Breakfast Topic: Terrible things

That made us think about all the stuff we do in-game that kind of makes us...well, bad guys, for lack of a better term, and we started wondering -- what's the worst thing that player characters have done (or been asked to do)? Setting Teron Gorefiend loose has to rank pretty high up there. Then there's that torture quest out in Borean Tundra, which squicks people to this day. While we're on the subject of Borean Tundra, nobody particularly liked thinking about a daily quest offered in Coldarra, or the ugly results of Horde questing in Howling Fjord. If you wanted to look at the whole "player evil" thing from a larger perspective, you can even make a case that player-generated PvP is, within the context of WoW's lore, one of the more significant contributions to faction antagonism and war.
So what's the worst thing that your character has done -- or, failing that, the thing that you still feel the worst about? I've already got my pick.
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Reader Comments (Page 7 of 9)
Rabenherz Feb 2nd 2010 9:59AM
There are about three things where I really got a bad feeling.
1. I used the essence of Eranikus. I mean: Hey, it's a trinket, right? Yeah. I used it three times and those "oh, the pain!" and "why are you doing this to me...?" comments of him made me throw that thing away (pretty stupid, considering that the quest was meant to help him o.O° I learned that later on.)
2. I poisened the little puppy of a farmer in Hillsbrad because someone I don't even like told me to do exactly that.
3. I helped the bad Undercity guys to get their new plaque to work. I recently started doing all the needed quests for loremaster and had to do _every single_ poisen/plague/corruption quests the undead gave to me, since I just didn't want to do them back in the day when there hasn't been an achivement for it around. I still feel kind of bad -.-
macster Feb 2nd 2010 9:57AM
Beating baby gorillas with a stick.
So I can lure out their irate mother.
And kill her.
For her skin.
There's someone at Blizzard with serious animal issues.
And on the subject of baddies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO5WoLnOOlU
Xenikos Feb 2nd 2010 10:04AM
While it isn't quest related per se, I did the most heartless thing last night.
My first time through Borean I thought the mammoth calves were the cutest things ever, and the trapped ones made my heart ache!
But then I needed to level my cooking by making small feasts and I needed mammoth "chunks". I tried to do it non-violently, but the AH prices were way over market price, so I went and committed widespread mammoth genocide for half an hour for profit. All with the little baby seal looking mournfully at me. NO MERE RIVER WILL WASH THIS DEBUFF/STAIN OFF OF ME!!!
talitha3k Feb 2nd 2010 10:09AM
GREAT topic!
we do some pretty savage shit as players in this game.
Wolfstalker Feb 2nd 2010 10:26AM
The Argent Crusade shackled a magnataur by the name of Gormok and a yeti called Icehowl outside their tournament ring, so that we could kill them for sport inside a gladiatorial ring that they cannot escape from. Hundreds of times.
If that's not evil I don't know what is.
Moorit Feb 2nd 2010 10:42AM
Yeah, but before I went into the raid I spent a bunch of days capturing snobolds for Gormok. I never really read the quest text and wasn't sure what they were for. Then I went into the raid and he threw one at me! It tried to kill me! Why should I harvest this dude's snobolds, it's not like I gather up the fireballs he throws.
Lavoz Feb 2nd 2010 10:28AM
Killing my Wolvar friend in the Sholazar Basin, just because a Lich forced me to choose. There was no sacrificial alternate to save both and resolve the little war.
Sedna Feb 2nd 2010 10:33AM
A number of people have already mentioned Thersa Windsong, the Tauren in the undercity. I'm normally a pretty practical, elf-killin' kind of person- I'll pick up baby wolvar and hand them to Tuskarr with a merry laugh- but ever since finishing that quest on my main years back, I've refused to do any of the "hey, test this apothecary's horrible medicine" quests on anything sentient. I don't know, I work in research and it's just a thing for me. Stupid evil scientists.
Terrë Feb 2nd 2010 10:45AM
I killed a mama deer critter whilst training a weapon in Elwynn and immediatly felt bad because her Bambi-like faun was nearby.
FifthDream Feb 2nd 2010 10:54AM
Yeah, the torture quest annoys me, and that was the first thing that entered my mind. That, and being a hunter and helping D.E.H.T.A. ... that always seemed odd.
Charlie Feb 2nd 2010 11:44AM
I agree. There's a lot of "palladins shouldn't do that" comments on this (excellent) thread, but I'd argue that hunters also are asked to act out of character. Kill animals? Sure. But we use our trained abilities to kill everything -- and mostly in humanoid form. There's a reason that movies/TV shows portray hunters who hunt humans as really evil.
And to do that on a Tauren (my main)? The same people who revere all life even when they must kill it to eat? Please.
Adrammelech Feb 2nd 2010 11:00AM
I understand the Death Knight starting area quests from my character's perspective. He's evil. It's his thing. He doesn't turn good for a while there.
The one that really irks me is when the guys from the Shadow Vault ask my hunter to cause the genocide of the Scarlet Onslaught. Yes, they're douches, but killing all of them is a bit more than I can stomach. Sorry, but I'll champion for rep, thank you very much.
Darasen Feb 2nd 2010 11:07AM
How about the daily the get my nether drake where the character is asked to go and poison some innocent miners? That one strikes me as particularly evil.
pyrojam321moo Feb 2nd 2010 1:09PM
Actually, not evil at all. Those are FEL orcs, i.e. orcs that have had DEMON pumped into them by the gallon. Not only are they working for the Burning Legion under Illy, but they are currently enslaving the Netherwings that you're questing for.
As for on topic? It always makes me feel bad for killing Vael. I dunno, it's just the whole people begging me to kill them thing; it doesn't make for good karma. Especially after you've done his quests in LBRS. That just makes me feel like a super jerk.
Gracandrea Feb 2nd 2010 11:08AM
The dk starting zones were disturbing -- seriously -- but I understand WHY they are like they are. It's part of one of the more amazing experiences that Blizzard put together. And my gnome dk got out, but I have to say I started and stopped on that one several times.
Borean Tundra -- not my favorite -- as much as i LOVED the Farshire quests (Paladin, so easy XP) -- I couldn't wait to get out of there with all the DEHTA stuff (which I got the achieve for but still, if the Rhinos attack what should I do?)... Old ears in my pack? It probably stinks big time. Not to mention the wolvar's blood from dragonblight. YUCK.
Anywhere my pally can take a shower and do her laundry? Her packs are a mess and stink horrifically and all the blood from killing the wolvar leader is disgusting.
:/
Done the baby stealing once -- don't plan on doing it again.
Though freeing baby murlocs was fun!
HeartStrikeMOAR Feb 2nd 2010 11:14AM
Since my main toon is a death knight, it's kinda hard to top the starter quests. I mean you're slaughtering the innocent, torturing the enemy, and turning everyone into the undead.
Other than that, one of the most darker quests I've done where I did a flash-back thing in Icecrown. Where I take control of Arthas and turn a hundred alliance soldiers into zombies, not only that, I that fun doing it! :o
Almoderate Feb 2nd 2010 11:25AM
All I can say is this:
Sergra Darkthorn is a menace to the wildlife in The Barrens.
Succulent Feb 2nd 2010 11:36AM
Poking the soft knuckles in Basin with a stick to draw out their mother to kill :(
Fierna Feb 2nd 2010 11:45AM
My two are somewhat related. One is slaughtering hundreds of animals for the pleasure of Hemet Nesingwary (that dwarf is messed up). I really can't think of why my character would want to do this, especially when killing the rather majestic animal leaders or a mother dragon.
The other is killing Festergut's pet stinky. Hearing him cry out after you do the beastie in in is painful. Come to think of it, killing childlike bosses like Festergut and XT-002 Deconstructor also seems somehow wrong.
Sedna Feb 2nd 2010 12:42PM
"Come to think of it, killing childlike bosses like Festergut and XT-002 Deconstructor also seems somehow wrong."
The first time I killed Forgemaster Garfrost, I felt incredibly guilty for exactly that reason. I mean, I still killed him; he was going to kill me. But that fact that these bosses don't seem to have the capacity to understand what's going on- or to choose another method of action- makes me uncomfortable. (and the ICC bosses CALL OUT FOR THEIR PET DOGS AS YOU KILL THEM. AUGH.)
On the flip side, I am going to do my best to grind Putricide into one of his lab tables when my guild gets to him.