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Ask a CDev Round IV answers revealed
It's been quite some time since we've had a new round of Ask a CDev, addressing and answering lore questions from players. But the answers for round IV of the popular feature have been released, including quite a few questions with interesting implications. This time around, the questions were drawn directly from Twitter, and they address a variety of topics. Some highlights include: Oshu'gun? That's what the orcs call the mountain in Nagrand. But the draenei that remember the mountain for the vessel it was still use its original name -- the Genedar. Tyrande and Malfurion officially co-lead the night elves. Tyrande is no longer the sole leader. Sadly, the Shatterspear tribe is no more, although some may have escaped and found shelter within the Horde or other organizations. Just who the heck is Trade Prince Donais? Well ... he isn't Horde, exactly... There is a distinct difference between the vrykul and Kvaldir, and it involves the Curse of Flesh. Take a look at the thread in its entirety for all of the lore questions and answers. And if you have a lore question that has you stumped, head over to Twitter and shoot it to Senior Historian Sean Copeland at his Twitter account, @Loreology.
Five recommendations from the first fanfiction challenge thread
The new fanfiction forum is in full swing and filling daily with stories from the avid fan-writers of WoW. Nethaera has been helping things along by adding new writing challenge threads about once every two weeks or so. The first of these asked the readers to imagine they were an attendee at the trial of Garrosh Hellscream and to describe what they saw. It's not a competition, but Nethaera did outline a few rules, notably, the writers could not exonerate Garrosh. It's been fascinating to read the responses. Many feature similar themes and ideas, but there is endless variation on the theme. As I did a few weeks ago with the forum at large, I've picked five of my favorite stories from the thread and listed them below. There are many more than these that deserve attention, but time is short and I am but one person. Please feel free to comment with some of your own favorites, as well!
Five of my favorite stories from the fanfiction forum
The new official WoW fanfiction forum has been live for a little while now, and it's starting to fill up with a variety of stories for the interested reader. There you can find tragic tales of fallen heroes, tongue-in-cheek vignettes, and even some chronicles devoted to filling in the gaps of Azerothian history. Really, even after only a few days of existence, there are more than enough stories to keep a fanfiction enthusiast busy for quite some time. In the spirit of drawing some attention to the forum as a whole, I've spent some time reading through a number of the threads there and picked out a few of my favorites. Mind you, this isn't necessarily a comprehensive list, because I simply don't have the time to give every single posted tale the attention that it deserves. The ones I've chosen caught my fancy for any number of reasons--the originality of the concept, some aspect of the writing, or the effect of the story. They are listed below in no particular order. Do click on over to check them out, and feel free to add favorites of your own in the comments!
I won't cry for you, Garrosh Hellscream
We stand on the edge of patch 5.4 -- Orgrimmar is about to be invaded, and Garrosh Hellscream is about to be dethroned and likely killed. The decision to make a playable faction's leader the end boss of an expansion is a pretty surprising one, and as is to be expected, has been met with mixed feelings from many among the player base, myself included. I admit, Garrosh holds a very special place in my heart. Back at the end of 2009, Blizzard called me up and asked if I would be willing to write his leader story, to hopefully give some more depth to a character who was at the time much maligned. The prospect was incredibly daunting, and I was terrified, but keen for a challenge, I agreed. As often happens when you spend enough time getting into the head of a character or two (or more), that fictional person begins to grow on you. When I started Heart of War I will admit I had little love for the younger Hellscream. I thought him brash, full of himself, and woefully ignorant of Azeroth. But I went into the story production armed with the following philosophy: everyone is the protagonist of their own story. As such, I was determined to give Garrosh, as my Australian husband sometimes quips, a fair shake of the sauce bottle.
WoW.com welcomes artist Kelly Aarons
WoW.com is pleased to announce a new and unique addition to our staff -- Kelly Aarons of WoW, Eh? fame! Kelly will be joining us each Tuesday morning posting a new comic, in much of the same style as WoW, Eh. Kelly produces some great hand-drawn art, and will no doubt give everyone something to look forward to during those boring maintenance periods. We've recently interviewed Kelly in our 15 Minutes of Fame segment, which provides a good insight into how she goes about her business. You can see more of Kelly's work over at WoW, Eh? and at her Deviant Art page. She also just won the World of Warcraft: Comic Contest in September. So check back tomorrow for the first installment, and be sure to give Kelly a warm WoW.com welcome!
