Our very first post in the series Interview in the Underbelly. We’re going to be hearing from the one and only Paryah. As one of the founders of Ravenholdt, I thought Paryah would be a great guest to start the series.

The goal of the series is to interview a member of the Rogue community maybe every 1-2 weeks. Hopefully we’ll have a range of people from all walks of life within World of Warcraft. We’ll grow this series over time and hopefully everyone enjoys the content!

Tell everyone about yourself

I am Paryah. I currently double main Rogue and Vengeance DH. I am an officer in a guild that I started about six(ish) years ago. We raid Heroic and dabble in Mythic. I am not hardcore but I do love the Rogue class. I have been interested in the Rogue community and in providing the best possible resources for all Rogues since before Ravenholdt existed. Currently Ravenholdt is divided into three primary sections: the main site, the Discord, and the theorycrafting site. I run the main Ravenholdt site.

When and how did you start playing World of Warcraft?

When WoW came out I was immersed in Neverwinter Nights (I think… Wow that was a long time ago). A friend wanted me to play WoW and had me come over and check it out. But he played a Gnome mage! Seriously! That did not sell me on the game and it was a few years later that I got a real look at the real not-Gnome WoW at another friends house. I went home and immediately created an account. That was either late BC or early Wrath. I consider myself to be a Wrath-baby. My first character was an Orc Warrior and my second was my undead Rogue. The Rogue was so much fun that I have actually never gone back and finished leveling my poor Warrior.

How did you choose the name for your Rogue?

This is probably the same story as half the players in WoW, lol. I had an old D&D Dark Elf Rogue called Pariah. The name seemed fitting for a Forsaken but was taken. So I messed with the spelling and Paryah was born.

What do you enjoy most about playing a Rogue?

OMG everything! I love stealth. I love doing quests while killing as few NPCs as possible, just because I can. I love being able to explore without having to worry about fighting a bunch of mobs along the way. I love the pickpocketing content – I think that’s a lovely little thing that no one else has. Rogues are special.

What do you dislike most about playing a Rogue?

Visual clutter in melee. Nuff said.

Tell everyone an interesting situation that has happened while playing a Rogue

So there we were, fighting Ultraxion. I swore I would not hit Shadowstep… But it was there and it called to my finger and the next thing I knew I was perched on a ledge with that accursed dragon way above me. And I was stuck there til we killed him or wiped. So here I am, enjoying the view of a devastated Dragonblight, watching my DPS on Recount plummet, and suddenly there is this tiger sitting next to me. I could not for the life of me figure out where he had come from or why he was there. The Hunter’s pet wasn’t a tiger. After a little bit he faded out. You guys, I thought I’d discovered some hidden content! Seriously, there are invisible tigers living in Wyrmrest Temple! OMG! What could it mean? It wasn’t until years later that I figured out that the Hunter had Stampede or some such Hunter ability and one of his little fellows must have done just what I did and got stuck on the ledge too. Yeah, I felt like an idiot.

Of course there was that other time on Thok when I thought I was talented into Burst of Speed (I miss Burst of Speed) but I’d forgotten to switch talents. Thok targeted me and I hit Burst of Speed…and Shadowstepped right to the jailer… Good times…

What would you play instead of a Rogue, and why?

If Rogues did not exist, I would probably be a druid. Before this expansion my second main was my bear. Love the versatility. Love bear, love kitty.

Which expansion has been your favourite?

Mists of Pandaria. OMG that expansion was so gorgeous. I loved the zones. I loved the story. I was so ashamed to be Horde. The raids were fun. And to top it off, my guild was flourishing. We started in Cataclysm, but in Mists we really came into our own. It was a lot of fun.

Which expansion has been your least favourite?

I hate to say this, but probably Legion. Don’t get me wrong, least is relative, I still love WoW. But Legion feels so big that I can’t quite get a handle on it. I’m a completionist and it really feels like I can’t do everything. Professions feel obstructed. AP feels infinite. There are thing I love, like the class mounts and the zones and Suramar (which was so made for Rogues) and Demon Hunters (Vengeance is so much fun!), but I feel like I am constantly playing catch-up. Maintaining two raiding mains along with a stable of alts is a losing battle.

How did Ravenholdt come about?

Once upon a time Rfeann was the Rogue columnist at WoW Insider, a news site that is now gone (it is the reason that Blizzard Watch now exists – but that’s another story). At that time WoW Insider had to downsize and laid off a bunch of writers, including the class columnists. In his personal blog, Rfeann mentioned that he had some ideas for a Rogue community website. I did too. I currently had a site called One Rogues Resources which pulled together Rogue news and listed useful Rogue sites but I was interested in more. I shot him an email saying you, me, awesome? He replied with the idea that the four active (at the time) Rogue bloggers should talk about creating Ravenholdt. He and I, along with Fierydemise and Haileaus got talking… And the rest is history.

Tell everyone a fun fact about Fierydemise

A fun fact. Hmm. Well FD is about the most perfect person: cute, smart, great taste in class and entertainment, and about the sweetest kindest person you will ever meet. But beyond that, he has to be the world’s best ranter. I don’t know how fun a fact this is, but it’s super fun to listen to. Get him started on a topic and he’s off. I don’t think he even takes breaths. Also, he lives on Soylent.

What is the best transmogrification for the Trial of Style?

The one I’m wearing because I always win! No really, I did ToS (Trial of Style) twice, got Freestyle, and won both times in my everyday transmog. I think that means my moggery is awesome and I should quit while I’m ahead.

What is your shoe size?

7 but being undead my sharp little toes just destroy footwear – so it doesn’t really matter. If I like it, I can make it fit.

Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?

This is a complicated question. There is a pizza place near me that does a Hawaiian pizza with pineapple, ham, and cream cheese. It is to die for. You cannot judge until you have tried this pizza.

Thank you Paryah!

We would like to extend our thanks to Paryah for answering our (and some from Patreons) questions. You can find Paryah on Twitter, or managing Ravenholdt.