The RP Inducing Mount

Rawr so icy!

If there's anything we take for granted in the world of warcraft it's our poor mounts and companions. We buy 'em, grind 'em, collect them then stow them away, only giving them exposure to fresh air when we feel like it.

On the rare occasion there will be a companion who will stand out from the rest. Rather than being a collectible they become part of our character's story. Coming from a does-not-RP-a-lot perspective I have only encountered a small handful of these companions, which include Pebbles, the venomhide ravasaur mount, and the ICC achievements mounts.

I think it's great that some of these companions come with a backstory. Even though we can create the stories as we go along, say, you are on a mission to free the emerald whelps from corruption so you go and kill thousands upon thousands of noxious whelps to find an emerald whelp, and doing so it becomes your companion. Then there are the pets that are outright purchased, like the groundhog. And like any other pet, your story starts there if you choose so. This involves a lot of thought and creativity and it's quite hard to do for all 200 of the companions out there, and some of the stories might just become too farfetched. Pebbles on the other hand already comes with a story. Free lore, free backup, free info.

Back on topic now. Whatever it was. The ICC achievement mounts, the icebound/bloodbathed frostbrood vanquishers are an interesting pair. Unlike all the other mounts out there, I find that they differentiate themselves through a simple line in the letter that accompanies them:

"She has a will of her own and then some."

That's it. That's what made the difference. A will of her own hey? So that makes this mount semi-sentient in a sense. Unlike all the other reward mounts, such as the red/blue dragonhaw, or the Ulduar proto-drakes, the frostbrood vanquisher was actually doing while you were out questing. It had previously been under the influence of Ner'zhul and has broken free due to the fall of Arthas. All the other mounts just "existed", they were raised by someone else and now they are giving it to you.

To me that was the breaking point and I suddenly got this urge to show my newly acquired frostbrood vanquisher how Azeroth has changed, and that there is a world out there beyond Icecrown.

But yes, it was this mount that significantly reduced my desire to find any of the other rare mounts such as the time-lost and aoenaxx (which conveniently saves me a lot of guilt-free time now)!

A whole new world to explore!

Turby the Explorer