Darkfriend: Yes, you guessed it. How could I think of a WoT MMO and not think of the potential for playable Darkfriends? In theory this type of playable character would be a secret option; as revealing oneself to be a Friend of the Dark would be a very bad idea in most circumstances. Would make for some really interesting PvP scenarios I would wager; though this type of issue would be a hot topic I would wager, as many folk would not like getting betrayed by their teammates at some point. Tricky, no?
Spying aside, I would really love the chance to work ones way up (through politicking and murder of course) to the coveted rank of Dreadlord. Heck, given the option I would pull down the Chosen themselves and strive for Nae'blis. Where do I sign to get access to the True Power?
Children of the Light: No I am not kidding. One of my all-time favorite characters in the Wheel of Time series is one who died off in the second book. Geofram Bornhald (and later Galad) are excellent examples of what the Children should be like. Would be a heck of a lot of fun to play IMO, rooting out Darkfriends, dealing with political and civil unrest... as well as outright militant forces of the Shadow as well. I think, given the option, I would choose a more normal Child of the Light as opposed to one of the Hand of the Light. Naturally being an Inquisitor has its appeal at times, but not always.
Shadowspawn: In an ideal situation a WoT MMO would be designed as a massive RvR game, with plenty of PvE and PvP opportunities. In such a situation certain types of Shadowspawn, namely Trollocs and Myrddraal. After all, as PvE opponents these entities would fill a role... mostly well enough. But it would be darn hard to script up Myrddraal; that is a job I think could be better handled by actual players.
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One tricky spot of class development does come to mind: Aes Sedai and Warders. Should Aes Sedai be playable, would you want a Warder pet, or playable PC Warders? The advantage to a NPC pet is that they would be available whenever the Aes Sedai was actually playing. The advantage of player-characters Warders... well is that people would get to play as Warders naturally.
NPC companions are not unthinkable IMO. Depending on how SW:TOR does when it comes out, folk may grow to like the idea of companion NPCs more in MMO environments. Personally I have always enjoyed 'pet classes' when they are done well, but if they are mishandled they are a pain in the ass.
