Bear-Form - WoW Trial: Day 6

I'm starting to get a little bothered by the impermanence of my actions in the game. A friend of mine who also did the trial told me that he was frustrated with how little his actions actually affected the game world, and while I understand that, I don't think it's realistic for one player to expect to sway the conflict between Alliance and Horde much. We can't all be Warchief. What gets me more, considering the level I'm at currently, is that its obvious my individual quests have no effect. If I go and kill 20 rabid bears, even if I complete the quest, those rabid bears will still respawn. I realize that this is necessary so that other players around my level can have the opportunity to complete the quest, but somehow I think these two position can be reconsciled.

Similarly, I'm starting to get a little bothered by the moral implications of some of my actions. Take the quest I completed today with Zeron, my Tauren, when I killed the mightiest kodo beast tromping around the plains of Mulgore. This beast was not rabid or contaminated with evil magics. It was simply the most powerful of its kind, and killing it showed my prowess in battle. After killing it, though I got to thinking about the implications of my actions, based on what we know about natural selection, ecosystems, etc. What real purpose did it serve killing the strongest? By slaying the beast, I prevented it from passing on any more of its genes, thereby weakening the kodo gene pool. Moreover, the Tauren of Thunder Bluff were not starving or suffering the effects of the cold, so the kodo meat and skin were not necessary either. The only reason my killing of this creature is paletable is that it will respawn not long after I kill it, eliminating any responsibility I might have for adversely affecting the kodos.

I realize that modeling a more complex system would be quite time consuming, and that playing it such a world would be quite a different experience from the average MMORPG, but somehow I imagine it would be worth the effort.

BTW:

• I had to sell the 17-Pound Catfish. I needed cash!
• I can now turn into a bear!