Hi, I am returning to WoW and wanting to get back into the RP scene. I am trying to figure out how to RP my character without being overly edgy. I have listened to a ton of Lore videos and even read the two books (Arthas and Death Knight Manga) to try to wrap my head around my character. Any veteran DK’s out there with good advice to help keep the edge in check? Also, any other advice is welcomed and appreciated 
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Roleplaying your death knight as a normal person is always an option. Just gotta remember that you’re dead and (ideally) a member of the Ebon Blade.
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I’d say it’s all about practicality. Speaking personally, I’ve felt the line between something being reasonably and unreasonably edgy comes from whether or not that edginess has a function. Many, if not most, of the aspects of base Death Knight lore that would likely be considered edgy typically has some sort of function or otherwise logical reason behind it.
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Understand, you were risen (originally) as a deathknight of the scourge by the Lich King.
You were created to destroy the living, your past life irrelevant in the face of your new mission.
Your will has been erased… replaced with that of your creator; A seething hate for the world that failed him, and the wrath that he believes is most justly due for it.
You are a shadow of what you once were, following the abomination you were forced to become.
You will never truly feel happiness, you will never feel full-filled, and you will never reclaim the agency you felt when you were once alive.
With this in mind, it is easy for your character to walk an edgy path.
However, the accomplishments you have acquired, marred with the duty sworn by the Ebon Blade should be taken into account when trying to figure out how your deathknight would react in any given situation.
To me, being a deathknight would be like being born, with your base mindset defaulting to malice, rage, and hate, instead of the humanity and general decency a normal person would have, never being able to attain an inner peace.
It is not to say a deathknight could not learn to love and prosper, it is just that it will NEVER be the same as one who is living.
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This is a fun question! I think with the amount of time that has passed since the Death Knights were ‘freed’ from the Lich Kings will (still unclear about this, are they now linked to Bolvar? idk) you should be able to have a little bit more wiggle room in terms of your character’s motivations and feelings.
Some things that immediately come to mind.
- You are fully aware of the atrocities that you committed as a brainwashed DK and are now set on balancing that out by doing good, but still struggle because most being still view you as dangerous.
- Perhaps you have recovered fragments of your past life and are attempting to track down the truth of who you were.
- You fully know who you were but disavow that person, perhaps you led a bad or immoral life even before you were raised again, and now you want to do better and forget all about that.
- You could go for the sort of mindless brute with a heart of gold archetype. You speak very little and are extra stoic, and may look scary, but are actually quite gentle in the day to day, but when combat strikes you enter a frenzy.
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One of the main things you absolutely need to do in order to accomplish this? Is take a moment to think about your actual actions. Put in a real world context.
If you are about to commit an action that - in real life - would get you put in prison? Then perhaps evaluate if that’s the right goal. One of the hallmark of, well…’edgy’ characters is they do things like react to mild disrespect with pulling a runeblade and threatening to use violence and dark magic.
This is in a tavern in the middle of the, with people walking to and fro.
“But I’m a death knight/demon hunter/criminal/assorted-scallywag/etc.” Yeah, see, this is the kind of thing that makes the DM in me narrow my eyes. That’s the ‘I’m chaotic neutral, it’s what my character would do’ kind of thing.
Do not lose sight of the fact that this is a collaborative hobby. Your actions absolutely need to respect that. You can have whatever take you want, but you have to remain responsible for your actions.
The lack of doing this is something I commonly see with people who I am told are edgy. Speaking openly about assassinations, torture, etc.
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That’s just in general. Now to your specific question? One thing that I’ve noticed a lot of death knights not really…I guess ‘utilize’ is the best word - the fact that they are not mindless Scourge. They can think, act, plan, all of that stuff. Their morality, though? That’s…largely gone.
Take a moment to identify what your goal with your character is. Your actions should be in support of that goal.
- Are you trying to reclaim your old life, or at least know about the people in it?
- Are you trying to forge your own path, with your second (un)life starting?
- Are you unsure, and trying to find a purpose?
Things like this. Having that kind of narrative goal tends to guide your actions towards having a purpose. Purposeful action is kind of the nemesis of the edgelord.
Above all, remember to have responsible fun with it. Part of responsible fun is making sure other people are also having fun, or at least making sure you’re not ruining theirs. Communicate with people, and if possible? Have at least one person you can talk to OOC about this, letting them know something like ‘Hey, can you let me know if X was too far’?’
Anyway, yeah. Good luck.
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Would like this a thousand times if I could, this is the vibe and it’s disappointing how many people completely miss it. The freedom gained at Light’s Hope is what allows them to live a fully independent life, free from brainwashing and forced actions. How each person deals with that is up to them, but the largely pushed-around idea that Death Knights can only be emotionless, angry, morally bankrupt monsters is objectively false.
The entire WoTLK expansion shows it around every corner! Every death knight the player meets on their journey is an individual with their own personalities and goals. Death Knights are not a hivemind. While they all share a similar goal of ending Arthas’s life, they’ve all chosen their own way to make that happen. Sometimes they work together; sometimes they work alone. Some are jerks; some get through unlife with gallows humor. Some just want to fish. There’s a guy in the Ashen Verdict who was so traumatized by what he’d seen and done that he ripped out his own eyes. They are a people who are as varied as any living person would be.
Also, OP, don’t be afraid to embrace the edge, if you so chose. Their lives are tragic ones-- it’s built directly into their backstory. They all also suffer from the Endless Hunger that requires harming living things to stay sane.
Death knights are compelling characters, and I hope you find a story that resonates with you!
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I kind of hate people who rp as a ‘normal person’. Like no you have been cursed with the eternal misery of undeath and you have a cursed rune blade that is constantly hungry for souls screaming in your mind. There is no ‘normal’ there. Acting normal in that situation literally gives this Mary sue idgaf vibe that so many people do in rp and it’s so tiring.
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I think that following a strict guideline to RPing a certain character archetype is boring. I agree that you shouldn’t be so blasé about being a Death Knight either though, at that point just play a Warrior. Let me clarify what I really meant though.
As a Death Knight, You are cursed. You have done horrible things if you’re 3rd Gen (and you’ve done virtually nothing if you’re 4th gen. Afaik) These are undeniable truths of playing a Death Knight. But when 200 people all RP the Death Knight as the lore accurate emotionless killing machine construct addicted to murder and mayhem, like they are in the lore, it’s just going to get tiresome after a while. When everyone knows what to expect from a certain type of RPer, the community more often than not refuses to walk back on that expectation. Some may argue that consistency is good, I have a different outlook.
So when I say “RP your death knight as a regular person,” I dont mean become a leatherworker with an upstanding relationship with the city guard and pretend you never killed all those people in Eastern Plaguelands, I mean give the character emotions and willpower like any other character would have. You can RP as a Death Knight and be the good guy. You can RP as a Death Knight with a sense of humor. You might even be able to befriend a Paladin. And by the lights good graces you might even RP as a Death Knight who bathes!
Being unable to do those things are, at least from my perspective, the stereotypes of DK RP. I should have been a lot more thorough but I was probably on the clock at the time of writing that original post.
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Fun little tidbit from these new Prey quests was this line:
“Death knights are unstable killing machines at the best of times.”
I thought about it for a while, and it’s not exactly wrong. You’d probably be a little crazy too if you had voices telling you to kill things and a mechanism to force it on you if you didn’t comply.
I’m actually kind of surprised how many of these quests have been about defecting death knights. Is this a thing brought on by the Midnight storyline? Or were they already on their way out before hand? So many questions…
And another layer to add to a character’s personality if you so choose!
How did I miss this topic as it was posted so close to another similar topic back in January? 0_o
I’ll link back to that one as there was some basic surface level advice in that topic despite being about the worgen curse:
I do respectfully disagree with playing yourself as “normal” as Steggand suggested. We’re anything but that, and the undead curse has affected all of us to various degrees: some are emotionally stunted, and many can’t shake away the memories of what they did while part of the Scourge. In extreme examples, you might have ZERO memory of your life before you died. In that situation, for all intents and purposes you are truly dead and gone: you’d have zero connection and no memory of those that once knew you.
Sleep is possible but not required, yet attempting to sleep provides no benefits, is generally restless, and it tends to bring in recurring nightmares when it does happen. You might still have loved ones, but a physical relationship with a significant other is completely out.
If you somehow against all odds came out on the other side mostly as yourself following your free will being regained, you’re still going to have to contend with the “Endless Hunger.” For a death knight, not killing and inflicting pain is like being a vampire that refuses to drink blood: it’s eventually going to drive you mad and make you unable to see friend or foe at the worst possible time. There is no peaceful retirement for a death knight: this one aspect is why so many remain in professions where they can regularly fight others.
Overall, I’d say Anrah covered some of the common aspects and themes best:
One or all of these suggestions would be great starting points if you’re still trying to flesh out a character all these months later.
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“I believed in life after death… but this isn’t what I had in mind.”
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