In 4.1, the Zandalari Troll tribe underwent a sudden and confusing change. Since vanilla, these guys had been the faction-neutral friendly Trolls, initially in Stranglethorn Vale, overseeing our invasions of Zul'Gurub, then going with us to Northrend to deal with the Drakkari, and as late as 4.0 aiding us in our new efforts to stop Jindo the Hexxer - now called Jindo the Godbreaker - from siphoning the power of Hakkar the Soulflayer and reigniting the threat of the Atal'ai priesthood.
And in 4.1, they suddenly became bad guys.
Now, as the story has gone on, Blizzard has attempted to paint the Zandalari as always having been threatening - evil, but on a sort of mortal level, as opposed to the inherently evil demons, undead, and Old God monstrosities. So yes, the Trolls were allies of the Mogu while Lei Shen was oppressing the people of Pandaria. But then, the Mogu were also sort of unexpectedly evil, given that most of the Titanforged races have generally skewed toward the good side of things (the Vrykul are complicated.)
At this point, it's pretty firm canon that the Zandalari were not really nice guys, but then again, the rule of Lei Shen (minus his brief return to life while we were in Pandaria) was a very long time ago, and holding the modern Zandalari directly responsible for actions taken then would be like holding modern humans responsible for the depravities of the Winterskorn War.
I, for one, liked the idea of the Zandalari as being a refined and cosmopolitan, intellectual culture, bearing the hallmarks of Troll civilization but with a more nuanced and advanced society that does not resort to the barbarism of their satellite empires. Indeed, it might even be fun to have the Zandalari be sort of haughty to other Trolls.
You might worry that this doesn't play well with the 4.1-and-beyond plot they've given to the Zandalari, but stick with me, because it actually plays into it.
There are two major figures we know about within Zandalari society - King Rastakhan and the Prophet Zul. While Rastakhan has been in charge of their tribe for decades and is presumably part of some established hereditary monarchy, the Prophet Zul came out of nowhere: a peasant who suddenly drew an enormous following.
When the Cataclysm shattered the world, Zandalar began to sink - we don't know if the whole island was lost or if it was just devastated by this natural disaster. But as it sank, Zul began to preach his vision for the Troll empire reunited, beginning their sudden push against the Alliance and Horde.
This is going to be part tin-foil hat and part just "the story I'd write if I were in charge."
When a religious figure arises, the people in power have to be careful. A king who allows a peasant prophet to gain a following is allowing a person to claim a spot of potentially higher power and authority than his own. On the other hand, eliminating a prophet like that is a good way to make a martyr, and thus give that following a united cause to rally around, which could mean that the popular uprising fundamentally changes the society you intended to preserve. You might be able to think of a real-world religion or two that followed that pattern.
So let's play out the scenario.
Rastakhan is a respected ruler, but when the Cataclysm hits, the his peoples' lives are disrupted and the stability of his reign begins to break down. With displaced people struggling to survive, a new figure emerges with a grand vision to restore the Zandalari to glory - inspiring people with the myth of a reunited Troll Empire.
Rastakhan is eager to rid himself of this prophet, whose plan is insane, given that he's currently focused on rescuing his civilization from literally drowning in the ocean. But when he sends his agents to rid him of this upstart preacher, Zul comes to him, revealing that he has incredibly powerful magic at his disposal. Perhaps the agents Rastakhan sent have been converted to Zul's cause.
Realizing that he has made a miscalculation, Rastakhan makes a deal with Zul: supporting his visionary mission if Zul will back up the monarchy and not rock that particular boat. Zul agrees.
So now, Rastakhan is committed to Zul's vision, even if he thinks it's a bad idea. And over time, as the Zandalari lose their best and brightest in this mad quest, Rastakhan is trapped in the deal he has made.
And then we show up.
Once allies of the Zandalari, we now find ourselves fighting against them in and around their home territory. But as we sail the South Seas, Rastakhan clandestinely reaches out to us, explaining that he can't raise a hand against Zul, because the prophet has such a firm grip on his people - an unexplainably powerful grip - but that we are positioned such that we can strike against Zul and Rastakhan can sit back with plausible deniability even as he supports us on the down-low.
We fight our way through Zandalar, finally confronting the Prophet Zul. But while we thought we were dealing with a charismatic preacher, we discover that we're actually dealing with an avatar of N'zoth.
Yes, the reason why the Zandalari turned so quickly is that it was not just some guy, but an Old God manipulating the population and co-opting the imperial hierarchy to spread its influence.
We could then have a 5-player dungeon in which we either have to rescue Rastakhan after this is revealed or we have to fight a mind-controlled Rastakhan (either freeing him of Zul's whammy or having to put him down) and then a raid in which we eventually confront Zul in a multi-phase fight where he starts off looking like an ordinary troll but ends as an Il'gynoth-like mess of tentacles and protoplasm.
Please make it happen, Blizzard!
No comments:
Post a Comment