Interview: Veluca #12

Today we bring you an interview with Veluca, who was so friendly to fly me to Greymane Manor. 

Thundercable: Would you share with us your afk age, gender and home country?

Veluca: I just hit 18 a few days ago in fact, Male, and the Republic of Ireland.

Thundercable: Is there a story behind your character's name?

Veluca: To some degree. You see, this character is in fact my first RP character, albeit an incredibly evolved version. The character was originally a rogue during my early days, so I wanted them to have a suitable sounding name, the name Veluca came to me in my head, and I liked it, I even ended up looking it up and whadda y'know, apparently the word "Veluca" was a term for "snake/poison" in some foreign language I've never heard of, so young me thought this was a great combination.

It was only months later down the line that I realised where my young brain had inadvertently pulled the name from, a game by the name of Mount & Blade, in which there is a city called Veluca, happens to be the biggest exporter of wine in that game.

Thundercable: Since when do you play WoW and how did you get into RP?

Veluca: Technically speaking I've been around since vanilla, though the majority of that experience was levelling a character on my neighbor's account while he was actually doing things with his life. I didn't get my own account until around a third of the way into TBC, though I didn't actually -do- a lot until like, mid-late Wrath.

As for RP, I was introduced to the idea by an old, old friend of mine, whom I still speak to to this day, from my previous server Saurfang. They essentially taught me what RP was and I ended up being intrigued. They then disappeared without a trace one day, a few months later I decided to make an alt on Argent Dawn to try out this RP thing, this was, if I recall, probably around 2011-2012 ... actually yeah, middle of 2012.

I started off, as mentioned earlier, as a rogue, and thus the bdrp hijinks ensued. One day I ended up seeing an advertisement in trade for a "mercenary RP guild", In my youth and inexperience I thought this was a great idea, so immediately whispered the advertiser, and was instantly invited, and somehow managed to become an officer due to doing the guild master a favor involving temporarily holding the GM position so that I could give it to their alt.

From there the leader decided that we'd instead abandon the mercenary act and become a house guild, and that I would play the younger sister of the house's leader ... we were, and this pains me now to admit it, "House Stark".

I legitimately did not know what Game of Thrones was at the time, so I did not know any better than to accept this as top quality RP for the next few months of my dreadful RP career.

Until I met a very dear friend of mine who spent the next few years RPing and fixing me and is probably the reason why I'm at least semi-competent these days.

Thundercable: Could you give us a short summary of Veluca's story?

Veluca: Well, to understand Veluca, it's kinda necessary to mention her IC husband: Danielus, since myself and the player behind said husband worked together to form the backstory, and a majority of the RP with these characters, they were also the person I mentioned meeting and teaching me how to properly RP after the "Stark" thing from the last question.

Veluca was set up in an arranged marriage at a very young age to a suitable ... uh ... suitor. But due to bad things ended up being forced to marry their brother, Danielus, the two didn't get along at first, due to Vel's youth, (14/15 at the time of marriage) and disliking the idea of being essentially given away as a present to people she didn't even know or like.

Eventually however the two did grow affection for one another, and lived together for several years until the nasty business in Gilneas with the worgen,. Both her and her husband were afflicted with the curse and escaped with the rest of the refugees to Darnassus. Vel for the most part stayed put whilst her husband went off on numerous misadventures through Kalimdor, fighting against the Horde in Ashenvale and doing wizard things until they resettled themselves in Stormwind, her husband becoming a merchant to support them, and amassing enough wealth to live rather comfortably in the city.

Her husband eventually took Veluca herself as an apprentice, and that's where we -actually- started role-playing. From there Veluca's gone a long way from being a simple apprentice at magic, barely able to fling a spell, to a fairly competent caster and summoner, who specializes in conjuring and manipulating Shadowflame under her husband's tutelage, and with a few pointers from the people she's met and the guilds ... well, mainly one guild, that she's been in.

Her closest thing to a goal is to learn everything she can and become a full-fledged magus under her husband's teachings, and mayhap one day have a family, something that has been a long-standing problem with the pair for their eleven year long marriage.

Thundercable: What is your favorite RP event you were part of on AD?

Veluca: I suppose my favorite event, well ... it's less of a singular event and more of a large event chain, was one from my favorite guild, The Eldritch Covenant.

The event in question being a month-long guild expedition through Kalimdor, it was just after a server-wide event in Northrend, the name of which escapes me ... around July-August 2014.

The entire expedition was a massive month-long trip, that I have many fond memories from, and met many friends during, though in particular, the highlight for me was how -alive- everything actually felt. No matter what time it was there would always be -something- happening. You could log in whenever and dive into a continuous ongoing camp RP with people having been there role-playing and discussing things for hours before you even arrived.

It truly felt alive and really hammered home a very warm feeling of community, that there would just always be something happening. Others who were there might view it as nothing major, but to me that in itself was special, and that doesn't even begin to touch on the events which were always terrifically fun and engaging as well.

Thundercable: If you could change things in WoW to improve the RP experience what would that be?

Veluca: I suppose the first thing I'd do perhaps is trying to figure out a more tangible way to explain the game's lore to players in-game.

Having quest text and books containing little nuggets of lore is fine and dandy until you realise only about a tenth of players actually pay attention to either of those things.

I'm not sure entirely how they'd manage it or go about it, but it would give more people a reason to actually get invested and give role-play a go perhaps. Reading through endless pages of wikis and lore videos when I was getting started with RP was quite daunting, and might just outright turn other people off the idea. While they're at it, Blizzard could probably do with fixing a bunch of some of the more vague and broken aspects of their universe's lore.

As for improving the functionality for those of us already here, well ... there's not much to say that hasn't already been said, more in-depth customisation, some form of cross-faction speech that doesn't involve metamorphosed warlocks or being in Ashran, communal instances for guilds perhaps.

The only other things I can think of are a bit biased towards my own preferences as a warlock RPer: Glyphs to allow more customisation of our demons perhaps, different recolors, a better system for naming our demons, etc.

Thundercable: Three short questions: What's your favorite place to be in WoW, what's your favorite tavern and who is your favorite NPC?

Veluca: Favorite place. Uh ... to be honest, I'm quite fond of Gilneas, though of course, I almost never have a reason to be here OOC, and none at all to be here IC, so I rarely get to see it.

Favorite tavern, The Slaughtered Lamb, a lot of fond memories of RP there, plus it's quite the cosy little place, setting aside the crypt and the warlocks and demons below.
And favorite NPC ... hm, that's a toss up between Mistress Nagmara, the succubus from the Grim Guzzler, I always liked her quest of getting the potion for her so she'd unlock the door ... or Blackheart the Inciter from Shadow Labyrinth, for all the horrifying but amusing memories of him mind controlling the entire party to murder the healer whilst all you could do was sit and watch it happen.

Thundercable: Is there a person you would like to see me interview next, and do you have a question you would like to ask that person?

Veluca: The only one I could think of being appropriate off the top of my head would be Arlemont, The Eldritch Covenant's guild master and a very good friend of mine, and unlike me isn't a complete nobody and has somewhat of a reputation among the forum community.

Thundercable: Thank you for the interview and for your time! 

Interview: Flamecog #11

Today we bring you the first interview of Magnet who interviewed Flamecog. Enjoy!

Magnet: Thank you for taking the time to sit down and have a chat with me. Firstly, mind telling me a bit about yourself? How long have you been playing WoW, how did you start role-play, etc.

Flamecog: Hello, thank you for having me! I started playing WoW early Cata when my brother introduced it to me. I began RPing a few months before Mists of Pandaria on an undead hunter.

Magnet: Did you start off on Argent Dawn, or did you begin with PvE/PvP?

Flamecog: I started off on Grim Batol, a PvP server. But I never got to cap, I changed server to Argent Dawn before I got to 85. My brother taught me how to do a basic emote on Horde. I found a guild called the Reavers of Wolfbane and joined that, I was incredibly new to RP but somehow got accepted. I learned RP through that guild.

Magnet: That was you then, what about now? What made you become Slozi Shadeshank, or Phineas Flamecog?
Flamecog: Well, I became an officer in that guild before leaving it. Then I went around a few guilds, a few different characters and such. I feel my RP was only good when I started to RP Slozi, and then I made Flamecog. My experience was molded by the people who RPed with those two characters.
Magnet: Anyone in particular you'd like to give a shout out?
 
Flamecog: Hmm. Nimsil, Magnet, some of the GTA members perhaps

- like Flinkz and the officers. Razkul too, he led the Wolfbane!
 
Magnet: Great. So, how do you feel about Argent Dawn now? What do you think about the Horde RP scene on AD? Or the RP scene on AD in general?

Flamecog: The RP scene is good and bad in my opinion. I find the common Orgrimmar or Stormwind RP to be boring a lot of the time, and some things that can be seen as exotic are turned down quite a bit. But there are a number of great people out in the world. I recently joined The Unsworn Collective, which is a good example of this.

Magnet: Things that can be exotic? Can you give any examples?

Flamecog: Characters who are not exactly like the rest of their race. Or things like enhancing age with magic, and generally having a big history.

Magnet: You're known (or were) as an overseer of the GTA. What is the GTA? How did it begin? And, just recently, how/why did it end?

 
Flamecog: The GTA is a group of gnomish military men who defended their local area of all threats. I joined half way through, but it was made by Flinkz. It ended because of the lack of activity and the fact that people lost interest somewhat. So instead of letting it drag out we decided to end it. It was a hard choice, but a good one.

Magnet: Also, what has been your most memorable community event/campaign?

Flamecog: My most memorable one? That is quite hard. Most likely the most recent one that was held in Vash'jir about Naga.

Magnet: What game changes would you like to see from Blizzard to improve the role-playing in WoW?

Flamecog: Cross-faction communication is a large thing that many role-players would like to see. It would help in campaign RP for sure, and provide more interesting RP. Who wouldn't want contacts in Orgrimmar?

Magnet: Lastly, who's your favourite NPC in WoW?

Flamecog: A very hard question! I really like warlocks and mages in lore, so many characters stick out to me. If I had to say one though, I'd go for Medivh or Kanrethad Ebonlocke. Most likely Medivh.

Magnet: Thanks for the interview!

Interview: Varoneth #10

 
Today we bring you a interview with Varoneth. Enjoy!

Thundercable: I start my interviews with three personal questions, you don't need to answer at all. But I find it interessting to see the persons behind the avatars for a bit at least. I would be interessted to know your age, gender and home country.

Varoneth: I am a nineteen year old male from Sweden.

Thundercable: Coming to your avatar's background. Is there a story behind your name?

Varoneth: Not really, no. When I come up with names for my characters I go to the wowwiki pages to the according race and I read through the name list, I was however very surprised that Varoneth was not taken already.

Thundercable: How long have you been playing WoW and how did you get into RP?

Varoneth: I have been playing WoW since the release of TBC which is uh ... A few years, I have no clue how long it's been to be honest but it has been quite a while, loved every second. -- And RP would uh ... Since late last year? I remember attending the Lunar Festival event on my alt where I got into (and fell in love with) Kaldorei RP.

Thundercable: Can you tell me a little bit about that festival and what was so special about it?

Varoneth: Well, we walked from Ashenvale, Astranaar through a few places on the way, up through Felwood and through the furbolg tunnel and into Moonglade where we celebrated through the evening and night. Was lovely seeing the more happy and mortal sides of characters where they honored their lost ones and celebrated the goddess. I also remember a bonding celebration in Moonglade which was kind of fun too.

Thundercable: What is the story of Varoneth?

Varoneth: She is the child of a druid father and a huntress mother, both very old members of the Kaldorei society. Her father tried to train her into a druidess but that didn't work out too well so her mother shaped her into a very talented sentinel to continue the mother's legacy (who had become too old to continue fighting). She was trained through many sentinel academies like the Silverwing Sentinels and Feathermoon. Being called to duty many times through the recent history like the cultist invasion on Hyjal where she lost her father and the Siege of Orgrimmar.

Thundercable: What are the goals she wants to achieve?

Varoneth: Safekeeping her people and the forest, combating the worst foe of the world, the Legion.

Thundercable: Can you tell me a little bit about the people she is with or better about the guild you are currently with. What is their story?

Varoneth: Keep in mind that these are the opinions of me and not the overall consensus of my guild or its members.
She is in the guild Shadowleaf Watchers who are a collection of brave Kaldorei men and women who, rather than protect certain towns/settlements/lands like the sentinels do, primarily hunt criminals or enemies who threaten innocent people, mostly being Kaldorei, however sometimes it's also people who threaten the safety of any. Sometimes on the orders of the (priestesses of the moon) temple.
And the Watchers were those who followed Maiev way back as jailors of the Kaldorei race.
I can imagine my guild leader will smack me if I get anything wrong here.

Thundercable: Then let's not lose any more words about it. Is there any other event or story that is one of your favorites you have encountered the past year?

Varoneth: Any event involving Acrona's hosting, simple as that. Nisharil as well, the Astranaar city hours and the Moonrise events are just lovely to attend and meet others, and the festival of the twin bears was -amazing-, I am glad Acrona is a part of this community.

Thundercable: How do you think about the RP scene on AD in general?
And have you ever played on other RP servers?

Varoneth: Both good and bad, everything has both good and bad sides and AD isn't an exception. I think that it mostly depends on with what kind of role-play you surround yourself. I have been on the server for a while so I know where you find better and where you find worse role-play. It is however the best role-play scene I have ever come across. -- And no, I have not. I wouldn't dare betray my friends I have made here ... Alsothey'renotasgood. :x

Thundercable: Could you tell us where to find the better side of RP on AD and why it is the better side?

Varoneth: The better side is IMHO anywhere a little bit away from human lands, humans being the most popular race most people would logically pick one of those when trying Argent Dawn. And they either go to Goldshire or Stormwind, the latter one becoming a hub for all kinds of RP, lowering the general quality of it all when Stormwind gives every role-play at least one or two people to RP with even if they tend to break lore or powergame. Giving them approval and they sort of get into this idea of continuing to role-play their more disliked RP ideas in Stormwind, thus many of the very serious role-players go elsewhere, some travelling around a lot like mercenary bands or sellswords. However I'm not gonna lump everyone together into one, I know there's a very good RP guild in Darkshire and the Crimson Insurrection looks very promising so far.

Thundercable: What are some criteria that make for a good RP experience? Think of things that in your opinion are important for RP to be become fun for you. What do you need for a RP session to be a good one?

Varoneth: Well, I don't want to seem like an elitist or a jerk here but ... Good grammar, quite quick response with emotes and enough text in the emotes to emote back against. Otherwise I feel it becomes awkward when me and the other person don't understand each other.

Thundercable: Playing WoW I very often run into guys playing girls (including myself). What do you think is a reason why people play opposite gender characters?

Varoneth: I heard a fairly fun statement a while ago in a discussion about this: "If you're going to stare at a persons behind for hours on end, then I'm not surprised many guys play female characters". And I actually don't know why that is, I do it too and I can only assume that they prefer the model or they prefer the role-play coming from playing a female character. I'm not going to go into the whole ERP part of reasons but that can play a part too ... I assume.

Thundercable: People that don't play WoW or videogames talk about the terms Real Life and Game. How do you think about that? Would you say playing WoW had something to do with your real life or not at all?

Varoneth: Not personally, no. However, I know that many, many people have met life-long friends, lost friends and found mates for life due to World of Warcraft. Being a very social-demanding game that's been around for so long it's inevitable that many people have had World of Warcraft involved in their lives, both major and minor. And I don't think that's really possible anymore with games nowadays, the social aspect has gone away and replaced with much more single-player aimed games that have hit the mainstream. But I do truly think World of Warcraft is really one of its kind, of course along with Everquest and older MMOs.

Thundercable: If you could change game mechanics within WoW to improve RP what would that be?

Varoneth: Cross-faction communication, the ability to get instanced versions of zones without NPCs that walk around everywhere and ruin immersion.

Thundercable: Three short questions: What is your favorite place to be in WoW, what's your favorite tavern and who is your favorite NPC?

Varoneth: My favorite place to be in would probably happend to be ... Kun-lai, I love the sight of the mountains to the north with the snow-caps and the grass and such down to the bottom, very beautiful.
My favorite tavern is the one in Booty Bay, I just love the design of it with the bridge at the top and the two rooms and the upstairs, downstairs.
My absolute favorite NPC is Blingtron, I can't say no to free stuff. ;)

Thundercable: Is there someone you would like to see interviewed next and is there a question you would like to see answered by this person?

Varoneth: Perhaps Thornroot or Didonius? A question for them ... Hm. Maybe their best memory of Argent Dawn?

Thundercable: Anything else you would like to share or add? Any shout outs?

Varoneth: A shout out to you, you deserve it for taking the time in your day to do this. It's very interesting to see what different role-players think of each other and how they are behind the character.

Thundercable: That's very kind of you. Thank you, and thank you so much for your time and your interview.

Guilds: Crimson Shadow Order #1

Fuse: Hello Erebus. I'll start by asking in as simple words as possible to give us a little information on what your guild is about?

Erebus: Our guild is basically the reborn Scarlet Crusade raised as Forsaken and now dedicated to the Forgotten Shadow, their mission is still to retake Lordaeron but not it's retaking Lordaeron for the Forsaken rather than the living.

Fuse: So you're essentially Scarlets that work for the Dark Lady (Sylvanas)?

Erebus: Pretty much, though our order never admits to people they are the Scarlets they've taken a new name now and while they do serve Sylvanas they see themselves having a higher purpose of being the army of the Forgotten Shadow of fighting a holy war. The order see the Dark Lady as a saint, an agent of the Shadow's will.

Fuse: Sounds interesting, could you tell me a bit about how you go around doing this through events with your members or possibly other guilds? How does the Crimson Shadow Order begin to go about it's mission.

Erebus: The first is through sermons and converting fellow Forsaken to what the order believes is the "True path to Ascension" and the "true virtues." There's many different schools of thought on the Forgotten Shadow and no two priests agree on what's right, so.

The Crimson are trying to bring the Forsaken onto what they consider the right path, we're often seen in Brill preaching and arguing with other faithful.

We have a lot of private rituals for the guild, religious ceremonies conducted in secret to venerate the shadow.

We've also been going off into the world, taking the fight to agents of the Light either in DM'd events such as our attack on the cathedral in Gilneas. Or in RP-PvP like our event with the Rotgarde fighting Undaunted Unity in Durnholde.

Fuse: Let's go back to those Sermons could you possibly give me an example of a section of what you might say during it?

Erebus: "Borthers and sisters of the Shadow, remember always the lessons and the gifts the shadow has bestowed upon us, abandon the notions of Compassion, let there be no mercy in your Shadow Essence, for to do so is to fly in virtue of Power and Death. Remember always that the living would see us undone, they hate us, scorn us for we are strong they are weak, we shall Ascend when they can not, they cower, they hide, they suckle upon the festering milk of the Light and the shackles it bestows."

Fuse: Nice. Could you tell me a bit now how the Crimson Shadow Order interact with other religious Forgotten Shadow representatives as you stated there's sometimes disagreements if I'm correct?

Erebus: That's correct, that's partly why I wanted to get involved in Shadow RP I loved the lore surrounding the differing cult. For the most path we get on with other faithful. A lot of our disagreements come down to the wording of our faith rather than the actual spirit of the faith if that makes sense?

For instance there are three core virtues, Respect, Tenacity and Power there are then two lesser virtues Compassion and Death and it differs from cult to cult about what are virtures are not beyond the core three. Most Shadow RPers just RP that all five virtues are valid, which is fine that's one way to interpret the teachings icly. But our Order forsakes the virtue of Compassion, they say it's a corrupting and damaging influence.

For the most part when we argue with other faith, when it comes down to it what other orders see as Compassion our order sees as Respect. Our orders are able to agree to disagree upon the wording and go our merry way.

There is another guild however The Ravensun that practice Compassion to such a degree they allow others races into their cult, our order can't stand that so there's always tension between our orders. There's been at least one trial of combat between our two orders thus far, people speculate there may be more in the future. Who knows? it's exciting to see it play out.

Fuse: I see you've acquired rivalry and partnership with differentiating guilds. Let's speak about the partnership, you spoke about doing RP-PvP with the Rotgarde? how does work there.

Erebus: Between us and the Rotgade or between us and the Alliance?

Fuse: Between yourselves and the Rotgarde.

Erebus: ICly there's a pretty good relationship between ourselves and the Rotgarde, they've brought us along on missions to lend support in the past so when it came down to us tracking down the undaunted unity in Hillsbrad and we realised we were outmanned. We turned to the Rotgarde for help, who it turns out had been hunting the unity as well. While we're not the best of friends there's a level of respect between our orders icly, that may not be completely comfortable with the fact we look like Scarlets but they know we're loyal to the Forsaken people and will do what needs to be done. And of course our order respects them for their military might. Also the Rotgarde have always been really good to us OOCly, they're a great lot and I can't say enough good things about them.

Fuse: Excellent. Let's go to your guilds thoughts on the Alliance and light users.

Erebus: We love them, especially in white mushroom sauce with a glass of red wine.

Fuse: Sounds delicious.

Erebus: The alliance are bad enough for our order, those were scarlets before raised as Forsaken feel abandoned by the Alliance and in death they remember that resentment. They hate them because the Dark Lady is at war with them, and they hate them because they're living.

As for users of the Light, they represent everything the shadow stands against. They see it as a corrupting force, one that enslaves people that makes everyone weaker as a whole. Our order wants nothing more then to wipe the Light from the face of Azeroth, this is also our order's ultimate goal to usher in an age that Erebus saw in a "vision" called the age of shadow.

Fuse: This all great insight into your interaction and views with certain areas, how about we go onto the next question what inspired you to create this guild or who?

Erebus: The Scarlet Cursade actually back in MoP I was running another guild ally side and we ran through the new Crusadae dungeons together, it sort of work up this dormant love I had for Scarlet RP, it brought me back to a guild I used to RP with on my old server. The Scarlet missionary and I wanted to find a way to bring back Scarlet RP. I mean at the time there were lots of Scarlet Guilds allaince side but I always felt the whole "We survived the Forsaken and Voss and are now seeking redemption." line was a bit.... tired and weak?

It's about that time I happened to stumble upon the cult of the Forgotten shadows lore and the entire thing just seemed to click, to me the real core of the Crusade wasn't the Light persay. It was about the corruption, the power and the zealotry, the Forgotten Shadow seemed to work best in that favour, it looked to me like something that would work with the Crusade. So I can up with the idea of Forsaken who were cursaders trying to rebuild the order in that direction.

Fuse: You found an excellent way to do so, is there any last things you wish to add about your guild?

Erebus: Only that we're always looking for more poeple to join us and we're looking for more guilds to interact with horde side and alliance.

Fuse: Would you like to finish off with thanking any players or guilds that have assisted you so far?

Erebus: Yeah I really want to thank Perroy and the Rotgarde when we started working on this guild we didn't know anything about the landscape horde side (We're all originally ally players) and they approached us through a mutual friend and were super friendly along with being helpful.

I want to thank the Hand of Agony for inviting us to their larger events like the harvest it was a good way to meet old and new forsaken roleplayers. I want to thank the Ravensun for being such great heretics, also they invited us to a sermon which introducted us to all the forsaken roleplayers in Brill. The Undaunted Unity and the Gilnean Royal Guild for the RP-PvP.

Fuse: Thank you for allowing me to interview you, I wish you luck in your guild and hope this gives a little more insight towards other players that are still unsure about it!

Erebus: Thank you for the interview, I really enjoyed it, I look forward to reading your future ones with other guilds.

Guild: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/15161253285#1

Interview: Boush #9

Today we bring you an interview with Boush, a happily married sky pirate from Ratchet. Enjoy!

Firewire: As you might already know my first questions are: Your afk age, gender and home country.

Boush: 21 years old, Male, Finland.

Firewire: So let's dive right in. You just told me that someone made fan art of your character. How did that happen?

Boush: The first picture with Boush's grin was actually some free sketch Rickarla made for me, as I won the lottery in her art thread (got randomly chosen). The other two are commissions, since I like her style, especially how she draws goblins. I am not very good at drawing anatomy myself, nor motion or different poses so it felt natural to ask an artist like her.

Firewire: Commission means you paid her to draw the pictures?

Boush: Yes, in gold (heh). The armor one was 30k, and the old spice one was 5k.

Firewire: That's an interesting way of gold making I must say.

Boush: Well, with her talent and how happy I am with the result, I can't complain. Money well deserved.

Firewire: How do you use your fan art for WoW role-play? Do you just show it off on the forums, or is there any other use of the art?

Boush: It's really mostly for myself to look at and get a gleeful smile. But people have been making points in RP about how his armor looks so heavy and so magnificent, how does he manage with it and/or did he craft it himself? So yeah, it creates RP in a minor sense for those that are interested about the character more deeply. But for a complete randomer? Not so much. I don't push it into other people's faces really.

Firewire: Would you tell us since when you play WoW and what brought you into RP?

Boush: I've been playing since vanilla on a shared account, but got my own around TBC since my cousin wanted the account for himself. My first own character was a tauren shaman called Nakasu, on Sunstrider PVP server. But I truly began RPing at the end of TBC, near the beginning of WotLK back on The Sha'tar RP server. Years passed and stuff happened, and now I'm here. So around eight years of RP in total.

Firewire: If you need to guess, how many different characters did you play in these eight years?

Boush: I had Nakasu, the shaman, Naani, a female tauren druid, and Anselm, undead warrior. Also an undead rogue named Tristan or something, but that was pretty much it.

Firewire: And Boush of course, right?

Boush: Oh yeah. When I got to Argent Dawn, Boush developed one year after my arrival. Then came Hokima, my Zandalari troll, and later Pavoka, my monster hunter. I also have a few other minor characters but they're not nearly as relevant for me. Pavoka's a tauren. Also drew him a couple of days ago:

http://lu0l4mursu.deviantart.com/art/Pavoka-Thunderhorn-colored-With-text-and-lore-557463752

Firewire: Looking back, who of these did you play the most, or did you have the most fun with?

Boush: Boush, of course. He's been my main ever since I created him. I have had so many fun things with him both IC and OOC that I can't even start counting them all. He's really the joker and smile bringer of the group for me. And he's also the most invested character, with Hokima being a close second and Pavoka on 3rd place. Boush is also my most visible avatar, so many people recognize him both IC and OOC, and I have a lot of friends OOC and IC over him.

Firewire: Could you maybe tell us a little bit about Boush then? Maybe a little story that shows what kind of goblin/guy he is?

Boush: Sure thing. Boush hails from the Undermine, from one of its most notorious slums. He was sold to slavery for mines by his mother when he was around five, because times were hard and he wouldn't survive without food in their home anyway. A fortunate gas explosion destroyed the foreman camp and burnt the records, during which he was able to escape the mines and scurried to the streets. There he survived with the other street rascals, doing what job he could, and stole food and other things to stay alive. He also picked up his craft of engineering around that time, and later found his father, with who he started a diving company. Things happened and his father died, and he wanted out from Undermine. He sold his mother to the alchemists union and paid a trip to Kalimdor to work under Gazlowe. He has been just about everywhere, from constructing Orgrimmar to the Isle of Conquest oil rig assembly. He's not a stranger to neutrality either, and he's been working as far away as Ironforge and Stormwind. These days he's a hardened tinker and a warrior who takes no crap from people who try to push him around. He's married to a lovely goblin lady called Kreena, they currently have two children, and live in Ratchet above his workshop.

(For anyone who has met Boush, he has a good sense of humour and a positive view on life, even with all the crap in it.)

Firewire: That opens up a lot of questions. I hope you got time. First I'd like to ask you about the story of Undermine. It's a goblin city right? But it's not in the game at the moment, correct?

Boush: Aye. It's located on one of the islands near Kezan, or below it. There are sources that differ, but it's basically a big GTA style town with notorious slums, and glamorous trade princes' palaces right next to each other. What became of it after Cataclysm since Kezan's eruption is unknown.

Firewire: Is Undermine the birthplace of all goblins? What role does the city take within goblin society?

Boush: Not all goblins, but it was their first home. Since goblins were slaves to the trolls. But after absorbing the strange effects from Kaja-mite which made them intelligent, they overthrew the trolls and established their home under the mountain. It's home to many trade princes and different goblin organizations such as the alchemists' and the tinkers' unions, so I imagine it's got a ring to it. But goblins are a widespread, opportunistic race, so they don't care much for their roots, I'd wager. Boush for one enjoys Ratchet over all things.

Firewire: Second: You mentioned that Boush worked in Ironforge and Stormwind. Is that lore you invented, or was that RP that actually happend in game?

Boush: Obviously it's a bit hard to RP in the said places as a goblin, but it's part of his story. I also got several stories of his visits and time there written down, but due to some of them containing adult material, I don't publish them as they are. I have a few more forum aimed stories for those, though, but still in progress. But to answer how'd he end up in said cities; First he went to work during one Winter Veil in Ironforge. Things happened, he got hooked up with one gnome girl he met around the time he spent there and they had a short relationship. Meanwhile he worked for a dwarf as a fixer, as he was rather skilled with some machinery. Eventually he began craving back for Ratchet, but the gnome wouldn't leave Ironforge, so they split on good terms. He went for Stormwind to hitch a ride with other neutrals, but ended up working a couple of weeks in the dwarven district before leaving with a caravan to Stranglethorn, from there to Tel'Abim, and then back to Ratchet.

Firewire: That brings me to my third question. Boush is married to Kreena at the moment. They both have two children with each other. I'm guessing this is a player to player relationship as well? Does it end within the borders of WoW RP or not?

Boush: Not at all, we're a pair IRL as well. She's my girlfriend who lives in Norway.

Firewire: That's quite a distance still. Did you two meet in WoW for the first time? Or did you know each other before that?

Boush: Aye. We met almost eight years ago in WoW, but the feelings we have these days developed roughly four years ago. We have our third anniversary in the winter. The distance is long, but I am working to move there myself, learn the language and start work.

Firewire: Is there a date of the wedding already?

Boush: Hah, not at all. We live day by day, we don't really plan too much ahead. But I could well imagine that happening.

Firewire: Meeting a girl in a game, then deciding to live with that girl in a different country, learning a different language sounds pretty life changing to me. Would you say that WoW is more than just a game?

Boush: It's the world's biggest dating site, hah. But for real, I think I'd never have this fluent and good grasp on English without it, nor so vast amount of cultural knowledge. If anything, it's a phase I'd recommed everyone to try at least once in their life. You also meet great people like Fyne, Perroy, Mance, Moody, Matowa, Dark, and many others, sharing awesome tales about IRL and other stuff.

Firewire: Let's make a swing back into the realm of RP. Would you share your favorite storyline or RP event with us, at least a short version of it?

Boush: Ahh, what a tough question. I really have so many good ones, but I got to say I -really- enjoyed the Gnometheus even we had with the Iron Vulture. We were hunting for an ancient gnome artifact, Bloat (Fyne), Djem, Moody and me. We also had our NPC crew - like Murder, the gnoll - with us. We ended up fighting Zandalari trolls and sea monsters, before finally catching an epic gnome artifact, ending with a small cinematic some person had made of it. And then there was the Abyss campaign, during which the crew (the same combo) and Feranos with his ogre and Ransul from Blackguard fought off a group of naga and killed their warlord together, with me as a DM. It was amazing. All in all, best part about Iron Vulture, while they're rare, are the events. I also have many warm memories of The Hallowed Balls, all of which I host annually during Hallow's End.

Firewire: Purely out of personal interest I'm coming back to your monster hunter character you mentioned earlier. I always thought that WoW would make an awesome monster hunter game, if they would just add something like a list, or a card collection for every monster you kill, you catch, or whatever. How does your RP monster hunter work out? Like how do you play a monster hunter IC?

Boush: Most of his ventures are stories I write, the latest one being his black dragon hunt, as it is quite hard to find evil RPers that want their characters get killed/hunted. Most of the RP comes from people asking about him and him telling stories about how he got each trophy of his armor he carries (he wears a set of trophies on his armor and braids a strand of his mane in honor of the hunt). But there was a moment during WoD when he helped to kill a Gronn, or well, actually solo killed it, since the melee had such a terrible time killing it.

Firewire: Could you tell us a little bit about the story of the guild you are currently in, so others get a picture what you guys are up to?

Boush: We're the best airship pirates the Azeroth has ever known; The Crew of Iron Vulture! We're the terror of the skies, liberating dead (and alive) people of the burden of their pockets' and belongings' weight, working for our own goals. With the ship crashed, the crew is scattered around the world to make up money to get the great machine back up to the sky, to blot out the sun. We're led by the infamous Captain Carnage, the best goblin pirate there is to this date on Azeroth.

http://lu0l4mursu.deviantart.com/art/The-Iron-vulture-454633274

Firewire: Do you have any ideas how to change WoW to improve the RP experience, beside toy cooldowns, armor customization, and cross-faction communication?

Boush: Remove orks. No but seriously, add more customization in the sense of your character's looks; Update worgen and goblin models, give us the ability to haul bags, banners and the like, not just the armor/gear we wear. That's about it really, since WoW is otherwise a pretty good RP ground, all things considered.

Firewire: Usually I ask people what their favorite place in WoW is. You seem to have a special relationship to Ratchet. Could you tell us a little more about it?

Boush: It's really the look of it that I enjoy. I mean I love Kezan, Booty Bay and other places too, but ever since I first started WoW, these places have always been the set up places of "adventure". Taking a ship or wyvern to start an epic adventure of some sorts, but first taking a look in the greedy goblin town to see if there's anything you might need for your travels. That, and it's run by Gazlowe, my 2nd favourite lore character.

Firewire: Who is your favorite than?

Boush: Cairne Bloodhoof, hands down. Epic bull, got me into WoW the first time I started. That guy had serious charisma, and an amazing storyline and personality. Was really sad to see such a good character go.

Firewire: Is there someone you would like me to interview next, and would you like to ask that person a certain question?

Boush: Perroy, definitely. And ask him how'd he end up in the Forsaken RP scene in the first place, never asked him.

Firewire: Anything else you'd like to share or add? Any shout outs?

Boush: If anything, big shout outs to Brigante and the Sunhawks, and the late Gnomish Territorial Army. Both guilds are/were amazing and have wonderful people in them, all of which I have had great pleasure RPing with.

Firewire: Thank you so much for your time and this interview. It always blows my mind how many nice people you can meet while playing a videogame. All the best to you!

Boush: Likewise. It has been a pleasure, truly. Looking forward to RPing with you.

Interview: Hrothgarr #8

Today we bring you an interview with Hrothgarr, whose name doesn't need more introduction. Enjoy. 

Firewire: At what place would we have met if you would still play WoW?

Hrothgarr: The gazebo area by the Cathedral of the Holy Light.

Firewire: Why do you think that so many people want to read an interview with you?

Hrothgarr: I can only speculate that they seek some form of entertainment and that the sensationalist and controversial acts of the past that I did makes them think reading an interview about me would be entertaining.

Also that a lot of disinformation was put out there, half-truths about me that were spread and people believed. Some players might even be genuinely curious to find things out, since you know, half a truth is a whole lie.

Firewire: Would you tell us why you quit WoW?

Hrothgarr: Partly because of having less time to actually create mass RP events, maintain groups and sustain plotlines. Getting into the pyramid (the current world job system) greatly reduced my free time. And partly because I was using the spare time that I had left to search and research various texts and writings. It was a period in which I was thirsty for knowledge.

Firewire: So from the perspective of not knowing any events from Hrothgarr at all, I would be very interested to know what it was you were doing back when you were active. Candy told me you were some kind of Varys.

Hrothgarr: Well before the whole controversy I used to create military events, take part in tournaments, run a council and basically help people on their quests and events.

The decline started with the "Hrothgate" scandal where I gave some gold to another player and told him to join a guild, spy on it and later disrupt it from within. The guild was a rebellion guild and I was in the Royal Court back then. The player I tasked with this operation then leaked screenshots of our chats, in which I behaved in a delusional manner. I even tried to defend myself on an alt when that leak was made public, being quite desperate at seeing the scope of the reaction.

After the uproar of that event I basically tried using the controversy to have fun since a lot of people thought they knew me only by those screenshots and straightaway labeled me as scum and judged me as toxic. Rather than try to convince them otherwise I somewhat acted out their villain fantasy. So I used that controversy to grab attention here and there, create political RP and to mirror what is going on in reality with the secret societies and all.

Looking back, of course I realize that I thrashed whatever reputation I had left and made it impossible for a lot of players to accept me, but I also made it impossible for them to accept politics and political leaders, which I think is a good for awakening. The AD generation might not be so easily swayed by a political speech and a public event anymore, due to all the drama they experienced from me and not only.

As a note, even though Hrothgarr enjoyed obtaining personal power, his end goal was to genuinely help people become independent and free from any bond, power in itself didn't mean anything to him if he couldn't actually leave behind something good for the "community". He employed devious tactics against what he saw as devious people, aka demon cults, criminal groups etc., and cared for simple folk.

Firewire: Was your reputation loss also a reason why you left the scene?

Hrothgarr: The rep loss is a small part of the qutting too, most of the reason was the constraint on time. But yeah it's not very fun when you have a few hours to play each day and don't have players with which to build RP plotlines and make things happen because you're being avoided.

Firewire: What is your most favorite story you played out (created by yourself or by others).

Hrothgarr: That has to be the Outlawed Wizard one. I also played a mage called Lhanor Lancaster Leyhand, which was a cult hunter. After a lord Black arrived at the Royal Court pleading with the guild about a murderous cult in Raven Hill, the wizard went on to investigate and found another lord, Harlkir Slock, there, performing dark rituals.

After gathering a few guilds and storming the place, the Raven Hill cult was broken and the lord fled, later his uncle Musse appealed to the Court to execute Leyhand for attacking a lord, since Leyhand was a commoner. There's a lot to say about this plot that lasted about a month and I don't want to bore the readers with a wall of text containing every detail so I'll mention the important parts.

After Leyhand returned to Stormwind, the Court Magistrate Sebastean de Wynther, being controlled by the Slock lord, issued an unlawful exile and banned the wizard from the city.

For essentially dismantling a demon cult Leyhand was led out of the capital being spat on and insulted by the crowd gathered by the Slocks. That's how he became the "Outlawed Wizard". Past the city gates he felt like collapsing but then he found faith in the Light which sustained him, began traveling to the neighbouring provinces, stirring people up against the corrupt nobles all the while keeping contact with a Court servant named Ahsoka who infiltrated Slock's cult.

The story ends with Harlkir Slock being assassinated by the infitltrator and Leyhand's exile being revoked. A lot of feeling in that story and quite some people involved, also it is noteworthy to say that the person who played Harlkir Slock was the same Estsold who leaked the screenshots and started the controversy.

Firewire: Sidequestion: How many years have you been playing WoW? Did you RP from the start? How did you get into RPing anyway?

Hrothgarr: WoW all started on the first realm I played on, Scarshield Legion. I started playing a month or so before TBC came out. Was quite a noob back then, but I always liked the idea of RP, from childhood I used to play Star Wars with my friends outside, having Jedi and Sith factions and battling it out with sticks. It still baffles me why people think Sith are cool and why they like being the bad boy. (Maybe because it's being presented this way by the entertainment). Jedi teaches you a lot of useful stuff like self-control and discipline.

Firewire: PvE players talk about older expansions and the golden times of WoW. Is there something similar for RP too? Were the old RP days better?

Hrothgarr: It was simpler ... back on SSL. Goldshire was actually a peaceful and uncorrupted place. I think the golden times of RP on AD were before the Hrothgate scandal that basically changed the landscape and I don't mean it in an arrogant way, just that after people saw it many also started plotting and scheming even moreso than before and the whole idea of RP got way mixed in OOC agendas. The golden days for me were when I was an early member of the Royal Court and saw how Amonothen and Didonus went about creating events, writing stuff on AA, they had a very professional way and did quality work. People on the realm were more peaceful back then, there were neat events going on every month and less tension, so that is the golden age for me.

Firewire: People that don't play WoW or video games talk about the terms Real Life and Game. How do you think about that? Would you say playing WoW had something to do with your real life or not at all?

Hrothgarr: I think it's in a way silly to divide the two saying "Game and Real Life". The game exists in real life and real people play the game. But thanks for the question because playing the game really did have an effect on me as a person. Without all that's happened to me through it I wouldn't be who I am today.

It changed me in some ways, the scandal put a lot of pressure on me, the public outrage felt like an online lynching and it taught me self-control and patience, made me realize that I was being delusional and gave me an opportunity to correct myself.

Also something very real about the online game experience is that you get to interact with people and know how people react to certain things. I always had this in mind when I interacted with people in the outside world and it helped me avoid mistakes and discern what people feel in certain situations.

Online gaming is in fact an experience simulation generator and can be used to prepare you, to realize what you're doing wrong and to have a correct approach to real situations, the key condition to all this is discernment.

What's MOST important however: You cannot win through infamy and deception. This is the most important lesson I gained.

Firewire: Is gaming something that needs to get overcome then? (if it prepares)

Hrothgarr: That's a difficult question, if gaming controls you then yes it needs to be overcome. The experience simulator (gaming) is a tool, just like the internet. It is not inherently evil or good, it depends how you use it. Anyone can put out information on the internet. TV on the other hand is a filter, all information is filtered. You cannot use the tool, it can only be used ON you. (These questions are good because they make people think).

Firewire: Is there any chance you come back for a short period of time even? Or are you done with WoW RP for good?

Hrothgarr: I don't rule out the possibility for a short come back if there's a really good idea and people to play with. Even so, the time I have is not much and I use it to spread info, research, spend time with my family and getting to know God.

Firewire: Three short questions: Your favorite place to be in WoW, your favorite tavern and your favorite NPC?

Hrothgarr: Stormwind City, Pig and Whistle, King Varian Wrynn.

Firewire: Is there someone you would like me to interview and is there a question you would like to see answered by that person?

Hrothgarr: Wow, this is really hard. I'd enjoy reading an interview with Amonothen very much, he was the guy who inspired me with all the political side of RP, but I don't think he plays anymore. I guess an interview with Luciase Cromwell/Cecil Hollingberry would be interesting to see as well if you can get him. The question for Amonothen would be "Where did you find inspiration to write the material you did back in the day?"

Firewire: Anything else you want to add or share? Any shout outs?

Hrothgarr: Sure, some people will be frustrated about the end but I have to include this here and I'm very grateful you're taking the time to do these interviews, therefore the first shout out goes to you, Firewire and a shout out to Will, who made it possible for me to know about this interview initiative.

Then to the brave folk who requested an interview with me: Shout out to Rothand, Damangus, Dermin, Boush.

To the people who didn't shun me or judge straightaway (and I'm sorry for forgetting to mention many of you, I'm getting old!) my love to Traional, Flinkz, Jasmine (still love you), Rhalic, Thames, Bulkbelly, Markiela, Eva, Adorthen, Candy (fifty shades), Archable (who was with me unto the end, love you, brother), Arshes, Bhad, Susan, Sam, Stormbinder, Balran, Mercy, Dhovan, Jaina, Lucretia, Cat (best secretary a guild could ask for), Exaviel (passion for RP is unequalled), many others forgive me for not remembering straightaway.

To the ones who bring color to a gray realm and put smiles on many's faces: Shout out to the DORO community! (gr8 vIdOs bY GrOwtHdoro cHeck hIs chnnEL on yOuTube) and for their continued dedication to protect Elwyn Forst (H's last act of President is to proclaim them decorated heroes of the realm, for life).

Shout out to Perroy for playing a cunning game, and all his Rotgarde pride world wide.

To all past members of the Citizen Congress, we fought a hard battle comrades, against the odds, it was an honor to be around you.

And lastly to all those who did not miss an opportunity to scorn, scold or attack me, I sincerely am sorry for making you upset. Michelli, Carees, Dornez, Antharos, Aerillian, Valdreth, Kardok, the ADFB community, the secret but very real forum clique downvoters, Saelora, Brigante, Fenral, Vaxir, Malbourne, Maarod, Fuse, Pendji, Alexandros, Bromhead, Luxifer and many others who didn't have the courage to openly declare their thoughts.

And in the end, from the begining, for He who saved us from our sins, praise the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ!

Firewire: Thank you so much for your time and sharing your thoughts with me. It was really fun talking with you. I wish you all the best for your future.

Pet Battlers: Morghár #1

Today we bring you another special issue. This time it is an interview with the first Operation Thunder Bluff (OTB) Pet League Champion, Morghár. Enjoy!

The OTB Pet League is a monthly Pet Battle League where every player can participate. The most important rule is that only lvl 1 pets are allowed to enter the league. Each season has four rounds. Every round takes place once a week. Each round every player that shows up has to play against all other players at least once. For every win that player gets a point. At the end of the season the player with the most points gets crowned OTB Pet League Champion. New players can always join the league, even if they missed two or three rounds. 

For more info about the upcoming OTB Pet League, Season Two head to:
http://tinyurl.com/pxywxup
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Firewire: Hello Morghár. Thanks for taking your time and for giving me an interview about your victory today in the OTB Pet Battle League.

Morghár: No problem.

Firewire: How does it feel to be the first OTB Pet League Champion?

Morghár: *rubs his chin* It's ... weird. I'm not the kind of person that usually participates in such things. So it felt unexpected, but good. Also, my opponent seemed too mighty for me.

Firewire: Nice. So what brought you to participate in this league then?

Morghár: *cleares his throat and looks around the table* I guess the reason was that I wanted to get to know the people in our guild. At least at first. After the first battle I also got more interested in pets and started to look out for some interesting choices.

Firewire: Tell us a little bit about today's lineup. Who was your strongest pet today? And why did you choose these three pets?

Morghár: Okay so, my strongest pet ... I think it was Graves, the Golem. Not only are Undead pets already good because of their ability to stay alive, but Graves also hit hard. And I chose my pets because I wanted to test Graves and the other two were listed closest to him. So I picked them more or less randomly.

Firewire: Who was your strongest opponent today? Against which pet did you struggle the most?

Morghár: *puts on a thoughtful face* My toughest opponent ... either Nogzahr or El (I forgott her name D: sorry) and the toughest pet must have been Jumbo, the elephant. So since she's the owner of the toughest pet, I'll say she was my toughest opponent. 

Firewire: Why was Jumbo the strongest today?

Morghár: To be honest I don't know exactly, I think it was because the setup when Jumbo entered was in his favor and an injured beast hits very hard. He got me pretty good when he was injured.

Firewire: Is he hitting harder the less HP he has?

Morghár: No, only once he drops below half his health. Then he receives a 25 % buff for all following attacks.

Firewire: Will you try to defend your title in Season Two?

Morghár: Absolutely ... but more in a casual way. I'm not planning to do lots of pet research for the best team combos *chuckles* ... at least that's what I think for now.

Firewire: What's your most favorite pet of all pets there are?

Morghár: I think that would be Eggbert, but I think he was only available during an event. So I probably will never get him.

Firewire: Anything else you want to add?

Morghár: Yeah, to everyone who reads this interview: Come to Season Two!

Firewire: Thank you so much for your time and this interview.

Morghár: Thank YOU!

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OTB Pet League, Season One in pictures:

Interview: Candy #7

Today we bring you a interview with Candy who is a old RP veteran and a afk/rl actor. Enjoy!

Thundercable: I decided to start my interviews with two super personal questions. Please feel free to skip them! What's your home country and your AFK/IRL gender?

Candy: I'm from England, and a man.

Thundercable: Is there a story to your character's name?

Candy: Not exactly. I just thought the idea of a tiny pink haired gnome, so innocent and cute, mowing down colossal monsters somewhat amusing, more so when in fact her name is "Candy".

Thundercable: You told us on the forums, that you just recently came back to WoW. What brought you back?

Candy: Nostalgic reasons, really. I recently got in touch with some of my WoW friends (via the use of other platforms) and it caused some really very happy memories to resurface. I decided I'd come back, and check out the game. I'm absolutely loving it! Whilst I'll have to go on a short break again, I am without doubt that I'll be back before the years out - and hopefully for longer.

Thundercable: How important is the RP aspect of WoW for you?

Candy: Extremely. Whilst I love PvE, and occasionally dabble in PvP now and then - I'm predominantly here for RP. I wouldn't have come back, otherwise. Raids get repetitive, whilst roleplay doesn't. There's always a new concept to try out, new friends to make, and the whole world to really experience and immerse yourself in. Warcraft has a lore alike no other, it's really quite wonderful.

Thundercable: How did you get into WoW RP in the first place?

Candy: I've played since late Burning Crusade, but had never heard of roleplay; although amusingly, I always did it, albeit pathetically, on my old server of Darkspear. Just before Cataclysm came out, I saw an advertisement for a Goblin RP guild. It was on Defias Brotherhood and really caught my interest. When Cata launched, I decided to investigate. They taught me the ropes, and the rest is history.

Thundercable: PvE WoW players allways praise the good old times. From a veteran perspective, is it the same way with RP?

Candy: Yes, and no. I suppose everyone looks back on the past with rose-tinted glasses. I've had some truly great fun with some of my older concepts, but I've found that it's rarely fruitful to recreate the past.

Whilst I'll miss roleplaying certain characters and with certain people in certain guilds, we'll always share those memories. They all came to a conclusion due to one thing or another, after all. But the great thing about the future is that, literally, you can do anything you want! There are so many new concepts for you to explore, and new lore to associate yourself with, new continents to discover and new nicknacks to explore. Whilst I'll miss the old days, I also look forward to new days.

Thundercable: Would you tell us one of your favorite stories you have RPed? A short version of it?

Candy: Oh, gosh - now that's a hard question! I'd firstly like to make honourable mentions of the Illidari Resurgence - specifically Nalore and Alyn, as well as The Last Sandcog Empire - sand gnomes galore, and all the time I've spent over the years with Beitiris (if that's what they're calling themselves nowadays!) and Gylith on our many, many characters and concepts.

My favourite story I've roleplayed though, either goes to when I was running the Kajaro Trading Company on my goblin Schnaps, or the days of Dirt - the provincial roleplay initiative I hosted in Moonbrook, Westfall. They're my favourites because, often the roleplay was spontaneous and real. In both cases we got up to such antics. I think they were especially entertaining due to the fact that those involved acknowledged that all actions have re-actions/consequences.

Shout out to all the wild times I had on Schnaps with Gearfist IBS, likewise. Bamboozling you with my trick GHI items will always be a fond memory!

Thundercable: Could you maybe give us some insight, what it means to run a Trading Company in RP form?

Candy: You've got to keep it interesting! Trading, whilst an inticing concept, often gets stale. As much as you'll try to convince yourself otherwise, it's inevitable. There's only so long of standing at a stall, selling wares before you get bored. The goblin aspect to it all really helped keep it lively, to be honest, but I've also run a Trading Company on the Alliance. I'd say GHI really does help with it all, as you can handcraft some really ingenious items that'll draw people in, and thus create roleplay. I found that making campaigns - say, venturing to Pandaria in order to get some more exotic supplies for example, is always a great idea, as well as hosting markets. Try to get involved with other guilds! But, as said, just make sure you keep it interesting.

Thundercable: Maybe we stay on the topic of addons for a moment. What role do addons play for RP from your perspective?

Candy: Hmm ... I'd say they were a useful luxury; not a necessity by any means. They add a new layer of understanding, interest and immersion and for that they're extremely useful, but they have their downsides likewise - such as attracting metagamers. I can certainly understand as to why a person wouldn't want them, and as to why they would. Personally, I love having them, but I'd never treat someone differently for not. Each to their own!

Thundercable: Back to the topic of looking into the future. What are upcoming events, stories or guilds you look forward to?

Candy: As said previously, I'll be popping off for another break in a couple of days, so it's hard to say whether or not what I'm interested in now will still interest me at Christmas, for example. But, going off with what I'm inspired to try at the moment, I'm really wanting to play a tattoo artist again, or perhaps a criminal. That whole scene really excites me - always has. I'd perhaps like to try a pirate or explorer, too.

Thundercable: Do you have any stories in your head you want to create yourself?

Candy: I think over the Christmas break I'll certainly be making a story line for others to opt-in. Just a three week thing, for example, with a definite end. As to what the concept will be about and involve, I'm unsure. I have a few ideas, but I'm going to keep them to myself just for now.

Thundercable: Playing WoW I very often run into guys playing girls (including myself). What do you think is a reason why people play opposite gender characters?

Candy: I think most men, (and women) have an interest, at least to some extent, about what being the other gender (or neither) would be like. Many of us, including myself, don't have an interest strong enough to cause us to do something such as cross-dressing in real life. Instead, we do it on a platform such as WoW. I made a thread asking the Argent Dawn's opinions as to why many play, and role play, the opposite gender many months ago and many had the same opinion. It's a new experience.

As an actor myself, I'd never be cast for a woman in real life. It wouldn't make sense. In WoW, I get to play those roles without physical restriction - but it's worthwhile to note I also play men on the game. My concepts aren't decided as a result of the gender.

On WoW, we're like an author. In novels, you like to see more than one gender - right? Well, in a way, my role playing experience is a book of sorts. Playing the same gender all the time in such a vibrant world where anything's possible and playable – it's boring to me; it just doesn't excite me.

People don't seem to mind either, and I think that's wonderful. Why should they? I've read stories about transgender folk in real life joining WoW as a way of coming to terms with who they are and what they want to be, and I think that's great - that a game can have such an impact on someone.

That isn't to say that everyone playing the opposite gender is coming to terms with their real life gender, however. Like I said, for some, such as myself, it's just a new experience - one which we perhaps wouldn't feel comfortable with or be interested in trying in real life.

Thundercable: If you could change the game or add something to it to improve RP what would that be?

Candy: For the sake of RP? I'd let the vast majority of races - such as Vrykul, Arakkoa, the Ethereals - even Dragons - be playable. Sure, it could create some problems especially in major hubs such as Stormwind, but with responsible players and serious role players, it could only be for the best, opening plethoras of doors which game mechanics would otherwise keep locked away.

The brave few have tried, of course, but this would just make it a lot easier. And consequently, one can hope the world would be a much fuller and widely-used place ...

Thundercable: Three short questions: What's your favorite place to be in WoW, what's your favorite tavern and who is your favorite NPC?

Candy: 1) Northrend - a vague answer, I know - but Wrath of the Lich King was my absolute favorite expansion and I think the scenery and lore there is just stunning. I adore everything to do with it.

2) Does this - Bizmo's Brawlpub - count as a tavern? Because if so, it's undoubtedly here and I think you can see why!

3) Tough question! The "Adele" who rolls in the Deep in Pandaria always amuses me, but I think my favorite is, at least from a lore perspective, probably Sylvanas Windrunner ... 

Actually, I scratch that entirely! Queen Azshara is my favorite! I love everything about her and can't wait till we get to see her in all her tentacle glory.

Thundercable: Thank you so much for this interview. I hope you did enjoy it half as much as I did at least. I'm really looking forward to see your plots and stories in the future.

Candy: I loved it! It's been a trip down memory lane and extremely entertaining. I look forward reading the rest of your interviews likewise - please keep doing them! And thank you! It's been an honour being interviewed :)