Void Elf RP help

Im somewhat new to roleplaying and need want to delve into it but need some help thinking of my character’s starting point. Shes a void elf warrior (with no affinity for magic or whatnot) but I want to make her a Sin’dorei as opposed to have being turned into a void elf, the void elf racials Ill just use when not in character. What reasons though would a blood elf look to defect from the Horde to the Alliance? My lore knowledge isnt the best and thinking of a reason for her to come to the Alliance is proving to be a challenge for me. I know we are in Shadowlands but I’m looking to have her story start prior to this when the Alliance and Horde were at war and really at each other’s throats.

I know high elves are a thing but I don’t know enough about them not even sure if I want to go that route. I don’t know, a defector sounds more interesting to me and I think has good rp possibilities but I don’t know where to start. Any ideas would go a million miles to helping me! Thank you!! <3

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I guess to start with High Elves, there really isnt much more to know about them other than they are culturally, more or less, the same as Blood Elves but simply with a different political alliance. Blood Elves are just renamed High Elves from when Prince Keal’thas returned home after the destruction of Quel’thalas and followed him from Warcraft 3 through the start of Burning Crusade, joining the Horde. Those that retain the name High Elves are those who, for whatever reason, retained their Alliance ties and didnt take part in Prince Keal’thas’ attempts at saving his people or didn’t wish to join their cousins in the Horde. Aside from the green, and now potentially gold, eyes thing the difference between a high and blood elf, imo, is merely geo-political. It is a self imposed identity. These are the easiest non-Night Elves to play within the Alliance because the history is already there.

The best opportunity I can think of for a Blood Elf defector really is the BC-Cata era, BC being the easiest or the next best would be Legion when the Void Elves show up. As Im sure you’re aware Void Elves are all just voided Blood Elves, none to me knowledge had any High Elf associations.

If you want to go a BC-Cata route you can largely attribute it to being a Blood Elf that came to Outland either as apart of Keal’thas’ forces or the Hordes and eventually joined the Aldor, Scryers, Sha’tar, or Shattered Sun Offensive, while being uneasy about the Horde given these same orcs allied with the Amani to destroy your home just 20 years earlier. Recalling your, albeit loose, Alliance ties cause you to think about rejoining your High Elf cousins and what that would look like. Major plot points could Velen and the Dreanei, the Alliance, saving the Sunwell, it could be hearing about the Wrathgate and the Forsaken, a final straw could be Garrosh and his wars, or Theramore. How you tie into any of those can be up to you and what your character was doing all that time.

With the Void Elves joining the Alliance, in my mind you’d need to have some connection to them. The only reason the Void Elves are able to join the Alliance is because Alleria. Voluntarily joining the Alliance, becoming a Hero of the Alliance, having a personal relationship with Turalyon, and being gone for 10 years, and learning to control the void, all contribute to the ability for her to say these new purple elves are safe. The Void Elves that have joined the Alliance would need to vouch for your character in some time, that they can be trusted or are safe to join. Perhaps your character is someone that never truly trusted the Horde and had old acquaintances who were apart of the Voided individuals to take them in, or a would be Void Elf but just happened to miss school that day. Those are the first hooks that come to mind.

I think a fun fight you can have is what does being a Blood Elf mean to you/the character? The name Blood Elf was made to reflect the pain and suffering the High Elves experienced. It is a very purposeful name that can mean a lot but does not have a long history. One would only really have adopted that name for 20 some years after being known as a High Elf or potentially 100s. What do these identities mean to you? Do you even keep calling yourself a Blood Elf? Do you have any dead give aways like still green eyes? How green is green? Just things to consider.

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Oh wow I wasnt expecting such a detailed post! Thank you so much! Shoot I had no idea that high elves and blood elves are in fact the exact same race save for their worldly/political ideals. That actually brings a whole new perspective of options to my mind. You are right though that at heart I am playing a void elf so I probably should incorporate at least some of the race’s lore into my character.

Hm, now I think I might actually incorporate both her being a blood elf defector and then turning to the void for her character backstory. I’m trying to think of how a warrior plays into the void aspect. Maybe something like she can serve as a warden who keeps the creatures of the void in line or prevent them from getting to wild or uncontrollable, something like that. Maybe she disappeared after defecting to join with the void elves in order to help them stabilize its denizens and later show to the Alliance that they can be worthy allies. As for her blood elf part, I’m going to start reading up on bc and cata lore to get a better foundation on when she said enough of the Horde and looked to the Alliance.

Seriously though, thank you for giving such an indepth explanation of the high/void/blood elves. I swear creating your character is the hardest for me. This gives me a lot think about for her characterization!

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Not a problem and happy to help get that ball rolling.

As for the warrior role, I always like to stress that what you play in game does not always have to line up with what you RP as. Additionally the classes we play are far more vague and open than nation or racial classes or orders. Blood Elves/High Elves all had some connection to the Sunwell, had some magical affinity. So a warrior, even if not flinging fireballs, had/has some knowledge of magic. Some of the most iconic Blood Elf troops are the Spell Breakers, warrior like troops that specialized in denying magic usage to their foes. Could just be an artisan as well, like a blacksmith, who was interested in enchanting weapons with different magical properties. So be it they actually have some theoretical knowledge and interest in the void, or were just a bouncer to keep folks out, its totally open to you. Just throwing it out there for you dont feel as if you have to make a big meat head thats only working off 2 brain cells on a good day kicking out the occasional void walker looking to establish squatters rights in Telogrus.

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We see a lot of Veiled Riftblades in Telogus Rift, all wearing plate, wielding sword and shield or 2h swords.

In my head canon, I figured that those who were not happy with the current state of Blood Elf society, and were exploring Void magic may not all have been casters, and also, in such an endeavor, the leadership of what became Void Elves might have hired trackers, warriors, and the like for protection, and other services that they thought they might need when venturing into the unknown.

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I’d personally go with a quel’dorei angle since I associate the sin’dorei and their history as something being uniquely Horde (fall from grace, struggle with inner darkness, suffering at the hands of others, duality in nature, and acceptance → embracing of faults).

Having said that, if I were making a “blood elf” turn to the Alliance…

  • Guilt/regret over the Fourth War: war is war, yes, but the burning of Teldrassil was a line that never should’ve been crossed.

  • Personal “convictions”: its one thing to be allied with orcs, tauren, and even undead… but trolls? (research Troll Wars)

  • Honoring old allegiances: the kingdoms of humans and dwarves have historically been allies of my people. The actions of Garithos, Arthas Menethil, or any other deranged/rogue individual do not invalidate this.

  • Home no longer: Cairne is dead. Saurfang is dead. Thrall has all but vanished, and Sylvanas is gone - the Horde is no longer the same one I enlisted with, and I do not trust it to uphold the same ideals it used to have back then.

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As a prisoner of the amani with such close proximity to false loa / malacrass your blood elf could have derived a self made affinity to void magic (arising from your devotion towards being counter death magic, resulting in an entropic embrace of sorts to all that was left in your light stricken environment).

Upon being rescued from Zul’aman the horde aligned blood elves would have sensed a darkness among you, banishing you from the ghostlands, it would only be on your trek south where you discovered the full extent of deaths grasp on the world, until finding a beacon of hope in lights hope chapel. After spending years among the order of paladins, and later death knights, you found your resolve and ventured further south, this is where you can pick multiple timelines for your ventures, I think post legion pre bfa works nicely as the ashbringers presence is gone from EPL and you could maybe witness Anduins usage of the light in the battle at tirisfal.

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