How much do you think about what your character is doing?

I spend a lot of time thinking about the quests I undertake while playing World of Warcraft, and how my character would feel and how they would act in those situations. Yes, I’m a nerd, it’s a website about video games, guys.

Anyway, yes, I think about these things. Leveling multiple characters through Dragonflight, I’ve had the chance to see the same exact quests from multiple perspectives — a Lightforged Draenei, an original recipe Draenei, a Human, and now a Night Elf. As a result, I’ve noticed that for me the exact same quests can hit a lot differently. One example is the quest to escort an aging Dragonmaw Orc to the Ruby Life Pools as part of a journey of self-imposed penance. At one point, after you carry his axe and get him some medicine, he and his friend — a younger Orc who has fought beside him in several of the recent conflicts — reach the pools and sit down to have a talk.

As part of that talk, you can say you don’t know who the Dragonmaw are, or you can say that you do and ask how he could bring himself to go to the Life Pools. My Lightforged barely knows anything about Azeroth and has never been to Draenor (ironically enough) and so he knows very little about Orcs, and as a result I had him say that he had no idea who the Dragonmaw are. My original flavor Draenei was born on Draenor and knows who they are, and said so, but my Human knows who they are but lied about it to try and put him at ease. My Night Elf basically told him he should pay for his crimes, while all my other characters said the more forgiving option. I intended to say the same on the Night Elf, but I just couldn’t justify it. Darnassus and Teldrassil burned too recently for that.

So the scene directly after where a young Red Whelp lands in the Orc’s lap, clearly not knowing or caring about his past? It hit a lot differently on the Night Elf.

I understand that for many people this is ridiculous. But it’s how I approach gaming, especially in RPGs — I make the choices that make sense for the character and their backstory, ultimately. So what about y’all? How much do you think about what your character is up to in game?