Character

I might have been incredibly slack about posting in recent months but I'm still reading lots of blogs and most recently have become a fan of the excellent WTT:RP thanks to Anna of the Too Many. WTT:RP is a role play focused blog written by a group of quality role players from Feathermoon, the server which is home to my main character Jezrael. If you have any interest in RP I highly recommend checking it out.

My interest in role play and who my characters are is always a background thread to my experience of playing. While I'm generally more consciously focused on preparing for the raid, or making some gold to support that expensive raiding habit the stories about who my different characters are simmers along in the back of my mind, and of occasion I spend some time waffling my thoughts to my RP friendly co-workers.

I'm always putting off writing about my different characters because none of them are completely fleshed out. Most of what I know about them is their personalities and some of what caused them to be that way. Often I haven't thought in great detail about their physical characteristics. I think it's high time that I wrote down what I know. Perhaps more will grow from that. Perhaps I'll finally write the story of how Jezrael tamed her first companion animal. Perhaps I might even engage in some in-game RP one day.

I'l start with Jezrael since she is the character I know most about.

Jezrael
I'm not quite sure how old Jezrael is. She is definitely not thousands of years old. I think of her as being sort of middling in age. Mature but not middle aged. She grew up in Ashenvale and comes of a family who traditionally have been Sentinels. I still haven't thought up a family name that I like for her that isn't too trite, already exists, or doesn't suit her.

During her formative years Jez trained as a hunter with the eventual intention of becoming a Sentinal and roamed the forests of Ashenvale with her boon companion Broichan; a young druid in training. Although she never revealed as much to Broichan, as they grew up Jez fell in love with him and believed that one day, when the time was right, they would marry. There was no rush, they were young and they both had much to learn in their respective crafts.

Unfortunately for Jez, Broichan; who was some seasons older than her, was sent off into the world by his druid mentor on some kind of clandestine mission, and after a time she didn't hear from him anymore. I don't where he went or why, only that Jez's overall motivation and why she didn't become a Sentinel, why she left her home and went out in the wider world also, is because she is searching for the man she loves. It is her tragedy, that she doesn't know where he is, or what happened to him, or whether he even lives, and this has shaped her personality.

As a Sentinel in training Jez had a great deal of anger for the Horde. Especially with the Horde's deforestation activities. However her experiences in the broader world have tempered her feelings, and although she is at heart still distrustful, she has learnt that not everything is as black and white as she might like.

Personality-wise Jez is quite serious, she has strong sense of right and wrong and values honour above all else. She finds it hard to let go and relax and has few close friends since she is generally distrusting. Letting people get close to her is difficult, motivated by losing someone she loved so fiercely in Broichan, she doesn't want to open herself to more pain, and therefore of course is missing out on so much. She can appear to be quite aloof and judgemental of others, but if you win her trust and loyalty she will be a staunch companion. The hustle and bustle of the great cities are something she generally avoids, preferring to keep to less civilised areas, she is happiest when out in the wilds, just her and her companion. She could be considered somewhat tactless and direct although she will tell you she is just honest. Alcohol is a weakness and she has had a few embarrassing moments as a result of one too many jugs of wine. Jez is very aware of her own dignity and loss of this causes shame.

Thinking about what I would want for Jez in the sense of character development through story, it would be for her to have some experiences where she learns to let go more and enjoy the here and now rather than focusing on what might have been or what may be. Where she is forced to further acknowledge that there are shades of grey, that nothing is as straight forward as she might like it to be. That it is ok to be vulnerable and to let love (whether romantic or platonic) into her life.

Physically, Jez is tall (of course, she's an elf) and as a hunter her build is lithe with a smooth flowing motion to her movements that is both studied and quiet. No stomping or screaming here. Jez is in no way arrogant, she is capable and she knows it but feels no need to broadcast this. Her garb is utilitarian and practical, she has little taste for fripperies or fashionable attire with the most ornamentation of her clothing present as subdued woven designs on the garments she wears beneath her trusty mail. Her hair is long and purple and while she prefers it loose practicality oftens sees it tied into a braid. She wears a smooth shaped stone strung onto a leather thong about neck and beneath her clothing. It was a gift from Broichan and thus she has great emotional attachment to it.

That felt good! Writing that down helped me discover a few more things I didn't know about Jezrael. I think I shall have to do this more often, and definitely for my other characters.

I wonder how much other players think about their characters, even if, like me, they don't actively role play them?

Orcs are amazingly virile

I'm a self contained person generally. I think it's due to spending all that time out in the wilderness. Just my faithful animal companion and I, stalking our prey through a landscape devoid of the trappings of civilisation.

I'd like to use unfamiliarity with the ways of town folk to try and explain my naivety, my gaucheness perhaps. I don't think I can though. I can't find any real reason to excuse my recent behaviour and I'm not one to accept paltry excuses, Sephiroh knows that very well. Oh dear, I wonder if she has heard. The speed with which insidious rumours spread throughout the city is almost incomprehensible. I need to shield her from such perfidy. Hah, there I go with excuses again, truly it is myself I wish to shield and my good name. If I have such a thing anymore.

It all started with what should have been, as is usual for me, a brief visit to Shattrath to replenish my supplies. As is my wont I had stepped into the Worlds End tavern to meet with my, well I shouldn't call him a fence, but let us just say a person whom I know that has connections with many of the powerful denizens of the city, shadowy figures who will pay well for my gem cutting skills in order to retain their anonymity. While I disapprove of such underhanded behaviour my purse is often grateful for it.

I had taken my usual seat in a dim corner of the tavern, sipping the ale I had been served and quietly observing the behaviour of the wretched regulars as I waited somewhat impatiently for my contact to arrive. He was late and I was feeling out of sorts, perhaps that was why I had drained my drink before long and ordered another which rapidly arrived at the hands of the grinning barkeep. I intended to nurse this one but for some reason the tavern was filling, and the heat of many bodies crushed into so small a space only increased my thirst. I believe the somewhat ripe Tauren warrior at the next table over increased my interest in keeping my nose deep in a pot of ale. There really is nothing like the taste of a good beer. The other kal'dorei may turn their noses at what they consider my uncouth tastes but they have clearly never enjoyed a refreshing pot of dwarven stout after an arduous journey. But I digress.

I was still waiting but the beer had relaxed me somewhat and I saw little harm in one or two more. After all if I can hold my own against ogres surely there would be nothing to threaten me in a crowded bar. Foolish! The greatest threat to me was surely myself. Sometime later, I'm not sure how long I admit, indeed the events of the rest of the evening are increasingly hazy in my memory, I noticed a commotion around the stage like area against the back wall. Curious I made my way, a little unsteadily, forward. As the lights dimmed the crowd hushed; a sense of excitement was palpable in the air. I pushed my way further foward, apologising absent mindedly to the gnome I had inadvertently almost stepped on.

Suddenly there was a terrific burst of light and a loud explosion and the tavern building itself began to vibrate. The stage had suddenly become occupied by a motley group who were the creators of a wall of sound that simply overwhelmed me. The people around me began to dance and cheer and I found myself swept up in their excitement, dancing and cheering myself in a most unbecoming fashion, all my inhibitions swept aside in the wake of the many draughts I had consumed.

I remember little from this point onwards. I'm embarrassed to admit it. Certain moments stand out with startling clarity. I seem to recall dancing on one of the tables, of calling for more beer. Of being caught in the embrace of the orc leader of this band who almost crushed me with the strength of his arms. I remember that the green of his skin was closely matched by the green of his eyes which crinkled in amusement at me. Everything else is a blur. The next thing I remember is waking with pounding head and parched throat. I must have made it back to the lodgings I share with Sephiroh but I have no idea how! Oh I am so ashamed. What would my mother say.

GRAWR!

Oh wow! Everyone you are just not going to believe this! *bounce, bounce, bounce* Yep it's me Seph again and I had an even more fun and exciting adventure! Not only that but Miss Jez approved too. Yep, she really did. She's not all that mean, I felt kind of bad after what I said the other day *shuffles feet* I mean, I know she means well and she's just trying to look out for me and all, and she is kind of like a big sister to me. But, well, you know what big sisters can be like right? *grin*

But after my adventures in Karazhan and even though I did leave a big mess because I fell asleep because I was so tired and sort of left Wild Quillvine in the bottom of my bag and it got all mooshy and stuff, Miss Jez just smiled and sighed a little and told me that I did good in Karazhan and I could just tell that she was working really hard on not giving me a lecture and she didn't. I felt really good about that, like she's maybe going to start trusting me a little more to not mess up. I mean sure there was that one time where I got into a bit of trouble with Dirty Larry from the lower city and Emelin had to come resc.. er... help me but I'm much more responsible now! *wide eyes*

I guess Miss Jez really must be starting to think so because she asked me if I would like to make a visit to that troll infested place Zul'Aman in her place, something to do with needing to stay home and polish her new shoulders. I was to go with some really nice people from the guild and they were all ready to get me to put on my bear suit and help out Mr. Troa the paladin with tanking duties. I felt so honoured that they would trust me, and well kind of overwhelmed *blush* but I wasn't going to say no to an exciting opportunity like that. No way!

And because I wanted to show Miss Jez that she can put her faith in me I straight away made sure to get my leather pants armoured up nice and strong so I could be just a teensy bit more durable, and I made sure I had lot of reagents and some yummy stamina food. I guess I kind of forgot about elixirs but Mr. Troa kindly helped me out and I gave him some gold straight away and we made a pact between tanks not to tell Miss Jez which I thought was really really awesome of him. I guess he understands what it's like to have an older wiser person looking over your shoulder.

I'd never been to see the trolls before and I can tell you I was nervous! Everyone was very relaxed though and nice and no pressure, we're just going to see if we can beat some timers. I was all... uh... ok *shaky grin* sure. Mr Troa was very kind and was talking to me quietly and letting me know what I needed to do and that really helped. I was still a little worried though because even though I'm very strong now sometimes I don't think I SMASH things as hard as I can and then whatever I'm hitting might not think I'm hitting them hard enough and go see what someone else is doing and whether they can hit harder and you know when you are a tanking person that's not very good. No. So I was making very sure that I was on my toes and ready to GRAWR at anything that looked like it wasn't interested in me anymore. A girl has her pride you know! It's kind of insulting when a big ugly decides to lose interest in me. I should to get to choose when I've lost interest in them! Like when they are smooshy bits of clawed up bits on the ground!

As I had never been before I didn't know the way but the guildies kindly summoned me so that was fine and I was able to get future directions straight away. We climbed up the big stairs into the entrance and then we spoke to this explorer fellow and he told us we had to bang a gong. That was fun! I put on my bear suit and was head butting it!

Once we got inside we were only interested in the really big baddies of course but we had to fight our way through a few annoying trolls. I got to practice my animal soothing skills too! I've never really bothered with soothing animals before. Why bother when I can CLAW RIP SHRED and then skin them *big grin*.

We went to see the big bear troll guy first. Mr Troa explained that pally on bear and bear on troll which sounded funny but I was too excited and nervous to laugh, but that was fine because I didn't need to be. We smooshed that guy real quickly and were able to rescue the prisoner too! Well we would later, we wanted to see if we could save some of the others too, because that's the kind of adventurers we are!

Next we went and ran through this gauntlet thing and up to the top of this platform where there is this big birdy nasty. Mr Troa told me to put on the kitty suit for that fight so I did and had lots of fun and it was neat because I didn't have to remember to run in for the storm thing he does. Miss Jez has told me stories about that fight and it felt much easier to me to just keep clawing at Mr ugly birdman and not have to worry about running in. We managed to save the prisoner here too so that was great!

Then we headed over the top of this big waterfall and snuck through a hut and around some ruins and then swam across a lake and killed a few big lynxes and I was looking at their pelts and wanting to skin them but there was no time if we were going to save the next prisoner and when you are on tanking duties that means being up front and ready to take on all comers and I wanted to make sure that all reports to Miss Jez would be good ones! We got to the next big meanie and Mr Troa explained that I would need to stand right next to him and when the meanie called his spirit cat thing I would need to make sure it didn't try and play with the other people. We had a few mishaps but by the time we'd smooshed all the lynxes and such in our path to get to him we'd missed the chance to rescue the prisoner anyway so that was no drama and we got him down after a couple of attempts and Mr Troa told me I did awesome! *blush*

We pushed on and went and killed some more trolls on the way to the last priesty boss - a nasty dragonhawky flame ball throwing baddie. And then the most exciting scary thing of the wholeadventure happened. Mr Troa told me that I would need to be the main tanky person against him! *big eyes* Wow! I was sooooo nervous! When everyone was ready I charged in and SMACK MANGLE LACERATE and so on and on and on and avoid the flame ball things. It felt like I stood there for a long time telling that guy to pay attention to me. We got him though yep! After a few difficulties with the hatcher guys anway. But it was awesome! I was so exhi... exhilar... happy afterwards that I couldn't help dancing about in my bear suit. I think perhaps, even though it wasn't very dignified, that Miss Jez would understand.

Oh and I guess because I was a good bear I got to take a souvenir of my trip home with me too! It makes me look a little bit like a troll but it will be fun for dress ups! And for helping out with healing too *grin*

(boss images courtesy of wow-wiki)

Is you like a nice hot cup of mangle?

Hello! It's Sephiroh here, you can call me Seph. I had such an exciting day yesterday that I just had to come and share it with you. I hope Miss Jez doesn't mind, I sort of didn't ask her or anything. I mean she's a pretty decent person for a hunter and all but she can be a bit... persni... pernikc... funny about things. Sometimes I think all that time fighting the Burning Legion has made her lose what sense of humour she has. Oh! Did I just say that? *blush*

So um anyway! *bright smile* I'm only a young druid but I've been working very hard on making sure I can do my best and help out my friends visit nasty places and beat on nasty people. See that's what Miss Jez says, that you have to stand ready at all times. She says that a lot actually, along with how I really don't know much about the world yet and what was my family thinking keeping me so sheltered and then she starts muttering about some lady called Vashj and then I just know that she's going to disappear for hours into the Lower City and come back later grumpy and smelling like Dwarven Lager. Oh wait, I shouldn't have said that either should I? *blink*

Soooo, yesterday I was talking to some of my friends in the guild and we decided that we would like to go do some adventuring and that the Shadow Laboratory had been causing problems again and we should go and sort them out! We were organising to get the best group and all the important things we would need. You know, like beer, oh but um don't tell Miss Jez about that, she says I'm too young to drink. Unfair I call it! *humph*. Yeah so we were getting organised and then everyone is all 'so Seph will tank' and I was so excited! I've been working really hard at my leather working so I can make myself some nice tough leather gear. I guess my stitching isn't the neatest but that rune thread is nice and strong and I put lots of stitches in! I'm such a lucky druid too since Loa gave me a vest and Mr Mogri who is a very important tanking person gave me some boots and with my leggings that I made it's a matching set! Even Miss Jez was kind enough to make some gems for me so I'm feeling very strong RAWR! Although, with the stuff being so new and all the clefthoof leather is kind of stiff and pokes you uncomfortably sometimes *wince* but I'm all uncrittable and stuff and that's important.

We made it down to Auchindon and into the Shadow Labs and were ready to start. I was a little uncertain at first but I put on my furry bear suit and tackled the nasties that my friends told me to and GRAWR SMASH MANGLE!! It was sooooo much fun!! I know I should probably have a more serious attitude, Miss Jez would say so, but I just don't think she understands what it's like to be a young strong druid and testing your abilities for the first time! I guess there were a couple of moments when I got a little carried away and um my rage got the better of me which caused a little inconvenience *blush* but I soon learned from my mistakes and we made it all the way through and showed that Murmurer thing yes we did! I guess I must have done a pretty decent job because after we finished I got asked to wear my furry bear suit to Karazhan and help out with some of the tanking duties there! *bounces*

I'm sure it wasn't because some of the regular people were missing. Nuh-uh, I don't care what Miss Jez says *pout*. I made sure I had some yummy food and washed the blood off of my leathers and re-oiled them and was ready to go. I even made sure to go and get my shiny new gloves from the nice man on the Aldor Terrace which I got the last time I went to Karazhan in my kitty form. Yep I've been to Karazhan before, I'm not like... you know... completely naive! Just never in the bear suit *grin*. Miss Jez was muttering away but I think she just doesn't understand what fun it is to be able to claw as Kitty or mangle as bear or even put on my pretty robes and help with healing!

I had lots of fun in Karazhan, we finished off the last of those nasty people including the big demonic guy at the top. He sure thinks he's someone, well we showed him, smooosh! We were feeling pretty good after taking down the Prince in one attempt and so we thought we'd go make a call on the ghostly dragon Netherspite. This was my most nervous moment of our adventure since I'd have to help out with handling the red beam and that would be the most important thing I'd done apart from helping those cloth wearing spell caster people not get squished. Our paladin tank kept talking about dancing with the beam which I thought was a little funny and couldn't help giggling but once we started I saw what he meant and I just danced my furry butt off! I even helped out with the green beam when I wasn't doing the red beam shuffle and although it took an attempt or two we got him in the end! Hah! Take that Mr Grumpy ghostly kind of reminds me of Miss Jez on a bad day dragon!

I hope I get to wear my bear suit to Karazhan again soon! It was such fun although I was a very tired sleepy druid afterwards and I slept in and left my leathers in a big smelly pile on the floor, so I'd better go clean up before Miss Jez sees!

Do you choose the spec or does the spec choose you

As usual I'm woefully behind on my blog feed reading. I usually manage to get caught up on the weekends but with this weekend being particularly full of in game action I didn't get around to it.

I was just reading Cynra's thoughts on Pike's Feelin' it manifesto (and it's well past due that I added you to my blog roll/feeds Ms Pike!) and it sparked an immediate reaction in me.

In my case I think the spec definitely chose me. As a young huntress with no knowledge of the intricacies of the different builds or really any knowledge of the broader game at all I went Beast Master. My reasoning was that since you have a pet you would surely want to get the most out of that relationship. Even when I was more knowledgeable about the game and knew that Marks was 'the' choice I still stayed true to Beast Master.

When I consider this choice from a role playing perspective it is because I see Jez and her stable of cats as having relationships of mutual respect and love. They operate as a partnership of two equals. In no way does Jez think of Sooty (or Snowfyre or Snaggle) as pets. The relationship is symbiotic. Jez would never be able to be as effective without her faithful companion by her side. If there is any kind of dependency it is of Jez on Sooty.

Some of my favourite fantasy fiction stories (or series) are concerned with characters with animal companions such as the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and the Assassin Trilogy by Robin Hobb so that no doubt contributed to my choice as well.

Night Elf culture: just tree hugging hippies?

I happen to work with a couple of avid role players of the old school table top variety. One of them also plays a lot of Warcraft and the other has dabbled in WoW but is mainly a Neverwinter Nights player. Unsuprisingly a lot of our non work related conversations revolve around roleplaying and Warcraft. It's not unusual for our other workmates to come across us in the kitchen deep in a conversation laced with acronyms and terms which they find completely unintelligible.

I've been using these two guys as an excellent sounding board for some of my ideas about Jez's character description and back story and recently we got into a discussion about how Night Elf culture is presented in Warcraft and the presentation of elves generally in fantasy fiction.

I consider myself pretty widely read in the fantasy fiction arena - it is, and has been, my genre of choice for many many years now (how unsuprising that I should play a game like Warcraft). However I'm not very widely read as regards the lore of Warcraft itself. Most of what I know has been gleaned from the quest dialogue in game. Yes that's right I am one of the people who reads all of the quest text. Of course! It's one of the aspects of the game that I find very appealing.

**a little intermission music**

I started writing this post before work this morning and found some time today to do a little research and also continue the discussion, this time specifically about night elves.

The opinion presented by my esteemed work colleagues is that elves generally in fantasy fiction are presented as namby pamby tree hugging hippies. I bristled immediately as I admit that, yes, I am a fan of the elven races. You can keep your short smelly dwarves thank you very much. In the interests of disclosure I should mention that of my two friends, one plays a warlock and the other favours rogues. Yup. We can probably dismiss their argument right now *grin*.

When I think of elves in the fantasy world a specific representation come to mind: the elves of Tolkien's world. In my opinion (and the opinion of many others) this representation is one of the foundations for elves in modern fantasy fiction.

In Tolkien the elves are not particularly aligned with nature and are certainly not namby pamby. They follow various crafts and their culture includes both warriors and healers. They built great civilisations and while capable of acts of great valor they were by no means perfect.

Enter Warcraft's representation of elves which I would argue draws strongly on Tolkien influences. If we consider the lore of Warcraft itself - the night elves were initially the creators of a powerful civilisation centred around the Well of Eternity. They were powerful magic users and their delving into the mysteries of the Well was what alerted the Burning Legion to its' existence.

As fall out from the arrival of the Burning Legion and the destruction of Archimonde the elves split into three distinct groups with the kaldorei or night elves eschewing arcane magics in favour of more nature based magics. They saw their role as the protection of the land and their people from further corruption by the Burning Legion.

This might perhaps sound like the night elves are namby pamby but let's think about the methods they use. Tyrande actually broke Illidan free from his prison to attain his aid in defeating the legion. The Silverwing Sentinels are in constant skirmish with the Horde over their deforestation. Some Farstriders are known to kill strangers who breach too far into the woods of Ashenvale. Hardly namby pamby.

The quests that you undertake as a night elf character in the game may well at surface level appear to be about 'saving X from the corruption of Y" but looking a little further below the surface reveals a culture that will use just about any means necessary to protect their world.

An exception to the emphasis on Tolkien influence is the role of the druid in night elf culture. My friends see druids particularly as the embodiment of namby pamby tree-hugginess and whilst I have no problems with hugging a treekin any day of the week I do also take umbrage to this opinion.

The night elf druids in Warcraft are, in my opinion (again, I'm just full of opionions) influenced by the druids of Celtic mythology. Following the druidic path is not easy. It requires great mental strength and fortitude. I mean let's face it, nature does not always wear a pleasing aspect. It's not all flowers and bumble-bees. Nature can also be incredibly powerful and destructive - think of the voraciousness of a forest fire or the implacable force of an earthquake. If one is going to train to have power over nature it's going to require a lot of self discipline. An example of this willpower is the agreement of the druids led by Malfurion to spend centuries in hibernation within their barrows as their spirits wandered the Emerald dream.

I rest my case.

No WoW for you!

I got home after a long day at work looking forward to getting a couple of hours of play in before maintenance shut down tonight. I've recently dusted off Sephiroh and am really enjoying the fun and utility of playing my druid. She's 67% of the way through 62 and with the help of Jaime's Levelling Guide I'm really cruising through the quests.

So I'm sure you can appreciate my dismay to be confronted with extended maintenance for the second week in a row. Being an Australian player really bites when it comes to maintenance since it happens Tuesday nights and when it's extended maintenance that means everything goes down at 7:30pm.

/frown

On the plus side I have no choice but to spend some time doing other activities such as reading, blogging or catching up on my feeds. It's even possible some TV watching might be included in the mix.

/grin

I've also recently been seriously considering writing up an RP description and backstory for Jez. It's something that's been bubbling around in the back of my mind pretty much since I started playing but I've never had the motivation to get started. Having recently been introduced to That Damn RPer via the lovely Anna and reading up on some great posts on character creation I'm thinking that the time might have come.

Many moons ago I participated in an online RP community within the Wheel of Time world and I very much enjoyed exercising my creative and writing skills through thread based RP. I don't know if I would get into any RP in game in WoW but I know I'll enjoy writing about Jez. I was a little concerned about the amount of lore knowledge required (which means time spent researching) but Nauloera had some good words of encouragement for me saying that a well thought out character is more important than a detailed knowledge of the lore.

Roleplay is definitely something that has always interested me but with which I've had very little experience outside of the thread based kind. I confess I'm a little bit afraid of looking like an idiot, or perhaps more precisely, coming off as someone who is inexperienced. But nothing chanced nothing gained right?