Death Knights, Quests, and Morality
There's an interesting discussion on the beta forum, from someone who doesn't want to play a Death Knight because they feel that the quests are upsetting from a moral standpoint.
I can't really argue, as a fresh new Death Knight, pretty much every quest you do is morally reprehensible. The thing is, though, the game makes you feel bad about it (in my feeling, anyway). From a roleplaying standpoint, one of my Death Knights is a willing participant in all of this, the other is forced into it by the Lich King's will. So, I do think the poster has a point. Playing an utterly evil character certainly isn't for anyone, but story-wise, the DKs are "redeemed" by the end of the starting area. (Whether or not they actually are is another debate.)
Personally, I didn't have a problem with the quests, though they were eerie. But I have found plenty of quests that I refuse to do, mostly Hordeside. For all the Horde lore apologists, it's hard to deny that some of their quests aren't outright evil. (And hey, if you like that... that's fine, but don't pretend it's something else.)
For example, the blood elf in Sun Rock Retreat who works for the Shadow Council and orders you to slaughter druids at the top of the peak.
If you play Warsong Gulch as Horde, you're fighting to allow Orcs to chop down the forest. Not really kosher for a druid, which is why mine doesn't do it.
Then of course, the quests in Tarren Mill to hunt down farmers and collect their skulls. The undead seem fond of feeding horrible things to captured humans.
Leveling Istahn on Outland on beta, I found an undead who wants you to collect demon essences to feed to a captured draenei. Nope, not evil at all!
In the same settlement, a blood elf smackhead orders you to murder the draenei who are trying to cleanse the demonic tainted pools. Why? So the blood elves can continue getting high from it. Nice.
While both sides have "Kill X innocent animals", only the Horde slaughter the delicate Sprite Darters to make shiny cloaks for Orc "women".
I can't really argue, as a fresh new Death Knight, pretty much every quest you do is morally reprehensible. The thing is, though, the game makes you feel bad about it (in my feeling, anyway). From a roleplaying standpoint, one of my Death Knights is a willing participant in all of this, the other is forced into it by the Lich King's will. So, I do think the poster has a point. Playing an utterly evil character certainly isn't for anyone, but story-wise, the DKs are "redeemed" by the end of the starting area. (Whether or not they actually are is another debate.)
Personally, I didn't have a problem with the quests, though they were eerie. But I have found plenty of quests that I refuse to do, mostly Hordeside. For all the Horde lore apologists, it's hard to deny that some of their quests aren't outright evil. (And hey, if you like that... that's fine, but don't pretend it's something else.)
For example, the blood elf in Sun Rock Retreat who works for the Shadow Council and orders you to slaughter druids at the top of the peak.
If you play Warsong Gulch as Horde, you're fighting to allow Orcs to chop down the forest. Not really kosher for a druid, which is why mine doesn't do it.
Then of course, the quests in Tarren Mill to hunt down farmers and collect their skulls. The undead seem fond of feeding horrible things to captured humans.
Leveling Istahn on Outland on beta, I found an undead who wants you to collect demon essences to feed to a captured draenei. Nope, not evil at all!
In the same settlement, a blood elf smackhead orders you to murder the draenei who are trying to cleanse the demonic tainted pools. Why? So the blood elves can continue getting high from it. Nice.
While both sides have "Kill X innocent animals", only the Horde slaughter the delicate Sprite Darters to make shiny cloaks for Orc "women".