45. Primordial Places and Chance

Text for OFF THE BEATEN PATH on [Epic Dolls Podcast #45]

Patch 2.4.3 is out and the first thing I did was get a mount for characters around level 30. I think that characters such as priests and warriors who don’t have sprint, blink, travel forms, aspect of cheetah, or a free summoned mounts can truly benefit from earlier mounts. It also makes sense to lower the mount level due to the array of quests in the level 30s which require you to travel from zone to zone to zone to collect and deliver quest items.

As far as exploring off the beaten path? Well… this is fanatastic! You can travel more easily at earlier levels! Not only is traveling easier, but also is the ability to work on gathering trade skills. Thanks Blizzard.

PLACES TO SEE
In between the grind of doing dailies and leveling several alts, it is nice to travel about the countryside and see the world. That’s what “off the beaten path” segment is all about, taking time to stop and smell the proverbial peace-blossoms along the way.

In wrath of the lich king, Sholazar Basin (pronounced SHOL-uh-zarh) is primordial world of plant life and animals, thick with vegetation, hot springs, and steam vents. This has brought the infamous Hemet Nesingwary there to study and write another book. In the upcoming expansion, Nesingwary will be relocated to the Basin and leaving his expedition legacy to his son, Nesingwary junior.

Sholazar Basin is very similar in design to Un’Goro Crater. This crater is located between two deserts, Tanaris and Silithus. A flight path is availale to both Horde and Alliance and is located at the Marshall camp in the north. Probably one of the more aggravating but funny events that happens there frequently is getting stepped on by the giant roaming Devilsaurs who despite their size, can sneak up on you.

Not much is known about the history of Un’Goro save for a description by a Geologist Larksbane in Silithus who describes the “Crater as being home to the Titans” [ Un'Goro Crater ]. The site has an amazing array of pop-culture references –everything from Nintendo games to the Beatles -- which makes doing the quests out there humorous and fun.

The zone is also great for mining thorium and herbs, as well as leatherworking. PvPers might find that they can climb the hillside in the far Northeast corner to get out of the way for other players to cook and rest. The view of the zone from this spot is wonderful.

Un’Goro is actually based on the real life The Ngorongoro Conservation Area or NCA located in [ Tanzania ].

ROLE PLAYING TIPS
Timers and Dice

In patch 2.4.3 came the new time management features such as the clock. The clock shows you the official server time as well as the time on your computer (your time zone). This is very helpful when schedule Role Playing times or dungeon crawls.

The other item Blizzard added was the stop watch.The stop watch feature opens some interesting possibilities for role-play as well as guild events. For example, organized races can now be officially timed with the winning times posted or stated on forums for celebration, trophies, or more. In role play, the timers can be used if you were to duel unarmed (hand-to-hand) as a sort of “boxing ring” and timed the rounds.

Most role-players use a sort of story-based style, using exclusively emotes and typing/writing what their character is doing, saying, and feeling. However, the idea of using in-game devices such as timers and dice to accentuate role-played activities and combats isn’t really that new.

Dice rolling, why not?

If you have played D&D or played text-based MMOs, you probably are familiar with the idea of adding in a d20 dice roll to see if you hit or missed something. Leaving it completely to chance and then role-play out whatever that result is even if you lose. You can also use the in-game randomizer (rolling the dice) to help with outcomes of role-played card games, or any other events that may require an element of chance— something that such characters as gamblers, rogues, or privateers would use. (Please note we are talking about purposes of story development and not using the in-game dice to promote casinos and gambling which violate the game’s user agreement)

Of course in Warcraft, the slash-duel command makes this automatic if you duel someone outside of a city. However, what if you were role-playing out a duel with pistols in a tavern bar brawl? Or were playing for stakes in a poker hand? role-playing the outcome of a dart board game? Or engaging in a simple coin toss? Maybe a randomizer would help the highest score win the best out of five. You can also have one person serve as the DM, or third party who does all the rolling to guide the outcome.

The author at [ Errant Dreams ]calls this “using fortune” and writes,

“Chance lends excitement and uncertainty to a game. It helps to keep players on the edge of their seat. It's just like watching a good thriller - if you know what's going to come next, it's much less exciting.

But with everything, just like using any slash command in the game, use in moderation and don’t spam people in public areas.

Have fun everyone!

Music:
All music from the game.