Breakfast Topic: How old is your character?
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Jun 13th 2009 at 8:00AM
Bricu of WTT: [RP] put forth a pretty thought-provoking question the other day: How old are your characters? From one point of view, that's pretty simple. You do a quick /played, report back the number of days it returns, and there you go. But, especially for those of us who roleplay, it can sometimes go a bit deeper. Sometimes, we take our characters across games. Of course, this doesn't mean importing characters completely wholesale, you understand. On the RP end, you're still going to want to convert them to be born and bred citizens of Azeroth (or Outland), and either way, you may not be able to convert them to the exact race or class they were. There's just no Human Rangers or Halfling Monks in WoW, more's the pity.
For my own part, I've actually sort of started fresh in WoW, and I don't think any of my WoW characters are too much like previous characters, although my Druid did inherit a bit of an old PnP character's sense of justice, and his tendency to get a bit hotheaded and angry when said sense of justice is offended. At the same time, I'm sort of exporting characters as well, to some extent. I'm already thinking that if I get around to playing Final Fantasy XIV, I'll probably export a lot of my perky gnome warrior into a Tarutaru of some sort.
What about you? Whether via RP traits, or just via class and race choices, have you kept the same old characters coming into WoW? Have you used new characters and archetypes you've played in WoW elsewhere?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics, Lore, RP
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
phree Jun 13th 2009 8:08AM
Since beta
RetadinMan Jun 13th 2009 8:07AM
My Draenei remembers being a child on Argus which makes him approximately 25,000 years old. My Undead was about 43 when he died, and my Troll is about 23.
CallMeIrd Jun 13th 2009 8:12AM
I suppose my Forsaken mage was in his early forties when he was killed...and do I just assume it's been 5 years since he was reanimated or what? Hmmm. Tricky undead.
Worcester Jun 15th 2009 2:27PM
I like to think that my Undead Rogue was actually dead a long time (probably 100 years or so) before the current time in Azeroth. He would have risen from his tomb once the other plague-ridden corpses were placed next to his. He doesn't remember much of his past life, and most of what he does remember is useless since times have changed so much.
Aerislan Jun 13th 2009 8:32AM
My hunter has had many different iterations across multiple games, but he started as a Half-Elf Ranger in AD&D 2nd Edition, so that will make him 10 years old next year.
Bucketman Jun 13th 2009 8:29AM
Hmm I started playing since launch, so my nelf must be 1663 yeards (days) old.
I started playing my undead death knight 2 weeks after wrath launched, and that is really confusing.
Taladan Jun 13th 2009 9:05AM
Kinda like this http://www.crispygamer.com/comics/ding/Ding-2008-11-18.aspx ? ;)
blkmasta55555 Jun 13th 2009 8:30AM
I'd say my Troll is about 25-27 ish, maybe even 30, and my Blood Elf slightly younger at about 23-25.
RetadinMan Jun 13th 2009 8:33AM
Then your Blood Elf is barely out of adolescence.
thevitruvianman Jun 13th 2009 9:33AM
There's a lot of confusion regarding the aging process of elves in warcraft. In the war of the ancients trilogy, Shandris Feathermoon is stated as being 16 years old. She is portrayed as young and naive, yet still old enough to fight quite effectively in battle and have romantic feelings towards Jarod Shadowsong, who is somewhat hesitant about this as he thinks she is too young for him. In other words, she is portrayed in a manner that would be consistent with a human 16 year old. Jarod himself is described as 'being a few years older' and is clearly an adult, if a little inexperienced.
In contrast, on wow wiki there is an article on life spans, which uses a table from the warcraft RPG. The table states that high elves reach adulthood at '110 (or 60)'..... Yes, it actually states two totally different ages with absolutely no clarification. It also says they can live up to 1200, but several lore accounts indicate 2000.
Of course, it is also totally unclear what the effect of the world tree was in relation to the elves' immortality and aging process. Did it slow down their entire lifespan, taking hundreds of years to reach adulthood, or did they still grow up at the same rate until adulthood, and then have the aging process stop completely. When their immortality was lost, did their lifespan revert to the way it was previous to the planting of the world tree, or did the whole process of being immortal then having it taken away again somehow leave them with increased longevity? Does this affect all night elves or just those born before/during/after their peroid of immortality?
In other words, the lore regarding the aging of elves is extremely confusing, and nobody can say with any certainty exactly what period of their life a 23 year old belf would be in. Besides, exact age doesn't really matter when it comes down to RP. As long as people know that the OP intends his character to be a young adult, that's all the really matters. RP should be about character development and creating a story, not lore nitpicking.
Catiya of Feathermoon Jun 13th 2009 10:12AM
Lore holes such as these make it difficult for me to role play effectivly in WoW. As thevitruvianman states, there is no defacto source that says "this is how all the races age, no matter what" anywhere, we simply have many contradictory descriptions floating around.
When I speak of my blood elf and draenei's ages, I more or less describe them with what they've experienced of history, not with a number.
george Jun 13th 2009 2:56PM
Blood Elf/High Elf age discrepancies are likely the result of the Sunwell. At least, thats how I reconcile it.
Pre-Scourge invasion, the Sunwell, in addition to powering their magic, also extended their lifespan. Remember, the Sunwell is essentially a small version of the Well of Eternity. A similar construction, in combination with the World Tree, is what gave the Night Elves immortality. It's plausible that the treeless Sunwell had a similar, though less extreme, effect on High Elf lifespans. This accounts for the sources stating lifespans of thousands of years.
Then, the Sunwell goes boom. While it doesn't directly kill young, healthy Elves, it does cause a few sick ones, and old ones, to die. This much is canon lore. It's reasonable to extrapolate from this that the Sunwell did in fact influence elven lifespans, and the loss of it accounts for the shorter lifespans that have been given.
With Velen having reignited the Sunwell using the spark of M'uru, we may see Blood Elf and High Elf lifespans move back up.
Ceradene Jun 13th 2009 8:33AM
My druid which I created back before BC and was my first character was very much like me - fairly unexperienced and in her early 20s which makes her extrememly young in Night Elf terms.
My second character, a Blood Elf mage, was much more mature and experienced. Assuming I read somewhere all elve's lifespan is about 500 years, I like to think of her as being around 200 years old.
My Draenei shaman is the current character of my focus. But since Draenei don't view time the same way as other races do, age doesn't really matter to them and they don't track how old they are. She however was born on Argus, which makes her thousands of years old, even though she might not know the exact number.
Phillip Jun 13th 2009 12:36PM
"My druid which I created back before BC and was my first character was very much like me - fairly unexperienced and in her early 20s which makes her extrememly young in Night Elf terms."
Thats not just extremely young in Kaldorei terms, thats infantile...
Rob Wynne Jun 13th 2009 8:35AM
My night elf hunter is well over 10,000 years old. It is an important part of his RP backstory that he was a foot soldier at the fall of Azshara, witnessed the Sundering, became disillusioned by Night Elf society as a result and spent several in self-imposed exile, living as a hermit in remote wilderness areas of Azeroth.
WoWie Zowie Jun 13th 2009 8:44AM
my gnome mage is unaware of his own age. he was originally a mechagnome, and a powerful one, but doesn't remember it. his amnesia gives away in parts (that's how i justify learning new abilities when leveling up hehe). mimiron pays special attention to him, and his bones chill when he's in ulduar.
Super Guest Man 9000 Jun 13th 2009 3:43PM
Hi Mary Sue? How you been lately??
Sothe Jun 13th 2009 4:35PM
Careful....you are stepping right into Mary Sue territory.
WoWie Zowie Jun 14th 2009 1:19PM
sorry to offend the RP police... i'm not changing my story though
Lansiron Jun 15th 2009 3:25PM
You're not offending anyone. You've just got a terrible backstory for your character.