#goto asks

[shamanofthewilds]

I really enjoy your reflections on Warcraft Orcs. Have you any insight on the Orc heritage armor quest?

Thank you!! That means so much to hear. I do!!! I actually took a lot of caps of and I think I'll post them soon. I wanted to give people time to experience themselves but It seems by doing that people post stuff before me! The rush for showing content is a little silly... But!!! The quest like for the orcish heritage armor actually was way better than I expected. While the armor set itself at first was very underwhelming, the whole build up was way worth it.

I don't really know if anything I say has influence, i've gone on multiple times on how I feel the orcs should be presented. I've talked about things like 'cultural class halls', how I feel NPCs should show info and what not and this heritage quest line actually did a lot of the things I felt SHOULD be done.

The RPG aspect of WoW is what I felt made it popular. People yearn for Vanilla days because those were the days that felt like a world of adventure. Dragonflight feels like a return to the fantasy that made it popular and THIS quest feels like a true celebration of heritage.

There are a few things I have critiques on, but i know only so much can be jammed into a quest line like this.

My BIGGEST pro is the fact they talked about THE thing I've been wanting to see, which is them addressing that after all this time, the orcs have never been able to reclaim their traditions.

That there is this "belief" that there are no clans or identity anymore where there is! And they want orcs to feel that. They want orcs to know they have heritage and culture and clans and traditions.

In an era where we, ourselves, are forgetting our own roots...our own heritage or ignoring others...it's nice to see they remembered that the orcs were a people with traditions and customs that make them the people they are.

To not overly explain this point, which I may get into later when I give a full over view, it really made me happy.

Now my biggest sadness I think is that there is no mention of clans that are either completely extinct or were not included. Spoiler ahead-

But they did not include the Shadowmoon Clan. There was one thing in there that WAS included and I am completely grateful, but i think of all clans, someone or something should have included the Shadowmoon. With them being extremely advanced and the first shaman to just let them not be remembered at all or celebrate probably the heritage of all the old warlocks who are there who probably WANT to return to their cosmic traditions...it's a bit sad to not see your own banner being flown. It actually seems a tad unrealistic as well, especially seeing they're flying the Dragonmaw colors but let the Shadowmoon fall to the side. Even with the warlocks being surprised they were even invited...you'd think they'd speak up about their old heritage.

But over all, I think maybe it could be a step to Shadowmoon returning...or....at least...that one snippit in the corner reminding us that we should remember it.

But over all, great heritage quest and the armor being a abstract combination of Thrall, Orgrim and Durotan I think is the best way to both give people 'Doomplate' while also honoring three influential orcs that shaped modern Azeroth orcs.

[shamanofthewilds]

On the day I saw Durotan in the movie, I unlocked my orc fetish

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[shamanofthewilds]

I want blademaster eyebrows. They look like elf or lightforged eyebrows and I like it, it gives them a wise old man look

This is in line to the last ask and I will give this my FULL ENDORSEMENT.

Blademaster eyebrows. All eyebrows.

[shamanofthewilds]

Is roleplaying a blademaster still considered OP by the community?

I've had this sitting here for a bit.

I'll go ahead and answer that I have never run into this mentality where it was considered OP. I have met someone recently who role played back when the Burning Blade was largely considered a demonic cult, even if they had roots on Draenor. This person very much perceived them as a negative thing. However I have met many Blademaster orc rpers, and a couple of Blademaster guilds. Both of which, as far as my understanding, were not the center of any rumors in regards of being a guild full of over powered characters.

I think any class, career or magic you delve into can have a potential to be overpowered. A lot of the times, when you don't approach your magic or powers in writing with a sense of balance, or think about where your character might have room for failure, you tend to have a character who is awesome just all the time. Which ends up being never awesome.

The really good Blademaster RPers, and one inparticular I remember, they put a lot of hard work into the consistency of their lore, the character having self discipline, living by a code and being true to orcish culture. I only fully immersed myself in roleplay in WoD, so I didn't know the RP culture before then.

But I think as long as you learn how to pilot your character that shows off your vision, but is also fair to interact with in RP, I think you can do just about anything.

There are far more dragon characters than there are Burning Blade, and I'd say dragons have a much larger potential to be misused.

[shamanofthewilds]

Does Gotosh have any particular thoughts as to large dogs/wolves vs. small dogs? I've known a lot of people who dislike small dogs sometimes to the point of being borderline abusive towards them, even when they're perfectly well behaved. Small dogs are great as guards - even if too small to really fight, they can still sound the alarm or even distract an attacker by biting them, and they're good at getting rid of small vermin.

Gotosh doesn’t have much experience with dogs. He knows them as dogs, but sometimes he refers to them as ‘Wolf Cousins’. He has some split opinions on them. He loves all animals and creatures and wishes no harm on them, but knowing that all these canines might of been wolves once upon a time (or some sorta ancient canine), he can’t help but to wonder what happened. He also understands that things are created due to their need and environment, and that dogs serve a purpose...they’re just not what he’s use to.  He has a problem with pugs though. He doesn’t like how much their eyes pop out and how they have a hard time breathing. Not something the great wolf Goldrinn probably had in mind for his blood line (if dogs were created the same way. I like think they were) 

[shamanofthewilds]

When was your love for orcs revealed to you? For me I think it started with Draenor (and its animations), and strengthened with the movie. Until then, if you didn’t play warcraft 3, blizzard was portraying orcs as stupids brutes (like the vanilla cinematic), which was not appealing for me...

This is actually a pretty big question about my love for orcs, but for now I’ll try and answer it as briefly as I can.  When I got back into the game after taking a year or two break (I missed the rest of Cata and all of MoP) I rejoined back in Warlords of Draenor. At that time, I was playing my Alliance character I had since I was in 7th-8th grade, but with my admiration for Thrall and what I knew of his story at the time I wanted to make an orc shaman. I didn’t know all that was promised in Warlords, I didn’t know all the cut content and things that disappointing people. I just genuinely enjoyed and had a good time going into WoD blind. I was not well versed on lore, I didn’t know everything and I was still learning about things I never knew. Because at this time is when I first got into WoW RP after not realizing that was something I could do. I played WoW forever and yet I was pretty unaware of the storylines...but mean as a kid it seems pretty normal to zoop past quests. So I didn’t absorb it all. I’m actually STILL catching up on lore I didnt pay attention to as a middleschooler. But coming back, I grew a much bigger appreciation for the Horde, and I found a connection in them. Through the expansion pack of WoD, I think either later in the pack to the start of Legion is when I finally read books like Rise of the Horde, Beyond the Dark Portal and Lord of the Clans.  Orcs then only solidified to me that they were something I really felt at home with. I felt a sense of belonging. They are a proud people, who value their inner strength as much as their outer. They walk with a sense of purpose and seek to find their place in a world where they are considered different. But they also have so much love and beauty, a connection to nature and animals that as a child is something I’ve always loved. So to see this group of people, with a connection to the world, their animals, finding their place , their long hair and balancing that inner strength just really resonated with me. I’m sure I could give an even more detailed reason, but...this sums it up mostly. Theres a few other things, but they’re feelings I mostly realized later. Thank you for the ask!!!

[shamanofthewilds]

How does Gotosh feel about Dark Shamans? I think they're pretty cool in a messed up way. They offer some pretty interesting stories, a shaman falling from grace with the elements or maybe unable to speak with them anymore from trauma

Dark Shaman conceptually are interesting, due to what it means to be a shaman. The steps and trust, and to turn back on that really I think say a lot about the personal in general. And I am aware , just to clarify, that races like the taunka and the dark iron both are rather aggressive and bullies to the elements and he is not a fan of that either, and feels it misses the spiritual bond that connects the world together. He respects he cant really change things like that inherently in a culture to that extent, but he isn’t pleased that they found a way to keep their calling but still be abusive to the forces of the world.  But over all, Gotosh despises the actual real Dark Shaman. He will not give them the time of day and he will not want to hear too much justification since in his heart, there isn’t really any. Dark Shaman twist, torture and bind the elements to do what they want with void, plague and foul magic and other components that twist the elements against their will. It’s agony and a betrayal to his beliefs and to all shaman who respect and actively work to harmonize with the world and help it. This does the opposite. To hear the elements beg and be in agony and enraged from torture does his heart no good. It’s an insult to the elements, to the world thats suppose to be protected.  To see the orc, who were raised on shamanism as their main religion. Where shaman were (and are) respected figures, teachers and healers. People of tradition and leaders. A people who were contacted by the elements and gave them great power and were able to lead their lives on Draenor and live more peacefully, thoughtfully and in harmony with not just the world but other clans (you know, as peacefully things -can- be ...). Knowing all that, knowing how important shamanism is in orcish culture, belief, society and to himself. It’s...just not right. Never will be. And he would sooner fight one then have them try and convince him that a dark shaman should be able to twist the elements to his will. It’s his life, his path and he takes it very seriously

[shamanofthewilds]

===== Making these a post because theyre connected. But I actually am glad you explained!! I apologize if I seemed apprehensive, more often then not people really aggressively argue some pretty bad points. And for some reason at me. You would be amazed at the times “real orcs” tell me that Gotosh isn’t what orcs really are...and I don’t jsut mean IC. As in...some players who think he’s gooey soft boi lol. But I Do appreciate the return. I really can’t say too much in terms of the Warcraft book novel, while i’m sure  alot in there is probably pretty good as a comparison for some main lore, theres way too much changed lore too that can’t cross over properly. So I’m wary, but that detail I feel like could of been more accurate. All I have to go by was the conversation we saw in the movie. It’s hard for me to speak on things I haven’t read for myself, after all.  But yeah, like you said, I feel like even with some of these details their society is a little better off then most. I actually do wish there was more lore on Chieftain structure , blood lines and so on. I sadly feel like too many people though see these tiny corners of lore given to us as a reason to dictate what should be True. So many orc women characters who are RPed as leaders get harassed because “they cant do that”. Just shows you how much these people actually care about “true orcs”. But hey, Garrosh something something something. Thank ya for the return though!