Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Warchief and Succession

It won't be for a while, but in the final content patch of Mists of Pandaria, both Horde and Alliance are going to storm into Orgrimmar and relieve Garrosh of his command. The position of Warchief has not historically been the most stable one - it's more akin to a Roman Emperor, with lots of backstabbing and usurpation. Thrall, for all his flaws, managed to actually get his people to like him, and got to leave the office without a dagger sticking out of his back.

As I've mentioned before, while Thrall would probably be welcomed back as Warchief by much of the Horde (especially the Troll and Tauren populations,) it's not obvious that he would take the job. It's not an impossibility, and frankly Thrall has the best chance of any individual to wind up Warchief again, but let's set aside that and look at the very real possibility of someone else sitting on the throne.

First off - there's never been a non-Orc Warchief. The Horde started as a purely Orc-based government/coalition, and despite the fact that Ogres and Trolls have fought along with the Horde since the Second War, the position of Warchief, and the organization of the Horde in general has been firmly rooted in orcish culture. That said, today's Horde is a very different animal than the original. I don't know how much of any given playable race is supposed to exist in lore, but we can probably assume there's a fair balance (perhaps not so many Blood Elves or Worgen, but a disturbingly rising number of Forsaken.) Thus today's Horde has to be a blend of Orc, Troll, Tauren, Forsaken, Blood Elf, and Goblin culture (with a dash of Pandaren, of course.)

In fact, Garrosh has been a part of the Horde for far less time than Vol'jin. So it would not be unthinkable to see a non-Orc Warchief, even if there is probably a preferential probability toward the natives of Draenor.

Vol'jin: One of the most respected and experienced leaders in the Horde, he is also the racial leader for the Orcs' oldest allies. Vol'jin is smart and crafty, and no slouch in combat either. He's also demonstrated initiative in dealing with the Zandalari threat, functioning as basically the top General in the war against them. He's even coordinated with the Blood Elves (I don't get the impression that the Darkspear and the Sin'dorei are the best of friends, even if they're allies) and, more shockingly, the Alliance. This could hurt his chances or it could improve them - the ability to put aside the smaller issues and say "this is a threat we need to deal with NOW" much in the spirit of the Might of Kalimdor or the Shattered Sun Offensive would certainly do a lot for the Horde's character. Then again, if Garrosh's culture of persecuting the Trolls refuses to die with his reign, Vol'jin might have trouble getting the support of the Horde's most powerful segment.

Baine: Despite the duel that took Cairne's life, the Tauren were always welcome in Orgrimmar, even under Garrosh (perhaps he felt guilty.) The Tauren are a valuable asset for the Horde, both because of their strength and their spiritual connection to the Earth. The Tauren fit in particularly well with Thrall's shamanistic Horde, and they've even been helping the Forsaken try to discover a cure for their undeath (how committed the Forsaken are to that goal is up for debate.) Basically, if you're Horde, you can't have any reason to hate the Tauren (and really, the same goes for if you're Alliance.) However, one of the main reasons for that is that the Tauren have a somewhat isolationist bent. They prefer to live and let live. They aren't going to be happy if you burn their villages to the ground, but their relationship with the Night Elves shows you that if you aren't actively fighting them, they're willing to be friends. I don't know much about Baine himself, but assuming he represents the values of the Tauren, I don't think he'd want to be Warchief.

Sylvanas: I don't think Sylvanas would want to be Warchief either, but for a very different reason. Sylvanas and her Forsaken have always been a wild card. It's always seemed that the Forsaken are more allies with the Horde than part of the Horde itself. Sylvanas' endgame is not entirely clear, but she clearly only wants to rule over people if they're undead. She might retain a bit of sentiment for her homeland and her people - hence the alliance with the Blood Elves - but I think she'd just as soon bombard Orgrimmar with Blight as she would attempt to take the throne. Not to mention the fact that most of the Horde hasn't drunk the kool-aid she's ladling out. She might be able to dominate her own people whether by inspiring god-like devotion or by weeding out anyone who disagrees with her, but I think most Orcs, Trolls, Tauren, and possibly even Goblins and Blood Elves, would rather see her dead than ruling out of Grommash Hold.

Varok Saurfang: Ah, now here's an interesting one. Saurfang is one of those lore figures that was kind of made by the players. As the leader of the Might of Kalimdor, Blizzard embraced the memetic badassery that was Saurfang, eventually turning him from a randomly-named elite NPC to one of the most important figures in the Horde. Saurfang is quite interesting, in that he represents both the old, vicious Horde, and the yearning for redemption that was made possible by Thrall. Saurfang's an old Orc, true, and after the events of Wrath of the Lich King, with his beloved son being turned into a Death Knight and then killed by us, he might not have much left in him, but at the same time, he's a figure most people both in-game and in real life would respect. He's a strong warrior, and it's unlikely that any of the hardliners would accuse him of being soft on the Alliance, but unlike Garrosh, he's not naive. He knows that the Orcs are capable of horrible evil if they forget honor in the name of victory, because he was among those who committed that evil. But you combine the experience and wisdom he's gained over the years, his overall competence as both a soldier and a general (he led an army that defeated a freaking god!) and the fact that he is a true Orcish hero, and you've got a pretty decent candidate.

Varian Wrynn: Ok, now here's the curveball. Hear me out. I would never mean to suggest that Varian would actually take charge of the Horde, or that anyone in the Horde would accept him as a leader for a second, but let's talk about the way you can become Warchief: You either murder the previous one, challenge them to a duel (often to the death,) or the previous Warchief names you as his heir and you take charge when they either die or quit. Now, the Horde has always looked down on the Alliance as cowards and weaklings (this applies, quite baselessly, to players too,) but Varian's never backed down from a fight. We're going to besiege Orgrimmar and storm the city, and Varian will be leading the charge (at least on the Alliance side.) You know what would be the single most badass thing you could do if you were leading an army to take your enemy's capital? Using their rules, attempt to take control of the city in a perfectly legal way. If Garrosh declines the challenge, he's just brought complete dishonor to himself and embarrassed the entire Horde. If he accepts it, he runs the risk of being beaten, which would also lead to a humiliating moment of dishonor for the Horde.

I know it's a long way away, but here's something I keep wondering about with the aftermath of the Siege of Orgrimmar: if the Alliance invades and unseats the Warchief, doesn't that mean that the current war is going to end? Unless there's a period in the next expansion where Orgrimmar's being occupied by the Alliance, I have to imagine there has to be some kind of armistice.

So here's how I could see the Siege of Orgrimmar ending: Varian challenges Garrosh for control of the Horde - obviously, the duel doesn't go through exactly, but when Garrosh is defeated, Varian makes some kind of deal with the new leadership of the Horde. Alliance and Horde aren't going to become best friends overnight or anything like that, but it seems like the current Alliance/Horde war (arguably "the Fourth War," though it hasn't been as devastating as any of the previous ones) is going to have to die down a little, perhaps returning to the Cold War-like state that existed during Vanilla and Burning Crusade.

Later on I'll touch on the changing structure of the Alliance and the potential gameplay implications of Velen's Army of the Light.

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