To RP as a deathknight ( honest help required )

[Falothorin-wyrmrest-accord]

Hello! There’s plenty of ways to RP a DK without “being edgy”, although all DKs have an inherent bit of edge in then.

I’ve answered similar questions in past, so I hope this will provide some benefit.

@Falothorin-wyrmrest-accord

This is about how I RP my kaldorei death knight (hi, I’m Falothorin, and I’m an elf addict). He feels guilt over the atrocities he committed under the command of the Lich King. He seeks absolution by saving as many lives and performing as many good deeds as he can. He’ll scour “help wanted” boards for those that need his talents.

Then, you gotta get that good, edgy Death Knight flavor in there .

1. He’s a rotting corpse. Black gums, yellow teeth, missing flesh, smell, etc.
2. He does hunger to cause pain, but, as Benedikt said, he deliberately inflicts this pain upon the targets of his contracts.
3. Undeath affects the mind differently for everyone. Some barely change, some forget their life, some become cruel. My character lost his ability to feel most emotions, or at least feel them to any intensity.
4. He refuses to actively use the dark magics at his disposal as part of his penitence.

Thus, he’s not really good to fit in with normal society, but he feels as though he owes them a debt. He plays the “dark guardian” role. It’s just about… Getting what you want (a do-gooder) while also incorporating the nastier sides of being a death knight. Because, unless your character goes way out of their way, they’re going to have visible, negative side effects (but also, that’s the fun part of playing a death knight). You can avoid being an edgelord by striking that balance of “passive edge” and “active good”.

@Falothorin-wyrmrest-accord

The way to play a “dark” character without playing an “edgy” character is to know when to, as a writer/player, not take your character too seriously. Give him/her a few funny/good traits. My death knight has no emotions, so I play him dead pan all the time. He works best with a goofier character to highlight his seriousness. But, even without, he occasionally just forgets where he is/what he’s doing (due to death via axe-to-head) and wanders aimlessly, even stopping mid-sentence. Use their being dead as low-key slapstick. Nothing super “comical”, but just a little wink/nod.

The best way to describe it is this quote from WCIII Blood Mage:

Warcraft Blood Mage Quotes

The character takes himself incredibly serious, but it’s so over the top, that it’s clear the writer was having fun with a serious character by not taking that character too seriously. It’s pretty meta, and kinda hard to describe.