The silence of the cold night was broken by drums from Unu’pe village. The stillness disturbed by the shadows of the Tuskarr as they returned one of their own back to the sea. Too soon, many of them knew, and hung their heads in mournful silence. Too soon for this young one. But such was the way of things in the brutal tundra. And this was not the first to be lost in recent weeks. They all worried it would not be the last.
Across the river to the west, the silence was broken by an altogether different sound. Deep within the cramped nerubian tunnels leading to Azjol Nerub, cries of pain and terror mixed with the hisses and skittering passage of the arachnid menace . Blade met claw, carapace was shattered, lives were lost, and the sounds faded away, until silence once again reclaimed the tunnels.
At the entrance to the Nerubian tunnels the survivors of the intense battle emerged. An orc Death Knight strode forward leading the rest, but even he had not escaped unscathed. Deep slashes scored his flesh, and coagulated blood oozed forth. He ignored these as he half carried a human warrior, one of the wounded man’s arms slung across his shoulder. Several more emerged after the pair. A sin’dorei with a broken staff, a draenei bearing an unconscious goblin, and a pair of vulpera, one in mage robes, the other in battered leather. All were beaten and bloodied after the fight. The orc stopped to allow them to rest, dropping the human to the ground roughly, who muttered a curse. The Death Knight looked around as if expecting to find someone, and from beneath the nearby boughs, a shadow separated itself from the trees and strode forward, a behemoth of claws, teeth … and blue scales. Rayzalegos looked down upon the survivors until his gaze fell on the Orc.
“Is it done?” He asked. The orc nodded as he unclasped his pauldron and tossed it aside, damaged beyond repair. “You have done well, Durakas. The recent deaths among the Tuskarr and the Taunka were only a prelude to a Nerubian raid. They have grown bold … but your actions tonight will save many lives. They will know peace now, and the innocents will know of your …” The orc snapped his head back to the dragon with a snarl and and growled the words as he lifted the human once more to his feet. “They don’t want to know … they don’t need to know.” And with that, he set off into the darkness, the surviving Frostsworn following after.
Rayzalegos watched them leave, and then turned his gaze back to the west. He nodded his large head once, and said to the shadows. “It is enough that we know” and with that, he too lost himself in the darkness.
Our IC Concept.
The Frostsworn began as a small group of Death Knights, bound together after the fall of Arthas. They chose to remain in Northrend, knowing and understanding that they would not be welcome among their former kin. These warriors chose to direct their newfound strength towards defeating the still ever present dangers of the northern continent, some seeking a worthy final death, others seeking an outlet for the Thirst they could not escape. Over time the Frostsworn were seen, and watched by the remaining dragons of Wyrmrest, who fought the same enemies, guarded the same land, protected the same innocents. Through cautious approach, time and mounting success, the two learned to work alongside one another, and the Accords were made.
After the Accords and the association with Wyrmest, over time the Frostsworn’s ranks swelled with all manner of adventurers who had come to Northrend and were willing to work alongside the dark warriors and the mighty dragons. Warriors, hunters and shamans bolstered the fighting force, paladins and priests added their substantial might and bought holy wrath to the cultists that remained in Northrend … and even the shadowy Demon Hunters had been seen, their glaives a blur of death and destruction.
What are the Accords?
The Accords were written by the Dragons of Wyrmrest to not only improve the relations and success of both groups in their mutual goals, but to bring the Frostsworn under their authority. The Frostsworn, at the point the Accords were made, was exclusively made up of Death Knights, and there was no forgetting the danger they could pose should their will falter, or the Thirst master them. Future members of the Frostsworn who also used darker powers would be sworn to the accords too. And so the offer was made, the Accords offered. The Dragons would allow Wyrmrest to be used as a base of operations for the Frostsworn, provide armor and weapons to those that proved worthy of such, and offer their own considerable might to the Frostsworn’s ongoing fight with the threats of Northrend. In return, the Frostsworn would place themselves under the Dragons authority, to be watched over, guided … and culled of those too weak of mind to control the dark powers they saught to control.
The Frostsworn agreed, and the Accords were struck.
So what does all this mean as a guild?
The guild has been created to try to bring classes together that would never normally associate IC. It is a long standing RP perspective that the darker classes are usually shunned and hated IC, and for the most part, rightfully so. People should not roll a darker class and expect to be liked and accepted IC. However, this has always limited IC relations and interactions, so this guild has tried to create a concept where it would seem understandable and realistic for those classes to come into contact and RP together. Not always in harmony and love and brotherly camaraderie of course, I expect the inherent dislike for some classes to feature heavily in the guilds RP, but hopefully this will lead to more interesting RP, and not end in the typical “You bad, go away, I won’t work with you” And RP is over.
This comes back to the idea of bringing the darker classes into RP, and avoid common mistakes made by such classes. The Accords for example, forbid the use of dark magics within towns and cities, and should a guild member do so IC, knowingly understanding the Accords forbid such, then IC punishment will happen. The common argument had OOC among RPers that such powers should not be on display so casually and without consequence is then avoided by guild members. There is a time and place for such power to be used after all, in battle against our foes! Not the streets of Orgrimmar/Stormwind.
The Dragons wouldn’t do that, and isn’t it OP to have dragons fight with you?
The dragons will not fight alongside the Frostsworn IC, that of course would be far too OP. The presence of the dragons in the story of the Frostsworn is primarily to provide an authority to which they have to answer and to reassure other RPers that the potentially dangerous members of the Frostsworn have to answer to a much more powerful authority than themselves. OOC the guild wants to establish a good reputation, and the IC Accords will hopefully dissuade unrealistic or OP RP by guild members if they know they have to answer to dragons, after all!
A common argument to the guild as it has grown from an idea to this point is that the Dragons would not work with the Death Knights. I understand that viewpoint, but I believe that falls down to each individuals opinion on whether they would or not. I personally don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to imagine the story set out by the guild to be lore accurate, but of course should others think differently, they are welcome to their opinions too. The concept of dragons as the authority over the Frostsworn is important to it’s core RP concept, and the idea set out has been widely accepted to!
How new is the guild?
The guild is close to six months old now. I worked on the concept and details for a while to prepare it ready to start recruiting, and our numbers have grown surprisingly fast. and our events generally host between 4-10 RPers!
How often do you RP? When are the events?
Due to my own rl commitments, work, kids etc, we do not have events every night. Our events are held each week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm server time, and last between 2-4 hours. Every other night is reserved for casual RP. Each week the three event nights tell a short story that unfolds over the week. Every 2 month or so, we also hold a Campaign where we increase the event days and do an intensive three week story, a grand adventure!
What type of RP is it? Is it military?
So the Frostsworn are not strictly a military guild, though the setup is loosely based that way for cohesion IC. We are led by our Commander, who issues trials, and handles any IC discipline that is needed when the Accords are broken or IC disputes go too far. Thankfully this isn’t often! We don’t go as far as lining up and saluting on sight, and no uniform is enforced. We expect people to behave respectfully enough IC so that IC intervention is very rarely needed.
Our events often lead us to dangerous parts of Azeroth to fight deadly foes, or combat training. We also hold feasts and connect with in game races/factions to build IC relations. Away from events, it’s a very common situation that your personal RP days are filled with finding ways to finish your character trials, or complete tasks given by the Commander if you choose.
So what can my character expect if I join?
Anyone who joins begins their journey as an Outsider, someone curious enough to come and take a look at who we are and what we do. If they wish to join, and make it clear to the Commander or a Dragonbound member IC, they are given trials. IC challenges based on what we’ve seen of them IC, to prove themselves to the Commander and their chosen Flight. All newcomers choose a dragonflight their own values and morals align with, and aim to become an Adherent of that flight. Trials are varied, for example a troll hunter was once tasked to fire into the wind -away- from his target, with such skill and accuracy that the arrow still hit the target using the wind. He had to focus, practice and try many times. Another, a mage, was tasked with climbing a peak in Dragonblight with nothing but his magic to keep him warm, and survive the night. These are all done IC via RP with others present, or via our Discord IC channel where people post incredible stories detailing their characters exploits!
How do you manage your combat? Are there any modifiers?
We use the D20 system, and we have our own in guild modifiers. When reaching Adherent Rank, you will be given a dragon scale the color of your chosen flight, and it gives you a one time use per event +1 modifier to your roll. Over time, passing Dragon Trials will increase this modifier to a maximum of +5. Adherents also get the chance to claim a unique weapon gifted from the Frostsworns past adventures. This weapon is created OOC and catered to fit in with that characters fighting style to help enhance their preferred way of fighting. For example, we have a member who always seems to roll low, rng is not their friend, so they have an axe that can skip rolling to hit, and hits without fail with an IC explanation as to how. This is balanced by not being able to be used with the scale modifier, and it cannot crit using the D20 system. Another character has a staff with an empty crystal socket atop it. Should they have an arcane crystal placed within, and use arcane magic, they do double damage. If they had a light infused crystal, they would do normal arcane damage, but deal double light damage/heals.
Thank you all for reading this far, and if you’re interested in joining up, please do contact me in game, my ID is SilentStorm#2359876, or ask any questions you have here on the forums. I’ll do my best to answer what I can!
^^^^ What others said, plus we have cookies.