Stories based in the Warcraft universe

Gul'dan and the Betrayal

During the final days of the Second War, as the horde's victory over the Alliance seemed almost assured; a terrible feud erupted between the two most powerful orcs on Azeroth. The nefarious warlock, Gul'dan, master of the clandestine Shadow Council, led a number of renegade clans against the might of Ogrim Doomhammer, the war chief of the horde. As Doomhammer prepared his final assault against the Capital City of Lordaeron, an assault that would have crushed the last remnants of the Alliance, Gul'dan and his renegade clans abandoned their posts and set out to sea. The bewildered Doomhammer, having lost nearly half of his standing forces to Gul'dan's treachery, was force to pull back and forsake his greatest chance at victory over the Alliance.

The power-hungry Gul'dan, obsessed with obtaining godhood itself, set out on a desperate search for the undersea Tomb of Sargeras that he believed held the secrets of ultimate power. Having already doomed his fellow orcs to become the slaves of the Burning Legion, Gul'dan thought nothing of his supposed duty to Doomhammer. Backed by the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans, Gul'dan succeeded in raising the Tomb of Sargeras from the sea floor. However, when he opened the ancient, flooded vault, he found only crazed demons awaiting him.

Seeking to punish the wayward orcs for their costly betrayal, Doomhammer sent his forces to kill Gul'dan and bring the renegades back into the fold. For his recklessness, Gul'dan was torn apart by the maddened demons he had set loose. With their leader dead, the renegade clans quickly fell before Doomhammer's enraged legions. Though the rebellion had been quelled, the horde was unable to recoup the terrible losses it had suffered. Gul'dan's betrayal had afforded the Alliance not only hope, but also time to regroup… and retaliate.

Lord Lothar, seeing that the horde was fracturing from within, gathered the last of his forces and pushed the horde south, back into the shattered heartland of his homeland, Azeroth. There, the Alliance forces trapped the retreating horde within their volcanic fortress of Blackrock Spire.

Though Lord Lothar fell in battle at the Spire's base, his lieutenant, Turalyon, rallied the Alliance forces at the eleventh hour and pushed the horde back into the abysmal Swamp of Sorrows. Turalyon's forces succeeded in destroying the dark portal, the mystical gateway that connected the orcs to their dark, red home world of Draenor. Cut off from its reinforcements in Draenor and fractured by incessant infighting, the horde finally buckles in upon itself and fell before the might of the Alliance forces.

The scattered orc clans were quickly rounded up and placed within guarded internment camps. Though it seemed that the horde had been defeated for good, some remained highly skeptical that peace would last. Khadgar, the former apprentice of Medivh, convinced the Alliance high command to build the fortress of Nethergarde that would watch over the ruins of the dark portal and ensure there would be no further invasions from Draenor.

Ner'zhul and the Shadow Clans

As the fires of the Second War died down, the Alliance took aggressive steps to contain the orcish threat. A number of large internment camps, meant to house the captive orcs, were constructed in southern Lordaeron. Guarded by both the paladins and the veteran soldiers of the Alliance, the camps proved to be a great success. Though the captive orcs were tense and anxious to do battle once more, the various camp wardens, based at the old prison-fortress of Durnholde, kept the peace and maintained a strong semblance of order.

However, on the hellish world of Draenor, a new orcish army prepared to strike at the unsuspecting Alliance. The elder shaman, Ner'zhul - the former mentor of Gul'dan - rallied the handful of clans still left on Draenor under his dark banner. Ner'zhul planned to open a number of portals on Draenor that would lead the horde to new, unspoiled worlds. To power his new portals, Ner'zhul needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth. To procure them, Ner'zhul reopened the dark portal and sent his ravenous clans charging through.

The new horde, led by veteran chieftain such as Gromm Hellscream of the Warsong clan, and Kilrogg Deadeye of the Bleeding Hollow clan, surprised the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside. Under Ner'zhul's surgical command, the orcs quickly rounded up the artifacts they needed and fled back to the safety of Draenor.

King Terenas of Lordaeron, convinced that the orcs were preparing a new invasion of Azeroth, assembled his most trusted lieutenants. He ordered General Turalyon and the mage, Khadgar, to lead an expedition through the dark portal to put an end to the orcish threat once and for all. Turalyon and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner'zhul's clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula. Though neither side gained ground, it was clear that Ner'zhul would not be stopped from completing his nefarious plans.

Ner'zhul succeeded in opening his portals to other worlds - but he did not foresee the terrible price he would pay. The portals' tremendous energies began to tear the very fabric of Draenor apart. As Turalyon's forces fought desperately to return home to Azeroth, the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself. Gromm Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, realizing that Ner'zhul's mad plans would doom their entire race, rallied the remaining orcs and escaped back to the relative safety of Azeroth. As Hellscream and Deadeye hacked their way through the human ranks in a desperate bid for freedom, the dark portal suddenly exploded behind them. For them, and the remaining orcs on Azeroth, there would be no going back…

Ner'zhul and his Shadowmoon clan passed through their newly created portals, as massive volcanic eruptions began to break Draenor's continents apart. The burning seas rose up and roiled the shattered landscape as the tortured world was finally consumed in an apocalyptic explosion.

Day of the Dragon

Though Gromm Hellscream and his Warsong clan managed to evade capture, Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow clan were rounded up and placed in the internment camps in Lordaeron. Yet, despite the costly uprising, the camps' wardens soon re-established control over their brutish charges.

However, unknown to the Alliance's agents, a large force of orcs still roamed free in the northern wastes of Khaz Modan. The Dragonmaw clan, led by the infamous Warlock, Nekros, had maintained its control over the Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza, and her Dragon flight by using an ancient artifact known as the Demon Soul. With the Dragonqueen as his hostage, Nekros built up a secret army within the abandoned dwarf stronghold of Grim Batol. Planning to unleash his forces and the mighty red dragons on the Alliance, Nekros hoped to reunite the horde and continue its conquest of Azeroth. Yet, a small group of resistance fighters, led by the human mage, Rhonin, managed to destroy the Demon Soul and free the Dragonqueen from Nekros' command.

In their fury, Alexstrasza's dragons tore apart Grim Batol and incinerated the greater bulk of the Dragonmaw clan. Nekros' grand schemes of reunification came crashing down as the Alliance troops rounded up the remaining orc survivors and threw them into the waiting internment camps. The Dragonmaw clan's defeat signaled the end of the horde - and the end of the orcs' furious bloodlust.

Lethargy and Internment

As the months passed, more orc prisoners were rounded up and placed within the internment camps. As the camps began to overflow, the Alliance was forced to construct new camps in the plains of south of the Alterac Mountains. To properly maintain and supply the growing number of camps, King Terenas levied a new tax on the Alliance nations. This tax, as well as increased political tensions over border disputes, created widespread dissention amongst the leaders of the Alliance. It seemed that the fragile pact that had forged human nations together in their darkest hour would break at any given moment.

Amidst the political turmoil, many of the camp wardens began to notice an unsettling change come over their orc captives. The orcs' efforts to escape from the camps or even fight amongst themselves had greatly decreased in frequency over time. The orcs were becoming increasingly aloof and lethargic. Though it was difficult to believe, the orcs - once held as the most aggressive race ever seen on Azeroth - had completely lost their will to fight. The strange lethargy confounded the Alliance leaders and continued to take its toll on the rapidly weakening orcs.

Some speculated that some strange disease, contractible only by orcs, brought about the baffling lethargy. But the Archmage, Antonidas of Dalaran, posed a different hypothesis. Researching what little he could find on orcish history, Antonidas learned that the orcs had been under the crippling influence of demonic power (or warlock magics) for generations. He speculated that the orcs had been corrupted by demonic powers even before their first invasion of Azeroth. Clearly, demons had spiked the orcs' blood, which in turn granted the brutes unnaturally heightened strength, endurance and aggression.

Antonidas theorized that the orcs' communal lethargy was not actually a disease, but a long-term racial withdrawal from the volatile Warlock magics that had made them fearsome, blood-lusted warriors. Thought the symptoms were clear, Antonidas was unable to find a cure for the orcs' present condition. Many of his fellow mages, as well as a few notable Alliance leaders, argued that finding a cure for the orcs would be an imprudent venture. Left to ponder the orcs' mysterious condition, Antonidas' conclusion was that the orcs' only cure would have to be a spiritual one…

Thrall's Tale

During the dark days of the First War, a cunning human officer named Aedelas Blackmoore found an infant orc abandoned in the wilds. The infant orc, whom Blackmoore aptly named Thrall, was taken to the prison-fortress of Durnholde. There, Blackmoore raised the young orc as a favored slave and gladiator. Intending to train the young orc to be not only a peerless warrior, but also an educated leader, Blackmoore hoped to use Thrall to take over the horde, and thereby achieve dominion over his fellow men.

Nineteen years passed and Thrall grew into a strong, quick-witted orc. Yet his young heart knew that a slave's life was not for him. Many things had transpired in the world outside the fortress as he grew to maturity. He learned that his people, the orcs - whom he had never met - had been defeated and placed into internment camps in the human lands. Doomhammer, the leader of his people, had escaped from Lordaeron and gone into hiding. He knew that only one rogue clan still operated in secret, trying to evade the watchful eyes of the Alliance.

The resourceful yet inexperienced Thrall decided to escape from Blackmoore's fortress and set off to find others of his kind. During his journeys Thrall visited the internment camps and found his once mighty race to be strangely cowed and lethargic. Having not found the proud warriors he hoped to discover, Thrall set out to find the last undefeated orc chieftain, Gromm Hellscream.

Despite being constantly hunted by humans, Hellscream still held onto the horde's unquenchable will to fight. Aided only by his own devoted Warsong clan, Hellscream continued to fight an underground war against the oppression of his beleaguered people. Unfortunately, Hellscream could never find a way to rouse the captured orcs from their stupor. The impressionable Thrall, inspired by Hellscream's idealism, developed a strong empathy for the horde and its warrior traditions.

Seeking the truth of his own origins, Thrall traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf clan. Thrall learned that Gul'dan had exiled the Frostwolves during the early days of the First War. He also discovered that he was the son and heir of the orc hero, Durotan - the true chieftain of the Frostwolves who had been murdered in the wilds nearly twenty years before…

Under the tutelage of venerable shaman, Drek'Thar, Thrall studied the ancient shamanistic culture of his people that had been forgotten under Gul'dan's evil rule. Over time, Thrall became a powerful shaman and took his rightful place as chieftain of the exiled Frostwolves. Empowered by the elements themselves and driven to find his destiny, Thrall set off to free the captive clans and heal his race of demonic corruption.

During his travels, Thrall found the aged war chief, Ogrim Doomhammer, who had been living as a hermit for many years. Doomhammer, who had been a close friend of Thrall's father, decided to follow the young, visionary orc and help him free the captive clans. Supported by many of the veteran chieftains, Thrall ultimately succeeded in revitalizing the horde and giving his people a new spiritual identity.

To symbolize his people's rebirth, Thrall returned to Blackmoore's fortress of Durnholde, and put a decisive end to his former master's plans by laying siege to the internment camps. Yet, during the liberation of one camp, Doomhammer fell in battle. Thrall took up Doomhammer's legendary war hammer and donned his black plate armor to become the new war chief of the horde. During the following months, Thrall's small but volatile horde laid waste to the internment camps and stymied the Alliance's best efforts to counter its clever strategies. Encouraged by his best friend and mentor, Gromm Hellscream, Thrall worked to ensure that no orc would be cast into slavery - either by humans or demons - ever again

orcish hunter of wow

Orc - (Hunter, Warlock, Warrior, Shaman, Rogue)

The savage, green-skinned Orcs are one of the most prolific races of Azeroth. They are commonly believed to be brutal and mindless, possessing no humanity or empathy for other races. Born on the hellish world of Draenor, the Orcs were brought into the kingdom of Stormwind through the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal and forced to wage war on the Humans. Although few are aware of their history, the Orcs once cultivated a noble, Shamanistic society on the world of Draenor. Tragically, the proud Orc clans were corrupted by the Burning Legion and used as pawns in the Legion's invasion of Azeroth. The Orcs managed to rebel, however, and they were ultimately able to help turn the tide against their demon masters. Led by the young Warchief, Thrall, the Orcs have reclaimed their strength and honor. Now, the Orcs stand ready to fight not for the sake of conquest, but for their right to survive in their adopted world.

History

From the boggy swamplands on the red world of Draenor Orcs were turned into frenzied beasts with a penchant for blood by a curse from the Burning Legion. They invaded Azeroth in the Human year 583 with passage through the newly formed Dark Portal. Soon after they tried to take Stormwind Keep but failed and were beaten back to their camp at the Dark Portal. This defeat sent them into chaos and leaders Cho'gall of Twilight's Hammer and Kilrogg Deadeye of Bleeding Hollow blamed each other and the Horde made allegiances with one or the other. Gul'dan, in an attempt to bring together the Horde, appointed the merciless Blackhand the Destroyer of the Blackrock Clan Warchief, although Gul'dan maintained control through bribery and blackmail.

A few Orcs stood against Gul'dan and his new order of the Horde. The Frostwolf Clan and their leader Durotan suspected Gul'dan's purposes were corrupt and under demonic influence and he tried to convince others of this. They failed to win support and were banished and settled in the Alterac Mountains.

The Orcs fortified their position in Azeroth, locating their stronghold, Blackrock Spire in the Red Ridge Mountains. Gradually the Horde were winning more battles against the humans. They took Grand Hamlet. They eventually drove the Humans out of Azeroth, across the Great Sea and to Lordaeron. Six years later they pursued the Humans to their new home and Alliance allies. They recruited the Trolls of Lordaeron, Goblins and Ogres of Draenor and together they tried to take control of Lordaeron. With the help of reconnaissance information from Lord Perenolde the Horde were able to also take much of Qule'Thalas but were slowly pushed all the way back to Azeroth by the Alliance forces. The Alliance finally conquered the Horde, taking control of Blackrock Spire and the Dark Portal and placed the remaining Orcs in camps. Only Kilrog Deadeye's Bleeding Hollow Clan survived and fled to Khaz Modan.

Introduction to Hunters

"Azeroth is home to a wide variety of beasts. From the new world of Lordaeron to the old world of Kalimdor, all manner of creatures can be found. Some are friendly, some are ferocious and aggressive - yet they all have one thing in common. Each creature shares a special connection with Hunters. Hunters track, tame and slay all manner of animals and beasts found in the wilds. Whether they rely on bows or firearms, Hunters consider their weapons and pets to be their only true friends."
- Blizzard Entertainment

The World of Warcraft is a wild land. Between the towering cities are vast landscapes of untamed wilderness, and beasts from all corners of the imagination. Most comfortable within these isolating lands is the Hunter. A creature of the land, the Hunter is an adventurer and explorer with keen knowledge of beasts, deadly aim, and quick light reflexes. Within the world of Azeroth, the hunter is the balancing force in the wilderness. Some protect, some cleanse, and some dominate. Which will you be, if not all?

The skills and abilities of Hunters are defined by the land. Perhaps most uniquely, they are masters of animals and their ways. Beyond simply tracking and taming, Hunters can often to have befriended a beast of the wild. From raptors to zebra striped unicorns, from tigers to spiders, each bond unique. Guiding or commanding his pet, the two will travel and battle together. A Hunter will only ever be found with one creature by his side, and as hunters invest time and energy into their pets, they grow stronger and more knowledgeable along with their masters. The land of Azeroth will offer a Hunter the opportunity to search far and wide for new and curious beasts to adapt to as easily as the seasons change.

Hunters are light fast warriors that shun the heaviest armor. Their agility and training afford them many defensive maneuvers and the use of large variety of weapons in either or both hands. To survive in the wild, Hunters have learned to be the masters of deadly shots with bows or guns, as well as expert trappers. Their swiftness and expertise with ranged weapons is a sight to be seen. And their abilities only further the effectiveness of such weapons.

Hunters also often learn the skills to be self sufficient, be it fishing and cooking for food, skinning and leatherworking for their gear, or mining and engineering for gunsmithing.

Hunters bring the World of Warcraft alive with their diversity of companions, ways, and personalities. They are a wonder support for communities and groups of all kinds.

Strengths:

Swift and powerful ranged fight with great pulling
Special beast crowd control abilities
Can use various beast special abilities through their pets
Beast tracking, which also makes them untrackable
Fast personal traveling and party traveling abilities

Weaknesses:

Melee combat, since they specialize in ranged fight
Can't take great amounts of damage since they can initially wear only leather armor
Unable to heal themselves, therefore trade skills with healing abilities are highly recommended

Challenges:

Learning how to tame, train and keep pets at their full strength
Learning good strategies for each pet type to optimize their abilities
Managing monster aggro between the hunter and the pet to keep enemies at range

Races:

Night Elf, Dwarf, Tauren, Orc, Troll

Equipment:

Cloth, Leather, Shields, Mail (trainable at level 40)

Weapons:

Axes, Daggers, Guns or Bows

Trainable Weapon Proficiencies:

Crossbows, Thrown, Spears, Staves, Fist Weapons, Swords, Two-Handed Axes, Two-Handed Swords

Standard Bars:

Health/Mana

Stats:

Agility - ranged attack power, 1/2 melee attack power, dodge, critical hit
Stamina - health
Intelligence - mana
Spirit - health and mana regeneration
Strength - 1/2 melee attack power

Pets

Hunters can tame almost any kinds of normal or elite bests, however elites will lose their bonus hit points in the process. Hunters can name their pets and take them to Stables if they wish to keep a few for later use, since hunters can be accompanied by only one pet at the time. Hunters can call their pets whenever they need them, heal them through channeling spells during combat and revive or dismiss them whenever it's needed. If fed properly pets will remain happy and able to do their full damage in battles. If not, they will start to lose their strength and will eventually abandon their hunters or even attack them.

Perhaps the most powerful feature in pets is to be able to increase hunters' knowledge in beast abilities. Making them able to train new pets with abilities of previous, different kinds of pets.

Beast Spells

Hunters' Beast Spells provide lots of help in many situations. Through Beast Lore they can evaluate all beasts that come across in the wilderness and make their decisions whether or not those possess qualities that hunters might need in their pets. Damage output, health amount, armor, possible resistances, and diet are some of those attributes they can find out by just observing the animal from afar. Before entering the unknown hunters can observe its possible dangers with their Eagle Eye vision. And when things get though with animals, they can scare a beast to give them some space for the use of ranged abilities or time to prepare before facing that beast again.

Aspects

Hunters can find a great asset in many animal aspects, though they can relate to only one aspect at the time. When relating to animal aspects they can sneak around the wilderness tracking down any animals that they need to find, have superior dodging ability in battles or fast movement speed whenever it's needed and share it with their whole group if they wish so.

Traps

Hunters are skilled in making several different types of traps, which increase their importance as a pulling class. Traps can be enemy specific or area of effect, and do direct damage, damage over time or slowing effects, whichever suits the situation best. Only one trap can be placed at the time and the hunter must be out of combat to be able to set it up and pull the target straight into it.

Melee Combat

Hunters aren't very strong in melee combat. It's the type of combat that should be avoided whenever possible. Though, through the use of many different melee weapon types and dual wielding possibility, they can use their melee abilities to finish off enemies or slow them down while getting back to ranged combat.

Ranged Combat

Ranged combat is where hunters shine in their expertise. They master large variety of ranged attacks and can easily adapt to facing different kinds of enemies. They can attack multiple targets at once as well as launce a powerful area of effect attack. When focusing on a single target, hunters are strong pullers and can Sting their targets with mana drain, damage over time or debuffs. Hunter's Mark is their trump card in all situations. Hunters can place it on their targets, making them visible to hunters even through stealth and invisibility as well as trackable from mini-map. By placing their mark on a target, hunters can point out their next target to the whole group, since the Ranged Attack Power of all attackers will be increased against that target.

Other Abilities

Hunters have many special abilities, which accomplish their combat skills as well as help them stay alive in tough battles. While Rapid Fire enables them to significantly increase their attack speed, Flare will expose all hiding and invisible enemies near the hunter. By feigning their death hunters can save themselves from a certain death, and with Disengage they can cancel their combat stance and trick the enemy to turn away from them. This is especially useful when managing the monster aggro between the hunter and its pet.