I’m playing a character who is not well-off, noble, or a mercenary with a constant income. She originated from the likes of Westfall. A poor and desolate place compared to its neighbouring territories. What I’m curious about is… Where are the other poor people? Anyone else who has ties to Westfall as an origin story and is still trying hard to ‘make it’ in life? I personally see that as more developing than starting as a powerful, attractive, rich human from the get-go.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to Rp a noble. I’m saying that it’s bad we don’t have more poor people because yeah, it’s a very real element in any society. Say your piece. I’m curious what you think and whether you know anyone else who has such a backstory/origin and wants to work their character up in society. Might be interesting to get our characters together. Granted this one I’m posting on is not the designated character I’ll be plotting on – that one isn’t appearing on my character list for some reason.
No, it isn’t a troll post. Genuine query. Rp wishlist.
The great majority of my characters are all people who aren’t too well off, and they all don’t look attractive. I can totally get your perspective, I share the same one. People gotta start playing more characters that aren’t well off in life, or at the very least aren’t the most beautiful person in the world as many glances describe.
Seeing something as “Their face is remarkably beautiful, like the rest of their body” and what not I just cringe. Or well, you know the type, people who describe every single bodypart in great detail in their about section about how beautiful and unique they are. Goodness. People please, stop doing it, please. I don’t know a single person who even uses that beauty-information to have their character get a passive attraction to them. Not a single one. Probably because the character would be forced to be attracted to everyone lmao.
I suspect the tendency for the “rich supermodel humans” trope partially boils down to wishful thinking on the part of the typist behind the character. If they are flipping burgers and their skin complexion rivals the surface of the moon, there is little motivation to equal that 1:1 in a fantasy world with close to no limit on the polar opposite. The same thing can be applied to possessing considerable IC wealth, or impressive physical fitness for combat type characters.
Which is fine. RP is meant to be a fun departure from real life after all, regardless of whether that is expressed through a character’s appearance, personality, or placement on the social ladder.
I would counter that some characters may come with less obvious shortcomings and flaws. Perhaps they have an addiction, perhaps they are emotionally crippled in some manner, or perhaps their beauty is an illusion hiding a horrible truth. Consistently showing subtle in-character troubles can be a challenge however, and so they risk coming across as picture perfect to those who don’t RP with them on a regular basis.
On a closing note:
Cataclysm gave Westfall an odd vibe. At least to me.
CSI references, US south-state yokels and the Defias reborn. All mashed together with angry elements and haywaire harvest robots. It’s a perfectly fine origins for a character, but I would personally not want to tie myself to that particular zone if I had a choice.
With all races actively recruiting adventurers, I find it hard to ignore this as a background. If you are able bodied or able minded there are people willing to pay you to hunt wolves or fight kobolds or figure out who’s behind the defias menace.
I have only one noble and he’s a minor noble who was shaping up to be a courier before the various invasions and wars over the past several years. The demand for employees is just too high in Azeroth.
I think I’ve seen ugly characters, scarred characters, old characters but all able bodied.
Kasumi here’s pretty much a peasant char. Granted she’s been trained to use magic but she’s a Westfall native that’s remarkably poor, quite badly illiterate, suffers from discrimination and has to support a rather large family mostly on her own. Both she and her twin sister are the only two old/well enough to maintain a proper job (adventuring is a job that both gives Kasumi a decent income and satisfies her wanderlust) and even then she generally works part-time jobs in the downtime between adventuring because an adventurer’s paycheck isn’t always solid.
Honestly, most of my other characters both in the past and present are either well-off or rich when it comes to their wealth, it’s real refreshing to be RPing a poor character who fixes up anything she can scavenge for clothing and gear, and makes food out of literal dirt.
This about sums it up, we’re at a point in the game where it’s extremely high fantasy, there is lots of concepts to chase and the base setting is generally over the top. Don’t get me started on the quality of RP outside of guilds because it varies WILDLY. What is lame is virtue signalling because people don’t want to play simple background characters to help pad your own heroic RP, which is usually what these threads devolve in to between posters talking about their low fantasy donut steel character to score some forum brownie points.
There’s nothing wrong with playing a filthy peasant of course but please don’t complain because other people choose to spend their time, their way.
There is usually a pretty big gap of unused RP as a poor/lowranking character. I think the idea of starting of as a nobody is the absolutly most fun way to grow a character.
The possibilities are not just to sit by the road and beg, I beg to differ on that one Tehya. Rather, how the thrill of thievery, trying to get a job and work your way up and so on can be a real fun way to spend the time. That really makes the character grow and the RP fun.
I like to start of my characters as poor/ suffering memoryloss/ just got out of some sort of capture. That makes the start easier and the way forward less obvious. Good thread, and good discussion
I understand what you’re saying and I have noticed it too at times. But there are pockets of poor / low-life RP, especially in Stormwind.
I’d suggest you swing by Old Town or the Shady Lady a couple times and seek out other similar folks. I know there’s a ‘gang’ RP guild called the Duskshrouds based in Old Town who are all about coming from nothing, and I saw a Gnome Urchin walking the streets just last week!
There’s definitely an RP crowd for what you’ve described, I assure you!
I’ve seen a lot of peasant and normal characters as of late actually, considering that I’ve been maining a Stormwind Guard for 6 months so far, so while I understand that I think it is already fairly balanced.
I can see why it might be appealing to some, working your character up and letting them learn everything.
For me personally though? No, not at all appealing. There are currently 24 races over all playable gamewise. More when using your imagination / skin tones and with all of these races come different roles.
Trolls for example have completely society wise different roles than gnomes.
I could roleplay a gnome tinker, I could roleplay a tauren fisher with a fishing hat or if I want to go really crazy I could roleplay a tribal dwarf.
There’s about 998717612924 choices of roles I could take on. Why would I take on the role of a human peasant?..
Furthermore, ok, let’s say I really am a human peasant.
Why would he be?
We roleplayers fill the world with countless opportunities to become more than just a peasant. A military guild that might take you on, put you in armor and then you’re good to go. Fel is learnable. You could believe in the Light hard enough and suddenly you can be a priest because why not. Go walk up to a worgen and drink his/her blood, boom, you’re a 2 meter tall mega wolf creature that can lift entire horse carriages with his hands. There are probably a million examples more.
Warcraft for me has just so many possibilities that it would be strange to not take them. Even when your character comes from a poor peasant background. Why would they remain there?
I don’t wanna ruin anyones fun and I’m saying that anyone should roleplay whatever, I just personally don’t understand it.
I hope however that you find a couple (or 1) of people that would be up for the idea.
Hey, you’re the dwarf from yesterdays small fire place in Stormwind. 10/10 roleplay, keep it going. Excellent portraying of a priest.
I think for many it is just simple preference. I always enjoyed playing snobbish and arrogant characters who by circumstance end up ruined and in unfamiliar environments, which just works better if they’re born to wealth and power. At least I have tried to balance it by making them part of the land-owning gentry, instead of straight up nobility.
There is a place for character concepts that start at the absolute bottom of society - be that a peasant or something else that is similar - but like anything in RP it’s a very specific concept that you really have to be into to enjoy. I have done the from rags to riches story in so many other games and DnD sessions that I just don’t find it that fun anymore and feel more attracted to the opposite.
My worgen that I post on is a peasant. Low end, working class Gilnean chap who’s idea of a fun night out was bare knuckle brawling behind the pub for coin.
Regarding beauty, I don’t mind it - I mean some people are ridiculously beautiful. What I have a problem with is when all their Rp is very ‘easy’ like okay, not all noble born people are good looking. I mean look at history. haha! Lots of Less pretty Royal family members for example.
Fair points. I think the zone can still be used again in a campaign / guild / community setting regardless of whether the built-in storyline was any good.
Not my intention at all, actually. I know the forums are abused for that sort of attitude - mine is genuine interest and I wish to actively fix some of the lacking in our rpc. Like, encourage more less Hero types. I’m not dissing them. I’m saying we need more variety - like c’mon lets Rp together but not like that.
THIS. Exactly. This. For anyone who is reading and thinking ‘oh not another post about someone complaining’ actually no. It’s not. It’s an active ‘LETS DO THIS.’ Post. You wanna Rp a nobody who climbs up from nothing? There’s a lot of Rp opportunities if you look at it correctly - mugging people for the sake of mugging them is dull. Mugging them because you’re desperate? Have a family somewhere who can’t eat? Think about the backstory is what I’m saying. And the encounters you could initiate. Not specifically thieves either - lots more.
