New Character, Need Help With Transmog, Mount, and Pet Ideas.

[Selastan]

Didn't really know whether to put this in the Role Playing or Transmog forums as this is a little of both, but since it contains a fair bit of my character's backstory I feel like it would be better off here. As the title says, I would like ideas on the kind of gear, mount, and pet my newest character (a blood elf monk) would use. Basic character story:

He was a Farstrider before the fall of Quel'Thelas. When the Sunwell fell, his connection to nature helped him resist his addiction. At first he fed on scraps at ruined buildings in what would become the Ghostlands, and while fighting horde after horde of undead, he assumed he was one of if not the only survivors. He lived for years in the wild, his hunger for mana becoming less and less pronounced, though always still lingering in the back of his mind. He watched as the undead plague corrupted the once-beautiful landscape. He used what little knowledge he had of nature magic to try and cure the land, mostly basic Amani shamanism and Alchemy learned from experience fighting the trolls. Nothing seemed to cure the encroaching corruption, especially not the Dead Scar. Once, while raiding a troll village near Zul'Aman for supplies, he was captured. They intended to use him in a ritual sacrifice, however their plans were cut short. He was freed during the raid of Zul'Aman.

Finally learning he wasn't the sole survivor of Arthas' assault, he found it difficult to adjust to society after living in the wild for so long. He lived on the fringes of Sunstrider Isle, he spent all day fishing and reading, avoiding any interaction with his people. Soon, the use of fel crystals on the Isle turned his eyes the same shade of green as the rest of the Blood Elves. More years passed, and still he remained a recluse, too fearful to return to the wild after his captivity, yet still too fearful to mingle with society.

Then, everything changed when the fire nation attack-err...when a mysterious visitor appeared on the Isle. Pao, a travelling Pandaren monk. He witnessed her mastery over chi, and was fascinated by it. He wondered if it was the force that could finally cure the blighted Quel'Thelas. He worked up the courage to ask to be her pupil, and she accepted. After several years of training in the basics, he had gained the mental discipline and martial skills to venture out into the world again, seeking to finally reclaim his homeland.

TL;DRBlood Elf alchemist monk, spent years in the wild, wants to cure the Ghostlands ant the Dead Scar. What kind of animal companions would aid him on his journey? What kind of apparel would he wear? Thinking golden druid, nature themed with gold and green to match the foliage of Quel'Thelas. As for pets and mounts, something also very natural, no armored undead horses. No idea on the mounts, but for pets...something that looks native to Northern Lordaeron or something associated with alchemy or healing.

[Techno-Druid]

Transmog
With monks, you can go two directions. Do you want your sin'dorei to dress more sin'dorei or do you want your character to embrace pandaren culture?

Either way, monks tend to wear lighter armor that's not as restrictive. Your character can wear any variety of leather armor sets or robes. It all depends on how culturally pandaren your monk is.

Mounts
Thalassian-speaking elves tend to favor two major mounts; hawkstriders and unicorns/elven horses. You can obviously buy a hawkstrider in Quel'thalas, while you can get Prestigious Courser (the only Horde available unicorn afaik) mounts as Prestige PvP rewards.

If you're looking for more pandaren-themed. I would either choose a crane (graceful, but powerful, sort of like the blood elves) or a golden cloud serpent.

Pets
Really anything. On the sin'dorei side, you can have something arcane related, maybe Egbert (Children's Week pet) or any bird of prey pet.

On the more pandaren side, you could have a crane chick or a baby cloud serpent to match your possible mount. I'm not entirely sure with this, because I'm not a proficient pet collector.

[Selastan]

A crane does sound like the perfect match for elven elegance and pandaren tranquility. I think I got the transmog I want set, mostly recolored druid stuff along with some of the Legion pre-event leather. But I still think there could be some perfect bits I'm missing. A few green crystals here and there match both the Sin'Dorei AND mistweaver monk aesthetic. The only thing that remains is the pet, it does seem really important that someone who spent the time since the fall of Quel'Thelas to the middle of the Burning Crusade with no contact with civilization would have some sort of companion to keep him sane, something that he bonded to. Not likely a pandaren creature, since I want them to have met before his monk training. Something magical yet natural, although now that I think about it an arcane sentry wouldn't be too bad. Something he saved from a ruined city, one last bit of the culture he thought destroyed...

[Deleted]

Should a Farstrider not too loyal to Quel'thalas and the thalassian culture and by far too elite to decide that he degrades himself by learning some Pandaren-Voodoo? After all, the Farstriders are the elite among the already powerful ranger army.

[Deleted]

Should a Farstrider not too loyal to Quel'thalas and the thalassian culture and by far too elite to decide that he degrades himself by learning some Pandaren-Voodoo? After all, the Farstriders are the elite among the already powerful ranger army.

5 years of captivity do wonders on the mind; Shouldn't be too hard to break someone who's already battling addiction no matter how "high and mighty he is".

The more interesting question here is: How did he survive 5 years in amani captivity?
I was under the impression they ate their captives.

[Techno-Druid]

5 years of captivity do wonders on the mind; Shouldn't be too hard to break someone who's already battling addiction no matter how "high and mighty he is".

The more interesting question here is: How did he survive 5 years in amani captivity?
I was under the impression they ate their captives.

It's possible that he could of been kept around for purposes of torture. Having an elf punching bag to take your anger out on would probably be a worse fate than being killed and eaten.

[Deleted]

It's possible that he could of been kept around for purposes of torture. Having an elf punching bag to take your anger out on would probably be a worse fate than being killed and eaten.

I'm pretty sure after 5 years of torture, one doesn't have the physical and emotional capability of becoming a Monk anymore.

And still, I think a Ranger would have done it too in the background. After all, the Farstriders are a elite under the Rangers. I think only the best and most loyal Soldiers get the honor of becoming a Farstrider.

And I think even as a monk, the Strider or a unicorn (which is, and I'm not sarcastic, the manliest Mount possible) would be the most logical mount for him to ride. Why should he travel all the way to Pandaria, only to catch a crane.

But, I want to be honest, I'm also not a big fan of non-pandaren Monks to begin with.

[Techno-Druid]

I'm pretty sure after 5 years of torture, one doesn't have the physical and emotional capability of becoming a Monk anymore.

And still, I think a Ranger would have done it too in the background. After all, the Farstriders are a elite under the Rangers. I think only the best and most loyal Soldiers get the honor of becoming a Farstrider.

And I think even as a monk, the Strider or a unicorn (which is, and I'm not sarcastic, the manliest Mount possible) would be the most logical mount for him to ride. Why should he travel all the way to Pandaria, only to catch a crane.

But, I want to be honest, I'm also not a big fan of non-pandaren Monks to begin with.

Of course, this may be speculation, but there are probably cranes spread all throughout Azeroth.

[Selastan]

5 years of captivity do wonders on the mind; Shouldn't be too hard to break someone who's already battling addiction no matter how "high and mighty he is".

The more interesting question here is: How did he survive 5 years in amani captivity?
I was under the impression they ate their captives.

Never said it was for years. Almost all of his time spent between the Third War and the Burning Crusade was in the wild, hunting and scavenging. His only encounters were with ruined cities like Windrunner Village. He avoided populated areas like the plague...literally. Like a doomsday prepper living in their forest fort when the zombies come. After his capture, he was held for ritual sacrifice. They would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling treasure hunters.

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I'm pretty sure after 5 years of torture, one doesn't have the physical and emotional capability of becoming a Monk anymore.

And still, I think a Ranger would have done it too in the background. After all, the Farstriders are a elite under the Rangers. I think only the best and most loyal Soldiers get the honor of becoming a Farstrider.

And I think even as a monk, the Strider or a unicorn (which is, and I'm not sarcastic, the manliest Mount possible) would be the most logical mount for him to ride. Why should he travel all the way to Pandaria, only to catch a crane.

But, I want to be honest, I'm also not a big fan of non-pandaren Monks to begin with.

How does a blood elf even get a unicorn anyway, beside the Argent Crusade one?

[Deleted]

Never said it was for years. Almost all of his time spent between the Third War and the Burning Crusade was in the wild, hunting and scavenging. His only encounters were with ruined cities like Windrunner Village. He avoided populated areas like the plague...literally. Like a doomsday prepper living in their forest fort when the zombies come. After his capture, he was held for ritual sacrifice. They would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling treasure hunters.

Yet another question, as a Soldier of Quel'thalas, if he was a Farstrider a loyal till death elite soldier, shouldn't he be there for his people to protect the remains of them after the fall of Silvermoon?

How does a blood elf even get a unicorn anyway, beside the Argent Crusade one?

Prestige Mount.

[Selastan]

Yet another question, as a Soldier of Quel'thalas, if he was a Farstrider a loyal till death elite soldier, shouldn't he be there for his people to protect the remains of them after the fall of Silvermoon?

Very loyal indeed, but when your are fighting a loosing battle against the undead, feel the Sunwell explode, retreat and later find hordes of undead rampaging across once populated cities, especially the Dead Scar, you assume the worst. Silvermoon wasn't rebuilt in a day, and the Ghostlands still has a very sparse living population. I don't think they even started trying to reclaim it until shortly before the beginning of the Burning Crusade. He searched for survivors, but found only undead and trolls for the longest time. Eventually, he just tried to fight the undead and cure the corruption, not daring to venture far outside. What would he find? Just more ruins and more dead.

I get most elves would be hopeful and try and gather in the ruins of Silvermoon, but when you are an elite, someone who witnesses every defense you built broken and your leader's soul ripped out and made to serve, you kind of lose that hope. At least, my character did anyway. Without the Sunwell, how could you fight an army like that, especially when you are already broken? He didn't know Arthas just wanted to get in and get out. He thought he was systematically eradicating every trace of the Quel'Dorei civilization, since everything he saw was ruined. He imagined the ruins of Silvermoon being a capital of death, less approachable to him than Mordor was to Middle Earth. He fought back as little as he could, guerilla style. It was a depressingly loosing battle, but he was content to die trying, if it was just to see one flower bloom in Quel'Thelas again.

[Deleted]

Very loyal indeed, but when your are fighting a loosing battle against the undead, feel the Sunwell explode, retreat and later find hordes of undead rampaging across once populated cities, especially the Dead Scar, you assume the worst. Silvermoon wasn't rebuilt in a day, and the Ghostlands still has a very sparse living population. I don't think they even started trying to reclaim it until shortly before the beginning of the Burning Crusade. He searched for survivors, but found only undead and trolls for the longest time. Eventually, he just tried to fight the undead and cure the corruption, not daring to venture far outside. What would he find? Just more ruins and more dead.

I get most elves would be hopeful and try and gather in the ruins of Silvermoon, but when you are an elite, someone who witnesses every defense you built broken and your leader's soul ripped out and made to serve, you kind of lose that hope. At least, my character did anyway. Without the Sunwell, how could you fight an army like that, especially when you are already broken? He didn't know Arthas just wanted to get in and get out. He thought he was systematically eradicating every trace of the Quel'Dorei civilization, since everything he saw was ruined. He imagined the ruins of Silvermoon being a capital of death, less approachable to him than Mordor was to Middle Earth. He fought back as little as he could, guerilla style. It was a depressingly loosing battle, but he was content to die trying, if it was just to see one flower bloom in Quel'Thelas again.

And after he found out that the Blood Elves are still there, after the Sunwell went intact again and everythin seemed to be fine again, he decided to desert the Farstriders to follow some Pandaren Brute who fights with his fists, while your character learned the finest thalassian swordmanship and Archery?

[Selastan]

And after he found out that the Blood Elves are still there, after the Sunwell went intact again and everythin seemed to be fine again, he decided to desert the Farstriders to follow some Pandaren Brute who fights with his fists, while your character learned the finest thalassian swordmanship and Archery?

Should have mentioned it was specifically as a mistwalker. He did it for the inner peace and the foreign spirit magic more than the martial side of things. Remember his only goal was to heal the blighted land, all the arcane and Light in the world couldn't heal the Dead Scar, but this mysterious 'chi' might.

[Deleted]

Should have mentioned it was specifically as a mistwalker. He did it for the inner peace and the foreign spirit magic more than the martial side of things. Remember his only goal was to heal the blighted land, all the arcane and Light in the world couldn't heal the Dead Scar, but this mysterious 'chi' might.

Wouldn't training his already present duidic abillities be the better choice?

[Techno-Druid]

Wouldn't training his already present duidic abillities be the better choice?

You just seem to be needlessly nitpicking OP's character right now. I understand making a character as logical as possible, but the bottom line is that people don't always make logical choices. Decisions often have an infinite number of consequences, some good and some bad.

[Selastan]

You just seem to be needlessly nitpicking OP's character right now. I understand making a character as logical as possible, but the bottom line is that people don't always make logical choices. Decisions often have an infinite number of consequences, some good and some bad.

But I do like it when people nitpick my characters. It makes me answers questions I never thought to ask myself sometimes, leading to a richer story. To answer M-Ra's question, I know the Farstriders have command of basic druid magic, but nowhere near a mastery of it. I did state in the OP he tried what little he knew as well as some Troll magic and alchemy, but to no avail. If the elves could have cured the Dead Scar, they would have. The idea of something foreign and powerful, a force strong enough to shield an entire continent's worth of Kalimdor, pull it away, and hide it from the world painted a strong image. -

[Leodok]

Transmog: something simple that looks blood elven, with one or two pieces that identify the character as a monk (I'd go with something like the shado-pan helm). Or some simple leather armor with a blood elf piece and a monk one.
Pet: I think a dragonhawk, an eagle or a crane would work.
Mount: your character sounds like he'd just walk on foot, but I guess a common horse fits him. If you want something cooler, there are the new unicorn mounts.

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Wouldn't training his already present duidic abillities be the better choice?

Chi is pretty close to druidic abilities, so he kind of did train them, in a way.

[Selastan]

Transmog: something simple that looks blood elven, with one or two pieces that identify the character as a monk (I'd go with something like the shado-pan helm). Or some simple leather armor with a blood elf piece and a monk one.
Pet: I think a dragonhawk, an eagle or a crane would work.
Mount: your character sounds like he'd just walk on foot, but I guess a common horse fits him. If you want something cooler, there are the new unicorn mounts.

Thanks! That is a good idea, combining all elements into something that blends well will be difficult challenge but will definitely pay off. Looking through the appearences tab I'm already seeing good combos though. Maybe not as hard as I thought.

[Techno-Druid]

Chi is pretty close to druidic abilities, so he kind of did train them, in a way.

I believe shamans and monks actually draw their power from the same source, they both harness spiritual energy. Shamans from their surroundings and monks from within themselves.

Though, you can play into a bit of druidism as I monks do use some nature magic and hold a deep reverence for balance within nature.

[Deleted]

As for armor, I would pick something simple and practical. I would chose something that looks rather ranger-like. Why discard a good armor, only because he's a monk now? As for weapons, the The Blood-Tempered Ranseur could a a nice choice, if you made the quest, as a thalassian polearm. I would chose something elvish as a weapon. He used those weapons his whole life, he is used to them and as a proud elf he would believe in the superiorty of true thalassian weaponcrafting. It's your choice, I would prefer a spear over a staff, but to be honest, I'm also rather biased as I never liked the concept of bringing fists or staffs into sword, warhammer and axe-fights.