Firstly...Oops and sorry, tried to register as I thought I had to do so to post anything, turns out it was just my net connection being rubbish and bumping me out of the website when I tried to....anyhow...
PLAYER INFORMATION
How long (approximately) have you been playing World of Warcraft?
2 years now, the last year on The Sha’tar,
How confident would you say you are with the English language?
Extremely, it's my native tongue, and I never consciously use textspeak or l33tspeak whatever that is!
What experience do you have with roleplaying in the past?
- This does not have to have been within WoW.
Heh, well, have done Tabletop RPG’s for about 20 years ( I’m 35) and Live Roleplay for 17 years, and am a plot writer and referee for one of the UK’s biggest LRP companies (Curious Pastimes) that run events for up to a thousand people at a time. In terms of WoW, my RP has mostly been on Team Blue, where my character is in the Lightsworn Guild, who are continually In Character and roleplaying wherever they are. Likewise my Horde characters are all permanently roleplaying, just as yet it has been a little tricky to find others doing likewise (I’ve probably just been unlucky and missed it all to be fair )
What experience do you have within the World of Warcraft?
-This can be PvE, PvP and RP.
PvE I love, I do tend to level on my own, but have no problem teaming up with others, I’m never in a massive hurry for ‘uberweapons and kit’ so its not been a problem, PvP I must admit is my weakest point, I haven’t done much, it’s just the style of game I enjoy, In character PvP though, that I enjoy, and RP, as I say, my character is always in Character, and for the last eight months or so, I have been RP’ing regularly with Lightsworn on Alliance side, playing the lowly farmboy turned Squire, into a troubled Knight who has doubts about his piety.
If you were to join the guild, what would you bring to the strong OOC community the guild shares?
Tricky to answer really, I’m affable enough company, when I had more experience in the guild (should my application be successful) I’d feel more comfortable with helping out with any events or what have you, I’d probably spend a little time chatting and finding out how everyone operates before I started pitching major ideas in, but that’s more out of respect for how an established guild operates, rather than any shyness or what have you.
If you were to join the guild, how often would you be able to play?
I'm generally online every day, how long for is very dependent upon my work, which is shift based, I always try to cram in at least a couple of hours a day, however my commute to work can mean this can be late at night.
If you were to join the guild what would be your priority when online?
I'll be honest, I will split my time 50/50 between my Alliance character and this one, whether that be one night on one, and one on another, or a couple of hours each an evening, whichever, I wouldn't be suddenly bailing out of events or what have you half way through, I like to think of it that I have two Mains, rather than a Main and an Alt. For the record, I absolutely would not use either character as an 'espionage tool' , although it might be best (if my application is successful) for me to join after the current Thandol Span thing is resolved, given that Lightsworn are heavily involved, indeed I was at the initial skirmish, when there was that regrettable incident with regards a misunderstanding of rules of engagement, and we went All Out....we all felt very bad about that when we were told you guys had a different understanding of how it was supposed to be, as it was awesome getting the cross faction RP going on, we tried to look suitably chastised and forced back when your reinforcements arrived
anyway, I digress, Priority, I'd split my time evenly between my Alliance character and Horde Character, I don't play any other Online games, so nothing else to steal my interest...
Why do you wish to join the guild?
Well, I love RP, never managed to find much Hordeside when I first started, so made an Alliance character, found the Lightsworn, loved being in an RP guild, it makes the game so much more fun, and ironically it was at the Thandol Bridge fight, where I saw a whole bunch of Forsaken ( the Spine plus a few Sin'dorei allies) and thought "Now that looks good" then thought 'but what would I play?' and just made a Forsaken character on the strength of that, and played him for a while, and found it really good fun, so why do I want to join? hmm, I love the idea of Forsaken banding together, especially after Arthas' death, in that kind of "umm, what now?" kind of way, and also, to be brutally honest, of all the Horde races, the Forsaken are the most interesting in terms of where they are at now... Why this Guild, I heard good things about the Apothecarium, and the show your chaps put on at Thandol Span made me realise if there's Horde RP going on, I want in on it, plus, the Lightsworn officer who was running our side of that battle seemed to have a good impression of you folks, and a few of the others in the guild spoke highly of you as well.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Karl Ulrich von Heldenhammer, ach, the von is a reminder of my breathing days, when my family had title, forgive me that affectation...
Gender: Male
Title (if applicable): One time Lieutenant in the Lordaeron 3rd Rifles, no title now.
Current Occupation: I am in death, as I was in life, a Soldier, I also strive to build a better rifle than the cheap dwarven dreck we were forced to fight with in the Army of the Alliance, and am learning the ways of Engineering to support this.
Age: (For Humans this should be easy. If you are an Elf please remember that you were born a High Elf and you realistically cannot have been born less than 100 years ago. Exceptions will be made to well presented backstories however)
I was thirty three summers old when I died, when Arthas came to Lordaeron, How long I was in his service, I know not, but I have been free of His Dread Will since his reported demise, by Her Majesty's grace.
Race:
-Undead Human
-Undead Elf
I was Human, I make no bones about it, if the pun be pardonable, I still wear my medals of service in the Human armies with pride, for I earned them.
Level: 21 at time of writing.
In-game Class & Spec': Warrior, Fury Spec ( might seem odd for a sniper, but the History should hopefully explain it)
IC Class: I am a Soldier sirs and ladies, I would not presume to any other title than those I earn
Hair Colour: Black, well washed and cared for
Eye Colour: Amber yellow
Height: Five foot ten inches
Of the three Forsaken factions the guild represents: The Royal Apothecary Society, The Deathguard and The Deathstalkers. Which do you feel your character would fit in with best and why?
I would say of the three I would fit best the Deathguard, I lack the understanding of matters arcane to pretend to understand the half of what the Apothecary's deal with, and whilst I am adept at finding places of ambush, I am not skilled in that way, nay, a soldier I was, a soldier I am.
How does your character feel about the place of the Forsaken in the Horde? And how does he/she react to other races within the Horde?
I feel our position is vastly misunderstood, the willingness of the Forsaken to fight alongside the Horde despite the fact that we could not know that Arthas' death would not cause our immediate extinction is one that has not been made enough of, The Will of Her Majesty is strong, but none of us could be certain that the end of Arthas would not also mean the end of the Forsaken. Yet we fought.
Orcs I have found brutish, yet with a sense of barbaric honour, Tauren's a little too preoccupied with ephemeral thoughts and not focussed enough on the here and now...Trolls I have had no dealings with favourably or otherwise, and the Sin'Dorei by turns amuse and annoy me. Perhaps If I saw them actually fight, as opposed to parade around their city speaking of vengeance and having justice I would think otherwise...Forgive me, I speak out of turn, but I would see them fight by my side before I could trust them.
How does your character feel about the Wrathgate incident?
An unforgiveable act of Treachery, not only to the Horde, but to the Forsaken. Putress, for I will grant him no title, in a single stroke undid all the good work many Forsaken had laboured for. As a soldier, I was naturally in awe of the reports I heard later of what power his weapons held, and what they had achieved, One could say he has simply shown bad judgment, but this I feel to be a weak argument, for examine the timing of his strike, the Alliance I am told, had engaged Arthas, again, no titles, I will not name that ...person King of anything... but the Alliance had engaged Arthas, and yet Putress did not strike then? No, he waited until our Allies of the Horde had committed forces, then struck. This in itself would be evidence enough that he was undermining the efforts of Her Majesty. He then sides with Varimathras I am told, in an attempted and thankfully shortlived coup and siezes Undercity! There is no question, Putress was a traitor, doubly Forsaken, for he may have been Forsaken, but by his own actions and treason, he had forsaken his own people as well. He was so overjoyed at showing what he could do, that he did not think of whether he should. All he ever did was give the Alliance further reason to war upon us, and cause our Allies to hate us... Either way, it is largely irrelevant. He was a Traitor, he conspired against Her Majesty. That is all there is to it.
Family:
- Please only explore immediate family.
I have few, that I am aware of, my parents were slain when Arthas came to Lordaeron, stupidly, they were crushed by a siege weapon....not one of the Scourge ones, but one of our own that had been too heavily charged, the arm broke and the apparatus fell sideways, I am told they died instantly, which likely means some butcher quack had a look at them and shrugged...My Sister Ilse is perhaps still alive somewhere I hope, but I doubt she would welcome seeing her brother again in his current state. Nor had I children, oh there were women in my breathing days, but a soldier’s life is not a stable one, and I never wed, nor sired any children that I know of.. No sir, best to say that I have no family save the army.
Character History:
-For Undead Human characters you can cover their life from birth through to their death and up to their current activities.
-For Undead Elven characters please only cover their life from the beginning or just before Warcraft 3. By all means briefly cover their early lives but due to the long life expentancy of Elves, and the rare occassion of an Elven birth, there is no need to go into full detail concerning any events before Warcraft 3.
(firstly, I’ve tried to make it follow the Lore, if there is any discrepancy, I’ll quite happily amend it, I haven’t told anyone my background yet, so no trouble)
I was born Karl Ulrich von Heldenhammer, to Maria and Ulrich von Heldenhammer, a noble family of Lordaeron, I was actually born in Stormwind, my father was a diplomat, and was there smoothing over the somewhat rocky relationship between our two peoples, my early days were those of privilege, I had the finest tutors, wore the finest clothes, learned the ways of courtiers, in short, I was a pampered brat, along with my sister Ilse, two years younger than me. I was so sure in time I would inherit the Von Heldenhammer estate, and title, that I had little thought for what, if anything I would actually make of my life, it had you see, already been made for me, by the time the midwife had checked I was a boy, I was in the fullness of time to have been the 13th Graf von Heldenhammer, when my father passed away. Perhaps this lack of aim, or purpose is what made it easy for Him to command my-ah, I digress, and get ahead of myself. And then, one day, it all changed…the regiments were recruiting you see, there were disturbing rumours of war, although I do not even recall whether it was war with the orcs, or another human kingdom, that mattered not to me, not a bit, nay, I fell in love with the pomp and ceremony of armies, the uniforms and recruiting sergeants tales of glory, and the stories of Gunther, my tutor in swordplay. When I told my father he was furious, he saw no need for me to prove myself, had not Heldenhammer’s proved themselves in the past? I was a smart child, why should I risk a comfortable life, no- he forbade it. It was the first time in my life I had ever been refused anything, and it came as a shock to me. I defied my father, I told him to his face I was going to join the Rifles ( their uniform of bottle green with silver trappings had always caught my eye). For days they remonstrated with me, but I would not budge, in the end, my father made the concession, he would purchase an Officer’s rank for me, in a staff position. I was furious, I told him I was not a thing to be haggled over and bought, and not only would I join the regiments, but I would do so as a common soldier, for stupidly I had imagined their life more glamorous…ahh, the folly of youth…
I packed my bags and enlisted the next day. Oh but it was a tough life, but one that I enjoyed, I received some mockery from the other men in the unit, for my noble background, and the sergeants always seemed to take great pleasure in making me fling myself to the mud on command, but truth be told, I loved it. I mastered the rifle, ancient damned things, clearly Dwarven surplus, and proved an excellent shot, I was already skilled with the sword, from Gunther’s training, and so it was that I found myself promoted to section leader, in charge of five other men, some twice my age. I will not bore you of the campaigns, of the battles routing bandits and orcs, save that I acquitted myself well, and in the long years, grew leaner and tougher, my commanders used to say I had the look of eagles about me, and perhaps due to my blood, although I would like to think it my ability, I was promoted to Lieutenant in the Lordaeron 3rd Rifles. My family actually came to see my commission, It was the first time I had seen my father and mother in more than fifteen years, although myself and Ilse had corresponded much, and told me my father always kept track of engagements where I had been present, and morbidly read the casualty lists as they were placed on the city walls. My father simply nodded, and saluted as I rode by on my horse. I felt exhilarated and proud. Six weeks later I was dead. Our armies were not prepared for something like Arthas, we fought desperate actions against the Scourge, but were soundly beaten by numbers, and the inhuman nature of the foe. I saw him, I actually saw him, as Lordaeron fell apart, and my men were cursing and being ripped apart, I had seen my father and mother, crushed by a tumbling siege engine that had fallen from the walls, and just prayed that Ilse had gotten away in the stream of refugees that were being evacuated. I saw him and reason fled, I snatched up my rifle and charged him, screaming. He just looked at me as I braced and fired, I heard the words “Such Fury, it will be Mine”, I fired and…and, that cheap piece of dwarven dreck, that misbegotten peashooter misfired, and exploded, the pain I felt as the shrapnel and parts ripped through my tunic was nothing to the sound of my own heart beating itself to death as He simply looked at me….and killed me.
He made me his creature. I remember it all, is the worst, he harnessed my rage at the point of death, and made me a frenzied instrument of his hateful Will, a thing of pure Fury. The years blurred, I just remember every damned killing, every damned atrocity. There was military discipline to the Scourge, but…but it was not an army, it was organised butchery. I remember the killings, the unholy creatures we fought alongside, I remember the glee we felt at murder and torment, for we were all His creatures. In that time I never touched a rifle, but butchered people with blades or my own bare hands, the killings will stay with me, as will the shame. I was not a soldier, I was a butcher, he had taken my honour from me, as well as my life.
And then one day, I awoke, I had been lying upon the floor, amidst so many other bodies, corpses mainly, wretched things, and then it all came back to me….I was one of them, I was a corpse, I looked at my body, and could have wept, I was a handsome man, I was no longer so, my uniform ripped and tattered, covered in the blood of hundreds, bones showing through, I was every inch the monster I had thought I was in that terrible dream I had awoken from. But it was no dream…I turned as I heard a voice call in Orcish (which I had learned the rudiments of as part of my training when we were fighting against such brutes) “Another one, bring Max”. I turned clutching at my sword, but there were three of the brutes, with axes and armour, and the leader just held his hand out saying “Enough, It’s over, He’s dead we hear”. And I knew exactly who the ‘He’ was, and it all came back, and I admit, I fell to my knees in the snow and wept, although of course no tears fell, I wept for what I was, for Lordaeron and for what I had become and what I had done.
A bony hand clasped my shoulder and pulled me to my feet, a ravaged dead body, with glowing yellow eyes, and yet I knew it all then, I knew that I was the same as he. He spoke then “My name is Maximillian Scheer, and I am Forsaken, come with us, I will explain everything” I could see other corpses walking, dazed and uncertain, cautiously watched by Orcs, monstrous animal men, trolls and high elves, so it seemed, and yes, by other Corpses, wearing armour and carrying arms, I understood nothing, so what could I do?
I followed him. Max taught us all, us who had reanimated by the Will of Queen Sylvanas after Arthas had been slain, he taught us of the Forsaken, and the Horde, and of the great evil that had been done against us all, the evil that was now over. Along with all the other once Scourge who were transported back by Zeppelin to Undercity, I swore allegiance to the Dark Queen, I understand humanity could never accept us, and yet we were more hideously wronged than they were by Arthas, where else would I go, than home, to Lordaeron, and the City that flourishes beneath it, and serve our Queen, both beautiful and powerful, who by Her will, saved us from His.
Why does your character want to join the guild?
Truth be told sirs, a soldier needs a chain of command, without that, he’s a wanderer and vagabond with little other use than raising his sword where he finds conflict, I believe a person needs a purpose, and whilst I could enlist in the Defence forces of Undercity, in my heart of hearts, I know I seek a more interesting life than that, and to join with others of my kind in forwarding the cause of the Forsaken, I may not have the understanding of magic or Apothecary matters, but I can certainly defend and serve those that do. I sought information on where I could find such a group of peoples, and found I believe, my answer on one of your proclamations posted to the walls of Undercity
What skill set could your character bring to the guild?
Loyalty, a Keen eye with a rifle and swift hand with a blade, whilst not trying to be arrogant I am not a simple thug, and have a brain in this head of mine, and the will to use it, my desire to improve on the rifles we were issued in my breathing days has encouraged me to learn the sometimes arcane art of the Engineer, and to support this I have had to learn how to plumb the earth with Mining pick for the resources necessary for this study.
How does your character respond to authority?
So long as the order is not Treasonous, I would respond with a salute and my best attempts to follow the order.
TEST OF ABILITY
Please write a short response (300 - 600 words) discussing one of the statements below, research is allowed but copying is not, you are encouraged to add your own thoughts and theories to the answer.
This test is designed to evaluate your use of the English language, your commitment to joining and your ability to present a reasoned and clear argument, it is NOT a test of raw knowledge.
i) The Forsaken are evil. There are no good Forsaken.
ii) The Forgotten Shadow is an entirely selfish belief system.
iii) Relations between the Horde and the Forsaken are improving.
iv) The Royal Apothecary Society is the most powerful of the Forsaken organisations.
v) Grand Apothecary Putress should be considered a traitor to the cause.
vi) With the Lich King dead, the Forsaken lack a purpose.
A World Without Arthas, do the Forsaken lack a purpose?
I would not say we have lost our purpose, rather that we should enjoy this new opportunity with Arthas’ demise, aye, opportunity, as I mentioned with regards the Forsaken’s place within the Horde, we had far more to risk than the other races, for even victory could have meant our extinction, we could not have been absolutely certain that his Death would not have undone all he had created, and we fought, we are now free of that potential threat hanging over us. Another threat holding us back, was the perception of our Allies with regards ourselves, how could the Horde be certain that the Forsaken were not a fifth column within their midst, still secretly loyal to Arthas, let us be honest, it is the sort of deception that would appeal to Arthas, and certainly within his power to have made happen. Putress’ actions would only have reinforced these fears, so we were dwelling contstantly with the mistrust and worry of our own Allies. With Arthas gone, we know we did not crumble to dust with his passing, and our Allies now Know that we were true to them, and not to Arthas, free of that stigma of association with him, free to forge whatever destiny lies before us. We have that freedom, and the time, for who can measure our days, it is not as if old age will stop our hearts.
What aims have we now? The same aims all races must face, continuation of our kind, self determination, protecting our borders, and perhaps expanding them.
With Arthas gone, we have lost nothing, what we have gained though, is freedom of action and freedom from mistrust, it is a golden opportunity, one we would be fools to miss. Putress perhaps, Traitor though he was, was more accurate than he knew when he said “Now is the time of the Forsaken”…..
Subject: Application from Karl Ulrich Heldenhammer 
Sun Aug 15, 2010 7:15 am
