A Different Way of Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King

General, Lore 3 comments.

While I’ve been frantically checking every fifteen minutes to see if the servers are back up¹, the significant other has decided to get ready for the imminent release of the second World of Warcraft expansion in an entirely different way.  He took the opportunity this afternoon to reinstall his copies of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne and has been gleefully slaughtering Scourge minions.  Since our computers are in the same room, I’ve been reliving the experience vicariously through him.

In between bouts of cursing at the server’s damnable reticence and goading on the significant other in his fight against the Scourge², I started thinking about how this really was a wonderful way of preparing for the expansion.  This Thursday Wrath of the Lich King will become available to World of Warcraft players and features the next phase of the campaign against the forces of the Scourge.  The events that we will see in upcoming months were precipitated years ago in the Warcraft III game and its expansion.  Now is a wonderful opportunity to review the history of those games in order to have a better understanding of what will happen in Wrath of the Lich King.

In particular, I’ve been looking forward to the Reign of Chaos campaign “The Culling.”  Prior to this campaign, Arthas Menethil has realized that the Scourge are spreading the plague through infected grain carried in caravans that are being delivered to various towns, cities, and settlements throughout the Lordaeron kingdom.  Following this discovery, the young prince is reuinited with Uther the Lightbringer, his mentor, and their forces make their way to Stratholme.  When Arthas learns that the grain has already arrived in the city and has been disseminated to the populace, he orders Uther to take his forces and purge the city of its inhabitants — both living and undead.  Uther refuses and, maddened by this seeming betrayal by his closest friend, Arthas disbands disbands the Knights of the Silver Hand and undertakes the gruesome task himself.

In the Wrath of the Lich King, players will be able to exprience this pivotal event from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos in the Caverns of Time instance The Culling of Stratholme.  Players will watch the exchange between Arthas, Uther, and Jaina, and then be tasked to help the Prince in preventing Mal’Ganis from acquiring more slaves of the Scourge in the people’s death.  They’ll fight through waves of undead, make their way through the city, and then take on the mastermind behind the corruption of Stratholme, the nathrezim Mal’Ganis.

And this is just one example of where the lore of the previous games will collide with the future expansion!

Want to bone up on your lore for Wrath of the Lich King?  Consider perusing the following links:

• Blizzard’s “Death Knight Lore,”
• The story “Rise of the Lich King,”
• “Know Your Lore: Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King” at WoW Insider
• Articles tagged as Lore on WotLKWiki, and of course
• WoWWiki’s Wrath of the Lich King article, which spawns multiple links to other related topics.

Related Posts

1. Enemy at the Gates: The Scourge Invasion
2. Searching for the Golden Ticket
3. Zombies Ate My Inn Keeper

Loremonger: The Troll Wars

Lore, Roleplaying 2 comments.

The Troll Wars were a series of conflicts between the quel’dorei¹ found in the forest regions north of Lordaeron and the indigenous forest trolls who were affronted by their efforts to build a new home following the War of the Ancients and the sundering of the world.  The wars spanned millennia and culminated in a final battle almost three thousand years before the First War.

The quel’dorei were unaware at the time that their new home had been built on top of land known to be sacred to the forest trolls of the region.   As the centuries passed following the high elves’ arrival to the area now known as Quel’Thalas, the conflicts between them and their neighbors escalated, eventually requiring use of the same magic that had resulted in their exile from kal’dorei society.  The superstitious trolls fled in fear and the new kingdom of Quel’Thalas was left in relative peace other than the occasional skirmish with its more primitive neighbors.

Four thousand years later confrontations against the indigenous Amani trolls had escalated; united by their mutual dislike of the quel’dorei, the once bickering tribes descended on the Thalassian kingdom, beginning what was later known as The Troll Wars. Desperate to save their race, the high elves turned to the humans of the nearby land of Arathor for assistance. The two nations formed an alliance after a bargain was struck: in exchange for their aid, the quel’dorei would begin instruction in the arcane arts for one hundred humans.

When the time was deemed right, the quel’dorei instructors and their charges left the Arathi capital of Strom and traveled north alongside the armies of Arathor. There they met up with a contingent of quel’dorei magi who would be fighting alongside them in the upcoming battle at the foot of the Alterac Mountains. Though the fight waged for many days, the high elven lords held the full extent of their magical might from the forest trolls until a time that they deemed it necessary; when they did unleash the full fury of the heavens, the troll armies were set ablaze and together the allies crushed the Amani empire.

Following the conclusion of The Trolls Wars, the quel’dorei kept in contact with the people of Arathor and what had originally been a military alliance evolved into something more.  Furthermore, the kingdom of Quel’Thalas possessed a debt that was later repaid during the Second War, when the quel’dorei joined the Alliance under Anduin Lothar, the last descendant of the Arathi bloodline.  The quel’dorei sent a small contingent to aid the alliance in its fight against the orcs.

The introduction of magic to the humans changed the course of history.  Hedged in by the desire to limit the use of magic by Thoradin, leader of the Arathi tribe of people, the fledgling wizards eventually decided to leave Strom and establish their own kingdom, one dedicated to the study and use of magic. Known as the Magical Nation of Dalaran, the magocratic city-state became a focal point for magi and the study of the arcane. This defection paved the way for other groups to do the same, such as those that did following Thoradin’s death, effectively splintering the human empire.

The Troll Wars in Roleplaying

Incorporating an event that occurred thousands of years in the past can be difficult for roleplayers, but the impact of The Troll Wars can be still felt by the descendants of that conflict.  Many of the participants — whether they were quel’dorei, human, or even trolls — would have maintained records of the conflict.  In particular, the people of Dalaran would have a strong memory of these events since it put into motion the events that eventually resulted in the city-state’s creation.  Furthermore, the quel’dorei — and by extension, the sin’dorei — most likely maintain a strong hatred for the trolls in the surrounding area, which may easily transfer over to all trolls, even the jungle trolls of the Darkspear Tribe who are currently members of the Horde as well.

However, it’s important to remember that these events occurred thousands of years in the past and records may be incomplete or even entirely wrong.  For example, one of my characters is the spirit woman of a small tribe of forest trolls.  They have no written record of the events that occurred during The Trolls Wars, though it has a large impact on their racial identity; instead, the tribe maintains the story through oral legend, which is told by members of the circle of elders and is brought to life by the arts of the spirit woman.  These stories are understandably one-sided, in that they extol the strengths and courage of the Amani Empire in the face of the demonic pointy-earred bastards who used their foul magic against them.  From the perspective of the humans or quel’dorei, the story would be skewed more into their favor.

A common misconception of the quel’dorei and sin’dorei is that they are as long-lived as their progenitors, the kal’dorei or night elves.  However, this is not true.  Following the exile of the Highborne from kal’dorei society, the quel’dorei somehow lost all connection with the both the Well of Eternity and the World Tree, thereby losing the immortality that the race had originally possessed.  This occurred during the period in which the high elves were seeking a new home on the continent of Lordaeron, centuries before the initial series of confrontations with the forest trolls of the region that would be known as Quel’Thalas.  Therefore, it would be almost impossible for a representative of any race — even the longer lived quel’dorei — to have first-hand accounts of The Trolls Wars without having found some other means of sustaining his or her life.

Who loves lore? Cynra loves lore! Loremonger helps World of Warcraft players learn their lore and then apply that knowledge to roleplaying within the game. Articles in this series may be found in the Lore category.
Have a topic that you’d like to see covered? Reply to this post!

Related Posts

1. House Al’shar
2. An Innocent Disguise
3. Loremonger: Teldrassil

Loremonger: Teldrassil

Lore, Roleplaying 5 comments.

The island of Teldrassil is located in the Veil Sea northwest of the main continent of Kalimdor  and takes its name from the World Tree found there.  In Darnassian the word means “Crown of the Earth,” and it is here that the kal’dorei have made their new capital of Darnassus.  The island was originally known as Kalidar before the new World Tree was forced into being.

During the second invasion of the Burning Legion into the world of Azeroth, Archimonde and his army of demons returned to Kalimdor to continue the fight with the kal’dorei, who had banished them from this world in a defeat over ten thousand years prior.  Their goal was the old World Tree Nordrassil, located on Mount Hyjal.  By acquiring the power of the World Tree — which also granted immortality to the kal’dorei — the Burning Legion hoped to finally accomplish their goal of world domination.

While the Second Invasion was prevented by the combined forces of the orcs, humans, and kal’dorei, the spell cast by druid Malfurion Stormrage to defeat Archimonde subsequently destroyed Nordrassil and most of the surrounding Hyjal Summit.  Though the legion had been defeated, it had been at a very high cost: immortality.  The kal’dorei faced prospects of being mortal again.

Shortly after Malfurion returned to his slumber, the Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm — who had seized control of the kal’dorei druids in Malfurion’s absence — decided that it was time to create a new World Tree, thereby hopefully returning to his people their immortality.  He turned to the Circle of the Ancients in Darkshore, a group of powerful tree-like elementals who had often served as protectors of the land in the past.  Staghelm convinced the Circle to use their powers to grow a new World Tree on the island of Kalidar and with their efforts Teldrassil was created.  Unfortunately, unlike the previous incarnation of the World Tree, Teldrassil was not blessed by the heads of the three dragonflights, most importantly Nozdormu of the Bronze Dragonflight who had originally placed the blessing on Nordrassil that granted the kal’dorei their immortality.

Despite this setback, the kal’dorei have made the giant tree of Teldrassil their home.  The heads of the government reside here, including the Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm of the Cenarion Circle and High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind of the Sisters of Elune.  The island is protected by members of the elite fighting guard known as the Sentinels, who follow the orders of Tyrande and her lieutenant, Shandris Feathermoon.

Teldrassil in Roleplaying

Teldrassil is a very common place of origin for may roleplayers who have kal’dorei characters.  This makes sense since it is the first area to which they are introduced when playing this race.  However, the events that prompted the creation of the new World Tree occurred less than a decade prior to the current events in World of Warcraft.  For a race that supposedly doesn’t reach maturity until after their first century at the very least¹, it would be impossible to claim that a kal’dorei grew up on Teldrassil.

However, Teldrassil was grown on top of an island originally known as Kalidar.  It is feasible to believe that some people may have lived on that island prior to the new World Tree’s creation, especially given the fact that it did possess its own unique name.  Therefore, a kal’dorei could claim that he grew up on the island currently known of Teldrassil, but at a time before the World Tree existed.  The difference may seem rather minute, but it does express an understanding of lore that would benefit most roleplayers.

Roleplayers may choose to approach the topic of Teldrassil in a number of different ways.  Some indviduals may be amazed by the beauty of the island and World Tree, especially given how its creation — and the subsequent creation of the capital city of Darnassus — occurred over such a short period of time.  This may be an enviable feat in the eyes of a human, who may very well have watched the destruction of the city of Stormwind during the events of the First War; it took years for the city to be restored to its former grandeur, but its rebuilding is founded in civil unrest and discontent.

Kal’dorei in particular may be moved by the existence of the Teldrassil.  For some, it is a sign of the race’s tenacity.  Despite having lost their immortality, the kal’dorei managed to recreate in part the old World Tree and its size is larger and more majestic than Nordrassil.  Some may be hoping that the Teldrassil may somehow one day return immortality to the kal’dorei.  While this is dependent on a source of power equal to the blessing originally bestowed upon the old World Tree by Nozdormu, the creation of a new World Tree is a very significant first step.  These individuals may be faced with their own mortality and may be desperate to reclaim their immortality.

Others, most likely those with close ties to nature or who possess very concrete beliefs regarding its manipulation, may be revolted by Staghelm’s decision and subsequent actions.²  It is feasible to believe that many people objected to Staghelm’s conduct, though he currently doesn’t seem like the sort of individual to rely on the advise of others.  In particular, those who support Tyrande or Malfurion — both individuals who have butted heads with Staghelm in the past — may be strongly opposed to any action or decision made by the current Arch Druid.

Loremonger explores various topics in World of Warcraft lore, explaining their significance and how they tie into the current existing universe. It then goes further to explain how this information can be used by roleplayers in fleshing out their characters. Articles in this series may be found in the Lore category.

Related Posts

1. Decision 2008: The Arch Druid Election
2. Loremonger: The Troll Wars
3. Why Has the Light Forsaken Me?

Enemy at the Gates: The Scourge Invasion

General, Lore, Roleplaying 5 comments.

Last night while furtively leveling in the Plaguelands¹, Tallaa and I did what we normally do late evenings on Vent² and discussed various aspects of the game. The topic of the evening seemed to be his rather heated insistance in getting to explore the entirety of Stratholme and Scholomance with our characters on the Scarlet Crusade US server. It appears that he reached 60 just barely in time for the expansion — which was a foreign concept to me as a long-time player who joined the World of Warcraft universe during the original open beta. He’s long claimed to have never done all of Stratholme³ and really felt that it would be awesome to do so with House Al’shar. In a rare moment of clarity, I concurred and went back to freezing the local limbless populace before watching them shatter in an explosion with well-placed Frostbolts.

Have I mentioned before that I love being a Frost mage?

Being in the Plaguelands always makes me feel nostalgic. I reached the height of my World of Warcraft experience during those carefree and innocent pre-expansion days — not seeing the innermost recesses of end-game raiding or even by making my presence known on the battlefieltrud, but roleplaying in the Plaguelands with a bunch of friends on my neophyte hunter. It was an amazing time, with The Burning Crusade looming overhead but our small group not caring about it at all as we travelled the known world, explored again those pre-raiding dungeons, and wove wonderful stories for our characters. It didn’t matter if we were kneedeep in severed limbs or sharing stories of our exploits in the comfort of a tavern, exploring the barren wastelands of the Western Plaguelands or aiding the Argent Dawn in halting the Sourge Invasion: we roleplayers were blissfully happy and our adventures remain some of the most memorable experiences that I have ever had in World of Warcraft.

I was explaining this to Tallaa in fervent detail when he cut me short, saying that he had never had the opportunity to participate in the Scourge Invasion — thereby missing out on what has been to date the world event of the entire history of World of Warcraft.

The Scourge Invasion was the world event Blizzard used to herald the release of Naxxramas in patch 1.11. It was, without a doubt, the best world event that has ever been implemented in the game⁴; it puts the paltry efforts made with the release of the Sunwell to shame, it eclipses the events surrounding the opening of the Dark Portal, and it even rivaled the opening of the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj during the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort. The Source Invasion truthfully was just that amazing.

In the months before the first expansion was released, the world of Azeroth came under attack by Scourge forces under the command of Kel’Thuzad. Giant necropoleis hovered overhead as waves of undead assaulted the lands⁵ below. Some of these creatures would manage to find their way into capital cities, harassing the local populace and implacably moving forward in an effort to take out the city’s leader in a single blow.

The Scourge Invasion was finally repelled by the combined forces of the Horde, Alliance, and Argent Dawn.

The world event was beautifully enacted in such a way that completely blows my mind away. First off, it was clearly a world event of epic proportions. While the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort attempted to allow everyone to get involved by turning in needed supplies, most of the action was far away in Silithus, not easily accessible by most inexperienced players. The Scourge Invasion, however, was everywhere you turned; whether outside of Stormwind, inside the Undercity, or leveling in the Plaguelands, the Scourge was certain to have a presence. Questing for the invasion began as low as level 6, though most of the content was limited to those near to the then-current level cap.

It was also much more engaging. For many roleplayers who had tied their characters’ histories to the events depicted in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, this was an event that hit home. The roleplay spawned by former citizens of the fallen kingdom of Lordaeron or Forsaken who had once been a mindless drone of the Scourge ran rampant everywhere and resulted in some of the best and most involving stories that I have every seen in World of Warcraft. And for those characters who didn’t have an emotional attachement to the lands or groups involved, the drive to defend one’s home from invasion was almost universal. Rivalries were put aside, old hatreds put to rest, and even unspoken, undeclared war between the forces of the Horde and the Alliance was momentarily forgotten in light of the overwhelming power of the Scourge forces.

In particular, Blizzard made a wonderful effort by throwing in a series of quests regarding missives found on the corpses of defeated undead. Occasionally you could find a letter that you would then pass onto a representative of the Argent Dawn. Most people disregarded the letters entirely, intent on obtaining the gold and experience that resulted from completing the quests, but those who did take the time to read them found some of the most poignent and emotional writings found to exist in the game. Take for example A Bloodstained Envelope that appears to be from someone who participated in the original journey to Northrend:

My Emily,

A few short days ago, we broke camp in this Light-forsaken place, operating under the King’s orders to return home. My heart was light despite my bleak surroundings, for I knew that after the frigid trek to the shore and long, grueling voyage, I would find solace in your arms.

We reached the shoreline today to find our ships, our means of return, nothing more than charred husks; we cannot leave, and have no choice but to press on into the heart of this abysmal wasteland.

I have gone to the very end of the world to keep you safe, Emily… and now… I wish with all my being that I had remained in Lordaeron with you.

Thoughts of you fill my every waking moment. You are my warmth in this frozen land, beloved, and no one can take that from me.

Maxwell

Or perhaps the writings found on A Careworn Note:

Dearest Amelia,

Tonight I have seen things that will haunt me to the end of time.

Stratholme is aflame… and we are responsible.

Our Prince led us into the streets of the city tonight; he ordered us to break into the homes of the townspeople and… kill them in their sleep. They were plagued, claimed Lord Arthas, and had to be killed before they killed us.

It was a slaughter. Hundreds died silently to the swords of those sworn to protect them. I could stand it no longer; I fled.

Deserter I may be, but I could not commit such atrocities. In every home I could not help but see your face, or those of our children, upon the victims as they died. If standing against that means being a traitor, then so be it.

I hope to find my way back to you in time, but the roads are unsafe. Give our children my love in my absence.

James

Where was this emotional angle in the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort? Where was this level of effort in the opening of the Dark Portal? Ask people what the in-game justification for fighting in Silithus or on the island of Quel’Danas isand they might mumbles something rather vague that probably isn’t too accurate. Ask people about the Scourge Invasion and those who were around in game at the time will tell you about defending the world or battling undead forces against overwhelming odds, or even the days that the skies turned blacked under the shadow of Kel’Thuzad’s floating necropoleis.

With the Wrath of the Lich King expansion looming overhead when we continue the fight against the undead in Northrend, the Scourge Invasion seems at the forefront of my mind.  It would be the optimal time to bring back this — or a similar — event, since the Scourge Invasion world event has never been repeated.  Perhaps it’s nostalgia kicking in, but I would very much love for something similar to occur prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion!

Related Posts

1. Zombies Ate My Inn Keeper
2. A Different Way of Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King
3. Loremonger: Teldrassil