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  1. #1
    Brewmaster Azalar's Avatar
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    Playable Ethereals, how would you introduce them?

    Heya.

    As some of you may already know, I like Ethereals... wait, I LOVE Ethereals. Independently of this, I think they are a great race to become playable at some point in the game... soon™.

    We know little about Ethereals, but we knew even less from Pandaren when they first announced that they'd be playable, so this is no hinderance.

    Why are they a good addition? Well, their lore, while short, is intense and dramatic, and what's more: their storyline is now ultimately open after the death of Dimensius in Netherstorm, being now free to choose their fate.

    http://wowpedia.org/Ethereal
    http://wowpedia.org/Dimensius_the_All-Devouring

    Horde or Alliance? I'd rather say neutral. There are Ethereals both sides, most widely known as transmogrifier, reforger and the void storage guy.

    That said, if their design were in your hand, how would you introduce them?


    Intro: K'aresh

    As an "Ethereal" (you're not an Ethereal as is at this point), you'd begin at level 1 in K'aresh, planet of the Ethereals in a past time prior the arrival of Dimensius. You'd explore the surroundings and see the landscapes, as well as meeting some of the leaders (Nexus-King Salhadaar and the Princes) and learning a bit more of their history. All unknown until now.


    Illustration by Blink@Deviantart. Could K'aresh be something like this?

    Intermezzo: Dimensius and the Twisting Nether

    Upon reaching a certain level, you'd be witness of the siege of Dimensius and participate on the defense of the planet, see how Dimensius rips the flesh of your race and manage to survive on the Twisting nether thanks to their advanced technology, wrapping your volatile anima in powerful binding bandages and thus creating the Ethereal race as we know now. Afterwards, comes the exodus to the Outlands (Draenor, HINT!) and the settlement on Stormspire, Netherstorm.


    Illustration by Dan Scott.

    Prelude of the End: Netherstorm and the death of Dimensius

    As a now proper Ethereal, you'd now be witness of the fall of the Ethereum and the fall of Dimensius the All-Devouring in Manaforge Ultris in Netherstorm, avenging your race and closing the past wounds of the Ethereals.


    Panoramic view of Netherstorm and the Eco-domes.

    Final act: Future of the Ethereals

    This is now all speculation. How they could join either the Horde or Alliance remains a mystery. What we know is that Ethereals are somewhat freemen, mercenaries often under the banner of a Nexus-Prince. What would come now is to know both leaders somehow, work for both and see which one fits your character most, to ultimately reinforce and prepare the Horde or the Alliance against the upcoming attack of the Burning Legion or any other evil that dares stand between you and your interests. Furthermore, they could create an important technological triumvirate with Gnomish, Goblin and Ethereal tech.

    Said all this, this is how I think that they should be introduced (in the hypothetical case that they would actually be). I think it's important to get to know the history of a race firsthand and there's nothing better to do so than living it by ourselves, thing we could do since we do not know if Ethereals do actually age.

    With this, I'd like you to comment or opine and/or add your own version of the story. I hope you like it.

    Edit: more arguments for playable Ethereals.

    • They've got a cool story.
    • They are NOT furry, we already have many animal-like races (Tauren, Pandaren, Worgen), so getting Arakkoa (although they're feathery, not furry, lol) would be a bit too much.
    • Like Forsaken, Ethereals could show pieces of bandages or some energy through.
    • They are superb engineers and could form a good trio along with gnomes and goblins (Gnomish engineering (alliance), Goblin engineering (Horde), Ethereal engineering (neutral).
    • They can be a wide variety of classes as all the other races.
    • Their sprint animation would be quite interesting, leaving copies behind!
    • They could teach Alliance & Horde how to travel through the Twisting Nether (even if Draenei already know), allowing them to eventually hop onto future Argus or whatever planet they encounter.
    • There are already non-Consortium neutral Ethereals both in Stormwind, Orgrimmar offering their services.

    Edit: racials!

    Quote Originally Posted by Zeror
    [Unwrapped Magic]: convert Cloth into Ethereal Dust to enchant your weapon with +1% primary stat for 1 minute. 2 min cooldown.

    [Ethereal Sewing]: tailoring +15

    [Plasmaform]: transform in a Ethereal wisp for 10 seconds. This form is considered invisible for Humanoids, Beasts, Giants and Mechanical creatures. 30 min cooldown.

    [Tube Message]: experienced Ethereals (level 10 or above) don't have costs for sending mails.
    Quote Originally Posted by Azalar
    [Phase shift]: phase yourself thanks to the advanced Ethereal technology, avoiding all damage received for 2 sec.

    [Knowledge of Three Worlds]: slightly augments Mastery rating.

    [Matter consumption]: able to eat and drink instantly. Health, mana regeneration and buffs from food and drink are granted over the next 10 sec.

    [Feedback]: 1% of all magic damage received is converted into your primary resource (mana, rage, energy...).

    [A kind of magic]: reduces repair and transmogrification costs by 25%.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mokaproductionist View Post
    Inorganic Body: increases all resistances by 1% and reduces the duration of physical damage effects by 15%.

    [Expert Digger]: mining skill increased by 15 and allows you to mine additional ore.

    [Trading Specialist]: you receive 100% more gold for selling items to vendors.

    [Nether Surge]: allows you to burst forward with extensive speed, dealing arcane damage to enemies caught in your path and knocking them away. 2 minute cooldown.

    The Last Resort]: when your health reaches zero, you will shed your wrappings and armor and emerge in your unbound form, allowing you to fight additional 15 seconds before dying. This can only occur once every 6 minutes.
    Last edited by Azalar; 2014-01-05 at 02:21 PM.

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  2. #2
    Brewmaster Travio's Avatar
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    While I can't say whether they should be one side or the other, Ethereals would be as hard to fit in on one side as the goblins were; there's multiple factions within them, so one could align itself with a faction without messing up the neutral group.
    Looking for Raid: you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Come - we must be cautious.

  3. #3
    Brewmaster Azalar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travio View Post
    While I can't say whether they should be one side or the other, Ethereals would be as hard to fit in on one side as the goblins were; there's multiple factions within them, so one could align itself with a faction without messing up the neutral group.
    Actually there's just the Consortium right now. The Protectorate had merged with the Consortium after the death of Dimensius.

    PS: love your avatar lol
    Last edited by Azalar; 2013-11-06 at 06:35 PM.

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  4. #4
    You don't introduce em

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans Chain Chungus's Avatar
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    For the Alliance!

    Horde already got the other neutral trader race.

  6. #6
    Brewmaster Azalar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Telomerase View Post
    For the Alliance!

    Horde already got the other neutral trader race.
    I'm not sure. I think it makes more sense this way:

    Alliance <-- Neutral --> Horde
    Gnomes <-- Ethereals --> Goblins

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  7. #7
    Before I reveal the Arakkoas

  8. #8
    Ethereal as a neutral race, with separate trade princes joining the Alliance and Horde, would be pretty awesome. Perhaps they have a fundamental disagreement over who has the best claim to or interests of Draenor (essentially siding with either the Draenei or Orcs) and that leads to the faction split.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    As a neutral race, indeed. Their society as a whole is neutral to begin with, like the goblins, but on even larger scale.

  10. #10
    Elemental Lord Sierra85's Avatar
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    The only problem i have with etherals is that by making them playable you take away part of what makes them cool, special & unique.
    Hi

  11. #11
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    I wouldn't.

    /10chars

  12. #12
    New Kid Zaelsino's Avatar
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    I'd make them Alliance or neutral. They'd fit in slightly better with the Alliance and I'd rather see them foil the goblins from across the faction fence (gnomes already do this to a degree, but it's more just quirky little people vs quirky little green people at this point), but at the same time they're such a unique race with tons of potential that they might be better suited as neutral.

  13. #13
    Brewmaster Azalar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mokoshne View Post
    The only problem i have with etherals is that by making them playable you take away part of what makes them cool, special & unique.
    We can say the same for all the other proposed races, don't we? :|

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Mokoshne View Post
    The only problem i have with etherals is that by making them playable you take away part of what makes them cool, special & unique.
    We can say the same for all the other proposed races, don't we? :|

    Quote Originally Posted by Zaelsino View Post
    I'd make them Alliance or neutral. They'd fit in slightly better with the Alliance and I'd rather see them foil the goblins from across the faction fence (gnomes already do this to a degree, but it's more just quirky little people vs quirky little green people at this point), but at the same time they're such a unique race with tons of potential that they might be better suited as neutral.
    Well, they've worked with Goblin before, f.e. in Area 52. I strongly agree with the last part ^^
    Last edited by Azalar; 2013-11-06 at 07:04 PM.

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  14. #14
    If Ethereals become playable I PRAY they become neutral. However I can see the Ogre -> Horde Ethereals -> Alliance

  15. #15
    Herald of the Titans Chain Chungus's Avatar
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    God, Horde wants it all.

    Give us Ogres! Give us High Elves in red!

    Now give us Ethereals too!

    Alliance, you get the Dark Crystal. Enjoy.

  16. #16
    Neutral, and in conjunction with a tinker class with a tree dedicated to ethereal tech. Their society is structured around factions vying for power. Say ethereal players start off in a single faction, and their leader is killed in a battle with the Legion. His two most trusted lieutenants immediately start jockeying to fill the vacuum, and the players wind up taking missions for both sides against both the Legion and the rival Nexus Prince, like in Sholazar with the Frenzyheart/Oracles, before ultimately choosing one or the other.

  17. #17
    Haha. /10chars isn't a reference to the character cap (which is 11 anyways) you need a minimum of 10 characters (letters, numbers, etc) in your post for it to actually post.

    My question isn't how would you introduce them but WHY would you? Cool, though they may be, what is their motivation for joining the war? What is the threat to their race that finally convinces them to join in the struggle, and IF they are a neutral race, how do you justify the interfactional strife? I struggle enough with the Pandaren infighting, that I don't know if I could accept any reasons for the Ethereals to fight each other. Give me a good reason WHY the Ethereals should be a playable race...
    I can teach you how to play, but I can't fix stupid.

  18. #18
    Deleted
    Ethereals will never be playable just because of the fact they can't wear gear. You can't really think they would look good in heroic or pvp gear.

  19. #19
    Brewmaster Azalar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kagonos View Post
    Haha. /10chars isn't a reference to the character cap (which is 11 anyways) you need a minimum of 10 characters (letters, numbers, etc) in your post for it to actually post.
    Sorry for the misunderstanding lol

    Quote Originally Posted by Kagonos View Post
    My question isn't how would you introduce them but WHY would you? Cool, though they may be, what is their motivation for joining the war? What is the threat to their race that finally convinces them to join in the struggle, and IF they are a neutral race, how do you justify the interfactional strife? I struggle enough with the Pandaren infighting, that I don't know if I could accept any reasons for the Ethereals to fight each other. Give me a good reason WHY the Ethereals should be a playable race...
    Now THAT is speculation. We do not know if Haramad is up to something at this moment, nor we know of any other Nexus-Princes. Maybe it is the Horde that will need new cutting edge tech in the future, since they don't have the means to travel through the Twisting Nether (not sure if Blood elves can), assuming we'll go to Argus given a Burning Legion expac. As for Alliance, the Consortium seems to have allied with the Sha'tar, which while neutral, seem to be Draenei-biased like the Aldor. I would personally prefer some Nexus-Prince confrontations as well though.

    Quote Originally Posted by Vortun View Post
    Ethereals will never be playable just because of the fact they can't wear gear. You can't really think they would look good in heroic or pvp gear.
    That is something we cannot answer nor predict :P

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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vortun View Post
    Ethereals will never be playable just because of the fact they can't wear gear. You can't really think they would look good in heroic or pvp gear.
    Worgen would like to have a word with you.

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