Hakkari

The Hakkari are worshipers of the Blood God Hakkar.

History
The long centuries following the Great Sundering were difficult ones for the troll race. The jungle trolls, driven to desperate ends, enlisted the aid of the god Hakkar, also known as the Soulflayer. Hakkar brought the trolls great power, but in return the bloodthirsty god required that souls be sacrificed to him.

His demands quickly escalated, and he grew impatient with his loyal priests, the Hakkari. He told them to find a way to summon him physically into the world, so that he might directly drain the blood of his victims. Most of the Hakkari were horrified at the idea, but the Atal'ai, a small extremist faction of the Hakkari, decided to do as Hakkar wished.

Before the Atal'ai could complete the summoning, the other jungle trolls, including the Hakkari, rose up in open revolt against the cruel god. Even the Zandalar tribe was drawn into the conflict, which finally ended with the destruction of Hakkar’s avatar. Driven from the jungles, the Atal'ai was hunted nearly to extinction. Yet a small group of Atal'ai escaped into the Swamp of Sorrows, where they secretly built a great temple to their god: the Temple of Atal'Hakkar.

The Hakkari, too, were killed or exiled for the evil deeds they had done in Hakkar's name, despite the fact that they had fought the Atal'ai. In great bitterness and despair, the surviving Hakkari tracked the Atal'ai to the Swamp of Sorrows and pledged to help the Atal'ai summon Hakkar into Azeroth. Pleased by the Hakkari's obvious suffering, the Atal'ai welcomed their former brethren into the temple. Even so, Hakkar had not forgotten that the Hakkari had betrayed him in opposing his first entry into Azeroth, and so the hungry god would always regard the faithful Atal'ai with greater favor. Both groups bent all their efforts toward bringing about Hakkar's entry into the physical world.

The green Dragon Aspect, Ysera the Dreamer, soon learned of the evil priests' plans and smashed the temple beneath the marshes. To this day, the temple's ruins are guarded by mighty green dragons. What much of Azeroth does not know, however, is that the dragons are actually guarding the wrong location. In recent years the exiled Atal'ai have discovered that Hakkar's physical form can only be summoned within the ancient capital of the Gurubashi Empire, Zul'Gurub.

Jammal'an the Prophet, leader of the Atal'ai, told his people that if they succeeded in bringing Hakkar physically into Azeroth, then Hakkar would grant the Atal'ai immortality. The Atal'ai and Hakkari lost no time in dispatching a number of their most skilled priests to Zul'Gurub, where their efforts met with success at last. Numerous spies have confirmed the presence of the dreaded Soulflayer in the heart of the ruins.

According to several reports, Hakkar has enthralled five high priests of the trolls' primal gods. Unable to oppose his will, the priests are channeling the power of their gods into Hakkar. Only their deaths can sever the connections that are vastly increasing Hakkar's might while draining the other gods of power.

Word of Hakkar's presence reached the Zandalar tribe in the South Seas, who were even more horrified to discover the enslavement of their kindred, the Zandalari high priests. King Rastakhan has therefore sent emissaries from the island of Zandalar to the Eastern Kingdoms, where the trolls recruit champions from Azeroth's many races in the hope that Hakkar will once again be defeated.

Cataclysm
After Hakkar was defeated the Hakkari and the Atal'ai lost control of Zul'Gurub with Jin'do's defection. Despite this they were able to recover a significant portion of Hakkar's skeleton that allowed them to call forth Hakkar's avatar into the world once more. Lord Itharius sends adventures to put an end to the Atal'ai, the Hakkari, and destroy Hakkar's new avatar.

Military tactics
Small in number but vicious, Hakkar’s followers battle zealously to keep their ruined temple and city free of invaders. The Hakkari provide much of the priests’ military magic and are a strange group: All of them are willing and ready to battle their enemies, and thus all could be considered members of their military. In addition, just about all Hakkari are priests of at least some talent, so invaders are up against a lot of magical pain. In addition, undead Atal’ai, returned to a semblance of life through god-granted necromancy, supplement the ranks.

The Hakkari don’t like taking chances; they want nothing to disturb Hakkar, now that he is manifest. Thus, priests patrol halls in teams of 2 or 3. If they run into trouble, they do not hesitate to call for reinforcements, so intruders soon find themselves facing a small army of angry troll priests.

The Hakkari are intelligent opponents, but their fervor dilutes their cunning. Some priests charge into battle, eager to smash their foes in melee combat, when staying away from the enemy and casting spells may be a better option. These zealots’ cooler-headed comrades perform this function, staying away from the enemy — especially types that look like they could put on the hurt in melee combat — and cast spells to throw their enemies into confusion. They favor spells like shadow word pain, dispel magic, summon undead and death coil. Powerful priests make liberal use of blasphemy. After they exhaust the offensive spell slots in their two highest levels, they enhance themselves and their allies with inner fire, heroism and avatar and charge into melee. Once there, they strike with their weapons and with spells like inflict critical wounds and harm.

Naming
"Hakkari" is the group name for several Primal Hakkari items (see for example, Bijou). These items are found in Zul'Gurub.