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All the World's a Stage: Something to remember me by


All the World's a Stage is a column for creative minds, playing with roles every Sunday evening.

The best characters in novels and movies often leap into your mind from the moment you first see them -- something they say or do sets them apart and captures your interest, and from that time on, you're hooked.

Likewise, when we roleplay, our characters should always have some memorable trait which can hook other people's interest. Too often, I see roleplayers focusing too much on dark secrets that they only reveal to their closest friends, and neglecting those mannerisms which could give everyone they meet an instant and profound impression of their character. Of course, if some people prefer to roleplay this way, that's fine. But to my mind, roleplaying is best when it avoids cliquishness, and the best roleplayers are those whose characters stay with you, even if you never see them again.

When I'm creating my own characters, I think of such memorable traits as "gimmicks," but that word usually has a negative connotation that doesn't apply in this case. For now, the best word I can think of is "quirk." It's an instantly recognizable pattern of behavior or speech that can let others know who your character is right away. Below you will find some of my favorite quirks I have seen people use in their roleplaying in WoW, each of them entertaining and inspiring it its own way.

Continue reading All the World's a Stage: Something to remember me by

Phat Loot Phriday: Piccolo of the Flaming Fire


So last night we were in Stratholme and had just finished the live side when the mage in our group asked for us to kill a named and try and get his tier 0 boots. Unfortunately, he didn't get them (we'll have to go back), but after the loot roll was over, I had my favorite new item in my possession...

Name: Piccolo of the Flaming Fire
Type: Rare Trinket
Armor: NA
Abilities:
  • Use: Causes nearby players (and you) to dance.
  • Yup, use of this trinket (it's on a 60 second cooldown, starting on use) causes every other player around you who's not moving to dance like it's 1999. Even, as I found out last night while using this thing in the Ironforge bank and AH, if they're seated or mounting. There's nothing funnier to me than a Nelf rogue in full tier 2 dancing like a madman. Except maybe a female human pally sitting on a horse doing the macarena with her arms. HA!
  • Lots of players hate this thing, and not only does it draw attention when you use it in populated places (raids, instances, towns, AH), but players might think you're a noob-- it's completely useless other than for the comedy of making other players dance. Either you think it's one of the greatest trinkets in the game, or you think it's completely useless. Obviously, I'm the former.
  • Unfortunately it doesn't work on NPCs (so no Katrina Prestor boogie or Thrall throwdown), mobs, or players of the other faction. But maybe that leaves room for more gimmick trinkets in the expansion? Blizzard, you listening?
How to Get It: If you share my appreciation for moving to music (I like to play a little techno whenever I hit this while scanning the AH), getting the Piccolo is easy. It drops from Hearthsinger Forrester in Stratholme-- he's usually just past the rat gate in there, and he's a pushover. In fact, there are numerous strategies around to solo this guy as a rogue or druid, so he's easily farmable if you're playing one of those classes. If you're not, it still won't take long to farm him, but you'll have to pull your way to him (like grinding more AD rep is a bad thing). The Hearthsinger, as I said above, also drops the mage's tier 0 boots, so just tag along with your guild mage when he's farming for epics, and you'll probably be able to pick up one of these.

Auction Price: It's BOP, so if you want it, you'll have to loot it yourself. A vendor will pay you 1g 7s 34c for giving up the chance to get down, get down with your fellow players. Dance, monkeys, dance!


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