Thoughts on the Blizzard Dev Q&A (with Gnomes!)

Unless you've been stuck without internet and the first WoW blog you
decided to read was mine, you already know about the WoW Developer
Q&A over on Twitter. Here are my thoughts about a few of the
responses.

Q: Will Path of the Titans be as time consuming as
obtaining Sons of Hodir reputation?

A: Sons of Hodir was easy, we're thinking more along the lines of
Argent Dawn rep actually. JK! As a matter of fact, we don't want the
paths of the titans to feel grindy at all so we're trying to make sure
that each step along the way feels more like a great quest, or a key
achievement (like killing all the bosses in a new raid zone). So, it
should be more oriented around accomplishing something that feels
important rather than grinding.

This is something I'm really looking forward to about Cataclysm that
for some reason I keep forgetting about. I think--or I'm hoping--that
it will elicit character development. I forsee the possibility of
interesting RP fodder resulting from this, and not just because Modan Co is filled with archeologists.

Q: Will Alliance ever get an ingame band like the Hordes
L80ETC?

A: Sure, if somebody knows of an awesome Alliance band...

Something with Gnomes:

• The Mekkatorquettes


• Sprynklez and the Sprocket Launchers


• The All-Star Tinker Fun Band


• The Boltbreakers*


• Whizze* and the Leper Gnomes


• 4 Non Pink Pigtails


• Geared Pink (via @psynister)


• GNOMES N' ROSES (via @Xanedris)

Q: With Cataclysm revisiting the old world, any plan to make
the old reputations worthwhile again?

A: With each expansion, we introduce new reputations with new rewards.
Sometimes we introduce reputations that are obviously related, such as
Argent Dawn/Argent Crusade and Cenarion Circle/Cenarion Expedition. We
don't update the rewards for existing reps, as we don't want to put
new characters at such a significant disadvantage.

Suggestion: If the old reputations are still going to exist post
Cataclysm, make them more valuable without causing a disadvantage by
having more vanity items (such as pets and mounts or RP gear)
available with revered or exalted status.

Q: Will there be anymore epic storylines with cinematics like
the wrathgate questline?

A: We have big plans for additional in game cinematics! We are happy
with how the Wrathgate questline worked out, and want to do more lines
like this.

Yay!

Q: Can locks have a summonable flying mount now please?

A: Now? As in right this second? No.

At least this hasn't been ruled out entirely, but I also want to know:
When are we getting our green fire!

While the Q&A may not have provided a ton of information, I was
happy to see a few questions answered, such as the current Goblin
establisments not turning Hordeside. It also made me even more excited
about Cataclysm. Forget Arthas! I want to make my Goblin already!

*Awesome Modan Co member!

What's My Age Again

[Player], how old are you?

I ask this question in OOC chat frequently. Now that I'm not in a guild with a strict 21+ age policy, I like knowing how old the people are that I'm playing with. For me, I like knowing. It helps me to know how to relate to the person.

For a friend of mine, this is a huge issue. My friend recently left a guild he was heavily involved in because he found out that they were no longer sticking with their 18+ policy. The thought of playing with children makes him very uncomfortable. I don't share his issues, possibly because my best friend in the world also happens to be my 17-year-old brother. But I can understand how others might find this to be an issue.

The man behind the mask - real life ages in RP settings

RP is where real age can be the trickiest. While I tend to avoid romance-based RP settings I know many others who chose to take part in it. Knowing that the player could be 15 is a good enough reason for me to avoid it. I wont even have one of my characters flirt with another character if I don't know for sure that the player is over 18.

If you're finiding yourself heading into an RP that you would feel uncomfortable if you found out the player was underage, or significantly older, it's essential that you find out the other person's age right away. There are plenty of in-character ways to get out of a sticky situation:

"My gold just came in from the Auction House!"

"I've just gotten a distress call from the Oracles! I'd better go!"

"Wait, you're a Scryer? This will never work. Get away from me!"

"I completely forgot to wash my hair today. I'd better go do that."

Be Honest

If someone asks you how old you are, just be honest. There are some people like my friend who feel uncomfortable playing with underage people. Don't take it personally. At the same time, a child's parents might not want their child playing with 30-year-olds in game. This is understandable! There are hundreds of other people on your server who would love to play with you. Just move on.

For guild leaders

If you have an age policy in your guild, stick with it! My friend was so disappointed to find out his guild wasn't sticking with the policy. If you're going to make exceptions, do it sparingly and for very good reason only. Inviting a 13-year-old because you really need a shaman is not a good reason. Inviting a 17-year-old because his best friend is in the guild might be legitimate.

Sometimes guilds change policy and that's okay, but always make sure to let your guild know beforehand and explain why the policy change is taking place.

For guild recruits

If age policy is really important to you, ask one of the guild leaders or officers how strict they are and what kind of exceptions they make.

Don't lie about your age to get into a guild. Officers can often tell--as someone who used to read tons of guild applications for a 21+ guild, I can tell you this is true. If you do slip through the cracks you might end up getting outed and embarrassed later on. I can understand why a particularly mature 16-year-old might want to join an adult only guild. However, there are guilds out there without age restrictions that value maturity.

Be careful!

On the telephone line, I am any height, I am any age I want to be. -Savage Garden

People lie about their age enough in real life, but online it's even more prolific because people can't actually see your wrinkles or acne to determine that you're a senior citizen or a teenager. As always, be careful what you tell or do with people on WoW because regardless of what they might tell you, there is no knowing for sure who they actually are.

Apologies for the 90s song references in this post.

Frijona and the Sporelings - Part 2

[Here's part 2 of the story! Serpentshrine Cavern is tonight and I'm completely stoked!]

"Fri. Frijona. Someone is here to see you!"
Frijona awoke to a blue hand shaking her and the voice of Fahssn the Sporeling. "Huh? Wha?" she said, yawning.
"A lady from the Cenarion Expedition is here to see you. She says she was asked to find you after you did not return to the Expedition. Her name is Leesa'oh. Come and speak to her!" Fahssn pulled Frijona up to her feet and she followed the Sporeling outside. A violet-haired Night Elf paused in her conversation with Mycah and approached.
"You must be Frijona. I'd had word that you'd gone missing. I am Watcher Leesa'oh of the Cenarion Expedition."
"It's nice to hear that the Expedition was concerned about my whereabouts. I was attacked by a large group of Naga. The Sporelings found my and brought me here where I've been healing. Since you're here, I would like to discuss with you what's going on with the Sporelings."
"The Cenarion Expedition has recently become aware of the Sporelings plight ourselves. I might be able to answer some questions you may have. Mycah tells me that you've been told that Sporeling young are being eaten by fungal giants. I've been doing some research into their diet. Previously they ate mushrooms that grow East of here, but that area has been taken over by hostile Ogres. We're not sure exactly what the Ogres are doing here but we suspect that they are slaves to the Naga."
"The Naga have attempted to use Sporelings as slaves as well," Frijona explained. "However the Sporelings cannot do the work and are killed."
Leesa'oh frowned. "That's horrible news. Unfortunately I don't have much information regarding the Naga's presence in Zangarmarsh, but I know the Expedition is looking into it. As for the fungal giants I've been working on a plan. I've managed to recruit the assistance of a particularly intelligent fungal giant named Fhwoor who had kept himself from eating young Sporelings. I've already discussed this with Mycah. He's been able to provide me with information, and we've managed to steal back quite a bit of the fungal giant's original food source, and we believe it will grow to the West of here. I'll have him explain. Fhwoor!"
There was the thudding of footsteps, and a fungal giant appeared. Frijona prepared to fight incase the giant decided the Sporelings looked particularly delicious.
"Fhwoor help Sporelings! Not eat them." Fhwoor said. The Sporelings appeared nervous anyway, and stood with their backs to one another. "Fhwoor say, we no eat this. But Fhwoor people say need food or starve. Leesa'oh and Fhwoor have plan."
"Fhwoor did you bring the crates?" asked Leesa'oh.
"Fhwoor forgot!" Fhwoor lowered his head. "Fhwoor sorry."
Leesa'oh smiled. "It's alright, why don't you go get them?"

Leesa'oh took the Sporelings to the West to transplant the fungal giant's mushroom supply, while Frijona, Fhwoor, and a Sporeling named Synis guarded Sporeggar. Frijona knew that it would take them a while to transplant all of those crates of mushrooms, so she didn't feel concerned. Fhwoor however, began pacing.
Suddenly there was a splash sound. "What was that?" said Synis. The three of them turned to look in the direction of the sound. It was a Naga.
"What'sss thisss? You're sssuposed to be dead!" the Naga said. Frijona recognized the naga instantly as the one who had nearly killed her. Sure enough, soon the rest of her posse appeared in the water behind her.
"We have come for the Sssporelings! Usually they're not worth keeping alive, but we have a ssspecial job for them. Now where are they?"
"You're too late," said Frijona. Fhwoor had moved in front of Synis so he couldn't be seen. "The uh, see here this Fwho--fungal giant? He's uh--eaten them all! He and the other fungal giants. They're all dead, see. Eaten. Yup."
"You are the worssst liar I have ever heard," said the Naga. "I happen to know there is a Sssporling hiding behind the fungal giant. Get it!"
This time, as the Naga began moving forward Frijona was prepared. She cast a spell causing the Naga to quickly run in the oposite direction, visions of the Tanaris desert in their heads.
"That wont last long," said Frijona. "I am going to call a demon, but when they return you must help fight!" Speaking in Demonic, Frijona called forth a large blue demon--a Voidwalker named Konkath.
"My will is your command," said the Voidwalker.
"KK, I want you to insult those Naga when they return."
"As you wish," said Konkath.
The Naga returned. "Nicsse little trick there, Warlock, but it wont work on usss again!"
"Naga are so ugly," said Konkath dryly.
"How dare you insssult usss!" said the Naga. "Kill the big blue demon firssst!" The Naga rushed to attack Konkath. Frijona wasn't sure how much help her companions would be. Sporelings did not have the bodies for fighting and she was not sure if they could do magic.
"FHWOOR SMASH!" yelled Fhwoor, and ran forward, clobbering a Naga on the head. The Naga fell over. Frijona couldn't tell for sure through the spells she was casting, but it appeared to her that Fhwoor was smiling. Frijona smiled back.

Soon all the Naga were dead except the leader. "I think we should keep this one alive," said Frijona. "She might be able to tell us what these Naga are doing here. Just cover her mouth, Fhwoor, so she can't cast any spells. I'll get some bandages to tie her up." Frijona pulled some heavy netherweave bandages from one of her bags, and tied one around the Naga's mouth and another around the Naga's arms to hold them behind her back. "Put her in one of the caves, will you Fhwoor? We'll decide what to do with her when the others return. Meanwhile, KK why don't you start moving the Naga bodies out of here. They'll start to smell soon. Smell worse, anyway. Synis and I can guard the prisoner until the others return."

Welcome to Moon Guard - The Trailer

I play mostly on Moon Guard, considered the last bastion of actual RP on RP servers. Interesting stuff goes on here, to put things lightly. A guild mate of mine, Leozon, decided to create a machinima series based on all the crazy shenanigans that goes on around here. I'm eventually going to be doing some voicing, but Leo finished the trailer, and it's pretty awesome. Or perhaps I'm biased, but I think you'll agree, particularly given that it's his first work. But you don't have to take my word for it:



Be sure and check at 2:06. That's Fri in the Kirin Tor tabard!

Frijona and the Sporelings - Part 1

[This is the first part of an in-character account of Frijona's time spent in Sporeggar. Modan Co is doing an IC run of Serpentshrine Cavern this coming weekend. This should explain some of Fri's particular hatred for naga, and why I'm so excited about having her kill Lady Vashj!]

Frijona Spindrella arrived in Zangarmarsh with the intent of assisting the Cenarion Expedition, but the young Warlock found herself easily distracted. Since arriving in the Outlands, she'd been spending all of her time in the hot, harsh climate of Hellfire Penninsula. The swamps of Zangarmarsh were a welcome relief. The large tops of the giant mushrooms that populated the zone offered shade from the sun. Frijona was most impressed by the herbs in the area. With her herb sack ready, she began filling it with the anticipation of examining the herbs later on. Of most interest to her was the long white stalks of a herb which according to her book was called rageveil.

Frijona was working with a rather tricky stalk of rageveil, when suddenly she heard a hissing sound and behind her. She looked up. About seven green and blue serpent-like creatures were standing above her. They seemed to be laughing.
"Naga..." Frijona said, standing up and preparing to fight. This was not her first run-in with naga. There was the group in Feralas guarding the ruins, and the mob that tried to attack the ship she was on when she'd taken a job as a deckhand. Never friendly and always extremely annoying. Frijona was about to call on a demon to send the naga backwards when she realized that in all the excitement over herbs she'd forgotten to call on one.
"Thisss one is barely ssskin and bones," hissed a naga, apparently female. "Hardly enough for a sssnack!"
The naga laughed. Frijona thought they were going to perhaps let her be.
"Ssstill, we can't let her live." The naga laughed again and before she could cast an appropriate spell, began to close in on her. The last thing she saw was a particularly burly naga raise a pole-arm above her head.

The warlock awoke in what appeared to be a small, although oddly brightly lit, cave. "Naga..." she said, remembering. They must've taken her prisoner.
"You're awake!" said a strange, high pitched, gurgly sort of voice. Frijona looked to her left where it was coming from and her eyes widened in shock. The creature was very odd looking. It was short and purple with almost glowing yellow spots on its body, particularly on its very large forehead.
"You think I look strange, but to me you look strange. Even for a Human you look odd. But that is no matter. You are doing much better. Wait, no you cannot get up! You must rest. And eat!" The creature thrust out a round light green object that appeared to be a fruit in front of the woman's face.
"Erm, uh. I don't, I mean, no thanks?" Frijona tried to push back from the food, but her head throbbed with a sharp pain.
"Up to you. It's a sporepod. I will leave it here" the creature said. He set the fruit down next to her. Frijona tried to remember the last time she had something to eat. She couldn't, which was her signal that she needed to eat again. She picked up the fruit. She smelled it. No specific scent. Slowly she raised it to her lips and took a very tiny bite. It was soft like a fungus but did not taste like a mushroom. It was also near liquid on the inside. It was almost tasteless, like water, and as Frijona chewed and swallowed she noticed that she had not wanted to spit it out the moment she put it in her mouth. She realized that her body did not want to expell it the moment it entered her esophagus. She did not have to fight any spasms of her stomach.
She wasn't sure how she could tell, but the creature seemed to be smiling. Frijona smiled back. "Yum," she said.

Frijona had tried to get up again after finishing the sporepods, but the creature stopped her again. "You must rest more," he said. "The naga knocked you out hard."
"I am not sleepy," Frijona said. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"Yes. I am Fahssn, a Sporeling and you are in Sporeggar."
"Tell me more about Sporeggar. What do you Sporelings do?"
"Sporeggar is our home in Zangarmarsh. We Sporelings are simple people. We fish and do crafts and try to take care of our families. We do not have wars like you humans. We have not done so. But now we must fight. Things are changing and it is not good for Sporeggar."
"Why not? What is changing?" Frijona asked.
"I will find Mycah who can tell you more. Mycah asked to meet you when you awoke. You awoke so I will find Mycah."

Fahssn left and returned with another nearly identical Sporeling. "This is Mycah. This is: What is your name?"
"I am Frijona Spindrella. But you can call me Fri," Frijona said.
"Hello Fri," said Mycah. "I am glad you are awake. We were not sure you would live. Fahssn said that you had interest in Sporeling trouble. Why is that?"
Frijona smiled. "You helped me, so I would like to help you if possible."
"Humans are too busy with their other problems to help the Sporelings. But I will tell you what is going on. We have two problems. First is the fungal giants. There used to be few, but now there are many who try and eat our children. We try to fight but they are much bigger and stronger. We must go in very large groups to bring one down. But worse than the giants are the naga. They have not always been here. They are killing us because we make bad slaves."
Frijona's bony hands formed fists. "WHAT? They KILL you because you make bad SLAVES? That is the stupidest, most horrible thing I have ever heard!" Frijona winced and put her hands on her head.
"It is a bad time for Sporelings but you must be calm and rest," said Mycah. "Lie down now and sleep and we will talk more in the morning."

Midweek Update?

Some General Announcements:

1. I cannot get the Mithril Pocketwatch even though I have killed Coren Direbrew 15 times already. A mount would be nice, too, but I can live without that. I'll die without the pocketwatch.

2. Because the twitter include suddenly started looking horrible, I have removed it for the time being until I either find out it's fixed or I can fiddle with it and make it look nice on my own. Meanwhile, follow me on twitter here.

3. Very exciting RP-related stuff happening in my guild. I'm super-stoked because it relates back to the Sporeggar storyline I did a while back and it includes many naga casualties. I'm thinking about writing the Sporeggar storyline into an actual narrative story at some point in the near future. It would be nice if I could get it done before we actually head up to Zangarmarsh on Saturday.

4. Speaking of Modan Co, we're still recruiting experienced archeologists. Apply on the forums.

5. I'm also getting started on a new project that I hope will be server-wide in magnitude. (I'm talking about Moon Guard, of course.) More information to come!

Friday Linkday: September 18, 2009

I'm over in the chat channel for the Twisted Nether Blogcast this evening. We'll see how long I last before I crash. Lots of links this week, perhaps to make up for not doing this feature last week? Perhaps.

1. Awesome post by Abi (who is a dude) on great uses for Demonic Circle in various end-game raids and instances.

2. Pirates Day is coming! I would find it hilarious if someone actually didn't know about this until reading my blog, but lets just say that I'm excited. Brewfest should be fun, too. The brewfest garb is the one outfit in WoW I'd by psyched to be able to get my hands on in real life.

3. Anna who has too many of herself posted about using accents in RP. I love the accents in game. The Troll accent is my favorite. This is a great post for anyone wanting to start using but isn't sure where to begin.

4. Should Guilds Be Democracies was a fascinating read for me. When I was an officer I once got in an argument with another officer regarding a policy that most of the guild members, and myself, didn't agree with. The officer told me pointedly, "This isn't a democracy." And I remembered thinking it should be more democratic. Go read the post.

5. There's been lots of speculation as to what the upcoming guild talent points are going to entail. Matticus has a clever post appropriately titled Guild Talent Point Wishlist. My favorite wish from his list is "let's be pals" because we can all use to make the rep grind a little easier.

6. You should probably wait until after Pirate's day to do this, but here's an easy guide on getting rep with the Bloodsail Buccaneers.

And there you have it, with only 11 minutes to spare!

Faction Changes: None for me, Thanks

Paid faction changes are now available, much sooner than I expected! While for some this is a huge change that is long overdue, I for one will not be changing the faction of any of my characters. Here are a few reasons why not:

1. The only character who, in my opinion, is at a high enough level to change is Frijona. Even when I played on a Normal server and didn't really understand what RP was, Frijona had a personality and the inklings of a backstory. Her history is distinctly Human. The only way I could allow myself to change factions and thus races would be to change her name and theoretically (and perhaps ICly) "kill" Frijona. And I just can't do that, I'm too attached!

2. I really enjoy my guild, Modan Co. I seemed to have joined at an ideal time since after joining the guild went through a large growth spurt. (Due to a recruitment thread on the realm forums, being mentioned on WoW.com, and word-of-mouth.) Now I have the opportunity to be part of bringing the guild into exciting new directions as Cataclysm approaches.

3. If I were to change factions it would be to play on another server with a friend of mine. (I believe I've mentioned him by several of his character names in the blog, so I think I'll call him Z from now on to be consistent.) I rolled a Blood Elf Rogue on the server, partly to talk to my friend and partly because I want to see Horde content before Cataclysm comes. Changing Fri into a Horde character would defeat the second purpose.

4. Similar to number two--I have many friends on Moon Guard, Alliance side, that I would be sad to leave.

5. I like the Alliance-side mounts so much more. Once I get to 80 and get epic flight I want to start working on getting the mount achievements. Even though Fri has a pretty Dreadsteed to ride, I'd rather her collection of mounts include fuzzy rams and swift horses instead of scaly raptors and skeletal horses. What I really hate are the raptor mounts. Even with all the ridiculous things in the game, nothing breaks my suspension of disbelief more than the existence of raptors in Azeroth.

And thus, even though I am not primarily playing the faction preferred by Blizzard, I shall remain for the Alliance.

Sunwell Sunburn

It's strange to go into an instance that was once visited only by the hardest of core as an "oh why not?" thought while questing. It was an IC event setup by my guild and another, my guild was hired by another to do some investigating of the Sunwell.

Fri was one of the lower levels in the group--most being 80. There was a level 71 mage who popped in. There was less than 15 of us, I believe. As you can imagine, we had a difficult time. We wiped on trash several times before downing Kalecgos after three tries. At this point it had been over an hour and I had real life duties to attend to. The rest of the group ended up calling it on Brutallus. Still, it was fun actually getting a chance to see it!

The only drop I recieved was a Shadowsong Amethyst which I'm not sure what to do with. I went into the Auction House, but no one had any for sale. Perhaps it's bind on pickup and I'm just a moron? If not, I may just put it in the guild bank.

Trade: Shadowsong Amethyst, Moon Guard-Alliance side, 9999 Gold.

Fascinating RP-related Posts Not to Miss!

The folks at Blogatelle are my new heroes. They have created the most indispensable guide to RPing the different races. It's the perfect place to start if you're thinking of rolling something new. It goes in great detail as to what the average member of each race thinks of the other races and classes. Of course each character would have her or his own unique view, but check out how the guide describes how Gnomes view Night Elves:

Mind you, if the gnomes think the humans are a little backwards, they think the night elves are insane, surely. Declaring magic evil? No advanced technology whatsoever? How do they live? The gnomes and the night elves really are at complete and utter odds with each other. So naturally, of course, the gnomes are freaking fascinated by them.

This also shows how fantastic the writing is! Sprynklez, of course, thinks the Night Elves are pretty and have soft-looking mounts.

Waging war against the "lorelol" is one of the most oddly-titled pieces in WoW-Insider lately. While it begins as a rant, it has answers to many questions we've all had about Bliz and lore. I learned a few things, including that Orcs came to Azeroth through a Stargate (which makes Draenei more believable as a race). Fascinating. Read the damn thing!

Each Friday Too Many Annas asks their readers five questions about their characters (aptly named the "Friday Five"). This week's were particularly fun to answer (yes, even though it's Saturday). Here are my responses for Frijona:

1. Does your character collect anything? Is that collection of any value to anyone other than them?

Frijona collects potentially magical objects and books. Intending on studying the properties of the object or reading the book, she will put forth quite a bit of gold or effort to get her hands on something that seems interesting. Then it collects dust in her apartment. It might be of value to someone else, but who knows?

2. What just irritates the hell out of your character? What makes them happy (in a silly way, like bubbles or balloons or goldfish), if anything?

Fri gets very irritated when people eat in front of her or talk about eating. She also hates it when people pick on beings weaker than them. Cute, helpless animals make her very happy, as well as obtaining souls from really evil creatures.

3. What is your character’s favorite thing to eat?

Underspore pods.

4. If your character knew he or she would die tomorrow, how would they spend today?

Consistently making sure her soulstone was in place. If that wasn’t an option, she would probably seek out her family.

5. What is in your character’s pockets?

Maybe an underspore pod, a soul shard, and some crushed herbs.

Coming Soon: Pretty Northrend screenshots turned wallpaper, why we should be able to hide our shoulder armor, and future plans for this blog!

What Does "Good" Mean in Azeroth?

What makes a WoW player “good”? This is the current shared topic over at Blog Azeroth, sugguested by Jaramon of Deathcoil.org.

I highly value the opinions of my guild, and so I decided to ask them what they thought makes a “good” player. Their answers all made sense to me, and so I present the four attributes of a good player: respect, skill, character, and knowledge. (Oh, and number five—gold.)

Respect

At the forefront of the discussion on the guild forums was respect for other players. A good player is not someone who has an attitude of “it’s my $15 a month, I can play however I want!” which may be true, but good players know that everyone else is paying their $15 a month, and that it will be more fun for everyone if respect is given to other players.

One way to show respect to other players is by grouping up to take out a named mob instead of waiting for respawns, or worse, ganking it when another player has done all the work to clear the trash out of the way. To be a good player, you realize that the toons with names over their heads have real people behind them, and you care about their enjoyment of WoW, not just your own.

As Veritas member Gundersson explains, there are rewards for behaving in such a manner: “This being a social game, your personality is as important as your skill at playing. What good are your leet skillz if you’re a jerk and no one wants to group with you?”

Skill

Secondary to respect, skill is an important aspect of being a good player, particularly knowing how to play your class and taking on the appropriate roll in a group, be it tank, dps, or healer. As Ma’as says, “a good player is someone who knows their role in the group and can remain flexible within that role.”

A good player constantly seeks to learn more about their class and better their playing style instead of the stereotypical “facerolling on the keyboard.”

Character

RP realms add an additional aspect to what makes a good player. While knowing how to play your class, it’s also important to know how to play your character, and RPing as someone who is interesting but doesn’t completely go against lore and common sense.

Knowledge

Specifically, a good player knows when to quit. As Myrthe said, a good player is “a person who is willing to admit that they aren't up to a challenge, and can point out the same for other people in a constructive manner.” If you can figure out that the instance or raid you’re in is failing because you’re not properly geared, and then agree to leave the space for someone else, that takes maturity.

Co-GM Shinorah often deals with conflicts between guild members. (Not a lot, but they do come up as they would with any group of people spending time together.) For her, a sign of a good player is someone who can walk away from a conflict to keep it from escalating to a point where people might get hurt. Her wise words: “Keeping your grace and class under those situations is often far more important in the long run than winning the argument or proving you're right in the short run.”

A good player also knows when it’s time to quit WoW: to get some sleep, do something social in the real world, or take a vacation from the game.

Gold

Finally, Myrthe has found the true secret to being a good player: “People who pay large sums of gold to any of my characters.”

How to Woo a Warlock

Asylum recently posted an interview with The Guild's Felicia Day on how to pick up women in WoW.

I decided this needed to be taken one step further. Frijona is perpetually single in the game, partly due to me not wanting to involve myself in anything remotely potentially ERP (that's Erotic RolePlay) related, and partly because I know that Frijona is way too fussy to ever be able to find anyone that would fit her specifications, which are as follows:

1. You must be a human. Fri doesn’t want a partner who will live longer than she will, or that she’s significantly taller than.
2. You must be male.
3. Preferably, your hair is in a ponytail. This is because this is the only attractive human male hairstyle in the game. And yes, the new belf ponytail will work as well. It’s also best if it’s dark brown or black, with no facial hair.
4. You must use magic, or at least know a little, but you may not be a paladin or a holy priest, because there will likely be a conflict of ideals. Frijona does not trust other warlocks to maintain clear-headdedness, so no warlocks. While she respects the mages of her guild, she still sees them as weak and would not want to engage in a romantic relationship with one. This basically leaves shadow priests.
5. You must never eat around her, or at least be very conscious of what you do eat, sticking to small portions of fruits and vegetables. You must never suggest that she eat something or comment on her thinness.
6. Flowers are nice, but Frijona prefers those with powerful alchemical properties. Unique, potentially magical items would be a better gift.
7. Never ask to visit Fri’s apartment. It’s full of junk, anyway.
8. You must not have mindless hatred of the Horde. If you have real reasons for wanting to go to war with them, that might be acceptable.
9. You must respect the fact that Frijona does not appreciate physical contact from others.

And finally…

10. You must not succumb to any flirtations made by Jhorneth (Frijona’s succubus). It is best if you ignore Jho when she is around.

Ding!

With WOW blogs, I automatically have the best excuse for updating: I've been too busy playing. First of all, I finally hit 70! I managed to get a screenshot of the lovely light enveloping my body:



Then with the help of some of my fellow officers I bought my ebon griffin, which I named Shadowwing. I then proceeded to fly around Wildhammer Stronghold like an obvious n00b. (If you click the link, that's my GM behind me on his ebon griffin.)

I also started writing in a new RP on the official forums called Missing in the Night. It's most of the same folks that are writing in A Dangerous Haul, plus some new faces, so it should be great!

A First Post

Who am I and why am I doing this?

Very good question! I'm Frijona or "Fri" at least, that's the name of my main World of Warcraft character. The name is pronounced "Free-ho-nah" not "Fry Jonah" or anything like that. I play on Moon Guard, because I enjoy RPing and experiencing the game fully through exploration of the lore. Frijona Spindrella, the character, is a very skinny warlock, generally antisocial, who hates food and eating as well as anything mechanical. She loves the Sporelings and has vowed to protect them and she wears their tabard. (A huge pain of a rep grind but completely worth it to wear a mushroom!) She's a grand master herbalist and currently at 372 Alchemy. I'm planning on going for Potions mastery. (That's Fri on the left with the dragon who is cramping her style. This was around level 60 when I was doing the Onyxia attunement.)

As for the "why"? I enjoy writing. I enjoy playing. It seems like the perfect combination! I hope to make my own blogger layout in the future, but for now I picked this one because of all the dots. Oh, Fri is currently Affliction spec'd, but I'm thinking of going dark pact/ruin once I hit 70. My goal is to hit 70 next month in-between semesters while I have some time off!

As for my alts: my main alt is Sprynkles, a level 22 Gnome Rogue. She has sensory quirks, loves soft things, hates scratchy things, and also loves sparkly things. She's a blast to play, and I had her in the battleground for a while at 19 but I burned out of that quickly.

Also on alliance side, I have Eadwacer, a level 14 Draenei Hunter. I named her after the Anglo Saxon poem Wulf and Eadwacer. (I have a BA in English literature.) My plan is to eventually get her a wolf pet, but I'm being very strict, RP-wise, as to how I level her. More on her and what I'm doing in a future post.

Horde side, I have Nabine, a level 10 Belf Mage. Nabine has been of various classes and appearances (she was a rogue first, then a hunter, then a mage, and then I changed her appearance twice). I haven't really fleshed out her personality yet. My friend and I created a couple Horde characters to play together. Mine is Keiva, a Troll Shaman. His is an Orc Warlock. It's amusing, because his main is a Shaman and mine is a Warlock, and we didn't plan this that way. They're currently at level 4, given that trying to coordinate playtimes with someone you only know in WOW isn't exactly easy.

My fiance also plays. He's a Gnome Warrior named Handlebarlo. His story is that he lost his memory after escaping Gnomer. He was rescued by Frijona when she found him unconscious in the snow. He's level 43.