The grace between Light and dark: Roleplaying the priest

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

One might assume that a priest is a benevolent servant of the Light, or Elune, or An'she, or whatever deity they happen to follow. Consumed with the Light's grace, a priest seeks to heal, drawn to the task by an innate need to heal and mend. For a priest, the world is a place full of lost, suffering souls waiting to be mended and healed, the gratitude of those mended being all that a priest needs. Humble, polite, quiet, the priest is a creature of benevolence and purity, an example for all those lost souls to follow.

One would be quite wrong in that assumption.

Priests are just as complex, perhaps even more so than every other class on Azeroth. While some are drawn to healing like a moth to a flame, there are others drawn to the darker side. A priest can harm just as well as heal -- in fact, they may be more deadly than even those dark practitioners of fel magics. For what makes for suffering more than a creature who knows quite intimately, inside and out, the inner workings of organs and mind?

Priests are terribly interesting creatures, and make for even more interesting roleplay.

Who you are

Your priest's background depends on his race, when it comes to the priesthood. Humans began the priesthood on the Eastern Kingdoms with the Church of the Holy Light, and taught these practices to the dwarves and high elves -- later blood elves -- that called the continent home. Much like the paladins, human priests tend to follow the same tenets of the Holy Light that their plate-wearing cousins do. But there are many other races that practice the art of the priest. In fact, orcs are the only race on Azeroth that can't.

For the draenei, their origins extend back in time to their lessons with the naaru upon escaping Argus. For the night elves, priests are devotees of the goddess Elune. For the tauren, who have only recently begun experimenting with the ways of both paladin and priest, An'she lights the way. For gnomes, the tenets of the Light are something meant to be studied and researched, combined with technology in delightful, if sometimes confusing, ways. And for goblins, the Light is just another bargaining chip on the table, for the most part.

It's the Forsaken that have the most bizarre relationship to the Light. As former humans, they were followers of the Church of the Holy Light just like any other human on Azeroth. But when they died, when they came back, that connection was gone. To many Forsaken, the Light has abandoned them. Only the most dedicated and persevering Forsaken can really master the ways of the Light, and for good reason -- the use of the Light hurts.

Without spoiling too much, we can tell you that wielding the Light is a matter of having willpower or faith in one's own ability to do it. For the undead (and Forsaken), this requires such a great deal of willpower that it is exceedingly rare, especially since it is self-destructive. When undead channel the Light, it feels as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light are effectively cauterized by the effect: sure, the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower. -- Ask a CDev, Round 1

So what brings a priest to the priesthood? That's the question that you need to ask in regards to your character. Was he part of a long line of priests, simply following his expected path? Did he feel the Light call him to the priesthood -- and if so, what was he before he followed that path? If your character is a Forsaken, what is that spark that keeps him clinging to the Light, even though the Light is doing its best to burn him away? If your character is a gnome, what drew him to study the Light over any other number of fascinating paths of study out there in the world?
What defines you, and why you fight

It's the answer to that question that will tell you a lot about the character you've created. Is he a benevolent person, bent on good will and kindness to others, or is there something else that keeps him getting out of bed in the morning? What drives him to heal?

Yet there is a dual-nature to the priest that is unlike any other class out there. A priest can be dedicated to healing, or dedicated to damage in the form of shadow magic. Not to be confused with the fel magic of warlocks, the magic of shadow is a completely different thing. Most of what we know about shadow magic originates from the WoW RPG books, so keep in mind this information may not be canon, and is open to interpretation.

The concept of shadow is one of balance -- where there is light, there is always shadow. Hold your hand up to a light source, and you'll see it -- the shadow your hand creates. In a way, the priest is the hand standing between the two, and can draw from either side. The only known organization of shadow magic is the Cult of Forgotten Shadow, established by Forsaken priests as an alternative to the Church of the Holy Light. And just as the Church has its set of tenets to follow, so does the Cult, in a complete juxtaposition of what the Light teaches.

Where the Church of the Holy Light teaches the three virtues of Respect, Tenacity, and Compassion, the Cult of Forgotten Shadow teaches the three virtues of Respect, Tenacity and Power. Where the Light brings about positive emotions like hope, courage and comfort, the shadow does just the opposite, warping the mind and bringing about feelings of fear, doubt and despair. You can read more about the Cult of Forgotten Shadow and the teachings of that order on Wowpedia -- although the information is taken from the RPG guides and may not necessarily be canon, it offers all kinds of food for thought for a roleplayer.

Interaction with others

A priest is a character with a dual nature unlike any other in Warcraft. But priests by and large are some of the most trusted members of society -- those that heal tend to inspire both confidence and trust in others. A priest isn't likely to have any problems being social around other characters, especially if it means that they can continue to spread the message of hope and comfort that the Light brings.

Keep in mind that a shadow priest isn't necessarily an evil creature. Unlike warlocks, who tend to follow the path out of a keen desire for power, shadow priests are fulfilling a role that calls for balance in the world. If there is Light, there must be shadow -- if there are holy priests, there must be shadow as well. A priest that practices the art of shadow is not automatically doing so for the sake of power or greed, the reasons are often far more complex. A shadow priest is just as likely to be social as a priest of the Light.

For night elves and tauren, the story differs slightly, just because of origin. A night elf priest is a follower of Elune, and while the teachings of Elune and the tenets of the Holy Light are similar, they are not exactly the same. Elune and An'she are deities. While the Light is something to be respected and followed by the other races, it does not have a representation like Elune or An'she. The closest other thing to a deity might be the naaru for the draenei -- but the naaru are not really gods to the draenei, merely beings of higher power.

Troll priests also follow a more direct representation of the Light, but it's more polytheistic in nature than monotheistic like the tauren or night elves. The priests of the trolls are more witch doctor than practitioner of the Light, drawing upon the spirits of the Loa or the beings around them to heal or harm. The Loa are the spirits of powerful beings, either troll or animal, that have transcended death and remain to help or harm those that are still among the living.

Whether to heal or harm, the priests of the world live in a precarious balance that acknowledges not so much the balance of the world around us, but the balance that exists within ourselves, and how that balance is reflected in the rest of the world. Priests can be good or evil, right or wrong, social or introspective -- the possibilities are endless. And while playing a spiritual character may not seem appealing to all, the priests of Azeroth offer some incredibly compelling roleplay.

All the World's a Stage is your source for roleplaying ideas, innovations and ironies. Let us help you imagine what it's like to sacrifice spells for the story, totally immerse yourself in your roleplaying or even RP on a non-RP realm Tags: featured, guide, guide-to-lore, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

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Embracing the darkness: Roleplaying the warlock

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.
You want evil? Forget the warriors of the world, scoff at the rogues and give the mages of Azeroth a collective raspberry. Let's face it, nothing is as seductive as embracing the powers of darkness, harnessing fel energies and twisting them at your whim. Nothing is as addictive as the sweet thrill of control, and warlocks are all about control.

You want danger? How about following a path that leads to ultimate corruption for the majority of those that choose to tread it? How about harnessing demonic entities, never knowing whether they will serve you, or turn on you -- crushing your body into a fine mist, your bones to dust? How about having your very soul hang in balance between control and chaos, ready to teeter either way at a moment's notice?

The life of a warlock is incredibly interesting, and far from what any would call remotely sane.

Who you are

What is a warlock? In most cases, a warlock was someone else, once upon a time -- a student of another area of magic. Yet when presented with the option to follow a darker path, one that delved into the fel, dark magic of shadow, said student took that option willingly, even eagerly. Warlocks first appeared on Azeroth during the First War, when Gul'dan led the Horde through the Dark Portal and invaded Azeroth in the name of the Burning Legion.

Prior to that ... warlocks weren't really on Azeroth at all. Oh, there were tales of wicked mages gone wrong, of necromancy, of darker areas of magical study, but those areas were forbidden. And there may have been a few that dared to open these tomes of dark magic, but they were quickly dealt with. Gul'dan was the first of the orc warlocks, a former shaman who was so obsessed with power that he eagerly took what Kil'jaeden offered without a second thought.

And before Gul'dan, there were the eredar from which the draenei originated. These eredar chose to follow Sargeras willingly, and as a result turned their studies from arcane magics to fel. It seems to be a common running theme for all races of warlock, regardless of the origins of that race. In a way, factional lines almost don't really matter to a warlock -- what matters is power, in any way it can be grasped.

Most warlocks were another class at some point in their lives -- many of them mages at one point in time or another. But when presented with the choice of more power, they chose power, regardless of the risk involved. And for some, it wasn't about the power at all. After the arrival of Gul'dan and his cavalcade of warlocks, the other races of Azeroth slowly began practicing the dark arts. While some may have been attracted to power, others thought the best way to defeat an enemy was to learn how that enemy worked. Thus, to beat the warlock, you must become the warlock.

For someone roleplaying a warlock, the question then becomes who was your character, before he turned to this path of fel magic and shadow? Was he a mage, bored to tears with the intricate studies of the arcane, wishing for something more? Was he a paladin, tempted to darkness and choosing to forgo the Light altogether in a bid for power? Was he a shaman, a druid, who decided to trade up on the scale of manageable power and move on from grasping roots to powerful infernals? Or was he simply a caster who decided to turn to the dark arts as a means of combating them?

What was your character's family like? Were they all relatively nice, normal people? Was there a practitioner of the dark arts somewhere along the family tree? Was there some influential person along the way who bent his ear and told him this was a path of unimaginable power and prestige?

What defines you, and why you fight

For a warlock, it's mostly all about that power and the prestige that comes along with it. Let's face it -- no sane person would willingly traffic with demons because they thought it would be a particularly fun time. Most sane individuals would quickly back away from something thought of as evil or wrong. Yet warlocks aren't exactly the most sane of individuals. Think of the power-mad mages of the Kirin Tor, and then crank the dial up another couple hundred notches, and you've got yourself a warlock.

This doesn't mean that all warlocks are completely insane. To the contrary, a warlock has to have incredible amounts of self-control in order to keep a demon bound in servitude. A warlock is a master of power -- how to access it, how to wield it, and how to keep it firmly in check. What's more, a warlock is completely aware of how much power he wields. More often than not, he's proud of it, and stands above those with less -- particularly those meddlesome mages who were too cowardly to embrace the power that the dark has to offer.

So what makes a warlock fight? Power. But that's the easy answer, of course -- the truth is, it's up to the individual warlock in question. What makes your character fight for the Alliance or the Horde? What makes him run errands for the NPCs he encounters in game? Is it the promise of more power? Is it the idea that he'll get to demonstrate his power to those around him? Is it the potential of finding more power to learn, master and control, out in the wild?

Is your character egotistical, believing himself to be better than those around him? Or is he constantly watching, observing, taking in the actions of those around him and filing them away for future reference? Is he out in the world to show people how amazing he is, or to learn every dark secret the world has to offer? Or is there some other reason he follows that dark path and fights for others instead of simply gathering all the power he can find for his own purposes?

Interaction with others

Warlocks are traditionally the "evil" class, but it doesn't mean that your character is automatically everyone's enemy. Does your character interact with plenty of other people? How does he view those people? Are they trusted friends, minions, or puppets waiting to have their strings pulled by his deft hand? Is he open with others about his use of the dark arts, or is it a secret he keeps to himself, wary of the reaction of others?

Does your warlock keep his demons at his side even in the most populated of areas, or does he dismiss them out of courtesy for others? Does he view his demons as friends, or as tools that he wields out of necessity, to get the job done? Does he brag about his exploits to those around him, or does he quietly do his job, not asking for praise or accolades?

While warlocks make for very good villains, they don't necessarily have to be. And while warlocks by and large thirst for power, the reasons behind that thirst may vary. A warlock doesn't necessarily have to be out for himself. He can just as easily be a student, a scholar who wants to learn everything the world has to offer, both light and dark. His mingling with demonic entities could be because of some altruistic intent -- after all, the best way to defeat an enemy is to know it inside and out.

It may seem like a warlock would be your standard evil character, but they have the potential to be far more than that. Far more clever than your average citizen, a warlock walks the line between good and evil, fully aware of the danger that he is in every moment of every day. And although they can be egotistical, maniacal, or otherwise dastardly in intent, it's the that line that they walk that ultimately makes warlocks a satisfying and sometimes devious choice for roleplay.

All the World's a Stage is your source for roleplaying ideas, innovations and ironies. Let us help you imagine what it's like to sacrifice spells for the story, totally immerse yourself in your roleplaying or even RP on a non-RP realm! Tags: featured, guide, guide-to-lore, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

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The hero you once were: Roleplaying the death knight

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

A hero... that's what you once were. You stood boldly against the Shadow and purchased another dawn for the world... with your life.

The death knight class was introduced in Wrath of the Lich King as the first, and to date only, hero class. Former minions and soldiers of the Lich King, these warriors of darkness have now risen against their dark master and obtained their own freedom, of sorts. But the path to acceptance is much more difficult for a death knight than any other class in the game. After all, you were a tool of darkness at its finest, when you were "born."

This makes death knights a really unique opportunity for roleplay, because they essentially have two lives -- the life before they died, and the life after. It's that reconciliation between the two that offers the most fascinating moments for roleplay. How does a person come to terms with the fact that they were turned from hero to butcher in what should have been their final moment of saving grace?

Who you are

For a death knight, the answer to who you are is pretty simple -- you are a former citizen of Azeroth who died in one fashion or another, and were raised by the Lich King for the purpose of filling out his army of undead. But there is much, much more to consider when you're roleplaying a death knight, because your life didn't begin at the moment you came to awareness in Acherus, heeding the Lich King's call and wreaking havoc on the Scarlet Crusade. It did not begin when you broke free from the Lich King, joining Highlord Darion Mograine as a member of the Ebon Blade.

No, your life began much as anyone else in Azeroth. You were a traveler, a hero, a friend, a confidant, a lover, a husband or wife, a daughter or a son. You were born into this world and you followed your own path, seeking out your destiny, whatever it may have been. Your character may have been a different class entirely at one point -- a spellweaving mage of the Kirin Tor, a devout follower of the Light, a simple hunter that sought solace in the wild.

These are all things that you should determine when you're thinking about that death knight character. Where did he come from? Who were his parents? Are they still alive? Did he have any relationships prior to his death? Did he have any children? What path did he follow -- was he a warrior, a priest, a rogue? What, ultimately, led to his death? Was it a moment of heroic intent, or an act of cowardice that led to his demise?

Flesh out that character as much as you can -- treat it as seriously as you'd treat any other character's backstory. Write down everything about that character's life, any major moments that had particular impact on his life. When you are all done writing, take a long look at everything that has happened in the scope of your character's life to date. Consider what kind of person your character was, what kinds of hopes and dreams they possessed. And then put that paper away, because all of that was lost the moment your character died.

Now consider this: Your character is undead. Everything that he was prior to his death is in its way a chapter of his life that can never, ever be opened again. He can visit his old friends, his lovers, his parents, but they will never react to him the same way again. He is, by all accounts, dead. It's the fact that he's come back to life and started wielding unholy powers that many may have issue with.

What defines you, and why you fight

That is what a death knight of the Ebon Blade is -- a sum of everything he learned and experienced in his life, prior to undeath. A death knight of the Ebon Blade doesn't start out remembering all of these events, but as a player quests through the opening zone, they will begin to realize, and remember, and quite possibly be horrified at what they have done. It is that horror that causes a death knight to eventually turn on his master -- because the Lich King is the one being responsible for ripping his life away, and ensuring that whatever happiness he achieved in life will forever remain just beyond the reach of his cold, dead hands.

If this sounds morose, it's because it is. Death knights are not particularly happy people. Think about it -- would you be, if you had suffered the way that your character has suffered? In a way, the death knight situation mimicks the Forsaken to a degree -- dead characters that have suddenly found themselves returned to unlife. But unlike the Forsaken, a death knight almost has it worse. Because he has the opportunity to return home. He can look into the eyes of his loved ones, and he can see the horror, the unease, the hint of disgust hidden there.

That is the defining factor of what made a death knight fight, in Wrath of the Lich King. The knights of the Ebon Blade wanted revenge for what the Lich King had done to them. And in a way, a death knight may also have fought for his former life, fought to protect his former family and loved ones from sharing his fate. It's a dark, grim reason to fight.

But now that the Lich King has been defeated, the death knights of the Ebon Hold are without purpose. And a death knight character now has to contend with the fact that his destiny is entirely in his own hands. So why does your character continue to fight? Is he trying to regain some semblance of life before he died? Is he trying to make up for whatever sins he may have committed while under the sway of the Lich King?

Is he fighting in order to do what is good, to make up for the bad that has happened in his life? Or does he fight, does he kill, does he torture with the intent of somehow punishing himself? Is he fighting because he wants to right what's wrong in the world, or is he fighting and secretly hoping that someone will put an end to him for good?

Interaction with others

Needless to say, a death knight isn't exactly the most fun person to be around, and a death knight's interaction with others may be slightly awkward at best, painful at worst. Death knights were not welcomed with open arms into the Alliance or Horde -- they had to run a gauntlet of rotten fruit and screams of those that were affected by the Scourge. It's a painful way to gain acceptance, and it's not soon forgotten.

There are two things that ultimately wander through the mind of a death knight as he talks to the living: Is this person I am speaking to looking at me differently, is that fear lurking in the back of their eyes? Will I ever be able to have a normal conversation with a person again?

But while a death knight is far from a cheerful character, it doesn't mean that he can't crack a joke, even if that joke is grim. It doesn't mean that he's unable to have friends. It just means that even though he has friends, there's still that wall between himself and others. No matter what he says, no matter what he does, no matter who he was when he was alive, he can never go back.

A death knight's journey officially begins the moment he enters the starting zone. That passage of time in your character's life is quite clearly defined through quests and events, so there is little for a roleplayer to invent, in that aspect. The challenge of a roleplayer in this case is to define what came before, and use that to determine what comes next in their character's life.

Death knights may be a grim bunch, they may seem sad and morose, but there's something sweet in all that sorrow. There's an ultimately fascinating element to that journey of trying to balance who a character used to be and who a character is now. That dual nature of the death knight represents an emotional, powerful journey that allows for far deeper roleplay than one would expect.

All the World's a Stage is your source for roleplaying ideas, innovations and ironies. Let us help you imagine what it's like to sacrifice spells for the story, totally immerse yourself in your roleplaying or even RP on a non-RP realm Tags: featured, guide, guide-to-lore, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

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