User:Xavius/World of Warcraft: Tides of Terror

Queen Azshara and her vile naga have summoned the Elemental Lord Neptulon the Tidehunter into Azeroth, and now the entire world will feel the wrath of the combined armies of the depths. The coming caused a significant portion of naga-serving murlocs led by Rhurrgurag Mrushurlon to break free and join the Alliance, while the Pandaren Empire is shaken by the assassination of their emperor by naga hands, and have now allied with the Horde under their new emperor Chen Stormstout.

[[Image:INV Misc MonsterHead 01.png|50px]]The Murlocs[[Image:Alliance 32.gif]]
Faction: Alliance. The free murlocs warned the Alliance of Neptulon's wrath, and as thanks could join them. The night elves and draenei are most content with them joining, but many humans, especially Kul Tiras, distrusts them, but are at the same time thankful of the warning.

Classes: Hunter: Hunting is an integral part of murloc society. Priest: Murloc faith includes both the esoteric oracles and now also priests of the Light. Rogue: Murlocs places great trust in their Nightcrawlers to carry out covert operations. Shaman: Shamanism is also a faith and magic practiced by the murlocs. Warrior: All races needs proud warriors to defend their homelands.

Mount: Snapdragons. The rebels brought many experienced snapdragon handlers and eggs with them as they fled.

Capital: Lionfang, on Fangstorm Island off the coast of Westfall.

Leader: Chieftain Rhurrgurag Mrushurlon, high chief and shaman lord of the Lionfang tribe.

Language: The murlocs speak Nerglish.

After queen Azshara and her Inner Circle summoned Neptulon the Tidehunter into the Maelstrom rift, chieftain Rhurrgurag Mrushurlon of the Fangstorm tribe led a significant murloc rebellion against their fatigued naga overlords. They were beaten back, but with only a minimal loss the rebels fled Nazjatar to find a better place to live. Using an arcane artifact stolen from Azshara, Rhurrgurag raised an island from the seabottom outside the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms to serve as their new home. Having heard tales of the noble Alliance, the murloc chieftain contacted them and warned them of the new threat, and also joined them. To honor his new allies, Rhurrgurag named his murloc renegades the Lionfang tribe.

But their escape came at a price, for Azshara performed a ritual that ripped the betrayers partly of their connection to the sea, therefore making them no longer fully able to breathe water. The curse also struck their snapdragons.

Racial Traits
 Semi-Amphibious: 

Underwater breath increased by 400%. Swim speed increased by 200%.

 Cold Adaption: 

Increases cold resistance by 10, but decreases fire resistance by 5.

 Fishing Mastery: 

15 point skill bonus to Fishing (note, this also raises the cap by 15 at each level of Fishing).

[[Image:Mojostormstoute.gif|50px]]The Pandaren[[Image:Horde 32.gif]]
Faction: Horde. The pandaren are well liked and respected by all the Horde, except for the forsaken, 'cause the forsaken are like that.

Classes: Hunter: The way of the Bow and Animal is taken up by both nobles and commoners alike. Mage: The Arcane Arts have since long been practiced among the pandaren. Runemaster: The pandaren runemasters are a result of both pandaren spiritualism and help from their allies, the tauren. Shaman: The pandaren shamanism is in fact the art of geomancy common among pandaren mystics. Warrior: All races needs proud warriors to defend their homelands.

Mount: Qilin. The Qilin, celestial entities of great wisdom, have pledged their allegiance to the pandaren since the time of Pan Emperor Chinghi Stormstout.

Capital: Pandaryo, on Pandaria off the coast of Kalimdor.

Leader: Emperor Chen Stormstout, legendary brewmaster and the new Pan Emperor.

Language: The pandaren speak Pandaren.

All was peace in the grand Pandaren Empire. At least until the naga summoned Neptulon the Tidehunter. Seeing the pandaren as a significant threat, queen Azshara ordered naga assassins to assassinate Pan Emperor Oda Stormstout. The assassination was successful, but the naga were not satisfied, so they unleashed one of Neptulon's mighty kraken upon the pandaren capital. With the emperor dead and the capital in watery, naga-infested ruins, the Pan Council had no choice but to find Chen Stormstout, the son of the emperor who had long ago broken away and went to explore the world. When the news reached him, Chen immediately returned to take up his fallen father's mantle. His first task as Pan Emperor was to ally with his old friends in the Horde and to warn them of the coming of the Tidehunter.

Racial Traits
 Brewmaster: 

15 point skill bonus to Alchemy (note, this also raises the cap by 15 at each level of alchemy).

 Drunken Brawling: 

Increases Unarmed Critical Hit chance by 1%, by 2& if Tipsy, by 3% if Drunk, or by 4% if Completely Smashed.

 Endurance: 

Max Health increased by 5%.

The Runemaster
Races: Dwarf, Tauren, Pandaren

The runemaster is a mystic who sees the power of ley lines. Moreover, those who study runes understand that these are not simply symbols of power - they are the power. The runemaster seeks to become one with the land, but not in the fashion of druids. Rather, the runemaster desires to become a microcosm of the land, seeking to overlay his body with runes in the same fashion that the land itself is overlaid with patterns of ley lines.

He merges brute strength with arcane magic, covering his body with mystic tattoos and often imbuing them with magical energies to increase his skill in hand-to-hand combat. While a runemaster shuns armor, this is more to prevent hindrances to inscribing his runes than to demonstrate his subtlety and finesse with unarmed strikes. Quite to the contrary, a runemaster prefers to get in the face of his enemies. Using little trickery or subterfuge, the runemaster takes down foes with toe-to-toe, all-out assaults, hammering them with tattooed fists and feet brimming with arcane power. Runic magic is considered primitive yet complex by most other races. The dwarves have taken to it with deft skill, while the tauren study it more slowly. The pandaren takes it with a kind of mix between the two.

The Runemaster is an unique class, in the sense that it is a melee class, but doesn't rely on weapons or armor, instead using arcane runes inscribed upon his body. The Runemaster uses mana for his special abilities, but his real strength lies in the aforementioned runes. The Runemaster chooses which runic patterns to apply to his body, and each pattern provides unique effects.

In combat, the Runemaster is a straight-up close-combat fighter, made to take on a beating while dealing damage himself (like the Warrior). His runic patterns well makes up for the fact that he has poor skill in armor and weapons.

Ships
The new focus on the maritime enables a new kind of transportation. First, you had air transports, then you got flying mounts. First, you had ship transports, now you have player-owned ships! Shipbuilding, a new secondary skill, can be learnt from Kul Tiras if you are Alliance, or Darkspear Port if you are Horde. The first ships you can build are small, one-man ships, but later ships can be as large as the ones transporting you across the seas before, and can be staffed with NPCs, such as vendors and soldiers, and can be equipped with cannons and other siege weapons to defend against pirates, sea monsters, and ships of opposing factions, for the seas are not safe.

Maritime PvP (Or SvS, Ship versus Ship)
The Alliance and the Horde are usually not very friendly when it comes to dealing with each other, despite the valiant efforts of Jaina Proudmoore and warchief Thrall. Now, the cross-faction combat takes to the sea. You can expect large-scale sea battles with many ships, as sure as you can expect to be blasted into smithereens if you dare to approach an enemy port.

The Noble Art of Shipbuilding
To learn Shipbuilding, visit your faction's Shipbuilding hub (Kul Tiras or Darkspear Port), and complete the lengthy chain of quests availible there. After you are complete, congratulations, you are now a shipbuilder! Shipbuilding is not a cheap task, nor is it fast. A lot of gold and time will be needed if you want to create the vessel of your dreams. As you continue to build, you will increase in the skill, and you will be able to build better ships.

There are also many different types of ships, each with it's own advantage. You begin with a basic style, Human for the Alliance, and Orc for the Horde, but there are many more, such as Night Elven, Blood Elven, Ogre, and even Gnomish Submarines.

Swimming Mounts
Yes, the expansion includes Swimming Mounts! Normal mount speed increase is 40% land and 60% water (availible at Apprentice), and Epic is 80% land and 280% water (availible at Journeyman). Note that swimming mounts cannot journey as far as ships can.
 * Alliance - War Crocolisk / Swift War Crocolisk
 * Horde - War Turtle / Swift War Turtle

New Instances
The expansion has added several dungeons, some with separate wings to make runs faster, including some in both in the Great Sea and Azeroth.

Azeroth

 * Assault on Theramore, another time-travel part of the Caverns of Time
 * Grim Batol, home of mighty red dragons.
 * Pools of Vision, the mysterious caverns below Thunder Bluff
 * Stormwind Vault, the magical prison of Stormwind

Great Sea

 * Mount Kajaro, the lair of Deathwing the Destroyer on Kezan
 * Mount Mugamba, a snowy place on Zandalar
 * Nazjatar, the naga capital below the Maelstrom
 * Shrine of the Sea Witch, the restored lair of the Underworld Minions
 * The Summoning Depths, the lair of Neptulon, also below the Maelstrom (Patch 4.1)
 * Tol Barad, the prison island in Baradin Bay
 * The Tomb of Sargeras, on the Broken Isles

Brood of Alexstrasza[[Image:Neutral 32.gif]]
Neutral Faction. The red dragonflight under the dragonqueen, Alexstrasza. Quests relating mostly to Grim Batol and Mount Kajaro. Main outpost on Crimson Island, near Kezan.

Darkspear Port[[Image:Horde 32.gif]]
Horde Faction. A Horde colony and a sort of embassy on Zandalar, led by Rokhan of the Darkspear. The source of Horde shipbuilders, and have some quests relating to Mount Mugamba. The town will be the largest Darkspear encampment so far.

Kul Tiras[[Image:Alliance 32.gif]]
Alliance Faction. The humans of the island kingdom are led by admiral Tandred Proudmoore and are the source of Alliance shipbuilders. They have quests relating to the sea, including the island prison of Tol Barad.

Undermine[[Image:Neutral 32.gif]]
Neutral Faction. The capital of all goblins, located of Kezan. Home to a large portion of Azeroth's trading industry, as to be expected.

Zandalar[[Image:Neutral 32.gif]]
Neutral Faction. The home of all trolls, led by king Rastakhan from the capital city of Zul'Dazar.

Changes to the Game

 * Since murlocs are now playable, other murlocs have been updated with the new model. This includes clothing and armor.
 * Lady Vashj has abandoned the Serpentshrine Caverns and left Lady Serpentra in her place. Rumors tell that she has joined her queen in Nazjatar.
 * The troll witch doctor/necromancer Zalazane has been caught and imprisoned in Tol Barad. Now, with Aquarius's uprising, Zalazane has been given a key position within the rebels.