I received an email from Jan this morning asking,

Unfortunately, I’m one of those avid wow players who haven’t received any
cataclysm beta invites!

Do you think it’s wise to just wait for the release? Because some people
say playing the cataclysm beta will eventually remove the fun in playing
when cataclysm is released. I’m afraid it will feel like leveling an alt
from 70-80, which is not as fun as leveling the first one. I’m actually
still subscribed in WoW even if I’m not playing anymore just to get a
chance in getting an invite.

Do you still play WOTLK? It’s getting a lot boring now and I’m running out
of things to do…

Excellent questions!

I’m assuming that your “should I wait for release” is for what to do if a shiny beta invite appears in your mailbox.

The answer to that is sort of “your mileage may vary,” but let’s peek into it a bit.  In order to answer your question, I need to shoot one back your way:  how do you see yourself spending time in the beta?

I have to admit I’m a pretty casual beta-er.  I know there are plenty of people who’ve spent as much time as they can exploring the world, leveling up, and drinking in every shiny new pixel.  I’m more the log in for a few hours, do some random things, then next time I log in do something completely different sort.

The people reading the bug reports are probably /facepalming:  “I love the detail in this house in Gilneas!”  (Don’t worry, I submit useful bug reports, too, I promise.)

But you know what?  It’s a good way to experience it, for me.  I get to see some of the world without feeling like I have to do everything omg right now.  And everything’s subject to change.  The quests I do in the beta might change when the game goes live.  Talents and spells are going to change.  Itemization and skills will change.

Knowing that what I see in the beta won’t be the same as what I see when Cata goes live is pretty neat.  It’s a sneak peek of what’s to come.  It’s also a chance to try out a whole bunch of things without having to really make a solid commitment to any of them.  On my character screen, I have Threnn, Annalea and Davien.  The rest are a rotating cycle of alts that I’ve created just to see how things play.  None of them are all that safe from deletion if I need to free up a character slot for the next new shiny to come along.  Worgen priest!  Human hunter!  Goblin warlock!  Troll druid!  Somewhere in there will come a Tauren paladin and who knows what else.

I’m like a puppy in a room full of neat smells:  “What’s this?  What’s this?  What’s this?  Oh, look over there!  What’s that? What’s this?”

I’ve scoped out a whole bunch of spots that will be neat for RP, and as I go along questing, I’m keeping an eye out for story hooks.  Why, yes, my beta experience is totally selfish.

You mention that some friends say it will take the fun out of the release.  I think that will depend on your playstyle.  I could absolutely see, if I were to spend all my time in there getting Threnn to level cap and running the instances over and over, that it would feel like a bit of a chore having to do it all over again when the expansion goes live.  If that’s what you’re concerned about, I’d recommend trying something new with your characters.  Pick a spec you haven’t tried before.  If you have multiple 80s, don’t transfer your main to the beta servers.  Poke around on a secondary or tertiary alt instead, one you won’t get around to leveling for a while.  Do you play primarily one faction?  Roll a lowbie on the other side of the fence and play through the starting zones.

Other people I know in the beta are having a blast leveling their mains.  They’re enjoying the new talent trees and trying out the new content.  They’re getting their number-crunching started now and love theorycrafting.  The week-to-week changes are exciting for them.

Whether or not participating in the beta will take the fun out of Cataclysm’s launch definitely depends on your playstyle.  For me, it’s been fun to see a little bit of a lot of things.  That way, there will still be plenty of surprises for me when Cataclysm goes live.  For others, focusing on one character is more their cup of tea.  The advice I’d offer to anyone of any playstyle is this:  if it starts feeling like work, it’s time to switch gears — whether that’s simply playing a different character or logging out altogether.

As for whether I’m still playing Wrath, hell yes!  I’ll be honest, I don’t mind the slower pace between expansions so much.  Right now, Threnn, Anna and Davien are about as well-geared as they’re going to be until Cata greens replace Wrath epics.  PvE-wise, I can concentrate on finding some new shinies for Lyr and leveling my baby shaman.  I’m in no rush for him — he’s been around since 2006 and is still wandering around in Stranglethorn.

RP-wise, it’s quiet for all my characters, and again, that’s okay by me.  If something interesting comes along, they can join in, but meanwhile, they’re doing their day-to-day things, enjoying a little while where the world isn’t falling apart.  I have a couple of loose ends to tie up for Davien, and some others for Annalea that will probably carry into a story line for her in Cataclysm.  Threnn and Bricu are planning for the future, figuring out what they want to do now that the world’s a safer place for their daughter.  Y’know, for now.

What goals do you have left for yourself in Wrath?  Any alts you’d like to cap or gear?  Are there any achievements you’re after or reputations you’d like to max out?  Are there any storylines you haven’t had a chance to finish yet for your characters?

A whole lot will be changing in the starter zones — now’s your last chance to see the old Vanilla world, if there are any races or classes you haven’t explored yet (or if you’re up for some nostalgia.)

What about some silly fun?  Some of my hordie friends have been doing Iron Man runs — starting off in the lowbie dungeons with no gear, and equipping only what drops, then working their way up.

However, if you find yourself bored every time you log in, it’s also perfectly valid to take a WoW-break.  The game shouldn’t be an obligation or a chore, and if you’re hearing the siren song of DragonAge, Starcraft II, or going to the beach, go for it!

All right, readers, if you’re in the beta, tell us what you’re up to.  If you’re not, what’s keeping you busy in-game (or out of it, if you’re taking a break?)  Any advice for Jan?

Let us know!

Teleportation in its various forms is just a part of everyday life in WoW.  Mages burn a runestone and move themselves or their friends across continents.  Warlocks summon their friends through the nether.  Engineers — both goblin and gnomish — cobble devices together that transfer their users from one place to another.  They’re part of how your characters move from one part of Ulduar to another.  Or Icecrown Citadel.  Or even from Booty Bay to Gnomeregan.  You can summon your friends at meeting stones.   Some NPCs will even fling you gleefully about the world, if you ask them to.

And of course, there’s your trusty hearthstone, nestled snugly in your backpack from the moment you set foot in your starter zone.

There isn’t much in the way of mechanics explaining how it works, in-game.  It’s mostly just accepted: you’ve been given the spell, it does its job (even if it sometimes it doesn’t go quite as planned…)

So, for a little bit of Monday afternoon, oh-god-when-will-the-work-day-end fun, tell me about your characters’ experiences with teleporting — if they can teleport themselves or other people around, how does the magic (or the science!) work for them?  If they’re at the mercy of others, what does it feel like to be teleported or summoned around?  Does it make them nervous?  Do they say a prayer before stepping through a portal?  Are they disoriented when they come out on the other side?  Have there ever been any…complications?

Have at it!  Bonus points if your reply is in the form of a short fic!

Your mission: caption this action shot I found deep within my screenshot folder!

(Clicky for a larger version)

Unfortunately, the WoW.com article and many of its comments are an exercise in missing the point.

Says Schramm:

If you don’t like what your character is wearing, then you can find something else.

Well, sure we can, but why should we have to? If we like the stats on a particular piece of armor, why should we have to go looking for something comparable?  And what happens when one of those pieces belongs to our tier gear?  Up until 3.2, the Conqueror’s Aegis chestpieces were battle-bras.

Suck it up and get Tier 9?  Sure, the plate gear gets better, but what if a female rogue doesn’t want to flash her cleavage in her Triumphant VanCleef’s Battlegear?  What if female priests don’t want their midriffs bared to get their set bonuses?

Several commenters have a solution for this, of course:  “So wear a shirt underneath or put on your tabard to hide it.”

And again, that’s not the point. The point is, why should we have to? And, as several other people pointed out, putting on a shirt might slap a bandaid on the problem with chestpieces, but there’s no way to avoid the thong-and-thigh-high-boots on the legs.

Also peppered throughout the comments are suggestions that the bikini-armor should be made available to male characters.  I agree; it should — if you want to put your characters in those outfits, whether the avatar is male or female, that should be your choice. But “making both sides have skimpy outfits” isn’t the solution — you still have people who don’t want that kind of armor on any of their characters.

There’s the usual, sadly predictible amount of “get over it” and “you feminists hate fun” and “it’s just a game, gawd” in the comments, along with plenty of “suck it up, it’s the way the genre works” and “this game is marketed to men, so deal with it.”

As commenter Kylenne says on page four:

Not even 20 comments in and I’m already one square away from Anti-Feminist Gamer Bingo.

Yes.  This.  Here’s the thing:   if any player, of any sex, gender, or sexual orientation, would like their characters to wear those outfits, that’s okay. But the reverse needs to be true as well:  if a player is uncomfortable with those outfits, there needs to be an equal alternative that is just as easily obtained.

Schramm links to gamer Elsa’s post, “Me and My Chainmail Bikini,” in which she discusses why she occasionally misses her chainmail bikini while playing a fully-armored character in Dragon Age.  However, there’s a whole chunk of her post that discusses the flip side to it, conveniently left out by Schramm:

I have to admit that I have a love/hate relationship with my chainmail bikini. There’s something very liberating about prancing through the countryside slaying various beasts and critters while attired as a Dominatrix, but on a larger level it bothers me a bit. Mostly it’s an immersion issue. Being an “actual, real-live female” I KNOW that there is no way you can run through the forests wearing 3″ heels. I’ve worn high heels most of my adult life… I can walk fast in high heels, I can even run to catch a bus in high heels on a sidewalk – but there is no possible way in hell that I can run through the forests or across a bumpy meadow, battling bad guys or nasty critters while wearing 3″ spikey heels without breaking an ankle. It’s simply not possible! Reality also intercedes with the whole “boob” thing. Any woman with a C cup or more knows that it’s painful to run braless. You have to strap those puppies down… pushing them up just creates the potential for two black eyes. I always shudder when I see Lara and her massive mammaries “shimmy” along a wall and all I can think of is OUCH! It’s rather the equivalent of a guy seeing another guy getting kicked in the balls. Weather also plays an immersion role. I can’t help but be taken completely out of a game when I see my scantily clad siren skipping through a white winter wonderland in practically no clothing. Brrrrrr!!

Schramm also, disappointingly, seems to be dismissing the idea that the depiction of female avatars in body-baring armor might have an affect on how women view themselves:

Is this an issue, then? For this game, at this time, probably not. Most players of the game realize that not only do people not walk around every day wearing plate armor and wielding magical swords, but that most real-life people don’t try or have the interest in living up to any weird expectations of sexuality placed on them by a fantasy character.

We’ve got ourselves a logical fallacy right here, cats ‘n’ kittens.  Magic swords: not real.  Bodies like the ones depicted in WoW: nearly impossible to attain, but real.  (And before anyone hops in to point out that there aren’t people running around IRL with hooves and tails like the Draenei, I’m talking about the tiny waists and huge chests on the females, and the super-muscular barrel chests and perfect abs on the males.  But I’m pretty sure you knew that already, right?)  So yes, actually, real-life people do have “weird expectations of sexuality placed on them by a fantasy character.”  Every day, we’re told that this kind of body is acceptable — on tv, on the covers of magazines, in the movies.  That if we don’t look like that, we’re not good enough, not pretty enough, not worth as much as the people we’re told are beautiful.  The bodies and outfits in WoW perpetuate that.

I’m not sure Schramm actually read all of Elsa’s post, because she goes on to make the same point, with a plea to the developers:

Chainmail bikinis and the accompanying virtual gals that tend to wear them also promote a body image almost impossible for most real-life women to attain. Double D cups rarely accompany a 24″ waistline unless silicon or suction is involved somewhere. The proportions of these nubile young lasses continue to promote our North American obsession with plastic surgery, unhealthy diets and eating disorders. While sex sells, and games are still full of scantily clad, hormonally enhanced female and male body shapes (particularly in fighting games), I do think that things are gradually, slowly changing and devs can help play a role by promoting something just as sexy but a little more natural and realistic in terms of proportions. Please devs, no more double D cup boobs unless they are accompanied by the reality of a padded waistline that holds them up, or they sag down to sway and play peek-a-boo bellybutton. Attire can still be sexy, but please make it appropriate to the game’s environment and character’s actions. I think it’s quite possible to design sexy attire that is still practical.

Another argument that comes up in the comments is, “the game is fantasy. It’s escapism. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to play an idealized character if I want to?”  See above:  if that’s what and who you want to play, that’s okay. Right now, I’m all right with Threnn’s build:  she’s a paladin and a blacksmith — she should be toned.  But Annalea’s a priestess and a bard; her body shouldn’t be the exact same as Threnn’s, just with a different head.  I don’t believe that WoW’s graphics engine is ready for us to be able to customize body types, but if that becomes available, players should be able to create characters with whatever body types they’d like, including the ones available to us right now.

See, I’m not advocating that we take away the chainmail bikinis or the idealized bodies.  I’m advocating more variation in our choices.  Several players have spoken up on the WoW.com thread stating that they’re female players and love their chainmail.  It makes them feel empowered, that it’s cool for them to watch their avatar going toe to toe with the bad guys and kicking ass in next-to-nothing.

Say it with me: that’s okay.

For the commenters who suggest that feminists just want to take away their fun and dictate their video game experience, this is a big ol’ NO WE DON’T:  it’s okay to play whatever kind of character makes you happy, and we will support your choices on that because that’s how feminism works.

Someone in comments suggests that armor have a “gender toggle” — that if you want to see the bikini armor, you go into the same place where you choose to show helm/show cloak and check off “show gender armor.”  That commenter’s heart is in the right place, but it is still a solution that reinforces the stereotype.

“So, falconesse,” (asks the imaginary audience in my head) “are you just going to criticize everyone else’s solutions, or do you have a fix of your own to propose?”

Why, in fact I do!  I’m so glad I asked!

Don’t make it a toggle.  Make them into their own pieces, with their own separate item numbers — same stats, same tokens/badges/price to purchase them, just with different art.  We have the dressing-room feature, so let the player compare how the Nagasaur Breastplate of Badass looks in both full-chestpiece and battle bra versions, and choose which one he or she buys from the vendor.

Schramm does seem to believe that at some point, we will see games that allow for different body types:

I believe we’ll see more games and instances where these traditions are subverted, where our heroes aren’t manly men or sexy women, but real, actual people of all shapes and sizes.

Unfortunately, he follows that up with this:

But let’s be honest: just as some men have their traditional genres where depictions are skewed, so also do some women. And as long as people continue to support and invest in those genres and their conventions (and why wouldn’t they? It’s fun wearing crazy armor and killing bad guys!), they’ll be around in this form for a long time.

/facepalm

Because a sweeping generalization about a different genre’s the way to make your point, amirite?  Further, while some (but by no means all) romance novels do offer unrealistic depictions of men and women, that doesn’t justify it happening in our own genre.  The way to bring about change is to work towards it yourself and support other people who are working towards it as well.  You’re happy with the armor sets you have?  That’s great!  Let’s show some support for the players who would like a different kind of armor, so they can be happy with their armor sets, too.

It doesn’t fix everything, not by a long shot.  There’s still more objectification going on than I could shake a tree at, but Schramm is right on one point:  it’s going to take a long time to change attitudes and defeat stereotypes in any genre or medium, though the seeds of those changes are already starting to sprout here and there.  But at least, in the meantime, it’d be nice if my characters could cover up against the cold.

“Killing a lot of people probably fucks you up.” But let’s face it, most of the people we RP in WoW have killed lots of people. We’ve killed scarlets and trolls, grimtotems and sin’dorei. We have killed people. in fact, I would venture to say that this is probably the hardest thing that we have to deal with as RPers. In this, our characters are fundamental that different from us. They deal with that constantly.
–from Itanya’s reply to one of my points on the assassin thread.

There are thousands of quests available to us, from the moment we push the “enter world” button and zone in for the first time. In Elwynn and you go from killing wolves to kobolds to Defias before you ever leave Northshire.  Enter Deathknell, and you’re putting down Scourge first thing, then after some bats and spiders, you go hacking away at Scarlets. There’s blood all over your character’s hands before they ever set foot in their first inn and get a good night’s sleep.

So how do you deal with all of those “Go out and bring me his head” quests in-character?  If Bob killed Garrick Padfoot, what happens when you roll his brother Bill and have to do the same?  On top of that, is Bob likely to go out and slaughter the Defias en masse in the firstplace?  I’m trying to imagine Threnn hacking someone’s head off for a bounty for two silvers and a cloak and failing at it utterly.

Likewise, Davien would never have gone and wrought havoc upon the Hillsbrad farmers, then added insult to injury by poisoning their dog.

I definitely find myself reading the quest text to figure out whether or not whatever I’m about to do for gold or XP is in-character. Some things lend very well to character development — the Fordring quest chain in Eastern Plaguelands for Threnn, the Howling Fjord plague quests for Davien — but others don’t fit in so easily with who the characters are.

I’d love to hear both sides from you guys — has anyone out there ever considered every quest in-character? How did that affect how your character developed (or if it had no effect, why not)?

If you only consider some of them as canon for your PCs, tell us a bit about the characters and which quests were most significant for them. Which others did you do out-of-character (or not at all) because they were tasks your character would have avoided? Have any of your characters ever ICly refused to do a job they were given once they heard what the job entailed?

The story itself is one of desperation as the Scourge closed in, in those first days of the plague’s spread through Lordaeron.  What I noticed as my little deader shambled his way through the area, though, was how gorgeous it was.

Yes, it’s gloomy and dark and overrun by ghouls and skeletons, but the mills themselves, especially backlit by moonlight (as you can see in this flickr photoset), have an eerie kind of beauty about them.  The windmills stretch up into the night, the fields between them lie fallow.  While I think Elwynn Forest is one of the best put-together starting zones quest-wise, and while Azuremyst and Eversong are gorgeous in their own rights, I find Tirisfal to be the most visually stunning of the starter zones.

It might be that I’m slightly morbid; I’ll grant you that.

But here you are, looking on a countryside that’s been ravaged by plague. You’re travelling through a dead kingdom, and through the place where the brightest hope for humanity became its worst nightmare.  An immense sadness permeates the zone, but at the same time — especially when you reach Brill — there’s a stony defiance, too, a sense that its inhabitants will not only rebuild, but thrive.

Comparing Brill to Goldshire (and yes, leaving out the catgirl factor), I can’t help but feel that more care was put into Brill.  Goldshire is comprised of a handful of buildings right on top of one another.  Brill has its own main thoroughfare, including stables and a town hall.  Even its cemetery is impressive.

This evening I’ll get some screenshots up for you, but for now, I’m going to recommend you experience it for yourself, especially if you’ve never played a Forsaken.  Go take a ride through Tirisfal, or even better, a stroll.  Range northwest of Brill, to the Agamand Mills.  Go due north, to the coast and look out over the sea.  To the east, pause at the forgotten grave of Archbishop Alonsus Faol.

One caveat, of course. Brill looks amazing all decorated for the holiday, but since Hallow’s End is going on, you’re going to hear the Headless Horseman’s shouts all the time.  If that’s going to drive you crazy, I’d suggest either turning off in-game sounds or waiting until after the pumpkins and wickermen are packed away for another year.

In game, a character’s reputation–their relative fame within factions–is measured from Hated to Exalted. The mechanics of this feature has changed since launch, but the overall concept of how a character is perceived has not changed. The more deeds one does for a faction, the more said faction respects said character. It is a simple system, designed towards gear and keepsake items (like tabards) more than RP, so it does not truly work at describing how a character is viewed by particular factions in character.

There is no way to ICly track how a character’s reputation. There are no achievement points for winning a Icly story contest. While other players may express their gratitude for the RP event you ran, it doesn’t exactly translate into a discount to repairs and items sold by their character. And as people who are grinding for Champion Seals can attest to, it doesn’t matter how many times you save that stupid bastard Kul, he always seems to be held the next day in the same damn spot. In our relatively static environment, where reputation means only one thing and the quest to gain rep are repeatable, Fame is a purely IC concept. Yet, addressing fame, infamy and reputation in game can add a lot to our RP.

First and foremost, there is no one way to address this. RP, like raiding, is akin to herding cats. However, I think a few guideline can help an RPer work with the idea of fame and reputation:

• • Realism
  • • By realism I mean the natural “cause and effect” realism that exist in the real world as well as staying within the Lore of the game.   For instance, one cannot be a homicidal maniac, killing people indiscriminately, and still be loved by the entire populace.  In regards to lore, one should stay away from being related to, or overly friend with, key lore characters.  Yes, your toon may have ran into the Undercity with the Big Haired Idiot, but saying that your character saved Wrynn from an errant Forsaken crossbow bolt, and hence given a knighthood for it is stretching matters. Greatly.  Personally, I think of Lore Characters as museum pieces:  Interesting, for everyone to look at, only the researchers get to touch them and something to study.
  • Consistent
    • If one week a toon is hated by a faction and the next week they’re loved by the same faction, the RP is a broken.  Establishing trust or fixing a broken trust, are not quick things.  This takes time.  This is a long term story arc for a character.  For instance, Yva Darrows, The Ice Witch was a terror at Tarren Mill, a figure to be killed on sight.  After years of game play and development, she eventually earned a pardon from the crown for brining a number of Cult of the Damned agents, collaborators and sympathaizers to justice.  Her reputation proceeded her and she had to work exceptionally hard to return to the fold.  This included fic, RP dungeons, and old fashioned RP nights.  Did she get the pardon from Wrynn himelf?  Of course not.  Did she have an audience with him?  Nope.  Was it handled the same way one might handle the defection of a key agent or super spy….  Well, that’s not entirely my story to tell.
  • Respect
    • There is a lot of RP that I do not care for; however, it is not my place to tell someone how to spend their $14/month.  I can type out suggestions until the keyboard breaks, at the end of the day, a person may end up playing a Earl Jake Dunwana, a human warrior who earned his fiefdom by Wrynn’s life; however, he is a wanted man as he then tried kill Wrynn  over a percieved slight towards Earl Jake’s girlfriend, Jania Proudmoore.  Ignoring this RP and not associating with their RP is a far better solution than mocking them and deriding them.
    • Respect also means working with others in the RP circle to keep fame consistent throught the circle.  This kind of collaboration can also lead to additional developments for all the characters involved.
  • Public
    • Fame is a public thing.  This means we need to know what you did to become famous or infamous.  RP it out.  Fic it out.  Work with other players to brag about your reputation to the rest of your circle or server.  Some RP posts, such as, “Get to know your character” development posts ask questions about how a character is perceived in game.  Guild or Raid Websites are also a good opportunity to establish your characers reputation.

These are three simple ideas about reputation.  On Feathermoon, we have Raid Progression topic, a Character Development Topic and a number of fic posts.  TRI and the Wildfire Riders also have forums where character exploits are shared.  This is not all that one can do to establish, track and develop an ingame repuation–and I’m sure there are other ways to do it.  Sjhare with us how you share your toon’s exploits, how your main is regarded by the factions in Game and how you, the player, track that reputation!

One of my favorites is the Crowning Moment of Awesome,* in which

a fictional character does something for which they will be remembered forever, winning for them the eternal loyalty of fans.

I like this one especially, because if you notice, it doesn’t require any swashing or buckling, no need for witty banter or ultimate pwning of the baddest bad guy in the universe. Even the smallest moments can be filled with awesome — it all depends on the character, and where the moment fits into his or her story. It can happen in a crowd, in a small group, or even on one’s own.

It can come at any time during a story, not just the climactic scene, and can happen with more than one character. When a Forsaken rogue named Tikee arrived at Nox’ fire Barrens to drag Davien back to Undercity for her crimes, every Tauren in attendance barred her way. The moment was completely unplanned — simply one character after another getting up and RP walking their way over to stand between Tikee and my floppy-hatted mage — but it had an epic feel to it.

In-game, there’s Thrall’s return to Outland at the end of the Greatmother questline, or (let’s go old-school for a second, even though the chain is no longer in the game), the march through Stormwind with Marshall Windsor at the end of the Alliance-side Onyxia chain.

Your turn! What are some of your favorite CMoAs, either from WoW lore, or your own RP?

*There are tons and tons of CMoAs on the tropes site. I’ll digress briefly with my favorite one, from The West Wing. The first time I saw this episode, and heard the first notes of “Brothers In Arms” — just the low, low note of the guitar, I got chills. They didn’t stop until well after the credits rolled.

**I stand corrected, by Tarq himself, who needs to get his ass over here and post. <3

Every race has its religion, and certain classes might lend more easily to a character being devout (or not!)  As new content has been released, we find our PCs exposed to demons and demigods.  There’s also plenty of room for embellishment — looking back at the lore, worship of the Light seems to be relatively new for humans.  What came before that?  A few of our Northerner-players have filled in the blanks with some very cool ideas.

Along the same lines, troll lore is hard to chase down — part of it is probably the sheer numbers of tribes, each having their own patron gods, or variations on one another’s gods.  We got to see a bit more of it with Zul’Gurub and Zul’Aman, but there is still much that is left to your imagination.

There are dragons and titans and spirits of all kinds.  So much excellent fodder for RP.

Davien’s an atheist at heart.  She doesn’t believe in gods, really, though she acknowledges that there are beings with powers that far surpass her own.  She simply counts them as other races, their power worthy of respect (and, obviously, study), but not something to worship.  The closest she comes to religion stems from her study of the arcane — she believes it connects everything, and holds things together, but it’s not sentient; it’s a power to be tapped into and harnessed.  Malygos’ insanity and death have given her new things to ponder about magic and its nature.

Annalea felt that the Church of the Holy Light was far too stuffy for her tastes.  She grew up mostly going through the motions at services, but not much liking what she heard.  Then came the Kal’dorei and their moon goddess, and she headed off to the Temple of Elune to offer her services as an acolyte.  It’s a much more comfortable fit for her, but she’s far from devout.

Threnn has the strongest faith of the three.  She holds firm to the Light and its teachings, but unless someone else asks first, she keeps it to herself.  Faith and prayer are very private and personal for her.  When the Draenei came, and the Naaru with them, she suffered a minor crisis of faith.  Here was the very thing she worshiped, spinning around and making windchime noises in the middle of Shattrath.  She’s since decided that they’re creatures made from the Light, but they aren’t the Light itself.  After A’dal appeared at the end of the Bridenbrad quest chain in Icecrown, she lost a huge chunk of respect for them, and any lingering doubts as to whether or not she should worship the Naaru the way she does the Light went away.

What do your characters believe?  How has the lore that’s been revealed with new content affected or challenged those beliefs?