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plonqMy undead warlock, tauren druid and troll mage are all on temporary hiatus while I work on my latest character: an undead priest.
I joined The Pod People (coolest.guild.ever) and, on learning that they had a dearth of priests, I decided to take the plunge and see what that class was like. To quote![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
atara, "priests are squishy." Let's just say that it was a real trial getting her through the first 18 levels. A low-level priest ain't bad in a group behind a couple of tanks, but as a solo character, I think a more apropos model for the character would be one that is blue and three apples high. She suddenly became fun to play when she hit level 18 and got enough DPS and damage-resistance spells to give her a chance against most critters. I managed to roll the counter over to level 20 last night, and though I haven't had a chance to try them yet, some of the level 20 spells look like fun. Now I just need to round up a group for WC so that I can try them out.
I have chosen to take her down the shadow tree, which means that she will be a bit less effective as a buffer or healer (though still a better healer than any other class out there), but she should be melting faces by level 60. She's definitely not a priestess of one of those light, airy gods who watch over new mothers and harvests. I picture something more along the lines of one of those reptilian temples where the black-shroud priests sacrifice virgins on a stone altar overlooking a pit of flaming brimstone.
Which raises a whole 'nother issue; why are people so reluctant to play a villain?
I admit that in my early RPG days, it was fun to play the shining hero who would vanquish evil and then ride into the liberated village in a parade of rose petals so that the thankful citizens could shower him with praise, and raise statues in his likeness. It was fun... for awhile. Lately I've found that there is also satisfaction in playing the part of a Saruman - an evil overlord who has no qualms about raising a fell army and enslaving all the decent folk. After all, if it wasn't for the Sarumans, the heroes would have nothing to do. When I built my warlock, I concentrated on the corruption tree. While I am building my priest, I am concentrating on the shadow tree.
From looking at game statistics and talking to people, though, I have determined that I am in a rather small minority. In WoW, the alliance outnumber the horde by a 2:1 margin in the game because people want to play "pretty" characters, and want to avoid "evil" characters. Even on the horde side, when I look down the list of players in our guild, there seems to be something of a bias toward warriors. Everyone wants to be Conan, but nobody wants to be Raistlin.
I admit that I have a soft spot for villains and antiheroes. That doesn't mean that I don't like heroes, or that I want Superman to fail, but I prefer the insane genius who honestly believes he is doing the right thing when he sets his army of mechanical nightmares marching across the plains to turn hapless townsfolk into quivering blobs of protoplasm. He just has more character, IMO.
Does anyone else out there like villains?
I joined The Pod People (coolest.guild.ever) and, on learning that they had a dearth of priests, I decided to take the plunge and see what that class was like. To quote
atara, "priests are squishy." Let's just say that it was a real trial getting her through the first 18 levels. A low-level priest ain't bad in a group behind a couple of tanks, but as a solo character, I think a more apropos model for the character would be one that is blue and three apples high. She suddenly became fun to play when she hit level 18 and got enough DPS and damage-resistance spells to give her a chance against most critters. I managed to roll the counter over to level 20 last night, and though I haven't had a chance to try them yet, some of the level 20 spells look like fun. Now I just need to round up a group for WC so that I can try them out.I have chosen to take her down the shadow tree, which means that she will be a bit less effective as a buffer or healer (though still a better healer than any other class out there), but she should be melting faces by level 60. She's definitely not a priestess of one of those light, airy gods who watch over new mothers and harvests. I picture something more along the lines of one of those reptilian temples where the black-shroud priests sacrifice virgins on a stone altar overlooking a pit of flaming brimstone.
Which raises a whole 'nother issue; why are people so reluctant to play a villain?
I admit that in my early RPG days, it was fun to play the shining hero who would vanquish evil and then ride into the liberated village in a parade of rose petals so that the thankful citizens could shower him with praise, and raise statues in his likeness. It was fun... for awhile. Lately I've found that there is also satisfaction in playing the part of a Saruman - an evil overlord who has no qualms about raising a fell army and enslaving all the decent folk. After all, if it wasn't for the Sarumans, the heroes would have nothing to do. When I built my warlock, I concentrated on the corruption tree. While I am building my priest, I am concentrating on the shadow tree.
From looking at game statistics and talking to people, though, I have determined that I am in a rather small minority. In WoW, the alliance outnumber the horde by a 2:1 margin in the game because people want to play "pretty" characters, and want to avoid "evil" characters. Even on the horde side, when I look down the list of players in our guild, there seems to be something of a bias toward warriors. Everyone wants to be Conan, but nobody wants to be Raistlin.
I admit that I have a soft spot for villains and antiheroes. That doesn't mean that I don't like heroes, or that I want Superman to fail, but I prefer the insane genius who honestly believes he is doing the right thing when he sets his army of mechanical nightmares marching across the plains to turn hapless townsfolk into quivering blobs of protoplasm. He just has more character, IMO.
Does anyone else out there like villains?
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 04:24 pm (UTC)When I'm talking about a villain, I'm thinking of something more like my warlock who sucks peoples souls out through their noses for fun, then cannibalizes their bodies when he is done. You know, pure evil - not the whiny, emo stuff. =)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 04:36 pm (UTC)To what Unciaa said above, "Everyone was a tortured soul with a dark past," whoo boy that came when the generation-Xers started growing up and playing Vampires. White Wolf games really kicked up a trend there that we're not likely to see the end of any time soon, "evil angst". Speaking of which, the locals showed me Interview with a Vampire last night. Good production and entertaining, but goth angst isn't really my thing.
In computer games like WoW and Black & White, playing evil I think allows for a lot of people's darker desires to play themselves out - order people around, destroy stuff, schadenfreude, amorality. Heck, it's a lot safer than pulling it in real life. When you get down to it it's not all that different from gunning people down in first-person shooters, Grand Theft Auto or needlessly torturing your Sim family or by building deadly roller coasters. It's just a difference in preference and style.
My friend
To me, a good evil character is ruthlessly selfish, a little eccentric and insane, interesting to listen to, and (optionally) tragically flawed. You're not alone in liking evil characters.
I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don’t like it
What’s with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don’t like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn’t it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 06:39 pm (UTC)Just so. Every Holmes needs a Moriarty. The problem is that nobody wants to be Moriarty these days.
It's not that I don't like playing the part of the shining knight who rides into town on a white horse and saves the day, but when everybody else is playing that same role, it makes one wonder just what the town is being saved from.
Since I can't afford to build my own Skullcrusher Mountain and reign down terror and despair on the world, the least I can do is play one of the ugly, evil characters in an RPG to balance things out a bit.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:58 pm (UTC)In Ironclaw, my character was a bounty hunter/slaver who was only out for Number one. In Black & White, I aspired to be the most evil and feared god of them all. And in WoW, I love the Horde.
In our guild The Pod People, I play a warlock who's specializing in demonology. There's a few people who are interested in the RP tangent of the game, and have come up with some interesting back stories. I know my warlock's backstory, and I'm planning on telling it in audio. I can hear her talking, and I'm not sure that plain text can express the bitterness and anger in her voice.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 08:14 pm (UTC)Can't get much more evil than that, can you?
:-)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 07:50 pm (UTC)It's been said more than once that I am incapable of playing an RPG character with a good alignment. My paladins always die horribly after committing some atrocity or another ....
Malificent is the best Disney villianess ever!!!
LUV FOR MALIFICENT!!!!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 09:15 am (UTC)Villians are cool though, Scar is cool ^^
I don't think I've roleplayed a villian though