I had this idea kinda pop up based on a variety of different things for a melee void based “knight” heroclass. Ideally to accompany some sort of crusade against the Void.
TL:DR at the end.
“The void can consume life or meld with it, but the latter often has unperceived consequences.” -Wowhead Void Entry
Names I was thinking are Voidbound (for a couple reasons), Voidblade, or even Blades of the Black Empire…
The first thought was a bit simpler.
You find a sentient weapon the likes of Xal’atath, Xal’atoh, or Shin’ka (visually, unsure if it’s sentient).
You’re then permanently bound to this weapon and it bestows your class abilities to you. A wide number of various transmog appearances for the weapon are available so you’re able to wield the type of weapon you want. Idea being the weapon changes shapes to better suit it’s wielder.
The more complex idea being what if we establish more of a background for weapons of this sort.
I’d read recently that Conan would be joining a team of Avengers in the comics and he’d be wielding a weapon with links to Venom.
Some speculation was that it was All-black the Necrosword.
If you read the background on the sword as well as it’s creator, Knull, it’s easy to see how something like that could be changed a little to fit into Warcraft and serve also as one of it’s numerous pop culture references.
You essentially have a god born of the void who creates a sentient weapon from the void to combat the light.
You then have him expanding this ability to create a race of amorphous creatures he uses as an army…the Klyntar.
Perhaps we could have a similar void race or void corrupted race that are subjugated and used to create these sentient weapons.
They are bound to inanimate weapons to give them power and sentience.
Your character could be part of some strike force, likely on another world, perhaps when we are assembling to go out and combat the void, or in some other Black Empire themed area. They could be the last survivor (honorbound grunt/7th legion marine?) of an attack group, or a prisoner.
For survival/escape the void creature (species name Xal’atar?) binds to you instead of whatever weapon it was meant to be joined with.
This essentially makes you a living weapon. You’re also bound to this void creature…hence the name Voidbound, playing off your binding, and that creatures species being bound to weapons.
This grants you your abilities, as you escape you learn from the creature speaking to you via whispers. This essentially sets up a secondary character for this class, as it’s permanently with you. In the same manner Xal’atath and other weapons whisper to it’s wielder about various events or even during combat, this could be a feature of the Voidbound. Your sidekick.
As you fight to escape the area/prison it starts explaining what it is and what it can do, which gives a tutorial for your abilities.
Some spell-like abilities shooting out shadow magic, but like the large Faceless Ones, there’d be a melee combat focus.
Abilities causing tentacles to burst forth and strike or whip your enemies. Perhaps even with large biting maws upon the end. Consume abilities where you devour a lower level enemy to restore health?
Perhaps a high powered AoE cooldown where the character kneels down punching both fists to the ground, tendrils from the void being reach out into the ground causing tentacles to burst forth in an AoE around your character whipping enemies caught within, perhaps some could even come from the back of the player as well.
Horrifying Visage AoE stun or Fear.
One question is if we’d wield regular weapons and shields or if the creature we’re bound to would shape itself into the appropriate weapon for various attacks. A slam attack could shape a fist into a spiked mace, a piercing could become a sword or dagger.
A simpler way to do this would be a variety of transmog weapon appearances that blend with your body that appear when you enter battle, no sheath appearance on your character. This could also be a way of doing both. Use your weapons as usual, transmog them into the class appearance if you want them to look like they are part of your body.
Taking a que from the Shadowpriest, my thought was having a Voidform similar to their Shadowform.
A buff you enable, but instead of becoming shadowy, this equips the form bestowed by your Xal’atar.
For simplicity sake, I was thinking it would be your regular character model with a replaced head. Perhaps there’d be a size increase of 10%.
Like a Voidwalker with legs but corporeal then with additional customization.
This would have a variety of textures and skins to choose form. It would be independantly customizable from your normal character. It’d be set up at character creation similar to a worgen, but the choices would not be linked, as they are with a worgen.
My thought was something like the voidling/sha model could be used as the creature when you first encounter it.
A variety of color schemes like these could be options for visual customization of your Voidform.
Even the color schemes of the various top level Sha could be interesting.
So you’d have blacks, purples, reds, whites…
Then have some further additional customizations. I was thinking a variety of facial choices.
You could have a variety of sets of eyes, the usual 2, or maybe 6 like Y’shaarj/Sha.
A large toothed maw like the pauldrons of the Death Knight Maw armor
Additional spikes.
Perhaps facial tentacles that don’t animate but move due to physics like Faceless Ones/K’thir/Aqu’sirr
Spinal ridges/spikes/spines/fins.
Tentacles from the back that are physics enabled sorta like Broken have.
Perhaps different head crests sort of like Draenei but more elaborate and Old God/Void like. Like the Sha, almost horn like.
Maybe oddly placed blinking eyes on the body.
Perhaps “wings” like the Void Elf heritage armor and other Voidwalker style creatures.
Protrusions from the back sorta like Starcraft Kerrigan’s “wings”.
Check out images of the Sha and Old Gods and other void beings.
Now at first I was wondering if armor should show, but with the upcoming Transmog choices to disable almost everything, perhaps armor could equip like normal (except the helm) when your Voidform is enabled. Then if you don’t want pieces, just disable them. This would allow for additional customization via armor. Something like those Death Knight Maw Pauldrons would look great enabled.
Question is if the Voidform would enable when you go into combat, for a priest it activates Shadowform for you when you use your Void Form buff ability. Disable when you leave combat?
Make it your choice for when it’s enabled? Certain abilities activate it?
Does it give a buff? Increase damage when turned on?
I’d think Plate would be the proper armor choice being a melee class, but the Voidform could give additional armor, or could enable tanking abilities for a tank spec.
Another thought was what if we took a cue from Druids and Shaman and had multiple specs with a wider range of usage.
You could have a sword and board plate wearing tank spec.
A dps dual wield dps plate spec.
A more ranged spellcasting spec that uses mail or lower or even plate as well.
Xal’atath could be a member of this race, it’s progenitor, or even something more akin to a regular old god and she was just bound to a weapon in the same manner that these lesser void beings are. of course, she’d have been a more powerful weapon.
You could even have a void based Army of the Light analog similar to the Agents of the Cosmos ( I wasn’t familiar with these). They are Klyntar bound to various honorable hosts that rebelled against the void god who created them and fight to maintain peace across the cosmos as an act of redemption.
I was thinking most races would be to be a Voidbound. Idea being a hero class where a Warrior essentially encounters this void creature and binds with it. I’m a little iffy on the Lightforged Draenei. Something like that makes sense to be restricted
TL:DR
Simpler Idea 1 : Bound to a sentient weapon that bestows void based abilities.
Complex Idea 2 : A race of void creatures are bound to weapons to create sentient weapons, one is bound to you instead. You are the weapon. Based off the Klyntar/Symbiote Marvel race. Think a medieval fantasy void/old god Venom. Big toothed maws, tentacles, Venom-like Voidform, weapons/shields part of you. Shadow/Void damage. Tank/Melee DPS/Ranged DPS maybe?
In both ideas the weapon/creature is treated as a secondary character that whispers/comments to you as you play.