In World of Warcraft there is more diversity with Shadowlands – but not in all versions of the game. In China, such characters remain silent.
Even during the beta of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, some players noticed something interesting. One of the characters from the story of Bastion, Pelagos, reveals a little more about his character upon request. Players learn that Pelagos had a female body in life, but appears as a man in the Shadowlands. He is thus the first openly recognizable transgender character in World of Warcraft. However, not in all versions of WoW does Pelagos stand by his story.
In China, Pelagos remains silent.
What is it like in China? With the Chinese client, you cannot get this information. There, Pelagos just stands around and has no dialogue options. Players learn nothing about his past or motivations. This is doubly absurd because Pelagos is one of the soulbind characters that are of great importance to the player.
What does Pelagos say in the rest of the world? In the other variants of World of Warcraft – such as the German or English client – Pelagos speaks openly about his background and decision upon request. He feels completely himself for the first time in his new form, and his feelings are in harmony with what others see in his form.
Blizzard included a trans character in Shadowlands in such a beautiful way that made me very happy. Just wanted to share here in case other covenants don’t get to see it from r/wow
This is, by the way, a recurring theme in Shadowlands. Souls can choose a new appearance in the Shadowlands that does not necessarily correspond to their being in life.
In Ardenweald, for example, it is common to take on the form of an animal that fits Ardenweald. In Maldraxxus, on the other hand, most choose warrior forms and also modify them with additional limbs or bone shields.
Why is this so? In China, extremely strict rules apply to media. Almost always, one must adhere to the instructions of the government. If a game conveys values that the government does not like, media quickly disappears from the scene. This is dangerous for companies, as China is a large and important market that one does not want to upset.
In the Chinese version of WoW, some other content is also missing. For example, there are not the new skin tones for humans, and also – which is a bit ironic – the Asian-looking facial customization options are absent.
But Pelagos has even more advantages – after all, Kyrians are often the best covenant.
