Hello.
This is an old DH RP “guide” that I posted on the old forums back in 2015. I’m not wholly certain whether or not this is a guide, but it’s a something.
I’m reposting at the request of the Silver Circle (shout out to them, really great folks) for archival purposes, and also because I miss my demon hunter and I hope to RP them again soon.
Anyway, if you like it, cool. Or you don’t, that’s cool, too. I don’t really remember what’s in it anymore.
Also not sure if I’m allowed to repost old things from the old forums. I guess we’ll find out.
Hello Wyrmrest,
With demon hunters having been announced, not only have my dreams that I’ve held since Wrath come true, but a lot of people are excited to roleplay demon hunters.
I returned to WoW after leaving for all of MoP so that I could roleplay a demon hunter (among other things), and that’s what I did. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, and some people seem to think I’m pretty darn good at it. If you’ll allow me, Wyrmrest, I would be very excited to be able to share with you all that I’ve learned about demon hunters and what one might wish to consider when writing and roleplaying a demon hunter.
I’d like to preface this essay by saying that I would never dare imply that you should let me dictate how you have fun, and I encourage you to write and play your demon hunter however you like. If you would like some food for thought on the subject of demon hunters to help you really dive into how you think they should be played and while considering all of the nuances and facets of the demon hunter as a character, maybe you’d like this essay.
I hope you find what I have to say insightful and interesting, and most of all, I hope you enjoy it.
Table of Contents
A1: Your Objective
A2: On Blood Elves and Night Elves
A3: The Makings of a Demon Hunter
A4: Training and Its Effects
[ul]Section A: The Intensity
Section B: Demon Hunter Philosophy[/u]
A5: The Little Things and Conclusion
Article One: Your Objective
Your objective is to create an interesting and compelling character that avoids the excessively brooding stereotype yet acknowledges that becoming a demon hunter has had profound and permanent effects on your character.
Like with death knights, people who don’t like you playing a demon hunter will try and pigeonhole you. They’ll tell you that you have to play an unreasonably brooding, unpleasant, and flat character (although the opponents of death knights have a much stronger, though still unfounded, case). In short, don’t listen to those people.
On the other hand, one may be tempted to go in the complete opposite direction of these people out of spite and create a totally psychologically and socially functional demon hunter. That’s not to say that’s impossible, but becoming a demon hunter should have affected your character more than anything else has in their lives, and I’ll discuss that later on.
To conclude, it’s important when creating a compelling demon hunter that your character is what a demon hunter could be while maintaining a core integrity, something that is uniquely them, in the same way that all other characters must be affected by their race and their class to a lesser extent, yet they should still have a personality of their own that draws people in. Experienced roleplayers probably could have guessed all of this, but amidst all the historic demon hunter controversy and established norms, I could see how one could forget to just write them like any other character.
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Article Two: On Blood Elves and Night Elves
Because of the radical differences in night elven and blood elven culture, the former as a demon hunter should look a lot different from the latter as a demon hunter, especially in relation to their respective cultures.
One major source of demon hunter lore is the small number of demon hunter NPCs that exist.
One of them, Altruis the Sufferer, has this to say about blood elf demon hunters:
[quote=“Altruis the Sufferer”]It is not surprising that a blood elf’s potential for power as a demon hunter is so high. After all, the sin’dorei do not have the natural aversion to demonic magic that night elves do.
However, I do not expect many to succeed. Most of them, Varedis included, pursue power for its own sake. That power will consume them, for they are not driven by the pure fire that burns inside a true demon hunter’s heart. [/quote]
From this text, we understand that blood elves are certainly more naturally talented, but I think it broaches a more important difference between the two, and that’s how they are affected by their culture and their attitudes towards fel magic, and I interpret that difference thusly.
A night elf demon hunter is the typical demon hunter, the “true” demon hunter, as Altruis describes: he has sacrificed his reputation, his culture’s taboos regarding demonic magic, his family, his ability to function in his society (Legion aside, I doubt that night elves will ever truly “approve” of a demon hunter in the same way they will never “approve” of death knights), and to some degree, himself. When writing one’s demon hunter, one should understand that’s a greater emotional stake, and the fact that a night elf would undergo such sacrifice can only represent a powerful desire to dedicate every breath they have to slaying the Legion.
When writing a night elf demon hunter, consider they would likely be intensely passionate about what they do; it would require some extremely potent internal force to drive someone to such lengths to fight the Legion. Given how much a night elf would have had to sacrifice and how far they likely had to come, a night elf demon hunter may be incredibly cautious and disciplined about their practices (if you’d really like to dig deeply, consider their society’s views likely continue to influence them, so they may be extremely careful simply so that they can tell themselves that they are not demons and justify their decision).
By contrast, blood elven society does not revile demons nearly as much as night elven society does; one can probably expect blood elven society to be significantly more accepting of their decision by comparison (note that some blood elves might still frown upon them, such as truly devout paladins). If your blood elf followed Kael’thas to Outland and became a demon hunter, it means they were a member of the Sin’dorei military, which would mean they were somewhat highly regarded, and that it’s possible that they were ordered to go to Black Temple to be trained rather than going by choice. They may have been eager to go and gain power to serve their people and their Prince. Blood elves as a whole are more ambitious and willing to do what it takes to obtain the success that they think they and their people deserve. Ultimately, a blood elf demon hunter may be less disciplined and more concerned about bringing glory and power to their people in addition to stopping the Legion. They may not quite see what they’re doing as a sacrifice as much as a night elf would; they may even consider it a privilege.
Most importantly, however, cultures are complex, and one can never truly rely on one person from any particular culture being exactly as one would expect; a blood elf demon hunter may be incredibly disciplined and serious about slaying the Legion more than anything else, and one may find a night elf that is incredibly undisciplined and arrogant (Illidan is a debatable example). At the same time, it’s important to consider how your character’s culture affected their motivations and circumstances when becoming a demon hunter, and if one took any given night elf demon hunter and made them a blood elf, they would be different on some meaningful level. I encourage you to, when you are creating your demon hunter, think about what race they are and how their culture affects their attitude towards becoming a demon hunter; taking such factors into account adds significant complexity to your character.
– 2
Article Three: The Makings of a Demon Hunter
How your character became a demon hunter says something about your character, and something about your character must have made them want to be a demon hunter.
To become a demon hunter, one must have been taught. Only two ways have been explicitly revealed in lore: to have joined the Illidari or to have found a hermetic demon hunter and convinced him or her to teach them. Before the announcement of Legion, most demon hunter roleplayers chose the latter because it seemed more likely, but Legion’s demon hunters will be of the former variety. I highlight this so that I may stress that in order for someone to have become a demon hunter, they must have joined the Illidari, been one of Kael’thas’ soldiers who were chosen (either begrudgingly, enthusiastically, or something in between), or to have hunted down a hermit in the woods and been so insistent that they agreed to teach them.
All of these options say something about the demon hunter in question before they became a demon hunter, and deciphering what that is for your character is more important than how they logistically came upon the Illidari or the demon hunter in the woods. In order to have a cohesive and smooth character that keeps others engaged, one must decide what their character’s motivations were to become a demon hunter. If your character somehow managed to join the Illidari, you should understand what drove them to hunt down the most hated organization in night elven history, meet their qualifications, and devote to the rigorous path of the demon hunter. If one was trained by a hermetic demon hunter, something must have driven them to venture forth from civilization, seek out the demon hunter, and beg them to teach them, again ignoring whatever taboos that may have stood in their way. You must plan and craft their back story to properly establish strong enough motivations for your character to reasonably commit to these endeavors.
The only option that doesn’t require such effort is being one of Kael’thas’ soldiers that was chosen against his will to become a demon hunter (we cannot be certain whether Kael’thas only chose willing participants, but it’s not impossible that some of them were unwilling). If you choose this route for your blood elf, understand that the incredibly trying and traumatic (more on that later) training experience in conjunction with an initial lack of a desire to participate probably had a lasting psychological effect on your character.
I wish I could write more for this article because this is where I believe you will truly shine as a roleplayer and writer. “Why” is easily the most riveting and intriguing question about your character. This is where your character can be related to, where you can shock and surprise people, and where you can shift focus from the demon hunter archetype and highlight who your character is as an individual. This element of your character’s story steps into your character as a person rather than a demon hunter, and you can have a lot of fun teasing other players with hints of who your character was before they became a demon hunter. I’d argue the only thing more interesting than this is revealing how your character has changed as a result. If you’d like to really wow your fellow roleplayers, create a cohesive, convincing, and poignant narrative to justify their decision.
Article Four: Training and Its Effects
The training process for demon hunters is grueling and intense, perhaps more so than any other class training experience. In addition, the training experience almost certainly includes some kind of indoctrination, and one would do well to consider how both of these affects your character.
Training, as one might expect, would be where one learns nearly everything about what it means to be a demon hunter. The experience is intense for numerous reasons (there are two spherical ones that I could mention, but I think they’re both in everyone’s heads already). Given that training must take a soldier and turn them into a one-man demon slayer, this process must be lengthy, extensive, and difficult; furthermore, given that demon hunters are expected to be demon hunters for life (after all, the changes they undergo are permanent; again, two of those come to mind), demon hunters, particularly the Illidari, probably have some philosophy to justify what they do and convince trainees of what they are doing. Considering both of these facets contains a lot of creative liberty as well as significance for your character, so I’ve split my thoughts on training into two sections.
– 3
Section A: The Intensity
I’ve spoken earlier about the possibility of a psychologically and functionally stable demon hunter; in my opinion, such an idea is implausible (I’d like to reiterate that I believe all roleplayers should have the liberty to play whatever they like, so if you fancy this idea, feel free to enjoy it) for the following reasons: the training is physically demanding and incredibly painful at some points, and the rituals would affect the elf’s soul (and therefore their psyche).
Altruis, when telling players the story of Varedis, tells players that three of the five blood elf demon hunters trained by Illidan had died in training. These circumstances are outstanding because the training was not only under the Illidari but conducted by Illidan himself, but it does provide some relative idea. Besides this, we really don’t have much insight into what it’s like to be trained as a demon hunter, but we can deduce how difficult the training is by understanding where a demon hunter likely stands when they begin their journey and where they must be at the end.
I can’t imagine that one would be allowed to wield the power of the Legion in such a way if they did not have some combat training or experience, so they likely have some. In Warcraft, one obtains such training or experience by being in the military or an adventurer, and the notable difference between these two ways of life and the demon hunter way of life is solitude. Of all the demon hunters we’ve seen, they all seem to fight and live alone (with exceptions made to fight with the super special player character).
Solitary demon hunting seems fairly logical when we take demonic methods into consideration: dreadlords and succubi can turn allies against each other, infernals have more targets, the large size of many demons allows for wide strikes that can hit multiple enemies, and even the Legion’s fire motif is most effective when allowed to spread to multiple enemies. Therefore, a demon hunter trainee must become trained well enough in body and retrained well enough in mind to have the strength, stamina, discipline, presence of mind, and agility to go from a soldier or adventurer that is trained in group combat into someone capable of slaying demons by themselves. Such a process must be intensive.
Of course, much of this wanders into the realm of conjecture and digresses somewhat from strict sources of lore, and I encourage you to take this with a grain of salt and consider what you believe regarding demon hunter training. However, the notion that demon hunter training is almost certainly rigorous and physically exhausting requires little defense.
Whether the level of rigor can be classified as torturous or simply challenging is subject to interpretation (I’m of the mind that it’s probably traumatic, personally), yet training that is designed to prepare a person to spend their entire lives slaying an interstellar menace must have some kind of lasting effect on the mindset of your character. As I’ve done before in this essay, I won’t attempt too much to persuade you how it should affect your character, but I encourage you to consider and decide how it affects your character for yourself when you write them.
On top of the physical training, demon hunters undergo multiple rituals involving fel magic that augment their abilities–and their identities. Specifically, their eyes are gouged and replaced with an arcane/demonic sight, and their bodies are covered in arcane/demon tattoos. That they also bind a demon to their souls has long been believed, but this lore is rooted in the RPG books, which are no longer canon. This idea is still fairly plausible, however, especially in light of Leotheras the Blind.
Moreover, aspiring demon hunters being profoundly damaged by the demonic elements of training is not unheard of. Leotheras the Blind, the blood elf that went insane under Illidan’s tutelage, is the primary example. The most pronounced aspect of his encounter is his struggle to maintain the demon that has invaded (or, perhaps, was bound to his soul in training) has not been able to be conquered, so the idea that other demon hunters could struggle with controlling their “inner demon” is likely. Should you choose to accept the idea that a demon hunter binds a demon to their soul in training, then your character’s behavior would logically be irreversibly changed by their training. I would also argue that if you’ve chosen to have a character physically mutated by fel energy, then they would also should have undergone some personal or psychological changes, but this is a matter of interpretation.
– 4
With all this having been considered, one can see generally how the training process’ intensity and demonic nature could impact the character’s behavior. Whether one can remain a mostly, let alone entirely, normal person who can function in society seems unlikely, but because of the sparse information regarding demon hunter training, the matter is still entirely open to interpretation. Yet again, I won’t attempt to persuade anyone eagerly on how to play their character, but I believe that a demon hunter’s experience in training, regardless of one’s interpretation of it, should be permanently life changing in some way, and it’s one of many factors to consider (and one of many factors to have fun with) when writing your demon hunter.
Section B: Demon Hunter Philosophy
I’ll admit, the concept of demon hunter philosophy appears to be nowhere in concrete sources of lore–nowhere obvious. A rare drop that used to start a level 54 Druid quest in Dire Maul named The Emerald Dream still exists in the inventory; it’s written by Illidan and, judging by its subtitle, suggests that The Emerald Dream is a lie (I’d love that to be the truth in Legion), so it seems that the foremost demon hunter himself is no stranger to writing.
An irrelevant and thoughtlessly flavor texted item that is removed from the game is less than convincing, I’m sure, but there’s more. Telarius Voidstrider, a demon hunter featured in a hidden quest in Darkshore, wrote The Writings of the Dark Herald, which is supposed to outline certain secrets to becoming a demon hunter. Additionally, when encountered in game, he accuses the player of not being “of the dark path.” While Voidstrider could have merely been waxing poetic, it seems more plausible, given that we know he has written on the subject of demon hunters, that the phrase has some specific, esoteric meaning to him, perhaps philosophical or spiritual.
Feronas Sindweller, another demon hunter NPC, is a hermetic demon hunter in Felwood, yet he strangely displays extensive, nearly complete knowledge of Illidan’s activity on Azeroth; the view that he holds portrays Illidan favorably, so no average night elf historian would record this information. The only plausible explanation that remains is someone that thinks highly of Illidan recorded it, and Sindweller read it, or Sindweller recorded it himself. Few people think well of Illidan who aren’t demon hunters, leaving only them to record these facts that comprise this account, further supporting the idea that demon hunters write. Even Altruis speaks admirably of a “true demon hunter’s heart,” perhaps not implying much of a complex philosophy, but it does reflect that the demon hunter lifestyle means something powerful, personal, and perhaps even spiritual to him.
I know, I’m digressing into conjecture again; with that, I encourage you to not take what I say too seriously. I’ll only say that no matter how one was placed on the path of the demon hunter, whoever trained them expected them to be a demon hunter for life, and given that the majority of demon hunters are night elves, demon hunter trainers, most notably the Illidari, would have had to justify the lifestyle against night elf’s society’s taboos and convince their trainees that the demon hunter lifestyle is worthwhile or even necessary to defeat the Legion. With this in mind, I could only imagine that demon hunters must have a philosophy, and hermetic demon hunters probably have their own personal interpretations. Complexity would vary wildly from demon hunter to demon hunter and from hermits to the Illidari, but the most important and sole necessary function is justification.
The most important reason why I think a demon hunter roleplayer should consider this is that it’s tons of fun. Obviously, I believe all of this is fun, otherwise I wouldn’t do it, but having the creative liberty to invent and imagine how you think your demon hunter was indoctrinated and establishing your own version of the demon hunter philosophy really wraps the motif of the demon hunter around your character, really making it feel like a real lifestyle for your character. Whether you agree with me or not that a demon hunter philosophy is plausible, it is a fantastic opportunity for characterization and to diversify your character while tying them to their identity as a demon hunter.
– 5
Should you choose to accept everything I’ve laid out in this article, then it should be clear how difficult it is to maintain that a demon hunter can mesh perfectly well with society socially, psychologically, and philosophically. One shouldn’t take this to mean that your character has to be insane or excessively brooding; Altruis in particular is very reasonable, patient, and even humorous in his encounters with the player. So, again, I wouldn’t dare have you feel that you must roleplay your demon hunter a particular way, but to make the most complex and well rounded demon hunter possible, I encourage you to consider these factors when choosing how (or if) your demon hunter will interact with their society.
Article Five: The Little Things and Conclusion
In my experience roleplaying, I’ve realized that what sticks with other players most are often the little things.
During some roleplay with my demon hunter, I chose to have him be meditating before an encounter with another player. When people typically think of meditating, they imagine a process of finding one’s inner peace, but how is finding inner peace conducive with harnessing one’s anger and fury against the Legion? So, I decided to describe my demon hunter as having an intense and seething meditation, with clenched fists, tight muscles, and low, growling mumbles.
This essay, in addition to helping you have fun writing and playing your demon hunter, has been to aid in creating a character out of little, specific details, and those little, specific details add to your character lots of, well, character. Why are demon hunters always alone and poor? Maybe their philosophy idealizes asceticism and poverty as a way of separating and distinguishing themselves and their behavior from the Legion.
Even better, coming up with answers to dozens of little questions is incredibly fun to write, and it’s even more satisfying when you can finally use it in roleplay with someone else. I hope that this essay has aided you not by giving you answers but raising questions for you to come up with answers to that help flesh out your character.
I know that when roleplayers, myself included, have a broad, simple idea of a character, that broad, simple idea often lacks answers to not only very important questions of how and why, but little questions of what they’re doing and where they are, which truly consist of the majority of roleplay, I believe.
So, when you’re writing your demon hunter, I encourage you to come up with as many questions as answers, not just to create a compelling, well rounded character, but because it’s the type of thing we roleplayers often find incredibly fun. In that way, I hope this essay has been as much an essay in how to have fun when writing a demon hunter as how to do it holistically.
At the same time, I hope you don’t feel that I’ve attempted to tell you how to roleplay your character. I’m no Blizzard employee, I am not infallible, and I would never intentionally imply that I am. I can only hope this essay has made you think and that you had fun thinking.
Thank you for your time, and I can’t wait to see all the new demon hunter roleplayers.
Farewell,
Acridius (Ammathon)
