PLACES TO SEE
MOONGLADE
In some of the newly released screen images of Wrath of the Lich King, I am so excited… we can see a NEW dryad model. Looking closely at another image, we can see the tree spirits…those are trees that are shaped into a specific and recognizable form. In the screenshots of Northrend, we seen that the trees take on a female shape. It is unclear where exactly this Cenarian vale resides, but several theories state that they may exist in spring-like Howling Fjord or perhaps the primordial Sholazar Basin. What we do know, is that wherever these trees exist as with the daughters of Cenarius, his story are not far behind.
These mystical formed trees have been seen before…. in Azeroth. So, if in your travels you would like to see some these special trees prior to the opening of Wrath of the Lich King, you can find one female formed tree at the Shrine of Rumulos in Western Moonglade, Kalimdor. There are two other shapened trees elsewhere, though they are slightly different. They are the bear trees which exist on Teldrassil. One such bear-shapened tree resides in the Oracle Glade, in the north, the happens to be Night Elf bank in Darnassus.
While you are in Moonglade visiting the shrine and seeing the tree spirit, you may want to travel to the south eastern corner and visit the Great Cat spirit. At one time druids were to do a series of quests to obtain their cat form, and this spirit was involved. Eventhough the quest no longer exists, the great cat spirit remains. Sorry hunters, according to PetTopia this cat cannot be tamed. But wouldn’t that rock?
The other unforgettable spot to visit while in Moonglade is the Stormrage Barrow Dens. These are the sacred sleeping quarters for druids who reside in the Emerald Dream. Illidan’s twin brother, the archdruid Malfurion Stormrage’s body was to have rested there, but while he slept his body was moved and hidden by usurpers. This has caused him to be lost and wandering in the dream.
Although there is no known update on Malfurion’s story for the Wrath of the Lich King, there is speculation that SOME small threads of his story will be presented.
INTERESTING QUESTS
SWAMP OF SORROW
To get to the Dark Portal in Blasted lands, you may often pass through the zone called Swamp of Sorrow. It makes sense now that there is a faction of broken Draenei residing there. They had managed to make it through the portal early on during the initial portal cataclysm.
There is a little known quest that takes you to a very unique spot while you are in Swamp of Sorrow.
It is called Cortello’s Riddle. You may have been fiercely battling the Bloodsail pirates off the Southeastern Shore of Stranglthorn, when you discovered a piece of parchment with a riddle inscribed on it. The first part of the riddle/quest leads you to west central, Swamp of Sorrow. There you encounter an ornate well-traveled bridge. Take a moment to look at it, the bridge is beautiful and is one of a kind. Some have said that the architecture of this and other items around the zone are reminiscent of central America or Asia.
Although fewer people travel to the Temple of Atal’Hakkar, its history is rather interesting. It seems that the Gurubashi trolls had built a huge empire and a temple to evil Hakkar, the soulflayer. The green dragon flight would have none of this, and sank the temple into the depths of the swamp. The emerald dragon known as the Shade of Eranikus also resides in the halls of the sunken temple.
Just to bring things full circle, Malfurion Stormrage’s spirit makes an appearance after Eranikus is defeated if you have followed that quest series.
Another interesting fact about Swamp of Sorrow was that it and blasted lands used to be part of an enormous swamp area known as the Black Morass.
ROLE PLAYING TIPS
Making a Character Sheet
Several role playing guilds and groups have returned to using a character sheet as a means to identify your character to yourself and to others. If you have used such mods as FlagRSP or MyRolePlay, then you know that these mods are also a type of character sheet with specific character information that other role-players can read and know. If you have played D&D you may recognize this term as well, although those particular sheets are very in depth.
In terms of role playing, constructing such a character sheet may be very useful as a guide-line to help keep your character, their story, and their motivations consistent. Such a character sheet could be a simple one with the complete name of your character, surname and last name and a brief history of how they came into the world.
However, if you want to extend more thought into your character, you want to make a basic character sheet. Here is a list of items you may what to include (and some of which might end up in one of the role-play mods)
The basics would include:
- Full Name including first name, middle, and last name
- Title such as Mr, Mrs, Sir, or Lady.
- Race, some players are sometimes half human or half dwarven.
- Class:
- Gender
- Faction
- Approximate age –if you are dwarf, night elf, or troll…you may need to read Warcraft’s timeline to get an idea for this.
- Professions, this may include ingame professions or something other such as playing an instrument, being a bartender, or a merchant, or owns a winery or a flower shop.
- Physical description, this can include such things as scars, freckles, missing eyes, and tattoos that aren’t seen on the current character models.
- Combat style and weapon of choice, Maybe your character’s choice of weapons are a broken bottle and a hammer… or only uses a staff…there might be a story why.
- History, where did your character grow up? How did they get to the city they are in? Who did they train with? And why they are fighting against the remnants of the scourge?
- Personality, includes a basic view of how a character may make the decisions they do, because they might be an artist, a buccaneer, a noble, etc.
- Alignment, I found that using the D&D information on Alignment to be very useful in getting into the mindset of the character. One of my characters is Chaotic Good….
known as the "Rebel" alignment. A chaotic good character favors change for the greater good, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom. Most fae are chaotic good.Knowing the alignment of a character may help you keep consistent with their overall thought process and decision making…i.e. keeping those things “aligned” with what they believe.
