When Bloggers Collide

Ratshag linked over to Windpaw's blog and a funny post about a fictitious encounter with an infamous Dwarven hunter. It's not retribution related, or paladin related, but I got a chuckle out of it, being a closet-RP'er.

In a thought exercise, I browsed down my feedreader to see who amongst bloggers I read I would write a similar encounter about. It dawned on me that, aside from a select handful, almost all the blogs I read are written by Alliance mains. I wonder if this is just my internal preference for the "noble" Alliance, there are just more Alliance blogs out there, or there's some other factor.

Avenger's Oath

Armor is but a front.

The blade is but a tool.

True strength flows from the Light.

I am a vessel of vengeance, meting out justice and spreading the Light to the darkest corners of the world.

Those that came before me are gone, but their tradition and their vision lives on.

In me.

Their sacrifices will be remembered. Their deaths will be avenged. By my mailed fist, this world will be pulled closer to the Light, and the evils of this age will be swept away. The blood of the fallen has dried, but vengeance still burns as bright as the rising sun.

I am the sword in the darkness.

I am the light that brings the dawn.

I am the shield that guards the realms of men.

Retribution is at hand.

Inspired by Joanadark's "The Guardian" short story, as well as the Oath of the Night's Watch, and the Jedi Code / Sith Code.

The Fall and Reemergence of Kel'Thuzad

Since I was wondering how Blizzard decided to reintroduce Naxxramas into the game, I did a little research yesterday. Fair warning, there are quest spoilers ahead. If you haven't fully cleared out Dragonblight (specifically the Wintergarde Keep quests), I would recommend not reading below the line.

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Still here? Okay, let's backtrack. Before the Burning Crusade and the re-opening of the Dark Portal, Kel'Thuzad posed the most imminent threat to Azeroth. From his floating citadel above the Eastern Plaguelands, the Lich King's lieutenant commanded the Scourge's forward forces in the Eastern Kingdoms, and was protected from attack by a cadre of the finest Scourge creations (or a freak show of Scourge abominations, depending on your viewpoint). When KT launched a full-scale invasion of Azeroth, sending necropoli to the major Alliance and Horde cities, the Argent Dawn said enough is enough. They teamed up with the Scarlet Crusade, formed the Brotherhood of the Light, and sent squadrons of the most elite combatants (read: player-controlled raiders) directly to Naxxramas, KT's headquarters above the burning streets of Stratholme.

After clearing out Naxx, defeating KT's pet frost wyrm Sapphiron, and then ultimately besting KT himself, a single raider amongst the victorious could take KT's phylactery and present it to the Brotherhood of the Light for disposal. Father Inigo Montoy of the Brotherhood happily accepts the phylactery, promising to deliver it to the Argent Dawn for proper handling.

That's the last you hear of Kel'Thuzad. Until now.

Upon fighting your way off the frozen shores of Borean Tundra and moving into the Dragonblight, you happen upon Star's Rest. It is in the surrounding area that you find something of great interest to a Kirin Tor commander at Star's Rest - at which point you are whisked on the fastest hippogryph they have to Wintergarde Keep, clear across the Dragonblight, to consult with the commander there. The 7th Legion, an elite fighting force comprised of veterans of all Azerothian wars from ages past, is in direct conflict with the Scourge here, desperately clinging to their stronghold around the main keep. Over the scourged farmlands, an eerily familiar necropolis hovers...

After assessing the situation at Wintergarde and speaking with the 7th Legion commander, you are sent on a series of quests to thwart the lich Thel'zan the Duskbringer, who commands the Scourge ground forces at Wintergarde. The culmination of these quests is a confrontation with Thel'zan himself. With a group of 7th Legion Elite at your back, you summon forth the lich - at which point he paralyzes you all in fear and starts talking trash. But, salvation comes in the form of Bolvar Fordragon, who rallies you and the Legion, and utters Thel'zan's true name - Father Inigo Montoy. The man whom accepted Kel'Thuzad's phylactery was a double agent for the Scourge, or at least was confronted and turned by the Lich King after accepting the phylactery. It's pretty safe to assume that the phylactery never made it into Argent Dawn hands.

This, my friends, explains a lot. It accounts for how Kel'Thuzad returned and brought Naxxramas to bear in the Dragonblight. It also partially explains why Highlord Fordring took time to hand-select each and every member of the Argent Crusade. To this point, I viewed the former as a plot hole in the Scourge storyline. I'm glad to see that Blizzard sewed that hole up with a bit of a twist.

I bet Father Montoy was originally a Scarlet Crusader. No right-minded member of the Dawn would fall to Arthas's corruption while clinging to life... would they?

Undeath, and the Implications Therein

As many have noted, Arthas has made the first move in the coming war. Infected grain has appeared in many major cities, turning law-abiding citizens of both the Alliance and Horde into brain-craving ghoulish zombies. Whole towns have fallen to flocks of rapidly deteriorating carcasses feasting upon the flesh of our dear NPC's and quest-givers. The plague of undeath is spreading, and I fear that the stalwart guardians of the Alliance cannot safeguard our cities themselves.

You must help them.

The power to stem the tide of carnage rests within you. Cleanse the plague from the infected. Call upon your Holy Wrath and stand your Consecrated ground. Unleash a Divine Storm. Do what you must to protect you and your's.

Others may accuse you of being in league with Arthas for cutting down their friends. But if they have turned into zombies, they are no longer friends nor allies. They are the Scourge. They must be stopped.

This is a clarion call to all paladins - retribution, protection, and holy. Protect your homes! Combat the plague! Send these hellish beasts back to the grave!

FOR THE LIGHT!

EDIT: The Plague must be stopped. Join my crusade.
Or join here.

The Sociology of Gaming - Slaying Monsters for Science

John Bohannon recently published an article in Science Magazine which was noted on WoW Insider. A gathering of economists, sociologists, psychologists, and computer science academics gathered in select locations around Azeroth and held a bonafide scientific conference, discussing virtual worlds and their effect on personal interaction and self identification. Conversation ranged from truth in disclosure amongst anonymous gamers to stability of personality when transfering between the real-world and character embodiment.

Having obtained my college degree in sociology, the article was riveting for me, even if it did not disclose much as to the content of the discussion. I would need to subscribe to the Science Mag to see the full transcript. The concept of gathering in Azeroth instead of at a conference center is an ingenious one, as noted by Bohannon:

...people can take part from all over the world without leaving home. It reduces the environmental footprint and—aside from the $15 monthly fee for maintaining a World of Warcraft account—it's free.

He and the other organizers got around the logistical barriers of factional non-communication between Alliance and Horde, in addition to conference-goers who may not have WoW characters, by having everyone roll a Horde character and arranging escort parties to the various locales where the conference meetings were to be held. Bohannon relates a funny (yet tragic) story about one of his charges being torn asunder by hyenas in the Barrens on the way to a meeting point.

I could tell you more, but then I would just be re-hashing the article. All in all, a great read for those who have a lust for the study of social interaction.

LOL RP Continued

So, I'm cruisin' forums and blogs, as per usual, and on a whim I check out some other server's official forums. I end up on Scarlet Crusade (home to Phaelia and Valenna), a RP server. In one of the stickies, I see a make-shift character sheet form for the server's active role-players. I'm intrigued, so I start thinking to myself, "Hmm, how would Cathmor's sheet look?" Well, here's what happened when I started musing about that:

BASICS
Full name: Cathmor of Northshire
Nick-name: Cath
Prefix*: Knight
Title**: The Betrayed
Race: Human
Age***: 37
Position in society†: Protector of the people
Face/Heel†*: Chest (liked by most, sometimes rubs a few the wrong way)
Physical Description (abridged): Red, shoulder-length hair. Goatee. Broad shoulders.

OPTIONAL:
Personality: Zealous, outgoing, and skeptical/mistrustful of those he does not know personally
Marital Status: Single, never married
Sexual Preference: Hetero
Blood line: Son of a farmer

FLAGS:
Role-playing weight class: Lightweight
Role-playing status†**: Usually out of character

OTHER:(optional)
Guild: Something Wicked
City of choice: Wherever the frontline of the current war effort is.
IC-Strengths: Zealous, relentless in the pursuit of justice, natural leader
IC-Weaknesses: Over-zealous at times
OOC-Strengths: Tactical planner
OOC-Weaknesses: Frequently overwhelmed by complex situations/encounters
Leveling speed: Slow
PvP preference (do it a lot?): Occasional
Weekly on-line schedule: Evenings, ~4 nights a week

Introduction
See my previous post, LOL RP

Key
*: Lord / Lady / Mister / Misses / Miss / etc.
**: Your heroic name, ex: John Doe "The Flaming Sun."
***: Link to age thread, (Draenei is not in this, Blood Elf ages are listed as High Elf.) http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12053281&sid=1
†: You can be free with this, either your political position, economical position, or status in the city. Ex: Vanished from the city, wealthy collector, etc.
†*: How others like you. Face being the crowd favorite and heel being the guy/gal everyone hates.
†**: Are you usually in-character? A story-teller? Majority rules, put what your usual situation is.

LOL RP

Comic at right is from xkcd, a very funny webcomic I'm sure some of you are familiar with. Completely unrelated, but my apologies if my previous post seemed a bit incoherent. It was way too late for me to be awake, and I was mentally drained from a lovely evening with a demon-possessed blue dragon.

I'm a closet-RP'er. If I had known people on an RP server when I first started playing, I probably wouldn't have minded rolling there in the least. In fact, I might enjoy a bit of light RP now and again. Being on a regular PvE server though, and in a dedicated raid guild, there isn't much RP going on. As such, my opportunities to get this sort of thing out of my system are few and far between. What's this all mean? You, the reader, get to be subjected to several paragraphs of me droning on about the history of Azeroth and how Cathmor ties into it all. The reason I'm doing this now instead of before is because Valenna of Parry! Dodge! Spin! did a quick write-up of his character's backstory recently and reminded me that I wanted to do this. On with the show!

Cathmor the Betrayed began his adulthood as a soldier in the service of Stormwind Defense shortly after the Third War, serving under General Marcus Jonathan as a front-line defender for Stormwind's protective deployments. After the death of Uther Lightbringer and the disbanding of the Order of the Silver Hand, Stormwind was in dire need of sturdy, capable warriors to take up arms and serve. Cathmor showed a selfless disregard for his own well-being in protecting any township with which he was charged, which prompted interest from Duthorian Rall in the youth's abilities. Cathmor began training as a Paladin at Rall's behest, following the path of the Protector.

Several months after he began his training as a Paladin, and shortly after his promotion to Knight, Cathmor was sent on a mission from Stormwind to discover the fate of Marshal Reginald Windsor, the commander of Alliance forces in the Burning Steppes, who had gone missing. Leading a small team into the Burning Steppes, Knight Cathmor found Windsor imprisoned in the Blackrock Depths by the Dark Iron Dwarves. After assisting Windsor in escaping Blackrock Mountain, the Marshal told Cathmor of danger within Stormwind's walls - Lady Katrana Prestor was not who she seemed. Cathmor escorted Windsor to Stormwind Keep, where he revealed Lady Prestor as Onyxia, the broodmother of the Black Dragonflight and enemy of the crown.

Upon realizing the depth of evil's infiltration in Stormwind's leadership, Cathmor's faith in the Stormwind Defense was shattered. He resigned his commission and cast aside his shield, assuming the title "The Betrayed" to remind him always to be mindful of whom he serves. Despite no longer being a member of the Stormwind Defense, Cathmor still had a desire to battle the wicked and protect his homeland. He strayed from the path of the Protector and instead started down the path of the Avenger, taking a more active role in combatting evil. Mace in hand, Cathmor the Betrayed seeks out injustice with resolve and might, not for Stormwind or for the Order of the Silver Hand, but for the whole of Azeroth.