Monday, May 4, 2009

Backstory... Harder Than I Thought

Coming up with a compelling background story for a World of Warcraft character is actually a little harder than I thought. I definitely want something that works with the in-game lore, something believable, something that explains fully why a young dwarf lives and works for the people of Stormwind, rather than Ironforge. I want to have that background cover her family ties (what few there are), her professions, and her personal beliefs about the Light, war, and the Horde in general (and Orcs more specifically). When you want to take all that into account, it's actually quite difficult. 

I'm certain part of my problem is my inexperience with the lore, especially the timeline. I know that the first war was just between humans and orcs, as the dwarves and other races were off doing their own thing. The second war is where the integration begins, with the Alliance comprised of the Humans (all the nations), dwarves, and a few high elves. I wanted to somehow include Seona Lightstone and her family in the second war and the rebuilding of Stormwind. She's tied to the humans through mutual faith in the Light, and she certainly feels closer to the Light than to the Titans, unlike the rest of dwarven society who now have a bit of an obsession with ancient artifacts and such. I thought about making her part of the Wildhammer clan, but that seemed a little over the top, so I'll probably just stick with a rather adventurous member of the Ironforge clan.

It's possible I'm overthinking this. I would imagine that, once the dwarves became steadfast allies with the human nations that there would be plenty of dwarves following them at all times. A cleric dwarf would no doubt have interest in how the humans follow the Light's teachings and how it would differ from how the dwarves see the Light, thus spending a great deal of time among the human Church. As a scholar more than a warrior, he wouldn't have been in too much danger, either, instead healing from the sidelines...

Or maybe I should make her a touch older and give more of her story to her instead of her family/father...

This will take more thought. Once I get it all hammered out though, I'll write it out and post it, either here or on Ink & Blood, my Warcraft Fan-fiction/lore blog. Now I'm off to brainstorm!

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