Now I’ve gone on record stating that I absolutely hate this race/class combo. Mages have always been to me this academical lot. More into book learning then Asking the spirits for aid or forcing demons into their service, basically it just didn’t sit right with Orcs. But, as I’ve come to accept Orc Priests as another type of Seer alongside Shamans like what Trolls do with their Priests and Shamans. I’ve decided to give a rethink on this… combination.
So, would Orc Mages be seen as another type of Warlock or perhaps another kind of Shaman? from a story point do they ask the spirits of Fire, Frost and the Arcane for aid or force these powers into their service? Is it up to the player themselves to determine which?
I’ve always found that by putting out the question and having a discussion I can usually unravel the mystery of such race/class combinations, much like Worgen Death Knight which was formerly at the time made no sense to me based on how they did the Worgen story, I.E being immune to the Curse of Undeath.
Are Orcs not intelligent enough for academic pursuits, or the learning of arcane magic?
It stands to reason if they can be adept at practicing fel magic as with Warlocks, they could just as easily turn their talents to other schools of magic.
It is unknown if orcs could become mages before Cataclysm. Two major orc mages in lore are Acrypha and Hagara the Stormbinder. Acrypha is an eccentric old female orc who trains beginner mages in Durotar. She stayed in the Undercity libraries studying the arcane for years. Once the Shattering occurred, she decided to return to her people and teach others what she had learned. Hagara also learned the ways of the mage from the Forsaken, though she later defected to the Twilight’s Hammer.[9] Orc mages are also sometimes called “arcweavers.” Garrosh Hellscream seemed to promote the use of the arcane in his Kor’kron forces, shown by the presence of the Kor’kron Arcweavers.
The Mag’har orcs of the alternate Draenor can become mages as well. They were taught how to wield the arcane by the ogres of Highmaul upon joining the Iron Horde.[10] It is also possible that they were taught by the draenei, as they have taught some orcs how to read and write.[11]
