Certain classes are more difficult to RP correctly than others. DK’s and Warlocks are a good example of this.
Someone who’s been rping as a Warlock for a while now will likely have an in-depth understanding of the class, what their abilities are and what they can and cannot do.
It’s very easy to play a Warlock wrong ICly.
Warlocks are not necessarily the most powerful. Fel tempts people with easy power, but Khadgar was able to fight Gul’dan evenly in the audio drama. Once proper effort is put in warlock is no longer at such an advantage, I’d argue.
This is true, but on that same note, major lore characters like Khadgar and Gul’dan shouldn’t be used as a comparison for how powerful -our- characters can be.
Our characters will never be like them, given that Khadgar is the apprentice of the last Guardian, wielder of Atiesh and the most powerful Mage in existance.
A Warlock can counter a Mage in a few spells given their toolkit, however.
Azshara disliked that.
As a Death Knight RP’er, I can only agree.
I wish Blizzard done her power justice in her raid.
Zandalari are physically suited to unarmed combat. Chieun has done a wonderful job of mirroring my own thoughts regarding caution to take with thinking out relevant story hooks, and background.
I imagine a good hook for Zandalari is that of control. The pandaren ultimatley bested their brawn on the Troll wars with cunning and grace. These are lessons a Zandalari may wish to learn from upon reading up on their peoples history for example. Especially when you consider the relative physical dispositions of both races (pandaren are strong yes, and quite big, but when you compare them to Zandalari physically, it looks very one sided). So the student may be inclined to think “how?” and their curiosity of history leads them to find answers.
This is where training may focus on delicate application of their strength. According to the lore (some of it RPG but make of it what you will) Zandalari can lift each other with one hand, when you look at their size this is an impressive physically feat. They can also apparently puncture some plate armours with their thumbs. They’re very strong, but applying this power effectively, gracefully, truly mastering their form, it could make for an interesting hook.
If you’re open to it (and there’s actually an opening) I’d advise trying to see if there are any other players who RP experienced monks who would be willing to take you as a disciple. Monks have this lovely trainee-master thing written in which is fantastic for RP, but it needs equal investment. Done correctly though I imagine it’s joyful and leads to good rp relarionships. Bonus points granted for insisting on a Pandaren teacher (a proper master, despite however many grandmasters of other races there are).
The whole “teaching the descendents of my people’s ancient enemy” might be an intriguing notion for a master looking to fill their life with excitement.
And crack a troll’s rib cage underneath.
Gasps in taurahe
Great post! I especially like the last part, definitely think there would be some Pandaran who would take my Zandalari on because of that.
As for back story I have some already figured out, haven’t gone into it too much.
I wanted them to have some sort of interaction with a Pandaran before hand, just to have something concrete to spark the interest.
Do you think a fishermon, drifting too far out to sea, getting snatched in a storm and shipwrecking off the edge of the jade forest is out of the question? I’m not saying this is where the training would begin, but just to add some interaction in? Since I don’t want to make them a soldier.
It’s not a bad idea, certainly makes a change. You’ll need to think about where and when he ended up though so as to not be attacked upon shipwreck, the Zandalari (zul) were hostile to pandaria during Mop, and that’s probably enough to have pandaren instigate a kill in sight policy around that time.
That said if he ends up not so much in a well travelled emarea it depends who finds him. Maybe it’s not a pandaren, but someone else, and pandaren enter the equation later? A curious Grummle whose washing down his yaks by the coast after trading in Paw’don for example? I don’t imagine such a creature would attack a Zandalari. Instead he may see that the troll having a natural talent for fishing (maybe even catching them with his bare hands easily) causes him to believe the troll has “fishy luckydoo”. Striking up a strange friendship where the Grummle brings the troll supplies and food in exchange for rare and unusual catches the Grummle can sell. Maybe he brings it up casually in a drunken conversation in a pandaren tavern after a trading day and a wiley master there overhears and decides to investigate, being most interested in the “catch a fish with his bare hands so easily!” part.
This is just one example of a possible start. There’s so many as pandaria is a rich continent with many races. You just need to obviously respect that a troll shipwrecking in or near a pandaren settlement outright on pandaria will probably cause alarm so you need to think about how he finds a master (I’m example it could be he’s a recent shipwreck and the pandaren is a visiting huojin master who decides to train him firstly in pandaria and then travels back around the time BFA began) . Remember turtle pandaren are different to pandaria ones. Turtle pandas only have myths of zandalari largely unless they participated in the pandaria excursions. Mainland pandaren witnessed zandalari attacks at that time and so will be quite jittery around zandalari whereas turtle ones won’t necessarily.
Step one: Be a Pandaren.
That’s it.
I really like the Grummel idea! Might have to incorporate something along those lines.
Im not sure when exactly it should happen but maybe you guys can help me with that.
Off the top of my head I was thinking around the time of mists or just afterwards, or even before late cataclysm if thats even possible, because I wanted to make my Zandalari originally a follower of Gral the shark, because fishermon, also that’s around the time Grals temple got destroyed.
I imagine my Zandalari being quite disgruntled with Gral after that, blaming all his poor luck on the temple getting destroyed, it all coming to a head when he crashes into Pandaria, picture a Zandalari freaking out and smashing his fishing rod into the sand repeatedly, calling Gral every name under the sun. I also imagine him being absolutely terrified of the cloud serpents flying over head, hearing about how they destroyed Zandalari forces back when they were at war. Just some funny scenarios I came up with.
I recommend a more recent era. Zandalari are highly unlikely to be met amiably, even by the pandaren, until the more recent events with Zul and Rastakhan.
Remember that they have been ancient enemies and bogeymen for the pandaren since before the founding of the pandaren empire! Not killing them on sight is one thing, that is possible, but not until the death of Zul could I see any pandaren wanting to teach their ancestral enemies the very secrets they used to overthrow them so long ago.
As I said before, this isn’t where he would have to start his training or anything.
Do you think a Pandaran or whoever finds him first would just instant kill him, even though hes very clearly just a wounded fishermon? Is it really THAT bad?
Maybe the Pandaran just helps him get back home, with a few words of wisdom which sparks his interest? Or is that unlikely aswell?
Edit: maybe I have the wrong idea of the Pandaran but I really don’t see them as the savage, shoot first type.
No. As said, not killing them on sight is one thing, that I can see. It’s just that getting the trust to actually be taught is a much harder matter.
But it seems we’re on the same page now.
You can’t be a Zandalari Monk. Only pandaren can be monks. Sorry.
That’s a bit of an extreme stance to take, I think. Day one masters are a bit problematic, but nothing stops most races from starting it up.
</3 in ten characters.
Although if you ask me, only we should have had the monk class from the start. 