All the World's a Stage: Plot points for blood elf roleplayers
by Anne Stickney 
Jul 17th 2011 at 6:00PM
As a race that wasn't introduced until The Burning Crusade expansion, blood elves and their position in the Horde have always been a thorn in the side of roleplayers. On the one hand, you've got those who couldn't care less about the fact that the Horde was given a "pretty" race; on the other, you have a group of people vehemently opposed to their inclusion. Despite the opposition, the blood elves movement from Alliance to Horde is perfectly supported by lore, even if the naysayers would have you believe otherwise.
As for the current state of the blood elves ... well, it's slightly less chaotic than the times of The Burning Crusade, but there are still interesting points for blood elf roleplayers to play with. Even though Silvermoon and the surrounding areas weren't really affected by the Cataclysm revamp, what you find upon leaving the starting areas certainly has been. Information left behind in the wake of TBC gives blood elf roleplayers a lot to think about when considering current news for character development.
What happened Perhaps the most important development in the eyes of the blood elves is the rebirth of their beloved Sunwell. Yet that Sunwell isn't really the same as it used to be, for good reason. The Sunwell was irrevocably tainted when Arthas used the mystical font to resurrect Kel'Thuzad. The energies of the Sunwell were then tainted by necromantic powers, and if left alone, would have killed the blood elves for good.
Kael'thas Sunstrider made the painful decision to destroy the Sunwell for good. In the aftermath of the bloodshed and untold casualties caused by Arthas and his Scourge, Kael'thas renamed his people the blood elves, or sin'dorei. The rest of the story is told over the course of The Burning Crusade -- Kael'thas' downfall and descent into madness and his pact with the Burning Legion.
As for the Sunwell, it remained dead until the tail end of The Burning Crusade. Kael'thas sought to reignite the Sunwell and summon Kil'jaeden to Azeroth using what remaining energies were left behind. Those energies were conveniently given the form of a human girl named Anveena. Eventually, adventurers who fought their way into the heart of Sunwell Plateau foiled Kil'jaeden's plans.
And that's when something pretty curious happened. The Sunwell was reignited after Kil'jaeden's defeat, not by the blood elves but by the draenei -- specifically, Prophet Velen. He took the heart of M'uru and used it to light the Sunwell once again. Only this time, instead of a font of arcane magic, the Sunwell is a font of Light, the light of the naaru and the arcane.
How this affects your character One of the first points made to blood elf players is that the blood elves were addicted to magic and suffering withdrawal due to the loss of the Sunwell. Now, the blood elves have that Sunwell -- but it's a different type of magic entirely, a type of magic granted by the draenei, members of the Alliance. Ultimately, the salvation of the blood elves didn't come from the Horde; it came from Alliance hands, and the Sunwell itself carries a different kind of power than it used to.
What to consider If your blood elf is a paladin, there've been a lot of changes in the way things work. Originally, you got your powers by feeding off a naaru trapped in a basement; now, you get your powers directly from the Sunwell. How does your blood elf feel about that change? For all other blood elves, consider the fact that the restoration of your beloved Sunwell came at the hands of a member of the Alliance, not the Horde. How does your blood elf feel about that? Is he grateful for the restoration and thankful that the draenei stepped in? Does he trust the draenei now?
What happened Kael'thas Sunstrider was the leader of the blood elves for a time. He left for Outland to discover a cure for the withdrawals that blood elves were experiencing as a result of the Sunwell's destruction. Over the course of The Burning Crusade, it was revealed that the blood elves' beloved leader was actually acting in cahoots with the Burning Legion. In Magister's Terrace, the blood elves got to confront their treacherous leader one final time and see with their own eyes the results of his alliance.
With Kael'thas gone, leadership of the blood elves fell to Lor'themar Theron, former leader of the Farstriders. Lor'themar had been acting as regent lord in Kael'thas' absence; however, the death of Kael'thas required Lor'themar to step up and lead the blood elves in earnest.
How this affects your character As a blood elf, you've gone from having a beloved leader in Anasterian Sunstrider to his son, Kael'thas, and from Kael'thas to Lor'themar. The Sunstrider line that has led the blood elves since their original banishment from Kalimdor is no more; instead, a relative newcomer has taken up the role, as far as the blood elves are concerned. Lor'themar Theron doesn't come from a particularly noble or political background. He was the leader of the Farstriders, not a political mastermind.
What to consider The Sunstrider line led the blood elves from their first days on the Eastern Kingdoms all the way until the treachery of Kael'thas. Now, the blood elves are being led by a former ranger. How does your blood elf feel about this? Does he care about the political upheaval and change in management, or could he not care less about politics? Does he think that Lor'themar is doing a good job with his leadership, or does he wish he'd do more? Does he consider him a figurehead, the blood elves now leaderless, or does he view him as a competent ruler?
What happened And then there's the little matter of the Horde and the change of leadership there. Garrosh Hellscream is the new Warchief of the Horde, and his distaste for the blood elves is almost palpable. Though trolls, tauren, and even the goblins were given a place in new Orgrimmar, the blood elves -- along with the forsaken -- were left out. A small contingent of blood elf ambassadors stands in Garrosh's chambers, but other than that and a few trainers, there is a distinct lack of anything sin'dorei in the Horde's capital. It is painfully obvious that Garrosh, when considering who would make strong, capable warriors for the Horde, able to defend Orgrimmar from any attackers, didn't even give the sind'orei a second thought.
How this affects your character As a blood elf in Orgrimmar, it should be noticeably apparent that the only blood elves running around doing business and possibly living there are travelers and adventurers like yourself. Though not blatant, the subtle snub still exists -- all Horde races were included when Orgrimmar was rebuilt, save yourselves and the Forsaken. Vendors and traders in Orgrimmar may not treat you with disgust, but the implication is still there -- as far as the Warchief is concerned, your people aren't strong enough to warrant a true place in the heart of the Horde, the capital.
What to consider Is this something that concerns your blood elf? Is he angry about the exclusion? What does he think about Garrosh Hellscream? Does he consider him a competent leader, or is he silently disgusted with his leadership?
What happened When the quel'dorei were first looking for a land to settle in, long, long ago, they unfortunately chose to settle on Amani territory. This resulted in the Troll Wars and a lifelong hatred of the Amani trolls. While the Amani were put in their place, they still haunt the edges of the Ghostlands, engaging in skirmishes with the settlements of the area. As for the Amani fortress of Zul'Aman, it rose to power during The Burning Crusade and was subsequently snuffed out along with Zul'jin. But lately, reports have been coming in of a new threat arisen in Zul'Aman, a new leader put in power not by the Amani, but by the Zandalar ...
How this affects your character The distaste that blood elves hold for the Amani trolls is something that has been carried since the founding of Silvermoon. Though blood elves alive today wouldn't have been present for the Troll Wars, the history of that war and how it affected the blood elves is something that has been passed down from generation to generation. Now, the Amani are rising again -- and they're backed by the oldest troll tribe in existence, along with every other troll tribe out there save the Darkspear. Vol'jin has chosen to take a stand against the Zandalar and their lust for one true troll empire, and he is asking the Horde for help.
What to consider Racial animosity between the blood elves and the trolls has been a constant in blood elf history. Though the blood elves hold a notorious hatred for the trolls, the Darkspear had nothing to do with the Troll Wars of ages gone past. How does your blood elf feel about the recent resurgence of Amani attacks? How do they affect your blood elf? How does your blood elf feel about the efforts of Vol'jin? Does he support the Darkspear leader, or does he view him with distrust, much the same as he does the Amani? Is he stepping forward to help, or is he hiding away?
What happened As former highborne, the blood elves -- at that time in history called high elves or quel'dorei -- were banished from Kalimdor by the night elves and forced to settle in the Eastern Kingdoms. This was because the quel'dorei practiced arcane magic, something the night elves held a high amount of loathing for due to the War of the Ancients. The night elves forbade the quel'dorei from practicing magic, but the quel'dorei rebelled, unleashing a magical storm on Ashenvale. It was this action that got them booted out of Kalimdor.
After arriving in the Eastern Kingdoms, the former highborne underwent a series of physical changes that led to the distinct physical differences between blood elf and night elf . In the process, they lost the immortality granted to them by the World Tree. The quel'dorei, a proud people, continued to live on and survive despite the banishment. Lately, however, rumors circulate that the night elves are now practicing arcane magic and training mages.
How this affects your character This is actually a pretty solid point of contention. The night elves originally banished the quel'dorei from Kalimdor for practicing arcane magic. Now, thousands of years later, it seems the night elves are quietly condoning the activity and actually practicing it themselves. Not only are they practicing it, but rumors abound that the Shen'dralar, a sect of highborn formerly hidden in Feralas, are now allied with the night elves and teaching them the arcane arts that were once forbidden.
What to consider Is this something that affects your blood elf? Do they view the night elves as a bunch of hypocrites? This may be something that affects your character. While it isn't a major event in blood elf history, the news that the kal'dorei are now condoning the very thing that got your people banished from Kalimdor and made them what they are may be a little annoying and at the very least, a subject for conversation.
Though the blood elves haven't had many major plot points since the days of The Burning Crusade, there's still plenty out there to keep in mind when roleplaying a blood elf character. Tensions between the various races of the Horde are a major plot point in Cataclysm, and the blood elves are one of those races that have fallen on Hellscream's not-so-good graces, through no fault of their own. In addition, the sudden rise of the Amani may give blood elf roleplayers a fair amount of RP to play with, given the history between the two.
Blood elves are still one of the most fascinating races Warcraft has to offer. Evolved from an Alliance race, formerly a member of that first, tenuous Alliance, the blood elves remain the only race in Warcraft's history that's had a sudden switch of allegiances from Alliance to Horde. As such, it may be only right that they remain in a place of faint distrust as far as Hellscream is concerned. After all, they switched sides once -- who's to say they won't do so again? Regardless, despite the lack of major activity in Cataclysm, blood elf roleplayers still have much to consider.
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Filed under: All the World's a Stage (Roleplaying)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Proffesor Orc Jul 17th 2011 6:28PM
Another major change in recent Blood Elf history was a shift of focus from magic, mana based roles to more natural non-magical roles.
Before Blood Elves could not be warriors. Some say this was an oversight but it can be explained by the lore. When the blood elves were first introduced they were still new with magic addiction and were struggling with it. Melee fighters would become paladins instead of warriors because they still needed something to sustain them.
But as time went on blood elf fighters learned how to cope without magic and learn how to fight as a non-magical warrior.
Also look at the resource change to hunters. Before they used mana but now they are mana free, instead using intense focus.
What I'm trying to get at is that blood elves have begun to place more emphasis on non-magical classes in their society due to their struggles with the sunwell. This opens up opportunities for all blood elf roleplayers. If your a magic using blood elf, how do you feel about all these new 'unsophisticated' classes and how do you feel about a non-mage as your leader?
Vice-Versa, if you're on of the newly risen blood elf warriors how do you fit into blood elf society? Do you feel like an outcast or are you glad that you are not reliant on magic?
Great article as always
renehillege Jul 17th 2011 6:40PM
I hadn't quite thought of it that way, yet. Thanks for the insight =).
Ata Jul 17th 2011 9:44PM
That's a good angle on why there were no warriors too. I personally always thought that the ranks of the Sunguard (the npc guards around) were the warriors, and their ranks were decimated when the Scourge came through, and all new recruits went to fueling their numbers. But now that they've had a chance to stabilize, and things aren't in such chaotic state that they used to be in, they can train warriors and afford to send them afield again.
Suzaku Jul 18th 2011 12:39AM
Blood elf warriors were actually going to be playable in Burning Crusade (and were in the original demo version) up until they decided to go cross-faction with shaman and paladins. Blizzard felt that in order to give blood elves access to paladins they needed to remove one of the other classes, feeling that they already had too many available. The decision came down to dropping either warrior, rogue, or hunter -- and considering that they were elves, the answer should be obvious.
Lorewise, every race has always had warriors, along with a wide variety of other classes not available to players.
All blood elves are also affected by the Sunwell and its magical energies, regardless of class. Even blood elf warriors have to use Arcane Torrent to unleash the latent magical energies that build up in their bodies in order to prevent addiction.
Fletcher Jul 18th 2011 3:10AM
I was thinking about this earlier - what if belfs hadn't had rogues in BC? It'd mean that *all* their classes used mana (since hunters at the time were a mana class), thus cementing them as a magical race. Too much to change now, of course (if it even should be), but I would have enjoyed the thematic coherence.
Shinae Jul 22nd 2011 4:31PM
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SylvEU Jul 17th 2011 6:35PM
An interesting read. I have always had a thing for elves. In Vanilla I rolled a Night Elf and enjoyed their homelands a lot. When TBC came out, I stuck with the NE at first, but after a while the Blood Elf lore and more human like appearance began to pull me in. Now I have about 40% of my characters from the race and I totally adore them. Their pride or their struggle with the past and their addiction, just some things I really love!
Sanguinal Jul 17th 2011 7:18PM
You know it could be that the reason for Orgimmar's lack of Blood Elf and Forsaken districts might have nothing whatsoever to do with racial animosity.
Goblins, Trolls and Tauren all have their major population centres very close to Orgimmar. It's reasonable to assume that, due to this proximity, they are all likely to have large numbers of citizens living and working in the Horde's capital city.
The Forsaken and the Blood Elves, however, have the vast bulk of their population on another continent. It's reasonable to assume also that this distance prevents casual worker migration to Orgrimmar, leaving only adventurers and people with definite business in the city to represent their races. Neither of which would be a large enough population to warrant separate Forsaken or Sin'dorei districts.
As for the Alliance saving the Sunwell. It was destroyed in the first place by an Alliance prince under orders from a man'ari Eredar. That it was rejuvenated by a draenei Eredar may not have any bearing on how they feel about the Alliance as a whole. The Horde took them in when the Alliance refused them, and they have powerful ties to Sylvanas' Forsaken. The Sunwell's Rebirth may only affect their view of the Draenei and the Light, not the Alliance itself.
Ilmyrn Jul 17th 2011 7:43PM
I've always gotten the feeling that the Blood Elves as a whole could care less for the Horde or Alliance. They'd rather stand alone and independent, but when they couldn't, with their empire shattered by the Scourge, the lion's share of their people dead, and their most accomplished warriors and mages in Outland with Kael'thas, they had one option and that was the Horde. If they'd tried to remain alone, the Scourge would have destroyed them, and if they'd sided with the Alliance, the Forsaken would have crushed them.
I imagine the Blood Elves have long memories. They remember when they were independent; they remember when they were Alliance too. They're Horde now, but in a decade? Two decades? Who knows, but when your life is measured in centuries, an alliance of convenience is far different.
Khoonda Jul 17th 2011 7:51PM
When Arthas marched upon Silvermoon he did so under the banner of the Scourge and in the name of the Lich King. DO NOT blame the Alliance for the destruction of Silvermoon.
jordan Jul 17th 2011 8:28PM
The blood elves have strong ties to the Alliance loyal high elves as well. Alliance members are likely walking in their streets. The Windrunner sisters excluding Sylvanas bear a strong animosity to the horde. The Orcs tried to commit the genocide of their people and the trolls have been their enemies for a long time.
Goblinsgoboom Jul 17th 2011 10:03PM
Didn't the traitor lord of the blood elves quit the Alliance because of some racist Alliance commander who used them for cannon fodder?
Anyone else wonder what happened to the fel blood elves that followed kael? More importantly, where do the wretched fit into this whole thing? Shouldn't there be a section about dealing with the sub species of the blood elves?
Eddy Jul 17th 2011 10:32PM
Plenty of Americans view the infidelities of a politician as evidence of his entire party's weakness, so blaming the Alliance for Arthas and the scourge is easy enough in-character.
I mean, I remember an argument with a roleplayer who was deciding that all the druidic organizations were useless and ineffective because the game world was static and their "progress" never amounted to anything. I argued with him as a person- I don't think the static nature of gaming from vanilla meant that the organizations were supposed to be ineffective, but his character could believe whatever he wanted.
Also, the Wretched are an old problem that isn't terribly relevant at the moment, despite being terrible. Since the tide of blood elves falling into Wretched probably stemmed, new people aren't being affected by it- just the same ones that lost loved ones long ago.
Murdertime Jul 17th 2011 10:37PM
I think the blame the Alliance thing runs along the lines of 'Hey, remember that Alliance we had, where we sent you a bunch of guys to help fight off the orcs? Well, now our city is being overrun by zombies and we're being slaughtered and.. Yay, you're here! I mean, you're a little late but at least you came to help...oh. You want our help? We're in the army now? Instead of dealing with our ruined city, refugee problem and whole lack of a Sunwell thing? And you've put Commander Dickface in charge?
no.
We're not upset.
Really."
Kolumbus Jul 18th 2011 12:32AM
I didn't really really view this as a slap in the face either. There are a bunch of Blood Elves right smack in the middle of Orgrimmar in Garrosh's own throne room.
Suzaku Jul 18th 2011 12:51AM
Regarding the populations in Orgrimmar: the tauren were given a place of honor in Orgrimmar in the Valley of Wisdom as a small token of forgiveness for the death of Cairne, while the trolls were pushed towards the outskirts after the dispute between Vol'jin and Garrosh. The goblins are also on the outskirts, partially because they aren't entirely trusted.
The Forsaken and the blood elves never had a major presence in Orgrimmar, largely because they are based in Lordaeron while the other four Horde races are based in Kalimdor. The only blood elves you really see in Orgrimmar is the delegation in Garrosh's throne room, in the Valley of Strength.
I know that in the Shattering, it outright mentioned that most of the blood elves in the arena were cheering for Garrosh when he dueled Cairne.
I personally feel like, philosphically, the blood elves and Garrosh *should* generally see eye to eye, moreso than they would with Thrall. The blood elves are reckless and put a great deal of emphasis on obtaining power and seeking revenge.
Transit Jul 17th 2011 9:06PM
Great Article!
I love your article's Anne! Keep it up!
There are 2 things though I thought I should mention though.
1) The Blood Elves involvement with archaeology and the Reliquary, I think, could be a major hook with rp'ers. Since they seem to have taken the lead (On the horde side) into that area. I am also interested in Belloc Brightblade, he is the Archaeology Trainer in Org and is also involved in the Schnottz's Landing quests in Uldum. Was that an isolated thing or is it part of a larger arc for the Reliquary and the Blood Elves. What exactly was going on there?
2) Garrosh's attitude towards the Blood Elves kinda surprised me. He must have heard about them when he was in Outland and what happened when they attacked Shattrath. Wouldn't the events there have played a bigger hand in his attitude toward the Blood Elves? I would have thought he would be more impressed by them.
Anyway, thanks for the great posts!
Ata Jul 17th 2011 9:59PM
I speculated a bit on that in one of the Queue this week, mainly that Thrall got Garrosh orcish training with an orcish force in Northrend...he barely saw Blood Elves at all. When Garrosh was in Outland, he was depressed, seeing himself the bearer of a cursed bloodline. Sure, he might have known of the activities in Shattrath, but at the time, he could care less. He could barely care about his own people...you're doing quests for other Mag'har, not Garrosh, he rejects everything you bring to him.
Once shown the New Horde by Thrall, he fell in love with what it stood for. This would be like someone falling in love with the armed forces as a whole, and what they stand for. Only once he was a part of it, what did he see? Orcs, Taunka (arguably more aggressive and warlike than the Tauren) and the Forsaken doing shady things, while a faction of Trolls killed their gods to try to avoid the Scourge. (To him, an orc is an orc is an orc. A Taunka is -not- a Tauren and the trolls there were -not- Darkspear, but he had nothing to show him the differences.) The Blood Elves he saw were an occasional magical ambassador speaking to his Orc commanders, and only illusions at that, they instead content to float high above everything in their magical mage city and work alongside the human enemies of the Horde, and Goblins at that point were purely paid mercenaries who would work for the highest bidder and this wasn't an unknown thing....the Horde knew well that Goblins at that time were only working with them because they paid the best and let them blow stuff up.
Its no wonder Garrosh has issues with the Trolls, Forsaken, Blood Elves and Goblins, and that things got so tense with the Tauren when he was shocked at Magtha's treachery. He had -no- social studies regarding the races of the Horde. Thrall and Saurfang imparted upon him the right sense of honor, but he doesn't understand the social intricacies of the different races of the Horde.
Redbeard Jul 17th 2011 10:04PM
One thing that can't be overlooked is that the Blood Elves (and the Draenei) are still in rebuilding mode from BC.
Quel'dorei were isolationist after Warcraft II, and I suppose it would be only natural for the Sindorei to slip back into isolationism after the Sunwell were restored. This sort of thinking is compounded by the Sunwell portion of the Quel'delar quest chain, where the politics at the Sunwell revolved around Quel'dorei vs. Sindorei, not Ally vs. Horde. The 5 minute prelude before Zul'Aman where the Silvermoon Ranger General invited Windrunner and Co. to support an assault on Z'A proves that where this is concerned, the Sindorei are kind of off on their own again.
Nagi Jul 17th 2011 10:38PM
Something else to consider is the role of warlocks and shadow priests in the current blood elf society. The Sunwell is now specifically a source of Light-based energy, which runs counter to the fel and shadow magics practiced by those two (er, one-and-a-third?) classes. Where does this place them within society? Warlocks were generally accepted during The Burning Crusade because of the pragmatic "any way we can get it" attitude toward obtaining life-sustaining magic energy, but given how theirs is now a culture of Light (or is at least heading that way by all appearances), and how their pragmatism and their former prince nearly brought one of the biggest, baddest demons EVER right into their backyard, one has to wonder if blood elf warlocks aren't now a distrusted--even reviled--fringe element in much the same way that orc and human warlocks are in those respective cultures.
Also to consider is the blood elves' once-cozy relationship with the Forsaken. As I recall, it was Sylvanas who brought the blood elves into the Horde, as she wanted an ally that was geographically and culturally similar to her own Forsaken to balance out the generally tribal nature of the Horde and grant her more political pull within the faction. The two were so close during The Burning Crusade that an entire faction dedicated to their bond existed to gain reputation with (Tranquilien). One that didn't have an Alliance parallel, I might add. However, how has that relationship fared through the events of Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm? How did the blood elves react to Putress's actions at the Wrathgate? Did they understand that Sylvanas was a victim (or at least buy into her feigned "victim" persona), or do they have issues trusting her with the rest of the Horde and Alliance? How do they feel about her current brutality? What about her newfound fondness for necromancy? And what about the glaring issue that blood elves now survive through a fountain of Light, the very thing Forsaken are harmed by as undead?
One last point I want to bring up is somewhat similar to the question raised in the column about Garrosh, but how do the blood elves view the Horde after about four or five years within it? As members of the Alliance, the high elves were generally aloof and uncaring, leading almost karmically to the Alliance leaving them to fend for themselves when the Scourge came marching through Quel'Thalas. When they first joined the Horde, their plan was to exploit the merry band of primitive savages for a free ride to Outland and then discard them. However, as members of the Horde, their people were ultimately saved. The draenei had a big hand in it, yes, but that's not to say the Horde's support didn't also play some beneficial role in the blood elves fending off extinction. How has that affected the blood elves? Were they humbled? Do they now understand the value of having allies and working closely with them, or have they gone back to their old ways of staying out of anyone's affairs but their own until they need something from someone? Are they still arrogant in their dealings with other races, or do they now see themselves as being just as mortal and fallible as anyone else?
As something to consider on that last point, in Wrath of the Lich King, Horde camps could generally be divided into two types: Forsaken camps (such as Venomspite or Vengeance Landing) and orc/tauren/troll camps (such as Warsong Hold and Conquest Hold). Blood elf NPCs, as few in number as they were, typically seemed to show up more often in the latter camps, aiding the orcs, tauren, and trolls. Could this perhaps be a sign of how the blood elves' attitudes have changed, or does it really bear no significance at all?