I've been playing the Shadowlands beta for a few weeks now, and I've played through the leveling experience and gotten a significant chunk into the Venthyr covenant campaign.
Given that we're heading toward the land of the dead, it's no surprise that we're going to be seeing some familiar faces. Some are very apparent from the promotional materials we've received, while others might come as a bit of a surprise.
The Shadowlands is the most alien place we've ever gone in WoW, and certainly is the most alien place we've gone for a whole expansion (I'll accept arguments on behalf of Warlords, given that it was a whole other timeline, though the weird rules about demons complicates that.)
This is, of course, spoiler territory. But it's also potentially incomplete, as I've only seen a portion of the expansion. But let's get to it!
Thrall, Jaina, Anduin, and Baine:
The initial event that starts the expansion is our journey into the Shadowlands to rescue these four after they are captured by beings that look like fallen angels - which we later discover are Mawsworn Kyrian. While we initially link up with them on our starting trip into the Maw, they're left behind as we escape to Oribos, and we need to go back to try to find them in Torghast. As far as I can tell, we succeed in that endeavor, though so far I think I only have Baine and Jaina, and the quest to get Thrall back is bugged.
Darion Mograine:
Leading the Ebon Blade forces into the Maw, Darion is left behind along with the aforementioned four and his knights, though we manage to get him and his father (see below) out during the Maldraxxus story quests.
Sylvanas Windrunner:
Well, duh. We see her briefly in the Maw, taunting Anduin, but we don't see her after that point. I'd expect we're not going to actually face her until another patch.
Bolvar Fordragon:
Bolvar is going to be playing the Khadgar/Magni role this expansion. The former Lich King stays in Oribos to coordinate with the functionaries who serve the dormant Arbiter. I expect him to have a lot to do in the overall patch cycle.
Uther the Lightbringer:
Uther's status in the Shadowlands is complex and fraught. He is introduced, shockingly, as a member of the antagonistic Forsworn in Bastion - Kyrians who have abandoned their duty and appear to be serving the Jailer (I don't know if the Mawsworn and the Forsworn are one and the same, but the Forsworn are certainly not great.) As his Afterlives short demonstrated, it seems that Uther's soul was torn in two by Frostmourne, and while we saw his benevolent side guiding us to defeat Arthas back in Wrath, it seems that what survived to go to Bastion was left with nothing but sorrow and torment. I'm hoping we redeem him (and maybe reunify his soul) by the end of the Kyrian campaign, which I'm probably going to do on my Paladin.
Draka:
Again, pretty well known, but Draka is our main guide through the events in Maldraxxus, and works with us to discover and fight back against a vast conspiracy that is turning the Maldraxxi against one another - and other parts of the Shadowlands. Draka is a stone-cold badass.
Vashj:
Vashj and Draka are the Baronesses of the fallen House of Eyes, which served as Maldraxxus' stealth, reconnaissance, and assassination wing. It's rather fun that when you see her, if you've killed her in Serpentshrine Cavern, she comments on it. At one point she even mentions that she's glad to see that you're still a badass, as she'd hate to have been killed by a weakling. While she's a little salty, her focus is on avenging her fallen House, and she doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward you. It is funny, actually, to think that we wound up allying with Illidan in the end. Now I want to see if she has something special to say to Demon Hunters (though I put mine on Threads of Fate mode to check it out, so...)
Alexandros "The Ashbringer" Mograine:
Yes, the original wielder of the Ashbringer and the original leader of the Four Horsemen (whose son now lead it, recall,) Alexandros is one of the Barons of the House of the Chosen, but he was betrayed by his fellow Baron, Vyraz, and sent to the Maw. During quests in Maldraxxus, you recover both Mograines from the Maw (wonder where Renault... probably in Revendreth, actually.)
Ysera:
When we quest through Ardenweald, we find one of their giant spirit-seeds (there is a name for these but I don't recall it) and discover a spirit who is afflicted with some strange kind of nightmare. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to discover who it is, but eventually we nourish her and purge her torment to the point where Ysera, the Dreamer, emerges, cleansed of her corruption, though she is not ready to be reborn into the living world yet. (Sadly, Ursoc will not come back, after the events of his Afterlives short.)
Bwonsamdi:
While I don't think he's technically tied into the whole Ardenweald thing, there is one corner of it that leads to The Other Side, which is his realm, and which has currently been taken over by Jailer ally and evil death loa Mueh'zalla, who is technically not a returning character, though his name has been around since Vanilla. I'm also expecting us to see Vol'jin involved in some plot related to him, but I also presume that might be part of the Night Fae story. Ditto Tyrande, whom I haven't seen since she jumped into the Maw portal with us at the expansion's very beginning.
Houndmaster Locksey:
Who? You might ask. Depending on how old a veteran of WoW you are, you may or may not know that prior to Mists of Pandaria, there were four Scarlet Monastery dungeon wings, rather than the two that exist today. The Graveyard, Armory, Library, and Cathedral were each separate dungeons with somewhat different level ranges. Graveyard and Cathedral were merged to become the "Scarlet Monastery" while Armory and Library were merged to make the Scarlet Halls. Most of the bosses were replaced with similar fights with more modern designs (Vanilla bosses were often tank-and-spank.) Anyway, Houndmaster Braun replaced Houndmaster Locksey, and now we find the latter in Revendreth, atoning for the sins he committed as a cruel Scarlet Crusader. He's not a big part of the story, but we witness how the Venthyr use similarly cruel tactics in order to break down the psyches of sinful souls so that they are more receptive to rehabilitation.
Kael'thas Sunstrider:
Though not a big part of the story quests while leveling, members of the Venthyr covenant eventually find Kael'thas' soul and have a lengthy quest chain in which you try to help them show him the harm he's done with his arrogance and betrayal. Where I'm at in the quests, the jury is still very much out on whether the Sun King can realize the error of his ways, but he does try to put his talents to use in helping you deal with...
Kel'thuzad:
Oh yeah, the most iconic Lich of the Warcraft cosmos (assuming we're not counting the Lich King himself,) Kel'thuzad is a major antagonist of the Venthyr covenant campaign, and he appears to have also gained allies in Maldraxxus. What's interesting to consider is that Kel'thuzad, as a Lich, isn't limited to the Shadowlands - we never found his phylactery after the second Naxxramas raid, meaning he ought to be able to re-manifest on Azeroth. But it's also curious because Kel'thuzad's loyalty was always to the Lich King - both Ner'zhul and Arthas. I'd assume this never carried over to Bolvar, but is that because the Jailer found him first? I really, really want to know more about what's been happening with KT in the past decade (and come on, you've got to tell us if Ephial was working for him! It's got to be him, right?)
And More?
So far I haven't seen Tyrande in the Shadowlands, though we know she's there somewhere. One would think that she's stuck in the Maw, though if Sylvanas and our player characters are Maw Walkers, maybe the Night Warrior has similar advantages?
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