The nice thing about roleplaying in Cataclysm is that the starting experiences for goblin and worgen really guide you to the roleplay. This week, we're going to be focused on the dozen or so character hooks presented in the goblin starting area. and next week we'll examine the worgen starting area. Obviously, since this information is based on the beta, things could change at any time. Additionally, if you don't want spoilers, you might want to skip this article. Lastly, this is based on a surface reading of the events in the starting area. Later lore will lead to different interpretations of events, I'm sure.

You begin life as a goblin searching out your own fame and fortune. You've recently been granted a promotion in the Bilgewater Cartel, and now work with an executive assistant named Sassy Hardwrench. There's even a pair of hardbodied "assistants" who're eager to help out named Candy Cane and Chip Endale. Considering how Candy and Chip are dressed, though, I suspect they're mostly lingering around as decoration.

With three characters inimately involved with your character from the word "go," your goblin will have dozens of valuable conflicts available for regular roleplay. What was your experience with Sassy really like? (Obviously, there's as in-game answer to that question, but you should take liberties to represent your unique character.) Were you a bigger fan of Candy or Chip? We can presume the average goblin at your middle-management level all have similar assistants, so it's not like you're building a Mary Sue empire by writing out your own tea of assistants.

• Mage and Warlock: The mage trainer (Fizz Lighter ) and the warlock trainer (Evol Fingers) are engaged in mortal combat in the goblin the starting area. Every few seconds, Evol hurls a shadowbolt at Fizz across the starting area. Not to be outdone, Fizz fires back with a nice, meaty fireball. The two seem locked in an internal struggle, nuking one another endlessly.
  
  Both trainers are actually quite kind to class outsiders. Evol tells a non-warlock that there's nothing Evol can teach them, but does so very politely. Fizz echoes the sentiment, although he does add that "all this finger waggling" means he gives an astounding neck massage.
• Rogue: The rogue trainer is Slink Sharpshiv. She paces back and forth across the starting area, sometimes in that curious half-transparent invisibility of a rogue where you can see anyway. Sometimes, she stands out as plain as night and day. When you talk to her, she expresses shock that you can see her.
  
  Clearly, while she may be a deadly combatant, this rogue isn't the sharpest knife in the stabbing kitchen drawer. I'm not sure if that would be a commentary on how your character would view rogues as much as how he'd view goblins.
• Priest: The priest trainer is Sister Goldskimmer, who is the epitome of all things goblin. While she is a priest, and offers passer-bys a buff for free, she points out that you don't have to be religious to offer a tithe. I think that should leave most characters with a warm feeling about the goblin LIght.
• Hunter trainer: The hunter trainer is Bamm Megabomb. He's a blond man standing in the corner, firing round after round into target dummies. (These target dummies are the trademarked goblin pink flamingos.)
  
  Interestingly, Bamm doesn't have that much to say to non-hunters, so he probably doesn't leave much of an impression except that hunters really don't like flamingos.
• Shaman trainer: The shaman trainer is Maxx Avalanche, which is about as hep and cool a name as I could imagine. He stands a little to the side from Evol and Fizz, watching the two cloth casters hurl spells back and forth. However, just as a shaman probably would view such rivalry, he occasionally chides them for the behavior ... and shocks them with a lightning bolt.
  
  Clearly, most characters will believe shaman are beyond petty rivalries. Or, alternatively, just likes shooting people with lightning.
• Warrior "trainer:" The warrior trainer is a target dummy shaped like a goblin. If your character takes any wisdom from this, it would be that warrior are to be poked at and shot. I think most warrior tanks would agree with that.

Tags: bilgewater-cartel, featured, guide, guide-to-lore, kezan, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, the-pipe, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

Filed under: All the World's a Stage (Roleplaying)