Respectfully to the staff,
As a newcomer to this server I was quite excited to hear that the server steadily progressed through the Mists of Pandaria storyline. Mists of Pandaria is one of my favorite expansions in term of story and setting. The pandaren people, in particular, have a fleshed-out lore that feels better than most races to me. In the past I have RPed a Shado-Pan and had a ton of fun doing it, leading a Shado-Pan guild at one point.
So I was mildly disappointed when I heard the staff planned to confine Shado-Pan to the Monastery, the Wall, and in-game outposts in Townlong. This seems a bit restrictive to me. Shado-Pan should definitely be limited in some way: retail RP has Shado-Pan casually wandering around Stormwind and Orgrimmar, which is ridiculous. The Shado-Pan are a strict organization and would naturally need some caveats. But why not allow Shado-Pan to travel across more areas in Pandaria?
I imagine the staff's primary reason for the restriction is that the Shado-Pan's primary task is to guard the Serpent's Spine. No doubt most Shado-Pan would be guarding the Wall or fighting in Townlong. But do our characters have to be relegated to that majority of faceless Shado-Pan NPCs?
I should mention that I come from communities that are generally stricter on lore, often to the point of toxicity. So needless to say, I was a bit shocked to see guised drakes wandering around goblin towns, naga fighting in neutral mercenary companies, or other roles that would be questionable if one followed Warcraft lore to the letter. I quickly changed my feelings because most of these people were good RPers and very kind people out of character. Even the server's rules state that RP can become boring if we stick 100% to in-game lore. I was very freshed with this mindset, and I've found that following it makes me enjoy RP much, much more.
So why not extend that attitude towards Shado-Pan as well? I do not think it is unreasonable to allow them to travel in areas such as Jade Forest, Valley of the Four Winds, Kun-Lai, or maybe Krasarang. In-game most Shado-Pan are in Townlong and the Vale, but there's a group in Kun-Lai at the Shado-Pan fallback, and Taran Zhu in the Jade Forest. But that doesn't mean there's no reason for Shado-Pan to wander outside of these areas. We know that Shado-Pan frequently have dealings with the hozen to prevent them from forming a ravage, for example. We know that they are not confined to the Serpent's Spine, as seen with Taran Zhu in the Jade Forest or his visit to Halfhill before the events of Mist of Pandaria.
Most importantly, though, we know the Shado-Pan have an unwavering dedication to protecting Pandaria. They are the closest thing to an army, other than village militias and local monks. With the Sha spreading across Pandaria, with hozen taking advantage of the chaos, with sauroks preying on the weak, with the yaungol breaking past Serpent's Spine, why would the Shado-Pan not deploy some of their members to defend the innocent and defenseless? This is not something we see in-game, of course, for a few reasons: the game world is smaller than the world in lore, and zones do not progress after their storyline is finished. Who's to say there weren't some Shado-Pan out on patrol to the east of the wall, before the monastery was corrupted? Maybe they sent out some forces to protect the villages and fight the Sha, after the monastery is cleansed? For example we see a group of Shado-Pan, including Ban Bearheat, fighting in Kun-Lai before the monastery is cleansed. Or since we haven't completed the Shado-Pan monastery yet, maybe players could RP Shado-Pan who decided to defend Pandaria on their own after being completely ignored by the Monastery and their masters, similar to what Ban Bearheart does. I had a difficult time imagining the Shado-Pan let the mogu, saurok, hozen, Sha, and other threats have free reign of Pandaria to the east of the wall. Every mayor of a Pandaren village can petition for help: would the Shado-Pan ignore this?
To make it clearer what I would like is for Shado-Pan RPers to be able to attend events and RP in Pandaria, outside of Serpent's Spine and Shado-Pan outposts. I feel the background lore for the Shado-Pan supports this. From an out of character perspective, I think it'd make RP more interesting. Having a pandaren perspective could really enhance certain events. Of course Shado-Pan should not be allowed to wander with complete freedom. Some restrictions I would suggest are:
1. Shado-Pan shouldn't be wandering around Pandaria for no reason. In a time of war they would use their resources carefully. A Shado-Pan could be at a village to deal with some marauding hozen or saurok, or perhaps a minor Sha manifestation, but not just to socialize and have a drink.
2. Shado-Pan should keep in mind that, while they are the closest thing to a government in Pandaria, they do not have a major say in affairs outside of their orders. Taran Zhu is powerless to stop monasteries and villages from accepting outsiders, as the pandaren are a very decentralized race. Taran Zhu openly condemned the Alliance and Horde war, but only intervened once they were corrupted by the Sha. Similarly a Shado-Pan RPer shouldn't interfere with faction conflict unless it is dangerous to the pandaren (ex: in the middle of a populated village)
3. Shado-Pan should never be allowed to leave Pandaria, unless there are special circumstances. Maybe an Alliance/Horde character brings a sha-corrupted artifact or item back to Kalimdor/The Eastern Kingdoms? It could have event possibilities, but they should only leave in very special cases. The only times we see them leave are to capture Garrosh in Orgrimmar and later Draenor in Warlords of Draenor. Taoshi is also in the rogue class hall in Legion but since it's alpha that might not be permanent, and the lore/reasons are unknown regardless.
4. Perhaps require applications to RP Shado-Pan. I don't think this is necessary, but it might be if a lot of people want to RP one.
I've had an amazing time on this server so far. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and kind to me. Thanks for reading this thread and more importantly, the warm reception I've received this past week.
As a newcomer to this server I was quite excited to hear that the server steadily progressed through the Mists of Pandaria storyline. Mists of Pandaria is one of my favorite expansions in term of story and setting. The pandaren people, in particular, have a fleshed-out lore that feels better than most races to me. In the past I have RPed a Shado-Pan and had a ton of fun doing it, leading a Shado-Pan guild at one point.
So I was mildly disappointed when I heard the staff planned to confine Shado-Pan to the Monastery, the Wall, and in-game outposts in Townlong. This seems a bit restrictive to me. Shado-Pan should definitely be limited in some way: retail RP has Shado-Pan casually wandering around Stormwind and Orgrimmar, which is ridiculous. The Shado-Pan are a strict organization and would naturally need some caveats. But why not allow Shado-Pan to travel across more areas in Pandaria?
I imagine the staff's primary reason for the restriction is that the Shado-Pan's primary task is to guard the Serpent's Spine. No doubt most Shado-Pan would be guarding the Wall or fighting in Townlong. But do our characters have to be relegated to that majority of faceless Shado-Pan NPCs?
I should mention that I come from communities that are generally stricter on lore, often to the point of toxicity. So needless to say, I was a bit shocked to see guised drakes wandering around goblin towns, naga fighting in neutral mercenary companies, or other roles that would be questionable if one followed Warcraft lore to the letter. I quickly changed my feelings because most of these people were good RPers and very kind people out of character. Even the server's rules state that RP can become boring if we stick 100% to in-game lore. I was very freshed with this mindset, and I've found that following it makes me enjoy RP much, much more.
So why not extend that attitude towards Shado-Pan as well? I do not think it is unreasonable to allow them to travel in areas such as Jade Forest, Valley of the Four Winds, Kun-Lai, or maybe Krasarang. In-game most Shado-Pan are in Townlong and the Vale, but there's a group in Kun-Lai at the Shado-Pan fallback, and Taran Zhu in the Jade Forest. But that doesn't mean there's no reason for Shado-Pan to wander outside of these areas. We know that Shado-Pan frequently have dealings with the hozen to prevent them from forming a ravage, for example. We know that they are not confined to the Serpent's Spine, as seen with Taran Zhu in the Jade Forest or his visit to Halfhill before the events of Mist of Pandaria.
Most importantly, though, we know the Shado-Pan have an unwavering dedication to protecting Pandaria. They are the closest thing to an army, other than village militias and local monks. With the Sha spreading across Pandaria, with hozen taking advantage of the chaos, with sauroks preying on the weak, with the yaungol breaking past Serpent's Spine, why would the Shado-Pan not deploy some of their members to defend the innocent and defenseless? This is not something we see in-game, of course, for a few reasons: the game world is smaller than the world in lore, and zones do not progress after their storyline is finished. Who's to say there weren't some Shado-Pan out on patrol to the east of the wall, before the monastery was corrupted? Maybe they sent out some forces to protect the villages and fight the Sha, after the monastery is cleansed? For example we see a group of Shado-Pan, including Ban Bearheat, fighting in Kun-Lai before the monastery is cleansed. Or since we haven't completed the Shado-Pan monastery yet, maybe players could RP Shado-Pan who decided to defend Pandaria on their own after being completely ignored by the Monastery and their masters, similar to what Ban Bearheart does. I had a difficult time imagining the Shado-Pan let the mogu, saurok, hozen, Sha, and other threats have free reign of Pandaria to the east of the wall. Every mayor of a Pandaren village can petition for help: would the Shado-Pan ignore this?
To make it clearer what I would like is for Shado-Pan RPers to be able to attend events and RP in Pandaria, outside of Serpent's Spine and Shado-Pan outposts. I feel the background lore for the Shado-Pan supports this. From an out of character perspective, I think it'd make RP more interesting. Having a pandaren perspective could really enhance certain events. Of course Shado-Pan should not be allowed to wander with complete freedom. Some restrictions I would suggest are:
1. Shado-Pan shouldn't be wandering around Pandaria for no reason. In a time of war they would use their resources carefully. A Shado-Pan could be at a village to deal with some marauding hozen or saurok, or perhaps a minor Sha manifestation, but not just to socialize and have a drink.
2. Shado-Pan should keep in mind that, while they are the closest thing to a government in Pandaria, they do not have a major say in affairs outside of their orders. Taran Zhu is powerless to stop monasteries and villages from accepting outsiders, as the pandaren are a very decentralized race. Taran Zhu openly condemned the Alliance and Horde war, but only intervened once they were corrupted by the Sha. Similarly a Shado-Pan RPer shouldn't interfere with faction conflict unless it is dangerous to the pandaren (ex: in the middle of a populated village)
3. Shado-Pan should never be allowed to leave Pandaria, unless there are special circumstances. Maybe an Alliance/Horde character brings a sha-corrupted artifact or item back to Kalimdor/The Eastern Kingdoms? It could have event possibilities, but they should only leave in very special cases. The only times we see them leave are to capture Garrosh in Orgrimmar and later Draenor in Warlords of Draenor. Taoshi is also in the rogue class hall in Legion but since it's alpha that might not be permanent, and the lore/reasons are unknown regardless.
4. Perhaps require applications to RP Shado-Pan. I don't think this is necessary, but it might be if a lot of people want to RP one.
I've had an amazing time on this server so far. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and kind to me. Thanks for reading this thread and more importantly, the warm reception I've received this past week.
![[Image: d8WtFo4.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/d8WtFo4.jpg)