So. It took me a long time to get around to this sidequest, because I wanted to do it on my mage and she was behind a lot of other alts.
And it was great to bring a mage - there were a lot of fun (presumably) mage-specific options to discuss the finer points of magibabble, and it was all endearing enough that my curmudgeonly old lady wizard was having a blast with this promising new apprentice material.
…And then I went to turn in a quest and he was dead.
That hurt. That hurt more than Khadgar’s death did. (Even before I knew he was coming back.)
I did not expect this kind of drama in what felt like a pretty lighthearted quest. And I think that made it all the more impactful. Most characters like Khadgar die fighting an enemy they chose to confront. This was a cheerful apprentice far from the front lines. But, in hindsight, the assassination made sense and was very fitting for the overarching zone story. And it gives an option for the player to feel a personal grudge against the Arathi shadow cult, but also doesn’t require the player to feel that way for the following story to make sense, which is a big MMO storytelling plus to me.
So kudos to Blizzard - I think this story is a good example of a surprise character death, and the class-specific fluff for mages was great.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find somebody to hug.