This year I’m actually attempting to complete 50,000 words in 30 days and nights of literary abandon. You can find my novel Catalyst, here. See you there!
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If you follow me on twitter (which you should. If not go and follow me right now, go on, I’ll wait) you’ll know that I could immediately log on to play the new expansion. Why you may ask? Well since Akabeko from Red Cow Rise spent most of the morning with me on twitter, I dedicate this post and it’s style to her.
Monday night:
Was swamped with homework so I was up till 11pm working on it. When midnight rolled around I thought about logging but I could only imagine what it would be like so I decided to wait until morning, instead I:
I went to sleep. I woke up at 7 the next morning and decided that instead of getting on Anslym I would wait until I can actually dedicate more than a few minutes to playing. Instead I rolled (*snort* see what I did there?) a draenei monk named: Niaal. I got him to level 4, 1 level away from learning “roll” and noticed that it was time to head on out to class:
I make it to campus at around 8:05, grab a coffee, and head over to my calculus class and get seated and pull out twitter. So the tweeting begins:
Anslym: Tell me of your Pandaria experiences! I’m living vicariously through you!
Redcow: @Anslym I’m salivating over MoP while not having logged in since yesterday! *__________*
Keep in mind that before I left for class I contemplated long and hard about skipping my math class. I figured that if I skipped once it would happen again and I want to be a good student so I went. At this point in time now we’re already started the class and it’s all a basic, BASIC I tell you, review of trig.
Anslym: @redcow I’m ready to throw my math book and storm out of this place screaming: “PANDARIA NEEDS MY TOTEMS!”
Redcow: @Anslym I KNOW THAT FEEL “flips every table”
Anslym: @redcow *Every single table. Every one.*
We had just begun talking about graphing trig functions, something I’ve done every year for the past 4 years. I knew this stuff. I shouldn’t have come to class. I was sitting here loathing the prof for not telling me in advance not to come to class because I already knew what he was teaching. If the tables weren’t bolted down:
But we carry on…
Anslym: @redcow What a terrible idea coming to school today was. I’m going to be useless.
I swear this was one of those classes where the clock goes ahead 2 minutes and back 1.
Anslym: @redcow this is what I’m going to be doing very shortly.
Redcow: @Anslym oh lord that is spectacular
Anslym: @redcow The pandas need us, Akabeko, they NEED us!
Redcow: @Anslym *screaming*
The conversation then goes on to talk about writing this post, about naming our inanimate objects, and about adding each other on RealID. Math class FINALLY finishes and I mosey on to wait for my English lecture to start at 11:30. Keep in mind that my math class ends at 9:45. I pull twitter out again and imagine my shock and horror when I read this:
Redcow: Oh I’m pleased to see all these female npcs on shen zin su.
Anslym: @redcow you’re playing T_T
Redcow: @Anslym I….I didn’t want to say anything. But I have to go to bed soon anyways ;-;
My feels on the inside were:
Just trying to get a little sneak peak into Pandaland!
English finishes rather quickly, it’s my only class that requires me to take notes from dictation so my fingers were a’ flyin’ over the keys and I tried to get in everything Prof said. I had a 2 hour break before my physics lecture so I took up refuge in the science building and began dealing with recruitment stuffs. Finally my last class, physics rolled around, and I was almost home free. Two downsides, the class is an 1:30 hours AND it’s physics. Regardless I manage to sit through the lecture on centripetal force and we’re about to be dismissed when the prof. asks “Does anyone have any questions?” horror strikes when a girl raises her hand. I almost:
But I resist. Finally we’re let out and if you’ve ever been at my campus you know that trying to leave a room with 150 people while another 150 people are trying to get into the class makes the whole ordeal a clusterfuck. I missioned on!
I made it to the bus stop and waited for my slow ass bus to arrive:
Finally made it home and got my laptop:
Logged in and experienced Pandaria:
Stay tuned for part 2 where I talk about zoning into Pandaland, with a lot less gifs.
I assure you that this post does NOT have any spoilers pertaining to the new race, Pandaren.
With the new expansion: Mists of Pandaria in the foreseeable future it’s time to start thinking about how your character’s story will progress into this new and unknown area of lore. For some people even, they’ll be moving into completely unknown lore territory when they roll their new monk characters. This isn’t like going into Wrath where there was plenty of Death Knight lore in the previous games and novels, these are BRAND NEW classes! Or are they?
In this post I’ll be detailing some lesser-known-about or sometimes even hidden lore behind the monk class. This should help you get some of the backstory in order before you even click on that “create character button”
As it turns out, the new expansion won’t be the first time we encounter the monk class. Take a step back-in-time with me to when we were level 30 and we zone into a random dungeon.
The first time we meet a monk that isn’t a panda comes in the form of a Scarlet monk in the instance Scarlet Monastery. Which arguably makes sense, a monastery is where monks are typically found.
Taken from the WoW World Dungeon page:
The Monastery was once a proud bastion of Lordaeron’s priesthood – a center for learning and enlightenment. With the rise of the undead Scourge during the Third War, the peaceful Monastery was converted into a stronghold of the fanatical Scarlet Crusade. The Crusaders are intolerant of all non-human races, regardless of alliance or affiliation. They believe that any and all outsiders are potential carriers of the undead plague – and must be destroyed. Reports indicate that adventurers who enter the monastery are forced to contend with Scarlet Commander Mograine – who commands a large garrison of fanatically devoted warriors. However, the monastery’s true master is High Inquisitor Whitemane – a fearsome priestess who possesses the ability to resurrect fallen warriors to do battle in her name.
While zoning into the monastery and doing battle with Mograine and Whitemane (heh it rhymed) we really don’t see the monks do anything other than punch us and fall as we kill them. The same can be said about the crimson monks that reside in the Scarlet Bastion within the burning streets of Stratholme. While some see this as a flaw, others might see it as a clean slate to start with. Through the entirety of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion we saw the Scarlet Crusade, then the Scarlet Onslaught begin to splinter and fragment until it was utterly broken apart by the players hands. Then going into Cataclysm we saw minimal changes within the Monastery itself but with the future changes coming in Mists of Pandaria it might be time for a human or dwarf or possibly another race to defect from the Scarlet ranks.
For a more detailed description of the Scarlet Crusade’s history click here and for a more detailed description of the Scarlet Onslaught’s history click here. And finally for a more detailed description of Stratholme, click here.
Moving on from a corrupt crusade to a nobler one:
Note: this part pertains specifically to the Argent Crusade and not to the old faction of the Argent Dawn.
Another time we see a monk again is when we defeat the faction champions at jousting, beat them down, and loot their treasure chest. Enter in Eadric the Pure or Argent Confessor Paletress. They spawn with three packs of trash that each has three mobs. One of these mobs being an Argent Monk. Here’s some short back ground information on the Argent Crusade:
Taken from Wowpedia:
The Argent Crusade is a faction created from the union of the Argent Dawn, a few survivors of the Scarlet Crusade who didn’t follow Abbendis to Northrend, and the Reformed Order of the Silver Hand. It was formed shortly after the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, as played out during the death knight quest The Light of Dawn, in which Tirion Fordring — leader of the reformed Silver Hand — reclaimed (and evidently purified) the Ashbringerduring a confrontation with the Lich King. He assumed a leadership position over the Argent Dawn and united the two factions in order to take the fight against the Lich King to Northrend.
Again, for more information about the Argent Dawn click here, Argent Crusade here, and Order of the Silver Hand here.
A particularly important line from the above text states that “a few survivors of the Scarlet Crusade” joined the Argent Crusade; this opens a whole slew of possibilities. Was your monk stationed at the Argent tournament grounds and picked up a few abilities from a scarlet monk? Were they stationed at any of the other Argent Crusade outposts? Once the Lich King had been defeated and Deathwing remerged into Azeroth the Argent Crusade withdrew a majority of its forces from Northrend and stationed them all through the Eastern and Western Plaguelands. With its main base now in Hearthglen, Western Plaguelands this makes it a little more accessable for lowerlevel roleplayers. It’s also worth mentioning that Hearthglen acts as training center for new recruits who are intent on joining the Crusade which sets the perfect scenario for a monk in training.
Finally there is one last faction that hosts monks, this one is a little less known and a little more obscure, the Auchenai.
This faction of draenei comes in two parts, pre-corruption and post-corruption. I’ll take a moment to comment on both.
Pre-corruption:
Long before players arrive in the Outlands the Auchenai were a noble sect of priests and light-wielders that acted as grave keepers. They took care of the large necropolis city known as Auchindoun as well as the the graves of the dead found there. One grave was of particular importance, of the naaru known as D’ore, who perished when the Oshu’gun crash landed on Draenor.
The draenei studied him, those large eyes unblinking, and Danath knew the stranger was somehow testing the truth of his words. At last he nodded. “That is a noble goal,” he stated, and stepped out of the doorway to stand before Danath. “I am Nemraan, one of the last of the Auchenai,” he introduced himself. “We were the priests of our people, and cared for the dead here in Auchindoun.” Danath introduced himself…
“There are others,” the Auchenai replied, his staff raised to light the way. “Several of us survived the Horde’s attack and fled into the tunnels. Other draenei joined us later, seeking refuge from the Horde’s sudden onslaught. Many of them died in the explosion [which happened when the remenates of the Shadow Council summoned Murmur into the Shadow Labs which shattered the Auchindoun into the scattered wreckage we see in game today], and others have been lost since. Only a handful of us remain.
Danath glanced around, wondering where these other might be, but ahead of him Nemuraan shook his head.
“You will not see them. Though you seem noble and true, it would not be wise for me to put the rest of my people at risk. They will remain hidden while I aid you so that if you betray me, our race will yet continue.”….
Danath turned to Nemuraan. On impulse, he said, “Come with us. This is no place to live, and you can serve your people more by leaving here and returning to the world. We would even take you to Azeroth with us, if you liked.”
Nemuraan smiled. Truly your world must be a wondrous place, to have produced such a people,” he complimented, and I appreciate your offer. But no, my place is here. Our dead remain in this world—honorably laid to rest in Auchindoun, or scattered in the forest, even paving the path the orcs misname the Path of Glory. Here they lie, in Draenor, and here I stay, to tend them. The Holy Light has placed us here for a reason and some day it will triumph over all.” -Beyond the Dark Portal, Aaron Rosenberg and Christen Golden
Post-corruption:
During the time span from when Draenor suffered its own cataclysm and became the Outlands to when the dark portal opens again and players venture forth the Auchenai became corrupted.
Taken from Wowpedia:
The Auchenai are a draenei faction who can be found in Terokkar Forest. They are opposed to other draenei groups, and hostile to both Alliance and Horde. While they are similar to mainstream draenei society in that they are a theocratic society, their religion is very much unlike the Holy Light. Little is known about their cult and what they worship, but they seem to be obsessed with a coming apocalypse, and indulge in dark practices like necromancy. Their corruption is most likely caused by the void radiated by D’ore.
While this is all fine and dandy we cleansed the Auchenai crypts during our raids across Outlands so it stands to reason they are no longer corrupted. Or at the very least those that saw the error of their ways fled to Shattrath where they could teach others of their monk-ly ways.
For more information on the Auchindoun click here, on D’ore here, and finally on the Shadow Labyrinth here.
There you have it, the three factions that have monk NPCs. It’s up to you what you do with this information. What kind of backstory will your monk have? Will you be a human that defected from the Scarlet Crusade? A tauren that was stationed in Dawn’s Light and learned the ways of the monk from someone else? A draenei who ran from the Auchenai Crypts when you saw how you’re people were falling into corruption? Or maybe even a blood elf who spent their free time hanging around the lower city of Shattrath City, listening and learning from the refugees? Or quite possibly just learning it all from the panda’s. The choice is yours.
Just whipping up this mini-post –while waiting for my lfr que to pop- to tide you over until I start rolling out some more posts. This week I’ve been doing a lot of raiding, both in lfr and out. I managed to get my priest, Chmelyk through both halves of lfr by Wednesday afternoon but not before running into this gem. We wiped just as we were killed the third plate piece. Someone stood too close to one edge and Deathwing rolled us right off his back. We zoned in and this warlock started the encounter before we were ready, someone initiated a vote kick and it failed. Here’s what he had to say:
Thankfully I had qued on my priest earlier and beat Madness already so I left once spine had been looted. I managed to snag tier shoulders and a wand for my priest.
On my shaman I ran Dragon Soul with my guild and we finished the entire thing. I got my title! I snagged the belt of Morchok and some snazzy tier shoulders. This is what I look like unmogrified:
I recently ran the first half in lfr, things didn’t go as planned. This was probably the messiest lfr I’ve ever been in. On the final pull before Morchok someone pulled him, but we managed to get through without wiping. We let the void hit with only 2 bounces on the next boss. We allowed 3 slimes to reach the third boss TWICE! But we still hadn’t wiped at this point. And finally on Hagara it took us 8 MINUTES and 32 SECONDS! We hit the enrage timer but because she enraged during frozen tempest we killed her while she was dazed. I got me some tier pants. All that’s left now is to do the second half and then do it all again on my druid. Why do I do this again? Oh yeah, I spec’d into masochism.
How about you? How have your raids been going?
Bag Overflow 