Hello!
As I like reading about and studying the human body; as well as RP in World of Warcraft; a question came to my mind!
And that question is, how would having hooves instead of feet affect your mobility and general day-to-day activities?
Putting ingame balance issues aside, what would be the pros & cons of having hooves instead of feet if we were to apply some logic and general biomechanics to WoW’s races?
Let’s take a side-by-side comparison, a human vs a Draenei. These are my assumptions:
A Draenei, because of their hooves, would have
- Greater leg strength in general.
- Be able to achieve a higher max speed whilst running on a relatively flat and even plane in a straight line.
- Better jumpers.
By contrast, a human with their normal feet would have;
- Greater maneuverability, especially in cramped, narrow areas, like a messy corridor/room.
- Able to sidestep, turn or spin around on the fly better, also making them better dancers.
- Better climbers.
- Able to move more sneakily.
Incidentally, given their posture, Draenei also seem more reliant on their tail in order to maintain balance, which combined with their slight disadvantage in mobility could make for some rather comedic scenes if a Draenei tried to maneuver through a tightly packed china shop for instance!
What do you guys think?
Do you agree? Disagree? Is there something you’d like to add?
Do you try to take the physiological traits of your character into account when RPing them?
Let me know what you think! ^.^