As the title reads, do you think there is a place for Darkfallen druids to fit into the Lore proper or is it just a situation of Character Customization not reflecting the intended lore of the world?
I for one love the idea that as time passes that Undeath has become something that is tangential to the natural order and no longer opposed to it, but I also get the people who want to keep them as opposing forces.
To me itâs sort of in the same category as manâari paladins or lightforged warlocks/shadow priests. Like itâs definitely possible to do in a compelling and original way but it may strain credulity a tad on first glance. At the end of the day though itâs your subscription so by all means, find a way to make it work.
Some things to consider (and please take with a grain of salt as Iâm not an expert on the lore);
Darkfallen night elves are a thing that came about after the Forsaken burned Teldrassil and raised some of the kaldorei in the aftermath, so it stands to reason a few druids were among those. Thereâs also the lore from Shadowlands that says necromancy is a thing any cosmic force can conduct so undeath is not necessarily mutually exclusive to the realm of Life from which druids draw their power from. And then thereâs the KT druids and their weird spooky Drust forms which seem to imply that unnatural life can still be a thing druids can work with.
Life magic and death magic are opposing forces.
Speaking only for myself, I would not interact with a Darkfallen druid. Iâve seen more outlandish things in SW but it definitely ranks up there in âclass-race combinations that should not exist.â
Life and death magic in a blend comes off as a bit odd to me, but I try to be pretty chill when it comes to RP. I generally go with âif it is done well, I can roll with it.â I sometimes think when concepts are super niche, it can feel like an attempt to be super special - but again, I will interact with most everyone and give it a shot. Unless I stumble into some weird baby murdering-animal torture type of person lol In the end it is your $15 and if it makes you happy, go for it. MG is a diverse place to be! 
I wanted to thank everyone for their support and repliesâŚ
After doing some wowhead and youtube deepdiving I actually found 3 canon instances of undead druids/undead using druidic abilities. Theyâre all mobs, two from classic and two only being relevant in Cata so they are old but I count them!
Tortured Druid: A mob in Silithus that uses Moonfire and Healing Touch. Vanilla quest mob but no longer relevant
Severed Druid/Keeper: Quest mobs in Ashenvale Cata Horde side. The Druids cast Rejuvination and Wrath, the Keepers cast just moonfire. Keepers are the only ones who donât have the ghostly filter over them.
Demented Druid Spirit: Removed in Cata and given the undead status after being uncategorized, they were adds spawned during the Ysondre world Boss fight. I canât find any record of abilities so most likely they were just creeps.
Something that might be important is to understand the context of these abilities and NPCs. These NPCs being flagged as undead and using druid abilities may not justify an undead druid character.
If the majority of the examples are ghosts, I wouldnât say that druidism is something possible by undead beings. Ghosts are generally pretty weird and are often caught reliving the moments of their demise or wandering Azeroth until put to rest. Any magic theyâre using could be imagined as a pale, ghostly imitation of what power they held in life. In the same way that spirits of priests or paladins canât use the Light, itâs unlikely these spirits call upon real Life magic.
I wouldnât say ghosts are equal to more physical undead in terms of presence and power, and the NPCs referenced are all over a decade old, well before the lore about magic was solidified in Chronicle. I would be cautious with this concept- while it could be interesting to play, you may not get positive reception from druid players that are more lore-adherent. It really depends on your target audience and their level of comfort with the idea.
Something else worth considering are alternative, but similar powers. If your undead character isnât able to connect with their druidic powers after their return, where else could they turn? The Nightmare might have remnants floating around per the Chromie scenario, and satyr wielded strange powers through Fel magic for millenia. The Drust turned to the realm of Thros, using their peopleâs druidic rituals but defiling them with death magic that grows wicked thorns and darkens woodlands.
These findings, combined with the Drust forms being literally undead and some of the quests regarding Drust druids/thornspeakers from being from death/decay as a part of nature, should be end of story.
Anyone that chooses to ignore these lore aspects are lore cherry-pickers rather than lore adherents.
If you want to use the customization that is fine, you donât have to come up with something crazy to justify having red eyes. Not all elves with red eyes have to be undead but if youâre looking for lore on dark druids, then the old RPG guide had a class called âplagueshifterâ that I liked. While the RPG guide isnât canon, it still has ideas that arenât a stretch to RP as.
"Unlike others, the wise races of the Horde realized that the plague must be fought intelligently and skillfully, through knowledge and not with wild sword strokes. After long and careful deliberation the Horde formed a new order of druids, the plagueshifters, who were charged with reclaiming the Plaguelands and other stricken areas for the Horde.
Plagueshifters fill a specialized role, one typically taken by tauren druids, who are willing to leave Kalimdor and walk in far lands. To become a plagueshifter, one must risk exposure to the deadliest diseases and poisons, and learn to master them. Itâs a dangerous profession, but just as the mastery of sharp steel has its rewards, so too does the victory over the most insidious enemies of the natural world."
There are also worgen to consider, who originated from being druids and Goldrinnâs powers. Wowhead has this to say:
âThe worgen curse makes raising them into undeath far more difficult than it is for normal humans. The worgen curse has roots in both the Emerald Dream (through the wolf Ancient Goldrinn) and the holy power of the goddess Elune. In addition, those worgen who imbibe the waters of Talâdoren â during the Ritual of Balance â have a further resistance to the corruption of undeath. Sylvanasâ Valâkyr are less powerful than the Lich King and are unable to overcome this resistance and turn worgen into Forsaken, but the powers of the Lich King himself are sufficient enough to raise worgen as death knights. Worgen death knights can shapeshift, such as Grant Lazarby. Forsaken can be cursed to appear as worgen, like Apothecary Berard.â
So I think it could be possible to be an undead druid, but not very common. If a worgen could retain their ability to shapeshift as a death knight, it may be possible for a druid to retain their abilities in undeath as well.
There are also other options for being a bit more shady/villainous as a druid too. Such as Druids of the Fang, or the Druids of Nightmare. There are so many reasons your druid might look different, aside from just being darkfallen.
Thank you for your help but it isnât just about the customization but about the narrative of the Darkfallen.
I want to explore what Life and Death truly mean in a world where these things are often transient and malleable. Iâm mostly concerned if there are any official sources/statements that completely nix the idea of an Undead interacting with Life magic and Druidism.
Luckily Iâve recently found some quest text from Western Plaguelands that clears up that the Cenarion Circle wouldnât outright forbid her return if she can at least muster some druidic abilities still.
âWe accept all who choose to follow the druidic path, regardless of race, faction, or talent. Occasionally that means we enlist a druid who needs more help than others.â