The Farstrider Scout

Most people are familiar with the paladin as a class, but I’ve discovered that many are lacking when it comes to the LORE of the paladin, especially when it concerns paladins of the elven races.

In-game, the only races that have the paladin class available to them is the dwarves, humans, draenei, and blood elves. Dwarves and Humans become members of the Knights of the Silver Hand, while the Draenei currently join the Hand of Argus. Blood Elves join the Blood Knights.

But what of the other races of Azeroth and beyond? Well, according to the RPG produced by Blizzard, the only other race currently known to have members within a paladin order is the High Elves, which occurred very rarely.

So, this leaves us with two groups of elves that can become paladins:  Blood Elves, and High Elves.

Regrettably, due to the rarity of high elves becoming paladins, there is currently very little information regarding them, but I believe that it would be safe to assume that before the Third War and the fall of the Silver Hand, they would have joined that order. However, this raises questions – Where were they during the Third War? Defending Quel’thalas? Or the Human Lands? What happened to them AFTER the Third War? Did they return to their old ways, remaining High Elves, and denouncing the actions of the Blood Elves? Or did they turn, and become Blood Knights as Mehlar Dawnblade did?

Unfortunately, I have seen players that try to fit their characters into a role similar to that of Mehlar lumped into the same category of the wereworlf/vampire/Half-Nerubian cat-girls that frequent the taverns of Silvermoon, Moon Guard. It’s a viable back story, provided it is played well. I imagine that the character would have difficulty reconciling their views versus that of the Blood Knights if they did not have the same issues that Dawnblade did against Uther and the Silver Hand.

Blood Knights, on the other hand, have a lot of information available, since they’ve been made a playable race. Unfortunately, even with all this lore, in game and out, they are one of the most misrepresented classes by players. This makes it difficult to convince other players who are familiar with the lore that your character can truly act in a certain way. Let’s take a look at why.

The Paladin of the Silver Hand is typically viewed as a person dedicated to upholding the tenets of the Light, and fighting for justice and good. Blood Knights, on the other hand are not seen in such a positive light. The Farstriders and the Blood Knights have been at odds ever since the creation of the order due to the methods and attitudes of the Knights. Just walking around Silvermoon, you can see examples of the haughty, stuck up, and disdainful mannerisms, and holding a Naaru captive and sucking the energy out of it to fuel your own powers can only be defined as evil, even if the Naaru willingly allows it, as many have speculated.

But there are so many players that insist that their character is “good”, going against everything that the lore shows a Blood Knight to be, even to the extent of stating that their character is NOT a Blood Knight, but a Paladin of the Light. Alright, so where in Azeroth can you find a trainer that is not hostile to Blood Elves, that is not a Blood Knight? Answer: You can’t. Would a Blood Knight trainer train a person that practiced things that the order went against? I doubt it, just as you would not find a paladin trainer on the Allianceside that would train an “evil” paladin.

As we can see, things aren’t always as they seem, and there are quite a few grey areas on this subject, but this holds true for a lot of things. Ultimately, if you’re going to create a character background that deviates from the “norm”, or even if you think it doesn’t deviate, take the time to do the research. It could end up saving you a lot of flak in the future.