Who-Are-You
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Who are you pretending to be?
I know that a lot of WoW players don't care about lore or role playing, and I've always kind of felt that was a shame. Some of the most fun I've had in World of Warcraft was in playing a role (and no, I don't mean tanking) -- I've talked before about the old days when I actually led a Naxx raid in character as an overly concerned tauren worried about all the small people. Nothing irritates an orc warlock as much as hugs, let me tell you. I mention this because, thanks to a coworker's twitter, I discovered Daily Character Development, and it got me thinking about my character. Quite frankly, as silly as it might be to concern myself with the fictional life experiences of a mass of pixels, I also find it brings an extra something to the game. Raids come and go. Gear gets replaced. But I find that even dedicating a little time to who you're raiding on, and who that gear is going to, makes it a little bit more fun for me. Of course, I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who's played tabletop pen and paper RPG's for years and years. But as just one example, when I was playing an orc, I sat back and thought about how that orc would view Garrosh Hellscream and realized that from the perspective of a young orc who's basically grown up on Azeroth, Hellscream was basically the perfect orc. That at least some orcs could totally get behind his agenda. It made the whole Horde civil war aspect of the thing incredibly interesting to me, after I rerolled Alliance again I imagined my orc ended up on the wrong side... and probably dead at the hands of the combined forces besieging the city.
The Daily Grind: Who is your main character?
This morning's topic should be applicable to everyone: Who is your main character? No, no, you misunderstand me. I'm not asking what your main character is. I don't want to hear that he, she, or it is some level 59 Froggington Bladespitter with a minor in Interpretive Dance. That's what the character is. I'm asking who your main character is. My main character in Lord of the Rings Online grew up on the outskirts of the Shire in Bree, having more in common with the introspective Hobbits than the brash Men around her. Her armor and sword were bequeathed to her by her Uncle Malcolm, who was a drunken failure of a guard but a kind enough soul otherwise. She is a cheerful if sardonic adventurer who doesn't have anything better to do than to run the errands of others -- and make a profit on it. While the weight of the world presses on the shoulders of those she meets, she feels carefree knowing that what will happen, will happen. So she does what is right (mostly) but avoids being saddled with a legacy. And, oh, she likes roast rabbit but detests fish. Who is your main character? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
