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Hello there! I'm a new roleplayer (I started this summer), and I was contemplating roleplaying a savagekin. However, I was unsure if such is encouraged. I was also uncertain what races would generally be acceptable. Can all races performing druidism become savagekin, or is it mainly just Night Elves? Any help and advice/tips/etc will be greatly appreciated! =)

Hi there, and welcome to the World's End Tavern!

I think I read a thread like this, but I wasn't completely familiar with the lore of a savagekin. So I looked it up here: http://www.wowpedia.org/Savagekin

The most primal of druids, savagekin bear an ancient but obscure legacy. Whereas some druids seek to command nature or bond with it, the savagekin surrenders himself to the natural world, abandoning much of his humanity to live with the beasts. Those who adopt this role may find they pay a steep price for power.
Savagekin are druids who spend most of their time in animal form. They travel in packs with their fellow beasts. As animals they gain strength and finesse, but come close to becoming irreversibly feral. Savagekin constantly battle the inner beasts that threaten to consume them, clinging to their last vestiges of sentience.
Half-elves, who straddle the world between human and elf, and night elves are the most common savagekin, though hermitic humans who wish to be closer to the animal world occasionally adopt this class. Most people think of savagekin only as "druids who've gone feral." Savagekin hate species that practice cruelty toward animals (particularly ogres, though some humans and orcs qualify), and usually adventure solely to hunt them down and kill them.
The savagekin may remain in animal form indefinitely. In addition, returning to his natural (humanoid) form is difficult; savagekin enjoy their wild shapes and prefer remaining in animal form. The savagekin may speak with animals at will, while in wild shape. While in animal form, the savagekin may fly into a rage. A savagekin can invoke the power of tooth and claw. When in animal form, the savagekin’s natural weapons sharpen and his hide toughens. The savagekin can draw upon the feral forces of nature to increase his physical abilities. The savagekin may adopt the shape of her animal companion, if he has one. The savagekin may use wild shape to assume the shape of any animal with which she is familiar.

I also did a forum search on "Savagekin" to see what general opinions from the RP community are out there regarding the subject. Now, I'm not speaking out of any authority here, but I'm just offering my opinion and I hope it can help in some small way.

The idea isn't completely discouraged, though there is a noted disadvantage in that, as a savagekin, you are unlikely to spend much time in a city, where the majority of RP occurs. There seems to be a stigma about using the savagekin idea to roleplay a "cuddly bear/cat/seal" but judging by your post, you seem like you have a serious interest in RP and I don't think it's necessary to warn you against that.

Any race should be acceptable, as all it seems to take is an interest from a druid to become closer to nature and surrender their selves into their feral form (though there is a mental battle to retain sanity, which stands a stark contrast to that). If you pick a Worgen, I suppose they haven't been druids very long and you might want to RP a druid who is in their early transformation to embracing a savagekin lifestyle. Tauren, Night Elves, and Trolls shouldn't have that problem.

I think you should either A) Roleplay as a druid who is in an early stage of savagekin transformation, still retaining a lot of their sentience, or B) Roleplay a former savagekin who is battling to regain normalcy. In either scenario, shifting between forms should be no trivial matter and their personality should still be very tinged by the wild tendency's of a savagekin. Once you pick one of those lettered options, I would also add C) Construct the story so that your savagekin has an incentive to go to wherever the RP hotspots are, possibly based on friendship with one or more inhabitants there.

I hope my advice was helpful and you figure out an answer to your questions. And I hope you have fun RPing. :)

The only problem with playing Savagekin is that they would be very boring to play correctly. Your character would never enter cities, and would basically be locked into never leaving forests/jungles.

...

So is playing a savagekin impossible? No, not at all. Is playing a savagekin correctly extremely boring and limits your RP to extremes? Yes.

I agree. That's why I would heavily advise rather than strictly RPing a savagekin, instead RP something either beginning or transitioning out of that state. Which, while never proven as possible, I think sounds plausible as the whole state of being a savagekin is a struggle between two opposing forces.

I would disagree with finding playing a race boring. Limitations are what makes your character. And in Rping, you don't need to follow the games mechanics. Sure you can enter cities, but you will have the guards eyes on you. you may view other characters as food, and classify them as such. (I did this, and others seemed to enjoy it.)

Heck playing a snake that talks, not naga, like the critters you one shot in the game. In the world of RPing, it works.
So I would say to go for it, no clue what they are, but it can work.

Actually there is something of a loophole to the Savagekin only being in forests or jungles, it's similar to the one I'm going to use for my eventual Demon Hunter. Note: This is the idea for my Demon Hunter, it would take tweaking for this to work for a Savagekin character considering differing motivations on both sides.

As is known, Demon Hunters are considered pariahs in both factions and generally go into self-imposed exile to avoid confrontations that may result in bloodshed inside of cities. This is somewhat similar to Savagekin, except their 'exile' is more because they are at home in the wilds rather than them being feared or hated. Now, because it would be rather dull to have a character like a Demon Hunter go into a city ICly once or twice a month, I worked out the idea that being a Demon Hunter obviously doesn't pay much, and one cannot live on just what one hunts alone, especially considering it's hard to hunt normal creatures while blind. So, the character basically took up a job as a bodyguard to pay to keep food on the table, and it would give a reason for him to be found within cities.

Now, onto how this can work for a Savagekin. At the bare bones of the situation, if you go with a Night Elf you could have your character be a guardian or companion of another Night Elf (Granted this would work for any of them, just going with Night Elf for ease), which would give a reason for them to be within the city. Now, this wouldn't be a savagekin in the full swing of his or her transformation, but rather one who still retains enough control not to go around rending throats if someone says 'I had to shoot a gopher that was eating my turnips'.

I just realized my druid is very much like a savagekin @_@

I posted a message, though I'm not sure if it appeared properly.

I just want to tell everyone thank you! I really appreciate all of the advice and information you've given me, and it's been really useful! =)

Awesome forum! :) I've been looking into the savagekin a lot lately, and they've really begun to spark my imagination and interest.
Though, I was looking more towards moonkin savagekin, and how that would be possible? I mean, they are feral creatures, but are normally docile in WoW lore and are even able to communicate with night elves on a very minute level: to the point where they understand darnassian.
I mean, it'd obviously be best to RP them in Darkshore, possibly in or around Lor'Danel and Auberdine.
But under what circumstances could you bring a feral moonkin into a city such as Darnassus, or (even a harder concept) Stormwind?

I've been researching quite a bit into the whole savagekin idea, here's another link that may help anyone else who is looking into it :D
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1302976212

I know I'm extremely late to this thread, but better late than never!

As someone who has been RPing as a Troll Druid Savagekin, let me say this... it is very difficult to do correctly. I really don't recommend it for beginners.

You need to do a lot of research before you start. Such as, if you plan to RP as a tiger, you need to know the ins and outs of tiger behavior. For instance, tigers cannot purr. Every miniscule detail is important. And you can pretty much kiss the old days of RPing in cities and meeting new random people. You have to prearrange meetings with other players outside of the usual RP areas.

Either way, good luck in your RP journey!

04/30/2012 06:26 AMPosted by Zinhuju

I know I'm extremely late to this thread, but better late than never!

False.

Let dead threads lie.

04/30/2012 07:11 AMPosted by Istella

Let dead threads lie.

Not necessarily. Sure, its a necro, but it does offer useful insight and allows people who google for RPing savagekins with an in-depth answer from a person who has experience. A new thread with reference to this would be fine too.

01/01/2011 01:00 PMPosted by Amkira

Hello there! I'm a new roleplayer (I started this summer), and I was contemplating roleplaying a savagekin. However, I was unsure if such is encouraged. I was also uncertain what races would generally be acceptable. Can all races performing druidism become savagekin, or is it mainly just Night Elves? Any help and advice/tips/etc will be greatly appreciated! =)

How exactly are you planning on doing this roleplay? By their own nature, the last thing that you should be doing is wandering into Stormwind or Ironforge. Heck, even Darnassus would be problematic. It'd be appropriate if you're planning on doing the bulk of your roleplay where savagekin should be found.... in the woods.... the deeper and more savage the better.

The absolute worst thing you could do would be to use this as an excuse to play a house cat.

One more thing that scratches my bark with savagekin roleplayers.

Those that put in "telepathy" in their animal forms.

This thread is so ancient it's decomposed into a little pile of dust. I haven't even seen anyone who posted in it pre-necro around the forums in months.

Start a new thread if you think the topic bears discussing but stop bumping it!