Richard A. Knaak



Richard A. Knaak is the author of several Warcraft books, and has also written for Blizzard's other franchises, Diablo and StarCraft.

Involvement
Knaak was approached by Blizzard because of his work for Dragonlance. Some of the heads of Blizzard had grown up on his Dragonlance works and asked him to write for both Warcraft and Diablo. Knaak accepted because it allowed him to write for both of the kinds of fantasy that he liked: Lord of the Rings-type fantasy (Warcraft) and dark fantasy (Diablo). He familiarized himself with Warcraft by playing Warcraft II quite a bit. He also played World of Warcraft a little bit, but used a lot of background material and screen shots for inspiration. Knaak communicates regularly with Blizzard's lore department to make sure that the facts presented in his works are consistent.

Knaak was heavily involved in the draconic mythos. The characters of Ysera, Nozdormu, and Malygos, the remaining dragon Aspects (both Alexstrasza and Deathwing were in the mythos previously), were introduced in Day of the Dragon, which set the stage for many of the new developments in Warcraft III. The characters remain vital to lore today.

Until recently, most characters introduced in Knaak's books were not physically present in games. The minor character of Soridormi was introduced with the Caverns of Time. Tyrygosa and Jorad Mace were introduced with The Burning Crusade. Anveena and Kalec were added in patch 2.4.0. Ysera and Nozdormu both make small cameos in Wrath of the Lich King. Vereesa, Rhonin, and Krasus act as quest givers in Wrath of the Lich King in a storyline centered around Malygos.

Warcraft Bibliography

 * Day of the Dragon (2001)
 * War of the Ancients Archive
 * The Well of Eternity (2004)
 * The Demon Soul (2004)
 * The Sundering (2005)
 * The Sunwell Trilogy Ultimate Edition
 * Dragon Hunt (2005)
 * Shadows of Ice (2006)
 * Ghostlands (2007)
 * Warcraft: Legends Volume 1
 * Fallen (2008)
 * Warcraft: Legends Volume 2
 * Fear (2008)
 * Night of the Dragon (2008)
 * Warcraft: Legends Volume 3
 * Fiend (2009)
 * Warcraft: Legends Volume 4
 * Fate (2009)
 * Warcraft: Legends Volume 5
 * Nightmares (2009)
 * Shadow Wing
 * The Dragons of Outland (2009)
 * Nexus Point (2011)
 * Stormrage (2009)
 * Mage (2010)

Controversy
Currently, there is significant dissatisfaction in regards to Knaak's writing styles and talents among the Warcraft player community. This debate is fueled by individuals who argue that Knaak's "pet characters", specifically Rhonin and Krasus, are given far too much attention (as well as in-story power) by comparison to characters who dwell in the games, such as Tyrande and Malfurion in the War of the Ancients Trilogy. In fairness however, established characters such as Malfurion and Tyrande still do the main events in the story. A number of players go so far as to refuse to personaly acknowledge Knaak's books as viable lore in spite of repeated statements from Blizzard indicating that the books are canon.

Trivia
Knaak's favorite classes are mages, paladins, and warlocks. His favorite races are humans, tauren, and night elves.