Since we have some interested Players, some complete Newcomers, i decided to write a guide for you that covers roleplaying terms, general Information, WoW specific information and Molten specific information. I myself play Roleplays since 20 years now, started with Pen n Paper at the Table (Dungeons & Dragons, The Black Eye, various White Wolf Merchandise like Mage: The Ascension etc.) and also did Computerrpleplaying (Diablo 2, Guild Wars, Ultima Online, Gothic) and have been Player and GM so i have quite some experience to draw from.
A very good guide can be found here : http://www.wowwiki.com/Guide_to_roleplaying
Following, a personal guideline that pretty much extends the above.
What is Roleplaying?
In general its like the childish "impersonisation", the dressing games of early childhood and the "pretending" taken to a whole new level. It can be compared to improvised theater where actors play without any script. Its like telling a story and being part of it at the same time. You write the Story while you play it and can change it at any time. It is a very creative and fun process to evolve a character and see how he, and others, change and act in various situations. Roleplay can be used for fun, to experience new ways of thinking, living, acting, makes fantasy games even more fantasy and fun and finally it can even be used as a psychological tool to deal with real life issues and problems (like phobias, traumas and such)
Roleplay specific vocabulary:
In Character (IC) - Stuff said and played AS the Character you play. Like "Hail and well met Traveller. Welcome to this harsh lands of...."
Out of Character (ooc) - Stuff that you as player say. "Today i pwned 5 noobs in stv" Since OOC is unwanted in Rps and may cause confusion, try not to use OOC if not rly necessary and mark it like "OOC: - i have to go now sorry"
RP - Roleplay
Characterlore - Stuff your character KNOWS - it should be clear WHY he knows and HOW he obtained that knowledge - its very bad roleplay if your character knows stuff, that he cant know. Like a hunter knowing all about a priests magic. likely even a priest wont know all stuff on that. Just like a cook doesnt automaticly know all recipes in the world.
Playerlore - the stuff you as player know - try not to confuse both. As player you amy know all about WoW Lore, but your character does not.
Gamemechanic RP - what we use in WoW. It means, your character can what he is able to do INGAME. If he can cook a feast, he can. If he cant, he cant. In Computergamebased roleplays its usual, that your character is limited to gamemechanics. So no, you wont have solod LK until you REALLY did in ingame. It also means, as warrior you cant cast spells and such stuff . It also means you wear what your character wears. You wont be in an elegant dress until you really have it on.
Powerplay - usually a widely spread and very childish and very bad version of roleplay. You play to be the superhero who is unbeatable and perfect and use every loophole in the rulesystem to create an overpowered character. This sort of "playing" is usually the surest ways to get kicked from groups as it is a quite lame way to play and doesnt allow for deep roleplaying or emotional stories and may ruin a lot of aspects of thhe RP treasure.
How do i start?
Usually you start with creating your character. Think what you want to play - the first choice usually is:
Gender:
Yes you can choose a gender. You can play your own real life gender or the opposing gender. A lot of roleplayers play characters of opposing genders too. If you choose to play as the other gender, keep in mind, that you have to act like that. A woman most likely wont be the "cockhungry whore" you dream of but a being with emotions, pride and her own mind and will very likely be pissed of by macho behaviour. If you play a man, keep in mind that men are in many ways different from girls - a bit genderspecific psychology knowledge helps. DO NOT fit in stereotypes - you can play what you want, each person is an individual, but keep in mind that you dont play yourself in a body of the other gender but really another gender which means you have other physical circumstances, likely genderrole and other uprising or status in society. WoW specificly not all races are "equal" in genders. As example, nightelfs are a matriarchal society were men usually have no political power and are expected to take care of food and children while women go hunt and fight. Bloodelfs on the other hand are a highly patriarchal society were its rare that a woman holds any power. Some races have very gender specific roles (nelf, belf, human) expect the same from both genders (orc) or are quite open to let each individual choose its own path (Tauren) That does NOT mean you cant play an influential belf woman but keep in mind that it will be offensive to many belfs and you may end up as outcast and will often struggle with offenses from BOTH genders of your race or others.
Gender also influences the way other players see you, as example, a Nelf female may treat a female of any other race much better then a male of any other race and a female in general should keep in mind, that other characters may try to flirt with her or do some "nasty" stuff - depends on how in debth and realistic you want to play - "adult" stuff like rape and such are usually NOT tolerated EXCEPT the whole group is mature and AGREES to play that. Its absolutely not recommended to delve into such stuff until you have a well known group u know, trust and have a lot of rp experience.
When coming to gender, also keep in mind, that you may have a different view on the world, depending on your gender and a different upbringing which is not to be taken lightly - even if you are a strong willed self sufficient woman, 20 years of people telling you how inferior you are, wont go unnoticed and may be a reason for very amazonlike behaviour or a very touchy personality when it comes to gender roles etc.
Again you can play whatever you want, but if you differ from "Stereotypes" keep an explanation ready why you are different.
Besides, if there is no gender equality that does not mean, that genders would not come along with each other, they just have quite strict genderroles and expectations. In Nelf society women do war and hunting and protect and care for their men, while belf society is the other way round. It also has nothing to do with sexism, its just a different approach to deal with problems and tasks.
Race:
Race is a very important choice as it will affect a lot for your character. Your possible classes, your loyalties, background, behaviour, personality and a lot of other stuff that is racespecific. Keep in mind you are first of all and individual and you can go against "stereotypes" BUT you should explain why, how you do it and it should be a struggle. Like, for Orcs, it is a struggle against their inner "fire" and keep calm when provoked due to their former taint. It doesnt mean you have to rage out all time, but you are by nature hot tempered and if you surpress the urge to punch someone, it should be played as a struggle.
Race also influences your reaction on others, and theirs on you - if you are a troll, dont expect to be accepted and welcomed in silvermoon. You may also see belfs more like dinner then equals. Usually you get along best with members of your own species though some races, like tauren - orc - troll - get very well along together (though their main loyality may still be in their own race) while others - like undead and tauren - may not find any common ground and it will be hard not to be hostile to each other. Remember, the "horde" consists of orc, troll and tauren - belfs are more or less asylants and undead are partners out of need and likely both parties will seperate as soon as they dont need each other anymore.
Race also influences your view on the world. A beautiful forrest in ashenvale may be a holy place to tauren and an unbearable, sick, offensive ugly stinking disgusting something for undead, while a goblin would simply see profit in cutting down the trees.
Same for spoken stuff - an undead likely does not care for honor at all while an orc would rather die then loose honor. if you insult an orc, be prepared for a duell to death. While a tauren may simply ignore the offense or an undead would simply flame back. So keep in mind, that your character may think quite differently than you - indeed, exploring the mind of your character is a lot of fun in roleplay.
Background:
The personal background of your character should have some effort put in it. It should make your character alive. If should cover why you are THAT class and not another, it should cover your past and explain some of your strenghts and weaknesses, your struggles, goals etc. It should explain why you behave like you do, where you got some flaws and so on. The background makes your character alive, covers his religious and political views, makes his view on the world understandable. The background should give you a clear portrait of your character
- does he have preconceptions? which?why?
- does he have family? which? where are they? which boundaries does he have?
- does he agree with his races / factions politics? genderroles? religion? why? / why not?
- how old is he?
- is he religious?
- what are his interests?
- what does he think of other races, factions?
- does he follow a "moralcodex" of some sort? Or the general rules of his society?
- is he egoistic or altruistic?
- how did he grow up and where?
- did he have traumas of any sort? which? how did they affect him?
- does he have quirks or even full scaled derangements?
- what are his goals in life and where did he get them?
Try to keep your character alive and realistic - usually the more realistic a characters is, the more fun it is to play. Yes flaws are a vital part of any characters and should not be missed. They can add a lot of debth and fun.
Stick to your character - you are not supposed to get along with everyone. Just as in real life you will have people who you just cant stand and otherway round. You may still be forced to work with them and find some sort of compromise. Just dont betray your character by letting him adapt to oppinions that are far away from his own. A Tauren will never ever tolerate or accept undead. They are against everything the earthmother stands for, they should be put to final rest and not be friends. Even if Cairne follows Thrall and works with them to some degree, any tauren will try to avoid those guys as much as possible. To acutally befriend an undead as tauren should be something extremely rare that needs heroic effort from the side of the undead.
Personality:
Yes you are an individual. You may fit in some stereotypes, but not in all. You are alive, with own oppinions, goals and flaws. You should, while creating your background, decide on a personality for your character and stick to it. It should not be too rigid tough as it likely will change over time with new experiences (like a human racist may completly rethink his view if his live is saved by a tauren) - you may become bitter, you may solve problems from the past and become happier and so on. But you shouldnt change lightly unless your character has some sort of mental derangement.
Alignment:
Are you good, evil, neutral? Or something entirely different? The Dungeons and Dragons System of Alignment gives a rather good guideline though you should keep in mind, that the world is NOT black and white and your character may have no alignment at all and just react to circumstances (instead of having sort of a moral codex)
Anyway it can help a lot if you keep in mind, that your character at least tries to be rightous (according to his worldview) or if he is completly against his societies rules (and thus, "chaotic") if he tries to help people and be "good" or if he is egoistic or even sadistic (and therefore "evil")
Cliche:
Please dont overdo it. While you should stick to some race and genderspecific stuff, you should never accept all of them. You may be a troll that follows voljin and stopped cannibalism. But you may ask yourself why the hell you should, nelfs are so tasty after all. You may be the arrogant belf noble, but you may be completly loyal and devote towards your superiors or be kind and nice to those orc who you like so much or be ready to lower yourself for your love and such. Dont be a primitive raging orc savage - indeed that cliche likely does not fit any orc in the whole WoW universe.
Lore:
Dont panic, you dont have to read any book or write essays on bloodelf nobility. But it is a very good idea to get familiar with the lore of your own race, so you know what your race is like. History is not really necessary if it dates back more then 50 years but you should have your races mentality and views and religion in mind and know at least some persons of your race. If you play a bloodelf you should have heard of dathremar sunstrider and know a bit about him. If you are a troll, Senjin should be more to you then a city and as orc you should know who durotan was. More helps, but is not really necessary. If you play a young orc that was born after the third war, hammerfall may just be a city to you, while, if playing an older orc, your eyes may get wet and your heart may cry whenever you hear the name. It helps to make yourself familiar with recent history, important characters, mentality / religion, genderroles and political views of your race. Even if you are against them, you should at least know what the generalyl accepted view of your race is. (just like you can be for or against democracy, genderequality, capitalism etc. but you surely know what your country stands for)
Same goes for phrases - it adds a lot of atmosphere if you are able to use simple phrases in your races tongue - Lokthar Ogar shouldnt be a random sound without meaning. If you are an orc you will never say it lightly, and if, you say it with pride and readiness to die in the following minutes. If you are a belf, the words "shindo falah na" may cause you to tremble or even cry as you remember your painfull past. The very name of your race - sindorei, may cause a deep sadness when memories come up how your people changed their name from queldrorei into sindorei.
Also react to characters. As undead Sylvanas isnt just a random NPC its your beloved queen, your saviour, your jesus who freed you from the Lichking. As belf Sylvanas may be someone you feel extremely sorry for, as orc she may be just a distrusted ally, as tauren she is likely an offense to everything you believe in and you will likely just hate her. Go into your character - if you were to meet the head of your state, would you treat him like just another NPC? ^^
It also doesnt hurt to react accordingly to other players. If you are an orc, tauren or troll, a shaman will be a person you respect, maybe envy or even fear. But you WILL act differently towards him just because he is a SHAMAN. You wont just take him lightly. A shaman is more then a priest to modern people, he is priest, doctor and leader in the same person. You wouldnt call your doctor an incompetent ***** while he is treating you, would u?^^
If he is 50 levels above you, he will likely be your superstar. Imagine you started martial arts and meet bruce lee. He is like a superstar in the WoW World. Unless you are lvl 80 urself, you likely wont act as if he is just another guy. If you play as lvl 20 character with 4 lvl 80s imagine being together with Chuck Norris, Julia Roberts, Bill Gates and Danny Devito. They are not just a random group they are fckn awesome.
Depending on what race you play you may act differently tough - an undead is not supposed to respect a shaman or even worship. For an undead a shaman may be disgusting, for a paladin he may be a sorry misguided creature, for a gnome he may be a primitive savage, a relic of times past. For your orc warrior he may be the superpowerfull exalted superhero you must protect with your own life, after all he is much more important then you. And so on.
Realism:
Dive into the world of warcraft. It is a world, very different from our own. The idea of gender equality is non existant in some races and cant be expected. if you are a male nightelf, you are inferior to women, women demand respect and special treatment, they are better then you. If you are a bloodelf female, you wont raise your voice against a male and humbly do what is asked from you. if you are an orc female, males are equal and you do neither expect any special treatment from men, nor will you treat men any other then women.
Keep in mind, that you can be different but it may mean a lot of trouble. of course the paladin matriarch is female, but if you look at the history of high / bloodelfs and royality thats really rare and the reason she is the first paladin has nothing to do with belfs anyway so they just had to leave the position to her.
Keep in mind, that gods, spirits and magic are REAL. You are NOT atheistic and you would never deny magic. You likely are very religious if you play tauren, orc or troll and humbly follow the races philosophy. Someone tainting the earthmother is evil and must be dealt with, you cant just sit by and watch.
Remember, there is no educational schoolsystem in most races. Your troll hunter may have no knowledge at all that has not to do with hunting and his own tribe for the last 20 years. If you are no lore oriented character (mage, priest, shaman) its very likely you dont know much about your races religion, other races or the world in general. You likely will have no idea what an old god is or what titans are. You may never have heard of gnomes and a rifle may be weird voodoo magic to you. It may go so far that you fear a mirror could steal your soul. it does not mean you have to play an *****, not at all, and you can learn ingame while playing, but its very unlikely your character has much knowledge about various sorts of lore.
Also keep in mind, that your race may tell stories quite differently then others. If you ask an orc about the second war you will very likely hear a completly different story then from humans. A human may point out how gloriously the orcs were crushed under the mighty paladins, while the orc may point out, that the horde was fighting itself and betrayed by its own ppl (1/3 of the army) inmindst the most important battle. A human knight may tell you how valiantly orgrim doomhammer was defeated in battle by a honorable knight, while an orc may tell you that doomhammer was cowardly backstabbed by the lance.
It also helps a lot to add actual emotions to your character. He can be in love, or hate someone, he can be angry about stuff or sad. If your parents got slain by scourge, you may react hostile to undead and so on.
Also consider that you play WITH other characters, not against. even a rivalry is not possible without another player. So try to play nice and fair or else it may happen that no one wants to play with you anymore. Dont play the perfect superhero, its annoying. If you are strong, add some flaws. Get some flavor in your character, make him interesting, multilayered.
Profession:
Is not limited to WoW Proffessions. You can play a lot more then a blacksmith or alchemist. You could "own" an inn in any city and charge players to pay some copper for staying - be a nice host and offer stories and drinks. You could play a bard who writes poems and songs about heroic deeds (please not your own!) you could be a townguard or policeofficer. You could also play a wandering merchant, a storyteller, a healer. In theory you could also play a whore who takes money for some private time but that again is limited to your fellow players likings - in general gore and sex should not be included in "beginner" roleplay - while they, like "adult" themes add a lot of spice and realism, they can also lead to desaster and hurt feelings (real life) if not handled with care.
What can and what cant i include in roleplay?
In theory all that adds debth and fun to the game AND is accepted by your fellow players is acceptable. If people WANT to be the unimportant useless worshippers of your godlike superhero, its ok. If they dont, then dont play one.
It should also be clear, that you stick to "possible" stuff according to gamemechanics. So dont say you killed Deathwing if you didnt. And even if you did, be ready that no one will believe you. it also means you cant change weather as warrior, tough a shaman may, and dont cast arcane spells as priest or healing spells as mage.
Also do not include OOC comments and dont do NOT offend PLAYERS - characters is fine. If your character is insulted, react as character in game and dont take it to your heart - your character was insulted not you, dont be touchy, react ingame.
Some topics that are tabu ooc are ok ingame - racism belonging to game races is not only ok but sort of fitting - after all if all races would think good of each other the whole damn horde - alliance war wouldnt exist so smash that stinking drunkards head, you know the fat greedy dwarf that just destroys nature to dig up some treasures. But dont overdo it, likely your character will be mature enough to know, that not all of one race are the same. After all each race has its heroes and its villains. An orc shouldnt have a big mouth about humans and arthas, after all Nerzhul, the real lich king, is an orc, and you belf, better shut up about orcs serving the legion, just look at your king ^^
Adult themes (sex, gore, rape, torture etc.) are a difficult matter and should only be introduced after ALL players agreed ooc. It is also to be handled with care as you can easily dig up wounds (real life) or destroy the roleplay for someone else comptletly. (while i know a girl who used roleplayed rape to deal with a rape that happened to her in real life, raping a character very likely will destroy the game, and like torture should just not be brought up unless all participants want it)
Also keep in mind, that you have to stick to the universe you play in. You cant just add elements from other games. The multiverse from D&D does not belong in WoW and Voldemort is no WoW Warlock. Gandalf isnt chasing a ring and the Navi are no WoW race. Also, dont do things that simply can not be done in WoW. You didnt destroy dalaran and you did not burn stormwind.
Also, its no good idea to claim things that ruin the game for others - so you didnt kill the LK and you didnt slay the alliance leaders. It would completly destroy the opportunity for the group to do it together. You may have killed some rare mob or epic monster tough but no "major" one like arthas or kaelthas or illidan etc. Oh and you are not best friends with Thrall or Cairne. Even as lvl 80 character its likely the faction leaders barely know you, though they may have heard your name. But remember, they work together with hundreds of ppl, unless you do daily quests with them its unlikely they really know you. Minor leaders are, as lvl 80 character, possible though you shouldnt overdo it - you may have fought side by side with saurafang but more likely have been one of many soldiers serving under him. Also dont abuse titles or ingame stuff - yes you need to kill 10k people to become highlord of the horde, but really, how realistic is it to kill 10k people? You may just be aknowledged as great warrior and tactician and may have been promoted for great valor but you surely didnt get promoted for killing 10k enemies...better say you fought in many great battles. If you need to claim some epic unrealistic feat, go on but expect other players to simply not believe you. If a soldier says he killed 1000 enemies, you would rather send him into an asylum or buy him another beer than taking this serious.
So better stick to feats you achieved withing one "life" - meaning without dieing. And i am positive no one ever killed more then 50 players without dieing. While death isnt permament in WoW by gamemechanic, it should be played as it would - since a lot of great characters in wow DIED and were NOT resurrected, so fear death - yes a priest may ressurrect you but thats an epic awesome and rare feat. More likely you are dead forever - there is no spirit healer reviving u. Death should be serious - here the gamemechanic ruins the roleplay as "casual throwing life away" is plain stupid - after all, some of the greatest heroes are DEAD and never come back. Grom wasnt just resurrected by Thrall and (with cata) Cairne wasnt just cured of his poison etc. If Sylvanas could have simply walked to a spirit healer for ressurrection, the whole undead faction would not exist. So act like death would be permament.
Some general tipps for newcomers:
1. Take the time to really create a character you want to play, make sure you know about your race and society ingame. In Roleplay you should not pick a character for looks but for story. Tauren may not be the best looking characters but they may fit your playstyle much more then the belfs.
2. Make sure you understand the differences between WoW game mechanics and roleplaymechanics. In WoW lore not a single character was ever resurrected (besides as undead and thats raised not resurrected)
3. Make sure, you can make a difference between player knowledge and your characters knowledge. Until you play as a 10000 year old undead its very likely you will never have witnessed something great. You surely dont know about the fight between Arthas and Illidan as neither of them would have told you and no one besides those 2 knows about that. You also have no knowledge about the future - though you may have heard rambles on the street or may have had a vision if you are shaman or druid etc.
4. Be sure you like your character and find it interesting. its no use to play, if you are not in the mood or have a character you dont like. And if you decided on one, stick to his personality. Like you wont change your oppinions per day, your character wont either.
5. Try to play a realistic character. For your character, WoW IS THE REAL WORLD. So make sure he acts accordingly.
6. Understand the differences between our modern world and the WoW world. WoW characters aint educated in school, so likely only know very little. They aint used to democracy and may find the very idea disgusting or just laughable. Equality between races, genders or proffessions does not exist in most races. Orcs have slaves and most Orcs are for slavery, Belfs are very patriarchal and a hunter aint as important as a priest. A Warrior is just another warrior but a Paladin is special etc. Racism is flourishing and a vital part of the world. There is no social program (in most races) and you have to survive somehow. The world is tough. In special as a belf you wont be a whiny sissy who will cry all time. After all you endured you likely are very bitter and sadistic, or completly broken. As orc, killing is nothing special and as undead you dont care about hurting others at all. Sure you can be different but realise, that a whiny soft belf wont be accepted in his own society and for sure not in orcish society. It doesnt mean you have to play the extremly tough killing machine who has no emotions. Just realise, that the world itself is quite rough and a sissy wont survive long in it so you need to find ways to deal with trauma, cause if trauma breaks you, you are likely dead. Again - you should have emotions and trauma should never go unnoticed - after loosing his family your character may have become a paladin of holy retribution to avenge, he may have become a lonely hunter to forget, he may have became a fierce warrior whos goal is to follow his lost comrades into the afterlife in a glorious way...It also does not mean you cant be happy, indeed you may seek happyness more then anything else to ease the pain and forget your sorrows. Its a fine line . just imagine how YOU would react in case of your character.
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General RP guide
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Member
A general guide to Stats:
Keep in mind, those are general guidelines and exceptions are known. orcish average age may likely be below 40 as most fall in battle or die in duells, but some orcs are known to have passed the 100 years of age like Drekhtar or Greatmother Kashur. Nerzhul, before becoming the Lichking also surpassed the 100 years.
Tauren
Height: 230 cm
Weight: 180 kg
Lifespan: 120 Years. While age seems to affect Taurens senses, in special sight, their strength does not seem to fade away.
Orcs
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 120 kg
Lifespan: 90 Years. Orcs seem to be only slightly affected by age as some of their most powerfull shamans and warriors surpass the 80s. Highlord Saurfang is around 90 years of age and STILL fights in combat, wielding an heavy axe and wearing plate armour. Drekthar, around 100 years of age himself, also seems to be strong enough to still fight with a lot of power in battle, dualwielding axes.
Trolls
Height: 210 cm
Weight: 90 kg
Lifespan: 70 Years. Seem to age normally, like real life humans do.
Forsaken
Height: 175cm
Weight: 50 kg
Lifespan: Unknown. Likely until they are completly rotten to dust so, depending on circumstances maybe 100 - 200 years. Since magic does not protect them from rotting, they are not immortal. An exception are banshees as they are without physical body. Rotted Forsaken may become Banshees tough. Exception seems to be Sylvannas who is basicly a banshee within physical form.
Nelf/Helf/Belf
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Lifespan: In theory immortal. The oldest known elfs reached 10.000 years of age (Illidan, Malfurion,Dathremar...) and died in battle or, like Tyrande, are still around. There may be an exception with the Belfs however, since its unknown if the consume of felenergy limits the lifespan.
Another question: Age
The age of your character may be much more important then you think, depending on race. While all adult trolls will have been part of their first encounter with the orcs and therefore all interesting Darkspear events in the last 100 years, same for Tauren, other races can choose between a much wider roleplay arsenal.
As example - if you are an Orc, you can have, depending on age, a completly differend worldview. If you are 80+ You did participate in the slaughtering of the Draenei and drank from the Blood of Mannoroth willingly. You likely know Varok and Drekthar personally and fought alongside them in 3 great wars. You will be traumatised and influenced a LOT by your history - like Varok you may refuse to eat pork as it reminds you of the slaughtering of the Draenei or have much worse derangements. An 80+ orc does know little of the old ways (he would have to be around 150 years to remember them) and was raised and lived in an extremely brutal, warlike world. Its quite sure, that he hates humans a LOT and may kill Nelfs on sight and have a lot of "old fashioned" ideas like slavery, killing and war but he may also have seen to much and do all for peace he can. He can, in theory know most of the important Orc characters personally and will be a veteran himself, earning him a quite high status in society.
If you are fresh 18 or 20 years of age, you likely dont know anything else then imprisonment by humans, or if you were born to the frostwolf, may not understand the other orcs grudgesm corruption or guilt at all and may be, like garosh,lusting for war as you never experienced it...
Undead have, like Belfs, HUGE possibilities for background story - since they can in theory date back to very ancient times. A belf of 10k years age may even have fought Sargeras abd Azhara in the war of ancients and experienced the change from nelf to helf personally. Undead may have been some famous but fallen hero of old. In theory you can be each human or helf hero that doesnt show up ingame (like Uther Lightbringer) you could even be a former king of any human kingdom.
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necrocreatureGuest
Good Guide, but I have one thing to say: ICly, you should NEVER have been able to Solo the Lich King, nor should you be able to at any point in the future. OOCly, go ahead, do it. But ICly, well, I personally don't think anyone is that powerful...
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i got screens at its possible her eon molten did it as enhancement shaman. truick- not the RAID lk but the open world LK that spawns during 2 quests in northend. he only attacks with autohits. while he got all the hp from raid the damage is a pitty ^^
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necrocreatureGuest
Thats not what i meant....
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oh sorry now i get it ^^ yes sume things shouldnt be possible for the sake of roleplaying but it may be a good end for a "closed group rp" to finally give arthas peace by group effort ^^
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FuriiandaGuest
Thank you for contributing a guide to these forums, but I've a little bit of a beef with your gender section. It's stupid long, but I'm afraid it's a pet topic of mine.
TL;DR I think you should trim the section a bit because you are overcomplicating it! But I will go into more detail below.
My advice to people who want to try RPing the opposite gender (and I used to shy away from this a lot!) is that trying to come off as the opposite gender is more convincing the less you think about it.
First of all - while I have seen a few of those "c0ck-hungry whores" in RP, I think it's probably best to advise people just to not think too hard on the matter rather than providing these stereotype things. For example, people can give tips to RP a male using more direct language and not beating around the bush (so to speak) but I don't think it's the case that no man ever rambles a bit, or is indirect in the way he speaks (and I don't think a man is less of a man if he chooses not to speak in short grunts, and tear his shirt off to bear his rippling abs after each sentence).
I've thought little about how to be particularly masculine while RPing my male character here on Molten, a Forsaken, and people I know don't think there's anything odd or strange (read: un-manly) about how I RP him, as far as I've asked. In fact, I've had more people assume me to be male when I'm RPing female characters.
I do consider gender roles in the character's society - but for many races it makes little difference. I'll go into that more later.
There's nothing wrong with being concerned about your portrayal of the opposite gender to yourself, but I think the best advice is to simply act as if your character is your own gender, and change only minor details as they apply to the character's race or background.
Don't be afraid if you think your character is too masculine to come off as a woman, or vice versa, just because you're working from your own experience; often it makes the character even more relate-able and compelling if you decide their personality first, and simply flip a coin as to their gender.
I've read many books where a male writer tries to "feminise" the characters by removing their "masculine" qualities, like their strength or ability to think logically for example, and it makes me wince every time. (Unfortunately, as I am female, I cannot say if the opposite happens often -- when a female writer tries to write a male character -- so if you know of any examples please share! I'm very curious!)
This confused me.
First of all, Night Elves are probably the most matriarchal of WoW's races; but that definitely doesn't mean that the men have NO political power, as you say. Think about Fandral Staghelm or (obviously) Malfurion Stormrage. In fact, it seems Malfurion has taken the reigns over Tyrande in recent WoW canon (the Tyrande fan in me is dying at this, as I admired her a lot when I was a little girl playing WC3 :P), not to mention that, although the Sentinels are/were largely female (including Darnassus' guards), only the males could be druids for most of their race's history. They simply had a few gender-segregated duties, and that includes things other than being house-husbands. Most of those are gone now with the desperation of war, though it's still a notable element of the race.
Second, I don't know what your source is regarding gender roles in Blood Elven society. While they're not as female-oriented as the Night Elves, they're hardly patriarchal -- again, think of big names like Lady Liadrin, or (obviously!) Sylvanas Windrunner. Or the other Windrunners. They were also one of the few races to have a female unit in WC3 (the "human" sorceress), so I believe their society is very equal in terms of genders. I'd say you could make a character of either gender without worrying much about their societal role.
If you believe otherwise, please provide me with a source. The only way they are "opposite" to the Night Elves in terms of gender roles are, I think, the town guards, and that was more likely just the developers being lazy and reusing the exact same (male) model around town because they couldn't be bothered making female versions.
I agree with what you are saying here, and commend you for addressing such a touchy topic respectfully.
I will contribute that people will often try to flirt with a female character (a lot more than if you play a male character) and it's something to consider -- if you don't ever want to have to put up with flirting or sexual advances from other characters, you may want to just make a male character. However, at least on Molten, I haven't had to put up with a lot of this, so it's not a very invasive issue.
I'm a bit confused here also...? In the first section I've quoted, you said not to fit stereotypes, but here you say not to differentiate from them.
I've already addressed the Nelf vs. Belf thing above, though I would disagree that it has nothing to do with sexism, that's not too relevant to RP itself.
I agree with you that it's good to consider your real life influences and preconceptions regarding gender roles, but that's more of something I'd consider for an advanced RP discussion rather than a basic guide.
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In summary, I think you're better off giving a basic primer on this section rather than the sizeable wall of text that you typed up.
Mundane personalities as they are known in many cultures, such as a hard-working husband and doting housewife-mother combo, are very uncommon in WoW to RP because they're quite boring. In game mechanics, you can be either playable gender of any race and you'll have the exact same abilities and power, so evidently many real-world expectations are not present. There are no tabloids asking Jaina about her love or family life (as what happens with female politicians in real life, for example) so most preconceived notions can generally fly out the window.
Make your character and then pick their gender, and it should not make much of a difference. It's almost entirely just a difference in appearance.
Also worth noting, WoW is a very male-oriented game. The relative lack of female characters and unusually prevalent sexualisation seem to be out of neglect, rather than attention, to detail. There are more male characters and they're generally capable of whatever, but there are definitely many many powerful female characters, so unless it's a specific race thing you find in race lore (as with night elves, for example!) you can take on any role you like without it being "unrealistic" in terms of WoW lore.
Disclaimer: I'm a person who believes gender is a fluid concept and I don't place much importance on it. I have met many men who RP female characters, and the ones who are most successful, I find, do not overthink the gender and they simply RP the exact same personality they would on a male character. For WoW's universe, that's generally all you have to worry about.
Apologies for making the post so long, but I would appreciate any input, discussion or feedback that you feel like giving. If anyone wants feedback on how convincingly female they seem in RP, I am happy to oblige with my uh... "expertise". Peace!
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necrocreatureGuest
This just bugs me... Sylvanas was killed before there were Blood Elves... She was a High Elf.... Just thought i'd mention that...
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FuriiandaGuest
What's your point? Are Blood Elves not High Elves, but a few years later? Their cultural history is the same.
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Member
???
Blood Elves are NOT High Elves. High elves had tails and whiskers, and blood elves don't.
Thanks.
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Field Medic Moderator
Blood Elves are to the High Elves what the High Elves are to the Night Elves.
High Elves have tails and whiskers? You've perked my interest.
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Member
First a lot of thanks for the feedback =) Now my answer
You are right its better not to think too hard about it - there are quite feminine Males and quite manly women out there and there are also cockhungry whores out there - you cant rly mess up as almost everything can be authentic and realistic. I just know dudes who simply play sluts cause they fullfill their own dreams there and to me that is just wrong to do. Ofc a belf woman who lost her whole family may just look for solace in sex while others seek them in alcohol, drugs or something but it should have a good explanation and a story behind it, it should still be a tragic character not an easy going sexaddicted
To Nelfs: Political power is exactly that - and male Nelfs having any is very rare - im talking about the power to influence society as a whole, make laws or command troops - men are usually not even allowed in the military system (sure war makes things different a bit) but for the last 10k years it was quite dominated by women.
To belfs: Belfs are first of all feudalistic meaning birth has a huge influence of what u may become. If a female like Sylvannas Windrunner, born as a high noble without brethren is the oldest sister she has to take the rank but if there were any men able to take the position they would have.
Liadrin is out of the picture as she is the only one able to fullfill that role she found out how to do the stuff so no one else fits. Yet Helfs and belfs tried to seperate them from nelfs becoming the complete opposite - from nightactive to dayactive from moonworshippers to sunworshippers, from "ranks by ability" to a feudalistic system and from matriarchy to patriarchy. All racial leaders and high ranking positions EXCEPT for Sylvannas lead on the rangers are filled by males
The town guards were meant to be the opposite of the nelfs - pretty much the whole concept of helfs / belfs was to oppose nelfen society.
I would have to link wowiki for that more in detail which provides sources from books but its "cannon" that belfs are quite patriarchal also right now in a fashistic rule which is quite logical if you look at their last 5 years of existance where ppl just become wretched or betray society to the alliance...the king is gone and power has been taken by some guys who werent rly ready for it ^^
^^ Ye its not rly basic just to think about it. Stereotypes usually exist cause some ppl rly are that way - a character ikely fits in some of them but never in all of them but there should be a reason why he /she is different. Like "women like to talk around the bush" - thats what upbringing and the neurostructure of women makes natural. However a woman can rebel on purpose against this behavour cause she dislikes it or cause her father was a soldier and important to her or cause her neurostructure is different from the "neurotypical" woman. it may also be a result of serving in the army herself - there can be many reasons why she speaks very direct without sublimial messages - there just should be a reason why she is that way.
i apprecitate your contribution =) I went a bit more into detail with belfs in the "specific" rp guide ^^ Would like to hear your oppinion there as well =)
Ignoring the trolls - Helfs and Belfs share the very same history and racial features. Outside WoW Game the even completly look like each other and you cant tell the difference. Inside wow they made them different skin and eyes for a better optical difference but that is not lore. Helfs nowadays gotta feed on magic just like belfs the main differnce here is that the Helfs hate this state and stay true to the alliance while the Belfs accept their new fate and joined the horde after the alliance (that racist general) betrayed their people and wanted to wipe em out
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FuriiandaGuest
Again, this is a cultural discussion, and the current state of relations between Blood Elves and High Elves is completely irrelevant to the point I was making, UNLESS you have a source to relate something about Blood Elves becoming instantly more patriarchal after the destruction of the Sunwell. As Orkar said:
So go ahead and pick apart any more irrelevant etymology if you must, I already know it and just didn't bother writing the exact difference into my post because I knew people know the difference already (as you have pointed out)... 9_6 I'd much rather discuss the points I was trying to make in the first place.
I'm not sure how canon this is though -- it seemed the females controlled most of society simply because of the absence of males (they were busy sleeping), and it's a little vague in lore but it seems that Tyrande alone (and before her, way back, of course; Azshara) ruled over the Night Elves. Thus, we are drawing from a sample size of 1 over a recent history of 10,000 years. The druids had a lot of power and respect in their own organisation, so I think of the ancient society more as segregated than ranked (eg. females > males). You definitely have a point, as females were allowed to choose many more roles; but druids were also capable and respected. If the females were allowed to be druids if they chose then it'd be a very different situation (the main reason I think of it as segregation is because the men were seen as superior druids, and women forbidden from the practice of druidism).
There were also many male commanders in the War of the Ancients. So all in all, that leads me to believe that the concept of male Night Elves being significantly lesser and relegated to household duties is extrapolation, rather than canon.
Regarding nobility, I'm going to have to ask you to link me to a source. I believe the high number of male leaders is due to neglect from the writers, since I don't recall any events of possible female heirs passed over in favour of male ones. In fact, the female side of the noble family seems to be completely missing or ignored, with no explanation (an explanation that would fit would be, for example, some confirmation about the prevalence of concubines in favour of queens or princesses). \Of course, your claims regarding opposition to Night elf culture are otherwise correct.
This could be said about most races, and yet again in most of those races (orcs for example, where there were not even female units at all until WoW) you've listed as being equal in terms of gender. It's a typical aspect of most writing in videogames, TV, and anywhere else in that it's male dominated with no particular reason or explanation.All racial leaders and high ranking positions EXCEPT for Sylvannas lead on the rangers are filled by males
So yes. A source, if you please? I've read the basic resources and cannot find anything regarding this so-called patriarchy other than vague implications (eg. lead by kings for the most part).
I see what you are saying regarding stereotypes. I would advise that, while working from the stereotype is a good starting point, that changes and additions are made to make characters more unique and interesting. Of course, some things should be deviated from more readily than others, and should always have a good reason. You don't really need a reason to be non-neurotypical, for example, since that's just luck of the draw at birth. But in terms of choices your character makes, they should not be too arbitrary. (:
I like how you started your specific guide on Belves but it has a few of the problems (in my opinion) regarding your speech on gender roles here. It's good to emphasise the recent history of the race to new RPers, as people often forget about important recent events that apply to entire races when constructing their backstories.
In addition, I don't recall the Windrunner family (which you referred to as "Windstrider" in your guide) as being noble, and I was under the impression the ranger-general was selected based on skill rather than birthright. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but please provide a source!
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Field Medic Moderator
Situations change, cultures evolve, as do the people.
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TesariGuest
Quite a few good points made, though also some misleading parts.
High Elves/Blood Elves may seem like they're patriarchal when you look at who stands in the palace, or who the guards are. However, their society revolves around magic and power. The males can be guards, alright, but quite a good portion of mages are female.
Their kingdom isn't exactly united either. Think of it as several groups and Houses above commonfolk, all agreeing that someone up there is the ruler, but ultimately they all act on their own accord. Farstriders don't like the Blood Knights and vice versa, nor are the mages complacent with the other groups.
They all have their agenda and none see a problem with punishments and examples, be it by magic or hand, no matter the severity, or the crime. Dwarf ambassador could be a spy? Eliminate. Order must be maintained, "Obey the laws of Silvermoon. Failure to do so will result in termination."
On the matter of Trolls - those now are a fishy aspect. Males possibly play the dominant role - it's mainly a hunting-gathering civilization. Don't cross the Loa.
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