10-23-2005, 01:03 AM
I chose Alliance for many reasons.
One of which was to be part of the "good" guys (although there are many Alliance actions in history that I apall me). I hardly ever roleplay an evil character, generally tending towards neutral good (if not outright neutral, which I must say I can roleplay quite well). Evil's ways go completely against the grain with me, on a personal level, and thus I not only fight the experience grating, but also difficult to maintain. I hardly think it fair to be chastised for projecting my personal views and values into a game-world simply because I believe so fiercely in "good" and "right" that to divulge myself of such virtues is near-impossible.
Another was because I felt a greater connection on a personal and role-playing level with more of the the Alliance than the Horde (most notably Night Elves, but Humans as well - Dwarves and Gnomes hardly interest me, even less than Orcs and Trolls; Undead a part of me despises, while another part is raptly curiously, so that's a bit of an even wash, and Tauren... well, they just don't have the appeal that Night Elves do to me, despite their own dark past). It's kind of hard for me, personally, to be roleplaying a character whom I've spent a huge portion of my gaming career loathing for no other reason than an aesthetical role-playing one. Being so enraptured in the Warcraft universe as I am, I find it a little difficult to tear myself away from centuries of warfare with the Orcs and their allies to make them a permanent resident in my repertoire of characters. Call me shallow if you must, but part of the enjoyment I get out of this game, a large part, is the immersion in the story, and for better or worse, I chose a side at the beginning of it all, and have not swayed since.
Believe it or not, the Paladin was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to play as Alliance - I had such an incredible time playing one in Beta, despite not having Talents, that I had very high hopes for them. Unfortunately, those hopes have yet to come to fruition, seeing as the Paladin is not only gimped, but pigeon-holed (to quote you) into a very one-dimensioanl role - something I loathe to no end. So, unfortunately, until such problems are rectified I am stuck Paladin-less on a side that I chose because of said character (although not entirely because of him).
Lastly, I simply can't find my place in the Horde. They are a ragtag bunch of peoples, of so varied backgrounds, cultures, and goals that I simply can't see them lasting in any strong or lengthy fashion. The Undead I see as joining them purely to further their own goals, and so they are not persecuted from ALL sides (the enemy of my enemy is my friend). The Trolls are a bunch of tribal savages, with no real order to them, and thus I cannot bring myself down to such a mental level as to truly enjoy their personnae. Likewise, Tauren joined the Horde out of favoritism for being rescued. Not in any way a bad people, they remind me mostly of the old nomadic Native Americans, which I suppose on some level I can relate to. But their ties to the Horde rest solely with the Orcs, and I find it rather unusual that they can even tolerate the existance of the Undead, let alone treat them as allies. As such, they too I cannot see coexisting as a part of the Horde for any truly lengthy deal of time, although I've no doubt their allegiance to the Orcs will remain steadfast well after the ashes of the Horde have scattered to the winds. And finally, the Orcs - a people whom I could actually respect, if not trust, if only they still followed the ways Thrall so highly spoke of during Warcraft III - that is to eschew their demonic bonds and take up their old, shamanistic ways. Being a warrior people I can accept - I have a fondness for the Vikings of old rooted deep within my being - but after WC3... I don't know. I guess it seems to me like all of WC3 was just cheap talk, and now in WoW they (and even the Alliance, too! So shameful...) seem to have no problem with their old ways, dabbling in demonic magics and warring with the Alliance without reason. It just seems too shallow an existence for me to truly feel a part of a greater whole.
You look at people playing Alliance because they are "pretty" or "good" and see it as a bad thing. I see it as people doing what they do naturally. And I note, although you may not, that not all who look to that which is "pretty" or "good" are in fact shallow beings whose sole existence must be justified by shallow goals. Take myself as a strong example of such. Looks play a part in my experience of WoW; no denying that, and no shame in admitting it. But the greatest influences for me to choose Alliance over Horde are anything but shallow, and have nothing to do with looks - they have everything to do with the Warcraft story, my immersion within it, and my personal beliefs, values, and the projection of myself into a fantasy setting (any, be it WoW, DnD, or any number of other worlds). If you can still sit back and call all that shallow, then I can say nothing more to make you understand. But if not, maybe you could take a look at all I have said, and look at all the Lurkers (the majority of which chose Alliance), and perhaps see a connection that you had up until now dismissed as something entirely different than what may truly be going on.
Just a thought.
One of which was to be part of the "good" guys (although there are many Alliance actions in history that I apall me). I hardly ever roleplay an evil character, generally tending towards neutral good (if not outright neutral, which I must say I can roleplay quite well). Evil's ways go completely against the grain with me, on a personal level, and thus I not only fight the experience grating, but also difficult to maintain. I hardly think it fair to be chastised for projecting my personal views and values into a game-world simply because I believe so fiercely in "good" and "right" that to divulge myself of such virtues is near-impossible.
Another was because I felt a greater connection on a personal and role-playing level with more of the the Alliance than the Horde (most notably Night Elves, but Humans as well - Dwarves and Gnomes hardly interest me, even less than Orcs and Trolls; Undead a part of me despises, while another part is raptly curiously, so that's a bit of an even wash, and Tauren... well, they just don't have the appeal that Night Elves do to me, despite their own dark past). It's kind of hard for me, personally, to be roleplaying a character whom I've spent a huge portion of my gaming career loathing for no other reason than an aesthetical role-playing one. Being so enraptured in the Warcraft universe as I am, I find it a little difficult to tear myself away from centuries of warfare with the Orcs and their allies to make them a permanent resident in my repertoire of characters. Call me shallow if you must, but part of the enjoyment I get out of this game, a large part, is the immersion in the story, and for better or worse, I chose a side at the beginning of it all, and have not swayed since.
Believe it or not, the Paladin was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to play as Alliance - I had such an incredible time playing one in Beta, despite not having Talents, that I had very high hopes for them. Unfortunately, those hopes have yet to come to fruition, seeing as the Paladin is not only gimped, but pigeon-holed (to quote you) into a very one-dimensioanl role - something I loathe to no end. So, unfortunately, until such problems are rectified I am stuck Paladin-less on a side that I chose because of said character (although not entirely because of him).
Lastly, I simply can't find my place in the Horde. They are a ragtag bunch of peoples, of so varied backgrounds, cultures, and goals that I simply can't see them lasting in any strong or lengthy fashion. The Undead I see as joining them purely to further their own goals, and so they are not persecuted from ALL sides (the enemy of my enemy is my friend). The Trolls are a bunch of tribal savages, with no real order to them, and thus I cannot bring myself down to such a mental level as to truly enjoy their personnae. Likewise, Tauren joined the Horde out of favoritism for being rescued. Not in any way a bad people, they remind me mostly of the old nomadic Native Americans, which I suppose on some level I can relate to. But their ties to the Horde rest solely with the Orcs, and I find it rather unusual that they can even tolerate the existance of the Undead, let alone treat them as allies. As such, they too I cannot see coexisting as a part of the Horde for any truly lengthy deal of time, although I've no doubt their allegiance to the Orcs will remain steadfast well after the ashes of the Horde have scattered to the winds. And finally, the Orcs - a people whom I could actually respect, if not trust, if only they still followed the ways Thrall so highly spoke of during Warcraft III - that is to eschew their demonic bonds and take up their old, shamanistic ways. Being a warrior people I can accept - I have a fondness for the Vikings of old rooted deep within my being - but after WC3... I don't know. I guess it seems to me like all of WC3 was just cheap talk, and now in WoW they (and even the Alliance, too! So shameful...) seem to have no problem with their old ways, dabbling in demonic magics and warring with the Alliance without reason. It just seems too shallow an existence for me to truly feel a part of a greater whole.
You look at people playing Alliance because they are "pretty" or "good" and see it as a bad thing. I see it as people doing what they do naturally. And I note, although you may not, that not all who look to that which is "pretty" or "good" are in fact shallow beings whose sole existence must be justified by shallow goals. Take myself as a strong example of such. Looks play a part in my experience of WoW; no denying that, and no shame in admitting it. But the greatest influences for me to choose Alliance over Horde are anything but shallow, and have nothing to do with looks - they have everything to do with the Warcraft story, my immersion within it, and my personal beliefs, values, and the projection of myself into a fantasy setting (any, be it WoW, DnD, or any number of other worlds). If you can still sit back and call all that shallow, then I can say nothing more to make you understand. But if not, maybe you could take a look at all I have said, and look at all the Lurkers (the majority of which chose Alliance), and perhaps see a connection that you had up until now dismissed as something entirely different than what may truly be going on.
Just a thought.
Roland *The Gunslinger*