more musings about potential Allied Races alts

Looking over the latest details about Highmountain Tauren from the 7.3.5 PTR, I think I’m gonna need not just one, but three Highmountain Tauren characters. There are three tattoo/warpaint designs that can be in three colors, and the classes available to Highmountain Tauren cover three of the four armor types.

I’ve reserved the name “Kashina” for a Highmountain Tauren Druid. I decided that yes, those Highmountain Druid forms –particularly the Flight Form — are distinctive enough for me to want to have a Druid who uses them. I chose this name because the “ash” syllable recalls Ashamane and An’she — she will be primary spec Feral and secondary spec Balance with Glyph of Stars and Blessing of the Ancients — and because it’s like a softened form of “kachina“. Kashina will be a Skyhorn with green warpaint in the second design. She will probably have the fifth horn style, because I think that one is the most like the horn styles of the Druid forms. She will also probably have the carved pattern on her horns.

I’ve reserved the name “Kunaqiwa” for a Highmountain Tauren Warrior. This name has no special meaning; I flicked through the name randomizer until I found something I kind of liked, then played around with those syllables some more until I came up with something I liked better. Kunaqiwa will be a Bloodtotem with red warpaint in the first design. She will probably have the first horn style — the biggest, broadest, spikiest horns! Her horns will not be carved.

Rather than roll an entirely new character to be a mail-wearing Highmountain Tauren, I think I’ll just race-change mini-Kam. She’ll become a Rivermane with blue warpaint in the third design. She will probably have either the second or the third horn style — at the moment, I can’t decide which of those two small horn designs currently used by Highmountain Tauren women NPCs is the cutest — perhaps it will come down to which design shows the carved pattern option better. It might be prudent to wait on doing that race change until after I’ve already unlocked the Highmountain Tauren Heritage Armor by leveling Kashina or Kunaqiwa, though. Am I remembering correctly from the various Q&As and interviews that a character who has been race-changed to one of the Allied Races can still use the Heritage Armor for that race once a character of that race has earned it by leveling from 20 to 110?

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I’ve reserved the name “Kaelyla” for a Void Elf Mage. “Kaelyla” was my Blood Elf Mage’s original name at creation. I changed that character’s name to “Kaelinda” when my Warlock’s succubus appeared with the name “Aelyla” — I didn’t want my Mage to have a practically identical name to my Warlock’s demon! For whatever reason — perhaps it’s the dark emo vibe of the Void Elves in general, perhaps it’s that I never use my Warlock’s succubus anyway — I am less bothered about using that name for my Void Elf… and, in fact, think it’s a great choice for a character who will essentially be Kaelinda’s “dark twin”.

For awhile, I thought about giving my Void Elf the “Kaylynda” name that my Human Mage has had for the past few years while she’s been fulfilling the role of Kaelinda’s Alliance doppelganger. I would then have reverted my Human Mage to her original appearance and name, Kinevra. Although I sometimes miss wide-eyed, freckle-faced, ash-blonde Kinevra, I also rather like having my Human Mage being a red-headed avatar of myself. So for now, I think I’ll keep my Human Mage as Kaylynda and just use the Barbershop to alter-ego her appearance to Kinevra for the occasional Transmogrification or RP purpose. I’ve reserved “Kinevra” just in case, though.

I’ve reserved the name “Koralithria” for a Nightborne Mage.

I’m sure that I will eventually want to have alts of all the Allied Races, even if they exist entirely to satisfy my Collector personality by existing and just sit at level 20 – 40 like most of the Minor Mages.

Although the intent of the Minor Mages was to be a “one of each race” collection, most of the Allied Races are so similar to existing races that I feel like having a Mage of both the “normal” version of that race and the Allied sub-race would be redundant*. Highmountain Tauren can’t be Mages anyway, so I think perhaps I want my alts of all the other non-Elven Allied Races to be something other than Mages, too.

I’ve reserved the name “Kilaueia” for a Zandalari Troll Elemental Shaman — “Kilauea”, the exact name of the Hawai’ian volcano, was already taken.

I’ve reserved the name “Kharlotta” for a Dark Iron Dwarf; class TBD but leaning toward Hunter or Warrior.

I’ve reserved the name “Krystaliza” for a Lightforged Draenei; class TBD but leaning toward Paladin.

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Speaking of the Minor Mages… lately, whenever I see a player character of a race other than Blood Elf or Human in the Hall of the Guardian, I wish that my Minor Mage of that race was level 100+ and in the Hall of the Guardian, too — so that I could play high-level dress-up with her. Given that the buy-a-boost is only available through the in-game shop, it’s a good thing that I have it disabled. When the in-game shop was first introduced, I went into my account settings and used parental controls to disable it. I didn’t think I’d really be all that tempted to make impulse purchases of things like mounts or battle pets or even character customizations, but it seemed like a good idea anyway. And, for a long time, I wasn’t tempted by anything available from the in-game shop. But now… paying the kiddo’s nanny is eating up all of my paycheck, so I really don’t have the discretionary income to spend on boosting all of the Minor Mages…

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* Yes, I am aware that it is totally self-contradictory and inconsistent to be perfectly fine with having redundant classes amongst my Tauren & Highmountain Tauren characters, and yet still think it too redundant and boring to have both a Bronzebeard Dwarf Mage and a Dark Iron Dwarf Mage, a Darkspear Troll Mage and a Zandalari Troll Mage, an Exodar Draenei Mage and a Lightforged Draenei Mage — Void Elves and Blood Elves aren’t as redundant because they are on opposite factions. I guess I love Tauren more than I love Mages?