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  1. #1
    Merely a Setback Trassk's Avatar
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    How do you play your light forged draenei?

    Curious about people's ways of playing these. With regular draenei I approached them with much less of a light worshipping angle since they are shamans and monks and hunters and just play them either jovial or stern and serious.

    For my light forged paladin, I gave some added exception by making him mute, that something happened to him in the light forge draeneis fight against the legion that caused him to lose his voice, so play up the emotes and gestures more, also because he can't speak to or about the light he can only think silent gestures which gets answered in battle.

    I get the impression from seeing some playing them they either take it more as just playing another regular draenei, or going the light bound draenei of AU draenor angle of pushing extreme light fanaticism

  2. #2
    252 views of the thread so far, no comments. So, I'll take a crack at it.

    Unfortunately, I play Horde. So I can't really post more than speculation. A lot of it will be based on elves. But hey, I may get discussion going.

    Thing is, roleplaying a Draenei is hard. There's many reasons for this.

    1. They get real old.
    General:
    I've always found that one very difficult. A human lifetime is short, but a human Master Blacksmith will be the best expert at 50, and probably has a lot of other secondary skills. So how many skills has a character mastered at 500? That's enough time to become a grandmaster at several lifepaths, be a veteran in 10 wars, and have tracked the bloodlines of younger races over 20 generations. At 5000? You may well be a grandmaster at even your most infrequent hobbies and fancies. You've met so many people and seen so many things that your insights and predictive ability must be enormous. And in your mind rests more knowledge and experience than in dozens of shorter-lived races put together.

    I think this is why you see most elven races roleplay young elves. Young being between 20 and 400. Being ancient is an alien experience to the human mind for which we have little reference. And frankly, if we lived 5000 years with our current brains, we would certainly have gone mad and socially maladjusted. Full of accumulated oddities, behavior patterns, traumas and learned behavior, and outdated ways of thinking. Also, probably we'd be huge hoarders.

    For Draenei:
    Draenei clearly have more stable and adjustable minds than humans like us do. But they do suffer a different problem, that always gives me a little pause in RP. They have limited numbers. Numbers so small, that they fit on a single vessel. So, there's good odds that you have at least seen most currently-living of your species at some point. This is especially the case for Lightforged Draenei. As for RP effects, I would imagine the lifetime of fleeing from (Draenei) or pursuing the Legion to (Lightforged) many worlds, has created a race that believes strongly in being prepared. Aware of how many supplies they have, and where. Diligent in their duties, preparations and rituals. I expect most that have had the ages for it, would have honed their chosen crafts to perfection, with very little left to learn. And I would expect many to be eager to pass on their teachings, so as to strengthen the collective. Among the Lightforged, that have lived so long under threat, seeing death and destruction consuming worlds, and ever threatening their survival, I would expect it reasonable that a stigma may have formed as well; a social pressure to contribute positively to the collective, and not be a burden.

    2. They have journeyed the cosmos.
    This is a very challenging one to RP. As a lot of the path the life of the Draenei has taken between the flight from Argus and us meeting them in WoW, has remained unknown. How many worlds have they seen? What were their names? What challenges, creatures and races did they encounter? There are entire wars that we do not know about.

    3. They have suffered great trauma.
    This one is especially challenging. The race has passed through several cullings. They lost their planet and race. Along their path to Draenor, they lost enough people to fill Auchindoun with enough bones to cover miles, when it exploded. The genocide at the hands of the orcs (and Sargerei betrayers), was monstrous and made enough bones to pave the Path of Glory. And it's not been easy since then either. For the Lightforged, it's been a rough path too, with a near-suicidal mission, fighting for thousands of years. With little time to relax and heal your mental scars. Scars that may be haunting you in all sorts of ways, now that your task is complete.

    4. They are deeply religious.
    The Lightforged especially. If you are one, it means you chose to fight, rather than flee. So you certainly have strong motivations among your people. In pursuit of your goals, you have let yourself become reforged in the Light. It is an inherent part of you. Unlike the regular Draenei that still seem corruptible, as the Sargerei showed, being part Light creature, likely makes your mind much more in tune with the Light's perspective. Religion can be a challenging dimension to play. Especially when it collides with people of.. other paths. And while some Trolls may have Loa with clear teachings and personalities, the Light is a more mysterious religion in nature and practice.
    I can see how that may have people either go fanatical with it, to at least give it an expression, or just throw their hands up and not bother with it. It sounds like it could be an interesting challenge to find out in which ways your character practices their devotion however. And how do they interact with others? I doubt everyone would go preachy. Perhaps they seek to lead by example. Or through compassion. Or practice street epistemology, asking others questions to see how they think and get them considering new concepts? Maybe even offer blessings to people.


    Other stuff
    Friendships.
    Given how long they live, and thus how long they have to get to truly know people, I would say it may be hard to get a Draenei to open up, especially if they have an established group of friends they have grown their bonds of trust with, for many centuries. But then, given how much loss tends to be in their backstories, perhaps they are eager to make some new friends and fill that giant hole that losing such deep bonds has created.

    Muteness.
    Your muteness sounds like a huge challenge. Not just for you, but for those that play with you. I've interacted with mute characters before, but I've found myself overlooking their contributions, because emotes are more easily skimmed than /s. Communication is a challenge both ways. There are interactions I have enjoyed less, as a result. So I guess my advise would be, make sure you are okay with being a character that faces many challenges in social interactions. This is not a role that everyone enjoys. I've seen people quickly grow tired with their brooding characters not getting interacted with. Or their evil or asshole characters suffering negative consequences. So I'll just advise you to be certain. Especially if this is a quirk you do not intend for your character to one day perhaps overcome.

    Final Thoughts.
    I do see many options for interesting characters among the Lightborne, because their task is now complete. I'm sure that'll turn some people off on them, same way many people abandoned their Demon Hunters in BfA. Honestly for me, now is the interesting days. The mission is done. What is next? Are you looking to explore this new world that, for once, may actually offer a permanent home? Do you seek to restore the things you have lost, and begin to heal your scars? Do you devote yourself to the Light and spiritual matters, and the people of this world, now that they have helped you fulfill your destiny? Do you seek a new destiny or calling for your skills? Or can you not abandon being the devoted soldier, and will you continue to fight whatever will place itself before you?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    Curious about people's ways of playing these. With regular draenei I approached them with much less of a light worshipping angle since they are shamans and monks and hunters and just play them either jovial or stern and serious.

    For my light forged paladin, I gave some added exception by making him mute, that something happened to him in the light forge draeneis fight against the legion that caused him to lose his voice, so play up the emotes and gestures more, also because he can't speak to or about the light he can only think silent gestures which gets answered in battle.

    I get the impression from seeing some playing them they either take it more as just playing another regular draenei, or going the light bound draenei of AU draenor angle of pushing extreme light fanaticism
    Your RP is actually very touching. He Softfoot is one of my favorite characters in the entire story. Never says a word, communicates what he needs through gestures and body language. Very touching when you turn in a quest and the response is <He Softfood places his hand on your shoulder and smiles softly.>
    The most difficult thing to do is accept that there is nothing wrong with things you don't like and accept that people can like things you don't.

  4. #4
    Merely a Setback Trassk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cparle87 View Post
    Your RP is actually very touching. He Softfoot is one of my favorite characters in the entire story. Never says a word, communicates what he needs through gestures and body language. Very touching when you turn in a quest and the response is <He Softfood places his hand on your shoulder and smiles softly.>
    he was a fun character in pandaria.

    I thought, since can open the subject here too, how would a light-forged draenei be in being a deathknight? How would that function, given undeath is meant to be burned by holy, as well as how a draenei that dedicated to the light would be just becoming a being held in tact by necromatic magics.

  5. #5
    Yeah, Lightforged DK is a strange one. I'm guessing the process would have to remove the Light from you, or you'd just be in constant pain, with the Light burning inside your unholy flesh the entire day. Same way a Paladin being raised as a DK is no longer a vessel for the Light.

    As for their mind-set. Assuming they don't hurl themselves off of the nearest cliff, I guess accepting the Lich King's word that there is indeed a new big threat incoming that you are called to face, is gonna have to do it. Not like the Lightforged are new to being reforged and assigned some grand task against great odds. That's kind of been their way of life for many thousands of years. Heck, some may even relish the chance for a new destiny to face, now that their path of ending the Legion is past. The Lightforged may be some of the best equipped people to deal with the upcoming threats and diving into the alien world beyond the veil of death.

    In my opinion, of course.

  6. #6
    The Insane Raetary's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    he was a fun character in pandaria.

    I thought, since can open the subject here too, how would a light-forged draenei be in being a deathknight? How would that function, given undeath is meant to be burned by holy, as well as how a draenei that dedicated to the light would be just becoming a being held in tact by necromatic magics.

    Obviously lightforged are a whole nother lvl of light wielders but if a human could do it, don't see why a several millennia old space goat couldn't.


    Formerly known as Arafal

  7. #7
    Moderator Aucald's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    he was a fun character in pandaria.

    I thought, since can open the subject here too, how would a light-forged draenei be in being a deathknight? How would that function, given undeath is meant to be burned by holy, as well as how a draenei that dedicated to the light would be just becoming a being held in tact by necromatic magics.
    Made all the more interesting by the fact that the newer DK's coming in 8.3 are seen to be more or less willing converts, undergoing the Death Knight transformation as a means to serve Azeroth in light of the invasion by the Jailer and Sylvanas' forces from the Shadowlands proper. How much willingness they have is up for debate, but the decrypted audio from Bolvar and Mograine paints the recruitment in terms of service, not in terms of the master/slave dynamic. Why would a Lightforged Draenei choose to become a Death Knight, seemingly forsaking the Light in the process?
    "We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see." ― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

  8. #8
    Old God Mirishka's Avatar
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    I don't play on RP servers, but I do think on my characters a lot (what kind of personalities they would have, etc) - I image my LFD paladin as being very devoted to the Light and willing to help others, but also very hardened by war and withdrawn.

    Like how you hear about soldiers who struggle to return to normal/civilian life - that's her.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Caerule View Post
    Yeah, Lightforged DK is a strange one. I'm guessing the process would have to remove the Light from you, or you'd just be in constant pain, with the Light burning inside your unholy flesh the entire day. Same way a Paladin being raised as a DK is no longer a vessel for the Light.
    I might be speaking bullshit, but I think it got retconned some time ago?

    Besides, we have Calia now, a kind of undead being, but still with light powers. So maybe if Naaru is involved, it's different?

    IDK, the whole "the light is hurting undead"* was always a bit nonsense to me. LK, Sindragosa, Marrowgar, they weren't more vulnerable to fire, only because they used ice. Yes, maybe it would seem a bit strange for an undead being to use the light, but now we know that the light isn't this holy, benevolent force, there's as much evil in it as in any other force.

    *By that I mean an undead using the light, not using the light to fight the undead.

  10. #10
    Old God Mirishka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aucald View Post
    Made all the more interesting by the fact that the newer DK's coming in 8.3 are seen to be more or less willing converts, undergoing the Death Knight transformation as a means to serve Azeroth in light of the invasion by the Jailer and Sylvanas' forces from the Shadowlands proper. How much willingness they have is up for debate, but the decrypted audio from Bolvar and Mograine paints the recruitment in terms of service, not in terms of the master/slave dynamic. Why would a Lightforged Draenei choose to become a Death Knight, seemingly forsaking the Light in the process?
    I don't imagine its a matter of choice, even if its more about performing a service to the world than being a slave/soldier for the Lich King (as it was with Arthas). They're still dead when it happens - the DKs we're making are casualties from the 4th war, as I understand it.

  11. #11
    Merely a Setback Trassk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aucald View Post
    Made all the more interesting by the fact that the newer DK's coming in 8.3 are seen to be more or less willing converts, undergoing the Death Knight transformation as a means to serve Azeroth in light of the invasion by the Jailer and Sylvanas' forces from the Shadowlands proper. How much willingness they have is up for debate, but the decrypted audio from Bolvar and Mograine paints the recruitment in terms of service, not in terms of the master/slave dynamic. Why would a Lightforged Draenei choose to become a Death Knight, seemingly forsaking the Light in the process?
    As much as I'd wish for them to give an explanation to this concept, I just don't see them doing so. Only way would be to make a light forged deathknight character as a minor role and follow along their transformation and dialog, but I doubt they even really considered this. Even when they brought nazgrim back from the dead they did nothing to give his outlook on being raised

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirishka View Post
    I don't imagine its a matter of choice, even if its more about performing a service to the world than being a slave/soldier for the Lich King (as it was with Arthas). They're still dead when it happens - the DKs we're making are casualties from the 4th war, as I understand it.
    Now that makes more sense and the war is a good excuse to make it happen, it would only the most insane and devout who'd want to willingly

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by keymil View Post
    I might be speaking bullshit, but I think it got retconned some time ago?

    Besides, we have Calia now, a kind of undead being, but still with light powers. So maybe if Naaru is involved, it's different?

    IDK, the whole "the light is hurting undead"* was always a bit nonsense to me. LK, Sindragosa, Marrowgar, they weren't more vulnerable to fire, only because they used ice. Yes, maybe it would seem a bit strange for an undead being to use the light, but now we know that the light isn't this holy, benevolent force, there's as much evil in it as in any other force.

    *By that I mean an undead using the light, not using the light to fight the undead.
    You're half-right. Calia did get raised as an undead. However, the energies animating her are different ones. While the Forsaken are full of unholy energies, Calia seems a different kind of construct. One of the holy kind. That's a very interesting concept for sure. However, the Lich King's DKs are very unlikely to be of the holy sort. That's just not the power wielded by the Scourge and bestowed by the Helm of Domination Bolvar wears.


    As for the Light hurting the undead, there's actually two ways it hurts necromantic undead. The WoW state of things is somewhat different from D&D's concept of "Positive energy harms negative energy beings instead of healing them".

    1. The Light isn't just "positive" energy. It is a purifier. It's not that the Light is specifically damaging to undead flesh. It's that most spells have it wielded in ways that specifically target unholy and corrupting energies. As the undead, well most of them, are animated with dark power. Heck, many Paladin abilities were specifically developed to counter the undead. But it's not really the flesh of the dead that is so harmed by the Light. I believe it is more that the energies animating it take a big hit when targeted by Light attacks.

    2. The main issue though, isn't even that. Healing Light certainly works on corpses, animated or not. And Forsaken can channel the Light when they draw upon those energies. And this hurts like hell. And that's mostly got nothing to do with them being necrotic unholy abominations. But because it is a restorative thing. While the Light surges through a Forsaken, they can feel again. Forsaken senses are dull, and feel no cold, pain, fatigue. Now imagine you are a body that died from a host of painful wounds. Until the embrace of death freed you from the pain, cold, starvation, dehydration damage and strain your body would otherwise be feeling. Now imagine those senses being restored. Those pain sensors all over your body screaming out from the massive damage they are detecting. So it's not so much the Light that directly hurts the Forsaken when they get healed. The Light can restore Forsaken flesh just fine. A heal isn't a damaging thing. It's the Forsaken being a damaged rotten corpse, that is the cause of the pain.

    That's the last I believe I've read on it, at least.
    Last edited by Caerule; 2020-01-11 at 10:50 PM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aucald View Post
    Why would a Lightforged Draenei choose to become a Death Knight, seemingly forsaking the Light in the process?
    As far as the lore goes, there's nothing indicating that they will lose their Light powers and faith if they become Death Knights.

    They'll go full Sir Zeliek by the looks of it... but with control over their bodies.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Caerule View Post
    You're half-right. Calia did get raised as an undead. However, the energies animating her are different ones.
    The forces of the universe are known now and there's only so many combinations that can exist. Whatever energies there are, they originate from these forces. They might be different, because the Naaru (the Light representative) was included during the ressurection. But in LFD DK their origin is the same, just with the Naaru being present before the death.

    For all we know, the new DK experience can be more of a transformation than pure death. Svala Sorrowgrave is an example, transformed by LK himself.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    he was a fun character in pandaria.

    I thought, since can open the subject here too, how would a light-forged draenei be in being a deathknight? How would that function, given undeath is meant to be burned by holy, as well as how a draenei that dedicated to the light would be just becoming a being held in tact by necromatic magics.
    I'd figure we'd end up with more characters like Zeliak. Still capable of using their holy powers and self aware and able to speak, but bound and forced to act against his will. The previous would of course be predicated by being controlled by a powerful necromancer like the Lich King. Without that I'd imagine they'd be able to break free and simply be free willed undead, like Meryl.
    The most difficult thing to do is accept that there is nothing wrong with things you don't like and accept that people can like things you don't.

  16. #16
    Merely a Setback Trassk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cparle87 View Post
    I'd figure we'd end up with more characters like Zeliak. Still capable of using their holy powers and self aware and able to speak, but bound and forced to act against his will. The previous would of course be predicated by being controlled by a powerful necromancer like the Lich King. Without that I'd imagine they'd be able to break free and simply be free willed undead, like Meryl.
    yeah, I doubt bolvar would be raising new deathknights that didn't have free will since that would just cause strife with the horde and alliance against him.

    though I was more thinking of the way light-forged draenei would react to being raised as unholy creatures, one whos powers is directly against all things holy like necromany and blood magic, how they in themselves would react to such a transformation. Wouldn't it drive most of them insane to be so cut off from the light by such a change?

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    yeah, I doubt bolvar would be raising new deathknights that didn't have free will since that would just cause strife with the horde and alliance against him.

    though I was more thinking of the way light-forged draenei would react to being raised as unholy creatures, one whos powers is directly against all things holy like necromany and blood magic, how they in themselves would react to such a transformation. Wouldn't it drive most of them insane to be so cut off from the light by such a change?
    Like I was saying, becoming an undead does not equal being cut off from the Light. Zeliak could use it. The Risen could still use it no problem. It's not like the Red Mist the orcs used where it's "Bam! You're infected and now you're dead to the Light!"
    The most difficult thing to do is accept that there is nothing wrong with things you don't like and accept that people can like things you don't.

  18. #18
    I like to casually RP with my lightforged priest.

    He is holy, but sometimes he gets naughty and specs to shadow (actually because shadow kills faster). His void elf friends' teachings (aka void elf alts lol) might have tempted him!

    After going to the dark side, he respecs and continues with his holy light preachings as if he never was tempted by the shadow, you know hypocrite just like our politicians and all those fake saint priests out there in RL

  19. #19
    Moderator Rozz's Avatar
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    I actually like giving my LF the angle of a vindictive crusader.

    They don't care for anything the light doesn't touch due to their own prejudices. That includes other Draenei who swore themselves to the 'wrong' entity/power.
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Trassk View Post
    he was a fun character in pandaria.

    I thought, since can open the subject here too, how would a light-forged draenei be in being a deathknight? How would that function, given undeath is meant to be burned by holy, as well as how a draenei that dedicated to the light would be just becoming a being held in tact by necromatic magics.
    I think that's one if them gameplay > lore things. Same as there being light forged shadow priests.

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