Wowbservations

I have been playing World of Warcraft now for a few weeks, and I have noticed a few strange things:

• They Seem To Have Borrowed Death From Pac-Man
  To a certain extent, anyway. The ghosts in Pac-Man don't die. Their eyes just go back to their cage and they start again. Some might argue that this is inaccurate because the ghosts do not go to find their corpses and ressurect themselves there. I simply believe the ghosts do not care about resurrection sickness and they have no inventory.
  


• Not All Creatures Are Created Equal. (Or Symmetrical.)
  One of the most annoying things about WoW to me is that when I need to go find 18 Thunder Lizard Tails for some random dude, I will very likely need to kill about 40 Thunder Lizards to get them. I can clearly see that you all have tails, Thunder Lizards! A friend suggested that perhaps during battle, I damaged the tails, and that makes them unusable. I would submit that I have 200 ranks in Skinning, and that my devotion to my craft and comittment to making quality leather products would prevent me from doing any such thing. Plus I have a policy of only attacking Thunder Lizards in the face. So unless they are uncontrollably pooping lightning and damaging their tails, I AM OFFICIALLY CALLING SHENANINGANS.
  


• The People Of Azeroth Are Unbelievably Lazy
  In every town, there are all these level 40-50 people standing around, and they've all got problems. Oh, the Sand Kobolds are causing a ruckus and their numbers need thinned! So they need help, and my l33t level 10 skills are just right for the job. So I volunteer. And then I walk down the street a little bit (almost close enough to still be able to see the guy who gave me the quest), kill the offenders, and then go turn in my quest. What, is somebody gonna steal the stump you've been standing on all year? Or do you only have 1 durability left on that level 45 garden hoe you're wielding and you sure as hell aren't gonna pay Groshnak the weaponsmith the 2sp it would take to repair it after what he pulled at poker night???
  
  Maybe they're not lazy. Maybe they're all old people in disguise, and I am simply a lawn-clearing enforcement officer.
  


• Vengeance Is A Dish Best Served With Specific Details
  The quest structure in WoW usually dictates you need to get X of this or kill Y of this. For an RPer like me, this makes some of the quests a little strange. If a local militia leader wants you to drive out a bunch of demons from the forest, he knows how many it will take to do it. If somebody's family's been murdered, they know EXACTLY how many dead Quilboars it will take to make them feel better.
  
  I wish I had that kind of information in my daily life! Then again, when I go to Taco Bell, I would probably have to order and pay four times before one would actually give me a taco (though my inventory would be full of bean burritos).
  

You have the right to be unique!

I have recently arrived in my new office environment here in Colorado, and there have been more than a few introductions and "getting to know you" type of moments. I am constantly amazed at the number of people that charactarize themselves as being "kind've a nerd" in a given hobby or interest, and the associated sheepishness or shame that comes along with having interests.

You have the right to be unique!

This statement can apply to so many different areas... but you have the right to be unique in your roleplaying or gaming interests, in your choice of characters, even in the systems you play or the modifications you made to said systems. That is one of the lures that makes the roleplaying game space so interesting to me... it is almost always up for interpretation and modification.

Why do nerds always feel ashamed?

It is your right and duty to engage in your roleplaying games, video games, systems, friendships, and interests in whatever way you desire, and it has constantly puzzled me why gamer nerds have this near universal shame that goes along with their interests. I've even seen it spill over into professional areas like computer programming and graphic communications. People seem to want to distance themselves from their passions and skills and I have never understood why.

Me? I'm a nerd and I'm proud of it. I like roleplaying, computer programming, and Heroes. I think it is time that we collectively stand up and embrace our nerdly leanings!

Who's with me?

Visiting the Archives: The Evolution of Your Character

Today is my first day living in Colorado for good, and as a result I got to experience the opening of a new chapter in my own life. For these reasons and more, I decided to look into the archives to find discussion on growing and evolving ones character so I could relate all of this real life change with the changing "life" of your roleplaying characters.

I found this excellent piece written by our very own Stupid Ranger on exactly that topic, I hope you enjoy it! Stupid Ranger and I will be undergoing a significant amount of change over the coming weeks, and as we get adjusted we will augment our new content with some of our favorite archived posts, of which this is one. Enjoy!

---

Originally posted on 8/28/2007 by Stupid Ranger


As your character gains experience and continues to explore the great wide world, you may notice the need to evolve. Not to worry, it's completely normal for your character to evolve. There have been many, many campaigns in which I developed a character only to realize that some facet of my character doesn't fit with the group dynamics.

Evolution for the Good of the Many

I originally intended for Skythorn to be more of a background character, there for the battles but nearly invisible during NPC interactions. However, the realization that Lumbar had a tendency to make things more... chaotic meant that Skythorn had to take a more hands-on approach with some NPC's to ensure the party survived the interaction long enough to actually accept the quest. Skythorn did became more of a negotiator and spokesperson than I had originally planned, but she didn't go out and introduce herself to everyone in town or seek additional attention. She evolved for the good of the party without betraying the underlying Skythorn-ness that made her unique.

Evolution for your Own Sanity

Recently, I found myself in another situation in which my original character concept was in contrast with the rest of the group. We started a new campaign, and I build a multi-class Fighter/Cleric since most of the rest of the group were not combat-types. I didn't have a lot of time to develop my backstory , so I fell back on one of the classics: country bumpkin. Silvia was from an unknown outlying community, brought to the group because she could offer support in battle and with healing; she didn't appear to be highly educated and seemed very naive. Unfortunately, the rest of my group all hadbackstories placing them in wealthy families from town or other lines of nobility. My country bumpkin just wasn't working out, and it was making life difficult for me to keep Silvia on good terms with the rest of the group. So, when we were dismissed from our meeting with the king's representative, I dropped the hokey accent and explained to the rest of the group that while I was from a small community, I only played the "simple country lass" around the authority figures to avoid having to deal with their stupidity. She now has two personae: one for the bureaucrats and one for the group.

Evolve Modestly and Logically

If you're having difficulties with something about character after a few sessions, try examining the problem. If it's just that the guy across the table has decided that his character will be in perpetual conflict with yours, nothing you do will change that. However, if your character's personality could be tweaked for the better good (where better good = you having more fun), start identifying a few small steps that would improve your character. Once you've decided on a change, don't just stand up and announce your intentions; find some in-game roleplaying opportunities to introduce your newly evolved character traits.

I do believe, however, that you shouldn't change just for the sake of changing. Evolution doesn't just occur because everything is going great; some catalyst sparks change for the best. Examine the circumstance. Review your character's personality, backstory, profession, race. Take a look at everything carefully before deciding if you really need to change. Then, if you feel that a slight evolution would be for the best, start planning how to implement that change. Remember, this is all about having fun, and if you're not having fun, maybe it's time to change.