Horde PCs and Moral Responsibility

I’ve suspected that it inspired one of Paizo’s spells for Pathfinder… Ice Crystal Teleport.

Every PC in WoW, regardless of faction or race, is an irredeemable killer for hire. At this point, we’ve all made orphans of countless baby centaur, murloc, furbolg, etc. Smaller, weaker, and less advanced races of “monsters” simply trying to make their way in Azeroth have fallen under our advance because they dared raise a spear in defense of their little huts by the river. People only cry genocide and immoral when it’s a player race finally with our boot on their throat.

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I think that’s kind of the point. Us killing centaurs, murlocs, furbolgs, etc. doesn’t upset anyone except pixels. Player races killing player races (even if players don’t actually (pull the trigger) involves the feelings of human beings sitting at their computers, so yeah, of course the reaction is going to be stronger. That’s exactly why the devs used to NOT have us do that. And why they’re now patting themselves on the back for giving us such strong emotional reactions.

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I think this is the fundamental problem with how the storytelling has evolved in this game. Although the narrative has always been on a rail to a certain degree, it previously tried to avoid putting players in situations where most would disagree with the actions their character was required to do in the story.

You could maintain a sense of character integrity fighting against the LK or in Silithus. Or even in localized faction conflicts such as Warsong Gulch or Alterac Valley. But making players abet the murder of thousands of civilians, or making players forgive the murder of thousands of civilians, is just not compatible with the internal logic of the story for most of us.

This is an RPG. But Blizzard’s narrative choices are breaking the immersion that an RPG requires.

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Basically, they created a story that demands a need for player agency and decisions, but lack the resources, as they have to make the rest of the MMO experience, to really flesh it out in a satisfying manner. And this is on top of poor writing.

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baine was traitor since cata. If garrosh knew about Baine affiliations with alliace dumb cow would be long gone executed

I know that a number of players have posted, on this forum, that they either stopped playing their Horde characters, or can only tolerate playing them by ignoring the story (basically what I do).

If the story is ruining immersion to the degree that players are giving up on their characters, then that’s a real problem.

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I’d argue more have just quit the game due the garbage mechanics this expansion than one faction’s dumpster fire of a story.

That said, the Alliance story isn’t much better, so don’t incentive those writing hacks by playing Alliance and making them think that catering to a minority that echos their delusions is any good. Just cut the band-aid off entirely. Only a lack of subs will convince the suits that new blood is needed.

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Blizzard is certain we’ll come back once all the bad things have been blamed on Sylvanas and the Horde has been “cured.”

/laughs in unsubbed.

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Almost certainly. But that doesn’t mean the number who have quit over the story is zero. Or maybe some who quit over the mechanics would have been willing to tolerate less-than-great mechanics if they’d enjoyed the story.

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Oh I agree, but I’d advise anyone who think’s re-rolling Alliance will fix anything is delusional unless you think Anduin or Jaina is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Anyone who isn’t is passive-aggressively implied to be wrong at best, someone to be humiliated to prove a point at worse.

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find me a quest with some furbolgs or whatever pretty much minding their own business in their own lands, and we didn’t take the resources and just scorched earth the area, then when we reached the den and a furbolg or whatever says please there are only our babies in the den we go BURN IT.

then maybe I will say WoT was the same as what we did to non-player races otherwise no.

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The Horde didn’t retreat from the ridge it was routed. It was certainly in no shape to do anything for Varian’s forces as the trap was designed to do… You don’t suicide your own forces no matter what verbal promises you might have made… An orc leader might have done exactly that though.

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For the record, I hated the HvA storyline in MoP but remained subbed because I liked the gameplay mechanics and non-HvA stuff.

I almost quit during WoD due to storyline stuff (Orcs got done dirty that expac) but I enjoyed some of the mechanics (I kinda liked garrisons).

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There’s nothing to suggest that Vol’jin recalled the Kor’kron from the Undercity. All that is officially known is that the Kor’kron no longer remain in the Undercity, Overseer Kraggosh is dead, and Bragor Bloodfist, now with the Hand of the Warchief title, who was their commander was the only one of them to remain in the Undercity.

Therefor we can only speculate as to what occurred and so while it’s possible Vol’jin recalled them it’s also equally possible that the Kor’kron with the exception of Bragor Bloodfist sided with Garrosh and that there was an off screen battle for control of the UC.

This is why I won’t miss Vol’jin. People say they wish he never died and was still leader, or would come back. To me that is the perfect example of “you think you want it, but you don’t.”

Unironically. Do we actually want Vol’jin back? A guy who sided with the Alliance in the middle of a war and benefitted Sylvanas in her rise to power… no thanks. Vol’jin saw the Horde as family… no Vol’jin we are not family, you yourself didn’t trust Sylvanas even. How did Vol’jin even know the Alliance wouldn’t just turn on him after he deposed Garrosh too? He reclaimed Echo Isles, sure… after he lost them. His tactics were bad, his ideas about the Horde were straight up wrong.

You think you want him but you don’t.

Yes. Your complaints with him are about things that don’t even register on my radar. I want him back.

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And possibly Vol’jin if he hadn’t been cut off from the loa at the time.

That is also possible, yes. Though my over all point of us not seeing any Horde Warchief ever punish Sylvanas for going against orders in continuing to produce the Plague still stands.

I would like Vol’jin back for this reason. He was a good guy.

When you’ve just fought a war and your general lets the goal of that war slip between his fingers, you need to reaccess. The Burning of Teldrassil led the Alliance to launch a ill-conceived attack on Stormwind that nearly led to the total eradication of the attacking forces and the decapitation of the Alliance leadership. Compared to that possible triumph, the destruction of Capital City was a bargain price to pay.

Also keep in mind that after talking to Daerlyn, she realised that she had understimated Night Elf resolve in making her plans. That she would not be able to hold the Tree against an entrenched insurgency inspired by the miracle of Malfurion’s survival. So the only move she could make at that time was to destroy it.

The destruction of Teldrassil has led to the near elimination of Night Elves as a major force on Kalimdor. That’s a win for the Horde no matter how you slice it.

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Sylvanas was just as much to blame for that, and admits it to herself in A Good War:

    A miracle granted by the honorable hand of a foolish old orc.

    And an overconfident warchief. Best to lay blame where it belonged. This was her mistake as much as Saurfang’s.

In A Good War Saurfang even tells Sylvanas to end it:

    Sylvanas ripped the axe free from Stormrage. The night elf grunted with pain, and blood gushed out of the wound, but he made no other sound.

    “Finish him and be done with it,” Saurfang said quietly.

But Sylvanas indulges in theatricality instead and walks away like a Bond villain assuming the hero is going to die and they don’t have to stick around to see it.

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