Well, I’ma do it anyways!
World of Warcraft : Savage Tides
The Alliance and Horde need resources, and the Thousand Isles are brimming with wood, stone, ore and oil. Yet there’s peace and a certain unwillingness to go back to cracking heads because … well, our economies are in shambles, our populations are at their lowest ever point and it’ll be generations before anyone can even think of something on the lines of the last few Wars.
So the Champions of Azeroth are given Comissions to act as Privateers in the name of their Mega-Factions, and are given a basic 3-mast ship to start their adventures. And from this point, the player chooses their path.
PvP : You enter a War Phase and you gain access to ship-to-ship PvP battles. Use cannons and ballista to launch devastating attacks both against the enemy vessel(s) and their crews alike, or launch your fellow PvPers onto the enemy deck. Victory is decided by sinking the other vessel, driving it off, or claiming it as your own by killing all the rival players and laying claim to three zones on the vessel. Each option grants different boons, so having a plan in place before attacking is wise.
Burning it to the ground nets you a decent amount of Resources (Oil, Lumber, Ore, Trade Goods etc) and a decent amount of Honor and other PvP rewards. Driving it off gives you no Resources, but higher Honor rewards and a chance at PvP gear for your efforts. Claiming the vessel is the choicest option, giving you a massive amount of Resources, a great amount of Honor and potentially even an additional ship to add to your growing Privateer Fleet.
The PvP choice also dictates your actions on the Savage Seas, a more heavy-handed and colonial path where you conscript and pursue ‘aggressive diplomacy’ with the native races, although you, again, have options in your dialogue choices to give some form of individuality, with the option to conquer or help the natives you meet and convince them it’s better to side with your Mega-Faction than be seen as an enemy or rival …
PvP Players work together against their rival-faction opponents to build up Horde-only and Alliance-only war-ports which can also be used as set-pieces for PvP battles in a more traditional PvP Battleground or Warfront setting, where the invading forces must either sneak in from the back of the island, risk an aerial assault, or come charging into the bay with their armored warships to take the fight to the defenders.
PvE: Here, you’re choosing a more mercantile and adventurous route, and while you still have access to the same ship-to-ship combat options, this is against NPCs ala the Warfront technology.
In exchange, PvE players get a lot more exploration and puzzle gameplay, with their focus being more on uncovering the Titan facilities buried somewhere in the Thousand Isles in a Cold War between the Explorer’s League and the Reliquary for bragging rights over finding and cataloguing these treasure-troves of information.
Furthermore, PvE players also get a slightly more open-minded approach to exploring and interacting with the native races and can also work with rival-faction Players in several ways to build up neutral ports where trade and diplomacy can flourish, and again, can be used as a Warfront setting for additional content.
The shared experiences in the Savage Tides focuses around exploring the uncharted and unexplored Thousand Isles and trying to stake your claim to gold, glory and perhaps a brighter future as you struggle against a resurgent Naga empire that really doesn’t like you for Waffle-Stomping your faction symbol into Azshara’s fin-covered fanny, several Pirate fleets that aren’t too keen on your stopping their raiding of your shipping routes, rogue agents of the Alliance and Horde who have taken up residence in the Thousand Isles and have their own agendas, and of course, giant sea-monsters created via exposure to Azerite, or the actions of the Naga, or the leakage from those all-important Titan Facilities.
The first vessel we have is quickly taken out as the Players run into a hidden reef and this first island forms our Baby’s First Town content, where we use row-boats to travel between this island and other, nearby islands to gather the resources required to make a new ship … and a small port town. Eventually, a few levels in, we’ve made a port, a small village, and we get the option to make another basic ship, but with four different skins depending upon our Faction.
Horde can make an:
Basic Orc Ship:
Basic Troll Ship:
Basic Elf Ship:
Basic Goblin Ship:
The Alliance get four skins of the Basic Ship of their own.
Basic Human Ship:
Same as the first, but with Stormwind colours
Basic Elven Ship:
Basic Gnomish Ship:
Similar design to the Goblin one, but more sleek and gear-and-cog themed rather than scrap.
Basic Draenei Ship:
Sleek, artistic skiff-like design with crystal motifs.
Seriously, there’s not a lot of ship models at the smaller scale here.
From this point, you’ve got your little vessel and can continue exploring, but you’re also bringing back resources, and trading for what you can’t get with other players and factions.
Miners can produce Ore and Stone. Herbalists can produce Lumber. Skinners can produce Meat and Hide. All of these resources are required to not only build up your port, feed your people and produce more ships, but these are also trade goods required to send home to help sustain your Mega-Factions. Oil is only found in certain key locations.
For PvPers, these become hotly contested Battlegrounds and Warfronts where vicious fights over this resource are constantly waged. There’s also other sources so if you’re on a losing streak, you’re not given the shaft, but the big motherload of oil is only acquired if you hold that zone, at which point it will reset after a few hours.
For PvEers, these zones might only dole out oil on a weekly basis, or you might have to do World Quests or even Warfront-like content to continue to gain access to the Oil resource. To make it fairer for the PvPers, you can hold these zones for longer before they reset, but the output is less per hour than the PvP versions.
At your little port, you can make additional vessels that can be sent out to other islands to lay the groundwork for forward bases, based upon the content you want to pursue.
Want to build a mercantile empire supplying food and resources back home? Go for the islands brimming with resources and get ready for a fight with pirates and feral monsters that inhabit, and depend upon, those resources to survive.
Want to explore and learn the secrets of the last two Titan facilities on Azeorth? Head deep into uncharted territory and prepare yourself to battle against Naga and corrupted Titan constructs that swarm in these areas.
Want to hunt down those Rogue Factions that might or might not be plotting against your people back home? Start sniffing around and stealthily hunt them down, creating listening posts and supply caches as you tighten the noose … and have to decide if they really are enemies, or they just want to be left alone.
Regardless of choice, eventually all paths are open to you, and your little port grows and expands into a proper town, and you get to decide the architecture and population as more settlers show up. You can also upgrade several other locations and, as they expand to town size, decide their architecture and population as well. As your town grows, you also gain the ability to construct larger, and more expensive ships, again based on racial designs. Large carriers can be used to soften up hostile islands, allowing you to call in bombing runs ala the Garrison Abilities of Draenor, or to call in zepplins to carry off large supply caches you find. Submarines can find and tap into underwater ore veins and other deep aquatic supplies. Fishing vessels can gather up massive amounts of fish to feed your outposts, as well as potentially fish up Naga relics, Tortollan pilgrims or Murloc and Makura that might be willing to act as ambassadors for you if you treat them right. Scouting vessels that can quickly and discreetly explore hidden areas of the maps and locate rare resources, strong enemies, hostile encampments and exotic traders for you. And, of course, Warships to add an additional edge in Warfront, PvP and World Quest content, as well as pleasure yachts and luxury vessels for your use as mobile homes or just flaunting your wealth and power for all to see…
Do you make your outposts cosmopolitan? Do you double down on racial identity? Do you go for the more generic designs to make everyone feel welcome or have you made a home for your beleaguered people to try and rest and recover in familiar settings?
Along the way you find a small island(s) that you can claim for yourself and can build several structures on. Naturally, a house for yourself, but the rest is up to your personal tastes. A stable for your favourite mounts? A farm like what we had in Pandaria where you can grow whatever herbs and edible plants from any expansion you like? A mage tower where you can study the arcane in peace? A Warlock’s den where you shackle demons and torture them into service? A smuggler’s den where you can trade on the black market and get the skinny on exotic goods? A portal connects you back to your primary capital, but otherwise, this is a fun little playground for players to build in and have the option to make their home ‘open’ or ‘closed’.
Open means your Private Estate becomes available for Scenarios, where teams of 1-3 players can visit it, and you can gain rewards in turn.
Your choice of buildings, and PvP/PvE settings, alters the Scenarios and what rewards you might gain access to.
For PvPers, this means either defending or invading the Private Estate against rival Players or hostile Faction NPCs. If the Estate is left intact, the Players get rewards based on the level of destruction and you get trophies, trinkets and the surplus loot. Certain structures will provide boons to the friendly players, such as Mage Tower granting them Mage Armor and Enchanted Weapons, effectively a free bubble and DPS boost, while a Smuggler’s Den might poison their weapons and give them access to assassins and thugs that might assault key locations in exchange for gold and resources.
For PvE players, the options become more varied, with the same scenario the PvPers get, against hostile Mobs of a wider variety of races and factions, dealing with a Sea Monster who has decided your Private Estate would make a great hatching ground for its young, to annoying guests who won’t leave and may need some forceful prompting to get out. Even Wrathion, SI:7 and the Shattered Hand might get in on the fun and have you scout out the Private Estate looking for relics, contraband, or just unpaid taxes.
Ultimately, however, all the fun and games has to end and we stumble across the last two Titan Facilities … and Azshara.
And she’s not happy.
Uldaz and Uldorus, as mentioned by M.O.T.H.E.R. in the Heart Chamber, are the last two full Titan Facilities on Azeroth and they’re both rather important.
Uldaz, half-buried and nestled in the bowels of a volcano, is still tangentially connected to the network, but is forced to draw on power from the surrounding leylines and a tap into the Azerite veins to keep itself active, and is home to a colony of Humans who have their own culture and faith, and are less than impressed with both the Horde and the Alliance. Shamanistic/Druidic in faith but highly advanced technologically and socially, the Uldazan would prefer to avoid getting entangled with the wider world but are grudgingly forced to admit they can’t save the Titan facility on their own, not with Old God servants of Void and Lava attacking from within and the new High Captain of the Bloodsail Buccaneers, who has developed an obsession of with Azerite and Titan technology and dreams of plundering Uldaz to secure enough of both to fuel their obsession for decades, hang the cost to the rest of the world.
Uldaz functions as a backup facility for all information from the other Titan Facilities, but due to the damage caused by the Sundering, can only receive, not send, information. Repairing Uldaz and reconnecting it to the Network not only saves irreplaceable knowledge and allows the Titan Watchers to really start rebuilding and fortifying Azeroth, but also points us to Uldorus, and gives us startling information on the nature of Uldorus itself.
Uldorus is trapped at the bottom of the ocean, within a massive force-shield and can only be accessed by two tunnels connected to heavily damaged sub-facilities on two nearby islands. Robotic servitors protect and repair both Uldorus and the sub-facilities, and must be reprogrammed to accept the Horde and the Alliance as allies. Naga flood around the region with bloodthirsty zeal and launch constant raids and assaults, desperate to gain access to Uldorus on the orders of their Queen.
While Uldaz held perfect, inviolate copies of all of Azeroth’s history post-Titans, Uldorus contains copies of all life-forms that have existed on Azeroth post-Titans. And in the event of needing to activate the failsafe in Uldum, to ‘Re-originate’ the planet, Uldaz would be able to provide perfect copies of the Titan Watchers’ memories and personalities to be rebuilt into new bodies, while Uldorus would provide the genetic templates for the Titan Watchers to re-seed the planet with life.
Azshara has seen better days, with N’Zoth’s revivification of her turning her into a proto-G’huun, the proud Queen of the Naga slowly and horrifically mutating into a bloated brood-mother, spawning horrific Naga monstrosities and attended to by gloating Void servitors who intend to use her as a vessel to allow the physical rebirth of all of the True Old Gods. The Queen of the Naga seeks to use Uldorus to re-create her ‘perfect’ Naga form and use sorcery to transfer her essence into this new body, leaving the mockery she is becoming behind and then trying to destroy it.
Her daughters, on the other hand, are tired of Azshara running their future Empire into the ground, and secretly seek a pact with the Alliance (Azsuuna the Cunning) and the Horde (Azthann the Bloody) to topple Azshara, thwart her plans of rebirth and finally banish the last remnants of Old God influence from their people … and a cease fire with the Land Walkers they have allied with, at least for now…
The Raid ends with Azshara transferring into a new body, and forming a grudging alliance with her treasonous daughters to destroy her old body, which now without her mind fighting the transformation, is turning in a disgusting organic Portal/Gate which, if allowed to grow to maturity, will create a permanent link to the Void itself and allow not only the Old Gods, but possibly even the Void Lords to step through into our reality. Eventually, we topple the Gate of Profane Flesh and the Old Gods remain trapped on their side of the barrier, screaming vengeance against us and begging for mercy from the Void Lords, before we’re left with a standoff.
Azshara is still Queen, but vast swathes of her people have abandoned her out of fear for their own lives or revulsion for what her pacts would have transformed them into, but her daughters aren’t nearly powerful enough to topple her, even with their allies. A tense treaty is made, with Azshara retaining dominion of the depths, while Azsuuna claims the oceans around the Eastern Kingdoms, and Azthann claims the oceans around Kalimdor … while the Horde and Alliance look on and quietly wonder if maybe they’ve just traded one massive problem for another one. Azsuuna and Azthann are reminded of the peace treaty between the Horde and the Alliance and told any assault on either faction will result in all bets being off for both Princesses.
And that’s as far as I can go without coffee, but I think it’d make a neat little expansion.
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honestly didn’t mean to necro the thread like that lmao, ive been cracking at an argus expansion concept and accidentally posted the like… thirdway finished version. oops!
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Oh shizz, I didn’t even realise it was a necro-thread.
Dammit, Sint.
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World of Warcraft: Dodgeball
But we use Gnomes and Vulpera as dodgeballs, the losing faction has to regrind exalted reputation with Ve’nari in the maw again using only the gear and item levels available during Nathria. Winner gets to beat up Turaelon…er…however that zealot’s name is spelled.
Honestly, I like the beach idea. As for the housing thing…
The HOA is run by a bunch of fussy old goblins and gnomes who invented a a device (together) that zaps doorways into a pocket dimension, allowing people to own multiple houses in the same house. Problem is, it sometimes connects to the void, summoning monsters.
This is Bad News, so you’re job as Neo, The One, Flash Gordon Saviour of the Universe, whatever… is to defeat the HOA and stabilize the doorway generator - because of course you know how to do this. As a reward, you get to have a doorway-house.
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I swear I had a expansion concept at one time during BfA. Lemme go see if I can find it.
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Had an idea for a Dark Below expansion inspired by the Yogg-Saron puzzle box quotes:
“At the bottom of the ocean, even light must die.” And “The fish know all the secrets. They know the cold. They know the dark.”
A place where if you get so far down under water, the pressure and darkness becomes so immense reality itself starts to get funky. There’s more content to this, like playable naga, but I’m trying to just do just the world building elements, the zones, dungeons, and raids.
The Dark Below
Azeroth is a beautiful land of diversity and vibrance. However, monstrous things fester in the deepest places of the world where no light touches. The Old Gods spent eons rotting away at Azeroth. Some of their work has left their mark, and nothing portrays this worse than the Deep Dark. It is the deepest of places. A gaping trench found at the very bottom of the ocean.
The Deep Dark is a formation so far under the waves of the ocean that its very physics have become warped by the immense pressure and lightless fathoms. Fish may swim with ease through the thick shadows, but players will find themselves land bound along with several of the inhabitants that call the Deeps home.
The sky may be an oppressive darkness that seems more like Void and space, but the seafloor hosts bioluminescent lights and beautiful ecosystems thriving in the abyss. The Deep Dark consists of eight zones total, seven of which are leveling zones with one being exclusively endgame.
Xin’trethiss(78-83) is the introductory zone to the rest of the Deep Dark. As it’s slightly closer to the surface and directly connected to Nazjatar, Xin’trethiss will host more familiar sights. The sky is slightly less black with more colors and naga will inhabit the zone. A monolithic fortress called Ren-Lithor overlooks the shelf that leads to the greater depths below. It is a curved pyramidal structure that rises from the very bottom of the trench to towering over Xin’trethiss, similar in shape to Minas Tirith.
The naga have attempted to make peace with the local Ankoans after their queen’s defeat. In spite of this, the Ankoan clans in the zone seem to be continually breaking the peace to exact revenge, while also drawing power from the sinister beings below the shelf. The naga accept the attacks without defending themselves for fear of returning to their warmongering ways.
Players reach Xin’trethiss after fleeing from an overwhelming number of chitterspine in Nazjatar’s caves while searching for a global plague called “Shambler’s Sickness”. They start off helping the Ankoan, even attacking some naga on their request. Eventually, however, a sect of peaceful Ankoan warn the players of treachery. Then they help the naga and friendly Ankoan instead. Other stories include learning about the effects of Azshara being lost to the naga, the growth of a new naga spiritualistic belief system, and naga being forcibly turned into tar-like shadow monsters thanks to their Void connections.
Capital: Ren-Lithor
Ren-Lithor is a vast vertical city that is traveled quickly by jumping into the magical water current in the center of the fortress. The currents allow players to swim through at massive speeds, quickly ascending or descending the city. Its immense height over the rest of the Deep Dark also allows players to use a “zip line” current that funnels out of the fort so that they might quickly move to zones and hop off whenever they’re ready. That said, they won’t be able to reach the current without flying/aquatic mounts and thus it will be a one-way trip until flight is unlocked.
The city has portals to and from Orgrimmar and Stormwind that may be used on all characters after one character on the account has finished the quest line to unlock them, but alts will be unfriendly with the naga there until they do that quest line as well.
Ungoa Marsh(82-84) is found deep below the Xin’trethiss shelf and Ren-Lithor fortress that overlooks the continent and is primarily populated by jellyfish-like flora. Roots cover the ground and pulsate rhythmically with electrical currents that ping across the entire zone. It is a highly vibrant zone filled with electrical and toxic themed fauna.
The zone stands as the transition from normal into the beyond. There are some Ankoan shrines, as the energetically charged zone is considered to be the sacred land through which Ankoan evolved from Jinyu following their exile. Other structures lurk in large mounds of soil. They are temples and other facilities created by N’zoth and they conceal dreadful things. Stories include the height of Ankoan corruption, a Nesingwary safari of a shocking nature, and a Lovecraftian expedition into the N’zoth temples where we are reminded that even a dead Old God can overwhelm mortals.
Ynath’le Trench(83-86) is the very bottom zone of the Deep Dark. It starts in Ungoa Marsh and travels west, where it occupies the middle of the entire continent. It contains treacherous, rocky cliffs and the very bottom of the trench opens into a completely empty void. An ancient city of some long forgotten race of the Azerothian Pangea sank into this abyss and clings upside down to a rocky ceiling.
Heroes should exercise caution when wandering the flipped city. Ceilings, rooftop overhangs, and bridges are the only routes around the ruins, and they are not necessarily stable. A hungering vast darkness lies below, with enormous leviathans swimming just beyond sight. Those who fall would tumble forever in the darkness until beasts swallow them whole. Stories include deep sea murlocs chased into the zone by naga slavers who are always grateful for help, a Horde and Alliance race for an ancient weapon influenced by Void based madness, and surviving the predation of an abyssal leviathan.
Chelonian Plains(83-85) is south of Ynath’le and west of Ungoa. It is mostly a flat, marine meadow surrounded by mild mountains. Enormous terrapins tread through the plains, consuming large plants, fish, and even naga that get caught in their path. Given the destructive nature of the behemoths’ feet crashing upon the earth, few items of interest can be found on the land itself outside a handful of underground facilities. In fact, traveling upon the ground is dangerous, as being stepped on would be certain death.
The three main turtles’ backs will be the primary locations of interest in the zone as they slowly travel in circles around the plains. Much like Shen-Zin Su, their shells are populated with thick foliage, mountains, and structures that include the deep sea murlocs’ capital and N’zoth temples. On the very edge of the zone, overlooking the terrapin migrations, is a temple built by the Tortollans. Stories include helping deep sea murlocs reclaim their homeland, various Tortollan pilgrimage troubles, and solving a mystery whereby the third turtle has been killed and all its inhabitants drained of life and left as pallid husks, then stopping the Void cloud responsible from doing the same to the other two.
Entropic Graveyard(85-88) can be located south of Ynath’le and west of the Chelonian Plains. Due to magic, water currents, or some kind of animal instinct, the bodies of marine life normally living above the benthic layer of Azeroth all find their way here. The corpses of whales, threshers, sharks, even krakens can be found laying on the seafloor, being devoured hungrily by scavengers. Even sunken ships of various battles throughout history can be found in concentrated regions of the zone.
The zone is a nightmarish landscape where most of its biomes are decomposed bone canyons, forests of undersea corpse flowers, fields of ship debris and mines, and caverns chewed out and populated with chitterspine crabs. Stories include attempts to close the global tunnel network that deliver Shambler’s spores, druids and other healers studying the ecosystem for cures, and combatting a group of vague shadow entities found to be controlling the chitterspines’ minds under the directive of something called “Ze’rosis”.
Sulphurbloom Ridge(86-90) is a massive zone that sprawls out all along the northern side of Ynath’le. It is the “breadbasket” of the Deep Dark, as the formations of volcanic activity all along the ridge have brought bountiful energy required for life to survive so far from sunlight. It is famous for its titanic columns of sulphur and obsidian growing from magma hotspots. The pillars are so enormous and numerous heroes will feel like ants in a stone forest. Closer to Ungoa resides the Makrura capital of Mak’aru while farther north lies the former prison of N’zoth.
A great deal of algae, lichen, and other plant life flourishes around the vents as well as plankton and other microbes that are the backbone of the ecosystem found there. It is so plentiful, krakens have staked the zone out as their birthing and hunting grounds. Stories include appeasing Ozumat with food and other tributes, negotiating a historical treaty with the delicious Makrura, and finding a more thorough explanation in N’zoth’s old containment facility for how his release occurred in Battle for Azeroth.
Starlit Fields(87-90) is found on the western end of the Ynath’le Trench. It is a terraced zone with special underwater lakes. These lakes of twinkling Void pools seem to go on for miles and miles were one bold enough to try to swim down them. A thick shroud of darkness severely limits one’s vision and the fields are full of whispering grass-like plants. Animals and civilization are largely absent in the zone, but occasional leviathans swoop in to hunt prey that strayed into this foreboding land.
Impossible sea trees sway heedlessly in the ocean current at the crest of the terraces, marking the location of a towering monolith that is unmistakably N’zoth in nature. It overlooks a larger lake with a distinct ring of stars shimmering brighter than the others within. Stories include going mad and being rescued but only after dire consequences, securing a safe route to the N’zothian monolith for reinforcements, and dealing with the Void manifestations that seem to be orchestrating a great deal in the entire Deep Dark.
???(90) has no name. When spoken of in texts on the Void, it is always written with characters that no scholar has seen nor can translate. Until now it has only been a legend at the heart of Twilight mythology. Passing into the main lake of the Starlit Fields, brave adventurers will find the world flipping completely upside down. They are on the other side of the Ynath’le Trench, only now the city is right side up with an endless sky of darkness overhead.
The layout is very similar to Ynath’le’s city, yet the buildings seem different in architecture and fully restored. Mortals struggle to comprehend this place, yet thanks to the years of intense training against Old Gods and special relics, the heroes of Azeroth maintain a grip on their senses. Something shimmers above the entire city, a negative sun that breathes life into the zone’s existence. It is unreachable for now, but never beyond sight.
When pressed to refer to this nameless zone, mortals eventually settle on calling it Nihilesk, or, “the Coalescence of Nothing”. It is an endgame exclusive zone focused on the careful exploration of something easily beyond mortals while trying to slow whatever machinations are occurring here. Merely existing in this zone causes mortal bodies to unravel, and the heroes of Azeroth are heavily pressed to find ways to slow and eventually stop this bodily decay.
The heroes of Azeroth are inside the realm of the Void Lords. Within their own realm, the beings of the Void take on a much more physical appearance and pose an omnipresent threat.
Dungeons
- Koa’kil Monastery is the primary fort of the Ankoans in Xin’trethiss. While the outlying capital is filled with multiple clans both friendly and hostile alike, the once neutral monastery for training blademasters has been taken over by the hostile factions. They are using a beacon at the top of the monastery to convert naga into Void slimes en masse and must be stopped.
- Venombarb Fen can be found deep within the marsh of Ungoa. It is a neon cluster of jelly-plants with a glowing loose mud for ground. Creatures here are growing larger and more aggressive, slithering through the mud to stalk prey. An Ankoan tasks heroes to assist him in carving out a legend among the Ankoans by delving here. Little do either know of the N’zothian structure at its heart that radiates corruptive magic.
- Sunken Asylum is located on the outskirts of the Ynath’le city. The citizens of the city that survived its collapse into the ocean attempted to rebuild but found their people gradually going insane. The Sunken Asylum was constructed to house these unstable people. Yet it seems like madness consumed them all, as there is nothing but gibbering spirits wandering its halls.
- Seekers’ Paradise can be found on top of one of the massive terrapins in the Chilonian Plains. It is a towering Tortollan shrine that was built eons ago. Water-proofed scrolls from all across Azeroth have been carefully collected and brought to this font of knowledge. A Void machinator has taken over the once tranquil grounds and turned them into a place of nightmares.
- Chitterspine Grotto is the largest hive of chitterspine in the Entropic Graveyard. The walls and floors writhe with clattering younger chitterspine too old to attack intruders. Deeper within rule a group of tidal guardians. The largest of these creatures speaks with the voice of a being from beyond, urging the creatures around them to dig for the surface.
- The Spiral Palace isn’t a real palace, but gained its reputation thanks to the accidental shape the volcanic plumes grew into. It is a large mound with ornate spiral pillars that hold up a rocky dome. The krakens have taken up residence in the palace. And while Ozumat is neither friend nor foe, the patriarch of the krakens surely won’t protect players from other krakens or the dangers that come from scurrying about the floor of this titanic building.
- Azsh’ari Waystation is on the border between the Starlit Fields and Ynath’le, overlooking the sloped corner of the trench. The Azsh’ari naga have always been closer to the Void than the other naga. They built this waystation with an unseen purpose to traverse the fields. A glass tube funnels currents for movement through the waters safe from leviathans. The Azsh’ari continue to serve the Void even without the Queen, and heroes must take the waystation from them then survive a journey across the fields.
- Starfiend Gateway is a gatehouse dungeon to the N’zothian citadel looming over the main Starlit Field lake. When entered heroes will find the gatehouse, courtyard, and Circle of Stars being invaded by shadow creatures. They must put a stop to it, and battle the final boss in the Twisting Nether as they pass between reality and the Void.
- Crucible of Unknown Terrors can be found in the zone known as Nihilesk. Inexplicably, players will find themselves lost in some kind of puzzle box. With shifting layouts, floors, and gravity, it will take all their wits to slay their enemies and escape the nightmarish cube.
- The Glaring Mines is carved into the earth of Nihilesk. Strange creatures that resemble shifting metallic spines burrow through the ground and collect minerals. But this ground is not regular earth. It is filled with shadowy gems, eyes, and a thick tar-like darkness that is being scooped up and sent away to some refinery. It’s some kind of bizarre mining system, and it seems like it’s extracting essences of the physical realm for an unknown purpose. It cannot be good, so heroes naturally move to disrupt this process.
Raids
- Ry’ileth Monolith is the towering citadel just above the Circle of Stars in the Starlit Fields. Though this 12 boss raid boasts remnants of the Old God N’zoth, including naga, fleshbeasts, and cultists, it has been taken over by a Revenant. Its powerful psychic presence has completely enthralled the Old God servants and begun to strip away their mortal flesh and transform them into beings of pure Void energy. This raid is an important one for establishing the visual and cultural differences between the Old Gods and true Void entities.
- The Seething Vents is a 3 boss raid taking place in some magma tunnels beneath Sulphurbloom Ridge. It is full of elementally charged behemoths of the depths such as a lava-infused kraken, a serpent that spews forth sulphuric acid, and an eel that discharges heat to boil the water around it.
- World Bosses will also feature leviathans of the deeps to help provide that thalassophobic atmosphere to the expansion where massive sea creatures are swimming at people from vast distances.
- The Megadon is a massive shark that strafes a mountain on the outskirts of the Chelonian Plains, gobbling people who are in the way. They must attack its teeth to reduce its damage done and also escape the mouth.
- Krylos the Phantom, a massive translucent serpent that writhes just out of sight above a corner of Ungoa Marsh. The color of its veins, stomach, brain, and heart help players decide what poisonous life forms to bait it into eating.
- The Sharkwhale, a larger, much more aggressive ancestor of the whalesharks of Azeroth, the Sharkwhale casts an enormous shadow over Sulphurbloom Ridge. It is so large, players must fight it in a way akin to the Spine of Deathwing, where they deal surgical strikes to the hide instead of the full creature itself.
- Mironath was a deep sea Ancient like Nespirah and L’ghorek, but he failed to ward away his Twilight enslavers. Wandering the outskirts of the Entropic Graveyard and vacuuming up corpses for food, he is now mad and must be put down.
Patch Content
- Heart of Malevolence, a mega dungeon that concludes the Glaring Mines arc. Beings of the Void are forging a new Old God by harvesting essence of Azeroth from the breaches left behind by N’zoth. This is an apocalyptic event of it happens and must be stopped. A mysterious spindly being named Antesarr appears to stop players before they destroy the essence. Antesarr enters the dark sun above Nihilesk and it expands, consuming part of the city.
- The Antesian Flare is a raid found within the dark sun that the Void god Antesarr directs the final steps to finish the Old God with. From deep within the sky, energy lights up and enters the flare. The light reveals that very large and shifting beings countlessly dwell just beyond sight in the Void. Thanks to Xal’atath helping out, who alludes not all Void beings agree on the same methods and goals, the heroes use a feedback loop of the Old God essence to detonate Antesarr.
- The next patch introduces the creator of Shambler’s Sickness named Ze’rosis, another Void god. Cities become the new patch zones with strange growths appearing in some districts that become hives for the shamblers. Clattering Hive is the raid that starts as a swelling dome from the side of Ironforge and burrows deeper until players find themselves back in the Deep Dark, in the Entropic Graveyard. Another Void gateway indicates another Void realms lies beyond and has been pulling the strings with the plague.
- The next patch takes place beyond this rift. The zone is like Nihilesk, where it officially has no name and the map/minimap conveys this but mortals have taken to calling it Gol’thenash for convenience. It looks different to Nihilesk and establishes a difference in cultures throughout the Void. Where Nihilesk is an insidious dark mirror of the real world that desires to be a part of it, Gol’thenash is a manifestation of the Void’s physically corruptive influence and tendency for assimilation, hence why it is the origin point for Shambler’s. The landscape is wholly made up of spines and bones that quiver and shake to the touch. It seems to be the homeland of the Void revenants, which are revealed to be once mortals but their homeworld was completely devoured by an Old God that yanked it into the Void. They are now pure Void creatures as a result. Open world content is the playerbase across regions working on a Shambler’s cure, which grants boosts to capabilities in the raid as well.
- Eye of Insanity is a dungeon that is a crusted over castle ruin with an eye-like pool in the center, where Void revenants in particular may view into the minds of mortals, whisper to them, and provoke acts of violence in their name. It is not the only source of Void whispers, but it is how Void revenants project their influence and makes a great target.
- The Gasping Vortex is the final raid, where Ze’rosis spins atrocities and befoulments to further the goals of its master. Although merely a herald of a Void Lord, Ze’rosis is still more powerful than any Naaru or Titian Keeper encountered while within the wormhole made of swirling fangs and claws.
N’zoth and the Void have been done so dirty in the name of bringing us Shadowlands. Figured I could give it all a bit more of the attention it deserves and give the Void Lords a bit more impact on the setting as true final baddies.
7 Likes
so i am halfway done with “The World of Ruin” concept.
good god.
help me.
edit: nevermind. the forums devoured a post i’d been working on for many hours, and i have nothing to show for it.
1 Like
I could not, in fact, find it. Which is fine, since it involved Kel’Thuzad and Shadowlands involved him.
Out of all of these, the Abyss seems like it is the horror-themed expansion that I’ve always wanted.
2 Likes
I want an interstellar expansion with Space Medivh as our guide. Visiting different planets and helping them recover from the remnants of the Legion, visiting void consumed worlds like the Ethereal’s home planet, and expanding on the places we only saw glimpses of in the Argus invasions.
2 Likes
That’s what SL should have been written as with these assets.
3 Likes
I want more lovecraftian horror, more space adventure. There was a rpg studio that did a eldritch horror setting in space that I loved, but can’t think of what it was called.
2 Likes
so to summarize, since it got norted
The Argus expansion would introduce the Rentaaux (a race of horned people that the eredar hunted for eons, who have no remaining history or culture. with our help, they are able to fight back and start building a new one.)
the argussian wake (the argus wake cult DNI. prince malchezaar leads the eredar he can in a mass revolt against the legion. he becomes an ally to the army of the light and commands the respect of the krokul.)
sylvanas and anduin share a heroic speech because Sylvanas is not a mustache twirling super villain, but a woman trying to secure the future of her people. there is no faction war on argus.
each order hall sees expansion. the dks move into ICC. the paladins turn light’s hope into a city. the demon hunters return to the black temple. etc, etc
illidan and malfurion hug. illidan befriends alleria. he explains more of his ideals and when reflected against the army of the light, it becomes very clear that illidan sacrificed his entire future to stop the legion.
we visit the homeworlds of many major demons in dungeons or invasions. nathreza itself is a mega-dungeon, seeing the depths of Dreadlord power. they chained up an old god to eat it’s body to deepen their manipulative powers.
the army of the light has new aliens in it, orcs, elves, and humans from the second war in it, elves sundered during the war of the ancients in it, and more Lightforged demons in it. the shivarra used to worship the light and some even were rescued by the Naaru. this includes valeed, the last Aldrachi.
sargeras is empowering demons with a Dark Titan forge in Antorus. his actual goal is to bring order to reality by dominating it with a singular cosmic force, and chaos is actually the quickest and most efficient power in this regard. he corrupts every Titan but aman’thul (he resists the torment) and eonar (she escaped to elunaria). argus will serve to unmake any remaining obstacles in Sargeras’ way to seeing his “order” achieved.
many major demons see their return, but many of them go unharmed. mannoroth, kazzak, ARCHIMONDE, tichondrius, etc all go on to become legion warlords post sargeras being imprisoned.
dalaran is knocked out of the sky. it is very sad.
MU Gul’dan is revealed as a “true demon”, the leader of the Ragelords (orcish demons. gaz’hoth.)
Kael’thas was also exalted by Kil’jaeden and became a “true demon”. He leads the Xax’dorei, the Children of Chaos.
neither of them die, going on to be legion warlords.
eredath becomes a man’ari suramar. it also is home to the raid against talgath, seat of the triumvirate. there’s a raid where you fight the army of the light’s champions, similar to trial of the crusader. a great bridge is sieged to enter Antorus. elunaria is a whole zone and the temple of eonar has to be defended in a raid. antorus is at the end.
sylvanas and alleria reunite and have a heartfelt conversation. oh no! Sylvanas is proving herself as a good leader of the Horde and not an absolute monster??? the horde being portrayed in a good light???
tons of new demons. massive armored beetles that are living troop transports. tothrezim debuting in WoW. demon orcs. demon elves. demonic rentauux. lesser nathrezim, and nathrezim stripped of their wings. aransi brood warriors. the zirxi, a malevolent species of changeling brain suckers. etc, etc
more dark titan keeper stuff. dark titanforged become more of a thing.
idk. there was a lot that got eaten, a lot i put work into, and this is the best I’ve got.
4 Likes
You know, there was a time when royalty meant something.
Panorama shot of Ogrimmar from the sky
The Horde, now ruled by a Council. Separate but equal. United by common cause as opposed to a strong, singular leader.
Panorama shot of Stormwind from the sky
The Alliance, ruled by regency and refugees. Their kings either missing or refusing their Thrones.
Cut to Black
It’s absolutely barbaric.
Underwater scene of Nazjatar, Azshara’s Throne Room
They come into my home, humiliate me, then leave. Then, they no longer have a Warchief or High King. An entire world, lacking vision. Lacking leadership. How…interesting.
An attendant appears, "My Queen. The representatives have arrived."
Azshara looks out on a magical bubble of air, the silhouette of a submarine in the background. Within the bubble, Mantid and Aqir stand next to a Twilight Cultist, and a Mogu
My dear friends, I think it’s time Azeroth’s Queen reclaimed her throne.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT
The Reign of Azshara
In this expansion to World of WarCraft, the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde join together once more with the Cenarion Circle’s Druids of the Depths and the Earthen Ring’s Neptulon’s Attendants to deal with the rising threat of Azshara, who has amassed a force of her own from the orphaned servants of the Old Gods (and ancient allies of her own).
This expansion makes use of phasing of existing zones within Azeroth to tell this story, with a new neutral hub - as well as questing zone - in the form of the Wandering Isles.
New Races
- Ogres for the Horde (Warrior, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Hunter, Shaman, Warlock, Monk, Death Knight)
- Furblog for the Alliance (Warrior, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Hunter, Shaman, Monk, Druid)
New Landmass
Zin-Azshazjar
A skyborne landmass which becomes accessible at the end of Reign of Azshara’s narrative questing experience, Zin-Azshazjar is Azshara’s new seat of power in Azeroth, looming over Silithus having been created out of the Sword of Sargeras and basking in the radiance of the “Well of Azeroth” - the open, gaping oozing wound of Azerite that Azshara and her allies are not simply exploiting for power but deliberately keeping open.
This landmass is an abomination as not only did she used Fel tainted material in its construction, but Azerite as well. But it is from here that Azshara intents to reignite her long lost empire. Those who kneel shall be spared. Those who resist will be made to kneel.
After all, why would she kill those who resist? It’s ultimately giving them exactly what they want - an escape from her rule. And no one will deny Azshara her right to rule over them. No one.
New Language
Nazjaspiel - Players on both factions will be able to find a primer to Azshara’s greatest undertaking - a universally common tongue. Players who find this primer and use it will, after a 48 hour buff to their character has expired, be capable of communicating with other players who know Nazjaspiel regardless of faction. There is also now a toggle in the options menu to allow players the ability to set the language they use in /say. Note: The Primer for Nazjaspiel is not account wide, and every character will have to locate the drop in order to use the language to prevent low-level griefing and harassment.
5 Likes
World of Warcraft: The Battle for Azeroth
The world has been shattered. But with the downfall of the Worldbreaker and his maddened host, Azeroth has been given a chance to heal. There is but one problem.
Azeroth is dying.
Her open wounds continue to bleed, Deathwing’s madness a destructive disease, and none are sure how to save her. Worse still, her blood is powerful. They name it Azerite, and the Horde’s Warchief is not keen on seeing the Alliance take it from him.
Garrosh Hellscream uses Azerite to destroy Theramore and wage a mass assault against the Alliance. A world war. The High King has a score to settle with the Warchief of the Horde.
This is the Battle for Azeroth.
Wait, BfA?
BfA was where good writing went to die. Characters were butchered, plotlines were irreversibly damaged, and it was where you REALLY started to see the whole Jailer thing get set into motion. Did the Horde really need to get hit twice by an evil Warchief?
So… I don’t want it anymore. I’m killing it. It dies in this post.
Main Plot: Hellscream vs Wrynn
Varian had a shot to kill Garrosh in Ashenvale and had a chance to end him before he even became Warchief during the war against the Lich King. To say that he feels like he has failed the Alliance is an understatement.
On the other hand, Garrosh is still grappling with his own ideals. It is true that he wants the best for the Horde (though he means the orcs and those who will bow down to the orcs) and that he perceives the Alliance as his greatest obstacle to that. Durotar is no place for his people. Garrosh has a bit of a good point in that he doesn’t think that an entire people should live in penance for the deeds of their fathers. Of course, he takes this idea to an extreme and seeks to scour the Kaldorei from the planet to build a new city in Ashenvale.
Varian’s warlike tendencies urge him to battle with Garrosh instead of seeking a diplomatic answer. Both leaders seek a Warrior’s Diplomacy… negotiations at a blade’s edge.
The War of Thorns
The War of Thorns begins a little differently than it does in our universe. Following the Cataclysm’s end, Garrosh watches the Horde in Durotar slowly but surely weaken. He turns his eyes back to Ashenvale after his prior invasion of the territory, but this time he has his eyes set higher. His failure before was that he didn’t commit the full might of the Horde to this endeavor.
Hellscream rallies his forces in the name of the future of the Horde. He outright begins to tarnish Thrall’s reputation, openly getting much of the Horde to question why Thrall chose to settle Durotar instead of more fertile land. In doing so, Hellscream is able to blind many of his followers to be more willing for further extreme action. Even those who had previously questioned Garrosh see some of his point, in that the Alliance can and will capitalize upon the Horde’s weakened state to push it into a corner. Hellscream is no fool, however, and only seeks to conquer the land he needs to embolden his Horde to destroy the Alliance in the future.
Yet, things don’t go his way. The Night Elves are bolstered by the Ancients, by Genn and the Gilneans, and eventually by Varian himself. When Helix Blackfuse is captured and brought to Darkshore, Garrosh orders Varok Saurfang to take a path through Felwood so that they might assault Darkshore to rescue their people.
Saurfang, ever the honorable one, is glad to see Garrosh valuing his people. He does as he’s asked and Darkshore is taken by war.
This is where the path diverges greatly.
As mentioned before, Garrosh is no fool. He plans on taking on the full might of the Alliance on his own terms. To destroy Teldrassil at this key moment would sacrifice any advantage he has going for him.
With no Alliance witnesses present, Teldrassil going up in flames appears to be done by the Horde.
Garrosh did not burn the tree. Like before with the Twilights Hammer and the Cenarion mass murder, he would have no reason to lie about this.
The Alliance is horrified. The Horde loses its advantage. Outraged by what she sees as a second Theramore, Jaina urges Varian to destroy the Horde and offers him Kul Tiras.
On the other hand, the Horde learns that the Zandalari Empire declared war on it for believing that it had captured Princess Talanji as she was en route to Orgrimmar. Garrosh remembers the Alliance blockade of Durotar and Varian’s battle with him, coming to believe that the Alliance must have taken the Princess captive during that blockade.
While the Alliance sails to Kul Tiras, the Horde moves to free Princess Talanji.
Zandalar and Kul Tiras are perfectly fine and don’t need to be changed. Really, the only difference is the War Campaign and Uldir.
The War Campaign
Get the Hell out of Zandalar and Kul Tiras!
I’m not gonna go in too deep, but:
The Horde returns to the Swamp of Sorrows to build up an army to directly invade Stormwind. Vol’jin and Baine start to greatly question Garrosh. Saurfang is captured like he usually is, outright leaving the Horde in disgust. Sylvanas is fine with Garrosh as he lets her continue to grow the Forsaken and ensure the future of her people. Gallywix actually doesn’t like Garrosh all that much, as Gallywix sees Garrosh as a poor business man. Killing so many people? It’s poor taste.
The most important revelation is that Lor’themar has been quietly petitioning the Alliance. He does not see a place for his people in the Horde, though he comes to realize that a large number of his people resent humanity for what Arthas did. This sees a surprising turn of events… ending with a battle in Silvermoon where Lor’themar is ousted by Horde loyalists. Rommath, Liadrin, and Halduron form a triumvirate in his place.
Lor’themar is rescued by Vereesa and Valeera. To reach this point; the Horde defeats the Alliance blockade around Durotar, secures and defends Andorhal, do battle with the Grimtotem, and start speaking with the Dark Iron Dwarves.
The Alliance, on the other hand, is struck with civil strife. Tyrande cries out for blood and Genn is not far behind her. The Dwarves are struck by Magni’s return and Moira’s frustration in the Council of Three Hammers. Velen does all he can to harbor the Kaldorei and begins to worry that the orcs have returned to the way of the old Horde.
Varian supports Stromgarde, reaches out to the Scarlet Crusade and takes the Monastery, lays claim to Fenris Isle, and ends up returning to Ironforge after realizing Moira had begun to undermine the Dwarves to see them molded into a more proactive force… one that her son was set to inherit.
This culminates with Varian personally entering Ironforge once again to fend off the Dark Iron… though the Dark Iron came with more than themselves. They have found allies in the leaderless Dark Horde.
Moira promises Varian power and allies greater than his weak-willed dwarven companions.
Varian promised her that he would never forgive an ally to the monsters who destroyed Stormwind so many years ago. She flees, now an exile.
When Lor’themar comes to him in similar exile, the High King of the Alliance sees that this war will be a long and painful one.
Meanwhile, Magni has awoken and Thrall has followed him due to the urging of the Elements. Thrall finds the diamond dwarf near the Maelstrom, and the two join forces and create the Champions of Azeroth.
Thrall and Magni learn that the atrocity that befell the Night Elves may have not been dealt by Garrosh. There is a darkness around Teldrassil, one that greatly terrifies the World Soul. The Champions of Azeroth make moves in Kul Tiras and Zandalar to follow this thread of darkness, as Zul and the Azshara’s manipulations are known to them. The Old Gods are evidently at work. The war is not their doing, but the brutality and loss of life certainly could be.
This culminates in both factions recognizing that the Old Gods intend to use Uldir for something massive. However, it isn’t obvious how the Old Gods gained enough power to break Uldir, especially given the lack of an Old God in Zandalar.
Something horrifying catches Thrall’s eyes when the Champions arrive in Uldir. The doors to the facility hadn’t been broken by G’huun’s forces… a sinister green glow had.
With G’huun defeated, Thrall is forced to contend with the terrifying reality that this great war is being used by more than one dark force. Magni and Thrall return to the Chamber of the Heart and begin discussing their next step.
Neutral Races
Not… allied races?
Yep.
Hinted at above, Lor’themar joins the Alliance and Moira joins the Horde. Lor’themar’s ejection sees many of the Sin’dorei leave with him, and Moira’s expulsion does quite a bit of damage to the dwarves as a whole.
Many dwarves supported Moira’s son and Moira herself. This wasn’t just the Dark Iron, but Bronzebeard and Wildhammer both saw legitimacy in her son’s future rule. Seeing Varian as a tyrant and likening his path to Arthas’s, many dwarves follow Moira into the Horde.
Lor’themar takes charge of the Quel’dorei and the Sin’dorei who came with him. He sees the fires of the Second War coming for Quel’thalas once again, and his people have grown too blinded by glory to see that Garrosh is the one bringing them. He will not be Kael’thas. He will not be fooled by delusions of lost glory and power, he will lead the remnants of his people to a brave new dawn.
So… the Dwarves and Blood Elves become a neutral race. You choose your faction in the character creation screen, and new customization is available to both factions. Dark Iron Dwarves do end up remaining in the Alliance, and High Elves have begun to return to Quel’thalas, allowing both factions to get High Elves and Dark Iron.
Patch 8.1: World at War
The battles surrounding Lordaeron are largely because of two major events. One, Stromgarde has been reclaimed and greatly refurbished since the Cataclysm. Two, retaliation for the War of Thorns.
And so… the Battle of Lordaeron begins in earnest.
Kul Tiran vessels sail across Baradin Bay with Varian, Genn, and Jaina at the head of the charge. Tirisfal, Silverpine, and Hillsbrad are all consumed by the fires of war. Gilneas is reclaimed in a decisive battle. Sylvanas and the Quel’belore Council stand side to side to defend the Horde’s land, though they are incapable of sending word to Garrosh who continues to busy himself with Azerite, Ashenvale, and empowering the Horde.
When they learn that Garrosh actually is aware of this warfront and simply doesn’t care, it drives them to fight twice as hard knowing that they won’t get any help.
This results in the Silverpine Warfront (between the Sepulcher and Blackfang Keep) as well as the Battle for Lordaeron raid. The Undercity is expanded into Lordaeron Keep, though Tirisfal is not revamped.
Silverpine results in an Alliance victory, though the Alliance is defeated at Lordaeron.
Meanwhile, the Champions of Azeroth continue to explore the threat of the Old Gods and pray that the Fel magic at play was from a Cultist Warlock. After all, Cho’gall had once been a Horde Warlock. It seemed as if key Alliance and Horde members are being influenced down a certain path of absolute destruction, and that they followed actions that were unlike them. For example, Garrosh. He had only learned of the plight of Lordaeron after the Alliance was forced into a retreat. Somehow, the message came that Garrosh knew and simply didn’t care.
He didn’t care… about the Forsaken. But he did care about killing Varian and destroying the Alliance, so he would have fought at the side of the Undercity’s defenders.
Meanwhile, the Alliance had only gotten more aggressive. Retaking lost ground is one thing, but Lordaeron wasn’t theirs. Nor was Durotar, nor was the Barrens. Yet, at each turn, it seemed as if the Alliance pushed further and further beyond the limits of what they seemed to be willing to do before. Northwatch, Tiragarde Keep, and more had seen refurbishment and it was clear there was a distinct refocus from the Alliance… to destroy the Horde.
Thrall and Magni are not convinced that the Alliance and Horde would fully and willfully engage in mutual destruction. Thrall sends to speak to his old friends, and Magni does the same.
Thrall, Baine, Vol’jin, Sylvanas, and a freed Saurfang meet where Magni meets with Falstad, Muradin, Gelbin, Varian, and Anduin.
Thrall is able to show the Horde leaders what this path was leading them to. Saurfang, however, is not pleased with Thrall’s conclusion. Garrosh couldn’t be saved. The elder orc leaves the council, angered.
Magni similarly runs into trouble, as Varian cannot believe that Magni is asking him to stop when they both know what the Horde is capable of. What the Horde has already done. But Magni warns Varian of what might happen if he carries on this path, and that he may end up leaving Anduin just as Llane left him.
This, coupled with Anduin’s appeal to fighting for peace, not for destruction… sees Varian reflect on who he was becoming.
Was he Lo’gosh, or was he the King of the Alliance?
Where had this rage come from? As the Champions of Azeroth convene in the aftermaths of these council sessions, Thrall and Magni are able to note that a dark magic loomed over many of these leaders. Plus, many shady advisors had appeared since the start of the war.
A Shadow Council, one might say. Thrall worries that the Twilight’s Hammer, once headed by a member of the Shadow Council, has taken to the Shadow Council’s tactics. The Old Gods had returned to the shadows and chose to pit mortals against one another.
But who was doing it?
Patch 8.2: The Fires of Kalimdor
Garrosh, pleased with the outcomes of his Ashenvale incursion, turns his attention to the growing Alliance force in Kalimdor. He welcomes Vol’jin and Baine to assist him where they did before, as after all, their power saw Theramore’s eradication before. This will be no different.
The Horde moves on Feralas, first. The ogres would prove to be powerful allies, and the Kaldorei had quite a powerful foothold in the region. Two birds, one Gorehowl.
Baine goes after the Grimtotem who have continued to fight alongside the Alliance. Vol’jin and his Shadow Hunters work to route the Wardens, roused to arms after hearing of the near destruction of their race. Garrosh sets fire to Feralas, as he did Ashenvale and Darkshore.
Here is where the Night Warrior makes her stand. The dark moon looms over Feralas as Garrosh makes his final push on Feathermoon Stronghold, the Warchief uncertain of what was happening here. Then, she strikes. Tyrande nearly takes the Warchief’s life and hounds his forces all the way into the Barrens.
Here is the next Warfront. Shandris leads the Kaldorei to destroy the Horde in the Southern Barrens so that they may push onwards into Durotar proper. Meanwhile, Tyrande returns to Darkshore and Ashenvale alongside Malfurion. The Alliance loses this warfront and the Northwatch Expedition is completely destroyed by the end.
There is also a miniature raid in Feralas. It is Shandris defending Feathermoon while Garrosh punishes her defenses.
Garrosh has a new advisor, through this all. An orc named Rakmar. Rakmar is an excellent tactician and schemer, and knows how to push Garrosh to greater brutality. Malkorok seems quite fond of Rakmar, and even the ogres have an odd reverence for the orc.
Rakmar has been present since the beginning of what is now being agreed upon as the “Fourth War”.
Thrall is concerned by Rakmar. He has no recollection of an orc of such skill and power in the Horde, and his sudden closeness to Garrosh speaks of something that Thrall deeply wishes to be untrue. The relationship of the warlock Gul’dan with the Warchief Blackhand…
He sets out alone to seek out Rakmar’s true identity, leaving Magni to further explore the rumors of the Old Gods.
Thrall finds himself drawn to his thoughts of the Shadow Council, and decides to travel to the last battleground of the Second War on Azeroth… Blackrock Mountain. Since the Dark Iron have entered an alliance with the Horde, Thrall is able to travel the mountain as a member of the Horde. Eventually, he reaches Upper Blackrock and speaks with the Blackrock Clan. As they have sworn some loyalty to Garrosh, Thrall is able to search Upper Blackrock for some time, until he is ambushed.
You and Thrall fight off these assassins, who are noticeably not from the Blackrock Clan. A Black Dragon swoops in from nowhere, an orcish necrolyte on its back, threatening to bring down Upper Blackrock.
Another swoops in and knocks the rider from the Dragon’s back, and Thrall is able to knock the Dragon from the sky. Though but a whelp, this Black Dragon transforms into a human shape. He greets you warmly and bows to Thrall. It is Wrathion. Wrathion speaks of how the Old Horde diverged at some point, splitting into thirds. Thrall led the Horde from darkness while some remained the pawns of the Legion, others welcoming the Old Gods into their minds.
Thrall and Wrathion came here for different things, but they are able to help each other. Wrathion finds a clutch of hatched Twilight eggs while Thrall is able to locate old Shadow Council missives. Rakmar Sharpfang, Necrolyte to Gul’dan, was partially responsible for the creation of the Death Knights.
And was a Death Knight until his death. Who would bear his name?
Thrall doubles over in pain as the Elements scream out in terror. Wrathion uses a shard of Azerite to purify his brother’s mind, and the Black Drake flies Thrall and Wrathion back to the Maelstrom.
The Maelstrom is found in chaos. The Cenarion Circle, Earthen Ring, Earthen Dwarves, Argent Crusade, Ebon Blade, and more have joined the ranks of this army of Azeroth. Tirion Fordring cleaves through a naga construct, the Highlord shouting for Thrall to find Magni.
Magni can be found alongside Hamuul Runetotem and Nobundo, as it turns out that Azshara has grown weary of our continued meddling. The raid, “The Pride of Azshara” takes place here.
After Azshara’s forces are thwarted, Wrathion arrives and the Champions of Azeroth are able to come to a frightening conclusion. The forces of Darkness at play burned down Teldrassil and sparked the savage war that came from its ashes.
With this knowledge, the hero returns to either Varian or Garrosh.
Varian is quiet when Magni tells of the manipulations that caused this war. Then, the King openly reflects on how the Horde began these movements, and how the Horde is returning to the darkness it was born from. He resolves himself to see the end of the Horde, Magni dismayed to see that his friend had fully lost himself to the path of vengeance.
Garrosh, meanwhile, openly mocks this conclusion. He doesn’t care. The Horde is powerful only when the Horde is willing to take what belongs to it, and when it sticks true to the way of might. So what if a few cults are behind his war? This war was going to happen, whether or not they were forced into it.
This declaration chills the other leaders to the core.
The Fourth War continues to rage on.
Patch 8.3: The Siege of Stormwind
The Champions of Azeroth must not let the Alliance and Horde destroy one another. Yet, there seems to be no recourse. That is until Anduin Wrynn speaks up. The boy has watched his father struggle with his anger and pain, he has heard the voices of the Horde, and he has come to understand the strife within the Alliance. If there is any way to stop the upcoming battle, it must come from reasoning with Varian and stopping Garrosh.
Anduin and Thrall find Jaina and though her hatred is intense for the Horde, she cannot hate Thrall. He speaks of the doom of their world if they succumb to this darkness. Jaina has ever been Varian’s greatest advocate to destroy the Horde, so for her to be the one to warn him of the peril of the next great battle… he listens. He and Thrall speak for the first time in so many years.
Thrall tells Varian that vengeance will not see the ghosts of the First and Second War put to rest. Peace for their people, for their children, for their children’s children… that will finally put the Old War to an end. Though Varian is hesitant to relent, he does.
Saurfang, who has gone through a very similar arc to his arc in our universe’s BfA, ends up doing as he would before. This time, however, Saurfang challenges Garrosh atop the walls of Orgrimmar. To see Saurfang call Garrosh a dishonorable coward, to call him the herald of Blackhand and Gul’dan, and to see such a legendary and heroic figure challenge the Warchief to a duel to the death; it shakes much of the Horde to the core.
Many of them are forced to look back at what they have done, to reflect on the atrocities done in the name of ‘the Horde’. ‘The Horde’ stood for what it meant so many years ago.
Terror and mayhem at the hands of the Burning Legion.
Though Saurfang dies, this sparks many leaders to review their allegiance to Garrosh Hellscream.
Hellscream doesn’t care.
While all of this has been going on; battles against shadowy cultists, squabbles over Azerite, civil strife, honor and pride… he has set forward to the end of the Alliance.
Rakmar has taken Malkorok, Helix Blackfuse, Warlord Zaela, Magatha Grimtotem, and many more through a gateway to the abandoned isle of Balor. An army of Dark Horde warriors waited for them and from there began the assault upon Stormwind.
The raid “The Siege of Stormwind” takes place. Garrosh gleefully reenacts the razing of Stormwind, declaring that he was not the successor of the Old Horde… he was its superior. As Garrosh goes to kill the King of Stormwind in his own throneroom, Varian gets back up after being taken down to fight the emboldened Warchief one on one.
When it seems Garrosh is going to kill him, Varian sees Anduin running to save him. He had been here before. Just… he was the one who had watched his father die. The Horde is pulled away by Vol’jin as Garrosh faces Varian at his full fury.
The King of Stormwind takes upon the fury of the White Wolf and defeats Garrosh. Rakmar saves Garrosh before Varian is able to kill him, this event bringing the Fourth War to a brief conclusion.
Rakmar’s use of Fel Magic. Azshara. G’huun. The Burning of Teldrassil. Garrosh’s madness. Varian’s fury.
It all pointed to something. Thrall and Magni continue to try and heal Azeroth as they, alongside their new allies, worked to uncover the truth behind this furious and bloody war.
The Battle for Azeroth ends on an uncertain note. The Horde is fragmenting while the Alliance is weakened.
Warfronts: Silverpine, the Barrens, Arathi, and Darkshore.
Raids: The Battle of Lordaeron, Hellscream’s Gambit, The Pride of Azshara, and the Siege of Stormwind.
Outcome: The Fourth War is stalled. Garrosh’s might has greatly dwindled after his allies have begun to question him and leave him, but the Alliance is split in so many directions that it may not make a difference. The forces of Darkness successfully have diminished the powers of Azeroth.
I’d obviously take some time in the expansion itself to discuss the formation of the Champions of Azeroth, to see Vol’jin and the Darkspear interact more with the Zandalari, and to explore the relationships between the factions and their members.
There would also be hints of Old God corruption throughout the expansion, be it in cultist missives, the rare Faceless One, and obviously the moments within Uldir and Upper Blackrock.
What would be less apparent is the presence of the Burning Legion.
The Old Gods are a bit of a red herring in this situation. While true that they are responsible for most of the events in Kul Tiras and Zandalar, they are only capitalizing on previous events. Who is Rakmar? And who broke the seal on Uldir?
Garrosh carries the legacy of the Legion within him, uncorrupted or not.
Next expansion: The Mists of Pandaria.
:^)