Recently, several threads and conversations have emerged on this forum regarding the use of magic, and how we handle it when we are roleplaying magical characters. While it is a very interesting topic, I feel like there is merit in discussing non-magical characters as well.
Azeroth and the setting of Warcraft is extraordinarily magical, yet the vast majority of characters that exist within it are incapable of wielding magic, and a significant number of characters that we roleplay as players do not wield it either. Many hunters, rogues and warriors are not inherently magical in any shape or form.
In D&D, classes that are incapable of magic are commonly referred to as “martial” classes, and that is the language that I will be using when speaking of characters that can’t sling any sort of spell.
So, just as other threads ask questions about how your characters use magic, I would like to explore how you play martial characters.
How do your martial characters fight? What weapons do they wield, what armour do they wear, what styles of combat have they been taught, what miscellaneous equipment do they use?
How do your martial characters handle magical opponents? Do they have any particular doctrine or approach, when it comes to fighting mages and mystical monsters?
How open are you to incorporating the magical elements of Warcraft into your martial roleplay? Are you open to magical characters circumventing the “mundane” nature of your martial characters by healing them with magic, transporting them with portals and enhancing them with magic? Do your martial characters take advantage of magical items?
How important is realism to you when portraying a martial character? Are your characters capable of superhuman feats of strength and shrugging off magic through sheer force of will, or do you try to keep your martial characters more grounded and normal?
Do you ever feel as though your martial character is made redundant by more magical characters? How do you feel when the creative use of magic circumvents obstacles that your character would have had to overcome through martial means? How do you feel when you encounter magical characters that are capable of everything that your martial character is capable of, and so much more?
Some of the questions are a bit more contentious than others, but I feel like they are all important subjects to tackle when roleplaying martial characters in World of Warcraft, and I’d like to hear what the players of martial characters have to say on the subject.
At last, being floored at home with a seasonal flu will bear fruit!
Being an orc through and through, there aren’t that many bells and whistles to his combat style. It’s up close, it’s reliant largely on strength and deceptive speed for a warrior his size - and there’s no trickery beyond the feints and faux-telegraphs you’d expect in close quarters combat.
He’s quite adaptable with weapons however. While his favourite is one of the characteristically “howling” Warsong axes, he does own a pair of smaller hand-axes as well, and is resourceful in turning items that aren’t strictly weapons into means of murder. Hunting gear and survival tools asides however, that is largely his arsenal.
In terms of gear, unless the climate demands something specific of him, he wears an assortment of leathers, chainmail and plate. There are no supernatural qualities to any of it; the point is for some vital areas to be protected, and others shown off as a means of intimidation. A certain fear factor is definitely something his overall appearance in combat is meant to encourage.
Apply pressure.
Maintain pressure.
“OOM…?!”
Axe, meet sternum!
Genuinely though, this is his approach when facing off against most spellcasters. No matter the powerful warlock or cunning mage, they require focus and mana in order to put the cannon part of “Glass Cannon” into effect. This is exceedingly difficult with a 7’6" alien monster hammering an axe against their straining magical barrier, or is relentlessly closing the distance whenever they try to get some space.
Of course there are variables to this, and seeking cover is also an option if he has no means of closing the distance or distracting the spellcaster long enough to withdraw. He understands that in order to keep the ball in his court however, playing defensive won’t cut it with magical opponents.
Magical monsters is another kettle of fish, and his tactics will depend almost entirely on what he’s facing. That’s also when the aforementioned hunting gear is likely to feature as well, especially if the damned thing can fly!
It largely depends on the tone of a given role-play. Personally I do gravitate towards the slightly less fantastical elements of Warcraft, though I do acknowledge them as being a part of the world. So while Vakosh might not apply magical items into his combat (who’d trust in magic when you have steel?), it’s something I’m entirely open for an opponent or ally of his to do.
As for magical healing in RP, I’d almost argue that it is a considerable topic unto itself. In short, the way I see it, is that it has a natural place in Warcraft. We see its use quite frequently in the lore. Its efficacy on my characters depends on what makes for the best story at the time however, and I tend to expect much the same applies for others.
Realism does take a vacation where alien apex-warriors are concerned. I can appreciate that some prefer to truly ground their martial characters regardless of race and class, but in my case, it’s more like… Realism+ I suppose. I’ll provide a few examples and see if I can’t examplify what I mean:
Vakosh can’t ignore injuries indefinitely through the power of will. He can all but entirely ignore them for the duration of a fight however, straight up due to rage and adrenaline. Well that and famously tough orcish skin and fortitude, but you get my meaning I’m sure.
He also can’t stomp on the ground and literally bring lava to the surface, but he is strong enough to throw a horse with both hands. This also features in his choice of primary weapon, being something no one should ever want to take a full hit from.
As for warrior shouts, which feature quite famously OOC, his battle-shout has ruptured at least one pair of eardrums. I did toy with leaning further into the potency of that skill for a time - and might yet in the future - but right now, he just has a really large pair of lungs and the voice to carry a mean roar when too close.
Not particularly. It’s generally my impression that martial- and magical characters each bring something special into role-play, which more often than not compliments one another. And I mean, if I felt magical solutions to IC challenges or storytelling beats were more useful and/or interesting than martial ones, I’d just switch proverbial sides on the matter.
My character may absolutely envy the apparent ease with which shaman and druids solve problems that he’d have no immediate way of addressing, but as a player, I’m absolutely fine with it. So long as it’s within the reasonable scope of the lore, creativity is always interesting to encounter in role-play.
I suppose that depends entirely on the context.
When squaring off against an antagonist during a campaign or a smaller, yet no less significant story arc, it makes sense for the proverbial end-boss to match or even outmatch the protagonists at first. So if somewhat all-powerful characters are put to use for the sake of a good story, I’m absolutely fine with it.
Similarly, it needn’t be a problem when concerning other player-characters. An orcish Blademaster is a singularly deadly warrior, with a sprinkling of mystical abilities such as mirror-images and nearly turning invisible due to their sheer speed. In other words, Vakosh would be hard pressed to beat one such individual. This can absolutely be an interesting encounter regardless, however, and I expect the two may share pointers over an ale afterwards.
How do your martial characters handle magical opponents?
I’d like to think that the monks’ ability to manipulate their chi gives them at least some defenses against magic wielders, perhaps even a minor counterspell ability if we take Diffuse Magic very literally - though obviously I wouldn’t consider this something they can just keep using over and over. But yeah, I think monks can sort of shield their life force from being affected by some spells so they can close the distance and get a few choice hits into the mage’s meridians. Djiko himself doesn’t have the kind of mastery to cast stuff like Chi Burst so he’s limited to purely minor defensive techniques, and I don’t consider him a caster even though some scholars might argue that chi manipulation is a form of magic.
How open are you to incorporating the magical elements of Warcraft into your martial roleplay?
I love magic, and as a troll Djiko has certainly seen it used all his life: first by the shamans of his tribe, and then by other spellcasters as he ventured out into the wider world. Magic is a-ok and my guy definitely has a healthy respect for it and its practitioners. He’s taken a portal or two in his life.
How important is realism to you when portraying a martial character?
Important. Djiko is, at best, at “lvl 40 rare” power level as I prefer to play sort of mundane, unremarkable characters, more slice of life than epic saga. He can and has taken hits and been defeated many times. I like fair fights, obviously, so he probably wouldn’t challenge someone out of his league anyway - or if he did, he’d quickly realize his error and bail.
Do you ever feel as though your martial character is made redundant by more magical characters?
No. Both styles of combat have their pros and cons - there’s a reason mages can’t tank a raid.
I’ve two characters that fit this bill sort of! I’ll try to answer the posed questions for them both.
How do they fight? One is a goblin sapper; frontline, mix of heavy and medium armor, massive, tough shield, and a big mace that can discharge electricity. The other is an extremely heavily built, tanky pandaren with massive plate armor and large weapons to match, so she’s more of a bulldozer type of character or an emergency stop between hostiles and others. They do carry guns, but rarely use them, as well as some explosives. How do they handle magical opponents? My pandaren carries a weapon that can absorb a limited amount of magic to dish it back out, but it’s for a boost in offense and not nearly good enough for defense. Goal is to reach and slam the magic user as soon as possible. My sappers shield can withstand a good amount of beating, which is the goal - usually he’s the bait for others to get hits in. How open are you to incorporating magic into martial RP? Very! It makes it super fun, and people generally ask permission for more outlandish applications in my experience. How important is realism to you? Not terribly, but I don’t like going overboard with superhuman feats or gritting teeth through magic without a good reason or motivator. You can have a heroic moment where a fireball doesn’t instantly floor you, but you’ll still feel it and possibly collapse right after said heroic moment. Do you feel as though martial characters are made redundant by magical ones? Sometimes, yes. Opening portals to the Nether to push people into every event or portaling past a challenge the DM clearly put there to be beat, or summoning magical minions to assign any sort of menial task to kinda cheapens things if it’s done in excess. Makes me question why my martial character shouldn’t just leave and spend the night in the nearest tavern. Depends on the individual, and if applicable, the DMs tolerance.
Lochton is one of my most down to earth characters I have.
Commonly, explosives (Two different kinds), pistol (Small bullet selection), rifle (Two kinds of ammo), general tools and gadgets for weaponry.
Armour, commonly his suit (enchanted threads to cover the explanation of possible shredded suits all the time)
Combat, Fight or flight. Dodging, distance, traps, delays.
Commonly also uses his tools in the field (Hammer, Spanner, Wrench, Torch, Pen and papers).
Shock weapons, explosives, range on range. Low charge shield generator (basically just able to block powerful strike or two). Worgen form covers ground faster, either in attack or fleeing. Monsters if much bigger, are commonly a larger chance of fleeing. Lochton doesn’t do good with big races.
Lochton’s magic use is Worgen form (transformation), Engineering Teleportation, shield generator, special bullets (for additional dmg, commonly empowered crystal tips). Lochton has a special enchanted glass in his glasses so he can see what is enchanted and what is cursed - he can’t see what it does, or if good or bad. Closest Lochton is to magic, is selling items to other people - or making your gold disappear.
Lochton is small. There are no superhuman feats of him, other than agility/fleeing, and being quite bright. if he gets hit, he’s flung. Worgen form is suppressed for as long as possible, but if needed, it is used as a defensive.
Lochton can be made redundant by a wide selection of things, a mage, a warrior, an archer, an assassin. Lochton is a utility character. He is brought because he can be in need with what he carries, or can do (Tinkering, Engineering, Locksmith, salvaging, demolition, supplies, etc).
Lin is a mistweaver with a lot of combat experience. She prefers not to fight personally at all if possible, but if need be, she uses a mix of Serpent and Crane monk styles, either unarmed or with a spear. As of the armor, it’s usually a set of reinforced leather just to ease the consequences of a stray arrow. Basically agility tanking.
Do the same thing any sensible melee fighter would do. Either get up close and try to overwhelm the enemy with a flurry of attacks, or provide support from afar if fists or blades clearly won’t cut it. No one said a monk can’t throw a bomb or shoot a crossbow if need be, after all. Or, perhaps, invest in weapon oils, enchantments and whatever else is needed long before the fight begins.
As long as it makes sense and isn’t overpowered, it can be included. Lin is a healer first and foremost, it’s her job to combine normal field surgery with magical healing or cleansing methods to keep people alive, but when it’s more serious than a random flesh wound it normally takes more long-term and complicated efforts than a gust of mist.
As ever, balance is required. Lin can punch rather hard, but not above what’s expected from an average monk. Her forte is healing and mobility, including chi torpedoes in all directions. Aside from that, there’s not much supernatural stuff.
Only makes sense to have different specialists for different situations. Lin’s the one the people run to for healing and medical advices, but when it comes to the matters of advanced magic, brute force or other stuff out of her skillset it’s alright to let the others shine, both IC and OOC.
Got some time free now, so I’ll respond to my own questions.
I’m only actively playing Shog’ganosh at the moment, and he’s something of a self-taught jack of all trades. His weapon of choice is a halberd but he’s capable of knife-fighting and shooting with a rifle. He’s capable of putting together and throwing wildfire bombs, and he’s able to tame, train and ride various beasts, namely dire wolves and kodos so far. He’s not a master at any of the above, merely competent.
Disengage when targeted, take by surprise if possible, typically through a flanking manoeuvre, ambushing or the use of a carefully timed wildfire bomb. He knows from experience that he has no method of fighting back against magic used against him, and he doesn’t have any particular technique or tool that is useful against magic-users other than the element of surprise.
As he is a pragmatic orc and I don’t participate in an inherently low-magic community, he takes advantage of magic whenever he gets his hands on it, from magical healing, to magical transportation. He doesn’t have any magical items (yet) but he has absolutely no issue with using them.
Not only is Shog an orc, but he is in the upper quartile of orcs when it comes to matters of strength. By default, he is already capable of borderline superhuman strength. However, there are points where he succumbs to the blood curse of Mannoroth and falls into a black rage, during which he is capable of truly inhuman feats of strength and endurance.
For the most part, I enjoy the imaginative use of magic to solve problems and overcome obstacles, within reason. A shroud of invisibility to cover the group as they sneak past guards, feather fall to negotiate a precipitous slope, water walking to traverse dangerous water and so on. It can go too far, with the immediate healing of every wound that the group receives at no cost or the use of teleportation to avoid any conflict at all, but usually a group’s GM can plan around this and either create suitable obstacles or provide consequences.
However, I do come across magic-wielding characters that are capable of everything that my character can do and more, and it’s not always the best feeling. Characters that not only possess the martial expertise of mine, and the strength and the endurance, but also possess the ability to heal wounds, to project magical shields that absorb damage and/or sling damaging spells at their foes. In a PvE context, this isn’t as much of a problem since such characters can’t deal with every foe or boss encounters all on their own, but in a PvP context, it can create a sense of helplessness if your character fights others that can do everything that your character can do just as effectively, and so much more.
So if I have one gripe when I play martial characters, that would be it - they often feel like they are one-dimensional and overshadowed when in the presence of paladins, druids and the increasingly common fighters, rangers and assassins who also wield the Light and/or the Arcane, often with as much potency as traditional magic-wielders.
Depends.
I play a warrior with enchanted equipment which grants some defense against magic.
But I also play a dense orc berserker who overcomes puny magic through sheer indomitable orcish spirit.
I embrace the setting as is, its silly to pretend otherwise.
If Wizards are allowed to call down blizzards so too should I be able to leap in full plate armor as if I was catapulted, roar with the force of a dragon and shatter the ground with a swing of my mighty sword.
That isn’t to say I do that on all my martial characters, as I like to roleplay characters with different skill levels and with different limitations, but I will not be told my fully plated pandaren samurai can’t charge towards you so fast he sets the ground on fire.
How do your martial characters fight?
My Warrior’s like a Berserker, one who focuses entirely on offense and gives little thought to defense. He is very much a “kill them before they kill you”. He has not been trained per say, but has learned from years of experience, which has naturally earned him many scars, and the loss of an eye.
How do your martial characters handle magical opponents?
Not very well. I like to balance my characters, and while an absolute unit and a Juggernaut in melee, if he can’t reach you… Well, what’s he gonna do? So he’s quite good at killing things in close quarters combat, but any mage, warlock or caster in general, would have a relatively easy time dealing with him, should a fight break out.
How important is realism to you when portraying a martial character?
Depends on moment to moment, really. I like high fantasy RP, and thus a lot of realism is tossed out the window, but there are times when its just the best fit.
Do you ever feel as though your martial character is made redundant by more magical characters?
Honestly the opposite in a way. I am lucky in having a small guild of likeminded people who also like high fantasy, but it feels as if much of the populace on alliance just prefers low fantasy RP.
It varies. My rogue is a very dirty and opportunistic fighter, the sort of guy who’ll try and toss a handful of dirt into an opponent’s eyes. My warrior, on the other hand, is driven by honour and refuses to resort to such trickery.
They generally try to either avoid them or be opportunistic about it. I tend to lean into experience being a major factor in how successful they can be at opposing a mage.
Very, my Blood Elves tend to have enough magical prowess to ignite an arrow for instance and the more veteran combatants have picked up quite a few tricks over the years.
Fairly. I think a lot of the charm resides in being a bit of a generic footman who has the odds stacked against them. Whereas magical characters always have a bit of a more whimsical and fancy vibe to them.
Sometimes. That tends to come down to how certain events play out, though. A solid GM is going to find ways to allow everyone involved to pitch in and help out but I’d be lying if I said I’ve never encountered magical characters who conveniently overcome any obstacle put before them.
One of my favourite scenarios is inspired by Final Fantasy IX and how Steiner has his sword enchanted by Vivi. Playing out stuff like that in battle is a lot of fun.
How do your martial characters fight? 1-H Sword and Shield, Dual-wielded swords, hand-and-a-half sword. Strike first & strike hard; look to kill or incapacitate as soon as possible.
How do your martial characters handle magical opponents? Sneak up upon them and hit them before they cast if possible; Close the distance and use cover if he can’t.
How open are you to incorporating the magical elements of Warcraft into your martial roleplay? He’ll take advantage of anything that gives him an edge, healing, potions, items and enhancements.
How important is realism to you when portraying a martial character? I try not to do anything I wouldn’t believe he could accomplish IRL, so superhuman? No. But he is a force of nature and can pull off some ridiculous feats of strength and endurance.
Do you ever feel as though your martial character is made redundant by more magical characters? It’s part of the system and the setting. Though characters that do these things effortlessly without limits or weaknesses aren’t generally worth RPing with.
