Character Profiles

[Zultar]

What is the general feeling regarding power level when writing a character profile for the server? Should the history be written from the perspective of a level 70 character? Makes sense, as if the character is approved and gets vouches, they would be leveled to 70 - but I thought I would check.

[TwilightDisciple]

Power and level are generally irrelevant in proportion to an RP profile. This kind of almost goes hand in hand with characters who are dependent on epic items.

It's best to just write it as if you were just making up a character. Act as if leveling weren't relevant to the world. (It isn't.) It's as simple as that. Though, if you've never RPed outside of an MMORPG, I see why you have a concern.

(high level just means approval and convenience here)

I know someone else can answer this better; I'm trying to word it without encouraging over-the-top, superpowered DBZ-like descriptions.

[Harmonic]

What TW has said is pretty much the best way to put it. If you write a character, and tend to give them a backstory that explains how amazing they are and how much they accomplished, yata yata, it tends to take away from the actual RP experience. I mean, why would you make a character that starts out as someone who's already accomplished a lot, when you could make a simple character who will -experience- a lot?

To me, I usually look at it this way. If you've got a character that's rich, powerful, and accomplished, what else is there to do RP wise?

[Zultar]

Well, I disagree with the concept that powerful characters have nothing left to accomplish or to contribute to RP, but certainly it is possible, and even preferrable, to start out smaller. It seemed important to me to find out about relative power level in this context due to the very real things a given character can or cannot accomplish within the mechanical parts of WoW. Obviously a 70 will be capable of much more mechanically than his level 10 counterpart. As I have never RPd on the server yet - I was not sure how much interaction/questing/world events that involve powerful creatures that we need to take on might be going on and whatnot. Also, a 70 would have had a lot happen in his personal past...many battles and such from which to draw some development, like the creation of old enemies/hatreds, etc. In any case, you have answered my question sufficiently for me to post a profile. Thanks.

[TwilightDisciple]

A level 1 can have a rich past.
A level 70 can be a novice.
As was said, level is just a number in scale of the game, not the story.
The game world itself is nothing but a stage here, really.

...I just realized that I have yet to see someone play a character who starts out powerful, accomplished, and rich and is going into a descent into becoming weak, accomplishments degraded, and losing money.

[Maeven]

Mechanics don't really enter into a lot of things even so. We have level 5 characters contribute to some of the major world events, and on the scope they do just fine. Level does not equal life experience, especially here. Level 70 happens just to make OOC easier, and has nothing to do with the IC in my experience.

...I just realized that I have yet to see someone play a character who starts out powerful, accomplished, and rich and is going into a descent into becoming weak, accomplishments degraded, and losing money

I think Siv came pretty close to that actually; from a well trained rogue to a drug crazed anarchist. Rensin comes in a close second. It's out there, but it's rare, you're right.

[TwilightDisciple]

Oh man, how embarrassing. I completely forgot about those two!
Especially Rensin. He went from, uh, soldier(?) to dragonslayer to an alcoholic half-naked brawler for goblin pleasure. The latter is not as glam as it sounds, folks...

[Roobald2]

I was just about to make a char like that, believe it or not.
Well i've made the char, not much people know him though.

[Harmonic]

Oh man, how embarrassing. I completely forgot about those two!
Especially Rensin. He went from, uh, soldier(?) to dragonslayer to an alcoholic half-naked brawler for goblin pleasure. The latter is not as glam as it sounds, folks...

Siv and Rensin were the two finalists in the Azeroth's finest contest. They were both very accomplished fighters, and Rensin was a bouncer of sorts for the bar in Goldshire. He went into a downward spiral after getting his ear cut off by SI:7.

He's also suffered a lot of brain damage from his constant fighting, which is quite apparent if you talk to him.