Pulitzer prize winning author, Robert A. Caro, is a writer and journalist who’s covered many important men in modern American history. Some of which you’ve probably not heard of and others of which, like Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, you probably have.
Before I get into the fantasy claptrap I would recommend reading some of his books. They’re really interesting examinations on the sort of people who seek power, and how and if it changes them. It’ll give you new perspective on a lot of people in the headlines. But enough with the digressions.
I mention this man and give some background on him for this quote;
But although the cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said … is that power always reveals. When a man is climbing, trying to persuade others to give him power, concealment is necessary. … But as a man obtains more power, camouflage becomes less necessary
So what on Azeroth does this have to do with everybody’s favorite friendly neighborhood flesh eaters, the Forsaken? Well let me hit you with another quote, this time from Captain Amelia Stone. Who to the best of my knowledge hasn’t written a biography on Robert Moses, but does have some insight on being newly Forsaken;
“It was… invigorating seeing those people get what they deserved.
Is this what it is like to be free? To set your own rules?
Perhaps I could get used to this.”
The Forsaken may not have immediate power, in the traditional sense. Unless Zachariah Post has been playing the longest of long cons I think he’s just selling skeletal horses.
But they do have an unparalleled and immediate sense of freedom that no other playable race has.
Foremost is the freedom from all biological imperatives. Which is an enormous liberation that’s such a foreign idea to us, the audience.
Think for a moment; imagine you no longer have to eat. Or drink. Or even breathe. Or even worry about how fragile your body is.
Now many of us would no doubt still partake in hot food, cold water, fresh air and routine health and hygiene even if we didn’t have to. But how much of your life is dictated by those needs? I’m going to wager most of us go to work less because of a passion for it, and more because that’s how you go about getting reliable access to food and a roof.
What if you didn’t have to, though? What if you could pick a direction and wander till you got bored or found something interesting? Knowing that even if a pack of wild dogs ripped off all your limbs that it would be more of an inconvenience than a miserable, painful death? What would you do then?
The second largest freedom the Forsaken have is partial liberation from societal expectation.
Now this gets tricker because of the disaster that was Before The Storm. But until anyone can bring hard facts to disprove my interpretation that Sylvanas turned the UC into a police state after becoming Warchief, I’m declaring it as canon.
In Death Knell it is stressed out the gate the Forsaken don’t coerce anyone to join them;
“You are no slave, %t. You are free to follow whatever path you choose from here. If you choose to serve the Dark Lady Sylvanas, I recommend you speak with Undertaker Mordo. You will find him behind me, in the graveyard.”
“You’ve done well, class. As you can see, not all of us have resigned to our fates. I’m glad to see that you’re at least willing to work.
Valred will be a valuable asset to the Forsaken. As for the other two… there is not much we can do. We cannot force them to join us.”
This is well demonstrated in Death Knell, where the rebel NPCs at the Rotbrain Encampment aren’t hostile until plans to attack Deathknell are discovered. Likewise nobody stops Lilian Voss from leaving. It’s clear from the nomenclature with the former and quest text relating to the ladder that the Forsaken are disappointed and even offended when someone rebuffs their invitation, but they don’t actually do anything to hinder them.
But beyond that what a Forsaken is supposed to do with themselves even if they join up seems very up to their imagination.
They’re the most eclectic playable race in game. With the Orcs or Kaldorei for example you’ll get a diversity of careers and opinions, but for the most part you see similar naming and career conventions.
Not so with the Forsaken.
You’ve some characters like Pontius who not only kept his name, but career. Guy loved breeding dogs in life and found new purpose in breeding darkhounds in undeath. Admits the devil doggos aren’t quite as pleasant to look at but then again, sames true for him, so what’s the difference? If the guy is grimly going through the motions and merely acting through a spooky simulacrum of his past life he doesn’t seem to show it;
“Did you hunt down some crows, boy? Good dog, good boy!”
- Pontius in regards to his darkhounds. He refers to them as his boys and seems ever so offended the troops at Vengeance Landing are offering them crap rations.
But then you’ve others like Nathanos Marris, now calling himself Blightcaller, who seems to insist on being a grim grumpy gus to impress the Banshee Queen. I know Lor’Themar said he was always a prick but he seemed to put up with Elf racism (You, slack jawed half ape, why do you not respect me?) and is basically normal in other past depictions. Plus he’s shown sustained grief over his cousin being murdered to upgrade his body after it got dog toyed by an abomination.
Suffice to say I think he was grinning in the end less for being a prick, and more because he was kinda in to being emasculated by a buff elf woman with a bow. Worse ways to go I suppose.
I bring this all up, well because I like making fun of Natty Blight, but more importantly because it really does seem the Forsaken are free to pursue whatever they want so long as it does not threaten their state. The only instance of someone going too far was Warden Stillwater in the Sludgefield. The only line you do not cross is stealing the free will of a fellow undead. Otherwise raise puppies or throw them in a blender to make toast spread. Kinda on you, pal.
I believe freedom is power, and the Forsaken have that in spades.
They have no involuntary personal responsibilities holding them back. No hunger, no thirst, and even the indifferent march of time is irrelevant.
Their only real societal rule is don’t attack this society.
And there is no authority stopping them from achieving virtually anything they want to do.
Is that not a fascinating theme to explore?
The vast majority of the Forsaken appear to be commoners. And even if they were aristocrats, they have no power or wealth here anymore, they start at square one same as a ditch digger.
It’s not just a second chance at life, it’s life with noclip on.
Exploring what people might do when they have no limited time and no pressing responsibilities they didn’t volunteer for is such a fascinating idea to me.
This is one that has underlined the Forsaken since day one but it’s obviously a less marketable concept than sexy ghost elf so it’s largely taken a back seat.
But now? This is a field ripe for exploration. We know people like Voss were already dangerous in life. But what about the Black Bride? What about Calder Gray or Commander Belmont? These may well have been peasants and clerks who clawed their way to levels of authority now that they didn’t have to buy an education or be held back by mortal frailties.
This is an aspect of the Forsaken that demands exploration. And it’s one I sorely hope Blizz invests in moving forward.
The undead now have the power to go do whatever they ever wanted to do. What does that reveal about them to us?
Also just give a Voss a makeover and we’re fine. Resident Evil 7 showed us twitchy goth cannibal gals with blood stained mouths have a surprising amount of thirsty fans all over the gender and sexuality spectrum so, if you’re just worried about box art you’ve an ace in the hole already.
But if you want to do more interesting things with one of your most unique races;
See above.