This document provides a basic introduction and overview for roleplaying in World of Warcraft. It covers addons that are useful for roleplaying, how to create a character background and personality, general lore about the races and religions of Azeroth, and racial traits for each playable race. While not a comprehensive guide, it aims to give new roleplayers essential information to get started in a concise manner.

1. RP Handguide
A h e l p i n g h a n d
E U ; A r g e n t D a w n
M a c r o x e n i c @ g m a i l . c o m
L a s t u p d a t e d t h e ;
7 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 3
Malveera
This bunch of documents, if not a guide, covers the very
basics of the abstract ability to ‘roleplay’ in the universe of
World of Warcraft. I dare say this Handguide will never truly
be complete, since it will continuously run outdated and be
updated by yours truly – also this will not be an advanced
guide, only a basic.

2. 1
Table of Contents
Prologue ..................................................................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction to RP ...................................................................................................................................................................................4
Addons.....................................................................................................................................................................................................5
GHI......................................................................................................................................................................................................5
Tongues ..............................................................................................................................................................................................5
MRP ....................................................................................................................................................................................................6
TRP2..........................................................................................................................................................................................6
Your character .........................................................................................................................................................................................7
Basic knowledge .................................................................................................................................................................................7
The basic charactersheet ...............................................................................................................................................................7
A small background ............................................................................................................................................................................7
Personality..........................................................................................................................................................................................8
Roleplaying Outfit...............................................................................................................................................................................8
Example with Malveera ......................................................................................................................................................................8
General knowledge and lifespans............................................................................................................................................................9
Lifespan chart .....................................................................................................................................................................................9
Azerothian Timeline..........................................................................................................................................................................10
A choice in rumors............................................................................................................................................................................11
Racial traits............................................................................................................................................................................................11
Simple titles ......................................................................................................................................................................................11
Draenei ........................................................................................................................................................................................11
Night Elves ...................................................................................................................................................................................11
Humans........................................................................................................................................................................................11
Blood Elves...................................................................................................................................................................................11
Orcs..............................................................................................................................................................................................11
Trolls ............................................................................................................................................................................................12
Goblins.........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Worgen ........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Gnomes........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Dwarfs..........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Tauren..........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Forsaken.......................................................................................................................................................................................12
Assets and Attributes........................................................................................................................................................................12
Draenei ........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Night Elves ...................................................................................................................................................................................12
Humans........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Blood Elves...................................................................................................................................................................................12

3. 2
Orcs..............................................................................................................................................................................................13
Trolls ............................................................................................................................................................................................13
Goblins.........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Worgen ........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Gnomes........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Dwarfs..........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Tauren..........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Forsaken.......................................................................................................................................................................................13
Religions ................................................................................................................................................................................................14
Descriptions of the Faiths.................................................................................................................................................................14
The Loa Gods ...............................................................................................................................................................................14
The Holy Light ..............................................................................................................................................................................14
The Moon goddess.......................................................................................................................................................................15
The Earthmother..........................................................................................................................................................................17
The Titans.....................................................................................................................................................................................17
The Naaru ....................................................................................................................................................................................18
Why choose a religion?.....................................................................................................................................................................19
IC-channels ............................................................................................................................................................................................20
The channels.....................................................................................................................................................................................20
The language and how to use it........................................................................................................................................................20
IC-channels rules..........................................................................................................................................................................21
How to use the IC-channels..............................................................................................................................................................22
Emotes...................................................................................................................................................................................................24
What in the world is emoting ...........................................................................................................................................................24
Simple is good enough......................................................................................................................................................................24
Attempts in emotes..........................................................................................................................................................................24
Godemote/Metagame...........................................................................................................................................................................25
What is Godemoting?.......................................................................................................................................................................25
Metagaming......................................................................................................................................................................................25
So, how do you avoid it over distances ............................................................................................................................................26
Thank you for reading! ..........................................................................................................................................................................26

4. 3
Prologue
Hello my dear reader, and thanks for coming here. As far as I can sense, you’re either here, because you’re new to the
whole aspect of roleplaying, or you’re just simply curious and want to learn more. That’s where this handguide comes
into the picture with all sorts of helpful tips and tricks, if not examples and different things to take into account.
I’ve written this guide once before, but it was sadly lost, when I had a fallout with a former guild, whom decided to
delete it – even though it was a great help to their community. It was sad to see, so here I am writing it once more. I
can’t write exactly the same thing, as I wrote back then, because I’ve probably forgotten a few things, if not learned a
few new. Just make sure, that you know, this is built upon assumptions and ideas along with a couple written lines
from Blizzard’s own lore-gallery.
As I mentioned in the small noticebox on first page, this is to be continuously updated, when it becomes outdated, or
simply by feedback or other kinds of propaganda.
If you want to leave feedback, I prefer constructive criticism – don’t just come barging in with the comment “Hurrdurr,
this sucks, learn your stuff!” Actually give me an idea of what’s wrong, and how you know of it. Then, when you’ve
considered that, either give me a poke on either of my characters (Argent Dawn; Chilana, Malveera, Zheenra, Azayah)
or simply write an email to the following address; Macroxenic@gmail.com

5. 4
Introduction to RP
Many people don’t know exactly what RP is, so I’ll break it into small segments and bits to make it easier and better to
understand. RP is the abbreviation of “RolePlaying”, which in this case means to act out the character you sit behind
all day long – or… some people sit there all day. RP is not just one thing; it’s not just one aspect. True, Roleplaying is an
overall word for anything you can do within this certain aspect of the game, but you can still break it down into bits
and pieces. That said, do you remember, when you last put on some gear and ran into the forest, pretending you
were… let’s say, a barbarian? No? How about playing cops and robbers as kid? I doubt you haven’t ever done such –
it’s considered roleplaying. You act out a character in your head. So, in fact, you already got a bit of experience with
this aspect of the community.
Roleplaying is something we do, because we like it. The world is full of possibilities, so why not seize the chance and
do something? Azeroth is a world within a fascinating story, which we’ve chosen to oblige ourselves with. It’s fun and
entertaining, provides us something to do instead of farming and destroying our gear in dungeons, raids or PvP.
There’s nothing more than enthusiasm and fun needed to join any RP-session somewhere in the world of Azeroth. Of
course, you need gear, which suits your character, a personality to your character and that’s about it! And for all the
new players, who don’t know exactly how to RP at all; it’s very simple. The moment you engage in RP there’s only few
rules you need to know and understand, and I will explain them briefly and more advanced later;
Before we start talking about this, there’re only a few abbreviations I need to make clear.
IC means In Character, which is the act of being your character – in said character’s mindset.
OOC means Out of Character, which is when you’re NOT roleplaying – typically in trade/generalchat.
It’s preferred, if you stay IC all the time, when you’re in the IC-channels.
No smileys. No abbreviations. Common English.
When we’ve get this covered, we can wrap this chapter up and continue towards the next category I wish to come
across.

6. 5
Addons
There are several addons here and there, which can help you along with RP, make it easier or simply pimp your
character a bit. Here is going to be several listings of said addons and a brief description written by their scripter.
GHI
“GHI is revolutionary in the sense of Roleplaying AddOns in World of Warcraft. Not only
does it directly promote your creativity beyond belief, but the only thing holding you
back from expanding your enjoyment with GHI is your very own imagination.
The AddOn itself might not seem like a lot at first, because the user interface has been
made so simple that everyone can use it. It features a little blue bag, and once you see
it on your interface, you are a single click away from a world of possibilities.
We will supply you a few examples of what GHI can do for you, but what really counts,
is what you can do with it, not what we tell you, you can. Write a book, a note, a
loveletter perhaps a poem, and keep it within your bag or trade it to other users of GHI.
Create birthday presents, tools, food, drinks, weapons, banners – everything!”
Tongues
“What it does;
It allows languages, dialects, effects on outgoing messages.
It allows filters on incoming and outgoing messages.
It has Lore-style Interpreters.
It provides the ability to Mass Translate for: targetted player, translators (people added to the user's
translator list),party,guild, raid, officer, battleground, raid warning/alert.
Auto-translation of other Tongues users' say, yell, party, guild, officer, raid, battleground and raid
warning/alert messages.
Uses Blizzard languages when it can (ie Orcs speaking Gutterspeak will not be understood by Undead unless
the listener has Tongues, Undead speaking Gutterspeak will be understood if both they listener have
Tongues.)
Provide a quick select for picking which language to speak. (So you don't have to open up the menu every
time.)
Automatic Language learning (different languages have different difficulties for difficult factions, races, and
classes.)
Allows you to speak for controlable pets with /petspeak or /ps”

7. 6
MRP
“MyRolePlay is a roleplaying UI AddOn for World of Warcraft,
developed by Etarna at moonshyne.org. It lets you make
a roleplaying “profile” about your character that other users of MyRolePlay (and
other compatible “MSP” RP AddOns) can see in the tooltip and a more detailed
window. It’s fast, light, and powerful.
Spot other roleplayers at a glance, see which RP AddOns they are using,
and get a quick overview of their character in the tooltip!
Change your character’s name; add a last name—or whatever you
wish!
Mark your preferred style of roleplaying (casual, full–time, beginner, or
a custom style…), or your status (in character, out of character, being a
storyteller…)
Exercise your creativity further—describe your character’s appearance!
Eye colour, height, weight…
Give people a taste of your character’s story, if you wish—add
biographical information like their age, hometown, birthplace, and
maybe even some tidbits of history to make people hungry to discover
more by interacting with your character and roleplaying with you? Or
hide others’ biography, if you prefer to discover that kind of thing
through interaction. “
TRP2
“This addon adds a great amount of roleplay features such as :
- Characters and pets informations (names, titles, story,
description, temper ...)
- Item creation and inventory management
- Document creation (Books, contracts, letters...)
- Buff/debuff creation (called States)
- Quest creation
- And many more!”

8. 7
Your character
And now comes the more lovely and descriptive chapters of the guide. How come you RP, but know nothing about
your character? Let’s change that! If you got problems making a background-story for your character, flaws and
talents, looks and origin, just look through this, and I’ll run you through the basics of creating a character from scratch.
The character is yours anyhow, no one has to command you around or decide what your character has to be like!
Basic knowledge
Follow this small skeleton/sheet/whatever you want to call it, and you’ve already gotten the very basics of your
character settled down. It’s a must that you know these things, because it’s the common things to know about your
character.
The basic charactersheet
Name: N/A
Age: N/A
Family: N/A
Birthplace: N/A
Height: N/A
Build: N/A
Other: N/A
A small background
Now that you got the basics covered, let’s get on with the more advanced stuff. You might not be a writer like I am,
but you should still be able to come up with a small background-story, it’s easy, if you really care for your character.
Where are you from?
Why are you here?
What changed when you got here?

9. 8
Personality
The most important thing about a character is the personality and feelings it emits. If you’ve ever heard of, or played,
Dragon Age, then consider a character in this game without a personality a Tranquil. Completely cold. So, a bit of
pointers for the newcomers;
Are you calm or energetic? Silent or loud? Brutal or kind? Stupid or smart? Honest or deceiving?
The possibilities are endless; it’s just for you to seize the opportunity.
Roleplaying Outfit
The outfit you choose to put onto your character needs to follow a small set of rules;
The armor/clothing should fit your characters personality, if not job.
Shouldn’t be overdimensioned, but it’s a minor detail.
Example with Malveera
Name: Stormcaller Malveera
Age: Above 16.000 years old
Family: Family died at the Oshu’gun crashsite on impact, no further knowledge is
available about this character’s family. Sad incident.
Birthplace: Born on Argus
Height: Somewhere between 7’4” and 7’9”
Build: Athletic and wartorn
Other: Malveera has over several thousand years trained as a shamaness.
Malveera had always been interested in the arts of shamanism, and when she was learned said talents
by the orcs 600 years ago, she found herself bound to the elements as well. Since then she has been
adventurous and curious, which also managed to save her skin during the slaughtering of 75% of her
kin on Draenor. Since the escape from Draenor, she’s found herself bound to repair the balance of the
elements – which still is her main task. On her travels, she has found several friends and considered to
become a gladiator – or at least to figure what it’s like.

10. 9
General knowledge and lifespans
Lifespan chart
The following tablet has been taken straight from Wowpedia.org’s lorepage, since I can’t be arsed making one to
compete with a perfectly well-made Lifespan chart.
Race; Adulthood Middle Age Old Venerable Maximum Lifespan
Dwarf 40 125 188 250 252-450
Troll 17 30 47 69 70-79
Forsaken None None None None Some go mindless
Goblin 15 35 70 85 (rare) 75-93 (extremely rare)
Gnome 40 100 150 200 203-500
High-elf 25-75 175 263 350 1000-2000
Human 15 35 53 80 85-130
Worgen 15 35 53 80 85-130
Night Elf 110-300 500 650 700 Several thousand
Orc 18-20 40 65 80 82-100 (rarely above 75)
Tauren 15-50 75 95 110 114-150

11. 10
Azerothian Timeline
I’m not sure about the mind of exactly you, the reader, but I can’t remember whenever any of the major events have
happened, but in the moments I do, I’ve written it down. By any event, here’s the Azerothian Timeline partly stolen
from the internet and partly written on my own.
-10,000 War of the Ancients Trilogy (novels by Richard A. Knaak)
The Well of Eternity
The Demon Soul
The Sundering
-9,000 The World Tree and the Emerald Dream
-7,300 Exile of the High Elves
-6,800 The Founding of Quel'Thalas
-2,800 Arathor and the Troll Wars
-2,700 The Guardians of Tirisfal
-2,500 Ironforge - the Awakening of the Dwarves
1,200 The Seven Kingdoms
-823 Aegwynn and the Dragon Hunt
-230 War of the Three Hammers
-45 The Last Guardian
— Kil'jaeden and the Shadow Pact
— Rise of the Horde
-1 Rise of the Horde (novel by Christie Golden)
0 Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (PC game)
— The Last Guardian (novel by Jeff Grubb)
6 Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness (PC game)
8 Warcraft 2X: Beyond the Dark Portal (PC game)
10 Day of the Dragon (novel by Richard A. Knaak)
18 Lord of the Clans (novel by Christie Golden)
19 Of Blood and Honor (novel by Chris Metzen)
20 Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos (PC game)
21 Warcraft 3X: The Frozen Throne (PC game)
23 The Sunwell Trilogy (manga by Richard A. Knaak & Jae-Hwan Kim)
Dragon Hunt
Shadows of Ice
Ghostlands
24 Cycle of Hatred (novel by Keith R. A. DeCandido)
25 World of Warcraft (PC game)
26 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC game)
27 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC game)
28 World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (PC game)
29 World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC game)

12. 11
A choice in rumors
You’re not the only one, who doesn’t know everything in Azeroth. What you don’t know OOCly, you might not know
ICly. For instance – I know hella lot of lore OOCly, but some of my characters don’t know JACK of half the stuff I know.
It’s all a matter of choices – do you want your character to be well-informed or hid beneath a stone the last couple of
years? It’s entirely up to you.
Hell, I even ran into a girl, who hadn’t seen a draenei before, and thus I asked why she hadn’t. Her reason was simple.
She’d lived in a cave with her family the last couple of years, thus having not been in contact with the world of Azeroth
as we know it today.
Your time to choose which events you want your character to believe in and not.
Want to believe in Deathwing’s death, in case you haven’t seen his jaw dangling in Stormwind?
How about Illidan? Do you believe the ‘Great’ Illidan has died at Maiev’s hand?
Arthas died with Lich King – do you believe in it, even though the Scourge still remains?
How about Netharion? Onyxia? Malygos? Archimonde, Kil’Jaeden and all the other lords and evils?
Racial traits
Simple titles
Some titles remain the same and have been so for generations within the certain race’s hundreds of different
personas. Whereas not many call them by their most common titles anymore, here’s a list of them – at least the ones
I can remember.
Draenei
The Draenei have in many years been known as either Anchorites(within the priesthood) or Vindicators (as paladin)
Night Elves
The Night Elves are most commonly known with their new outbreak of Archdruids, Priestesses of Elune and Sentinels.
Humans
The Human-society is basically what the community now runs the names off – Priest, Paladin, Knight and so on.
Blood Elves
The Blood Elves are a people cast out by the Allies, who run off the titles; Blood Knight, Felweaver, Ranger and more.
Orcs
The Orcish people have a simple system for ranks and titles themselves; Warlord, Blade Master, Beast Master, etc etc.

13. 12
Trolls
The Darkspear Trolls are a weirdly organized society, but in any way – Headhunter, Witchdoctor.
Goblins
The greedy, deceiving goblins have for years been around to steal your gold – Archeology, Merchant, Antagonist.
Worgen
The noble worgen have just recently joined the Alliance, once more their friends – Noble, Rebel, Magister.
Gnomes
The small and annoying, yet brilliant gnomes are the inventors of the Alliance – Tinkerer, Inventor, Engineer.
Dwarfs
The proud and drunken dwarfs will forever be seen as the drunks they are – Mountaineer, Mountain King.
Tauren
Under the Earthmother’s embrace, peace and tranquil follows Tauren – Shaman, Hunter, Chief.
Forsaken
Resurrected by the Dark Lady, the forsaken have gotten their mind back – Darkcaster, Apothecary, Deathguard.
Assets and Attributes
The very assets and attributes to the selective races is a core understanding of the race and what it’s been living with
for ages. Take an example for the racial abilities in-game. Night Elves; Shadowmeld. Draenei; Gift of the Naaru.
I can explain the different races, as I see them. I can’t promise that anyone would be able to understand said attribute
and abilities ICly. Anyway, without further ado, here’s a list of said things.
Draenei
The Draenei have for years and years, and endless bloody years, been living among crystals and high faith to the
Naaru. They have been granted the Naaru’s blessings to heal minor wounds. They have been near, if not studied, the
crystals on Argus, not to mention their gear and armor is usually socketed with gemstones, either for sturdiness or
plain looks.
Night Elves
The Night Elven people have lived within the tree-covered landscapes for several generations. Their knowledge of the
woods gives them the knowledge to blend into their surroundings, making it harder to spot them. Their athletic builds
have also contributed to their agility and endurance, being able to avoid certain blows easier.
Humans
In all the years the Human Empire has stood proudly on Eastern Kingdoms, they have propositioned peace among
allies. Yet their cockiness, and at times prude personality, has led to a willpower so great, and a mind so secluded, that
they can easily go from squadron to every man for himself. Yet, there are still some, who attribute as ambassadors.
Blood Elves
The only problem with the Blood Elves is either their dwindling fel- or arcane-addiction. Yet, their bodies has,
throughout the years, absorbed the magic, making them a bit more resistant to it, not to mention their skills within

14. 13
enchanting has been empowered by such change. Not to mention, they can focus enough to make an arcane-balance
falter.
Orcs
The wartorn Orcish people have for centuries lived under the heavily dangerous areas, abundant to weather and
aggressive creatures. Their will is strong, and they know it. Few still have a small amount of the haze of the
bloodthirsty culture they’re known for, many of them able to throw themselves into a fury so reveling, that it
increases their strength and hazes their mind briefly.
Trolls
The trolls have been savages for far longer, than you could imagine. Yet the one exception is the Darkspear. They have
lived in exile and under primal proportions for as long as any orc can remember. They have a replenishing tissue,
which makes it easier for them to heal their wounds naturally. Along with that, their sight is incredible, making them
true masters of bows and throwing-knives.
Goblins
The goblins have been exiled, neutral and profitable for many, many years. They can prop any deal. They gamble their
way out of anything. Black Market-kinda guys. Their knowledge of explosives has increased as they’ve mined kaja’mite
ores, both giving them cunning and intelligence beyond their usual attributes.
Worgen
The worgen have lived peacefully as Gilneans for the last many years. The worgen-‘curse’ was not to be stopped by
their wall however, which sent the Gilnean people into the same fate – turning into worgen. Helped along by the
Night Elven people, their mind and free will returned enough for them to change between their forms at will.
Gnomes
The spirit of gnomes is simply unshakable. Their curious mind has led to brilliance and creativity beyond simple
knowledge. They are small enough to get their nimble and small bodies out of even the most cunning traps, which
always comes in handy, should one attempt to kidnap said gnome.
Dwarfs
Dwarfs are explorers and adventurers, their own kind of curiosity driving them to guilds; fx Explorer’s League. They
have lived within mountains and cold, snowy areas for long. The structure of their bodies keep them warm, while
keeping them safe as their skin has toughened.
Tauren
The Tauren live in the gaze of the Earthmother and dedicate their time on her faith. Living in the nature has made it
easier for them to identify and gather herbs faster than several other races. Along with their dedication they’ve made
an exceptionally good endurance.
Forsaken
Once under the grasp of the Lich King, the Forsaken have united under the rule of the Dark Lady as their queen. Their
bodies are thrashed and beaten, not needing as much oxygen as any other being – able to ‘breathe’ under water.
Their states of mind make it easier for them to shake off charms and fears.

15. 14
Religions
Descriptions of the Faiths
The following descriptions have been taken straight from wowpedia and judged by me, whether it sounds truthful or
not. If you have another opinion, or simply want to add something, follow the feedback form at the prologue. This said
however, it is only the basic knowledge of each and every Faith, that I know of.
The Loa Gods
“Loas are the ancient spirits of those who had transcended death that can grant wondrous boons or inflict terrible
punishments to trolls, and all trolls are blessed with some regeneration by them.
All trolls worship a pantheon of primal forces; a sacred animal represents each aspect of the pantheon.
The trolls draw power for their
voodoo magics by performing rituals
and invoking the Primal Gods, Old
Gods, forest spirits, and ancestral
spirits: their Loa spirits and gods.
Loa spirits are more powerful than
the elementals, but not as powerful
as gods. Supposedly, these spirits are
mighty entities that grant the faithful
extraordinary powers. By calling
upon these voodoo spirits, the shadow hunter gains special blessings with which he can combat darkness and help
those in need. The abilities granted vary according to the Loa the shadow hunter calls upon. Almost any being who has
died and transcended death can be worshiped as a loa, including Forsaken shadow ascendants.
The shadow hunters' faith and communion with the Loa gods grants them shadow and healing magic, and other
abilities. Shadow Hunters learn magic that hinders enemies and aids allies, gaining a unique mix of spells that delve
into the more occult aspects of the Loa. The trolls of Zul'Aman worship primal beings they call the Forest Gods…”
The Holy Light
“The Light, referred to as the Holy Light by some
cultures, is a non-theistic religious form of
philosophy with adherents among the Alliance and
some members of the Horde. The organization
closest related to the Light is the Church of the Holy
Light. The followers of the Holy Light do not worship
any gods. Instead, it is a philosophy, training its
followers to seek perfection within themselves. It is
very much an active practice of virtue rather than a
passive worship. Those who follow it closely gain

16. 15
spiritual awareness and guidance, allowing them to lead others.
The Holy Light teaches that there is a connection between the self and the universe. This connection manifests as what
we feel through both senses and emotions. When a person is moved, through seeing something breathtaking or feeling
love for another, that emotion connects him to the universe. Experiencing the emotion ensures that he exists, as
something within him felt the emotions or processed the sensual awareness. Because he exists, so must the universe
that gave him that feeling. From there, he can act upon the universe, causing more changes to create feeling in others.
Thus, the followers of Holy Light seek to make the world a better place by being true to their own emotions.
The next step in recognizing this connection between the self and the universe is developing the goodness within and
without. If one wishes for happiness, one must work to better the universe to make others happy. Experiencing the
glory and beauty of the world will in turn tap into the inner beauty and glory within one's soul. However, giving in to
greed, despair, and unhappiness will only darken the universe. The Holy Light is the glory of the universe reflected upon
the soul and mirrored back onto itself.
Holy Light practitioners consist mainly of humans and draenei. There were once many high elves and dwarves
practicing the philosophy, but their numbers have dwindled in recent years. As high elves traveled further into the
darkness of their arcane magic addiction, they fell from the Holy Light. The dwarves have replaced the Light with the
study of their progenitors, the titans. The night elves are too new to the Alliance and too entrenched in their own
worship of Elune and the other Ancients to consider the Holy Light in large numbers.
Among the Horde races the worship of the Holy Light is far less widespread. The blood elves' newly restored Sunwell is
now a source of holy power as well as arcane, and the blood elves still train priests. The newly inducted goblins of the
Bilgewater Cartel also have a priesthood that appears to worship the Light, though it is hard to reconcile the typical
mercantile ethics of the goblins with the tenets of the Light. The Forsaken have their own religion, the Forgotten
Shadow, which is based on a distorted version of the Light. Among other Horde races the worship of the Holy Light is
practically unheard of, save perhaps for a few isolated individuals, one notable example among them being the
Darkspear troll priest, Zabra Hexx.
Members of the Church of Light follow a philosophy called the three virtues.”
The Moon goddess
“Elune (or Mu'sha, as called by the tauren) is the major deity worshipped by the night elves. She is associated with the
larger of Azeroth's two moons, the White Lady, and is widely considered to be the mother of Cenarius, the forest lord
and patron god of all druids. Elune is one of the few true deities of Azeroth. She nurtured and sheltered the earliest
living beings of the world as they awaited the first dawn, giving them the chance to thrive and to grow into the present
myriad of life, along with all the possibilities and promises that it entails.
In tauren mythology, Elune is revered as the left eye of the Earthmother, though she is not worshipped as a sentient
deity by the tauren. Strongly associated with healing, tranquility and harmony, the moon goddess Elune has been
revered by the night elves and several other races since the earliest ages in Azeroth's history. However, the Mother
Moon is not a goddess who advocates peace at all costs. Indeed, one of Elune's aspects is the Night Warrior, who is
said to lift the souls of the valiant fallen from the battlefield and set them riding as newborn stars across the eternal
nightsky.

17. 16
Long before the Great Sundering came to pass, a well-organized
priesthood had devoted itself to the service of Elune. Known as the
Sisterhood of Elune, this ancient night elven order remains in
existence to this day and, as their name implies, entrance to its
upper echelons is available exclusively to women, on the belief
that Elune's deepest mysteries can only be understood by a
woman's heart. The war chants of the Sisters can call down the
Night Warrior's wrath to smite their foes, and their prayers to the
Mother Moon can nurture even the gravely wounded back to
health.
Recorded night elven history shows that formal worship of Elune
dates back at least 14,000 years. However, it is certain that the
moon goddess was being revered through more primitive and
decentralized methods long before this. The first known center of
devotion to Elune was established by the Sisters of Elune within
the ancient kaldorei capital Zin-Azshari. The Sisterhood at one
point relocated this temple to the city of Suramar after it became
evident Queen Azshara and the Highborne increasingly distanced
themselves from the tenets of the moon goddess. After Suramar
itself had fallen to the onslaught of the Burning Legion, Elune
became a profound source of hope and humility to all night elves
as they witnessed the Ancient Guardians of Azeroth rally under the blazing moon to come to the defense of a world
being put to the flame over their civilization's mistakes.
In the era between the War of the Ancients and the Third War, a period known as the Long Vigil, devotion to Elune had
essentially become universal among the kaldorei but was practiced without centralized places of worship, much like in
ages past. The Sisters of Elune have recently founded a new temple for the moon goddess however, the first of its kind
since the complex at Suramar itself: the Temple of the Moon within the night elven capital city of Darnassus. Elune's
chosen, Tyrande Whisperwind, resides here both as high priestess and as head of the kaldorei government, and by her
side stand many priestesses (and for the first time, several male night elven priests) ready to venture out and soothe a
war-weary Azeroth with the Mother Moon's healing light.
Elune's aspect known as the Mother Moon emphasizes tranquility and harmony to allow for the greatest nurturing of
Azeroth's creatures. However, Elune does not advocate pacifism in the face of threats to her harmony and tranquility;
novices in the Sisters of Elune are trained extensively in tactics and combat under the moon goddess' aspect of the
Night Warrior. Elune expects devotion from her priestesses, but never demands they give her every waking moment —
the Mother Moon is experienced by her daughters as a nurturing, loving matriarch whose expectations are not
oppressive in nature. Whereas Elune is the center of reverence for the Sisters of Elune and the sentinels, the night elven
druids have devoted themselves to the teachings of Elune's only child; the demigod Cenarius. As such, there exists a
deep and intimate link between the spirituality of the kaldorei druids and priestesses, on which their entire society has
been based for over ten thousand years.”

18. 17
The Earthmother
“The Earth Mother is a being worshiped by tauren, Wildhammer dwarves and Pandaren.
The Earth Mother is the tauren ideal of all the spirits of nature. She is the benevolent goddess of the tauren, who
believe that the deity is responsible for all the natural beauty of the world. They see her smiling face in the sky, the
stones, the sands, and the seas.
Tauren mythology describes her as the creator of the land, and the tauren. The sun (An'she) and moon (Mu'sha) are
her eyes. She lives in the rivers, trees, plains and mountains of Azeroth. She is the embodiment of nature. All lesser
nature spirits come from the Earth Mother, and return to her upon death. The Earth Mother represents all the
animistic forces of nature. River-spirits, sea-spirits, tree-spirits, rock-spirits, and animal spirits all reflect one facet of
the Earth Mother.
In a sense, tauren see the Earth Mother as a sort of universal consciousness.
While individual spirits represent a particular location, animal or object, such as
the spirit of a single tree or the spirit of a valley, the Earth Mother represents the
land. She is everywhere life and nature is. The only spirits separate from the Earth
Mother are the spirits of sentient creatures. Tauren ancestor spirits live in
harmony with the Earth Mother, but are not part of her.
Tauren religion teaches to respect and love the Earth Mother by treating her
body, the land, and her children, the plants and animals of the world, with
respect. Tauren disrupt the natural balance of the land as little as possible. They
take only what they need from the land and eschew mass logging and mining.
They respect the animals they hunt and never wastefully discard animal
carcasses.
The shaman and priests of the Wildhammer dwarves entertain the people on cold nights with myths of nature and the
Earth Mother. Priests of the Earth Mother can gain access to the Animal, Elements and Spirits domains. The Earth
Mother is regarded in tauren culture the same way Elune is in Kal'dorei culture. Both are meant to be the stabilizing
factor in the shifting lives of their respective peoples. The Earth Mother, kept in this spiritual way, is far more capable
of fulfilling her role in the non-physical form that she appears to take.”
The Titans
“The titans, also known as the makers, the travelers (to the trolls), or the Great Ones (to the Oracles), are a race of
extremely powerful, majestic creatures, akin to gods. These metallic giants travel across the cosmos bringing order to
worlds. Many believe them to simply be a progenitor race.
Though the exact origins of the chaotic universe remain uncertain, it is clear that a race of powerful beings arose to
bring stability to the various worlds and ensure a safe future for the beings that would follow in their footsteps: The
Titans, colossal, metallic-skinned gods from the far reaches of the cosmos, explored the newborn universe and set to
work on the worlds they encountered. They shaped the worlds by raising mighty mountains and dredging out vast
seas. They breathed skies and raging atmospheres into being. It was all part of their unfathomable, far-sighted plan to
create order out of chaos. They even empowered primitive races to tend to their works and maintain the integrity of
their respective worlds.

19. 18
Ruled by an elite sect known as the Pantheon, the Titans brought order to a
hundred million worlds scattered throughout the Great Dark Beyond during the
first ages of creation. The benevolent Pantheon, which sought to safeguard these
structured worlds, was ever vigilant against the threat of attack from the vile
extra-dimensional entities of the Twisting Nether. Unable to conceive of evil or
wickedness in any form, the Titans struggled to find a way to end the demons'
constant threat. Over time, demonic entities made their way into the Titans' worlds
from the Twisting Nether, and the Pantheon elected its greatest warrior, Sargeras,
to act as its first line of defense. A noble giant of molten bronze, Sargeras carried
out his duties for countless millennia, seeking out and destroying these demons
wherever he could find them. As doubt and despair overwhelmed Sargeras' senses,
he lost all faith not only in his mission, but also in the Titans' vision of an ordered
universe. Eventually he came to believe that the concept of order itself was folly,
and that chaos and depravity were the only absolutes within the dark, lonely
universe. His fellow Titans tried to persuade him of his error and calm his raging
emotions, but he disregarded their more optimistic beliefs as self-serving delusions.
Storming from their ranks forever, Sargeras set out to find his own place in the
universe. Although the Pantheon was sorrowful at his departure, the Titans could
never have predicted just how far their lost brother would go.”
The Naaru
“The naaru are a dimension-traveling race of sentient energy beings, with a deep affinity for the Holy Light of Creation
that empowers the paladins of Azeroth. The naaru blessed the draenei with this power in an effort to help them in their
struggle. They are bent on stopping the Burning Legion.
When Sargeras and the Burning Legion came to the world of Argus and began corrupting the eredar race, Velen, an
eredar leader, prayed for help. The naaru appeared, offering to take Velen and any other like-minded eredar to safety.
Velen and his faction accepted and began to call themselves draenei ("Exiled Ones"). The draenei hastily escaped Argus
aboard the Dimensional Ship provided for them by the naaru.
During the draenei's journey, the enigmatic naaru race blessed them
with Light-given knowledge and power. The naaru explained that there
were other forces in the cosmos that would stand against the Burning
Legion. One day the naaru would forge them into a single unstoppable
army of the Light. Deeply affected by the naaru's words, the draenei
vowed to honor the Light and uphold the naaru's altruistic ideals.
Due to the interests of the Legion, and later certain Azerothians in
Outland, the naaru moved Tempest Keep to Outland for a more direct
observation. The Keep was stormed by the Blood Elves, but the
sin'dorei found only the naaru M'uru within the ship.
In Sunwell Plateau, Velen describes M'uru's essence as "bathed by the
light of Creation — just as it was at the Dawn." This may indicate
M'uru (and other naaru) were born at the dawn of creation.
Some players have expressed suspicion of the perceived perfection and
altruism of the naaru. Some believe that the naaru have ulterior
motives, or there is an undiscovered faction of "dark" naaru. As D'ore
himself says,

20. 19
"Without the void, the Light cannot exist."
This could be taken to mean that if these Naaru are pure light and good, then there must be a polar opposite - that is,
naaru or another race who are as much darkness and evil as the ones we have encountered so far are good and pure.
It should be noted that although D'ore is currently a darkened naaru, he appears to maintain good intentions.
But there is also the possibility that his quote is simply referencing the dualistic nature of the Void/Light dichotomy,
that both these forces are defined by their opposition to each other.
M'uru, now a darkened naaru, is now a boss in Sunwell Plateau. It is not clear if he is now "evil" or simply a darkened
naaru whose weakened state has been exploited by Kil'jaeden or Kael'thas. After the raid gets him to 0%, he
transforms into a void god named Entropius.
Though Blizzard has addressed the confusion.
Q: What is the nature of the Void state of the Naaru? For a being of the Light, turning into such a dark being seems like
a heavy weakness. Sucking in souls and causing destruction simply because of a loss in strength greatly diminishes
their saintly image. Though, this might be a reason they don't act in combat very much, as turning on your army due to
fatigue wouldn't be good for morale.
A:Because three cases of this "cycle" have been demonstrated in Nagrand, Auchindoun, and Sunwell Plateau (K'ure,
D'ore, and M'uru, respectively), players may have received the wrong impression with regard to the magnitude and
rarity of these events: it is EXCEEDINGLY rare for a naaru to fall into a void state, and even rarer for a fallen naaru to be
brought back into the Light. A naaru's fall into the void represents a catastrophic loss for the naaru and for the forces
of the Light, and it is the saddest, most heart-wrenching event for the naaru to witness. Conversely, a naaru being
reborn into the Light brings renewed hope and sense of purpose to every naaru; if energy beings could weep tears of
joy, this would do it.”
Why choose a religion?
So, why exactly would you choose a religion in Azeroth? Well, I can tell you one thing. Morale comes from faith, faith
comes from believing, and in what state wouldn’t religion contain ‘believing’? This makes sense in my head, I don’t
know about yours. By any event though, I got explanations for you.
1) When haven’t you seen a Night Elf believe in Elune?
2) Most Tauren, if not all, believe in the Earthmother.
3) Every troll believes in the Loa.
4) Stereotypes are stereotypes…

21. 20
IC-channels
Now, that you’re well into your character’s story and more, why not get to the actual roleplaying rules. You’ve waited
for this, and it has taken way too long for me to write the first few chapters for you to read and learn from. So, here
you might wonder what exactly I mean with the chapter-title in itself, so here’s the deal. We got IC-channels and OOC-
channels in World of Warcraft. And then there are translation-channels, but that’s a whole other story. So, let’s start
this chapter out, and have some fun with all the channels involved!
The channels
As I briefly mentioned above, we got 3 different kinds of channel-types. The one called IC-channels, which is for
everything that happens in character, the one called OOC-channels, which is primarily for Out Of Character-things, and
the last one called translation-channels, which is a channel to translate between Horde and Alliance.
The IC-channels;
/say
/yell
/emote
/whisper (within limits)
The OOC-channels;
/guild
/party
/1
/2
/3
/raid
/whisper (outside the limits)
The translation-channels;
Real-ID whispers
I will explain the rules within the different channels and how to use it effectively in a tiny bit.
The language and how to use it
I shouldn’t have to explain this really, because it hangs tight with everything else we’ve talked about so far, but I’ll
have to do it anyhow, since it’s a necessity, that I make sure you’re understanding the few simple rules within the
roleplaying-society; we can’t have them chasing you off with pitchforks, now can we? Now, don’t worry, it’s only in
certain cases they’ll chase you like a horde of angry penguins.

22. 21
IC-channels rules
Common English
Yes, it’s a must. Anything you write must be common English. No exceptions. And yes, that means no leetspeak as
well! The moment you do leetspeak, you’re doomed as roleplayer.
Few typos
Okay, for some people it’s impossible not to make typos, but at least give it a try before you start roleplaying! It can
become really annoying, if every roleplayer has to decipher every word in a sentence you’ve just written.
Correct yourself
Beware not, if you did a typo and you can see it, you can correct yourself in multiple ways; either with brackets or
simply directly into chat. I recommend the brackets for newcomers in RP.

23. 22
How to use the IC-channels
/say
Basically, this is where everything your character says will be. There are rare occasions, where you can emote
something out in this channel as well.
/yell
We all know how loud a yell is. And if you don’t, then please don’t use this channel. A yell is not just raising your voice,
a yell is shouting, and shouting pretty high.

24. 23
/emote
Now, this simple command is… unknown to most players, when they start. They have no idea it exists, which I find
pretty hard to believe, but I’ll give a small consensus of how it works.
The name will ALWAYS replace /e(the abbreviation). So, just consider /e as your name.
For example /e can run faster than anyone in the world! will come out as;
/whisper (in RP)
It’s as simple as it sounds. But it should always be accompanied with an emote saying, that you’re in fact whispering
said person. And yes, he has to be in range! Doesn’t work, if he’s in the other end of town.
Other than that simply have fun doing what you’re doing! Step up to the RP, have fun with it, that’s what it’s all
about! Sure, you might encounter elitist jerks, but still you’re around. You’re learning how to RP, you’re improving just
by reading this guide. Keep that in mind, you’re as good as him, not the opposite.

25. 24
Emotes
What in the world is emoting
“An emote is an entry into a text-based chat client that indicates an action taking place.” ~Wikipedia
That was the short version from Wikipedia, but what exactly is an emote apart from that? It’s feelings and actions,
true, and World of Warcraft isn’t the first MMORPG to have said commandsystem implemented. Many do.
Just by doing the /laugh or /confused is emoting in itself, since it’s pre-scripted emotes done by Blizzard, which will
come out as “You laugh out loud.” and “You’re hopelessly confused.”
Now, as for the channels, there’re also different kinds of emoting, some good, some bad; whereas I will only explain
the first one in this chapter, and the 2 others in the next. Here’s the different kinds that stand out;
Attempt-emoting
Poweremoting/Godemoting
Metagaming
Simple is good enough
The problem doesn’t lie within the fact, that you write short emotes. Sometimes I do the same, yet I do long emotes,
whenever I can, because I’m taught to do so by yours truly. If you’re not good enough to do any long, perfect emotes,
without making it confusing, a simple, short emote will be enough to satisfy even the most hardcore roleplayer –
unless, say, they’re jerks. Again, don’t let people give you criticism without being constructive.
Attempts in emotes
Or Attempt-emoting, if you look at above 3 kinds of emoting. It sounds simpler than it is, because I still see many
people about, who have yet to figure this art of emoting out. So, here’s the very core of the art; attempt your actions!
Of course, you don’t have to attempt anything, and it can be in any form in fact. I’ll run you through it.
Attempts are used for anything you do against another character, creature or things. It can be anything from combat-
situations and cooking to healing and lockpicking. The second you don’t use attempts, it’s considered godemoting by
many, since you’re forcing an action onto a character.
By any event though, here are a few examples of proper use, if you want to be the proper roleplayer within the world
of Azeroth;

26. 25
Godemote/Metagame
I don’t know, if you’re common with the mentioning of godemoting, metagaming and poweremoting, so in this case –
I’ll explain them for you in as few details as possible. Even though it’s almost the same as proper emoting, it’s not and
will be frowned upon by the whole RP-community.
What is Godemoting?
Many people ask me that question, when I tell them to turn down the godemoting a nudge. The problem lays in the
fact, that godemoting is basically how to ‘force an action unto another character’. For example, if you don’t attempt to
hit someone in a barfight, but simply type out, that you hit said person.
“Power-emoting or god-emoting is an act of forcing the result of one's actions on another character, typically without
the other player's consent and not giving the other character a chance to do anything about the emote. For instance,
"Player1 kills Player2", "Player1 hits Player2" and "Player1 steals X gold from Player2" are all power-emotes.
Power-emoting is heavily frowned upon in most roleplaying communities, since it takes the freedom of action away
from the player being emoted on. The typical solution for this issue is to emote attempts instead of finished actions.
For example, typing "Player1 tries to stab Player2 in the chest with his sword" will give Player2 a chance to dodge or
parry the blow.
Some standard in-game emotes, such as /spit or /slap, can be considered power-emotes.” ~Wowwiki
Metagaming
“In role-playing games, metagaming can be defined as any out of character action made by a player's character which
makes use of knowledge that the character is not meant to be aware of.
Examples of metagaming include:
Adjusting a character's actions based on foreknowledge of the long-term intentions of the gamemaster.
Gaining knowledge from Out-Of Character.

27. 26
Using knowledge from a previously played or dead character.
Using certain types of attack or defense based on the strengths and weaknesses of an opponent that the
player's character is unaware of.
Acting on any knowledge that the character is not aware of (such as creating gunpowder in a Dark Ages or
Middle Ages setting).
Adjusting a character's behavior towards other player characters based on real-life relationships with other
players.
Using knowledge of the game's mechanics to gain an advantage in the game by having the character do
something incompatible with that character's personality.
Traditionally, metagaming is generally frowned upon in role-playing communities, as it upsets the suspension of
disbelief and affects game balance. However, some narrativist indie role-playing games deliberately support
metagaming in "Director stance" and encourage shared storytelling among players.” ~Wikipedia
Wikipedia just about covers it, but to make it easier to understand…
Metagaming in World of Warcraft is basically when you use your own knowledge to share with your character. Even
more simplified than that; Using OOC-knowledge ICly is bad mojo.
So, how do you avoid it over distances
Simple as it sounds – a list of things that can make it easier to communicate over distances;
Letters through the mailbox
A gnomish device
A bird/owl
A Gryphoncourier
A traveling mage
Might be others, your imagination counts here!
Use said things and you can communicate with people over distances without making it metagaming.
Thank you for reading!