User:Gutsdozer

NOTE: This is a work in progress, and exists as my personal extensive idea, as I did not see a "Future Faction Ideas" page anywhere. Please do not edit this page. If you'd like to discuss my ideas, go to my talk page. Gutsdozer (talk) 04:51, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

=Third Faction idea= It's always just seemed "wrong" to me that the Forsaken were part of the Horde. They just don't seem to fit as far as I'm concerned. The Horde are otherwise full of tribal clans and focus on the savagery of war, while the Forsaken have an entirely different agenda and are on an "uneasy alliance" kick anyway. The Blood Elves added to the Horde drives this home even further. What are they doing in the Horde? They don't even like or trust the tribal races, and the only race they have anything in common with are the Forsaken. In turn, both also have something in common with the Burning Legion, as Sylvanas and Kael are of Blood Elf origin.

So with that in mind, my idea for a future faction split would include The Burning Legion becoming a major role in the player base (called "Fel", thereby creating a three-way war between Alliance/Horde/Fel). The implementation would need to be done as an entire expansion unto itself, as it would cover a lot of ground in the storyline and would require a significant amount of new land. As the story progresses, it would have Kael's actions not necessarily be viewed as a betrayal of his people, but rather a quest to bring them ultimate power to satisfy their magic addiction with an unending source in Kil'jaeden. Likewise Sylvanas has dealt with allies in the Burning Legion before and is from Silvermoon, and even has a Nathrezim in her service. Thus she would have little trouble forging a stronger alliance, which her people would blindly follow.

Why?

 * Having only two sides will eventually grow stale and watered-down as new races are added to either faction.
 * Look around. The Fel are everywhere already. The lore is chock full of them, and early every zone has some presence of them.
 * They're mostly humanoid but have their own classification, meaning no major design change needs to occur.
 * It makes sense. They're already a third faction in the game world as it is, they have at least 4-5 races that would make sense, and they have a bigger presence than any other NPC faction, even the Scourge.
 * Dark Age of Camelot succeeded with its Realm vs. Realm vs. Realm system, and WoW has already taken a few elements from it.
 * Gives players a chance to play a truly "evil" faction, as both Horde and Alliance contain different grey areas of good and bad.

Pre-expansion
A patch leading up to the expansion would give players several months to adjust for the coming events. Once implemented, Forsaken and Blood Elf cities and encampments would then become "unfriendly" (not hostile, but not giving quests either) to Orc/Tauren/Troll Horde players, and vice-versa. However, the two splitting races would enjoy a faction bonus with each other, and the remaining three Horde races would do the same. Forsaken/Blood Elf NPCs in Horde towns would be explained away as either being neutral to the cause, or moved to new locations. Quests that require travel to cities and camps between these factions would still be able to be completed, but would not award reputation and would be phased out. Tirisfal's Zeppelins would remain intact but be surrounded by a neutral camps, thereby still allowing fast travel between continents. The Tirisfal/Grom'gol zeppelin would be relocated to Booty Bay and Tirisfal/Durotar's would be relocated to Ratchet. Durotar/Grom'gol would obviously not need retooling.

Expansion
Suggested name would contain the name of the Fel for easy identification ("Rise of the Fel" may be a little too silly for a title). Formerly Unfriendly cities would now become Hostile/Hated. A full split would be introduced, as the Fel races dominate Lordaeron. Players logged out in Fel cities when they were still Horde cities would be relocated to their home cities and have their hearthstones adjusted. The expansion would include new starting areas, new mid-level areas, and new high-level areas, providing content for all players. Five new playable races would be added, to keep things even with the Alliance and former Horde: 2 new races for the Horde to make up for the lack of Forsaken/Blood Elves, and 3 new races for the Fel.

=Faction Changes= The Alliance makes sense in its current state. The only somewhat slightly shaky alignment is perhaps Human/Night Elf, and fortunately there are people like Jaina Proudmoore who can be good examples of trustworthy Humans.


 * Alliance races remain: Human, Night Elf, Gnome, Dwarf, Draenei.

Horde Races
Drop the Forsaken and the Blood Elves out of the Horde. They don't fit in a warlike tribal faction, and in this story would be in league with demonic forces.


 * Orc, Tauren, Troll: Remaining the core races of the tribe, continuing to be based out of central Kalimdor.
 * Ogres: Has precedence in the Horde's story, Rexxar has history leading Ogres.
 * Other tribal race: Personal choice would be Savages, but considering the opposition of the Alliance Gnomes, the Goblins might be a more likely addition.
 * Gnoll, Quilboar, or Kobold: Each has some problems with the Horde, but nothing an added story about a "friendly" tribe couldn't fix (as with the Ogres).
 * "Savages": Race of underdeveloped caveman-type humans, closely related to but shunned from the world of Man.
 * Trogg: Units found in various zones, though perhaps too "stupid" as described by the lore to organize.
 * Goblin: Finally choosing a side, but continuing to keep their towns neutral for financial purposes (much like neutral Gnomes who deal with Horde).

Fel Races
Races aligning themselves with the Burning Legion to fight the Scourge with an equal, if not greater evil, as well as spread their influence across all of Azeroth and Outland.


 * Blood Elf: First to break off from the Horde, to rejoin their newly crowned King Kael'thas.
 * Forsaken: Sylvanas' only quarrel was with Arthas, not the demons. As a former resident of Quel'thalas she already knows plenty about her race of origin.
 * Naga: Led by Vashj, heavy presence in-game, strong allies of Kael. Many watery/coastal areas with untapped potential for content.
 * Satyr: They're all over the forests, corrupting the lands, and would be a natural fit.
 * Fel Orc: Continuous presence in Outland and sporadic parts of Azeroth. Perhaps given access to the blood of Mannoroth or corrupted in some other fashion.

=Implementation of the Factions=
 * Implement with an expansion focusing on the story of the faction split instead of new content. Some new zones could be added but the changes to the existing world would be most prominent.
 * Have some major pre-expansion event that shatters the Horde, when the two uneasily aligned races betray them.
 * Some zones would be taken over by Fel, preferably ones that are already contested so as not to throw off the balance too much (Felwood and Azshara would be good examples, and there are several incomplete zones on the overworld map).
 * Contested zones would now have 4 categories: Horde/Alliance, Horde/Fel, Alliance/Fel, and Free For All.
 * Convenience in graphical/programming design:
 * Forsaken & Blood Elves already inhabit the Lordaeron continent, so no need for major geographic overhaul.
 * Much like the Blood Elf race addition, all the Fel Orc really requires is a palette swap from Orcs, and a few added physical features (spikes, burning eyes).
 * Forsaken also already share the Naga underwater breathing ability, allowing them easy access to their exclusive areas.
 * Naga designs for males based on Myrmidons, females based on Sirens. Several in-game Naga already have armor graphics. Pants/boots would need to be added as one-piece designs.
 * Satyr race is already present, as well as similar in design to the Draenei (horns/hooves/tails).
 * As there are no female Satyrs in-game, females based on Warlock's Succubi would be a sensible addition.
 * Satyr are also everywhere in northern Kalimdor, so villages with NPCs could be founded there as well.

Horde
After the betrayal, the Horde is now almost exclusive to central Kalimdor, and works to recover their numbers. Thrall cashes in a blood debt from Rexxar and recruits the Ogres. He also gathers to his side another savage race.


 * New area:
 * Massive Ogre subterranean cavern network is unearthed beneath Stonetalon Peak and Desolace. New race shares same starting area.


 * New city:
 * Create major subterranean city, with cave mouths in Shadowprey Village in Desolace, Sunrock Retreat in Stonetalon, and The Barrens.
 * Revamp some northern portions of Desolace and southern portions of Stonetalon Mountains for lower-end content.

Fel
After the betrayal, the Fel spreads its influence throughout the Lordaeron continent and parts of northern Kalimdor. The Naga rise from the depths, the Satyr emerge from the forests, and the Fel Orcs transport themselves from the former Draenor.


 * New areas:
 * Satyr and Fel Orc starting area is present-day Hyjal. It's currently empty, and large enough to house an entire low-level region, being roughly the size of Teldrassil. Great lore focus could be made on worship of Archimonde's skeleton hanging from the tree.
 * Naga underwater starting areas near the Maelstrom on the Broken Isles, perhaps with a shield of magic so that other races of the faction can visit without drowning.


 * New cities:
 * Underwater Naga city in the Maelstrom area, featuring fast-current water tunnels to various surface areas.
 * Hyjal peak, based around Archimonde's skeleton. Once Satyr/Fel Orc outlevel their starting areas, they may travel through several demonic portals to various Fel villages throughout the world.

Notes regarding territory
This balance of territory gives each faction a major stronghold, and a large contested region:
 * Lordaeron (northern EK): Dominated by the Fel, mainly concerns the Burning Legion's fight against the Scourge. A light Human presence attempts to creep their way in, but the Horde in general are relatively absent aside from sporadic camps and towns.
 * Dun Morogh/Azeroth (central/southern EK): Mainly dominated by the Alliance. A few exceptions are made for the southern part such as Stranglethorn Vale, which is generally neutral.
 * Central Kalimdor: Absolutely dominated by the Horde, to the point where it becomes foolish to enter by anyone else, aside from a few safe havens like Ratchet, and the southern zones like Tanaris/Ungoro/Silithus. The Alliance maintains its camps in Feralas, however.
 * Northern Kalimdor: Heavily contested among all three factions. Obviously the Exodar and Darnassus maintain control over their respective offshore islands, but the mainland is in uproar from all three sides. Satyr lands are already rampant throughout forests, and Naga camps line the beaches. Alliance has a heavy Night Elf presence in the region. Horde has several Orc camps throughout.
 * Outland & Northrend: Equal presence from all factions as originally intended. Some tweaks to various Fel-friendly areas, however the chaotic nature of the Legion allows for types of demons to attack their own.
 * Areas where two factions are allowed but not the other (Moonglade remains Horde/Alliance-friendly, but not Fel-friendly).