Good evening Argent Dawn!
To make this quick; I want to know if having Night Elven face markings/tattoos is acceptable when roleplaying a Highborne? I’m pretty new to Nelf/Highborne RP in general, and I wondered what’s people stance on this?
I read an article from WoWHead that goes a little bit in depth about what the facial markings represent, etc. I’ve seen a lot of Highborne (NPC’s and players alike.) who use them, then there’s people who don’t.
Is it a personal preference? Is it lore-acceptable?
Cheers!
Yes. It’s fine, I’m failry certain even Azshara had/has them!
I believe what you’ve read is more so head cannon but it is a nifty thing to go off of. It’s down to personal choice from what I know, as much as it is a right of passage for the Kaldorei. When the Bladecrest were still about, I remember them doing some nifty roleplay surrounding it for those that seeked to get them.
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Yeah, I remember the Azshara model back in Cataclysm had them!
Thanks for your reply, I’ll look a bit further into it and figure out how my Highborne got the markings.
Azshara has Facial tattoo’s, but unlike our lower kin its not a neccesity
There’s no lore explicitly stating the Highborne would not have facial markings. It’s fine to have them, to have the markings faded with time, or not to have them. Unfortunately there’s very little canon information about the markings, such as when the night elves commonly adopted this tradition.
I wonder if the new customization options to come will allow male models to have facial markings too?
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I’d certainly hope so. And having arcane themed markings would be really nice too.
https://i.imgur.com/AZaZIVT.jpg
Still waiting
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I can’t freaking wait for new customisation options D:<
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I’m hoping that they draw me back to the race again. I love Tauren dearly, but Night Elves will always be first in my heart.
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In Azshara’s Warbringer, she lacks any facial tattoo’s, but there is nothing lore wise that states a Highborne cannot have one. Best info that’s about is a tweet from Dave Kosak saying that they’re representative of ties with nature:
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I’d adore to be able to choose arcane themed markings! 
Really looking forward to the new customizations, I hope they’ll add more accessories, such as ear rings and cuffs.
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The tattoo stuff was just bad headcanon anyway. Have them, don’t have them, whatever you fancy
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She has them, but they are just very faint! You’ll notice them if you observe closely.
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So there are, those are very subtle indeed. Thinking about it, Azshara having dark tattoos around just her eyes, making her golden eyes stand out even more at all times is what I’d expect, given her characterisation.
Completely lore-friendly, yes! In the novels Stormrage and Elegy, we’re told that the tattoos are earned as part of a rite of passage:
Stormrage
Shandris stretched her neck, which was protected by a leather and metal collar. Below her eyes, the jagged tattoos that marked an earlier rite of passage now seemed to mock Tyrande, for they added to the younger elf’s fearsome look. The high priestess had never wanted to turn the frightened young orphan into a war machine, but she had.
Elegy quote #1
Lieutenant Delaryn Summermoon was perched atop one of the low walls of the pool. She was a fellow Sentinel, though younger than Cordressa and below her in rank. Cordressa had mentored her since the Cataclysm had ripped through Azeroth, and they had become close. Delaryn’s pinkish skin glowed beneath her dark blue hair; she still had not chosen her facial markings. I know they do not always have to mark a rite of passage, she had told Cordressa once. But I feel they should. And there is nothing that has made enough of a mark on me yet to choose their form. “I heard you had returned,” Delaryn said. She turned her radiant gaze to the dwarves who sat in the pool, their heads only just above water, expressions of bliss on their faces. “I am glad you brought them home.”
Elegy quote #2
Night elf females commonly marked their faces when they had achieved a significant rite of passage. Stylized claw marks were a typical marking, but Anaris Windwood had no need for stylized scars. A troll’s raptor had attacked her and given her real scars instead. The gashes ran the length of her face, from just below her hairline to her chin. By the grace of Elune, the raptor had not gouged out an eye. Anaris had chosen not to have them healed. Rather, she embraced what she called the “true mark of the soul” with pride.
What Anaris lacked in physical beauty, she made up for in ferocity—and, Delaryn thought, in her attitude toward others.
The article on WoWhead is purely headcanon. There’s no lore basis behind it - it is entirely speculation based on animal symbolism; the bear embodies strength, for example.
I think the markings are something a night elf can choose to have - we see the Shen’dralar (mostly?) without markings, and we see Thalyssra without markings before she became Nightborne. On the other hand, we see some of the Highborne in Zin-Azshari with markings - so it’s probably really just down to preference.
I’d argue that’s a mistake on Blizzard’s side. There’s very, very faint and small tattoos (one could pass it off as make-up?), but in other art, and her in-game models have different markings. A slip-up, perhaps.
TL;DR: Facial markings are a rite of passage, Highborne can have them and they’re probably a choice made by night elves on an individual basis.
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Yes you can.
I cannot reeeeee
I want my malfurion-beard! D:
Playing a highborne in MoP, I looked at a lot of the npcs and they don’t have them, aside from freshly minted kaldorei apprentices. Maybe facial marks are just some peasant thing that they’re too highborne to understand.
Or you have them grumbling that back in my day the kids didn’t paint their faces with bird feathers and claw marks.
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I’ll have to check but I think the female Highborne in the Highborne estates in Nazjatar actually do have warpaint…
So perhaps like said above; its a personal choice?
I’m pretty sure it is personal choice, as it is with non-Highborne kaldorei. Especially these days, with the Highborne having pretty much integrated in kaldorei society by now.
This Mythundis guy is right