Your Deathknights

So here I have been thinking to myself. I have my Death-Knight Lavian who I used to RP with in wrath but moved on at a point and never really picked her up until about a month ago, and even then only gave her the first re-introduction to RP a few days ago with a lot of thought in "How will she be now that the lich king is dead, that the world's end didn't come true and now some grudge war in Pandaria".

My question however to those who RP Deathknights, whether it be main or alts and what reason do you give yourself to continue your knight's existance in the world today? What drives them to keep going? What do they strive for and how do they fit into society today?

For myself? I'm still debating this as RPing a DK is pretty picky but for her alliegance she is with Acherus and the alliance.

Gor'Thrak keeps on going because he views taking suicide as a cowardly thing, wanting to die in battle with his honour intact instead. He also has a burning hate for the Alliance and wishes to take down as many as he can with him before eventually dying to the sword for a second time.

He also thinks a lot along the lines of that if he kills one Human soldier then another Orc may survive as well as wishing to secure a future for his future grandchildren, having raised a son of his own while he was still alive.

While he clearly lacks many 'positive' emotions he tries to do what he thinks he would've wanted if he was still alive. On the other hand he acknowledges (Or atleast believes) that he can't fit into a tribe, a clan or a family in his current state, finding himself to be a shadow of his former self.

I think the same reason why the Forsaken are still kicking around - clinging to survival. They lost their original motive for war but I'm sure most DKs would have another. They're "un"living, sure, but it beats being completely dead!

Mine's frigging psychotic.

Feral / Blackfall wrote:Mine's frigging psychotic.

XD This is very true.


Mine is just weird with a view of wanting to clense what she deems 'wrong' in the world.
The other is just a bitch who simply do not want to die.

My death knight never really cared about the Lich King. Drustai was opposed to the Horde and the Burning Legion. She was even thankful for the fact that the LK raised her into undeath rather than simply letting her rot. She certainly fought the Scourge, but she didn't carry the burning need for vengeance like many other DKs. She cared as much about the Scourge as she did about Deathwing and the Twilight's Hammer--a threat that needed to be ended, but nothing truly personal.

More or less, Drustai just continues to focus on life. She doesn't treat her condition as anything greater than it is. She's undead, emotions are hard to feel and even harder to express, she has limited physical sensations, she is pained by the Light, and she has to worry about vastly different dietary requirements, but beyond that her life continues on as it had. She has many of the same goals as she had prior her death, and a few new ones. One of her first goals was finding a way to return her self to life, but she's since given up on that and has instead begun trying to return what she has lost by finding ways to enhance the undead form.

Drustai greatly fears death. To her, undeath, while giving up many of the pleasures of life, is still better than being dead. And with her knowledge, the limitations can be overcome (or so she believes).


As I have said before, the first thing one must always consider when making a DK is who they are when they were alive. Because who they are when they were alive is what will determine who they become after they die. It will determine their goals and drives. Don't think "what would a DK do", instead think "what would my character do". Drustai was a living, breathing character on DB before WotLK. Of the 6-7 years I've been playing WoW, she was alive for 2 of them. Therefore, while becoming a DK was certainly a traumatic, life-changing experience for her, it is not all she is.

My question however to those who RP Deathknights, whether it be main or alts and what reason do you give yourself to continue your knight's existance in the world today? What drives them to keep going? What do they strive for and how do they fit into society today?

A good question. In the case of Una he is too selfish to kill himself (the intentional dramatic irony being that suicide is a selfish act) and although he did find existence as a DK quite a drudge he coped by just continuing to be what he is, learning new things and entertaining himself with the antics of humans. Very Nihilistic approach which seems to be common among DKs I have RPed with.

Lexy on the other hand tried to escape such thoughts of existence, firstly by fighting the scourge and then by building the Shroud. One of the shrouds goals was to protect against a future where the Horde and alliance war would end and the Ebon hold would become a target for an easy war by some opportunist looking for glory or political capital.

Lex would never kill himself as it would have broke his own vows and his still smouldering faith in the light, the Shrouds own laws forbade such an action and was built completely in accordance with the 3 virtues. It is a little known fact, sometimes even to Lex, that he was trying to build an undead Silverhand.

What is a different question however and one a few people seem to have answered is how the death of the Lich king affected your DK.

Devilsgrave is a forsaken deathknight, Arthas and the scourge claimed him twice.

He lost nearly everything, but part of him, of his sentience still exists.
That is more then can be said for Arthas.
And thus every day is a minor victory, a hollow pointless one, but a victory nevertheless.

In addition, perhaps one day he'll find a purpose, or a purpose will find him.
An option which would not be present if he decided to seize his existence.

Vangrel continues to serve the principles and ideology of the Dark Lord. He is devoted to bringing absolute perfection and Undeath to the world, his death knight presence is only an unliving testament to the far reaching power of the Lich King.

Vangrel's purpose has been to indoctrinate the Forsaken in the ways of the Scourge as best as possible, therefore his task is far from complete and his goals far from accomplished.

What drives them to keep going? What do they strive for and how do they fit into society today?

Unbreakable loyalty to the doctrine of Arthas. He strives for giving control of Azeroth to the undead.

Here's wondering though, would Ner'zhul's presence not be worse for the DKs than Arthas'? I assume they'd connect Arthas and Ner'zhul to the same general idea, but upon realising that Ner'zhul's spirit is still very much intact, wouldn't that, even if Bolvar is tempering it, be enough for those truly dedicated DKs that really are only anti-scourgelings to still have a goal to strive for? Figuring how to ultimately destroy the scourge once and for all?

There are very very few who know I think. Other than Tirion, 10-25 adventurers and sylvanas all think the LK is dead.

E.T.A. And Bolvar XD

Lexgrad wrote:There are very very few who know I think. Other than Tirion, 10-25 adventurers and sylvanas all think the LK is dead.

Wouldn't the DKs sorta feel a connection though? As if the release that they felt when Arthas died wasn't complete? As if some part of him still lingered?

Also, mind you, I'm not saying they'd know he's alive. Just that they'd have a feeling something isn't right and thus be motivated by a drive to rid themselves of this feeling.

tbh I have thought this, if you wandered in Icecrown why doesnt your DK get re-scourged. Arthas could not do it either mind you so maybe there is a good reason for it. AFAIK there is no clear lore on here.

Only thing I can think of really is that it is a light thing, at least with the Ebon Blade. I am desperate to know what is happening with Scourge DKs now. I really hope some defect.

My Death Knights keep on going because he's still under the thrall of a Necromancer who explicitly told him not to destroy himself.

It makes for quite a miserable character, really.

Thelos wrote:My Death Knights keep on going because he's still under the thrall of a Necromancer who explicitly told him not to destroy himself.

It makes for quite a miserable character, really.

*twirls Thelos' soulstone on a keychain around her finger*

*whistles innocently*

With my Death knight i went on more generic route. So in general he is still alinged to Acherus and the Blade. A dead undead scourge is a good scourge.

Aside from that i think what keeps him going is the event that transpired at Lights Hope Chapel. Don't have much of a backstory but kinda involves him killing his sister as a scourge DK, then her showing up there.

Other than that he wouldn't want to die again until he did as much as he can to repent in his own way, by killing bad things usually.

I am indeed curious what happened with the Ebon Blade, seeing as there has been no mention of them since wotlk. Isnt it possible, considering that we dont really know, that they joined Bolvar?

Buren wrote:I am indeed curious what happened with the Ebon Blade, seeing as there has been no mention of them since wotlk. Isnt it possible, considering that we dont really know, that they joined Bolvar?

Highly doubtful.

I doubt the DKs feel a connection to Bolvar/Ner'zhul now. The way they wrapped it up with Bolv was quite secretive, so it does seem only the adventurers and FordFiesta know.

If I am correct they did gain their free will and broke all ties with the Lich King, they do not get whispers every now and then... so I doubt they sense his presence..

I just started with my DK, and I am going to RP as well, as part of the attack against Garrosh!

Aishling wrote:If I am correct they did gain their free will and broke all ties with the Lich King, they do not get whispers every now and then... so I doubt they sense his presence..

They still have the shadows assailing their minds, though. They still are "haunted" as it were. Koltira gives you a quest in Northrend specifically to combat those shadows tormenting his mind.

Yes, the Lich King mentioned that himself...

"The demons I kept at bay are now loose upon him, and all Death Knights that attempt to flee".

Hm, the question is though. Would Bolvar atempt to stop those "Demons" that Arthas kept at bay. *Shrug* Just thing one could think about.

My Dwarf DK Murrin, mainly fears the endless shadow he thinks that's waiting for him and any Undead upon dying, even when it wasn't his fault so to say.

He was a very honorable Dwarf in life, now when Undead he tries to redeem himself, in hopes of still securing a place among his ancestors by fighting and eventuelly dying for what he thinks is good (the Alliance etc).

But seeing he's a Titan worshipper, he also believes the Titans create 'paths' for Dwarves to follow, so he thinks that him being slain, and then raised into Undead, was just because he didn't completed the 'goal' the Titans set him to do yet.

Interesting replies and i'd like to reply off Lexgard first into saying I believe not all those who became third generation(Or even second generation) Death Knights have it in for the scourge to an extremely personal level. While I am sure they're content in the death of the lich king and some personally so. I am also sure not many care as much despite the process of what they went through and see it as just another "threat that has come and go".

I have also been thinking of trying to unite the alliance DK Roleplayers who want to feel more intertwined in a death-knight based community (Evil scourgelords may not apply) and realise this has been tested before, and also aware Siegmund has been trying such? As it stands I tried this afternoon to walk around Stormwind but felt rather out of place and rather "unsure" what the proper way would have been to interact and handle things.

Still a work in progress in my head.