Tangential Post to my Women and Blizzard Post

Thrall couldn't imagine Taretha being illiterate.  Books were what had bound them to each other in the first place.  Without her notes, he might never have escaped.  He had thought her fate in the true timeway a brutal one, felt that it was unjust to one who was so kind and greathearted.   

But in a way, the life she had been leading here was almost worse. 

Aggra had accompanied him on his shamanic vision quest, and had, in a fashion, "met" Taretha. 

She should not have died, Thrall had said on that spiritual journey. 

How do you know this was not her destiny?  That perhaps she had done all she had been born to do? Aggra had replied.  Only she knows. 

And Thrall realized with a lurch in his heart that Taretha--in both timeways--did know. 

"To hear this from you--to know that my being alive mattered to anyone, let alone to nations, to...to the history of the world--you don't know what it means to me.  I don't care if I died.  I don't care how I died.  At least I mattered!"  - Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, pp 121-122

There was a lot I hated about Twilight of the Aspects (and I do mean a lot), but this scene here where Thrall speaks with the alternate-universe Taretha Foxton was one of the worst parts of the book.  I was reminded of it after writing my entry on women in World of Warcraft and talking about the purpose many of the female characters seem to serve.  Here in this book is a canonical example of Blizzard (via Christie Golden) stating outright that a female character was created for the sole purpose of being brutally murdered to give an important male NPC motivation.

And this is supposed to be tragic, which it is, but tragic only in the sense that Blizzard believes this is a compelling tug-at-your-heartstrings story.  What would have been a true tragedy?  That Taretha in a world without Thrall could have been something more.  Maybe only Thrall could have been the one to unite the orcs and Horde the way he did, but Taretha still could have done something worthwhile in that world.  Perhaps she was running something of an underground network of people intent on seeing the orcs set free.  Maybe she was organizing a small rebellion against Blackmoore and doing the best she could with what was given to her.  I'd like to think Taretha without Thrall could still be smart, fierce, and canny enough to be a thorn in Blackmoore's side.

What's more, she could have done all that and still be destined to die.  Meaning: She would have served a noble purpose and died with or without Thrall.  That way Blizzard gets to play the "Death was her destiny" trope while still making it terribly tragic (and a death Thrall would mourn while recognizing its necessity) without reducing Taretha to an illiterate, helpless woman who is only strong enough to survive (and have it implied she's raped by Blackmoore under the guise of being something less than a mistress).  That doesn't remove Thrall as being an important component in the correct timeline since we'd still have needed him to ultimately create the new Horde and rid the world of Blackmoore once and for all.

Instead we take the premise that Thrall is the only one we need, that without him Taretha has no purpose and is in fact nothing without him.  Taretha had to be brutally murdered and beheaded by Blackmoore so it'd enrage Thrall and motivate him to end Blackmoore, and that's the only way she could have died and had a purpose.

And look, I'm not even touching what happens to Alexstraza in this book.  Even the freaking Aspect of the Red Dragonflight must become weakened and needs Thrall to set her back to rights again.  Yes, the book was about Thrall, but it could still be about Thrall and how he's Orc Jesus powerful and important he is without de-powering the women connected to his story.  Besides, it's Taretha's fate that I feel is the real tragedy here.

Just one more example of how women in Azeroth can't win if there's a man's story to tell.

A Passive-Aggressive Letter to Thrall

Dear Thrall,

Oh, no, it's okay, really.  I didn't need any help with that elite level 90 Kor'Kron guard.  Sure, you can stand there and express your disappointment in Garrosh some more while Doomhammer hangs uselessly on your back.  No, really, this isn't a bad time for you to tell me all about your special friendship with Vol'jin.

What's that?  Um, sure, I guess I can go handle the Kor'Kron who are holding the island under martial law.  You want me to go kill them all by myself?  Oh, why the hell not?  I mean, you said you'll wait for me before we go take out the general overseeing the occupation.

Oh.  I see.  No, no, it's fine.  Those two minions, the doomguard, and the elite boss?  Yeah, sure, I've got it. You keep standing over there polishing Doomhammer.  I'd hate to see you, I don't know, crack one of your beads or, heavens forbid, a tusk.  Aggra might think you a lesser orc.  Do you think, maybe, like when we fought Benedictus together you could throw a heal or two my way?  No?  Ah, yeah, I'll just use my healthstones here, I mean good thing I'm not a mage or hunter or anything.

Yes, yes, reassure the trolls that we're looking out for them even though I'm pretty sure I was the one bashing some Kor'Kron skulls in.

Fine, I'll go back and make nice with Garrosh and pretend this never happened.  Whatever you say, Thrall.

Jerk.

With Flagging Admiration,

Folami

(In case it's not obvious, I've been doing the Domination Point dailies and yesterday I helped out Vol'jin by going to warn Thrall of what Garrosh is doing.  Thrall was...not so helpful.  It's okay though, I really could handle it by myself, on my Warlock at least.)

Minor Personal Update (I'm an Over Achiever)

Okay, I admit it, in middle and high school I was one of the nerdy kids who was always on the honor roll.  If there was an academic award, chances are I earned it.  I wasn't exactly Valedictorian (the person who was wound up going to Carnegie Melon so I had some serious competition), but I was still the sort of person other kids loved to hate because teachers loved me and I could ace a test without really trying.

I tell you all this because right now I'm going back through some of the older content and earning some achievements.  This morning, for example, I got my Classic Raider achievement, and once I run the Occulus I'll have my Champion of the Frozen Wastes title.  I'm only missing three dungeons for the Burning Crusade dungeon achievement, and along the way I've knocked a few other little achievements too.  And while all of this has been fairly easy at level 90 with 477 ilevel gear along with full gems and enchants, I've also been feeling rather accomplished and realizing just how much I love my warlock.  She's a power house and I constantly surprise and impress myself with how much I've improved since I took my first tentative steps into raiding only a little over one year ago.

I am not, as of yet, raiding regularly.  I force myself to do Raid Finder on occasion (when I feel I can handle the trolls), and I've got my shaman up to level 90 and am trying to get her geared enough to heal Mogu'shan Vaults, but that's slow going.  I plan to start seriously looking for a regular pug or some other group for my warlock and will save my shaman for my guild as they need healers and, thanks to Vuh'Do, I'm not too shabby at shaman heals.  My main goal for this expansion is to actually get into some heroic raiding on my warlock, but finding a group that's a good fit is going to be tough, especially for someone who's "just" DPS.  My hope is that I can make a great impression and that people will want to keep me around in spite of my bad jokes over Vent/Mumble.

Until then, however, I'm going to content myself with going back and getting ALL THE ACHIEVEMENTS, and if anyone out there wants to start working on some dungeon/raiding achievements from previous expansions (or even the current expansion!), poke me via Twitter @CasualFolami.  (Horde side only for now, but my paladin is almost level 90 and while I don't feel comfortable doing current dungeon/raid content on her, I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to do old school stuff.)

Blizzard Has a Problem With Women

A note before we begin: Given that the term "Women in Refrigerators" originated in relation to comics, it should be obvious that this problem is not unique to World of Warcraft or Blizzard.  In fact, in nearly every form of popular media the same tropes play out for women over and over again.  I could rant about Lucy's fate in the Assassin's Creed series, or Tara's tragic end in season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; however, this blog is about World of Warcraft and as such it'll focus on Blizzard and World of Warcraft's treatment of women characters.  Aside from that, the idea that Blizzard not being the only one who treats its women characters this way neither absolves them of their (unintended) misogyny or excuses it.

Also:

You've been warned.

I'm tacking on a spoiler warning for both Horde and Alliance quests in Krasarang Wilds from Mists of Pandaria, plus a small-but-important spoiler for Tides of War.  And there are possibly other spoilers, though I'm not sure how I can spoil any lore dating as far back as Burning Crusade.

Introduction

What did you say about childbirth?

It's tough to be a woman in Azeroth, and I don't mean the fact you're likely to die from the ground splitting open under your feet, a demon burning you to ash, having your brains feasted upon by a zombie, or being burned alive by a massive dragon aspect with a few axes to grind.  No, if you're a woman in World of Warcraft, particularly one who is an important NPC or related to an important male NPC in any fashion, it's probably a wise idea to invest in some quality life insurance policies, especially if you're pregnant (Aggra might be in danger).  And that's if you're given any recognition at all.

The story usually goes like this: There's a male character in need of some development, whether it be that he's had it pretty good for some time and needs a little tragedy, or he needs motivation to perform one heroic act or finally gather the courage to take out the big bad.  All too often the way this is accomplished is by taking out the closest female character to the male.  It happens with such frequency that feminist fans have coined a term for it: Fridging or "stuffed into a refrigerator," which is derived from Gail Simone's "Women in Refrigerators" website.  Obviously, there are no refrigerators in Azeroth (or at least not any that run on electricity), but there are a considerable number of women who meet tragic ends and/or are dis-empowered so that their male counterparts can go on to do things that impact the plot in a major way up to and including saving the day.

This isn't to say that male NPCs are immune to dying in Azeroth, which would be a rather silly argument as Malygos, Illidan, and Arthas among others have all met their ends.  However, the difference lies mostly in how they die and that women are dying at a disproportionate rate.  And sometimes it's not only that the women die, it's that they disappear after serving a single-use purpose never to be mentioned again.  Some women who by all rights should be important are never even given names.

Who's that Lady?

Kael'thas Sunstrider, Jaina Proudmoore, and Varian Wrynn all have something in common, and it's nothing remotely related to lore.  All three are rather important lore-wise and have had a hand in shaping the story of World of Warcraft.  We know a bit about their fathers who each had stories of their own to tell, but can you tell me anything about their mothers?  In fact, can you name their mothers?

A face only a mother could love?

What's so strange about Kael'thas, Jaina, and Varian is that we don't know who their mothers were.  We assume they have mothers because, as of yet, none of the NPCs have sprung from the foreheads or thighs of their fathers fully formed, but we lack any names for them.  In Varian's case we do know the name of one grandmother, yet we have nothing for his mother.  Meanwhile we know something of their fathers, and you'd think being the wife of King Llane Wrynn, Anasterian Sunstrider, or Daelin Proudmoore you might be mentioned somewhere in the annals of history.  Truly it makes no sense for royalty not to keep explicitly detailed records of bloodlines, if for nothing else than keeping track of who might be able to inherit the throne in case of a massive tragedy that wipes out a large swath of those of royal blood (and if you look at what happened to the Sin'dorei/blood elves this is actually a pretty valid concern on Azeroth).

Jaina's case is particularly frustrating, not only because she's a woman herself and it might be nice to see another woman struggling to be a leader (or at least a member of nobility) in a world dominated by male leaders she could be close to, but because Jaina herself doesn't seem to remember having a mother at all.

She was the daughter of the lord admiral, and her brother had once quipped that the Proudmoores all had seawater in their veins.  A hint of melancholy touched her as she thought of her father and brother.  She lingered for a moment longer, remembering, then turned from the window. - Tides of War, Chapter 5, pp 47

She thinks of her brother and father, yet not her mother.  It's possible she never knew her mother as she could have died when Jaina was young, or died during childbirth (which, as we'll see, happens to a lot of Azerothian women), but as she's never so much as mentioned by name, that's difficult to say.  Of course being a mother with a name is not so great either.

A Purposeless Life

Arthas Menethil is perhaps one of the most important characters in World of Warcraft.  In fact, there's an entire expansion that centers around his story and his corruption and subsequent transformation into the Lich King.  His mother is Lianne Menethil and, apart from giving birth to Arthas, appears to have no purpose whatsoever.  We're not even sure what happened to her and, according to Wowpedia, Metzen said at Blizzcon 2011 that Lianne likely died during the Third War.  That's it.  Nothing on how she met her end, or what might have killed her.

Another important woman in Arthas's life was his sister Calia Menethil.  Calia appears to have only been introduced for the purpose of arranging a marriage to Daval Prestor, the human disguise of Deathwing.  When he disappeared, so too did Calia, and we're left with only speculation as to what her fate is.  Apart from a vague thought from Arthas on how his sister is "gone," she's not even served up as grief fodder for her brother.  Like mother, like daughter, but who cares when we've got an awesome male character, right?

Elena Mograine, mother to Renault and Darion Morgraine, seems to only have existed long enough to produce children.  She died giving birth to Darion and, apart from providing a tombstone for her husband Alexandros to talk to in the first Ashbringer comic, has nothing further to do with the plot.

Gone and not...okay, she's forgotten.

Maybe Having a Purpose isn't All it's Cracked Up to Be

I found it in this bag...

Sometimes the death does serve a purpose.  Remember how I said often a woman close to a male character is chosen to die tragically so as to impact the male character in some fashion?  A perfect example of that is Tiffin Wrynn, wife to Varian Wrynn and mother to Anduin Wrynn.  She's killed by a stray rock thrown during the Stonemason's riot, and her death has fairly strong implications for both Varian and Anduin.  For Varian, Tiffin's death threw him into a decade-long deep depression, during which he was manipulated by Onyxia and eventually kidnapped.  For Anduin, her death has a more indirect effects such as Varian's depression and subsequent disappearance, which in turns makes Anduin's life pretty miserable.  He was forced to grow up too fast and when he was named King of Stormwind temporarily at only ten years old to say nothing of his father's anger management issues which place a huge amount of strain on their relationship.  Indeed in Mists of Pandaria he seems far wiser and more mature than his fourteen years.

Of course, it isn't always male characters who need the occasional nudge toward an important character development, but even then it seems women must be the ones to die.  In Tides of War, we're introduced to Kinndy, a spunky, smart-mouthed gnome who's been assigned to be Jaina Proudmoore's apprentice.  Naturally, Kinndy is endearing and many of us who read the books figured out early on she was probably wearing a red shirt underneath her mage robes (because Blizzard tends to be predictable).  Kinndy dies in the bombing of Theramore, and it's her death that finally sends Jaina Proudmoore into an uncharacteristic genocidal rage.

Kinndy lay face down in a still puddle of her own blood.  The crimson stain had tainted her pink hair, matting it, and Jaina realized she wanted to plop Kinndy into a hot bath and help her scrub herself clean, get her a fresh new robe-- 

She fell to her knees and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, to turn her over.  Kinndy's body crumbled into shining violet dust. 

Jaina screamed. 

She screamed in utter horror, frantically gathering up the crystalline powder that was all that remained of a smart, lively young woman.  She screamed in loss, in grief, in guilt, and then most of all, in rage. 

Rage at the Horde.  Rage at Garrosh Hellscream, rage at those who followed him.  Rage at Baine Bloodhoof, who had warned her but had nonetheless permitted this to happen.  Had perhaps known this was going to happen. 

[...]

[She encounters some orcs not far from Kinndy's body and dispatches them with some magical bad-assery.] 

"Your people are despicable cowards," she hissed.  "You are nothing more than rabid dogs, and you should be put down.  You spit on mercy?  Then you will have none.  You want carnage?  Garrosh will get more blood than ever he bargained for." 

Then, with a savage cry, she brought the shard of mirror down into the small space between the orc's gorget and his shoulder armor.  Blood spurted up, covering her hand, splashing her face. - Tides of War, Chapter 19, pp 220, 222

The last thing those orcs saw.

Not long after, Jaina calls for the deaths of all orcs, including children.  She makes the case for genocide and the elimination of every orc in existence (don't worry, she gets better).  Leaving aside how incredibly out-of-character this is for Jaina, the entire reason for this is because of the tragic death of a woman she was close to, one who was almost like a daughter to her.  Also lost in bombing was her elf companion Pained, another woman, though it's really Kinndy's death that affects her with such intensity.  (Don't worry, I'm going to mention Rhonin.)

Compare and Contrast

As I said, it's not only that women are dying at a rate disproportionate to male characters in World of Warcraft, it's also how men died compared to women.  For the gnome Kinndy, death is something that happens to her while she's helping to close the gates to Theramore.  Granted, plenty of men died in Theramore too, but we're not privy to their lives and stories the same way we are Kinndy and Jaina.  But there is another important character death in Tides of War: Rhonin.

Rhonin goes into his death fully aware of what's about to happen.  Unlike Kinndy and Pained who were caught unaware in the bomb's blast, Rhonin makes a conscious decision to draw the bomb toward him in a tower that's infused with magical wards.  His decision helps lessen the impact of the mana bomb, allows Jaina to be pulled through a portal just in time, and contains the bomb enough that his wife and mother of his twins are at a safe enough distance to survive the blast.  His death is a courageous self-sacrifice while Kinndy is collateral damage and angst fodder for Jaina.

One powerful and very recent example of this difference in deaths takes place in Mists of Pandaria in the Krasarang Wilds quest-line.  Horde side you encounter the Sunwalkers, Dezco and Leza at Thunder Cleft who have come to Pandaria to find the source of a vision Leza had (that you later know is the Vale of Eternal Blossoms).  Alliance side you meet Lorekeeper Vaeldrin and his daughter Lyalia who are based at the Incursion and are there in search of the Pools of Youth.

Dual-Wielding Babies

For the Horde part of things, your time is spent not only investigating the Mogu, but also gathering items to try to help Leza through a difficult childbirth.  The entire time you're there, she can be seen inside the tent apparently in labor.  Despite your hard work and Dezco's valiant efforts, Leza dies due to complications from childbirth, but not before she gives birth to a pair of healthy twin sons.  Once you're treated to a cut scene of some mourners building a pyre for Leza, you see Dezco tending to his new sons.  When you turn in the quest he tells you his wife has passed despite his powers of the Light and, "Thanks to your help, however...we saved my sons."  Afterward, whenever you encounter Dezco he's carrying his twin sons around and hardly mentions Leza again.  Like Elena Mograine, Leza is here only long enough to provide her husband with children (sons).

On the Alliance side of things, Lorekeeper Vaeldrin has come to Pandaria in search of the Pools of Youth.  With him is his daughter Lyalia who gets you to help deal with a Horde courier and to check out what the Mogu are up to while her father is distracted by pretty artifacts.  At the end of the quest line, Lyalia dies in a confrontation with a powerful Mogu.  Blaming himself for being so insistent on looking for the secret to immortality, Vaeldrin ends up using the magic he's discovered to transfer his life force to his daughter, thus sacrificing himself so that she can live.

Leza dies in childbirth while Vaeldrin makes a heroic sacrifice to save his daughter.  Again the difference between death happening to a character and the character making an active choice to lay down his life.  In fact, after watching Leza die on my first playthrough of Krasarang Wilds, I was inspired to make this post.

It's Not You, It's the Patriarchy (and Male Privilege)

Why are women more likely to be sacrificed for the sake of telling a (supposedly) good story?  The answer is...it's complicated.  I made a little note at the beginning of this that this isn't a problem unique to Blizzard, and in every form of entertainment it's easy to see this played out over and over again.  From television shows like Supernatural (a series whose entire story starts with the death of a wife and mother) to songs like Tim McGraw's "Don't Take the Girl" (where a woman is put in danger of being robbed and potentially raped and then maybe dies in childbirth) to video games like World of Warcraft women die and/or are threatened with death on a regular basis, usually so their male counterparts can save the day or experience some sort of character development.  It's in our culture, a culture we eat, sleep, and breathe in every single day of our existence.

What's most depressing about all of this is that I know none of it's intentional, at least not on Blizzard's part.  In fact, many people don't realize what's happening until someone either points it out by writing about it and drawing attention to the matter, or they have an epiphany like I and other players did.  None of the writers or developers are sitting around an office with a list of all female characters in World of Warcraft gleefully cackling while asking themselves, "Which women do we kill off today and how?"  Chances are they're writing the stories and it never occurs to them to ask why this woman or that woman has to die.  In fact, in the world of video games, many are still dominated by men who never have to ask themselves these questions by benefit of their male privilege.  As men characters are rarely subjected to the same sort of treatment as female characters, at least on a regular basis, it's not really a problem to them.

One of Bioware's lead writers observed this phenomenon and wrote about it on his Tumblr just the other day regarding a situation in which the female writers on staff read a particular situation as rape whereas the men never saw it until it was pointed out to them.

Here’s the thing: after the meeting was over, it struck me how sharply divided the reviewers were on gender lines. The guys involved, all reasonable and liberal-minded fellows I assure you (including me!) all automatically took the intended viewpoint of the author and didn’t see the issue. The girls had all taken the other side of the encounter, and saw it completely differently— all of them. As soon as it was pointed out, it was obvious… but why hadn’t we seen it?

And this thought occurred as well: if this had been a team with no female perspective present, it would have gone into the game that way. Had that female writer been the lone woman, would her view have been disregarded as an over-reaction? A lone outlier? How often does that happen on game development teams, ones made up of otherwise intelligent and liberal guys who are then shocked to find out that they inadvertently offended a group that is quickly approaching half of the gaming audience?

What if there were more women on Blizzard's staff?  What if a woman one day at a writing meeting asked the simple question of, "Why does she have to die?" or "Why can't we find another way to inspire this character?"  Would we know of Darion's love for his amazing mother Elena Mograine who might have done nothing more than feed her son chicken soup when he was sick?  Would Jaina mourn the loss of a mother who taught her how to speak to a court full of men intent on ignoring her?  Could Onyxia have manipulated and played Varian like she did had Tiffin still been alive?

Blizzard does have a problem with women, but it's not borne out of some maliciousness on their part.  Really it's a lack of perspective and an issue of privilege blinding them to many issues with the way women are portrayed in their game.  One simple solution to this would be to do as Bioware has done and hire more women, or at least make it so that women are given a voice and are actually heard.

So What's the Point?

I'm sure more than one person will read this and immediately feel defensive of their beloved World of Warcraft, and it's understandable.  It sucks when someone criticizes something you love to do.  I've had to suffer through the derisive snorts of family members saying I'm wasting my time on a stupid computer game.  

But just because I love something doesn't make it perfect and immune from criticism, and in fact it's because I love World of Warcraft that I write entries like this.  Duke Nukem Forever had way more blatant sexism and misogyny and I'm not writing about it because I think it's both a crappy game and not worth the energy it would take to improve it which involves nuking it from orbit.  World of Warcraft is different in that it's a fantastic game that I feel could handle a bit of tweaking in its portrayal and treatment of women.

And still I expect there'll be someone to skim over this post and will write down the name of every male character who has died since the original Warcraft and tell me I'm being a hysterical harpy.  Or something.  

We are Nihilists, Lebowski!

Either way they'll ignore how and why the women die compared to the men, and possibly ignore that the male characters see more screen time and action than the women, which means there's a different impact when the woman dies.

Further Reading/Watching

Feminist Frequency - #2 Women in Refrigerators (Tropes Versus Women) [Video] (This focuses mostly on comic books, but also includes some examples of video games and does a great job of pointing out the trend.  In fact, I recommend all the Feminist Frequency videos.)

The TV Tropes entry on Women in Refrigerators - Oh, I'm sorry, were you planning to do something productive after reading here?  (Seriously, has some good links and examples.  Check out the page for women who die in childbirth too.)

Next time: Sylvanas, Tyrande, and dis-empowerment.

About That New Expansion

I suppose it's a bit late to talk about my initial impressions of Mists of Pandaria seeing as we're nearly two weeks into the expansion, and considering my main is already at level 90 and I've already maxed all my professions except cooking and fishing, I've gone well below the shiny new surface layer and am pretty well immersed in the game by this point.  I have not, sadly, done much in the way of scenarios and dungeon running, the reasons being that one, holy crap there's so much to do, and two, real life has been a very harsh mistress this past week (ever tried going without water in your house? Not pretty, and I'm not just talking about the smell.) and has made solo questing far more appealing than dealing with random people.  This unfortunately means that, gear wise, the people I'm running with are usually better geared and my DPS has been a little less than what I'd like to see, but then again, I haven't run after doing some upgrades and getting some enchants so I expect to see some improvement.

That being said, holy crap!  What an amazing expansion!

Now, I'm not qualified to speak on how Mists opening week compares to, say, Wrath of the Lich King or Cataclysm.  I'm a relative noob seeing as I only started playing in February 2011, a couple of months after Cataclysm's launch.  However, I feel I can speak on at least the lore a bit and how different questing is between this new expansion and Cataclysm.  Even so, from the impressions I gather from other players who've been in the game longer than me, it seems everyone has been mostly in agreement that, if nothing else, Mists is better than Cataclysm and possibly the best expansion so far.  (I'm holding out on that because I still think there was a lot to love about the lore of Wrath, but it's close.)

I leveled from 85-90 solely via questing, which I probably won't do with my other alts, particularly my shaman as I'll be in a greater rush to get her to 90 and raid healing ready, but for my gal Folami, I was pretty content to experience the game as deeply as I could, and I'm so glad I did take this approach.  There is just so much to love about Mists and about the questing.  From a lore perspective, there's so much, but at the core you're always reminded in subtle (and not so subtle) ways that you are an intruder in this new land, a stranger whose actions--good or ill--have consequences for an entire land and people.  That feeling matches the lore, and you're made to feel like an active participant in the story, rather than in Cataclysm where you did a good chunk of the work, but the real heavy lifting was still up to the major NPCs.  Here, you get to see how your actions multiply and alter the landscape around you, and you get to see both the best and worst of your respective faction (and feel separate from it).

Speaking of factions, for all my complaints of how the Theramore scenario was handled and the truly unfair portrayal of the Horde as this bloodthirsty monolith, I thoroughly enjoyed how the events at the Jade Serpent statue played out.  We saw, almost like an outsider looking in, how both sides have fault in the ongoing war between Horde and Alliance, and how both of them immediately recruit two relatively peaceful races into their war and enlist them in their fight in order to claim this new land for themselves rather than recognizing it already belongs to someone else, several someones in fact.  You're allowed to remain apart from that, and you're allowed to act independently of your faction, which possibly comes as a great relief to some role-players like myself, or even just strictly PvE players who hated how the story was going.

There are some criticisms to be had, of course, and I'll get to one part of the story that really stuck in my craw in another post, but throughout the entire questing, I never lost sense of the overall story and my part (as the player) in trying to, if not repair, then at least minimize the damage my fellow outsiders are doing.  One thing I didn't see a lot of is talk or reaction to Theramore.  I suppose it makes sense being that Pandaria is, almost literally, worlds away from Theramore, but I've yet to see much fall out resulting from it.  I suspect that will come with time and future patches, particularly in regards to Garrosh Hellscream (good riddance), and honestly I'd rather have it not mentioned at all rather than brought up while in Pandaria as a sort of, "Oh yeah?  Well just remember what your Horde did in Theramore before you criticize the Alliance for what we're doing here!"

So, yeah, so far I'm impressed as hell, and I'm not alone.  Let's hope we keep this momentum through the next few patches and raids.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some dungeons to run and some gear to get.

The Theramore Scenario (And How it Fails)

I suppose from the title it's rather easy to conclude what my opinion was of the in-game event in which Theramore is destroyed.  This isn't to say I that I completely hate everything about it, though I guess given that I feel it fails mechanically, lore-wise, and in execution it might seem that way.  However, I love the idea of Theramore and feel that, in the right hands, it could have been utterly amazing and a dramatic prologue to Mists of Pandaria that would establish the tone for the newest expansion.

So, what went wrong?  Everything, and allow me to break it down into sections because that is the only way I feel I can climb this mountain of fail.

(Note: This post will, unsurprisingly, contain spoilers, both for the Theramore scenario and for Tides of War.  Read at your own risk.)

Context and Lore

There was no context.  For both Horde and Alliance versions of the Scenario (Blizzard's fancy term for this new three-player feature to differentiate it from five-player instances/dungeons) there is no lead-in quest.  You are dropped into the zone with a list of goals or steps to complete on the right hand side of your screen.  Horde side there's an NPC delivering a speech, which I missed the first time because the group I was with were two eager beavers who just rushed on ahead while I stumbled around going "What's going on?"  My second run through I was able to actually listen/read his speech, but all it told me was that the Horde was attacking Theramore and that there were some ships that needed exploding.

Here's the thing: We aren't told why the Horde is attacking Theramore, and had I not read Tides of War, I would have absolutely zero idea as to what the hell was going on or why we had to rescue a blood elf.  Our little quest log on the side only says how many bombs you need to rig or which NPC you need to kill next.  And when you get to the end where you're forced to release Thalen Songweaver, you're treated to a short cinematic of a goblin dropping a mana bomb and destroying Theramore.  That's it.  Now, if I had not read Tides of War I would think that this was something every member of the Horde enjoyed and supported that we'd gone in and attacked Theramore for no good reason whatsoever apart from the fact that we're Horde and we're, you know, the bad guys, and as a role-player, I would be having a severe identity crisis right now (okay, maybe not for all of my Horde toons).

The scenario fails to establish that Baine, Vol'jin, Sylvanas, and (I hope) Lor'Themar are completely unaware of the existence of the mana bomb or aware of Garrosh's plans beyond his desire to take out Theramore.  We aren't informed or made aware that Baine and Vol'jin are hesitant about the attack, nor do you know that Baine sent a messenger ahead of the attack to warn Jaina so that she could marshal a defense as well as evacuate children and other citizens who either couldn't or didn't wish to join in the fight.  As for Thalen Songweaver, Garrosh's mole in the Kirin Tor who gleefully cackles like every bad 80's cartoon villain ever and informs you of the real plan, you're given no choice but to save him, and that's if you're remotely aware of the fact that he's a traitor.  (And I have so much to say about Thalen Songweaver that I will be making an entirely separate post on him when time allows)

At the end of the scenario, you're given a portal by Thalen back to Orgrimmar, and then you get to watch a goblin giggle maniacally while he drops the bomb on Theramore.  The only conclusion anyone who hasn't read the book can possibly draw is, "Boy, we're all a bunch of dicks."  And, without the book tie-in, there would be no way I could, as much as I love the Horde, remotely refute that.

Mechanics

I mentioned the little quest log you get on the right side of the screen when you zone in.  It's not terribly informative, though the minimap and a few markers in the game help provide a few views.  Now, according to the recent patch hotfix information, the enemies in Theramore have had their health doubled since Monday's launch, so I can't say if this has changed things, but going through on a Dragon Soul-geared toon was a faceroll for the most part.  There was no challenge, which made it utterly dull.  The difficulty might change after Mists of Pandaria  launches on September 25 and it becomes a level 90 scenario with a required item level of 425, but if that's the case, I think I would have preferred waiting to see this.

And yes, I do get that the scenarios are supposed to be faster than instances, but fast doesn't have to mean "so easy I could do it with my eyes shut."

Execution

For holiday bosses we are offered quest-givers who give us a short paragraph telling us something's amiss, and it's finished off with a short request to go take care of the big bad like the good heroes we are.  Then you're told to queue.  When I logged in Monday afternoon, I expected something similar for Theramore.  The only reason I knew I could queue at all was that I, of course, read the news and follow official WoW Twitter feeds.  Had Blizzard put in a single NPC for both Horde and Alliance with a simple paragraph of explanation as to what was going on, my whole spiel up there about context could be cut down to only my complaints about the exclusion of crucial points of lore.

That aside, this is an event that, quite literally, alters the landscape of Azeroth and is laying the foundation for the upcoming conflict between the Horde and Alliance that will play out through Mists of Pandaria.  Blizzard has, in their wisdom, limited participation to max level characters with an ilevel of 353 (425 after September 25).  While I understand this as they gave the scenario some degree of difficulty, this entire event is crucial to the story leading into Mists, not to mention its importance to the respective factions.  Limiting participation as well as excluding any explanation either provided from a quest giver or within the scenario itself has completely rendered the entire Scenario as utterly pointless because, by itself, it explains nothing except to tell us the Horde is just a giant bag of dicks (it's not, but I can't blame people for thinking it more than usual after going through that event).

The Good

Remember at the beginning I said I liked the idea of Theramore?  I wasn't just saying that.  I do love it.  See, we knew going in that Mists was supposed to bring the focus back on the conflict between Alliance and Horde.  And being that this is World of Warcraft, it's important to consider military strategy when waging any war, including those of the fantasy sort.

In the book it's established that Garrosh wishes to quit pussy footing around and officially declare war on the Alliance.  Initially, he says he wants to take over Kalimdor, or to remove the Alliance threat in Kalimdor.  Theramore, by virtue of its position and the very fact it was used to bring Alliance troops in to destroy Camp Taurajo, poses a definite threat to the Horde.  Despite the fact it won't make the Alliance happy, taking out Theramore is actually rather sound strategy on Garrosh's part (as much as I hate to admit it).  His approach on the other hand...not quite so sound, and I know that his methods were also meant to stir dissension in the Horde ranks.

At any rate, Theramore does make for an excellent kick off to a Horde versus Alliance war.  Of course, there's also Horde holdings in the Eastern Kingdoms that are equally as vulnerable to Alliance retaliation (and I will be both very surprised and very sorry if we don't see any such event play out at some point in Mists).  Sadly, the story and this new event just couldn't live up to the hype after Blizzrd's total bungling of it.

In Which I Make a Few People Jealous

Since changing my worgen to troll, I've had an impressive run of luck in WoW, or at least one that's impressive for me.  Here's some screenshots of the last four days.

Friday, Reins of the Raven Lord

Saturday, naked Magria fun.

On Friday, once the faction change had gone through, I took my hunter through Sethekk Halls with a friend.  To my shock, the reins dropped and she insisted I take them.  Saturday, I saw flying bears and tamed the beautiful Magria.

Sunday, my new guild ran Dragon Soul, which I was 6/8 in 10-Man Normal on my warlock.  They were short a healer, and though I'd never healed anything more difficult than an Hour of Twilight instance, they took a chance on me.  We went 5/8 and then resolved to come back last night (Monday) to finish up.  The meters pin me as being top or dead even with another, far more experienced healer in the group.  I'm not trying to brag, though I know how it looks.  It's more that I surprised myself and it speaks volumes for my decision to read as much as I can about my class.

Sunday and Monday, I catch up.

Monday, my new title looks pretty sweet.

Yes, I realize Dragon Soul has been severely nerfed.  Even as a healer I saw a huge difference from the last time I was in there, and I do mean a huge difference.  I was more than capable of getting through it before the nerf on my warlock or hunter.  However, after weeks of not having regular raiding with a solid group and uprooting my main from one server to another (which involved leaving a much-beloved guild), I'd all but given up on earning this achievement on any toons, let alone a new alt, before Mists of Pandara went live.  And while the Destroyer's End title is account-wide, I won't put it on my warlock or hunter until they've each earned it.

After last night, I was on an achievement high, so I told my role-play friend I was feeling lucky.  We ran Sethekk Halls for a chance for her to finally get Anzu's reins, and Magister's Terrace for the white hawkstrider.  We came up empty handed both times, but I told her to grab her alt and I'd take my warlock through with her.  And again, Anzu was feeling stingy, so we headed back to give Kael'thas a what-for, and I teased him about stealing his balls even though I went with my demo spec.

And when we went to loot him, I stifled a yelp and then nearly cried when my friend insisted I take the drop.

Monday night, I figure everyone hates me now. 

I feel like a few of my friends are turning green with envy and may even refuse to speak to me for a little while.  To be fair, I have promised to keep my role-play friend company on subsequent runs of Sethekk Halls and Magister's Terrace until she has the mounts too.

To be honest, all this good luck has made me really paranoid about how the Random Number Generator is going to treat me when Mists launches.

When Bears (Druids) Fly

Alternate title for this post: "Unidentified Flying Bear Butts"

Saturday, my copy of Tides of War arrived, and as I just faction changed my worgen hunter into a troll hunter, I thought I'd take the opportunity to celebrate by killing two birds with one stone.  I sat my blue-skinned troll butt down in Hyjal and camped Magria while I read the opening chapters of the newest World of Warcraft book.

Nearly three hours later, there'd been no spirit cat or, alas, a spirit owl, but as I took a break from reading, I panned my camera around and spotted something strange.

"No, that isn't...it can't be."  I hopped on my mount and flew over toward the Sanctuary of Malorne, and sure enough...

ME: (in guild chat) "There's a bear flying around Hyjal."
GUILDIE: "You're drunk."
ME: "No, I'm serious!  I'm flying around following a bear that's flying through the air."
GUILDIE: "I still say you're drunk."
ME: "Look, I may be sitting out here naked, and I understand that may look bad concerning my sanity and/or sobriety, but there is a bear flying around the Sanctuary of Malorne.  And now his friends have joined him."
GUILDIE: "Riiiiight.  Whatever you say."

I can only imagine this was followed by a whisper to an officer along the lines of, "Say what are the rules regarding members who have hallucinations?"  But look, I have photographic evidence:

Click to enlarge.

That's an NPC whose name I didn't think to write down, and after "swimming" in the air for a bit, he was joined by some friends.

So after that amusing incident, I looked at the clock and realized I'd been camping Magria for about three to three and-a-half hours, and I was getting tired of reading.  I told myself ten more minutes and then I was going to go kill Kael'thas for fun and a possible mount.  Not two minutes later, I nearly jumped out of my seat when my trusty _NPCScan went off.

I was so excited, I didn't even re-equip my armor before taking pictures. 

"When dey said, 'When bears fly,' I didn' tink it was literal."

We Are All Mary Sues

If you ask any role-player what his/her biggest role-play pet peeve is, inevitably you'll hear the term Mary Sue (or Gary Stu in the case of males).  It's up there in my list, too.  There's nothing more eye-roll inducing than to open up an MRP profile only to read several paragraphs informing me of so-and-so's blinding beauty and/or indestructibility.  In the Mary Sue's world, only evil people hate her, and the Mary Sue never, ever fails at a task or is any possession of any real flaws.  Admittedly life would be simpler if all the good guys got along one hundred percent of the time and we never had to overcome any obstacles to achieve a goal, but it'd also make for a rather boring existence just like it makes for supremely boring and obnoxious role-play.

It's a mistake a lot of new (and sometimes old) role-players make.  You want to fit in, and you want to be liked, ergo it stands to reason you want your character to be liked, too.  You want him/her to find true love, or at least a good group of adventurers who will have his/her back in case of danger.  Furthermore, you don't want to be anyone's punching bag or let anyone think you're easy prey, so you add in warnings that amount to a simple "Don't fuck with me."  And when it comes to fitting into the setting, learning all about the lore is a daunting task, especially in a universe as large as World of Warcraft's, to say nothing of the fact that the lore contradicts itself in innumerable cases.  Ideally everyone would spend a few hours on Wowpedia, or on Blizzard's website reading up on everything available, but if your time is limited, as it is for many players, you figure the best way to learn about the setting is to play the game, which is a good way to learn quite a bit of lore, but for role-play, it can give the wrong impression of just how strong a player character (PC) can be in Azeroth.

Think about it.  Without ever entering even a single dungeon or raid, how many times do you the player save a village/group while solo questing?  How many conflicts between Horde and Alliance are altered because of your involvement?  How many times do you prevent a nefarious cult from committing one atrocity or another?  Look at Hyjal and the Molten Front, especially the Molten Front where your involvement quite literally alters the landscape.  By virtue of playing the game, we are all, in some way, Mary Sues.

My point in all this meandering is this: Most of us role-players are guilty of mocking Mary Sues, and maybe we've even told them to their (digital) faces that they suck.  But we forget that, especially for newcomers, the game itself can make us think we're more powerful than we are, or that we should be.  The game, by itself, doesn't teach us how to be good storytellers, or remind us that even some of the most beloved characters are some of the most imperfect people who are not universally loved by their peers (Tony Stark, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy Summers, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Sookie Stackhouse, Donna Noble, River Tam, etc.).

With a new expansion upon us, there's going to be newcomers to Azeroth, and many of those newcomers are going to want to role-play.  Some of them have prior experience in role-play, but most of them likely will not, and it's important that we remember that sometimes Mary Sue-ism a symptom of gameplay rather than player capability.  So, be a little gentle with those Kung Fu Pandas in three weeks.

This is a Silly Post

ME: "I've decided to switch to Affliction Spec, and with Glyph of Verdant Spheres I get to have green balls floating around my head instead of purple shards."

FRIEND: "Kael'Thas called.  He wants his balls back."

ME: "NEVAR!"

He'll probably just view this as a minor setback anyway.

In other news, I played around with Affliction Spec tonight, and I think I'm going to stick with it even though I feel guilty every time I use Grimoire of Sacrifice and kill my demon.  The power...oh man, the POWAH!

Okay, no more WoW pop-culture references in this post, I promise.

#HowToPissOffAFemale(Gamer)

Caption: "#HowToPissOffAFemale tell them you're playing World of Warcraft instead of seeing them."

Remember how I said this blog would sometimes be about my feminism and how it intersects with my gaming.  Yeah, I had no idea how soon I'd be inspired to focus on that particular aspect.  Here I was thinking I'd be talking about becoming a possible convert from Demonology spec to Affliction spec on my warlock for raiding tonight, when I spied the above tweet on my twitter feed.

By itself, it's not horribly offensive, though it does grate on my nerves.  We've all heard the "jokes" about wife or girlfriend aggro, and just yesterday a male player lamented to me, "I think my girlfriend is mad at me for not spending more time with her."  To which my response is inevitably, "Well, put down the mouse and go see her!"

The thing is, I'm not sure why this is solely considered a problem in the realm of male gamers.  We women have also put our significant others through the "Just one more dungeon!" or "I can't go to that party, it's raid night!" scenario.  The other issue I have with this is all this complaining about how a girlfriend or wife wants their gamer boyfriend or husband to spend time with them instead of playing WoW (because we all know no gay men or women ever play WoW--careful not to step in that dripping sarcasm there, it's slippery), and how this is apparently a bad thing.

Which brings me to the "joke" in the tweet above and other jokes like it.  When you enter a relationship with someone, you have a responsibility to maintain that relationship.  This means you--yes, you the gamer has to be the one to find the balance between play time and relationship.  Sometimes a significant other might be a little clingy, and if the other party is demanding you spend every waking moment with them, then yes, you have a right to say, "No, I'm going to raid tonight."  However, what I see too often is that the player is on WoW six nights per week doing whatever s/he does, and then complains when, for one night, their significant other wants him/her to turn off the computer and, horror of horrors, spend a little time together.

I have been on both sides of this.  When my boyfriend was spending a bit too much time in Paragon City (the setting of City of Heroes for the uninitiated), I had to put my foot down one night and let him know that I needed a bit of attention.  Recently, I had to admit that sometimes I was playing a bit too much in Azeroth when I should make more of an effort to spend a bit of time on the couch snuggling and catching up with Burn Notice on Netflix (or one memorable evening, watching the new Conan remake, which was only made more awesome with our MST3K-style commentary).

And rather than either of us whine and complain that our significant other was trying to take us away from the game, we both stepped up and said, "Hey folks, I'm taking the night off to spend with my girlfriend/boyfriend."  Because, you know, we love one another and respect each other's emotional needs, and we both realize our relationship comes before our gaming.  Yes, even that epic hunter pet I've been camping forever is secondary to my relationship.  Sometimes.

Finally, the comments I see outside of communities dominated by women, these "jokes" are always aimed at women and how we're ruining the game for our significant others.  It's sexism at it's finest (or worst, depending on how you view it).  And the thing is, I know PainsofWarcraft doesn't mean to be sexist, and I know my male friends don't mean to come across as being annoyed their wives and girlfriends have the audacity to demand attention, but it doesn't change what it is and what it means to those of us who are women who enjoy this game.  We have the same struggles and we're tired of having our gender referred to as problematic or a hindrance to your playtime.

Like I said, I'm not exactly offended, which wouldn't be a bad thing if I was.  I'm more or less annoyed and rolling my eyes because this is the Meme That Never Dies, much like the old, "Go make me a sandwich!" insults.  After a few years, you'd think we'd get some fresh material to work with.  And also it's problematic in that the jokes seem to negate the fact that everyone in a relationship has a responsibility to make themselves available emotionally and physically to their significant others.

And if that's still a problem for you, maybe you should switch one stereotype for another.  Instead of being the beleaguered boyfriend or husband, maybe you should become the "Forever Alone" gamer who doesn't understand why the ladies aren't lining up to date him.

Farewell, Cataclysm

So long, Talent Trees!

As of Tuesday, August 28, 2012, Cataclysm was officially over.  There's still some time before the world event involving Theramore on August 18, and the launch of Mists of Pandaria on September 25, but the "pre-expansion" patch 5.0.4 has already drastically changed how we play the game.  Farewell, Talent Trees!  Hello, Talent Calculator!  Shamans have lost their totems (sort of), paladins have lost auras, and hunters can now shoot things at point-blank range, and everyone either loves it, hates it, or is still staring at their screens asking what happened.

The end of Cataclysm and the arrival of Mists brought about changes for me outside of my class, too.  I've moved my raiding/role-playing main to a new server and joined with an entirely new guild, a decision that still stings a bit as I loved my old guild dearly.  It was time for me to move on and broaden my horizons, and to get ready for my first ever expansion experience in World of Warcraft.

And that's what brings me to this new blog.  In the last year and a half, I've learned a lot.  I've gone from one 85 to five, each from a different class, and I know at least enough about each of them not to get myself killed (too much).  I'm actually comfortable enough to answer basic questions concerning game play and class/spec, and even explaining strategy in PuGs.  I'm by no means an expert, and if you come to this blog expecting to be told in explicit detail how to be the best player in WoW, you'll be disappointed.  This blog isn't about that, it's about my adventures as a casual raider and role-player in WoW.

Some of the posts here will be silly, and will likely involve letters to/from/about my toons.  Some will be serious and will talk about how my feminism (yes, I am a feminist) intersects with and occasionally butts heads with my gaming experience.  Others will be cheering about my accomplishments in raiding, and the headaches associated with gearing a toon to be raid ready.  And finally, there will be some lore nerdery from time to time.

It is what it says on the tin:  "I am a casual raider and role-player in WoW.  I write about it."  The end.