was pointed out to me that "hey what about Warriors and Hunters?" Good point - what about them, in this specific context? Well, simply put, killing is their job. There's a completely different and distinct set of expectations for them. That doesn't mean they aren't spiritual the same as the rest, though in their own ways; simply that they're not looked to for any sort of spiritual leadership.
But, as I keep saying and repeating, these are just
my views and opinions. Other people will certainly have differing opinions, and that's cool. I'm just very much a Tauren person, so figured I should get it out there.
![[Image: 5SRU.gif]](http://dragcave.net/image/5SRU.gif)
![[Image: desc_head_freemasons.jpg]](http://www.tokenrock.com/ftp/desc_head_freemasons.jpg)