Death Knight Moral Issues

#0 - July 24, 2008, 10:04 p.m.

I don't want to give out all the cool parts of the death knight starting area. But at the same time I think people need to be aware of something.

Unless the quests change radically, I won't be rolling a death knight in the expansion.

The problem is that the quests are unambiguously evil. And you have no option to make moral choices. What I'm talking about here isn't the usual Warcraft. You are forced to steal, murder, and torture, and it is presented as such. The quest text goes out of it's way to make sure you don't misunderstand what's going on.

There were several quests last night in beta where I almost decided not to continue. Specifically -

- The quest where I am forced to murder civilians who don't fight back.
- The quest where I am forced to torture people to extract information.
- The quest where I am forced to murder my unarmed friend.

I understand that it's called World of *Warcraft*. And I understand that for the last 3.5 years I've been slaughtering creatures who did nothing other than carry loot I wanted. But this seems to have been designed with the sole intent of making sure I'm evil. Well....... I'm not evil. If the bridge will explode if I don't torture someone, then the bridge will explode. If the mission fails because I won't murder civilians who don't fight back, then the mission will fail.

The problem with the current DK quests is that I'm not given that choice. If you want a death knight you *must* murder and torture people, and it will be presented as murder and torture. Thus, I won't be rolling a death knight unless some serious changes are made.

Zarhym

#140 - July 25, 2008, 12:53 a.m.

Q u o t e:
The premise of the death knight starting quests is that you're still an agent of the Scourge, and I get the impression that the Lich King doesn't share our idea of morality; however, if you're uncomfortable playing a death knight, then that is completely your choice not to play one.

I'd have to agree with this. The idea is not to roll a Death Knight and immediately have the ability to choose what kind of work you do in the world. When first entering the world you quickly find you are a slave to the will of the Lich King. You do his bidding because the good in you has been nullified by his powers. It isn't until the story further unfolds that you are able to escape the grasp of the Lich King and defect to the Alliance or Horde.

A Death Knight carries a certain weight of darkness, and if one chooses to play a Death Knight one will see how this weight propagates the story line through which this Hero Class is introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. If one has initial qualms with the morality of the class and how the playable races of the Horde and Alliance are vulnerable to the bidding of the Lich King, one should perhaps not play a Death Knight. Their introduction ultimately does set the tone though for the dark power of the Scourge in the next expansion.

Zarhym

#152 - July 25, 2008, 12:56 a.m.

Apparently I missed the detour into Gingerbread land. Please stay on topic.

Zarhym

#236 - July 25, 2008, 2:40 a.m.

Q u o t e:

Again....... I like this. It's a great zone. I think the devs have built some great stuff here.

But handing me torture tools and telling me to go torture people........

Asking me to kill people who then refuse to fight back and weep while I hack them.......

These things cross a line and are not needed. You can tell this story without asking me to torture.

Keep in mind though that by choosing to become a Death Knight you're choosing (as a player) to take part in the Lich King's twisted war. Without beginning with the Scourge you, as a Death Knight, would have no story to enhance the game play experience. You've chosen to become the embodiment of a class of enslaved -- or at the very least maliciously coerced -- creatures looking to carry out the Lich King's plans. Arthas was a man who went from the hero, to the anti-hero, to the villain. He massacred entire cities of civilians just to stop the spreading of a plague, because at the time the ends justified the means for him.

Now you're saying it's unnecessary for you to take part in inhumane acts in the name of the Lich King. If you seek the story and power of the Death Knight, we think that the cruelty of the acts you're asked to commit help lend gravity and credence to the story. It's a symbolic theme that good characters can ultimately be led to do very bad things. Without leading you through this path of darkness in a very tangible way as you learn your class, you would be a Death Knight in name only -- a hollow resemblance of Arthas's foot soldiers -- a character without character.

Zarhym

#244 - July 25, 2008, 2:48 a.m.

Q u o t e:

So the deathknight is two face, while Arthas is the joker?

I felt this comment coming, though I wouldn't agree with the comparison. :)