Questions about a Tauren Warlock rp character

Wyrmrest Accord
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I’m a bit out of touch with the Tauren Rp community these days and I have a couple of questions in light of the inclusion of warlocks to the herd. I’m interested in how people are approaching tauren warlock characters. Back-in-my-day™ Warlocks (particularly with their demons out) did not get warm receptions in Thunderbluff. I believe there was a idea put forward by some RP guides (that are no longer cannon - but what even is cannon anymore) that tauren had an aversion - including physical -to fel. I have a little moomoo destro warlock that I’m leveling, and I’m kinda enjoying him. So the thought has crossed my mind, that I might want to Rp him at some point. Which is why I’m here.

Here’s where I am so far… His name is Boudreaux (Boo for short). Working surname is Swamphoof, I like it but I also find it a little cringe. Age is older, maybe late middle age. Possibly a little older than Kinarra. He’s not a traditional WoW warlock. He’s along the lines of a hedge witch. Which in WoW terms is part druid and part shaman, and part some other stuff. So he’s herbalist and healer, and bit of a hermit. Trained with my character Greatmother Moon as a healer and seer until they had falling out. He had always been interested in the cycles of life and its balance. How life gives way to death, which in turn, creates new life. He became interested in fel because he saw it as a corruption that broke the natural balance. He studied it to be able to cleanse it. As he studied it, he came to think that maybe in the grand scheme, fel had a place. It existed, therefore it must serve some purpose. This is were he and Greatmother parted paths. She’s still not sure he completely understands what he is dealing with. He believes he does, but he knows it a dangerous path. He looks at demon hunters and feels some kinship, but also views them as a cautionary tale.

I think the hedge witch approach is good a tauren who doesn’t want to be a big scary warlock. It involves knowledge of herbs, healing, and the natural world along with being able to connect to nature spirits and the ancestors. I could stop there without throwing fel in the mix, but I want Boo to be a little darker. Not dark dark, or even really edgy. But just an awareness that there is stuff out there when don’t truly understand, and that actions have consequences you never anticipated.

Anyway, that’s my wall-o-text for the day. If you managed to make it through, I’d appreciate any feedback or questions. Thanks!

*** EDIT: As the conversation is evolving, Anyone who has anything thoughts/ideas/questions on starting up characters is welcome to comment. It doesn’t have to be just about warlocks or Taurens. I learn a lot just by hearing other people’s ideas and experiences. And, I figure other people can too.

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Sounds like a cool concept.

I’ve always liked the idea of some tauren forming a circle to study different forms of magic outside the parameters of what their society normally accepts. Had a character concept for a tauren mage who’s entire ethos was that magic was as much of a living part of Azeroth as nature and spirit magic was and thus ought to be understood, rather than shunned.

I feel you could easily do the same with warlocks, particularly now that we’ve had additional lore and more revelations in the game’s story in regards to how the world and the greater universe at large operates.

I actually have a similar concept to what you mentioned with your tauren for my panda warlock! His whole schtick is he’s a recluse living in the far reaches of the Dread Wastes. Low-key a LITTLE coded to be like the Miracle Maker from The Princess Bride.

We stan hags in this house.

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Your concept has deep roots in the traditional Asian and African concepts of the warlock, which lean more toward the shamanic and spiritual rather than the usual dark arts practitioner of Celtic and Northern European lore we’re most commonly exposed to. Indeed, warlockery has a pretty broad interpretation with many overlapping seams in the fabric of the arcane, so you should have plenty of appeal as an atypical player of the archetype.

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I have a hedge witch, but mine is based on Drustvar lore. I really like the idea of putting that to a Tauren character, though. I could see studying the fel being tied into the character concept. Have you figured out how far he’ll go with it?

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Like the mage concept a lot. I agree that with in each race there are going to be those who stick to traditions, while there will be those open to new ideas and how those work with their world view. I think there is Rp value to exploring both sides of that coin.

As I’ve gotten to study more world religions through classes this year, I been exposed to a great depth of a few Asian and African traditional belief systems. I like them very much and they are very different to a traditional western view. In terms of European paganism, you have to think in terms of pre-Christian, and after- Christianity took hold. Christianity is the source of the “big bad” for the most part. Yes, there were bad or evil beings, but they hadn’t unionized under one big boss. That seems to be a concept specific to Christianity and related religions. Hedge witches were usually women who knew herbalism and traditional healing methods, who lived on the edge of communities. In other words, beyond the hedges, basically out in the wilds and scary places. They were seen as living in two words - the “civilized” and “supernatural” for lack of a better term. These people were easy pickens for Christians.

No, I haven’t. At this point, he thinks he’s had his “Galdriel and The One Ring” moment, but I’m not so sure. I don’t think I’ll have him “embrace the fel”. In Rp terms, I think he’ll be chaotic neutral, and oh is he morally flexible. At this point, he doesn’t want or seek power. He realizes that fel attracts and is attracted to those who want or covet power. He doesn’t feel that fel is natural to Azeroth, so that makes it especially dangerous since we don’t really have a natural understanding or resistence to it. He also knows that he’s already gone far enough with it to attract attention. He is well studied in natural magic, healing, and the elements and has become respectfully powerful. There might be a demon or two who believes that he could be useful to them. And that’s about where I am now. I’m working on it as I’m level him.

Than you all for the replies. Boo is still a work in progress so I am open to idea. Oh, I’m thinking about Swampstrider as a surname. And yes, he has two familiars, a cat and a raven.

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There’s a certain degree of vodou influence in such a character, inasmuch as the spiritual aspect could be connected to Iwa (though this is a more likely match for a shaman). In the preindustrial era terms such as wizard, witch doctor, shaman, warlock, and sorcerer were used interchangeably; true enough, in this modern age a warlock is often seen simply as a male witch without much regard for the details, so you’ve got quite a wide river to splash around in as far as interpretation is concerned.

We’ll look forward to this with great interest.

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Thank you. I think there are so many options and approaches that get over looked. I like talking about them with other people who are interested.

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Gen here, and I love the concepts and ideas of Boudreaux Swamphoof.

I had a similar concept with this gal, a Tauren who thought that the Fel was unnaturally consumptive because it was an introduced form of magic, and had no natural ‘predators’ or rivals to keep it in check. So, much like we handle modern invasive pests and animals, you go out and remove them yourself.

So she started running around absorbing Fel into the totem on her back, and then going to actual Warlocks who had a greater understanding of the Fel, and let them absorb it in turn. And in the process, she learned Demon Lore … and how to use fire magic in a way shamanism never could.

And we’re on a ‘path to hell is paved with good intentions’ story and young Mowa’keri is going to quickly understand just how wrong she is about a lot of things.

My understanding of this is that Tauren have an mostly-unbroken oral history tradition, and that stretches back to the Sundering itself … which was caused by the use of the Arcane, meddling with Titanic nonsense, and Demons and the Fel ruining the world in an unending tide of sadism and brutality.

Their aversion to both the Arcane and the Fel was a cultural quirk rather than an innate biological resistance, like what the Blue Dragons have to the Fel and certain creatures have to the Arcane.

This is unironically brilliant because it is true. All of the Primal Powers, no matter how malevolent or benevolent they appear to be or how they act, function as a fundamental part of creation. Light and Void are the Ying and Yang of the setting, their interactions and conflict echoing through creation and producing energy that sustains life, heat and movement. Arcane is a force of order that gives stability and structure to creation. Life uses that energy, and that structure, to produce life-forms that produce Anima. Death harvests those life-forms for that Anima and then gives that Anima to the other Primal Powers to feed them and allow them to keep doing what they’re doing. And the Fel breaks everything that is not in use, or has no use, down to provide new materials for the rest of the Primal Powers to create new materials and new creatures with.

But since the Primal Powers are all fighting each other and are rebelling against the system that kept them all in harmony and the whole setting rolling along as it should, the Fel is trying to consume and break down everything, not just collapsing timelines and decaying societies that might grow to the point they’d do harm to the cosmos.

If you’re cruel enough and intelligent enough to start using sacrifices using souls, the Fel notices, reaches out to you, promises you an energy field bigger than your own head, and when you reach out to grab it, the Fel intrudes into your world, eats it all, and then goes out.

Or at the very least, it was supposed to, but Fel outside of the Twisting Nether is like a stray match-flame in the middle of an oil-soaked garbage dump. Unless it is dealt with immediately or kept under careful control, it is going to be a very bad day for all people involved.

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Yeah, Bo has that going on along with the idea that pride cometh before the fall. Being a seer, he thought it would be able to foresee danger and avoid it. - In spite of Greatmother Moon telling him was a idiot and that seers can never see their own fate, and trying makes them a target for munipulation. For him, using “seers water” was equivalent to playing with a ouija board alone. He knows that now, but his not quite aware of how long and how deep the munipulation went.

This makes sense to me, I shall run with it. Though I would think that if an Azerothean was steep in nature magics, it wouldn’t be out of the question to sense fel in a way. Maybe not a strongly, but maybe a sense that something was out of order.

Thanks Gen! I think Boo might need to have a visit from Greatmother. That might be how I can pull him back from edge if he gets too close. Lots to think about. Maybe I will start to Rp him. Maybe I’ll at least try writing a short story if nothing else.

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When I came back last fall I rolled up a tauren warlock and decided to roleplay him as a folkloric witch with a strong emphasis on maleficia, which Affliction plays nicely with both mechanically and visually (though I could also have done with with Spriest and since he works with dubious spirit allies, the literal visual element of shadow beings attacking a target would have worked as well).

It’s interesting seeing more people considering this approach. I’ve yet to have anyone object to it so I’m guessing it’s probably fine?

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I think the most important thing is consent. Regardless of the old lore, the new lore, and in-character knowledge or prejudices, its important to think about consent when it comes to in-character interactions.

Warlocks are associated with Fel, Demons, and the Burning Legion, making them potentially very controversial. Add to the fact that there have been groups of deceptive warlocks that have betrayed people. Some people (and characters) will see warlocks as necessary to understanding and dealing with Fel and demons, others might tolerate but loathe them, while some may simply be outright hostile. In my opinion warlocks seem to be on the fringes of society for the stigma that comes with being a warlock.

But too many people have used lore to harass others, forcing hostile rp on them without consent. Folks should get consent before engaging in hostile rp. After a bad day the last thing I want is some character approaching mine with some bone to pick.

I’ve Rped with Tauren warlocks on occasion before Tauren could be the class. My Tauren characters tend to focus more inward and to their own people about those sort of things and let others outside the group be. I find that it promotes friendlier interactions.

As for the community it seems pretty mixed from what I can see. I tell folks that if they don’t like something about a character, either ignore that something or don’t interact with them. Personally I have seen more characters that use dark or controversial magics, to the point they are far more common than others.

I’ve gotten into a few discussions over Fel and it irks me when players basically say ‘trust me, bro’ about stuff. If I have the wrong perception, I’d like to see the lore for myself and better my understanding.

On the topic of lore I have gone over it but who knows if I have missed something more recent additions. The community’s perception of the lore, whether accurate or not, seems really skewed.

Personally I would like to see such communities, like one for warlocks, to be created. There is a lot of opportunities for that kind of rp. I’ve even had someone ask me to make one.

Personally I think this is a great concept and say you should follow your desire to play him. I’ve been thinking of doing short campaigns dealing with individuals kinda like this but that are up to no good.

Where can I find this in the lore? I’d like to explore it for myself.

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Thank you, Raton!!!

I know that back-in-the-day™ I would run into the occassional Tauren warlock, who was usually playing a bad guy, and it never went well. I try to think through a character before I inflict them on the population at large. And I don’t see this character becoming a big, bad. I don’t want to play an evil character, to be honest. I want him to be less about fel and more him starting to realize that he has messed with things he didn’t full realize, and has put himself in danger. I think he’s going to be more about walking a very thin line, and trying to keep balance.

I think think the word “warlock” carries a lot of baggage. There is a perception of what a warlock should be based on western Christian concepts of witches and warlocks. That concept as fed into Blizzards “class fantasy” through demons and evil, and also through the concept of fel causing decay and other negative things. It seems to me that this is what has caused some of the trouble you mention.

I can understand why the ideal the playing an “evil” or “bad” character is appealing. But I think what sometimes is not fully appreciated is that these types of characters are very intrusive. A character isn’t evil because he thinks bad things. It’s because he DOES bad things - whatever the reason. And there has been a history of players doing bad things without getting the permission of the players they did them too.

I’m interested in exploring the idea that villians don’t usually think of themselves as villians. The road to hell is paved with good intentions though. I intend for Boo to have placed a hoof over that line at time or two in the past, but he figured it out and is very aware that he is playing with fire.

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Playing the bad guy is always difficult because it puts others immediately on the defensive. What are they going to do to my character? Am I ok with that? I just want to be left alone and play my character. Etc.

A morally gray character is easier, of course. Less threatening and maybe less controversial.

Either way, it can take a lot of communication between RPers to know where someone is going. I prefer evil characters to either interact with other evil characters, or with players they’re already familiar with so no one gets too apprehensive and people are more likely to talk to each other.

I also prefer when people with evil characters know that there’s a strong chance the other RPers around them are going to band together immediately to try to take them out. Because that happens more often than not.

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I don’t think I’d ever actually try to RP my tauren warlock as a tauren warlock because people in-game can have some very charged opinions about it that IMO kind of shuts down potentially interesting interactions whether or not they’re antagonistic at all.

Come to think of it, it makes me wonder where people stand on tauren mages since they’re… canonically a thing… and the whole nonsense about them innately hating the presence of arcane magic was never canon IIRC.

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I have nothing to contribute but I enjoyed reading the discussion. A lot of cool creative ideas which is what I like about the RP community :smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

I like the interpretation of that goofy RPG lore that Tauren are allergic to magic and instead it’s a cultural revulsion from Well of Eternity War / first Legion invasion. Then having the tradition of an oral history and details becoming lost in the sauce is a cool way to explain it. I’m definitely going to use that if I were to ever play a Tauren spellcaster, I think it’s a pretty solid interpretation.

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Yeah, I have those same concerns. I’ve had a couple of really bad experiences before. Fortunately it was a long time ago. People who’ve been around for a long might remember a horde-side guild that was notorious for that sort of things. And since the Earthspear was Thunderbluff and Mulgore, we would encounter them from time to time. Usually nothing would happen, but if it did … oh boy. Anyway, if you didn’t/don’t agree to it, it’s not cannon for your character - the end.

It’s always amazed me to some degree, that people think they can take over your character and dictate what’s going to happened without consulting you, then say you’re the one out of line if you protest or complain. I have a character who is Kina and Huey’s daughter. Had 2 people tell me they were going to RP as the daughter. One went so far as to tell me to name change my character. They didn’t even ask if they could, they just decided that they were. Yeah, no. People do some crazy things.

Technically, I’m won’t actually being RPing as a warlock. The character has tried to study fel, and learned to use it to some degree and felt the effects of it. ICly, he doesn’t have demons and as never summoned them. However, they turned up without being called and caused some trouble. So that is probably is what is going to cause him to flirt with the dark side so to speak. Still not quite sure.

I have wondered about mages myself. I started one that I might get around to late. In terms of Tauren mages, I don’t have a problem with them. Taurens, for the most part, don’t lead the same lives they did 10-20 years ago. So much as happened. They’ve been exposed to so much. So, it would make sense to me if Tauren ran a spectrum from tradition to somewhat cosmopolitan. Kina’s backstory involves growing up in a very small, very nomadic tribe. Her tribe never joined the Bloodhoof or the Horde. So I don’t have a problem with a character who has stayed staunchly traditional. But I also don’t have a problem with a character who has embraced city life, so to speak, and has learned about different types of magic from different races, and uses them. I think there is plenty of room at this point, for different interpretations.

That being said, there will always be people that don’t like what you do. You’re never going to make everyone happy.

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What?

No, seriously…what?

Who does that? Who just decides they can do something like that? Wow. Sorry that happened to you. That’s ludicrous.

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Yeah, didn’t think either one was serious at first. But they were. Seems like every month or so we’d get someone who had some pretty interesting takes on what was “proper” RP, “proper” lore, and who would disrupt half the guild, then blame us for being bad. Yeah, I never really want to be in a large guild again.

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the noise I made reading this

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I’ve met people like that. I don’t think I’d joined Earthspear yet but I have met some folks like that.

Or if you have to put your foot down and establish some boundaries to then be called a bully or intolerant because you won’t tolerate their bad behavior. The same old song and dance every time.

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