Breakfast Topic: What enemy would you turn traitor to join?
by Kevin Podsiadlik 
Sep 9th 2010 at 8:00AM
World of Warcraft puts players on a relatively fixed path in terms of loyalties. Sure, there are some very deliberate exceptions to this -- notably the Aldor/Scryer rivalry of The Burning Crusade and the Oracles/Frenzyheart feud in Wrath -- but in general, wherever a conflict arises in the game, the decision as to what side you're going to take is made for you. The rogue trainer in Northshire might tease you with the idea that joining the Defias is a potential option for you, but in reality, that can never happen.
WoW is certainly not lacking for "evil" factions one could potentially sympathize with. The aforementioned Defias, whose whole issue stems basically from getting screwed over by Onyxia's meddling, stand out as one such faction. Illidan Stormrage has long sparked controversy as to whether he was really on the side of evil, although that might be a result of his almost hopelessly confused lore. I have read suggestions that Malygos has a large (if misguided) sympathetic following. And even now, I see some already looking to figure out how to take the side of Big Bad Yet to Come, Deathwing himself.
Does this bother you? Do you wish sometimes that you could break the rules and side with a faction or villain you're not supposed to? What hostile faction or enemy character, if any, would you side with, given the opportunity to do so?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Per Sep 9th 2010 8:06AM
for a while, i was thinking of how neat it would be to have an expansion or side-project of WoW and play the Scourge and villain races/factions of the Alliance/Horde.
i'd be a Nerubian or an Amani Troll.
Matthew Sep 9th 2010 12:29PM
I'd be a quillboar. they got the raw end of the deal. Orcs took over their homeland. Because they were perscuted themselves.
Just had an allusion to pilgrims and native americans there. . . of course that is where the similarities between orcs and pilgrms / quillboars and native americans ends.
but back to my point. yeah. quillboars.
/squeal
Natsumi Sep 9th 2010 5:56PM
@Matthew
Mmmmm Roast quillboar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guBOpuMyHwM
That guy is the MacGuyver of the culinary world!
Kyuuga Sep 9th 2010 8:07AM
Indeed, I do agree with this breakfast topic. The warcraft lore has done a terrific job in making evil factions so good that players may even sympathize with them. If I were to choose an evil faction I'd like to join, I'd love to be a Burning Legion general controlling troops to control the universe - I mean, it just sounds so cool. :p
Swifteye Sep 9th 2010 8:08AM
Kael'thas Sunstrider. Poor bastard went crazy trying to protect his dwindling people and getting double-crossed by his "allies"... even seeing the lengths he went to in his madness, I can never think of him as anything even remotely resembling a "bad guy".
Heck, seeing JUST HOW FAR he was willing to go and just how ingenious a lot of his actions were (well, "ingenious" in the face of "we are assuredly screwed and there is absolutely nothing we can do now... wait, Kael's actually doing something!"), he could've been a hero on par with Turalyon if the Alliance hadn't gone out of their way to actively screw him over.
The Tauren are the reason I specifically like Horde, but Kael'thas is the reason I specifically *don't* like Alliance.
Celess Sep 9th 2010 8:17AM
This. So this.
I play BElf main, but nearly all if my alts are Tauren. I'd be using my BElf name now if I hadn't signed up already and forgotten his password. I may be bothered to recover it later but meh... I'm on an iPhone currenty.
WoWie Zowie Sep 9th 2010 8:34AM
ya i've always sympathized with kael'thas. i feel sorry for him
Fletcher Sep 9th 2010 9:06AM
The thing about Kael'thas is that he never really had any choices (or rather, his choices were between destruction and compromising his morals). His father was killed by the Scourge, he returned home to help his people rebuild, and naturally threw in his lot with the remnants of the Alliance of Lordaeron, since they were the only possible allies around.
Unfortunately Garithos was a huge racist a-hole and kept sending him on suicide missions, so he had to ally with Vashj to survive and accomplish his missions; and even then he tried to keep the naga at arm's length until Garithos actually imprisoned him in the Violet Hold.
He pledged his allegiance to Illidan because the blood elves were succumbing to their addiction to magic, and Illidan's fel powers were the methadone they needed. Unfortunately, after loyally freeing Illidan in Outland (from Maiev), helping Illidan wrest Outland from Magtheridon, and following Illidan all the way to Northrend ... Illidan *lost* the final, climactic fight with Arthas; and retreated to the Black Temple, to lick his wounds and brood, and brood, and brood.
At this point Illidan became a lost cause; he was never going to do much of anything to help the blood elves except get them all killed in his service. But there was someone even more powerful Kael'thas could turn to ...
Here I think Kael'thas' problem was that he'd been on Outland and not on Azeroth. He'd not seen Quel'thalas join the Horde. While joining up with Kil'jaeden might have been the best course of action for his forces *in Outland*, it was both unthinkable and unnecessary to the blood elves of Azeroth. His mistake here was thinking that the problems of the one were shared by the other, and that Quel'thalas still needed his leadership or the questionable allies he could find. Which is understandable, since the last time he'd seen Quel'thalas was shortly after the Scourge trashed the place.
Ultimately, Kael'thas is a tragic figure; he became evil through a long and narrow road, and because he never had any other choices but destruction. But I can't say I'd turn traitor to join him.
Nagaina Sep 9th 2010 11:29AM
WORD. Warcraft in general and World of Warcraft in particular has yet to create a more sympathetic "villain" than Kael'thas -- which is, of course, why they've gone out of their way in the more recently published material to recharacterize him from "completely screwed by forces beyond his control/the plot" to "hypocrite and asshole (towards Jaina Proudmoore) from the start." Yes, I am bitter about that.
One cannot have a villain more sympathetic than Arthas "Genocidal Fallen Paladin" Menethil, after all.
Natsumi Sep 9th 2010 11:37AM
@Swifteye
Any views or opinions expressed by Garithos are those of Garithos and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Lordaeron, the Alliance, or any of it's allies or rational people anywhere.
Astalnar Sep 9th 2010 12:19PM
I honestly hoped until very end that kael'thas would redeem himself and asume his position as rightful heir to throne of Silvermoon. I still think they screwd up Kael'thas and made his story as much as Mini Arthas. Heck, Arthas at least got movie in wich he is dieing and saying sorry. (Althoe only one who would be able to frogive him is called fool the Ashbringer).
Kael'thas is another victim of Blizzard.
trefpoid Sep 9th 2010 12:21PM
I still dream of entering the glorious Silvermoon one day, and seeing good old Kael sitting there, as the rightful leader of the Blood Elves.. It's so depressing that the Sunstrider bloodline ended with him.. I think Blizz could've done a lot better with him.. He did all he could for his people and ended terribly.. everytime I enter Silvermoon and see that Lor'themar guy, whoe doesn't even have a unique voice, it makes me really sad. I would never fight for him if alliance attacked.. for Kael, of course i'd turn traitor.. I know it's wishful thinking, but if Blizz is gonna bring back Cenarius, pleeeeeeease give us Kael back.. I'll trade him for Garrosh or something.. Just use something really stupid as an excuse, like a Naaru brought him back 'cause he wasn't evil or whatever.. please T_T I want the Sunstriders to live on and that Belves have a real, strong leader that wouldn't let his people just stand back and not participate in any relevant Horde or World Events.. can you imagine, Kael up the on the Frozen Throne afther Arthas dies? :( they shared a very good story together with Jaina.. agh.. I feel so frustrated, specially since the Sunwell is ok now and Belves aren't addicted anymore.. so was Kael's death really worth it?.. man.. I'll never forget Blizz for what they did to him. NEVER!
Matthew Sep 9th 2010 12:32PM
If I were an English teacher, I'd so use wow lore to exemplify the 'tragic' character, caught between fate and free will. (If I were an English teacher, I probably wouldn't use the term 'so use')
There are SO many in WoW. (So again??)
Illidan, KaelThas, Orcs (circa blood drinking), Arthas (he made bad choices, for maybe good reasons)
clundgren Sep 9th 2010 3:06PM
"Any views or opinions expressed by Garithos are those of Garithos and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Lordaeron, the Alliance, or any of it's allies or rational people anywhere."
While I agree in principle, you can see that from the point of view of the Blood Elves, Garithos was the Alliance.
Natsumi Sep 9th 2010 3:56PM
@clundgren
I had a HUGE post about him, but I decided to TL:DR it. Garithos was power hungry and he didn't care WHO he got killed to obtain it. Anyone he saw as a threat he would try to get killed. Obviously he saw Kael and his people as a threat to his power and tried to get him killed. When that didn't work he declared him a traitor and tried to wipe him out. Go back and play Frozen throne again, Garithos was acting on his own.
Here's his wiki page:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Garithos
Haven Sep 9th 2010 6:59PM
Agreed. I consider Kael'thas to be the most charismatic and misunderstood villain in WoW. Everything he did, he did for the sake of his people. And without some outer infusions, at least before MgT - he was just a powerful mage, not a half-demon or LK's champion.
NielsdeJONG Sep 10th 2010 2:23PM
Sigh...
Garathos was a warlord who collected all the humans together. He was never an appointed Alliance leader, simply the one who went for power at the moment.
Had it been anyone else, he would have been accepted with open arms! There are still many High elves within the Alliance after all :) The poor sod sadly got the worst of the worst.
Mohajache Sep 9th 2010 8:13AM
I think one of the biggest successes of WoW is the story t tells, and to be a really good story it pretty much has to be 'on rails'. There sheer volume and quality of the story demands that fact, imagine if you could ultimately choose who to join all the time. How could you progress the story?
In answer to the question however, Sunfury. As a heavy BElf lore nerd and a Kael Loyalist in RP, I'd love to join the Sunfury and defend Kael in TK, summon KJ (hell, I'm BElf lock) and watch Azeroth burn in green fire beneath the feet of the sin'dorei.
Never gonna happen, but if it were somehow an option I'd be on it like a male bunny is to a female.
Fletcher Sep 9th 2010 9:08AM
I have to ask ... why? What's your motivation for supporting Kael'thas to the direst extremity of his efforts, to assisting the *Legion* in its invasion of Azeroth? I'm not sure I understand your reasoning.
gerdek2010 Sep 11th 2010 7:38PM
@Fletcher
Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn