Like how Death Knights would have been stoned on sight, or Night Elf mages murdered by their fellow elves?
Serving valiantly in war or Saving the King has the kind of effect of enacting drastic policy changes.
Uh? Yes? Remember how they were, Maiev tried to kill mages, and even Death Knights generally stay away from everyone else because people hate them?
She didn’t save the king until after she was already part of some kind of elite strike force. Just 4-5 years after they were meeting in a basement. A group who still summons demons and causes mass problems.
Warlocks should have been suspected then, were suspected then, and frankly they and void elves should still be under scrutiny now, along with Death Knights and Illidari. None of them have a great track record and even altruistic members can easily lose control and cause massive problems. Just look at the trifling gnome.
Actually if you’ve read the novels, Mages were suspect then… to the average populace, Mages and Warlocks were just two names for the same thing. Especially since unlike in the game, your average Warlock would not be walking around in public with a Felguard or succubus in tow, there would be no way to tell one from the other.
Context matters though if the alternative to sucking on Fel energy was to Wither, that would put a different spin on things.
Of course mages were suspect, that was said in Day of the Dragon. But it was also stated that that was mostly Paladins. In game we see mages integrated in Stormwing. Until Cata Warlocks were meeting in a basement because people hated them.
Nothing to do with Warcrimes, one expac after Warlocks stopped having to literally hide.
I would call it putting the story in congruence with the game since PC warlocks never had to.
We did though. Outside of Forsaken our trainers were down in basements. If you asked a guard for directions he would, at best, speak with pure disdain (can’t remember the lines but he was not happy).
If anything I would assume player locks didn’t tell the Hatfields and McCoys (whatever their names were) in Elwynn that they were warlocks.
Whereas a few ingame years later they are completely integrated despite having fought the legion again in that time period, and one trying to come through the Sunwell.
Whether you were Orc or Human, Dwarf or Gnome, locks were looked down upon as scum at best.