Actually the Drakkari were one of the most aggressive of all the troll tribes. Even the other troll tribes saw their ways as excessively violent, which is why they were exiled from all other Troll nations.
Eventually, the Drakkari were exiled from the other troll nations for their extremely violent ways.[3] In time, the territory claimed by the Drakkari would become known as Zul’Drak and its capital became Gundrak, establishing the Drakkari Empire.
Unfortunate that they fell to the Scourge, but they were by no means a peaceful tribe that didn’t ‘attack anyone’.
The only sources for this are the RPG and a dialogue from WotLK that says :
Did you know, for instance, that the Drakkari were exiled from the rest of the troll nations for their extremely violent ways?
It’s true! How did you think trolls ended up in such a harsh climate as this?
Thing is, now we know why the Drakkari moved to Northrend in the first place, and it’s not because they were exiled for being too violent, but simply because they were fighting the Aqir that fled northwards and eventually decided to settle the area once the threat had been dealt with.
So it’s likely that either this quote is not canon or it’s been retconned.
The only uncontradicted information we have about the Drakkari’s diplomatic behavior is the fact that they had maintained friendly relationships with the local Wolvar for thousands of years before the Scourge kicked in :
The Drakkari trolls and Rageclaw wolvar were allies for thousands of years. They’ve been living in Zul’Drak, alongside the trolls, for generations, completely unaware of the ever-changing world. https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Rageclaw_tribe
So yeah. As far as we know, and until proven otherwise, the Drakkari weren’t aggressive.
The dialogue from WotLK means it’s confirmed then.
Just because they were friendly with one race, doesn’t mean they weren’t excessively violent/aggressive. The quote by the way, comes from Chronicler To’kini, who is a Zandalari historian/researcher. So he would know, more than anyone else, what the Drakkari were responsible for.
The Chronicle also confirms that the Drakkari were one of the tribes that rose up to challenge the Zandalari for territory and power.
No it’s not confirmed, because as I said, the lore bit the quote uses to illustrate the violent nature of the Drakkari is factually incorrect or has been retconned. Doesn’t matter whether it comes from Chronicler To’kini, it could come from freaking Khadgar for all I care : this quote written 15 years ago provides information that turned out to be wrong so it can’t be considered a reliable source of lore.
Things could change whenever the writers give us additional lore, but right now there is no evidence that the Drakkari were aggressive.
Yes, 16 000 years ago some emerging political powers (including the Drakkari, but mostly the Gurubashi and Amani) started to challenge the Zandalari’s territorial claims, but it never resulted in much violence and it didn’t last for long :
Over the next several centuries, other tribes arose to challenge the Zandalari for territory and power. The most notabe of these were the fearsome Gurubashi, Amani, and Drakkari. The Gurubashi and Amani in particular laid claim to enormous swaths of land in Kalimdor’s lush jungles and woods. On occasion, tribes clashed, often over hunting grounds. Yet major conflicts were few, and rarely lengthy. Trolls were such skilled and fierce fighters that any real conflict would cost both sides dearly. Untouched lands was plentiful in all directions, and the various tribes quickly learned it was wiser to resettle than risk war.
Certainly doesn’t tell anything about the Drakkari being savage in nature. Or else Humans and Dwarves are even more savage in nature since they’ve been waging war against other nations to expand and claim their territories for themselves in much more recent times.
When you can actually confirm it’s been retconned, then we’ll talk.
Because as of right now, it has not been. You not liking the lore doesn’t invalidate it.
According to Chronicler To’kini, the Drakkari were extremely aggressive and violent. Exiled by all other Troll tribes for their violent ways. That’s not coming from the RPG. That’s coming from World of Warcraft directly, and as of me writing this post, that line from To’kini is still in the game and it has not been retconned.
I ignored the RPG bit, because most of the RPG isn’t canon. It’s only when Blizzard pulls something directly from the RPG, then that specific thing becomes canon (something they’ve stated themselves, and they’ve pulled both the Lightslayer and Primal prestige classes directly from the RPG and created NPCs in WoW for both of them).
You pointed out that the reference comes from a dialogue line in WotLK. I confirmed this. Then you tried to argue that because one group of Wolvar managed to exist with the Drakkari, that somehow this invalidates what Chronicler To’kini says. It doesn’t.
We’ve not gotten a single bit of lore since WotLK that disproves what he said. Nothing.
You can either accept that, or you can’t. Your choice.
We have. Please reread my post. Chronicles explains why the Drakkari settled Northrend and it’s not because they were exiled for being too violent but because they were fighting the Aqir that fled to the North. So To’kini’s point falls flat since the exile theory was the only thing supporting the Drakkari’s supposedly savage nature. Simple as that.
THIS is what invalidates what To’kini says. Not the Wolvar thing. The Wolvar thing is merely the only uncontradicted information we have about the Drakkari’s behavior. Again, please don’t twist my words.
What the chronicle says does not conflict with what is stated in WotLK.
As you yourself stated earlier:
The Chronicle states that the Drakkari were one of the most power-hungry tribes in troll society during the height of the Troll Empires. So much so that they were the first to strike out against the Aqir. That they fought against the Aqir and the Tol’vir guardians, evolving their tactics so that they could eventually defeat them and lay claim to the territory that would become the Drakkari Empire.
If you read the wowpedia page, it then states that ‘eventually’ they were exiled for their violent ways. Eventually, meaning later, after the war with the Aqir was won and they had already obtained the land that would later become the Drakkari Empire.
Technically in a way, they kind of already are as the Darkspear tribe were an offshoot tribe of the Gurubashi – last I checked (Longstory-short anyway).
It’s really time to do away with Allied Races and just let folks pick subcategories for races.
Click on Orc - select between Mag’har, Frostwolf, Orgrimmar, heck maybe Mok
Troll? Zandalari, Darkspear, maybe something like Raventusk, Drakkari, whatever.
Elf? Blood, nightborne
Tauren - Highmountain, Thunder Bluff, and maybe Taunka? Yaungol?
Forsaken - Elf, Human
Possibly some standalone options like Goblin, just waiting for additions.
Alliance could have Kul Titan and Stormwindian humans (maybe even adding in Worgen)
Elves - Void and night
Dwarves - Wildhammer, Bronzebeard, Dark Iron
Gnomergan and unradiated Gnomes
Etc
They can still have separate racials - but maybe one shared and one unique. And it makes it easier to add additional races just as subgroups.
Some NPC in 2008 : “The Drakkari settled Northrend as a result of being exiled from the rest of the Trollkind because of their violent ways. That’s how savage they are !”
Chronicles in 2016 : “The Drakkari settled Northrend after successfully defeating the Aqir that fled northwards as part of the Empire of Zul and claimed the local lands for themselves as was stipulated in the agreement they had with the Zandalari.”
The two versions completely conflict with each other and one of them is more canon than the other for obvious reasons. Chronicles also makes absolutely no mention of the Drakkari being exiled whatsoever. The only thing Chronicles says after describing the Drakkari settling Northrend is :
Without war to bind them together, the troll factions grew ever more distant and insular. The far-flung strongholds of the different tribes blossomed into vibrant homes, temple cities, and eventually empires in their own right. The Zandalari withdrew to their mountain plateaus to pursue spiritual knowledge, but they would always maintain an immense influence over the disparate troll societies.
So no. No exile. No shunning the Drakkari for being aggressive. Clearly To’kini’s version has been retconned (or forgotten about).
Now if having killed murderous insectoïds trying to exterminate you and having engaged in occasional skirmishes against the dominant political power 16k years ago fits your Warcraft definition of aggressive, fine, but then Humans, Dwarves and Elves are all reportedly much more aggressive than the Drakkari.
I mean, the thread’s not about any allied races, just having the Gurubashi join the Horde in lore. I don’t see how you could make them playable and have them distinct from the Darkspear.
The Drakkari stayed in Zul Drak since the time of their empire falling to the sundering. We know of no other expanion attempts to the rest of Northrend. Apart from Drak’tharon guarding the southern border. So you really are reaching for the air here.
Same way we do most of those things (though not all). Same frame/rigging/skeleton/model, different racial abilities, and different / distinct customization options.
As far as I understand, Gurubashi are more “jungle” trolls while the Darkspear are more “forest” trolls (closer to the Amani). Though some more creative folks would have to depict that in customization.
I wish “Island Trolls” really meant something in the lore. Since Trolls are an ultra adaptative race, give me Trolls with biological characteristics specifically connected to underwater/seashore environments
