Variable could lead an army. He could inspire his troops, protect his people, and stand strong against forces no mortal could best.
He was a stalwart warrior, who wouldn’t back down from a fight, but unfortunately, that was his home. The battle, the conflict, that was where Varian showed his prowess, his nobility, and his care.
But as a king, I’m afraid he was a failure. He could protect his people from outside threats, but on political and financial matters, his rule was shaken. Westfall became a ruined dustbowl, and many of stormwind’s homeless gravitated there. Brightwood hamlet was infiltrated by cultists, as their faith in the crown was shaken by ignorance of their numerous problems. Lakeshire was nearly lost to the black rock many times.
Each of these towns appealed to their king for help, but when it came to small conflicts, Varian was at a loss. He couldn’t help the impoverished and hungry in his own city. He couldn’t save his people from themselves.
Let us hope that Anduin will be a better, stronger, more attentive king than his father.
What the alliance needs is not a strong warrior type king like Varian, nor the anduin goody-two-shoes meek priest type.
What the alliance needs is a new king of PALADIN LINEAGE, the one who knows for certain what is right, what is justice, what is light in all circumstances, who has the will and strength to carry it.
The one who can enforce the light upon this evil, wicked world.
The whole idea with Stormwind pulling their aid from Westfall and Duskwood was that the Alliance had too much of that “outside threat” to worry about. It’s not a weakness (in terms of ruling, anyway) to be unable to deal with smaller threats if it’s taking everything you have to deal with the more immediate, larger threats.
Maybe it’s too vague of a reason, but at the end of the day, it’s just the justification to add conflict to the world that the player character has to help with. Otherwise, lots of early questing just wouldn’t exist.
Westfall became a mess in part due to mistreatment at the hands of bandits / the Defias. But Stormwind couldn’t spare the military aid to deal with it.
Duskwood became a mess due to the Scythe of Elune, and again, Stormwind couldn’t spare the military aid. The cultist thing was literally a faction serving the Legion. It had nothing to do with being mad at the crown.
The inability to spare military aid is why both zones formed their own militias.
I think Varian started caring more for his people before he died thanks to his son, but at the end of the day, if there are no resources that can reasonably be spared, then it doesn’t make him a bad King for not materializing those resources from nowhere.
But just to reiterate, the reason those plots played out like they did is to give a reason for the player character adventurers/heroes/whatever something to do. It’s a loose justification for the gameplay to exist, I don’t think you were ever meant to have much of an opinion on Stormwind’s rule.
I guess there’s also the whole “Onyxia is manipulating Stormwind’s politics” thing that would have been relevant during the time period where all of this was relevant.
Yes, Variable was truly a slave/king of great and little stature. He was a kind man unless he wasn’t. Brave when he wasn’t cowardly. Truly we shall never see his like again, possibly.
See though, I believe games are as much a medium for storytelling as any. You can’t just make a story to give us something to do, and say it doesn’t matter. We should be secondary to the story.
Yes, there was an outside threat - the Horde. Stormwind’s forces were already weakened by the war in northrend, and the local infrastructure was weakened as well by local conflicts. The Gnolls in Elwynn, the Undead in Brightwood, the defias in Westfall, and the Orcs in Redridge.
Now, the logical thing to do would’ve been to pull back. During the cataclysm, Varian tried to establish new outposts and extend his borders - the smart thing would’ve been to ensure that his own lands were secure.
Because, as we found, they certainly weren’t. The Gnolls led a resurgence, the defias rose again, the black rock invaded, and brightwood was once again assaulted.
Resources were an issue, yes, but an addressable one. The first step would’ve been to reclaim the gold mines in Elwynn, to fund the stormwind army and repair projects. Following that, begin sending aid to westfall. Seeds, guards, and architects. Reinvigorate the land with techniques established in northrend. Now, there’s a source of food, gold, and soldiers.
After that, lead an assault into red ridge and duskwood to destroy the enemy forces there, establishing more farms and reclaiming the mines there.
That could’ve been our story. Plenty of conflict, and the enemies could’ve been the same. But this would’ve shown Varian, and us, taking an active role in rebuilding the kingdom of stormwind.
Okay, tangent, but can we please stop referring to Duskwood as Brightwood? It hasn’t been named Brightwood at any point during WoW’s timeline. And given you’ve specifically mentioned Cata a couple times now, it’s clear you’re not exclusively talking about a pre-WoW timeline, let alone the vanilla era.
Also, ‘Brightwood Hamlet’ isn’t a thing. You’re mixing ‘Brightwood’ (see: Duskwood) and ‘Grand Hamlet’ (see: Darkshire).
first thing Anduin did as king was tell the night elves to leave their lands unguarded because ‘intelligence’ suggested the horde was marching to silithus, then when the horde committed genocide, he sat on his fat rear and poured resources into antagonising a neutral kingdom by committing regicide, forcing it into the Horde, instead of securing Kalimdor for the night elves he left high and dry, then he goes and makes peace with the horde, no terms, no austerity, no reparations or anything, and has the nerve to get upset with Tyrande for refusing to sign his toilet paper treaty with the maniac faction. He’s ten times worse that Varian ever was and needs to be hanged. Let the Forsaken eat him I don’t even care, I hate him and want him killed off, horribly.
Varian was a great leader and good king, dealing with all sorts of problems and yet, can learn from the son how to be someone better and thus a better king.
To speak negatively of what his reign was like, without taking into account the problems he went through, is levity.
Varian required my lvl 30 Warlock to be saved. The best leader of the Alliance is Lady Prestor. She never once talked into my ear constantly giving me quests. She never told me to collect boar butts. Great leader.