Posts with tag character-plot-points

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Death knights saw their introduction in Wrath of the Lich King, which was the only appropriate point for them to be introduced. Former servants of the Lich King, the death knight class as we see it in World of Warcraft has now broken free of his hold. The death knights that have broken free rejoined with their former comrades, either Alliance or Horde, but not without a struggle. As a class, the death knights are masters of undeath, using unholy, frost and blood powers against any who would stand against them.

But for roleplayers, the death knight offers a unique challenge. Here is a character who once had a life filled with hopes, dreams, aspirations and goals just like any other. But that character had his life taken from him abruptly and then found himself brutally ripped back to a mockery of his former self. It creates an interesting space in which one can play with the notion of what might have been, had you not been relegated to an unfortunate fate.

The playable death knights of WoW have their own organization, the Knights of the Ebon Blade. It was formed primarily to retaliate against the Lich King, which was taken care of in Wrath. So what are these knights up to today?

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

If you played WoW at all during Wrath of the Lich King or spent any time at all in Dalaran, you already know of the Kirin Tor -- but they've been around far, far longer than one expansion. The Kirin Tor are an elite sect of powerful mages, and Dalaran is their city-state. A kingdom of sorts, all to its own, Dalaran's been around for thousands of years. The Kirin Tor are strictly a neutral organization, adamantly unwilling to choose one faction over the other. Both Alliance and Horde are welcome in Dalaran, but fighting is not allowed, the city being just as neutral as the citizens that live within its walls.

In order to be a member of the Kirin Tor, you must be a mage. Non-mages can gain reputation and favor with the Kirin Tor, but they are not actually a member of the organization itself; membership is strictly reserved for mages. According to the RPG source guides, the Kirin Tor was originally made up of 120 members -- however, since the RPG source guides aren't "real" canon, they're just sort of canon-ish, you can easily call your mage a member of the Kirin Tor if you'd like to.

The Kirin Tor saw a lot of action in Wrath, but they've been relatively quiet in Cataclysm, as the focus has shifted from the relocated capital city of the magi to the catastrophic events down south. This does not, however, mean that there isn't anything for a member of the Kirin Tor to think about these days.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

The Cenarion Circle has had a presence in WoW ever since day one. Though the Cenarion Circle does have its own reputation grind that allows any player to join the ranks, the Circle itself is pretty much a druid-only organization. This has less to do with exclusivity and far more to do with the Circle's original purpose. It's that purpose that defines a druid, no matter what race that druid happens to be.

... sort of. The Cenarion Circle was originally founded by the Night Elves, thousands upon thousands of years ago. While they accepted the Tauren into their ranks, it wasn't without some contention among the Night Elf druids. These days, the Trolls of the Darkspear are made warily welcome, as are the Worgen of Gilneas. It's the Worgen who are the most interesting new addition to the Cenarion Circle, however, because without the Worgen, the Cenarion Circle simply wouldn't exist.

In Cataclysm, the Cenarion Circle is just as active as ever, and for good reason -- the looming threat of Ragnaros the Firelord and the devastation wrought by Deathwing have done much to unsettle the natural balance of the world.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Once upon a time in classic World of Warcraft, there was an organization called the Argent Dawn. This organization made its home in the heart of the Plaguelands ruined by the Scourge during Warcraft 3 and sought to fight back and cure the land of the plague that ailed it. But the Argent Dawn could not do it alone, which is where players both Alliance and Horde came into the picture. In the Plaguelands, both factions worked for the same cause, and the Argent Dawn oversaw it all.

Later, the Argent Dawn evolved into the Argent Crusade, setting its sights on Northrend and the Lich King's throne. Those loyal to the Argent Dawn readily joined the Argent Crusade and traveled to the chilly peaks of Icecrown in the hopes of putting an end to the Lich King. After a long war, the mission was a success, and the Argent Crusade returned home -- but what of those who belong to the Argent Crusade? What does an Argent Crusader have to do these days?

For roleplayers with characters who belong to this organization, there may be a little less to work with than there was in Wrath of the Lich King; the Argent Crusade isn't really a highlight of Cataclysm. But that doesn't mean there aren't points to consider when playing your courageous hero.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Many roleplay guilds run with a theme of some sort, whether it's a group of heroes all thrown together with a specific cause, a family or noble house, or even a rag-tag group of mercenaries. Those aren't the only themes available to play, however. World of Warcraft has several different organizations established in lore, and some players choose to place their characters in those organizations. It's a good way to root the character in the existing lore, but it's also an excellent way to help define the character you're playing. Due to popular request, over the next few weeks I'll be addressing some of Azeroth's major organizations and taking a closer look at each.

The Blood Knights of Silvermoon are a relatively new organization by Azeroth's standards, formed for one purpose and now practicing another. Though it could be stated that their story began and ended in The Burning Crusade, that's not exactly true. There are plenty of plot threads left hanging that Blood Knights can play with.

Well, I've certainly had fun covering the different plot points out there for roleplayers of any Warcraft race to pick up on. Keep in mind, though, that these articles are merely suggestions for relevant topics your character could potentially be interested in -- they are certainly not the be all and end all of interesting things for your character to talk about. Hopefully, you guys were able to find a good idea or two in all that lore to sink your teeth into!

Today, I'm going back through the plot point series, checking out the comments and answering any questions you guys may have had about the various points brought up in this series. There are a lot of really good questions here, so let's get started!

Possum asked, from Night Elf plot points:

In regards to the Night Elf mages, I was under the impression that all PC mages created were Highborne? To me this makes a lot more sense. Letting the Highborne back into society tentatively I can see out of desperation, but having them train/corrupt their youth?

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

For most players, the initial thought upon roleplaying a Human character is that it ought to be pretty easy. After all, we're all humans out here in the real world, so it shouldn't be a stretch, right? Well ... yes and no. Humans in Azeroth aren't the only sentient race, and they aren't even the most populated -- Trolls win that title hands down. The Human race hasn't even been around that long from an evolutionary standpoint -- and it turns out the Human race itself was simply a mutation of Vrykul, caused by the Curse of the Flesh.

On top of that, the Humans of Azeroth are in a constant state of dealing with strife and war. Since year 0 in the timeline, when the Orcish race first crossed through the Dark Portal and began their lives on Azeroth, the Humans have been thrown into war after war after war. First the Orcs, then the Scourge, then the Burning Legion -- it never seems to end. In Cataclysm, the Humans still aren't getting a break, and that leaves them open to a lot of roleplay potential.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Orcs have always been an interesting race. Though the Orcs originally came from Draenor, they've been on Azeroth long enough to consider the planet home -- and they've made their fair share of enemies along the way. Even though the Orcs had little to do with the Scourge portion of the Third War, focusing instead on the Burning Legion's assault on Hyjal, the Orcs (and in turn, the Horde) had a large presence in Northrend during Wrath of the Lich King. With Cataclysm, their influence is larger than ever.

And then there's the simple fact that Orcs are the backbone of the Horde itself. When once-Warchief Thrall formed the Horde, it was simply the Orcs of the Eastern Kingdoms. But as soon, as Thrall decided to follow the advice of the mysterious Prophet and head west over the oceans, that all changed. First, he picked up the Darkspear along the way; then the Tauren were added after landing on Durotar. Somewhere between Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft, the Forsaken were also added. These days, the Horde is a motley mix of races, united together under one banner -- but the Orcs were the ones who started it all.

So what does an Orc in today's Azeroth have to consider from a story standpoint?

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Oh, Gnomes. Often the butt of any joke involving punting, Gnomes have the distinct displeasure of being awarded a bad reputation. Nobody takes a Gnome too terribly seriously, and nobody really considers Gnomes an awe-inspiring source of lore. Gnome roleplayers generally choose the tactic of embracing a Gnome's fun-loving and amicable nature without thinking too much about how to roleplay one in a serious context. Why bother? Gnomes are just kind of fun and silly, right?

Well, they can be. On the other hand, one of the best roleplayers I have ever had the pleasure of encountering played a Gnome that was by all rights typical, until you stopped for a moment and took a closer look. Serious to the point of being psychotic and downright twisted in her experiments and tinkering, this character was the antithesis of everything a Gnome ought to be. It was like having every horrible nightmare about childhood dolls going on a murderous rampage suddenly coming to life. And it was brilliantly done.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

They're cunning, sneaky, greedy, and will stop at nothing to get whatever it is they happen to be after. The Goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel almost seem more like a cardboard cutout of a character than a true character. Introduced with Cataclysm, the Goblins are a striking contrast to the Worgen of the Alliance. While the Worgen have a long, grueling, and sometimes heartbreaking background that dates all the way back to the early days of Night Elf society, the Goblins are just sort of ... there.

In fact, the Goblins seem to be one of the most two-dimensional races Warcraft has to offer -- even more so than the Gnomes, otherwise known as the Alliance "comic relief" race. But don't let their two-dimensionality fool you. Goblins are much, much smarter than you'd expect, given their single-minded obsession with greed. After all, what better way to con someone than to lead him to believe you're only after one thing in the world? And for Goblins, it's not just about the profit -- it's about prestige, too.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Two races were equally shaken up with the Shattering. The first are the Tauren, who lost their beloved leader Cairne Bloodhoof when he challenged Garrosh Hellscream to a duel that he subsequently lost. The second are the Dwarves of Ironforge, who also lost a leader -- though it wasn't because of duels, political tensions, or anything of the sort. Instead, the Dwarves lost Magni Bronzebeard when he attempted to try and save the world.

The crux of the problem with the Tauren was that their leader was killed in a duel due to interference from the Grimtotem tribe. With the Dwarves, the crux of the problem began after Magni's death. After all, Cairne had Baine to step up and take charge after his father's death; but Magni Bronzebeard ... well. He had a daughter and a grandson, but both were sided with the "enemy" -- the Dark Iron Dwarves. What does all this mean to Dwarven roleplayers? Plenty.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Trolls are interesting characters to roleplay. There are a few major reasons why Trolls are at the top of my list for roleplay. First and foremost is the fact that for all the Trolls in Azeroth and all the story we've been given about all the various Troll tribes, there's not a lot of real information out there in terms of day-to-day Troll life. Traditions, ceremonies, tribal bonds -- it's all sort of a mystery. Yet the sheer amount of culture we've been given is just enough to play with, within the context of what little we know. Storytellers, practitioners of voodoo, the kaleidoscope of Loa and their relation to the Ancients -- it's all up in the air to fiddle around with.

The other reason Trolls are just so entertaining is that they've come so far from so little. In vanilla, the Trolls seemed like a vague addition to the Horde, with no capital city of their own and very little in the way of backstory. Troll reputation vendors were placed in Orgrimmar, where the Trolls had a tiny corner of the city to call their own. Vol'jin sat in Thrall's chambers and never really did much of anything. When Cataclysm was announced and events started coming out in preparation for the expansion, the Darkspear got a huge jolt of storyline, with elements that can and should affect every roleplayer.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

The worgen are the newest race to hit Alliance side, and though they are humans affected by a curse, they aren't exactly the same as your run-of-the-mill humans we've been playing since vanilla. Worgen roleplayers have a ton of information thrown at them during the starting levels, but after the fight is over and everyone's moved on, it seems as though there's not much in the way of excitement or roleplay potential.

That isn't necessarily the case. The main issue I have with worgen -- and to a degree, their Horde counterparts the goblins -- lies in the fact that you are inundated with so much information in those first few levels. The story moves at a frenetic pace, and unless you're paying close attention, it can quickly become an overwhelming experience. Despite the relative lull after the starting experience is over, there is plenty for worgen roleplayers to use, even at level 85.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

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.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Of all the Alliance races you could theoretically play, the draenei have to be the least developed in terms of lore. This is a constant point of contention amongst those who love the draenei as a race and wish to see them further developed (like me!). However, the lack of draenei lore at this point shouldn't be looked at in a negative light. Most of the time, when something is left deliberately vague, it's because it will be expanded upon later in some fashion or another -- so hopefully, we'll see more about the draenei soon. Like, say ... in the next expansion or two.

In the meantime, there's still a lot out there for draenei to think about. I know, I know -- how exactly do you come up with plot points for a race that doesn't have much at all in the way of lore, a race that hasn't really been developed since it was first introduced? What can you possibly make out of all of that? How do you tie that into anything that's going on currently and have it be at all meaningful?