All the World's a Stage: Plot points for tauren roleplayers
by Anne Stickney 
Aug 7th 2011 at 8:00PM
The Horde has experienced a number of dramatic changes in the Cataclysm expansion. In vanilla, the Horde was struggling, largely due to a lack of resources. In Cataclysm, largely due to Garrosh Hellscream's efforts, the Horde has expanded its borders. With the help of the goblins, Azshara is being mined for a wealth of resources, and land is being grabbed all over Kalimdor. Things are beginning to look up for the Horde -- well, if you're in Orgrimmar. Elsewhere, the land is riddled with turmoil and tragedy.
If you're roleplaying a tauren, the events of Cataclysm are a bitter pill to swallow. A leader has been lost, entire settlements have been wiped from the map, racial infighting between the Grimtotem and the tauren of Thunder Bluff continues to rage. Yet in between it all are moments of hope -- and it's up to roleplayers to decide whether to wallow in the sorrow, fight back in fury, or simply try and keep an optimistic amidst it all.
What happened Cairne Bloodhoof, beloved leader of the tauren and founder of Thunder Bluff, lost his life in the novel The Shattering. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that he lost his life at the hands of Garrosh Hellscream, the guy currently leading the Horde. Despite the fact that Garrosh's blade was poisoned, the very fact that he was in a duel to the death with Cairne suggests that Cairne was less than receptive to the new Warchief. Yet Cairne's son Baine still keeps the alliance with the Horde alive.
How this affects your character Cairne was a fixture in tauren culture. Prior to Cairne, there wasn't really a leader of the tauren; they were a nomadic race split into their own individual tribes. Cairne was the one who brought all those tribes together under one roof, putting an end to the nomadic and distant lifestyle the tauren had been following for generations. He was beloved, and his death affected the tauren people greatly.
What to consider This is a time of uncertainty for the tauren. The leader that united the scattered tribes has been lost, and his son is doing his best to follow his father's path. Does your character approve of Baine? Is he happy with the way the tauren are being led? What does he think of Garrosh and the "new" Horde? Is he happy with the direction the Horde is taking, or is he frustrated with this new leadership? Did Cairne's death affect him deeply?
What happened Cairne's death triggered an uprising by the Grimtotem -- an uprising that was quickly quashed by Baine. That event does raise a question, though. If one tribe was willing to try and overthrow Thunder Bluff, are there other tribes out there that would do the same? But that's not the only fighting the tauren have on their hands -- the Alliance have crushed Camp Taurajo, and the tauren have constructed a wall between Mulgore and the rest of the world as a result. The quillboar have risen up and begun attacking Camp Narache in earnest as a result of the Cataclysm.
How this affects your character If you're leveling in Mulgore, it's immediately obvious that the tauren are fighting on all fronts, with the Alliance, with the quillboar -- and even with each other. For a tauren who's just starting out, you are confronted with bloodshed very, very quickly -- and it doesn't seem to ever let up. It's an odd world, one in which a leveling tauren feels obliged to constantly, warily be looking over his shoulder.
What to consider What kind of tauren are you roleplaying? Is violence something that bothers him? Is he disturbed by the sheer amount of people that seem to be working against the tauren, or is the heat of battle something he embraces? Is he the type to fold under pressure and cave? Or does the presence of battle simply make him fight harder? Did your tauren lose any friends, relatives, or loved ones in any of the attacks?
What happened It isn't just the creatures of Azeroth that are in turmoil with Cataclysm. The very world itself has buckled and pushed apart, the elements themselves in chaos. Once a canyon, Thousand Needles has flooded and killed many of the residents of the sandy canyon. The tauren follow the Earthmother, and they are very much in tune with nature as a result. For a people beleaguered by battle on all fronts, it seems like even the earth is fighting against them at this point.
How this affects your character If you are playing a shaman or druid class, this is the sort of thing that would affect your character deeply -- even more so than the fighting between the different races of the world. The Earthmother is a beloved deity to the tauren, the creator of all things (and in a way, the land itself). Now that land is crying out in terror, rising up and tearing apart.
What to consider Is your tauren a shaman or a druid? How does he feel about the devastation brought about by Deathwing? Is he deeply connected to the earth, and if so, how does the sudden upheaval of the land make him feel? Even if your character isn't a druid or a shaman, how does he feel about the physical events of Cataclysm? Has he lost any friends, relatives or loved ones to natural disasters? Does he view the shattering of the world as an assault on the Earthmother, or perhaps the Earthmother striking back at the tauren people for something they've done?
What happened Just before Cataclysm, a tauren named Tahu Sagewind came up with a curious thought: If the tauren follow Mu'sha, the left eye of the Earthmother, what exactly happened to An'she, the right eye? In the end, Tahu's questioning and research brought about the Sunwalkers, a group of tauren priests and paladins who follow An'she's path.
How this affects your character If the character you choose to play is a priest or a paladin, this is an incredibly new path for the tauren to follow. If your character is playing one of the other classes, Tahu's teachings are a bit of a radical change for the tauren. They've been following the path of Mu'sha for so long that An'she wasn't even a consideration. So it represents a wholly new way of thinking -- and with the amount of upheaval the tauren are experiencing this expansion, this is just one more thing to add to the pile of developments.
What to consider Is your character a priest or a paladin? If so, what made him decide to choose an entirely new path to follow? What does he think of An'she? How does he reconcile his version of the Light with that of the blood elves (or even the Alliance's version of it)? If your character is neither paladin nor priest, what does he think of Tahu's teachings? Does he trust the Sunwalkers, or does he view the revelations of An'she's Light as a load of nonsense? Is he indifferent to it entirely? Is he curious about what other missing elements of tauren culture could be sitting around, undiscovered?
But more importantly, there is an emotional element to the tauren race, much more so now than in vanilla. The tauren people have experienced heartache after heartache as a result of Cairne's death, and the Shattering that seemed to be a catalyst for anyone and everyone to launch attacks. Though the tauren are arguably one of the more peaceful races Warcraft has to offer, current events have broken that idyllic life.
It makes for a rich, evocative, emotional environment that has the potential to color all aspects of your roleplay. Your tauren could be utterly devastated, weighed down by the events of the world. He could be fighting back with all his strength, determined to regain that which was lost. Or he could simply be a stalwart proponent of peace, standing tall no matter what is thrown his way. One thing's for certain -- roleplaying a tauren has never been more interesting.
All the World's a Stage is your source for roleplaying ideas, innovations and ironies. Let us help you imagine what it's like to sacrifice spells for the story, totally immerse yourself in your roleplaying or even RP on a non-RP realm!
Filed under: All the World's a Stage (Roleplaying)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
gobuywow Aug 7th 2011 8:09PM
I have rerolled a tauren paladin, and I like it very much. His eye is so lovely :)
Cetha Aug 7th 2011 8:36PM
I'd be curious to know yours (or anyone's) ideas for a Tauren shadow priest. I've been trying to think of something that fits in the world and struggling a bit.
splodesondeath Aug 7th 2011 8:42PM
Well, one might say he "lost faith" (har har har) in the world after witnessing the Cataclysm and dabbled in darker magics.
Jack Aug 7th 2011 9:09PM
I like to think that the reason a Tauren would become a shadow priest is because of the concept of balance in nature.
Think about it, many Tauren practice positive life-based magic (such as Druids, Restoration Shaman, and the Sunwalkers), but what about negative magic? The Tauren hold the belief of balance in nature very highly with the Druid and Shaman classes.
There must always be a dark to the light, a death to life, or else nature's balance would be upset. A good example would be that if a population of an animal becomes to large, a disease such as mange thins out the population so there's enough food for all the animals. Your character can take on that role instead of the much more common life-giving role.
(IT'S THE CIIIIRCLLLLEEE OF LIIIIFE)
Mommacow Aug 7th 2011 9:13PM
An older shaman, maybe? One who's watched the natural cycle of things long enough to be equally comfortable with growth and decay. Perhaps injuries sustained in their lifetime/war/the Shattering leave them unable to keep up with the physical demands of shamaning, so they turn to priestly ways instead.
Zaphkela Aug 7th 2011 10:43PM
My Tauren shadow priest is pretty much what Jack described. She doesn't view shadow as "evil" simply another facet of life without which light could not exist.
Joe Aug 8th 2011 9:44AM
And, of course, every tauren doesn't have to adhere to the racial stereotype.
Most taurens are all about that nature/balance thing, but a few are certainly motivated by lust for power (Magatha says "hi") or even reveling in wonton destruction.
Racial stereotypes are generally true (in WoW), but every individual can have any outlook on life.
(Of course, if you're going to RP wildly differently than the racial stereotype, you should have some solid motivations and should be true to what impact that will have on your relations to others of your race.)
Throm Aug 7th 2011 9:08PM
How does your Tauren feel about the betrayal of the Night Elves?
Do you view it as a just, as they are enemies of the Horde?
Or are you sad that your people are rampantly murdering your ancient allies on the whim of your new warcheif?
Hob Aug 7th 2011 11:21PM
The "ancient allies" were perfectly fine with the centaur nearly destroying the entire tauren race. Not one night elf ever stepped forward to save their "ancient allies" from genocide.
Is it just, because they are enemies of the Horde? No, it is just, because they had an opportunity to save us *regardless of politics* and didn't.
Are we sad that we are murdering our ancient allies on the whim of our new warchief? Oh my yes... as sad as the night elves are to murder us - their ancient allies - on the whim of Stormwind's new king. Very sad, yes.
Lavindar Aug 8th 2011 12:06AM
Ancient Allies where??? They never tried to help us when we are being attacked by the centaurs all these years. But yeah, my charater is not pleased by the Horde's way, and he donst take part in any battle that is not to save his people, as a result i dont do any quests that involves Alliance vs Horde.
Fletcher Aug 8th 2011 1:09AM
Since when were the Tauren and Night Elves ever allies? Hell, Tauren druidism only dates back to shortly after the Third War. AFAIK neither species had much to do with each other before the Tauren joined the Horde, after which they were inevitably on different sides because the Orcish idea of diplomacy is "Hit it with an axe all polite-like" and the Night Elven idea of diplomacy is "Death to the enemies of Elune! Cleanse Kalimdor with the blood of the despoilers!"
So no, I don't think you can say that the Tauren ever betrayed the Night Elves or vice versa. Their support for the Horde's efforts in Ashenvale, Warsong Gulch, and Stonetalon Mountains* however is blatant hypocrisy and an affront to the Earthmother they're so vocal about. The Orcish idea of environmentalism is "Hit the trees with an axe all polite-like", and as for the *Goblin* idea of environmentalism ...
*Yes, I know that that one Tauren chieftain got himself killed opposing Krom'gar in Stonetalon. Unfortunately that one Tauren chieftain isn't the majority of Tauren everywhere.
Amaxe Aug 8th 2011 1:10AM
@Hob
Given Blizzard simply gave us no lore on Nelf/Tauren interaction, you can't really say the Nelfs did nothing to aid the Tauren. That's an argument from silence.
Hob Aug 8th 2011 1:23AM
@Fletcher
The tauren and night elves lived peacefully on Kalimdor for centuries, and the tauren stood side-by-side with the night elves during the War of the Shifting Sands. In the altered timeline of the War of the Ancients, the tauren were convinced by Krasus to join the Alliance against the Burning Legion. The tauren who survived the war are described as having a good relationship with the night elf Sentinels afterward. Then there's their history with Cenarius, who taught druidic arts directly to the tauren (although they forgot what they learned in the long centuries afterward). Their oral tradition of the "birth" of Cenarius has generally been approved of as being correct, so there's more correlation that the night elves and tauren had at least peaceful relations (if not actually friendly). And of course, the Cenarion Circle and Cenarion Expedition feature members of both races.
So it's not really a stretch to describe the night elves and tauren as once being "ancient allies".
Hob Aug 8th 2011 1:59AM
@Amaxe
You're right - until Blizzard comes out and says, "Hey, the night elves didn't help at all during the age of the centaur genocide," I cannot state with absolute certainty the relationship between the night elves and the tauren. Argument from silence, though? C'mon, give me credit for probabilistic reasoning, at the very least.
1. Night elves are described as reclusive or downright xenophobic.
2. Night elves and tauren live in close proximity in Kalimdor.
3. The tauren are being destroyed by the centaur.
4. The tauren are single-handedly saved by a rag-tag bunch of orc and troll refugees.
Given this documented information, it is probable that the night elves knew about the tauren crisis, but did not act upon that information. Can I state this with 100% certainty? No. Does it sound correct? Yes, until Blizzard says otherwise.
Murdertime Aug 8th 2011 3:50AM
The same battle that had the Tauren and Nelves fighting side by side had the Nelves holding the Tauren in mild contempt as silly primitive beastmen who could never be as good as Nelves and only allowed them to fight in the battle because a certain red haired mage convinced them otherwise.
Lou Gagliardi Aug 7th 2011 11:47PM
I want to RP. I just haven't found a race or class yet.
I'm thinking after reading this that maybe the Tauren might be the answer, but I'm not sure yet. More research might be in store.
Shinae Aug 9th 2011 11:07AM
If you're interested in trying out Horde RP, check out "Scions of the Horde" on Argent Dawn-US. Here's our website: http://WoW-Scions.com
Also, we have a few people in the Pitts area. (I went and looked at your previous comments.)
Good luck!
- Bimini
hovediah Aug 8th 2011 12:36AM
No RPing here on Muradin.. however my Tauren (Garfazz) is the founding member of the Badass Bovine Brotherhood, and I come from the Streets of Bloodhoof! /moo
Amaxe Aug 8th 2011 1:11AM
Shouldn't that be "MooFoo"
/duck
Lillyth Aug 8th 2011 7:10AM
Slighty OT, but relevant:
I have tried to start a couple of alts on Lightninghoof (RP -PvP), and am confused as to how I should start role-playing a toon, as opposed to just levelling. I understand that just walking up to a group actively role-playing and attempting to insert myself into the conversation is somewhat rude. How should I go about "finding my place" in the RP world? Any advise would be helpful.