If I were to do a zone, it’d be a revamp of Silverpine + Gilneas. Yeah. I’d combine 'em into “The Kingdom of Gilneas”.
“Gilneas has held a strange role throughout of much of Azeroth’s history. A colonial power turned isolationist in the modern age, they were forced through exile and hardship through fault of their own as well as the deeds of foul monsters. But it held on. Fiercely independent, deeply prideful, and self-centered, Gilneas can be a hard friend to rely on.”
“But when one’s worth is proven, none can find a better friend than Gilneas. The Kaldorei found this out in the Fourth War and ever since those dark days, they have found no closer and truer companion than in the forces of Gilneas. This cannot be said about much of the rest of Azeroth. For, much of Gilneas’ fears were proven. The Alliance did not wish for an equal, it wished for a tool. The worgen were some of the Alliance’s greatest shocktroopers, yet the Alliance spared not a penny to reclaim their fallen nation.”
“In the insult of rebuilding Strom and leaving Lordaeron and itself to rot, the Gilneans have started to question their place in the Alliance. As the Fourth has ended, Gilneas has come home. And they’ve come home with a vengeance.”
“Lord Darius Crowley was the first to return. His worgen and his partisans blazed through the remains of the Forsaken’s power in the region, with Greymane’s royal army not too far behind. Even the Sentinels and a few Wardens were spotted cleaning up the mess. Accursed Shadowfang, decrepit and abanonded Fenris Isle, and even the dreaded Sepulchre have been conquered and refurbished in the name of a new Gilnean regime.”
“The first Gilneans in several years have finally stepped foot within Gilneas city itself, and a certain glimmer of hope now sets in the hearts of many other refugees on Azeroth. If Gilneas can rise again, certainly they too must be able to? But reconstruction is a mighty beast to tackle. In rain-drenched gloomy Gilneas, many questions are being asked. Some that threaten much of the status quo that Azeroth has enjoyed.”
“Is it time for the rule of Kings to end?”
Darius Crowley and the Gilneas Liberation Army are the ones to liberate Gilneas, at last. And Genn Greymane has naught to show for it, other than his single-minded fury against Sylvanas for the death of his son. Many Gilneans come to blame Genn and his very lineage for the fate of Gilneas. Are they wrong? It’s difficult to say. Nonetheless, that is one of the many things that pop up in the new Gilneas experience.
Gilneas City is turned into a fully fledged capital city while the zone surrounding it is incorporated with Silverpine Forest. Consider it a Stranglethorn situation, with an upper and lower Silverpine. The overarching problem the Gilneans face are the Alliance and the Forsaken remnant forces. The Alliance causes trouble to the point that a regional military leader, a sort of governor, is captured and put on trial for endangering Gilnean freedom. The Forsaken remnant are just sorta trying to take back lost land, and the Forsaken frontline has been pushed all the way back to their High Command post. It’s become less an attempt to retake Gilneas, but now an attempt to retake Lordaeronian ground.
Northern Silverpine is mostly Forsaken Remnant, Feral Scourge, and cleaning up ghosts. Shadowfang Keep and Pyrewood are the main hub for the zone. We leave the old shadowfang keep dungeon intact by making it accessible through the caverns of time. A new Silverpine Dungeon is introduced in its stead, the Shadowfang Crypts. The Forsaken were up to something, and they were forced to leave everything behind. They failed to destroy their evidence and research, leaving quite a few horrors in those halls. Zombified Worgen, Blighted Undead, and the shackled spirit of Archmage Arugal wait in this light-forsaken place.
The zone story itself includes beating back the Forsaken and helping establish a true new Gilneas. That, and it explores Gilnean military tradition and other related things. Maybe a few folk tales and myths for fun?
Lower Silverpine is a tale of the Alliance, the Night Elves, and new Gilneas. It serves as a starting experience for new worgen, teaching them about the stance Gilneas holds in the current age, as well as the issues it currently faces. The worgen starting zone itself is a story in how you are captured and brought back to your senses, and given a chance to ‘sharpen your fangs’ with a hunting group of both cursed and non cursed Gilneans. An Alliance emissary is there and is somewhat annoying, but they’re still somewhat useful.
Lower Silverpine sees a few flashbacks to the original Gilnean storyline, brought up to date obviously. It takes you through the zone like the OG storyline did, as well, but focuses on what it means to be Gilnean. Their culture, their stories, etc are actively spoken about. Lower Silverpine gets a dungeon, as well. Greymane Manor is haunted, and also it turns out there’s some shady nonsense going on in there. Darius Crowley hires adventurers, off the record, to investigate. It’ll set up some future shenanigans with a potential Gilnean Royalist vs Liberation Army storyline.
All in all, let’s give the zombies and werewolves a good war. While we’re at it, let’s actually give Gilneas some extra depth!
Thems be my ideas, at the least.