World of Warcraft®

So, I don't usually abscond Hordeside these days, but I find myself wanting to become more active in RP than I was before. Branch out, even. However, I am both painfully shy and woefully under-informed in certain areas. And so, nagged by the lack of information to be had, I am turning to you RP Community.
What are some of the customs of your race in RP? Are they martial? Do they divide themself by wealth classes or notoriety? What's the acceptable age of majority? Style of dress? Are there overwhelming class preferences among a certain race? What about their societal alignment?
Feed me your knowledge, for I starve in ignorance!

It would also be really, REALLY great if we could come together as a community and maybe post primers on this topic, for future RPers like me who don't get outside their sphere often, because of ignorance.

Also, I am truly interested in Blood Elves, Forsaken, Night Elves, Quel'Dorei and AU Draenei and AU Orcs.

Thanks muchly!

Heya Ket!

Surfing around I came upon this thread in the WrA forum about Blood Elves. Granted, it's based on standards and critiques of the Wyrmrest Accord realm, but it has some nifty thoughts and insights on the race as a whole. Something worth looking at and possibly discussing as a community.

[Master Post - Racial Lore Guides: Horde]
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1127125439

It would be fantastic if we could create something more pertinent to -our- realm. I'm interested in this project, so I'll gladly help out wherever I may! :D

Edit: As to BE, I am woefully ignorant...aside from basic lore that is. :/

Thanks Cale!
I'm honestly surprised this isn't a more common thing.

Yay! For the Horde!

Honestly you can get some nice insight into different races by paying close attention to quest text in their early leveling zones. Tirisfal, Silverpine, and Hillsbrad for the Forsaken are a perfect example of this. Even subtle things like the visuals of their towns and cities can be very telling which allows for a lot of ripe interpretation of their society and culture.

This is true, and certainly the racial Lore helps build a character. But what I'm more interested in, and worried about honestly, is the social norms of those races.
How does a new Blood Elf player approach the existing culture of the Sin'dorei? Where should they even begin?
What about a Forsaken? How do they fit in with their existing culture, when they are unknown and have little information to turn to?

Frankly, this is why I've always preferred playing Ketyru above any "conventional" characters. If she doesn't fit in, it's not because she's an outcast within her society (or my bedamnable bashfulness), it's because she has no proper society so she tries to fit in where and when she may.

I should write about it sometime. "Confessions of an Outcast: The Halforcen Diaries"

Anyhow. I've tried finding these social niches for characters before and, well, they either don't exist on CC/SoE or they're extremely exclusive to new players. I highly doubt the latter is true. Maybe on another realm, but surely not here!

Yea. It's definitely time to do some research.
*puts on safari hat and khaki shorts*

01/30/2015 12:22 PMPosted by Ketyrü

How does a new Blood Elf player approach the existing culture of the Sin'dorei? Where should they even begin?

Hmm. I rather like some of the things Allarya posted in the thread I linked above. Granted, again, her comments are geared toward the WrA community, but some of the customs, traditions, attitudes, social norms, and what-not are still rather viable (I think) when considering how to approach rp'ing -your- Sin'dorei.

Forgive for a moment the fact that she's -telling- you how to rp a belf, and pick out some of her council:

11/26/2010 07:25 PMPosted by Allarya

Blood elves play a subtle game with their politics and power struggles. Most of the power struggles seen in Silvermoon from RPers are duels or RP fights; this would not be tolerated by the guard unless it was taken outside, but moreover, this is not terribly characteristic of the culture. They are crafty people who prefer techniques like blackmail and playing the long game, which comes of their relatively long lives. Stop drawing your weapons and blasting people with your spells and start learning how to wound with words. Be patient. Be clever.

I offer this as perhaps once example for discussion. Here she points out that culturally Sin'dorei are less prone to acts of violence when engaging in any sort of intrigue. It's more in their nature to be passive-aggressive, cunning, and play the long-game. Even when "dueling" they tend to degrade and denigrate with words and social influence than drawing a sword and "have at ye!". Speaking within the bounds of the Silvermoon society. I can see where this would hold true if you chose to RP a noble-elf or lord of some sort.

If you chose a different direction for your Sin'dorei then I'd still think this would be viable info to consider when determining 'how' your character would approach any given situation.

I'd think some of the council offered in that linked thread would be a good place to begin for the new Sin'dorei RPer.

01/30/2015 12:22 PMPosted by Ketyrü

What about a Forsaken? How do they fit in with their existing culture, when they are unknown and have little information to turn to?

Going further into that thread she begins talking about more Horde races. About forsaken she began with this bit of insight:

You don't have to be bitter and angry - but you probably are. Consider this: everything your character had, they lost. Their house burned down, their family got killed or scattered all over Azeroth, their dog is probably dead, they were forced to help destroy their own kingdom and they were made slaves, prisoners in their own bodies. They haven't caught many breaks. For most people this translates over into feeling rather angry about the whole thing. There are exceptions of course. Some Forsaken have convinced themselves undeath is better than life ever was (true or not) and some simply see undeath as a "second chance". That said, consider your character's previous life as compared to now.

Emotions just aren't what they used to be. You're dead. Your heart doesn't beat, none of your organs really function and you don't really have blood pumping in your veins. Half of our emotional responses are based on physical cues. Our hearts race, our adrenaline gets pumping, we feel a tightness in our chest or that raw feeling at the back of your throat when you're about to cry. Forsaken don't really feel that. They know they feel angry or sad or happy or what have you - but half of the sensation is gone. It's different.

Some interesting points to consider when mulling over crafting your newly undead character. Some things I'd pull out of that first paragraph is to consider;

Where did my forsaken come from? Literally -where- within the kingdom of Lordaeron. That might have an influence on his/her own experience with their unique tragedy.
What was their station in life? That would be important to consider given that losing -all- of it would affect that character in one way or another.
Do they recall their time as a scourge? Some do, some don't. If you do, what was it like being trapped inside your body, your will bent to the Lich King's, being forced to commit unthinkable acts of atrocity? If you don't remember, how or why? How does that lack of memory affect you?...or does it even?

All of these things could have a bearing on gauging just how mournful, depressed, angry, bitter your character may be when you begin. Maybe they fit within the "second chance" group, in which case your forsaken could be delighted and enjoying their macabre nature. Their new "normal" would appear very disturbing to the casual human, afterall.

But what I'm more interested in, and worried about honestly, is the social norms of those races.
How does a new Blood Elf player approach the existing culture of the Sin'dorei? Where should they even begin?
What about a Forsaken? How do they fit in with their existing culture, when they are unknown and have little information to turn to?

Well... that last sentence in particular is the important one because you are asking about cultural norms and interactions of the races when they are not firmly set in stone for every player of WoW. In other words the proper way to play a goblin/belf/orc ect... will vary not only from server to server but even groups within a server could have very different interpretations of the lore.

The "purest" information you will be able to glean about a race is, again, through quest texts concerning members of that race and the personalities of the NPCs themselves. Anything any of us could add beyond that is merely our own interpretations and additions to the lore. I'm not saying you shouldn't listen to the opinions of others but at the end of the day everything you have heard could be rendered moot if you end up in a RP community with different views.

Speaking very broadly but most Horde RPers on CC/SoE are pretty relaxed when it comes to RPing social standings ect... of our characters. Perhaps that is out of necessity since playing chars that actively segregate themselves from other RPers (due to class, race, wealth ect...) is often too detrimental for a small community like ours.

With all this said... there is a lot of info that could be thrown on the table about the different races. Honestly the best advice I can give aside from really delving into what is provided in-game via quest texts is to focus on one aspect of a race's society rather than tackling the whole of it. For example Forsaken Deathstalkers have a radically different role, position, and outlook in Undercity than the Royal Apothecary Society. Thus what profession and class you are interested in could be a useful starting point in deciding where your character fits in.

Thanks Cail, Mormel <3 You've both been oodles of help! And I did read the WrA thread, and it was very useful indeed. Guess the only thing left to do is try to integrate!

01/30/2015 04:50 PMPosted by Mormel

For example Forsaken Deathstalkers have a radically different role, position, and outlook in Undercity than the Royal Apothecary Society. Thus what profession and class you are interested in could be a useful starting point in deciding where your character fits in.

That's some really good counsel and insight!

Blood Elves. How is their relation with High Elves?

I understand that they are essentially one in the same. Their only physical difference being that the Blood Elves chose to syphon off a demonic source when their sunwell was destroyed by Arthas (green eyes), and that his destruction of Silvermoon is the reason for their name "blood elves".
I also understand that the High Elves are generally understood to be aligned with the alliance, though they appear to mostly maintain a neutrality at the moment.
(Working within the Argent Dawn/Crusade and such neutral factions...at least that is where I see most of the High Elves to date. I'm not certain where the Silver Covenant stands, though it seems safe to speculate "with Jaina".)

Are they accepted within Silvermoon City?
The city is run/populated by Blood Elves, correct?
Is it safe to assume then that Silvermoon is a Blood Elf city?
Would the High Elves (or maybe 'a' High Elf) be accepted within the city or society?

----Edit----
My reason for asking is that I'm pondering the creation of an RP character in-game who is suppose to have been a young High Elf (possibly born) around the time of the Troll Wars. I still need to dig about and see if that lifespan is acceptable for a High Elf, but my initial googling seems to show its within the realm.
If a High Elf would be accepted within Silvermoon, then I'll create a Blood Elf mage and note in their MRP that they are High Elf with Blue Eyes.
If not, then I'll adapt and roll out a Blood Elf warlock who is, in fact, a Belf and I'll adapt their story accordingly.

Not attempting to be a special snowflake, just trying to be true to the character idea that I have in mind, who will tie into already existing character stories.

I'm not super duper ultra lore savvy when it comes to High Elves but I'll try to answer your questions Cail.

To cut straight to the point most High Elves are not exactly welcomed into Silvermoon with open arms. The few remaining High Elves we see are typically aligned to neutral factions, the Alliance, or the Silver Covenant (which violently threw out of Dalaran the Sunreavers).

Furthermore Blood Elves and High Elves have a pretty active level of contempt for one another in the same fashion two radically opposing political groups would. Belves resorted to fel energy to sustain themselves and followed Kaelthas in the beginning while High Elves immediately refused that path (and left or were exiled from the Elf homeland if I recall correctly). Thus Silvermoon to this day is firmly run and populated by Blood Elves.

Now that is not to say RPing a helf wouldn't work. A lot has changed in Silvermoon since TBC and we have even seen examples of High Elves working with the Horde (the Talador Mage Tower follower for example). However the recent actions of Jaina and the Silver Covenant certainly added more fuel to the animosity between belves and helves. At the very least any High Elf in Silvermoon would be treated with suspicion and be viewed as a potential Alliance spy.