Issue 2: Various and Sundry
By Galdrysyll Soeval

Choosing a Faction: Alliance versus Horde

Choosing a faction as part of character development is a common theme found in many early role playing games. Every player belongs to some group or clan that forms alliances and starts blood feuds with some other group or clan. So when early massive multiplayer online role playing games like Everquest started, the concept of faction was built right into the game play. At the time, faction was a relatively complicated endeavor and involved an understanding of a player’s racial selection, location and deity selection to help determine the character’s moral perspective.

As these games evolve into entities like World of Warcraft, the concept of faction, at least on the surface, appears in a simpler form- “good versus evil,” and is represented in World of Warcraft as being members of the Horde or members of the Alliance. Unfortunately, determining which group the factions of good and evil are tied to is a difficult aspect of the game.

At the outset of character creation, it seems obvious that the Alliance must be the faction for good when the choices are elves, humans, dwarves, and gnomes; while the Horde must be the faction for evil when its’ choices are trolls, tauren, orcs, and undead. Even the look and feel of each group’s environment makes the determination seem easy. On the one hand, the Alliance player discovers a land filled with lush green valleys and clear blue waters. They encounter villages and towns with a rustic feel that remind one of the romanticized days of Camelot. The places they visit have lofty names like Stromgarde and Aerie Peak and are filled with gentle forest creatures including bunnies and baby deer. On the other hand, the Horde player struggles in deserted wastelands with outposts and nomadic camps filled with siege engines and the evidence of war at every turn. They travel and have adventures in places with names like the Barrens and Desolace and face the ravages of wild boar, poisonous spiders and stinging scorpions. Who better to receive this kind of wretched treatment than the evil of the horde?

However, it’s not until game play and experiencing the players that their true nature comes to full view. In the newbie territories, it is not uncommon to find Alliance players initially preying upon the vile bunnies and fawns that plague the area around their villages. As Horde, you face the challenge of defeating those wild boars, spiders and scorpions and trying to survive the other difficulties of the terrain. Many of the starting quests for the Alliance involve stripping locations of value from squatters to expand and spread the wealth of so-called good to the other members of your faction. The Horde faces difficult challenges policing the minions who are no longer loyal to the clan and who show their disloyalty by seeking powers outside those considered “honorable” amongst the horde’s members.

As play progresses, an Alliance player may find himself on a raid to the lands of the Horde to free the world of their wretched nature by striking against not only the guards, but women and children in Horde villages as well. A Horde player may find himself in the position of defending his village from the lofty Alliance, overwhelmed by their numbers and, at times, powerless to do anything but watch in horror as Alliance players stand over their body and kill them again and again until the attackers grow tired and move on to new prey. At higher levels, an Alliance player may find himself setting out into the distant reaches of horde territory, hiding in the shadows to lay an ambush against those evil low level Horde players who may someday get in your way. As Horde, you might sneak out into the lofty reaches of alliance territory, dodging large alliance ambushes, to find the secrets that have created the imbalance that exists in the world. At which point, you finally face the darkest creatures that strangely bear an uncanny resemblance to those races in the Alliance who call themselves “good.”

In the end, identifying which of the two, Horde or Alliance, is truly “good” or “evil” depends on the player’s perspective. Just like in high school, if you are one of the beautiful people who find strength in numbers and take pleasure in the misfortune of others, Alliance is definitely for you and must be the side of good. If you are that stand- out, that geeky kid in the corner who faces life’s challenges with honor and stands by your friends when things are at their worst, Horde is for you and must be the side of good.

So, the next time you meet one of those WoW players, ask them “Alliance or Horde?” and you’ll know exactly where they stand.