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Aspect of the Hare

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New to the site? Click here for my huntering guides! Pike on Armory (E-mail generator by Nexodyne) Words of Wisdom...

-Lanka Farshot, Hunter Trainer 
I wanna cast... Magic Missile

You know, quite some time ago I had a dream that Tawyn had the chance to get the most rare and most awesome flying mount ever. She could get an owl mount, one that looked just like Tux.

And in the dream, I turned it down. My reasoning? It wouldn't be in character.

I woke up and thought "Dream-Pike you dorkchop! Giving up a super awesome mount like that in the name of roleplaying! You don't even roleplay all that often! Real-Pike is much more sensible than that."


This is Althalor: When he was a wee young lad, he and his high elven merchant parents were traveling down Southern Gold Road in the Barrens when they were attacked by some particularly nasty beasts. They fought gamely but they were tired and weary and couldn't much fight back. With their dying breaths they managed to conjure up a spell that made it so the creatures did not see, hear, or smell little Althalor who was hiding in the caravan.

It was the Tauren of Camp Taurajo who found him and took him in. He was raised in Mulgore as an adopted Tauren, as a hunter, because of his uncanny skill with a rifle and his odd rapport with the lions of the Barrens. Today he fights for the Horde, passing himself off as a Blood Elf, although deep inside he feels that he really is a a Tauren in spirit.

So clearly he needs to ride a Kodo. This was the plan from day one. And for that, (unless you want the war mount)... you need to be exalted with Thunder Bluff.

At the tender level of two I ran him all the way from Sunstrider Isle to Mulgore. He cleared the place of quests and this led him to Crossroads, Camp Taurajo, and eventually Freewind Post in Thousand Needles. Considering the fact that I began with a distinct disadvantage (blood elves begin the game as Neutral with Thunder Bluff, not Friendly... and on top of that, a rather long questline in Mulgore is apparently Tauren-exclusive), I didn't think I was doing too badly. Tawyn was exalted with Stormwind at level 37, why couldn't Althalor be exalted with Thunder Bluff at level 40? Easy, I figured.

Then came the change to the mount level. I worried about my rep grind but hoped for the best; turning in as much cloth as I could at my low level and scouring WoWHead for quests I hadn't finished yet.

Today Althalor dinged 30. ...well dang.

Now don't get me wrong. I like the chicken mount. I like it a lot. I was so excited when the Warstrider was announced and then so crestfallen when I found out my taurengirl Lunapike couldn't get it. (She has some MgT farming in her future I think.)

But Althalor, I thought, no, he can't ride one. It would be obscene. In his story he hasn't been to the Eastern Kingdoms since he was a baby. Him on a hawkstrider? It would be So. Out. Of. Character.

So I said "Forget getting the mount at level 30. I'm not getting one until I'm exalted with TB."

I went to work today and realized I'd turned into Crazy-RP-Mount-Dream-Pike.

And I thought about it and I thought about it and I thought about it and I thought about Aspect-of-the-Cheetah-ing all over Desolace and it was this horrible dilemma, you have no idea.

Then I had an epiphany. He's trying to pass himself off as a Blood Elf right? So maybe his Tauren friends decided to help him out by obtaining a Hawkstrider mount for him... and he rode it around for a while because he was very grateful for the thought but it just made him so uncomfortable that he got a Kodo later?

...that sounds viable.

So I went and got the chicken mount.

It still feels awkward but at least my OOCometer isn't buzzing off the hook and blinking red anymore.

There are two morals of this story. One is I think Blizzard has really succeeded if they managed to create a world so immersive that at least some of its players are willing to do crazy things like forego mounts in the name of their fictional character's backstory. Two is that Pike is completely insane. But you all knew that I'm sure. Posted by Pike at 10:23 PM Labels: rp, screenshots, stories Big Black Wolf said...

Pike ... you're a complete nutter. But when it comes to our hunters, we all are :) . Love the story, and way to go getting a rational explanation for getting the mount. Story tellers FTW!

August 1, 2008 at 2:11 AM Bobo&SgtPork said...

I have the same problem with my BE hunter. She needs to be ridin' a kodo, not a chicken! But, chicken it is, 'til she's exalted :P Are there really TB rep quests in Desolace? Tell us! And thank you for all you do for us!

August 1, 2008 at 3:47 AM Andy C. said...

Another great example of how we all make the game our own. I don't thik you're nuts. At least not any more than a lot of people who play the game (me included). O=D Good work on rationalizing out the chicken, and good luck on getting the kodo of your dreams.

Yes, there are a couple of TB rep quests in Desolace.

August 1, 2008 at 6:39 AM heroinechick said...

Back when my hunter was level 40, her night elf mount looked almost exactly the same as her Ghost Saber pet (except for being bigger, ridable and not see-through) and I loved it so much that by the time level 60 came (actually, more like 64) I was uncomfortably torn betwixt wanting to ride faster and keep up with my friends and not wanting to lose my pet-matching old-school mount.

I would have happily paid extra to have epic speed on the non-epic mount, and still would. Boo!

August 1, 2008 at 9:14 AM Capn John said...

I rolled a Blood Elf Mage, and the more I saw of my racial Mount the less appropriate it seemed for a Master of the Arcane to ride around on a giant chicken.

As soon as I could I fled Silvermoon and made my way to the Undercity and Brill ((quite easy to do for a Blood Elf. Transporter Globes FTW ;)) where, to win the favor of the Dark Lady, I ran errands for anyone who would speak to me. I was in my 38th season when the Forsaken finally accepted me as one of their own, and Zachariah Post was willing to grant me access to his stable of undead horses.

August 1, 2008 at 10:01 AM Ellis (Eonar) said...

For the record, my poor little hunter was mountless up until level 64 or so, largely because I was broke. Thankfully, my warlock and paladin alts got free mounts at 40, or they'd have been hoofing it around Outland too, without the benefit of hooves.

Anyone playing on the Eonar realm might remember coming across a NE Hunter running around Zangermarsh with Aspect of the Cheetah...

Yeah... That was me.

August 1, 2008 at 10:22 AM Wildhermit said...

Not sure if it fits your "world" but You gain rep with other main city factions by doing any of the main city faction quests. I have a NEED to do all the lowbie quests.. by the time my toons hit 24ish I am well on my way to full rep.

This may help a little :)

August 1, 2008 at 11:06 AM 
"I wanna cast magic missile."
"But there's nothing to attack!"
"I... I'm attacking the darkness!"

"My name is Galstaf, Sorcerer of Light!"
"Then how come you had to cast magic missile?"

"Am I drunk yet? Roll the dice to see if I'm getting drunk yet!"



August 1, 2008 at 11:36 AM Viktel said...
August 1, 2008 at 12:07 PM 
@ Heroinechick

Ooooh! Longing for the days when our pets ran alongside us when we were mounted!!!!

Having matching pet, and mount was sooooo coooool.

Pike, my Orc hunter is jonesing for a raptor mount. Those are too cool!

August 1, 2008 at 12:09 PM 
My Blood Elf Hunter got by with Aspect of the Cheetah until she was level 51 and Exalted with Orgrimmar so she could ride a wolf. She *never* bought one of those silly hawkstriders. Don't give up!

August 2, 2008 at 4:32 PM Faeldray said...

We do the silliest things for pets, why not silly things for mounts? It makes the game that much more fun! :)

August 15, 2008 at 10:45 PM Tyedie said...

I'm doing the same thing with Rumschpringe. Fifty-eight and mountless and won't ride anything until the Exodar exalts her.

August 19, 2008 at 4:25 PM 
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