So I am playing a Warlock, and this has me curious about the class. Where do you learn to become a Warlock? Are there schools, apprenticeships, or do demons offer to teach you in your dreams? How is it different between the races and factions? What are the consequences, both physically, mentally, and socially?
From what I gather, there are societies and groups, and there are quite a few grimoires floating around out there in the game, too. So I’m guessing you can learn via a lot of different sources and in a lot of different ways.
The lore that I can remember has warlockery for humans starting in Dalaran, as wizards started to veer into new realms of power. And it’s possible the Guardians knew of it, and possibly had uses for it. The night elves got their learnings from the Legion when Azshara made a deal with Sargeras, though it was Xavius who found out information about the Legion and brought it to her (I wasn’t able to find much of substance on how he finds out.) The trolls might have learned it due to the loa, perhaps? Admittedly, the Titans’ involvement with the Twisting Nether and Sargeras’ despair set the whole ball of wax rolling here on Azeroth as they sought to stop the Void Lords from corrupting new planets (aka potential Titans.)
All that said, characters can have mentors, and I know in the human starting zone, for instance, you’re treated as though you’re looking for power and initiated via a series of quests in the arts of summoning demons, etc. But you could just as easily have stumbled upon a weird book and tried one the spells there, and suddenly, blamo! You’re summoning demons.
Back in Vanilla, we had to use soul stones to summon demons, and you could siphon them out of creatures and other humanoids; so, there was a definite give and take there.
Hope that helps a bit.
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While most of the native Azerothians deviated into Fel magic while studying “forbidden” arcane magic, the Orcs were originally taught fel magic directly from demons, as their only really known magic practice had been shamanism (though apparently they had a little bit of experience with void and light magics after the naaru had crashed the Draenei into their planet).
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the easiest way in my opinion narratively is a teacher/master who taught the warlock everything they know.
sorta like a continuation
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You don’t control the fel, the fel controls you BOIIIIIIII.
All you need is them devil horns and youre good.
#ultimatefelbrofessor
I suspect the Warlock makes a pact with the Demons and his given “their” power. It is more of an illusion - the Warlock doesn’t ACTUALLY have any power - its the demons that are using the Warlock to their own ends, and it merely appears like the Warlock is exercising power. - see Christianity and why witchraft/sorcery is forbidden (Galatians 5:19-21)
The warlock likely thinks they are in control, but it isn’t until the demon starts acting out of line that they realize they are only along for the ride, and have become slaves to this extradimensional being.
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^this is the correct answer.
You have a lot of options for how your character first encounters demonic magics. For many races, the common story is that of a mage who acquires interest in the Fel and abandons their arcane studies in favor of a more “direct” route to power. For other races, mainly if not solely the orcs, it is the story of shaman who were seduced by Gul’dan’s promise of power.
But ultimately, you can just stumble across a grimoire lost in an abandoned library to start your journey as a warlock.
It might not necessarily be where you “become” a warlock, but for most cases your studies will lead you to a warlock circle, society, or guild. This can be the Lamb, the Darkfire Enclave, the Empyrean Society, the Shadow Council, the Sanctum, the Black Harvest, Ratchet’s coven, etc.
Places of learning but not schools; Most certainly yes; and sometimes but not commonly.
Warlocks are found across many races, with the social consequences differing depending on where they call home. A Dark Iron or Forsaken warlock for example most likely enjoys more privileges than setbacks among their own people; however Human and modern Orcish culture discriminate against them.
Generally, the Horde is more accepting of warlocks than the Alliance, but mostly for indirect reasons I would say.
For warlocks, the difference across race is usually more important than the difference across faction.
Races that hold cultural stigma against warlock arts:
Humans, BB+WH Dwarves, Draenei, N-elfs, Pandaren, Orcs, Tauren
Races that have shown acceptance of warlock arts:
Gnomes, Forsaken, V-elfs, goblins, trolls, DI Dwarves
Races that have mixed cultural feelings on warlock arts:
B-elfs
Too hard to tell:
Z-trolls, Nightborne, M-gnomes, Vulpera.
Physical and mental consequences are unclear. They certainly exist if one is reckless, but where the line is drawn between “safe” and dangerous practice is not known.
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You know, it’s funny. After being ravaged by one form of Dark Magic in Necromancy and torn from the relative peace of death, there was surprisingly little resistance to tapping into that very same magic (since, y’know, it helps keep our bodies in one piece), and from there, it’s not a large leap to look into other “dark” forms of magic.
Like Fel magic. It was startlingly easy to find practitioners of Fel Magic mingling with the rest of the magic-users in Undercity back in the day.
Destruction is, thematically, basically a Fire Mage who has begun drawing on Fel instead of Arcane. Secret societies of Warlocks are not really required for them to make this transition as Fel isn’t exactly a secret anymore after all that has happened.
Affliction is more witchy, and Demonology is your classic Faustian summoner archetype. Both of these seem to me to be specs that are more likely to have underground hubs of learning associated with them, either through samizdat grimoires circulating around Dalaran, or pure thoroughbred black magic societies (rather than turned mages) that exist completely off the traditional Mage’s radar.
To make a rough comparison with Star Wars, anyone can fall to the Dark Side, but that doesn’t make you a Sith. Being a Sith requires schooling, it is a tradition, not a disposition or action.
The backstory I had for my warlock was them being a Mage who, during the TBC campaign, began augmenting their spells with Fel energy after becoming lost and desperate in Outland. Eventually they ended up meeting and binding demons and extracting knowledge out of them regarding more exotic spellcraft.
The narrative pipeline for them was Fire Mage -> Destruction Warlock -> Demonology/Affliction.
That is just one way to do it, but I like to take spec into account just as much as class.
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It was a just a natural progression of playing the markets growing up. I started buying and selling kittens almost as soon as I could walk, then helping the neighbors buy and sell their pets (sometimes with their permission), then as I got older, more unusual pets I could get my hands on. Eventually, as I was selling tiny humanoids, living or undead, I started running into more unusual buyers and sellers with more … exotic … tastes and wares. Eventually I just started accumulating IOUs from demons.
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Perhaps I’m coming at this differently, Panderen POV even. I’d befriend a DH or a DH family/faction/group… and develop a story where I facilitated group function as a hang-around - a trust earning position. A mentor would help - a current application mentor… especially if no family lore/other ties to fel, exist.
I’d totally shack with a DH if I could get them wings and that glorious eyebeam… well, something like that.
This is my alt, and I made my story this way so I approve this message even though a drunk panda girl wrote it - while just looking for acceptance (not attention).