Chronicles of the Gold Farmer 2- Ni Hao This!

Continuing on the goldfarmer theme.. TotalBiscuit is at it again, tormenting goldfarmers. The previous episode of the Chronicles is also available.

Hunting season

Apparently some players on Defias Brotherhood have become sick and tired of bots and started dealing out vigilante justice. While I despise gold selling and acknowledge that the server ruleset allows and encourages hunting, I also expect that this vigilantism has all the downsides as real vigilantism. In other words, lots of innocent people get ganked.

Roleplaying power?

How do you roleplay differences in power in a world where game mechanics say that everyone is equal?

I recently got engaged in a flamewar about a roleplaying incident, which led to accusations of godemoting. Basically, in the incident a noble was talking with his friend in a known player-run bar, the Smoking Blade. He was repeatedly asked to leave, but he refused. Was this bad roleplaying or not?

If you look at the incident in pure in-character perspective, the bar staff would probably have been unable to eject the said noble by force. Still, there would have been consequences to be involved in a bar fight. Yet, because of game mechanics, there were no consequences. Actual fighting was impossible, and the NPC guards would not interfere. And both sides knew this. If the noble didn't want to move, the bar staffers could not make him to do so.

Out-of-character, the incident was much tougher to judge. Both the bar staff and the noble (along with his friend) are completely equal. Both pay the same amount to Blizzard. Neither of them can really own the building.

Now let's muddy the waters a bit. The Old Town Syndicate is well-known for Smoking Blade. It is generally accepted that the building belongs to them. So should they be able to dictate what happens in that building? What about the noble then? He has an elaborate backstory which establishes him as a noble. Thus, he should be able to command some puny peasants around, right?

No. The Old Town Syndicate does not own the building. No, the noble does not get to boss people around just because he wrote an elaborate backstory. Why? Both sides' power is all about consent. The majority of people on Defias Brotherhood has consented that the building belongs to the Old Town Syndicate. Similarly, people have consented to be the noble's underlings. But here's the problem. The Old Town Syndicate has not consented to respect the noble's rank. Similarly, the noble is disputing the Old Town Syndicate's position. He has not consented that the Syndicate is the law in that part of the town.

Elaborate backstories don't give you any authority by default. What gives you the authority is other people. People like the Old Town Syndicate's roleplay in the Smoking Blade, so they consent to it. People like the noble's roleplay and backstory, so they consent to be his underlings. Nor does rank 14 give you any real power over your faction. By definition, it just means that you have PvPed more than the most of the server. It says nothing of your leadership skills. If people like your leadership, they will follow you. If they don't, they leave you fuming alone in raidchat or WorldDefense. Similarly, people could walk to the Smoking Blade like the Old Town Syndicate was never there.

Consent is the key to everything in this game. I consent to paying Blizzard to play. I consent to follow the Terms of Use. I consent on getting ganked by rolling on a server with PvP ruleset. I consent to the RP policy by rolling on a RP/PvP. I consent to joining a party. I consent to duels. I consent on joining a guild. I consent to staying in a raid. But when we deal with roleplay within the same faction, the implicit consent is no longer there. Especially when dealing with roleplay involving strong emotions or violence, I have to get the other player's consent.

All it would have taken is a few out-of-character whispers to tell the other side about your viewpoints, so that consensus and thus consent could have been reached. That didn't happen.

In the Heart of the Plague

Unfortunately for Syskae, Etienne is nowhere near Kalimdor.

A Warning and a Plea

Shalkis: *lifts her gaze from a book*
Syskae: By the Light!
Shalkis: I told you that security here could be improved.
Syskae: *syskae throws his cowl back* You are... Shalkis, are you not? Melnerag wished to warn you.
Shalkis: *motions towards the chair*
Syskae: Not here. Catacombs. I have been spied on before.

Syskae: Melnerag did not expect to see you here, but the fact of the matter is that the Shining Strand is going to raid Ogrimmar. He wished for you to be safe, or prepare. Whatever. I speak in his name, I suppose, if only by chance.
***Syskae concentrates on somethign for a moment, as his armor is summoned on his body.
Shalkis: Tell me something that I don't know. Like what is that outfit for?
Syskae: [hesitantly] It is a gift from Melnerag. The Strand knows it, but not my monkish outfit. I would rather be discovered wearing this, than have the outfit spoilt.
Shalkis: Yes, I see his handiwork. I assume he has told you many things that you previously did not want to hear.
Syskae: [wrinkling his nose] Melnerag likes to talk, yes. Many things he says I find agreeable, not the least his goals if not always his methods.
Shalkis: He dos have less success with other individuals, though. Has he recovered his eye yet?
Syskae: No. Though I find the method you recommended quite abhorrent. Surely you cannot be serious, that a human should take up such barbarous practices.
Shalkis: Melnerag does have less messy methods in his disposal, but surely this is nothing new to the humans?
Syskae: True. But the Gearholder has a bizzare lust for experimentation, it would appear. I only follow this curiosity up to a point, as you might imagine. However, I did hear reports that you were in elvish lands earlier on. As I was.
Shalkis: Yes, I was travelling around that area, gathering samples for my research.
Syskae: I was looking for Etienne. Perhaps you caught sight or smell of him?
Shalkis: I encountered only a few humans, but not her.
Syskae: [confused] Her?
Shalkis: It sounds like a female name.
Shalkis: Not that it matters much, humans do not usually introduce themselves to me.
Syskae: He is not aggressive at all. A young Westfaller, but 20 years of age, golden haired, and pretty if I might put it such. If ever you chance to encounter him, I will pay handsomely .... he left me and I know not where he is.
Shalkis: If a human fled into areas the elves have claimed for themselves, the first place that I would look for is Nijel's Point.
Syskae: Why there?
Shalkis: Although I did see no bright-haired humans there. The ones I saw were all wearing helmets.
Syskae: [slowly] I will go look there.
Shalkis: Nijel's Point is one of the few settlements where there are more humans than elves.
Shalkis: Including some of your associates.
Syskae: The Crusade thinks me dead after Melnerag got me out of there. I fear this is for the best, for now, with Stormwind after me.
Shalkis: If.. one wanted to forget things, the barren flats of Desolace would be a perfect place to gather one's thoughs. And an ample ground for a recruiter to instill new ideas into youths searching for themselves.
Shalkis: I have found Shadowprey Village quite.. serene myself.
Syskae: Etienne told me he was safe. I doubt he would go there, but ...
Syskae: I should get going before we are detected here. Unless there is something you wish to convey upon me.
Shalkis: I have just one question. Do you now accept the truth about the Grand Crusader?
Syskae: [gruff] Something may be afoot. I should see for myself one day. Right now, the Grand Crusader is very far away. With the voices of the Sphere in my head he feels quite distant. It matters not, at any rate, as the fight for Lordaeron is a fight against the Scourge.
Syskae: *begins to walk away*
Shalkis: That'll do for now. May the Spider Queen's web catch you, should you fall.
Syskae: I'd rather not be entangled by Troll allies. Light bless you, Shalkis.

Research Journal

Feathermoon Isle
Inspected three guards because of aggressive behaviour. No obvious abnormalities detected, samples retrieved for further study.

Inspected Shandris Feathermoon for abnormal hostility even for an elf. Samples retrieved for further study.

Nijel's Point
Lack of aggression in elves suggests that no interesting mutations would be found. Nevertheless, inspected two specimens and retrieved control samples for further study. Also encountered two Dryads and a Keeper. While they identified themselves as working for the Cenarion Circle, they declined to comment further. Left at their original habitat for reasons of diplomacy.

Footnote: one of the elves showed signs of aggression, retrieved some more samples for study.

Stonetalon Peak
Lack of subjects proved to be a problem. Took samples as control from the local flight master. Obtained several samples from the denizens of the Talon Den.

Ashenvale
Proximity of corrupted water elementals suggested that elves near Mystral Lake might be corrupted, provided they use the lake for drinking water. Obtained samples from the four aggressive ones.

Addeneum: Encountered a highly aggressive specimen. Pacified for sample collection.

Addeneum: While collecting samples from the watchtower near Raynewood Retreat, encountered one highly aggressive specimen. Unfortunately, the specimen vanished before any samples could be obtained.

Addeneum: Shortly after specimen 1 vanished, encountered an another specimen with severely degraded motoric skills. Distinguishing features noted for later sample retrieval.

Addeneum: Attempts to locate specimens 1 and 2 unsuccessful. Collected five samples from Astranaar.

Addeneum: Retrieved interesting samples from an elf maintaining the Shrine of Aessina. Coloration of flora in the area suggests a high degree of corruption. Visible discolorations and abnormal texture of samples noted. Preserved for further study.

Personal note: I am being followed by a stealthy human. His motives are currently unknown.

Addeneum: Sample collection aborted at Maestra's Post. due to human interference. However, specimens showed an unusual lack of response to physical stimuli. Noted for further study.

Addeneum: Encountered a specimen running from Darkshore. Specimen physical structure unable to withstand physical stimuli. Sample obtained for further study.

Darkshore
Encountered a non-hostile Ancient, with no visual signs of corruption. Specimen left in pristine condition for now. Accompanying elves show now isgns of aggression. Elf specimens are thus unsuitable for the purpose of this study.

Auberdine
Aggressiveness of speciments is increased, approaching expectable levels. Two specimens pacified and subdued at the docks. Samples preserved for further study.

Addeneum: Encountered the movement-impaired specimen again. Unfortunately, the specimen fell into water on it's own. Samples still unavailable for study.

Teldrassil

Aggressiveness reached nominal levels., and is uniform among most of encountered speciments. Starting the search for abnormal specimens..

Addeneum: Highly aggressive specimen encountered. Pacification required was comparable to specimens found assaulting Horde settlements from time to time. Several interesting samples obtained for later study.

Encountered a highly durable specimen. Sample collection aborted due to overabundance of specimens.

Research Results
Dissectation performed to samples obtained from Feathermoon Isle. Sample, texture, weight and contents is within nominal levels for specimens. Slight bluish tint detected. Samples frozen for further study.

Footnote: More samples needed from aquatic specimens for comparison.

Dissectation performed to samples obtained from Nijel's Point. Color nominal. Weight slightly more than expected. A slightly rougher texture detected. Samples frozen for further study.

Footnote: Samples delivered to the Royal Apothecary Society for analysis.

Dissectation performed to samples obtained from Stonetalon Peak. Sample coloration, texture, weight and contents within nominal levels. One sample contained oil. Samples frozen for further study.

Footnote: Requested comparison with known samples of oil used within various races, starting with goblins.

Dissectation and analysis performed on samples obtained from Ashenvale. Sample hormone glands are abnormally large. Signs of decay detected in specimen digestive tract samples. Lung sample obtained from the Shrine of Aessina contain a previously unknown substance. Substance is in the form of fine purple powder. Tissue in contact with the unknown substance changed color to a slight purple tint. Bone sample obtained from the final specimen is more fragile than expected. Sample was unable to withstand even nominal force. Splinters collected. Samples frozen for further study.

Footnote: Samples from unknown substance delivered to the Royal Apothecary Society.

Dissectation performed to sambles obtained from Darkshore. Vein samples show increased volume and toughness, but no discoloration. Intestinal tract samples show signs of decay and green discoloration, but lung samples show no unusual characteristics. Samples frozen for further study.

Footnote: Further sample collection required, especially from specimens encountered near bodies of water.

Dissectation performed to samples obtained from Teldrassil. Purple discoloration detected in lung samples and green discoloration detected in intestinal tract samples. Tissue texture is rough in all cases, suggesting increased resistance to physical trauma. Vein volume and toughness increased. Bone sample obtained from the unusually aggressive specimen shows new growth on bone edges and increased diameter. Changes suggest adaptation for combat. Samples frozen for further study.

Tags: In-character, Story

Illegal Danish

The Illegal Danish are back. Almost. Here's a trailer of their second episode.

Marx

I finally got time to watch Marx's video, and it was indeed better than I expected. There's the usual WSG, but also Maraudon soloing, 12-man Onyxia and even Marx's RP story (gasp!).

Recovery

An acquaintance of mine is recovering rapidly from a magical mishap, and is regainin' 'er skills wit a blade.

Invasions, round 2

Apparently Kel'Thuzad is not pleased with the progress of his troops. And like all evil masterminds, he is willing to try, try again.

Comic contest winner

Blizzard has chosen the winner of the comic contest. The winning entry talks about the difficulties of naming a baby.

PlayOn: Alliance / Horde Ratio Over Time

Apparently the Alliance / Horde Ratio Over Time doesn't change significantly during a server's lifetime. In PvE servers, there's an overwhelming Alliance presence, while PvP servers are fairly even. It'll be interesting to see how the Burning Crusade and the equalization of the factions will affect this.

WoW Trading Card Game art

New UDeck Covers for the World of Warcraft TCG have been released. All of them are very high quality, and the artists range from Blizzard regular Samwise to Gabe of Penny Arcade. I found it really hard to pick a favourite, so I'll have to go with Samwise's Gnomish Warrior.

Long time no see

I recently met an old acquintance of mine, a human called Seiken. He has now joined an organization dat has risen from de ashes. De Shining Strand.

De Strand was known for deir war wit de Second Gurubashi Empire and deir war against de Forsaken. De strain of fightin' a war on two fronts was too much for dem dat time.

Dere had been some attacks against Forsaken positions at Bulwark, and my sources in Stormwind said dat propaganda pamphlets blaming de Forsaken for attackin' supply convoys. I personally had inspected de situation and actually found de Forsaken guarding de caravans, and de Scarlet Crusade attackin' dem.

And now de Shinin' Strand has reformed. De Plaguelands are relatively calm. De Necropolises are gone, and former enemies have joined together to strike back at de Scourge. Argent Dawn. De Brotherhood of Light. Even members of de Scarlet Crusade.

Dis could ruin everyting. If de Forsaken strike back at dese.. agitators, we could have a new full-blown war in Hillsbrad. It could strech back to de Plaguelands, distruptin' de important work dere. I had to find out wat de Strand was plannin'.

Durin' our leetle incursion into Goldshire, I had spotted an old acquaintance wearin' de Shining Strand tabard. Seiken Trollbane. Because we had worked together before in de Shadowsun organization, I contacted de human warlock Melnerag to see whether a meetin' could be arranged. He said dat him and Trollbane were not on friendly terms, but he would try.



Today I got a reply. Trollbane would meet us at a house near de lumber mills of Elwynn Forest. I arrived early, to check for ambushes. Some time later Melnerag arrived, wit one of his eyes gouged out. Apparently someone decided to take de tale of Kilrogg Deadeye a bit too literally. He did not say who gouged his eye out, and I dinna care dat much.

Finally, Trollbane arrived. He was wearin' full armor, but had taken 'is helmet off. Not good. I had decided to dress less threateningly dan usual, and now I seemed relatively underdressed for de occassion. Even Melnerag was wearin' armor.

I voiced my concerns and explained de situation, but he was bein' evasive. I could see and [i]smell[/i] dat he was uncomfortable under all dat metal on a hot summer day, but he still dinna make any attempts to switch to more comfortable clothin'. And.. I smelled sometin' else. Not a human but.. an elf.



I asked Trollbane to invite his companions inside, but he feigned ignorance. Dis was a trap. He was merely playin' time to allow de cage's door to gradually swing shut. But was de trap for me or Melnerag? I had leetle time to tink, wen de smell of an elf became stronger. A simple scrying spell on Trollbane revealed de truth. Dere was an elf nearby, strengthenin' him. Now dat de jig was up, de elf revealed himself. He was accompanied by an another human, both dressed in de Strand's colors. Suddenly, de odder human made an attempt to grab Melnerag, but de warlock apparently had anticipated dis. De elf turned into a bear and knocked de human over. Seiken drew his sword and lunged at Melnerag. But de small house was not a good place for fightin'. Seiken swung wildly, hittin' mostly thin air or de furniture. On one swing, he nearly hit me, so I had to create a barrier to protect me. Dis was between Seiken and Melnerag, not me.

Predictably, Seiken was no match for Melnerag. De warlock toyed around wit him, until Trollbane collapsed on de bottom floor of de buildin', exhausted. Poor foolish Trollbane. I had arrived wit a perfectly reasonable proposition, and he gets all agitated over some feud. We walked outside, where de elf had already subdued de warrior. De meetin' was obviously over, but I'd need to move somewhere else before someone came to see what de ruckus was..

Ouch. I woke up wit my face in de dirt and my own blood fillin' my mouth. My head ached like I was hit by..

Seiken.. Seiken! Dat treacherous fool. Fine. If he really wants to play dese old games.. Behind a tree, I opened my backpack and took out my combat clothes. I disliked de color of my new robes, but de enchantments on de fabric were undeniably useful. I attached my bracers, my cloak and my shoulderpads. I welcomed de familiar coolness of my gloves. Finally, I lowered de mask on my face.

Seiken. He was dere, outside de building, talkin' wit de elf like nothin' had happened. My hands tingled in anticipation. De first frostbolt smashed harmlessly to de back of his head, makin' him to turn. Just in time to see de bigger bolt headin' towards 'im. I could hear de metal of 'is breastplate makin' a disagreeable sound. He attempted to charge me, but it was cut short by de ice caressin' his feet. He almost lost balance, but recovered enough to see de final frostbolt fly towards 'im. He lurched over, 'is feet still held still by de ice. Surprisingly, de elf dinna like dis at all. He too charged me wit no success. It was time to forget havin' fun and to take a breather. And *cough* to bandage my wounds. I ran towards de river. De forests of Duskwood would provide enough cover. I used my whistle, and Windclaw ran towards me. Seiken was up again, and still had learnt nothin'. Right when he attempted to strike me, his feet were again imprisoned by ice. He could not catch me on foot. De elf followed me to de river, but realized dat he was headin' towards a trap. He wisely turned around and returned to de mill.

Mill. Melnerag.. Fortunately he had seen 'is chance, and had already fled. We met at a safer place. After a small discussion about his.. condition, he gave me a letter dat he had acquired from de Strand. Seiken had unknowingly revealed much of de Strand's plan, but dis letter revealed deir next target. Bold and utterly foolish one it was, wit no hope of success. My associates would be very interested in dis knowledge. Very interested indeed. After discussin' proper responses to dis incident, we left. Dere was much to do..

Bolvar down by Taiga Clan

On the heels of our recent victory against the gnome king, the Taiga Clan sought out a more difficult target. And they did find him. Congratulations.

Roleplaying combat and wounds

I recently spotted several interesting articles about roleplaying combat. Of course, I chipped in on the effects of various types of magic damage in World of Warcraft.

Here's what I wrote:
One thing about iron and steel is that they conduct heat quite well. While your plate mail may absorb the physical impact of a fireball, it does nothing against the heat. That particular piece of armor will warm up and burn your undergarments/flesh inside. If a warrior loses to a fire mage, his armor may be unharmed, but the person inside is quite crispy.

Frost works a bit differently, but the principle is the same. A frostbolt is basically a projectile of superchilled ice. The heat from the armor and the victim is transferred to the projectile, melting the frostbolt and chilling the victim.

One particular quirk about freezing objects is that they become quite brittle at low temperatures. Many of you have probably seen demonstrations where liquid nitrogen is used to freeze and then shatter previously strong objects. If a frost mage uses Frost Nova or procs Frostbite, the next blow could be quite fatal.

Arcane damage is somewhat trickier. Instead of emulating natural forces, Arcane is pure energy. Combat applications of Arcane would probably shape it to become antimatter. Inside an Arcane Missile bolt, there's a tiny grain of antimatter. When it hits anything made of normal matter, the two cancel each other out and both are turned into pure energy. Thus, Arcane both annihilates a piece of the victim completely and releases energy around the impact point. This energy gets translated into heat and burns the surrounding flesh. If you want a sample of the effect, you can look at the ending cinematic of Warcraft 3. Wisps surround Archimonde and begin disinterating him. Finally, they all strike him at once, and the resulting burst of energy scorches the landscape around Nordrassil.

Most nature damage in this game is in the form of poisons and acid, but druids do have the Wrath spell. Personally, I would assume that a Wrath bolt ignores armor completely, moving through it like it was never there. When it hits flesh, the effect could be like a spread of a tumor. The cells' growth goes uncontrolled, and the results would resemble a benign tumor. The "cancer" cells would also require nutrients and oxygen. Eventually, the victim's body can no longer supply enough oxygen, causing the victim to pass out and die unless the tumors are cut out. Someone killed with Wrath would be a gruesome sight indeed.

Shadow damage is a special case. It has a both physical and a mental component. A priest's Mind Blast spell, for example, attacks the victim's mind directly. In mundane terms, I would assume that this attack is in the form of very disturbing images and thoughts, designed to agitate the victim and drive him into a shock. Doing an autopsy on a victim of Mind Blast would probably reveal that he died of bursted blood vessels in the brain and the heart, as well as lack of oxygen caused by hyperventilation. Also, his heart would have gone into "overdrive", pumping so rapidly that the thrusts lacked strength to push blood around his veins. Similarly, Shadow Word: Pain fools the body into thinking that it's in great pain, causing it to overreact.

The physical component of Shadow would be somewhat akin to acid. The victim's armor and flesh would be dissolved by an impact of a Shadowbolt, for example. The effects of Warlock curses would be akin to a malignant tumors, corrupting healthy cells and spreading all over the victim's body. Healing a cursed victim can not be done via surgery, it would require magic or letting the body's natural defenses work their course.

Pest control

Today, we did sometin' quite extraordinary. We did de Alliance a favor. We cleansed two immoral places and doin' wat dey could not do demselves.

First we set up positions outside Goldshire. Our scouts reported dat discraceful behaviour was takin' place, in de full view of de locals. Den we cleansed de town. Some spitted, some cheered. Den de Alliance Watch came to clean up de bodies. Satisfied dat our job was done, we set out to our next target.

Tinkertown. I dunna know why de dwarves got so upset. De gnomes have been tryin' to kill demselves before, we were just helpin' dem out. Disappointed at dis response, we only killed High Tinker Mekkatorque, de one responsible for de near-genocide.

Mind controlling for fun and..

Well, mostly for fun. A priest catches a rank 14 warrior botting in Western Plaguelands and decides to have some fun.

PvE vs RP vs PvP

PvE vs RP is once again a hot topic. And as usual, it didn' t take long for the "discussion" to descend to personal insults. RP Nazis vs l33tkiddie epicfarmers. Flamewars such as this always create a morbid interest in me. It's like a car crash. It's awful, but you can't help looking at it. In this particular flamewar, top Alliance PvE guilds started taking potshots at each other. Finally, the whole thing was spiced with intra-guild drama, courtesy of Crimson Gauntlet.

Personally, I think that RP, PvE and PvP should be balanced on RP/PvP servers. If you want to do all of them, then you go to an RP/PvP server. If you just want RP and PvE, then you go to an RP server. If you want PvE and PvP, then you go to a PvP server. And if you only want to PvE without anyone whining about lack of RP or getting ganked, then PvE servers are for you.

The trouble is that the optimal balance varies between each player. Some like RPing all the time, spending days in your capital of choice. Some frequent the battlegrounds or gan.. practice World PvP. And some enjoy a nice raid. If you start telling other people what their personal RP/PvP/PvE balance should be, then you get problems such as this flamewar.

Fortunately, liberal use of satire can help.

..aand we're in business

So, this is a blog about Shalkis, a World of Warcraft character. She is a troll mage, playing on EU Defias Brotherhood.

I posted my backlog of stories as a starter. While those stories were completely in-character, this blog will also contain both in-character and out-of-character rantings and random thoughts about WoW as well.