Hello there! My name is Thyanel, and I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since 2007. In fact, the name I blog under is the name of my first serious character (a blood elf paladin). My hobbies in-game consist of roleplaying, a bit of dungeoneering, and mount collecting, although I have yet to make the 100 mount achievement. It’s a work in progress.

2. List some of your favorite toons.

My first real main back in the days of Burning Crusade was a paladin by the name of Thyanel. She was created back before I understood the concept of lore and applying it to my characters, so a lot of what went into the first iteration of Thyanel was definitely not lore-accurate. (We do not speak of that time. Ssh.) With Mists of Pandaria, however, she lives again. This time, she’s infinitely more lore-accurate and a priest instead of a paladin because I realized that was a better fit (for her and for me).

She’s on a Horse!

Once Wrath of the Lich King came out, my main became Adaret. Ada was a grumpy Forsaken shadow priest, and a lot of her personal story arc was wrapped up in Arthas and his destruction. Sadly, once Cataclysm came out, I realized Ada’s story was over, and I wasn’t really sure what to do with her. Her character has since been abandoned, but my love for my grumpy shadow priestess lives on.

Jinaki is also another one of mine, a troll who has gone through several profession changes before Cataclysm came out and she became a druid. It turned out that was pretty much where she was always destined to be; I just didn’t realize it at the time. She’s a little on the young side, and a bit loud, but I adore her. She tends to act first and think later, though, which gets her into trouble a bit. She also seems to lack a verbal filter.

Trolls can lift five times their own weight. That’s a fact!

I also play Eimhir Stonehaven (a little dwarf priest) on Feathermoon on occasion (who I have yet to completely figure out), and Eyota (a tauren druid) on Wyrmrest Accord.

3. Describe your philosophy of RP.

I’m not sure if there’s any real “philosophy” to my RP. I just try to have fun and play what interests me while trying to stay within the framework that Blizzard’s given us to play with. I mean, if I’m not going to have fun with my characters, then there’s really no point to playing them in the first place.

4. What was your favorite RP event? Why was it so good? Did you organize it?

I’ve been to a few large-ish RP events. On Thorium Brotherhood, one of the well-known troll roleplayers would host these troll-centric events that Jinaki would go to sometimes. It gave me a large appreciation for the troll culture as a result. They usually turned into parties by the end of them, though. You could argue that that’s how most troll events would end, especially on our server, but they really were a lot of fun. Sometimes, we’d even wind up dancing to show our appreciation for whatever loa we might be honoring at that particular event.

Capoeria or Step Up Vol’Jin Revolution?

I’ve also been to some organized tournaments, organized raids on the towns belonging to the opposing faction, and parties during the holidays of Azeroth. In spite of all that, though, nothing compares to tavern RP for me. It might seem like a strange choice, but in my experience, that’s when most characters tend to let their guards down and you learn more about them then than you ever would if they needed to be a soldier or a medic or what have you. They could be there with friends and swapping stories that you just happen to overhear, or they could need a drink to recover from the horrors of war. That’s the sort of RP I love. I love seeing little insights into what makes a character tick.

5. Have you organized RP before? How did it go? What did you learn from it?

Have I organized an RP event? Nope! I’m personally not cut out for event organization. I’m perfectly fine with poking someone in a channel and going “Hey, who wants to RP? I’m out here, but I can go anywhere”, but ask me to plan and organize an entire event? Yeah, not so much.

6. Talk about an A-ha moment for a Toon—a moment where all the RP clicked and you knew this was the story they were supposed to tell?

Adaret was my big one with this. Without meaning to, I fell in love with the character and her general look, but she had one huge flaw: she didn’t have a story. I had a general personality for her, but that was it. Some people I had spoken to were talking about trying to start up some Forsaken RP on my server, and I wanted to participate since these were awesome people. So, I started looking into the background of the race.

I remember reading about the grain and the curse, and there was a little snippet somewhere about how some of the priests had been involved in trying to find a cure for the curse of undeath, but they had failed, and just as I read that, things sort of fell into place. I realized that her hatred for Arthas came from having family in Stratholme. She was trying to help her family, and she ultimately got screwed over herself. That was why she was this grumpy little shadow priest. That was why she had embraced the teachings of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow. She blamed the Light just as much as she blamed Arthas for what happened to her family and to her. That’s when I knew Arthas’ fall was a huge part of her story.

7. If you could ask any RPer one question, what would you ask? What is your answer to your question?

I think if I was going to ask an RPer a question, it would probably be “what inspires you as a roleplayer?” I know, it’s the question that everyone gets asks and the one that can have a thousand different answers, but I always think it’s fun to see where people get their inspiration from.

As for me, my inspiration tends to come from everywhere. I’ve pulled personality traits from people I know, or a piece of lore will catch my interest and I’ll build a character around that. The Wrathgate battle is a big one for me, for example. A lot of my characters seem to use that as a catalyst for starting over again or enacting a huge change in their class specialization. Thyanel as a priest, for example, started experimenting with the shadow after her husband died at the Wrathgate when he couldn’t be ressurrected. Adaret wasn’t directly involved in the Wrathgate battle, but she was one of the refugees outside of Orgrimmar once Varimathras and Putress took over.

Long story short, I tend to pull things from wherever I can. Sometimes it works out. Other times, it doesn’t. Either way, I’ve learned something, and hopefully had fun trying.

Lady Constanza Montrose looked out from her balcony in Stormwind, took a deep breathe of the warm, summer air and wished for the entire bloody city to burn. Not the now-familiar dragon-fire that nearly sacked the entire city, but the familiar, Scourge fires that still burned in Stratholme. It was not too long ago that this would have been a real possibility: That the combined armies of the horde and the bloody alliance would be far, far too busy dying in The Lich King’s citadel to deal with the war at home.

Then Magdalena Maunt, that wretched woman, squandered everything on revenge. She was foolish, wasteful, prideful and better off dead. That though gave Lady Constanza some small comfort. Comfort enough to smile for a brief moment.

It was a brief moment, ruined by the recent past. Maggie’s squandered resources set the entire Stormwind cell on edge. And by the time it was settled…

“Bloody dragon,” she said to no one in particular.

Just as she consolidated her rule, Deathwing wreaked havoc on the city. She should have seen it coming. When her rank-n-file started reporting the new cult, she should have done more to either remove them or co-opt… But that was neither here nor there. She absently began to twist the ring; the white ring around her ring finger.

She did what she always did: she rebuilt. It was a long, hard slog, but Lady Constanza had her people and her city back. This time, she was ready to deal with anyone who got in her way.

“IVOR!” She shouted as she walked back into the manse. “Come here. We have work to do.”

Step Three of dealing with issues in WoW is implementing and assessing what you problem solved in step two. This is the part of the plan that has a tendency to fall through. It’s really easy to come up with a few plans that seem positively brilliant… But they fall short when we try to accomplish too much.

Breaking down a plan into small, confidence building steps is key to reigniting the spark. It’s tempting, once you have a plan you love, to do as much as possible as quickly as you can.

This may be how you burned out in the first place.

Go slowly. Enjoy the RP. Let it build. Enjoy it for what it is: Sharing stories with people you want to be with.

The next common stumbling block is the lack of a critical eye on the plan and its implementation. Simply following a plan isn’t enough to rekindle RP. Sometimes, a plan needs to be scrapped as the story just doesn’t go anywhere. Take time to review and revise the plan. Remember that the plan is supposed to help get you to your goal of more RP and shaking the blues. If something better comes along, by all means, go for it.

Be critical, be flexible, but by all means, enjoy it. If the RP isn’t happening or it isn’t fun, then what’s the point?

Fact is folks, hurdles can be jumped. But action alone will only burn you out again. Careful planning and evaluations can not just beat the burnout, but bring you back to the story.

Anyone else got tips, tricks or hurdles they’d like to share? Fill us in!

We're the Wildfire Riders, who the Fuck are You?

Oh, dear readers, we are still here and kicking it old school on US-Feathermoon. In fact, after a wonderful two week vacation, including a 4 day stay in Seattle visiting with nerds of all kinds and creeds (read: Dirty Hordies), the WTTRP Blog is back and ready to address a significant issue in RP: Fear of the Bad-Ass.

What is this concern? I think Thyanel stated it best on her twitter feed:

Dear Sunwalkers: Stop looking awesome. I have no ideas for RPing one of you.

I’ve said it before that Bricu is my one and only main. I’ve played him since launch and he’s been Ret since level 10. I have rolled a few alts here and there, but until Cataclysm, I have not been interested in rolling something new.

Then we have this:

Tauren Paladin – Commisssion by *MaroBot on deviantART

Tauren Paladins epitomize bad-ass. They intimidate me.   So I completely understand where Thyanel is coming from. This race/class combo is so hard core, I don’t really know where to start with it. I can see the story just emanating from them…but I can’t write it.

Your badass combo maybe different.  Maybe it’s  a Forsaken Hunters or a Dwarf Shaman. While I want everyone to share with us, in the comments, their favorite badass combo–old or new–I think we need to figure out a way to remove the awe from the awesome combination and work on a way to RP these classes.

-
First and foremost, I think the place to start with this task is the Lore of the race in question. In short, one should figure out the history of the race, both Pre and Post Cataclysm. For extra credit, see what happened to the race’s cities and cultural centers during the Cataclysm itself.

Then look into the original lore of the Class. Who are the icons of the class?  What happened to these icons? What inspires you in regards to this class?  For instance: Tauren in Tier Two is an image that would make cynical Bricu applaud in appreciation.

Armed with the background on both class and race, see if you can find the quest or in game text that introduces your combination. You may need to apply a wee bit of search-fu to find it, but I promise you there will be something for you on the internet. The in-game lore, combined with the pre and post Cata lore on the races and classes will give you an understanding of how this particular combination came to pass. It will put you on a theoretical footing to start deconstructing the stories you are afraid to deal with.

But theory is only part one: Getting your Lore. Part two is more fun. Take your current main and ask the question: “How does my main feel about this?”

Indulge me for a second as Bricu answers:

“I’d rather have a Tauren Paladin at me side than some o’these fuckin’ wankers that live in Stormwind. I’d follow a Tauren Highlord ta the end o’the Nether itself.”

Sadly for Bricu, he only has one tauren acquaintance. His opinion lodge firmly in my head, I have a perspective from which to approach the combo.  The theory gives me a solid foundation and my main’s opinion gives me a method for apply it in game.  It dims the Awe enough for me to get the idea of a Tauren Paladin. A real Sunwalker. Someone who has drifted from the shamanistic and druid teachings, but is still dedicated to healing the land and their fellows…

This is how I would take the shine off the character so I could write the story. I’m sure there are other ways…and other bad ass combos. Please, fill us in!

When I was regularly picking up single issue comics, my favorite issues were “A Day in the Life.” Just a few panels of art and story about how one of my heroes spent an average day. We’ve been enjoying Cataclysm for months now, and we’ve returned to some sort of an RP routine. What we want is for you to submit that routine.

Do you have a piece of art, or a bit of fic (1,000 words or less), that you would like to submit to WTTRP? Drop us a line in the comments or at our customer service email stfuarrens at wttrp.com . We want to hear about your character’s average day!

“See that slick-ear squire?” Bricu nods to the blonde blood-elf in full plate with a two-handed sword strapped to her back. The hilt, a beautifully sculpted phoneix, is clearly visible.

“Her name is Dorri, an’ she’s the other wonky git in charge o’the Slick Ear guild, the Prophecy o’Light. What yer not afraid o’a Blood Elf… Then yer a bloody fool. I’ve seen that one take down blokes twice her size in a Rose Tourney. The only thing that kept the poor tosser alive was someone else sayin’ the fight’s o’er an’ her bloke shoutin’ fer her ta stand down. That was with a Tauren that they associate with from time ta time. They like him. Imagine what she’d do ta yeh, some pissant she doesn’t e’en recognize?

“Still don’t believe me? I saw her at the Battle fer the Undercity a while back. She an’ her bloke, Keltyr. They were on the front line, takin’ back what was stolen….an when his Highness, the Mighty Chin, ordered an attack, they lept up ta counter charge. They killed at least two folk ‘fore Jania stopped the madness. Two folk in the blink o’yer beady little eyes. Think the only reason why they didn’t go fer me wasn’t the Black n’Red, but the fact that I was holdin’ folk back from followin’ The Chin’s orders. At least, that’s the rumor I heard… So if yeh want to go get yer arse handed back ta yeh, go ahead. Pick the fight. I’m gonna stand here an’ take bets on her.”

–
Dorritow aka Corspilla aka Tarelyn is an old school feathermooninite who has, in person, laughed at me. Not with me, at me. She is a brilliant RPer, Raid Leader and a supportive friend.

In the Pig. Notice the abundance of druids, and Fells with bunny ears.

Welcome to the projective test edition of WTTRP. Describe the scene and what’s going on here, and we can have one of our qualified mental health professionals diagnosis your unconscious.

THERE BE A TIMELINE SPOILER HERE.

The credit for this screenshot is all due to one Haemon of US-Feathermoon.

The text from the Secret Journal reads:

I can hardly believe it. We’ve endured this hardship for four long years. But soon it will be over. The Brotherhood will be reborn and we will wash across this land as a flood to cleanse it of its filth and corruption

According to my extremely reliable source, this item is part of a quest that refers to the Defias Brotherhood. It’s been four LONG years since the death of Edwin Van Cleef. We’re a bit closer to sussing out the timeline from Wrath to Cataclysm.

Bricu becomes king of Stormwind in Cataclysm

The changes we’re facing in Cataclysm might be just as dramatic–but not as absurd–as the picture above. If you’re one of the lucky RPers who has a pre-planned Epic Story to fill in during this Lull, you may not feel the same tedium that a number of your peers are experiencing. Personally, I think trying to plan an epic in a post-Arthas world, with the number of weeks before pre-Cata content starts, is far too difficult to accomplish. I also think that it’s unnecessary. RP doesn’t have to be epic to be successful.

Pen and Paper RPGS refer to the gap between major events/chapters as “Downtime.” This is where one would tell their GM that their character would be, “training, going to dinner parties and maybe buy a house.” Depending on the level of complexity of the downtime-event, one would either assume that it happens, make a few dice rolls to see how it happens OR RP it out. While it is safe to assume that Blizz is going to give us some hint as to how much time passes between content releases, WoW RPers cannot just say, “X happens to Y player.” We need to RP during our downtime.

Downtime will give RPers a perfect opportunity to prepare for the Cataclysm. Rogues and Ne’er-do-Wells may use this time to begin to craft persona’s, disguises and insinuate themselves in the right social circles. Gnomes–especially those who will be rerolling as priests–may find that their arcane research is taking a more spiritual bent, especially given the success of the Crusade. Dwarven artists might find that their mediums–stone, paint, their painting subjects–are whispering to them. Trolls, who listen to their Loa’s, may find that other spirits are beginning to clamor for their attention. Certain Tauren may be listening more to An’She than to the Earthmother. A Human warrior may start hunting in Elwynn forest, only to find that they prefer Archery to swordplay (and maybe they find a wounded wolf cub…) RPing these interactions can set the stage for your character’s transition in Cataclysm.

Dinner Parties, Pub Crawls and other small events that we discussed (however briefly) yesterday can occur during one’s regular RP time. Take the opportunity to hear how other characters have addressed the end of the Lich King. Downtime is another great opportunity to find, meet and develop RP relationships with new RPers.

Last, but not least, this Downtime is a great opportunity to develop your character’s “homefront.” Given the lack of new content, is your Paladin patrolling Westfall? Is your priest working with those traumatized by the Horrors of Icecrown Citadel? Maybe said Priest is trying “experimental therapies” by leading parties into the Citadel to help their patients heal. Maybe your Mage is finally going to open that school they’ve been dreaming of–so RP night can become Arcane 101 Lecture night.

Downtime is an essential part of any RP session. While traditional RPGs let us breeze through it, in WoW we have the opportunity to set up and explore this aspect in more detail. Personally, I think this is the time to explore some of the upcoming changes in a positive manner…

…of course, some of the changes will be more dramatic. More on that later.

How are you dealing with the Downtime? Fill us in!

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

(Clicky for a larger version)