One of things I decided to include in my guide was a list of common Forsaken archetypes that are pitfalls. I kept it to the three most common ones I see when rejecting applications; there aren't many more than that, thankfully, and I maintain my stance that Forsaken roleplay is pretty hard to screw up. Here's the first one: the spirit!
The Forlorn Spirit
The Forlorn Spirit is roleplayed as just that, -a spirit- rather than as a rotting corpse which is what the Forsaken actually are. Usually these types of characters are portrayed as beautiful dead women who still have a strong connection to something from their former life. Nine times out of ten this connection involves a romance; for example, she was killed on her honey moon - murdered by a jealous / rejected suitor, ect. The forlorn spirit lingers in Azeroth, with all her ethereal, haunting beauty, waiting for whatever went wrong with her life to reveal and then correct itself. Up until the moment they are forced to confront their life issues, these forlorn spirits are typically roleplayed as a distant, out of touch character with no ability to fight or defend herself – fitting into the the story and feel of the Forsaken about as well as a swarthy, Turkish transvestite in a bikini contest.
What's wrong with it:
The forlorn spirit doesn't feel like a Forsaken; it's a ghost that ignores the major themes of the race like vengeance and bitterness. Yes, some Forsaken pine for their time alive and harbour deep connections to menial things that happened to them before they died, but they're very real and gritty about it. They're also not beautiful, they're slowly decomposing corpses. Romance themes for the Forsaken are very few and far between; and, considering their muted feelings it's hard to wrap your head around a character that's so overly emotional and deeply attached to their former life. Also, when the Forsaken are resentful and hurt, most of the time they go out and kill whatever made them that way in the first place rather than cry about it. Hell, even the lame cockroach vendor in Undercity threatens to break his foot off in your posterior for bringing him a package his sister made for him in life.
How you can fix it:
Get real. If roleplaying a beautiful character is a absolute must for you, try any other race but the Forsaken. The Forsaken are rotting corpses, and that's kind of the entire point of the race, appearance wise. Corpses are not attractive unless you have a particular fetish for that kind of thing. Memorable Forsaken vomit up maggots, pop their remaining cartilage, and keep candy in their empty eye sockets. By trying to twist the race to seem pretty, you're coming across as someone who is trying to stand out from the crowd by ignoring the lore, and the entire art direction of the Forsaken. If you want to stand out do it with solid roleplay, not a story-breakingly “unique” character description.
Get even. Have your character stop mourning and pick up a sword, or a spell. Her husband killed her for her dowry on their wedding night? Have her carve his initials into her rotten flesh once for every year he remains alive after her death. She could fund her quest for vengeance with her mercenary work for the Horde in the Hinterlands. Maybe the Raventusk taught her how to make shrunken heads, and she intends to try out the practice on her ex-hubby when she gets the chance. By turning her mourning into revenge, the character feels more in line with the themes of the race and less awkward in roleplay.
This should be shouted from the rooftops of all the buildings in the capital cities!
ReplyDeleteOnly excuse for looking 'pretty' as a Forsaken: Wearing the faces of your recent victims! :D (Note, faces may need to be changed on a daily basis to avoid discoloration and rotting that occurs postmortem))
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