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A character subpage for the WarCraft universe, including World of Warcraft. For the main character page, see here. For the Horde character page, see here.


"To pretend it [the demonic corruption] did not exist is to forget how dreadful the impact was. To make ourselves into victims, rather than claiming our participation in our own destruction. We chose this path, we orcs. We chose it right up until it was too late to turn back. And having made that choice, we can, with the knowledge that we have of the end of that dark and shameful road, choose not to take it."
Thrall, Son of Durotan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orc_crest.png
The Icon of Battle

The orcs, following the Second War, were almost all held in the internment camps of the Alliance. However, a young orc named Thrall eventually rose and freed his people from the internment camps and returned them to their old shamanistic ways. Following this, they fled from the Eastern Kingdoms west across the Great Sea to Kalimdor. Following the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the orcs settled in a harsh red desert land that they named Durotar, in honour of Thrall's father Durotan. There, they created the city of Orgrimmar, in honour of the former Warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer. Orgrimmar stands as the capital of the orcs and the Horde as a whole.


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    General Tropes 
  • Animal Motifs:
    • Largely associated with wolves who pop up in their art, architecture, religion and mythology. Orcish Clans are also very similar to the stereotypical wolf pack, with a single Chieftain/alpha male and his mate ruling the clan. Orcs worship a wolf spirit named Lo'Gosh, and it was the Orc Shamans who learned to summon Spirit Wolves, an ability they taught to their Tauren and Troll allies. Most of the time, an Orc Hunter you see will have a wolf as his or her pet. The wolves that Orcs keep are between Noble Wolf and Savage Wolves. They normally have all the heroics and friendliness of the former, with the ferocity and cunning of the latter.
    • Scorpions and boars are also associated with Orcs, to a lesser extent than wolves. Some fans speculate that the Horde crest, seen on the right, is actually a stylized depiction of a scorpion or scorpion claw.
  • The Atoner: Many older orcs who fought in the first, and second war have this mentality. The reason Thrall settled in the desert of Durotar rather than more lush, fertile lands is because he wanted his race to go through hardship for the sins they committed. It also keeps them sharp.
  • Benevolent Monsters: Most of the orcs are not the monstrous creatures others make them out to be and are only looked down upon because of their many bad leaders minus Thrall who is probably the most peaceful Warchief so far.
  • The Berserker: Orcs have a tendency to rush into battle in an animalistic rage under the usage of Blood Fury where they take on red eyes as well as going berserk in battle.
  • Blood Knight: Even under Thrall's rule. Whereas the arena for Alliance players is like an underground, secret club, the Horde arena is a massive, gladiatorial chamber where any member of the Horde can make a living as a professional fighter, and even Orcish leaders take part in the bloodsport when they need to settle a feud.
  • Canis Major: Like many fantasy orcs, they ride giant wolves. Unlike other, Azeroth-native wolves, their giant wargs originate from Draenor.
  • Conlang: While all races have their own languages, the Orcish language is probably the most fleshed out in the franchise.
  • Cosmetic Award: The Heritage transmogrification armor is unlockable for any Mag'har orc character that's been levelled up to 50 through normal grinding (110 prior to the Shadowlands level squish).
  • Culture Chop Suey: They share a lot of themes with Mongol and Viking cultures, the latter particularly due to their love of axes, melee combat, berserk fighting styles, affinity for wolves and great emphasis on glory in death and family honour. Their societal makeup and history of conquest draws parallels with the former. Warchiefs can basically be considered the Orcish equivalents of Mongolian Khagans. The reverence of wolves is actually a common quality between Mongols and Vikings, which makes the themes mesh even more.
  • Flanderization: Orcs have always been a harsh and warlike race, but with Wrath of the Lich King they seem to return to being nothing more than dumb, bloodthirsty brutes, since many major orcish characters — including the new Warchief since Cataclysm, Garrosh Hellscream — are portrayed this way. By the time of Siege of Orgrimmar, Thrall, Saurfang, and Eitrigg were the only onscreen orcs who seem to have their head on straight. Some minor dialogue-less NPCs and nameless commoners are also described as still good, but many Minor orc NPCs became evil without explanation in MOP, and Garrosh's massive Kor'kron army had to come from somewhere.
    • Downplayed in Dragonflight, where numerous orcs are shown to value family and community highly, including former flanderized characters, returning to old traditions after years of neglect to come together as a people and ultimately do better.
  • Grew Beyond Their Programming: The original Orcish Horde from Draenor was created by Gul'Dan to be nothing more than expendable frontline muscle for the Burning Legion to destroy the Draenei and later to invade Azeroth and weaken its defenders enough for the Legion proper to invade. It was due to the events following The Second War and the arrival of Thrall that saw the Orcs reclaim their ancestral ways of Shamanism and eventually to ultimately stop the Legion altogether. in Warlords of Draenor, we find out that the very existence of the Orcs themselves were a living example of Growing Beyond Their Programming. Before the Orcs, Ogres, Gronn, and Arakkoa even existed; the world of Draenor was being slowly devoured by the Evergrowth. Then Aggramar came across the planet at some point before the discovery of Azeroth and imbued life into a Mountain named Grond to have it destroy most of the aggressive plants enough that life could flourish. The Evergrowth would be defeated by Grond; but Grond would be broken apart into smaller beings known as Colossals that were slightly smarter and carried on their mission from Aggramar in eradicating the Evergrowth. As time would pass on, these Colossals would also break apart due to the Evergrowths' minions and become smaller and more flesh than stone; eventually giving rise to the Orcs we know today.
  • Horns of Barbarism: In nearly all incarnations of the game, Orc soldiers (named "Grunts") wear horned helmets (as well as spiked armor in general), and are portrayed as more barbaric than humans.
  • Icy Blue Eyes: Orcs with these, like Thrall, are said to be destined for greatness. And indeed, only a few Orcs have blue eyes, and they're notable, heroic characters.
  • Lighter and Softer: Both Orc campaigns in Warcraft III have a lighter tone and setting than the other campaigns. The Invasion of Kalimdor in Reign of Chaos is focused on Thrall befriending Cairne and later Jaina while saving Grom from the demonic influence, while The Founding of Durotar is focused on the Orc's new home and trying to keep peace with the humans.
  • Martyrdom Culture: Most Orc warriors look forward to their death with the belief that they died for the right cause. Orcs who become scared or run when things become bleak are generally viewed as dishonorable cowards by both themselves and their colleagues, but they can regain their honor by going out and doing what they couldn't before.
    Orcish Battle Cry: Lok'tar ogar! Victory or death!
  • No True Scotsman: One of the greatest problems that Orcs have after breaking free of the demons' control is the various differences of view over what orcish identity and values really are and the ideological conflicts that ensue of them. While most orcs agreed to follow Thrall and to adopt the values of the more pacific New Horde, a portion of them still cling to the bellicose and warmongering ideals of the Old Horde and still use demons and fel magic such as the members of the Dark Horde, while some such as Garrosh Hellscream and his followers have rejected the use of fel magic and demons too but still view the Horde as an orc-centric machine of conquest and still want to use force systematically to resolve their problems instead of trying more diplomatic options while glossing over the atrocities committed by the Old Horde. This has led to Garrosh's reign becoming outright tyrannical and to several conflicts inside the Horde.
  • Our Orcs Are Different: The most iconic heroic Orcs outside of The Elder Scrolls franchise.
  • Proud Warrior Race: From Warcraft III outwards.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Orcs have a savage side in their blood that comes out when they rage in the heat of battle. This Blood Fury makes it hard for them to distinguish friend from foe, and causes their eyes to glow red. Some Orcs have mastered this side of them, able to enter it at will and use it as a weapon without risking their allies.
  • Red Right Hand: Orcs are naturally various shades of brown or grey. The green skin they came to be known for is a remnant of fel corruption when the orcs either embraced fel magic and demon blood to empower themselves or were simply exposed to fel energy over time.
  • Reformed, but Rejected: Even after they moved to Durotar, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore hunted them down to kill them all despite how Grom redeemed them and how they fought with the world at Hyjal.
  • Strength Equals Worthiness: Orcs believe greatly in this, but where an Orc's strength is varies. For example, a magically strong Orcish Shaman is equally as honored as a physically strong Orc Warrior, and this translates to other arts such as blacksmithing and arcane knowledge. However because of this orcs who lack both strength and magic and who suffer from deformities such as the Peons, Drakka before her physical transformation or Gul'dan before he revealed his warlock powers, are openly looked-down and mistreated by the great majority of the other orcs and though Thrall and other kinder orcs have worked to make them more accepted and better treated by the Horde.
  • Warrior Poet: Orcs are known to write songs known as lok'vadnod's in honor of those who fell in battle. While they used to be only Orcish, they extend these to non-Orcish races as well. The Shattering even alludes to some songs written in Zandali, the Trollish language.
  • Wooden Ships and Iron Men: Orcs are very skilled at sailing. This makes sense when you consider they draw inspiration from stories about Vikings. In Warcraft II intro, Orcs even pull of a Flaunting Your Fleets maneuver. This was however not always the case as Orcs had very little experience with sea and ships on Draenor unlike Ogres, and upon arriving on Azeroth most Orcs were initially superstitious and fearful of the sea though they lost this trait after having been taught by Ogres and Goblins.

    Thrall 

Thrall/Go'el

(former) Warchief, the World Shaman

Clan: Frostwolf

Class: Warrior (former Shaman)

Voiced by: Chris Metzen (English), Vasily Kosolapov (Russian/Warcraft III), Alexander Gruzdev (Russian/World of Warcraft)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thrall_border_6227.png
Thrall, God of Thund- ... Wait a minute...

"The beginning of wisdom is the statement 'I do not know.' The person who cannot make that statement will never learn anything. And I have prided myself on my ability to learn."

The previous Warchief of the Horde, son of Durotan. Despite the orcs' background as a brutish people, Thrall is more cultured and sets a good example for his race, returning it from demon-worship to their old shamanistic ways. He doesn't like unnecessary war, but will fight when he has to. Unfortunately, the world at large doesn't seem ready for his idealism.

Thrall was found in the woods by a Lord Blackmoore after his parents were murdered. Having been put in charge of the defeated Orcs' internment at the end of the second war, he wanted to use them as his own personal army to conquer the Alliance, and thus began to shape Thrall to be the perfect puppet leader for his new Horde. He was given the name Thrall and placed into the care of a servant woman who recently lost her infant son.

The woman had a daughter named Taretha, who was more than happy to have another brother (even a green one), and remained close to Thrall, even in secret after he was taken from her. Meanwhile, Thrall learned the arts of war, not only as a gladiator, but as a tactician as well. But shortly after learning of his true self, he decided that he could no longer remain a slave, and escaped with Taretha's help.

Eventually, Thrall would find the interred Orcs, as well as the free Orcs led by Grom Hellscream and the Frostwolf clan. From the Frostwolves, he would learn the ways of the Shaman, and eventually started to free the Orcs from their captivity. He eventually laid siege to Blackmoore's fortress where he learned that Taretha had been executed for helping him. Furious, Thrall stormed the keep, slew Blackmoore in battle, and razed the fortress to the ground.

Following this victory, he freed a few more orcs, before receiving a message from Medivh (though only known as "the prophet" at the time) to take his horde across the sea to Kalimdor. Though reluctant at first, his arts and a desire for a safe home for his people eventually lead Thrall to stealing human ships, taking the Horde west. There, he joined with the trolls and tauren of the Barrens, and while scrapping with humans at first, eventually formed a truce to defeat the Burning Legion along with both humans and night elves. Thrall even hurt the demon lord Archimonde with a bolt of lightning before escaping, declaring his people will die free.

Thrall stepped down as Warchief for Cataclysm, handing the title to Garrosh Hellscream.

Thrall returns to try and find those among the Orcish populace that objected to Garrosh's tyranny, and he confronts Garrosh to "correct the mistake he made long ago". When the players defeat Garrosh, and Garrosh is subsequently taken by Taran Zhu to be put on trial for his crimes, Thrall, rather than retake the position as Warchief as many expected, kneels to Vol'jin and says that, if Vol'jin leads, he will follow.

After Garrosh's escape from his sentencing, Thrall chases him to the alternate timeline Draenor, where he seeks to finally bring Garrosh to justice for all of his misdeeds, and end the threat that the Iron Horde poses to the present day Azeroth.


  • Aborted Arc: Throughout Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, there was an attempt to get everyone to refer to Thrall by his birth name, Go'el. This was much more noticeable in the novels, where calling him "Thrall" was treated like Malicious Misnaming. This was unpopular with fans and it was more or less abandoned in Warlords of Draenor.
  • Achilles in His Tent: In Battle for Azeroth, Thrall is well aware of how bad the 4th war is getting and how badly Sylvanas is endangering and dividing the Horde, but refuses Saurfang at first saying that his time as Warchief is over and the Horde has no place for them. He only relents when he and Saurfang are ambushed by Forsaken assassins and Saurfang says he followed them, meaning Sylvanas would happily assassinate Thrall and his family just in case, before he finally relents and joins the war effort.
  • Appropriated Appellation: The name "thrall", a Common word meaning "slave", was given to him by Blackmoore so he would never forget what he was. Thrall kept the name so that when he would never forget what Blackmoore did to him.
  • Arch-Enemy: Lord Blackmoore, perhaps more so than any other character in the series. This was the man who enslaved and tormented Thrall for most of his early life, then forced his adoptive human sister to become his unwilling mistress before finally executing and throwing her severed head at Thrall's feet to mess with him. It's little wonder why Thrall went on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and brutally killed the Smug Snake himself.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: In Lord of the Clans, the Warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer picks a fight with Thrall, and the latter not only defeats the elder warrior, but also shows him mercy. Thralls’ strength and character spurs Orgrim to take Thrall as his second-in-command during the liberation of the orcs from the interment camps, which again leads to Thrall assuming the title of Warchief upon Orgrim’s death.
  • The Atoner: He seeks to fight with Saurfang and to atone for his past mistakes with choosing Garrosh as Warchief and make up for his actions to regain his friends.
  • Badass Longcoat: Puts his warchief armor back on under his robes in Warlords of Draenor, and lets the robes flap open, giving this appearance.
  • Battle in the Center of the Mind: Sort of. In Rage of the Firelands, Thrall's spirit is divided into four pieces, and each piece is sent into an Elemental Plane. The player and Aggra must go to all four planes and fight the elementals possessing his spirit. In each plane, Thrall is battling with his suppressed emotions, each element representing an emotion: doubt (wind), desire (water), patience (earth) and rage (fire). After restoring his spirit, he becomes whole again.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Thrall prefers to avoid violent conflict whenever possible, giving strict orders to his troops not to attack the Alliance and accepting parley offers even if they may lead to a trap. But NEVER make this orc angry if your life depends on it because he will end you with a Doomhammer death sentence.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Very notable, since orc men are otherwise depicted with no eyebrows at all.
  • Big Good: Of the Horde throughout the series, and the Alliance as well in Cataclysm. Could really be seen as one of the series in general, seeing how he is the one major figure of both the Alliance and Horde that never makes outright blunders or mistakes due to his personality, and is almost always portrayed in an ultimately positive light.
  • Brick Joke: Invokes this in-universe. His combat instructor, Sergeant, states in their first meeting he challenges all his students to rip the earring out of his ear, with them having passed his training if they can. After the Horde takes Durnholde, Thrall approaches the defeated defenders, including Sergeant. Faster than the human can react, Thrall grabs the earring then, after a moment's pause, lets it go. Sending the combined message that he is strong, but merciful too.
  • Brought Down to Badass: The regrets he has over Garrosh Hellscream weigh down his soul. Consequently, he is unable to summon the elements or even wield the Doomhammer properly after killing his former protege in a Mak'gora. Due to this, he passes down the Doomhammer and the Earthen Ring leadership to the Shaman Adventurer while he retires to Outland. Once called back to the fore, Thrall proves he's no slouch in his martial training and can still fight proudly among the best of the Horde and Alliance.
  • Call to Agriculture: Battle for Azeroth shows that Thrall has retired to Nagrand in Outland with his family, growing crops around a small farm. Unfortunately, due to Outland gradually falling apart, Thrall's efforts are for naught and the grains breaks down upon being touched. Saurfang gets him back in action to fight for the Horde against Sylvanas’ leadership.
  • Canis Major: Actively rode one into battle in Warcraft III. Only rides it rarely in World of Warcraft.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: Thrall was raised by humans and has since gone native with the orcs. This gives him perspective on how both sides think, and the differences between them. When Jaina confronts him about orcs killing Sentinels during a raid on Ashenvale and insists he condemn the act, he refuses and explains to her that the raid was to claim food and other necessities. From a human perspective, the raid was theft and completely unjust. From an orcish perspective, the violence was necessary to provide for their people. Thrall denouncing the raid would be taken as a statement that he doesn't care if the orcish people starve.
  • Demoted to Extra: He's largely absent from the world stage in Battle for Azeroth. Or was, rather; Sylvanas attempting to assassinate him (only foiled because Saurfang followed the assassins) seems to have convinced him to return to the fray.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Guilt Event Horizon would be the more accurate term, but regardless crossing it at some point between Legion and Battle for Azeroth led him to abandon the Horde and Azeroth and live in hiding.
  • Didn't Think This Through: He readily concedes by the end of Mists of Pandaria that hoping Garrosh would overcome his hatred and xenophobia for not just the Alliance but the non-orc races was incredibly naive.
  • Elemental Powers: As one of the most powerful Shaman on Azeroth, he has the power of Lightning, Fire, Water, Earth, Life, and much more.
  • Enemy Mine: You have to protect him from would be assassins in one of the Caverns of Time instances; for Alliance members, the Trope technically fits. (The character would likely see him as an enemy more than the player.)
  • Fatal Flaw:
    • He is far too forgiving/trusting for his own good... though how far one interprets this as a flaw is his own business, and Lord knows it is the cause of no small debate among the fandom.
      • In truth, it's not that he's too forgiving/trusting, it's that he's a Wide-Eyed Idealist who sees an idealized version of everything and everyone and takes it as if that was the reality. He had an idealized version of Grommash Hellscream, an idealized version of what the "Horde of the Old" meant, an idealized version of Garrosh, et al.
    • The books seem to saddle him with another one: Stubbornness. Because of his accomplishments, throwing off the shackles of slavery and restoring the orc's shamanistic culture, when Thrall has his mind set there's little his friends can do to dissuade him. In "The Shattering", he refuses to apologize for the massacre of a night elf Sentinel group in Ashenvale, to Jaina's disappointment. When Cairne lays into him on what a bad idea it was to appoint Garrosh warchief, Thrall refuses to listen to him. In "Twilight of the Aspects", when his own internal conflicts prevent him from properly helping the Earthen Ring, Aggra points out why he's so unbalanced. When Thrall tries to get her to shut up, she notes how bad he is at taking criticism. In Tides of War, he dismisses Jaina's concerns about Garrosh's increased warmongering, and insists that he's content with all of his choices. He changes his tune after Garrosh bombs Theramore. This could be because of his low self-esteem as Thrall himself is his own worst enemy as he breaks himself down to where he believes he never did a great job at attaining peace or playing the role as Warchief. Thus meaning that he already criticizes himself on a daily basis as he questions his decisions but it is possible he doesn't everyone to shove it back at his face.
  • Genius Bruiser: Thrall is both an accomplished warrior and a skilled politician. His early life in the arena had a few notables in Lordaeron worried when they saw It Can Think. Blackmore trained him in military tactics as part of his plan to make Thrall the leader of his own army of orcs to take over the human kingdoms in Blackmore's name. Sadly for him, Thrall rebelled.
  • Gentle Giant: As an Orc is he is very tall and muscular, but definitely has a heart of gold.
  • Gladiator Revolt: His origin story; he was raised as a slave by humans, but then escaped his master to rejoin his people. He eventually killed his old master, too.
  • Going Native: In a bit of a twist on the trope, Thrall has to go native with his own people. Raised by humans, he started out with human sensibilities and not even knowing the orcish tongue. A lot of the early challenges and pushback he received on the road to becoming Warchief were from orcs who thought he might be too much of a human to lead them. Thrall proceeded to internalize much of orcish culture, to the point that his naming Garrosh his successor was partly because Garrosh was an ideal orcish leader. This got zigzagged with his name; Thrall embraced his orcish name of Go'el, but him throwing off his human name proved very unpopular out-of-universe and quietly got the Aborted Arc treatment.
  • Head-in-the-Sand Management: Ever since he allied with Jaina during the Third War, Thrall has been striving to forge lasting peace between Horde and Alliance rather than preparing for an inevitable, coming war. This proves to be an almost impossible goal. Hostile Alliance leaders like Varian Wyrnn and Daelin Proudmoore accuse Thrall of enabling Horde crimes by turning a blind eye or refusing to apologize. Meanwhile, Horde members like Garrosh Hellscream accuse their Warchief of being a weak, indecisive leader allowing the Alliance to trample over them with aggressive demands and unfair trade embargo. Even after stepping down from Horde politics, Thrall's weariness for war causes him to ignore Jaina's plea to retake the Warchief mantle back from Garrosh, which comes back to haunt him when Garrosh obliterates Theramore Isle with a mana bomb and turns the Horde into a totalitarian regime.
  • Healing Hands: As a Shaman he has the ability to heal.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: His full suit of black plate has no helmet. The most headwear Thrall's ever worn was a hood in his shamanistic robes.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation:
    • In the Doubt part of Elemental Bonds, he was belittling himself and his accomplishments, leading to You Are Better Than You Think You Are speeches from Aggra, but this was the part of his soul that was pure sorrow and doubt. Also, in the Troll starting zone, he belittles his term as Warchief, saying that "For all [his] supposed wisdom, there were times when [he] could barely hold the Horde together." He generally considers himself to have been a bad Warchief in hindsight.
    • His self-doubt following Garrosh's death gets so bad it cuts him off from the elements.
      Thrall: I left that life behind. I'm no one's savior.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Zigzagged. While the majority of the Alliance don't trust him (especially the Night Elves), over the course of WoW's story due to his species and who he leads, even they have begun to see him in a good light. The Night Elves, who are the most warmongering Alliance race due to Cenarius' death, celebrate him as a hero in Twilight of the Aspects. By the time of Mists, the only known important character who still doesn't trust him is Varian mostly due to the fact that he still is lingering on the belief that the Horde is still bad in his eyes even though Thrall had nothing to do with Garrosh's actions. Even Jaina came around to at least respect Thrall during War Crimes despite her lingering hatred of the Horde for bombing Theramore, possibly due to their prior history of maintaining the peace together.
  • He's Back!: Safe Haven is Thrall's "He's Back" cinematic.
  • Horrible Judge of Character:
    • Has been this, certainly since the events of Wrath of the Lich King. Between putting Garrosh Hellscream in a position of power (first as the commanding general of the Horde's Northrend offensive, then by making him Warchief), to letting Trade Prince Gallywix live after everything he did to the Bilgewater goblins, it seems like he's being unreasonably nice to a lot of the characters many of the fanbase feel are Scrappies. His alliance with the Forsaken may be considered this even before the events of Wrath, even considering it was always an alliance of convenience rather than anything ideological.
    • When he named Garrosh Warchief, there were objections raised about his qualifications for the role (including from Garrosh himself). Thrall, however, saw Garrosh as a young, strong, popular war hero the Horde could rally behindnote  whose deficiences from his inexperience would be tempered by having the more senior Horde leaders advise him. Not a terrible plan, as Garrosh has a noted tendency to be swayed by those around him, had already mellowed out considerably after accompanying Saurfang during the Northrend campaign, and Thrall asked Cairne, whose peaceful nature would offset Garrosh's warmongering, to be his primary advisor. Unfortunately, Thrall underestimated both Garrosh's willingness to take advice and Carine's willingness to put up with a Glory Hound like him. The two disagreed so frequently Cairne quickly gave up trying to advise the young orc and was quick to believe false accusations against him, resulting in a fateful Duel to the Death that ended with Cairne dead and Garrosh's relationship with the other voices of reason in his orbit strained.
    • This also goes for the Alliance as well since he believes there is still a time for peace between the two but he's far too lingering on the idea of this false hope as he's willing to believe that they can still accept the Horde as being another group of people who want to live just as much as they do.
    • Subverted when Neeru Fireblade thinks that he's tricked Thrall, only for Thrall to tell the player that he knows Neeru is with the Burning Blade cult and is leaving him around to get information out of him.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: Shows up in the Warlords of Draenor cinematic where he fights Garrosh Hellscream in a mak'gora. Garrosh seems to have the upper hand and Thrall is thrown down. Then Thrall stops screwing around and uses his elemental powers to trap Garrosh in stone, and calls a massive lightning bolt from the sky for the killing blow.
  • Informed Flaw: When he stepped down from his position as a Warchief and handed over the title to Garrosh, many characters in the game (including Thrall himself) regularly try to defend this change as justified by saying Thrall wasn't a warrior and "didn't have the shoulders" to be warchief. While it's undeniable Thrall was trying to ensure peace, he also was the one who led the orcs to Kalimdor in the first place, freed his people from the Demons' corruption, and actively took part in defeating Archimonde during the Third War, making such an affirmation sound pretty ridiculous.
  • It's All My Fault: "I wish I could change it all; Cairne… Garrosh… Theramore. Sometimes, it feels like I did everything wrong."
  • I Will Fight No More Forever: After executing Garrosh and losing the Doomhammer, Thrall lost faith in himself and swore off fighting for the Horde. He retired to Outland to live a peaceful life as a farmer and initially refused Saurfang's request to help save the Horde from Sylvanas. However he accepts this position is not tenable when Sylvanas tries to have him assassinated.
  • Knight Templar Big Brother: Or little brother, in this case. Thrall was willing to negotiate with Blackmoore for the release of Durnholde's orc slaves... until the man threw Taretha's severed head at his feet. The moment she was executed, both Durnholde Keep and Blackmoore's fates were sealed.
  • The Lancer: Formerly The Leader of the Horde, he became Vol'jin's Lancer after the troll's rise to leadership.
  • Magic Knight:
    • Started out as a warrior before he became a shaman.
    • Subverted come Cataclysm. In order to unleash his full shamanistic potential (which he needs to help stop the world from destroying itself), he is told he must forgo his armor to fully embrace the power of the elements. His new character model has him donning a hooded robe akin to traditional orc Far Seers.
    • Becomes even more true come Warlords of Draenor, as he starts wearing his armor underneath his shaman robes, combining both looks. By Legion though, he drops the "Magic" part since he can no longer call upon the elements after killing Garrosh.
  • Mandatory Unretirement: After his crisis of faith in Legion, Thrall gave up his position within the Horde in order to live as a farmer in Outland. He is forced to fight for the Horde again when Sylvanas sends assassins after him, making it clear that Thrall can't sit this crisis out.
  • Meaningful Echo:
    • When Garrosh is defeated during the Siege of Orgrimmar, Thrall repeats a line he said to him in the Ulduar trailer:
      Thrall: You disappoint me, Garrosh.
    • "Heart of War" implies that, at the time, the line got to Garrosh more than he wanted to admit, making Thrall's repeating it even more meaningful.
    • At the end of Lord of the Clans, Aedelas Blackmoore proudly proclaims that Thrall is what he made him to be. Thrall is disgusted by this praise, but Drek'thar assures him that everyone he met and every battle that he experienced made him into the person he is now. In other words, he is his own person and not made by someone else. Later in Warlords of Draneor, Garrosh spitefully says that Thrall made him what he is, but Thrall replies that Garrosh alone is responsible for choosing his own destiny.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • His real name, Go'el, is derived from the Hebrew word for "Liberator” or the ritual position “Redeemer of Kin,” and is a reference to his freeing the orcs from the internment camps and starting them down the path to redemption. His "slave name," Thrall, is a literal English word meaning "slave."
    • Thrall's real name could also double as a Shout-Out to Goku from Dragon Ball and Superman (AKA Kal-El).
  • Messianic Archetype: In Rage of the Firelands, this proves to almost be his undoing, as he had been putting the needs of everyone else ahead of himself, creating an imbalance that Fandral Staghelm exploited. Fandom has given him the nickname "green Jesus" for a reason, though he is closer to Moses.
  • Mounted Combat: In Warcraft III he rode a Frostwolf, like the other Farseer heroes.
  • My Biological Clock Is Ticking: One of the rare male examples. Appears in the desire chapter of the elemental bonds questline, and alluded to in the Cataclysm ending.
  • My Greatest Failure: He considers Garrosh Hellscream to be this. The son of Grommash Hellscream, his best friend, and a Mag'har orc, Garrosh represented the hope of reclaiming an uncorrupted orcish heritage that has been lost since the demon corruption. Thrall personally instilled confidence into the self-doubting son of Hellscream, and took him under his wing. Despite concerns about Garrosh's newfound warmongering, Thrall was confident that he would become a great leader for his people and the Horde. This all changed when Garrosh destroyed Theramore and began incarcerating non-orc Horde races to create his true Horde. Horrified and angered by Garrosh's actions, Thrall swore to correct his mistake by killing his former protege. Even after he succeeded in Warlords of Draenor, Thrall still feels lingering guilt over Garrosh to the point that he can no longer call upon the elements anymore.
  • Named Weapons: The Doomhammer, of course.
  • Never Got to Say Goodbye: The last time he saw Cairne Bloodhoof, the two had an argument over his appointing Garrosh warchief. Thrall was planning on apologizing for his stubbornness after his return, and that he was unable to do so made Cairne's death harder on him.
  • Nice Guy: Thrall is easily one of the nicest orcs and is very respectful towards others. Though one should know not to take his kindness for granted.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Half the events in Cataclysm, and all of the events in Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor can be laid at his feet for leaving Garrosh in command of the Horde, though in his defense, he was going to kill Garrosh at the end of Mists of Pandaria and was stopped by Varian.
  • Our Orcs Are Different: And he'd like to emphasize that.
  • Orc Raised by Elves: Thrall was an orc raised by humans.
  • Player Character: You play as him in the Orc campaign of Warcraft III, and he was the player character in the cancelled Warcraft Adventures game.
  • Power of the Storm: One of his abilities as a Shaman is summoning powerful storms, commonly in the forms of lightning.
  • Raised by Humans: He was raised by Clannia Foxton and reared alongside her daughter Taretha.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: Warchief of the Horde and its most powerful shaman.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • Gives one to Blackmoore from an alternate timeline in "Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects", starting off by making fun of his weapon's name, seeing it as "so blunt — so brutal and unsophisticated. Just like you are, at your core. Just like you tried so hard not to be," and later saying that he represents everything he hates, due to being weak but being lucky enough to be in a position of a power.
    • [Right before he attempts to slay Garrosh, after providing the Meaningful Echo above, he simply states how Garrosh is not worthy of his father's legacy, before bringing the Doomhammer down.
      Thrall: You disappoint me, Garrosh. You are not worthy of your father's legacy.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Vol'jin's Red. Thrall has faith in Garrosh's ability to be a good leader and prefers a diplomatic approach before resorting to violent means. Vol'jin, on the other hand, sees through Garrosh's warmongering tendencies and wastes no time starting a violent rebellion once Garrosh becomes a tyrant.
  • Reluctant Ruler: At first, Thrall accepts being Warchief excellently. Into World of Warcraft, the position begins straining on him, and by The Shattering, the stress of it is taking a visual toll. Elemental Bonds revealed he's been wanting to step down for a while. At the end of Battle for Azeroth, Thrall is once more forced into a leadership role. Though he's a little more tolerant of it now since it is as part of a council rather than the full authority of a Warchief.
  • Retired Badass: Thrall attempts to leave the Horde leadership behind in Battle for Azeroth and eloped to another land to continue his life as a farmer and stray himself away from the world's problems but he is still far from weak as he was able to take on Sylvanas's assassins. Though Saurfang is able to talk sense into him about how Sylvanas is ruining the Horde and he returns back to his old warrior ways.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Thrall unleashed one of these onto Blackmoore and Durnholde Keep after his former master threw Taretha's severed head at his feet. Inelegant Blubbering aside, Thrall's rage and grief were shown to have been so potent that he unknowingly summoned a lightning storm — completely terrifying the keep's human guards — before ordering the Horde to attack. During the siege, Thrall hunted down and slew Blackmoore in single combat, completely destroyed the keep, and finally called upon the Spirit of the Earth to level the fortress.
  • Secret Test of Character: Three in Lord of the Clans.
    • Upon meeting the Warsong, Grom demands Thrall murder a human child. Thrall refuses, strongly enough that he starts preparing to fight his way free of the orcs while bringing the boy with him. Grom is impressed, and makes it clear Thrall passed when he rebukes the one of his men that kidnapped the boy in the first place and commands him to return the child to his home.
    • The Frostwolves gave him a two for one when he first found them. They treated him like dirt and gave him the most menial of tasks around the camp, which Thrall accurately assumed was to see if he would be humble or instead demand to be treated as their chieftain like his father had been. The second part, that Thrall didn't pick up on until he passed it, was to see if he had enough of a spine to object to being put down if the mistreatment went on for too long. Humble, but not a pushover.
    • Finally, a stranger visits the Frostwolf camp and proceeds to mock and belittle them. Thrall only briefly withstands this and quickly challenges the stranger to a fight, which he wins. This was a more simple test, Orgrim Doomhammer goading him into a fight because he wanted to see what Thrall was made of. Thrall besting him has him name the younger man his second in command.
  • Ship Tease: For some time, the close relationship between Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore could be seen in a romantic life. Even Etrigg thinks, had Jaina been an orc, they'd have been perfect for each other.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: In Siege of Orgrimmar.
    Garrosh: Fool, my dark shaman have twisted and tortured the elements for miles around. They cannot hear you now. Once again, you prove too weak and powerless to do anything.
    Thrall: Never powerless, Garrosh, and never alone!
  • Stay in the Kitchen: A rare heroic example. Given that he was raised by humans and what happened to his human sister, Thrall thinks it would be better for Aggra to take care of his kids on Azeroth. Both his own mother and Aggra have other ideas. And he gets called for it lightly by Draka, and Aggra "Puts him in his place on the matter".
  • Superpower Lottery: To the point of being one of the most powerful shamans. The Dragon Aspects even admit that they need his powers to fill in for a missing member of their team.
  • Tragic Hero: Thrall probably has endured the most suffering out of anyone in the franchise: Such as his parents being killed right in front of him as an infant, he was a slave to the humans and was treated horribly, ostracized by many other orcs upon returning to his people, witnessed his adoptive human sister being executed by his former slave master, lost many of his closest friends during battles where they had died or lost all of their connections towards him, created a monster in the form of Garrosh Hellscream, lost many chances at offering peace between the Horde and Alliance due to both sides not keeping their temperaments in check, and witnessed the Horde he'd worked so hard to create go downhill and losing from many tyrannical leaders, etc. Thrall himself probably has the best excuses to become a villain, but he instead chooses to endure his suffering all by himself because he simply has too good of a heart.
  • Tragic Keepsake: His adoptive sister's crescent moon necklace.
  • Tranquil Fury: Throughout Garrosh's rule as Warchief and especially when he gets the chance to meet him in combat. Thrall is seen being very enraged with his former student but he doesn't let loose any of his anger in the slightest and instead he is quiet, but nevertheless ready to kill Garrosh without a second thought. During his final battle with Garrosh during a challenge of Mak'gora, he is seen activating his Blood Fury and unleashed the wrath of the elements on him without screaming or losing his glaring exposure.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When he appoints Vol'jin as Warchief at the end of Mists of Pandaria, he had no idea that Vol'jin would appoint Sylvanas as Warchief, and that Sylvanas would go on to create a war that would be much more destructive than Garrosh ever was.
  • Warrior Poet: Literally, as he composed a lok'vadnod to honor Taretha Foxton, who was murdered by Lord Blackmoore because she helped him escape Durnholde Keep.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Warlords of Draenor sets up several plotlines with Thrall, including confronting Garrosh, meeting his parents, dealing with a weaker connection to the elements than what he's used to, and dealing with his big brother figure Grom being the expansion's villain. After Garrosh's death, however, Thrall vanishes completely from the narrative and hasn't even been mentioned since, with the latter two plot hooks left hanging.
    • However, Legion seems to have picked up the "dealing with a weaker connection to the elements than what he's used to" plotline, except that he now has no connections to the elements due to the reason mentioned in Brought Down to Badass.
    • The most recent reveal in Battle for Azeroth is that Thrall has been in hiding, though he's coming back.
    Saurfang: "You and I? We don't get to hide."
  • What the Hell, Hero?: He is on the receiving end of this question from Saurfang, calling him out for abandoning the Horde despite knowing about Sylvanas's war crimes.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: In Lord of the Clans, the Warsong Clan orders Thrall to kill a human child they had captured to test his worthiness. Thrall refuses because he finds no honor in killing innocent, defenseless beings even if they will grow up to become future enemy soldiers. Hellscream is impressed and let the child go unharmed. After reestablishing the Horde, Thrall decrees that the children and civilians of the Alliance are not to be harmed under any circumstance.
  • You Are in Command Now: Inherits the mantle of Warchief from Orgrim Doomhammer after he fell in battle during the liberation of the camps.
  • Younger Than They Look: Thrall was born about two years after the Dark Portal first opened, which would mean he was in his mid twenties when World of Warcraft was first released. Despite this, the story has a tendency to treat and depict him as a much older and world weary character.

    Varok Saurfang 

Varok Saurfang

High Overlord

Clan: Blackrock

Class: Warrior

Voiced by: Alan Shearman (English/Wrath of the Lich King to Legion), Andrew Morgado (English/Battle for Azeroth), Alexey Kuznetsov (Russian/Wrath of the Lich King), Vladimir Levashev (Russian/Legion to Battle for Azeroth)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saurfang.jpg
Remember when the Horde character page wasn't separated? Saurfang thought it was too long, so he cleaved it into pages.

"Honor, young heroes. No matter how dire the battle; NEVER forsake it!"

A legendary orc warrior who premiered in World of Warcraft. Originally a Memetic Badass, Varok Saurfang was a generic NPC in Orgrimmar who was notorious for a bug that allowed his Cleave ability to deal massive amounts of damage. He became an Ascended Meme. He was revealed to be a veteran of the First, Second, and Third Wars, and second in command of the Old Horde, trumped only by Blackhand himself. In World of Warcraft, he was placed at the command of the Might of Kalimdor in Silithus, the army that ended the threat of Ahn'Qiraj and the Old God C'thun. After the fact, Saurfang's roles were minimal until the Northrend War, where he served as an adviser to Garrosh Hellscream. Saurfang led from the front lines, personally commanding the airship Orgrim's Hammer as it sailed to Icecrown Citadel. The war cost him greatly; the death of his son, Draenosh Saurfang the Younger, weighed deeply on his soul. He was temporarily broken, and after the Northrend War commanded a skeleton crew at Warsong Hold in Northrend up until the end of Cataclysm. Since then, Varok has appeared frequently as a major figure for the Orcs, appearing in every expansion.

Featured in the cinematic ''Old Soldier''.


  • The Ace: Regarded as one of Azeroth's finest and most feared warriors. Warrior players duel him to inspire a Titanforged Blacksmith to make them a copy of his blade, the Arcanite Reaper. In the cinematic for Battle For Azeroth, he leads a swath of destruction through the Alliance ranks and lands a blow on the Alliance's king. According to other accounts, he can strike down 10 enemies in a single blow.
  • Armor-Piercing Question:
    • He's on the receiving end of one from a young troll shaman named Zekhan. When Saurfang resolves to suicide by combat, Zekhan accompanies him. Saurfang tells him to go back, but the boy refuses. This goes on for a few more exchanges, with Saurfang knocking the kid to the ground. When he begins to rise, we get:
      Saurfang: "Oh, give up, boy."
      Zekhan: "Like you?"
    • He gives one to Thrall when he tries to recruit him to lead back the Horde against Sylvanas.
      Saurfang: "Do you know what she's done while you've been hiding?"
  • Ascended Extra: Due to the above Ascended Glitch related to damage. Saurfang started off as a generic, if very, very powerful NPC who acted as a glorified quest giver in Orgrimmar (you used to turn in Nefarian's Head to him). After proving his badassery in the War of the Shifting Sands, he got promoted to a major character in Wrath of the Lich King, acting as Garrosh Hellscream's second-in-command and gaining more elaboration on his character. According to one of the Story Q&A's conducted by Blizzard, Saurfang has even been retconned into Orgrim Doomhammer's second during the Second War. And with Legion he's taken over as the new leader of the orcs. This peaks in Battle for Azeroth which is essentially his story.
  • Ascended Meme: His Memetic Badass status was acknowledged in achievement text in Legion. After Saurfang replaced Warchief Vol'jin as the leader of Orgrimmar, the text of the corresponding PvP achievement for Alliance players was updated thus:
    Orgrimmar Offensive: Damage High Overlord Saurfang until he humors you by pretending to die.
    • Though he is among one of the strongest warriors in his own right.
  • The Atoner: Feels tremendous guilt for the atrocities he and the other members of the Old Horde committed both on Draenor and on Azeroth and unlike Garrosh he fully acknowledges the orcs' fault and responsibility in their actions. In Battle for Azeroth his motivation in rebelling against Sylvanas is to repent for the crimes he helped commit back at the time and for his part in the invasion and burning of Teldrassil.
  • Badass Boast: All the time. A couple of gems:
    High Overlord Saurfang: You answer to Saurfang now!
    High Overlord Saurfang: I am he who watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgement?
  • Badass Family: He's the brother of Broxigar Saurfang the Red, who is one of only two mortals to land a blow on Sargeras and the original wielder of the Axe of Cenarius. He's the father of Dranosh Saurfang the Younger, who led Horde forces in Northrend and died in battle against the Lich King before being raised as a Death Knight. His niece, Thura Saurfang, is the current wielder of the Axe of Cenarius, and fought against the Nightmare forces in the Emerald Dream. Needless to say, the surname 'Saurfang' is pretty synonymous with, 'badass warrior.'
  • Badass Normal: Saurfang is a perfectly normal orc, besides when he was powered up by the Blood of Mannoroth. The respect he's earned among his people comes from being the best damn normal orc you can get.
  • Breakout Character: He went from a minor Memetic Badass to the central character of an expansion. Battle for Azeroth have him appear in all the big budget cinematics and chronicles his journey and death.
  • Blood Knight: Notes in the novella A Good War that he very much enjoys fighting a foe when honor is kept intact. When corrupted by the Blood of Mannoroth, it switched to an enjoyment of wanton slaughter. During the campaign in Darkshore, he notes that 'it feels good to fight a good war,' but that turns into shame when Sylvanas orders Darnassus burned, and thousands of innocents die. This is ironically after Saurfang spent a lot of time rescuing innocent Alliance civilians during his attack on Lor'danel.
  • Braids of Barbarism: Has his hair tied up into no less than four braids.
  • Broken Ace: Azeroth's finest and most skilled Warrior, and he's wracked by PTSD and his honor and loyalty is almost constantly being tested by the Horde's less-than-savory members.
  • Call-Back: When Baine suggests that Gallywix is interested in Silithus after its devastation by Sargeras at the climax of Legion, Varok growls that 'nothing good has ever come out of Silithus.' He of all people should know — he led both of the factions from the front lines in The Second War of the Shifting Sands, last thing that happened in Silithus.
  • Characterization Marches On: When Saurfang first appears in the vanilla game, he gives the player characters a very aggressive speech for no apparent reason, which does not fit well with the Shell-Shocked Veteran characterization he is given from Wrath of the Lich King onward.
    I am he that watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgment?
  • Cool Helmet: He wears a metal jaw around his neck, not so much a proper helmet, but still something that affords protection and looks awesome.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Even Azeroth's most powerful Warrior is no match for Malfurion Stormrage, who is over 10,000 years old and massively powerful, more powerful than most of the enemies we've slain, and who made the Axe of Cenarius currently wielded by his niece. He barely survives an encounter with him, and doesn't land a single blow. That being said, when Saurfang and Sylvanas take him on together, it's a Curb-Stomp Battle in the opposite direction, and Saurfang mortally wounds Malfurion in one throw of the Arcanite Reaper. He regrets it, though, because Malfurion's back was turned when he threw it.
  • Curb Stomp Cushion: His mak'gora against Sylvanas is almost completely one-sided with Sylvanas blocking or dodging every attack while slicing him up. Varok lands one minor scratch on her before Sylvanas blasts him with magic and kills him.
  • A Death in the Limelight: Heavily focused on in Battle for Azeroth, and is killed at the end of its war campaign.
  • Death Seeker: In his speech to the Might of Kalimdor, he speaks that the greatest desire of a true Orc Warrior is to die in battle against a hated enemy. Comes up again, much later, in Battle For Azeroth. Sylvanas' burning of Teldrassil triggered his PTSD when he saw it, and at the Siege of Lordaeron, attempts to engage the Alliance alone, where he demands that the Alliance give him an honorable death instead of capture him. He is enraged, but denied, and ends up captured instead of killed.
    Saurfang, clutching the body of his son: "You have earned your warrior's death, my son. But once again, I am denied it."
  • Death Equals Redemption: After being complicit in genocide for the third time of his life at Teldrassil and being driven into despair over it, viewing himself as a monster, his death is a duel against Sylvanas, knowing he would die, but would also prompt the Horde to rebel against her.
  • Doomed Moral Victor: Both he and Thrall knew that he could not defeat Sylvanas in a one on one fight, but Saurfang fought regardless both to preserve the lives of the Horde and to expose Sylvanas, even at the cost of his own life.
  • The Dragon: He served as Orgrim Doomhammer's second-in-command during the First and Second Wars after Orgrim witnessed his efficiency both as a warrior and tactician.
  • Drama-Preserving Handicap: Many will agree that he's a better fighter than Garrosh, but while he and Thrall fought through Garrosh's new Mantid soldiers, he gets badly hurt and cannot continue, so Thrall had to go on alone.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: Field Marshal Afrasiabi, his Alliance counterpart, has not been developed nearly as much as Saurfang has been.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: After utterly dismantling Sylvanas's nihilistic worldview, exposing her for what she truly is, and restoring the spirit of his Horde, he makes one final charge at her with a smile, and a warcry of "For Azeroth!", before being blast away by her death magic.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry: By random necessity. He sheds his pauldrons before the Siege of Lordaeron when he opts to attempt suicide by Alliance. He is only able to grab one back when he changes his mind.
  • Foil: To Eitrigg as of Legion. Both are veterans of the First and Second War, sons of the Blackrock Clan, and were disillusioned with the atrocities committed by the Old Horde. Unlike Eitrigg, Saurfang remained with the Horde and was interned. Whereas Eitrigg is a furious Berserker, Saurfang is a calm Ace, and the World's Best Warrior following the deaths of Grom Hellscream and Varian Wrynn. It hasn't given him subtlety or skills in diplomacy, however, whereas Eitrigg shines in both. Saurfang himself admits that diplomacy is not his strong suit, whereas Eitrigg serves as adviser and diplomat from Orgrimmar to the Argent Crusade. Eitrigg serves the Horde as a politician, while Saurfang serves as the High Overlord and is essentially the master of all the Horde's military might, save for the Warchief. His voice is also soft and smooth, though deep, while Eitrigg's is harsh and guttural.
  • Four-Star Badass: Formerly a second in command to Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer, and Supreme Commander of the Might of Kalimdor, as well as second in command of the Horde expedition in Northrend and High Overlord of the Kor'kron. He is often known to lead from the front with his men, personally heading troops deployed in Northrend, the Broken Shore, the Northern Barrens, Ashenvale through to Darkshore, and in the Siege of Lordaeron.
  • Guile Hero: Known moreso for his mastery over tactics and strategy as opposed to brute force, reflecting the Arms Warrior specialization. In Northrend, he's revealed to have a network of spies and assassins that he keeps secret from Garrosh Hellscream, who is technically the commander of the entire operation, and uses them to clean up the messes that Garrosh leaves behind. He also is able to disguise himself and personally infiltrate the Cult of the Damned, rescuing the player when they get cornered by a powerful necrolord. During the campaign towards Teldrassil, Malfurion has the Horde's advance blocked by a wall of wisps, and the bulk of the army has no way through. Saurfang asks Nathanos an unorthodox question — if he knew any smugglers. Nathanos was hesitant, but Saurfang led the bulk of the Horde army around Darkshore and through Felwood, smuggling them passed the wall of wisps and even picking up the remnants of the Shatterspear Tribe of Trolls, before marching on Lor'danel.
    Saurfang: "In battle, strategy is as important as strength."
  • Heartbroken Badass: While he was proud of his son's death on the battlefield, seeing his son raised as a Death Knight absolutely devastated him. He recovered, since he was able to at least retrieve his son's twisted body and burn it. Happens again when Sylvanas orders Teldrassil to be burned.
  • Heroic BSoD:
    • As a result of his son being raised as a Death Knight and forced to serve the Lich King. This is essentially why he was absent throughout all of Cataclysm and most of Mists of Pandaria, because he was so wracked with sorrow for his son that he almost lost his own will to live.
    • Has another one after the Burning of Teldrassil, displayed in the novella, but absent in-game. As he watches the tree burn, he has a flashback to his actions in Shattrath during the rise of the Horde and decides there's no redemption for him or the Horde. He concludes that nothing can atone for what Sylvanas has done, and what he failed to prevent. Instead of shutting himself off like in Northrend, he attempts suicide by combat with the Alliance, pitting himself against all of their might alone. He is convinced by Zekhan to live another day, and the next day he faces the Alliance alone to try and hold them off and allow the Horde forces a chance to escape.
  • Heroic Second Wind: In the Old Soldier cinematic, Zekhan inspires him to return to the Horde when Saurfang's resolved to abandon it.
  • He's Back!: After sitting out Cataclysm and most of Mists of Pandaria due to the death of his son, he finally returns to kick ass, and as the Orc's racial leader, no less.
  • History Repeats: Saurfang's mak'gora against Sylvanas in Battle for Azeroth's war campaign conclusion cinematic shares plenty of parallels with the past deaths of other iconic Warcraft heroes.
    • An undead faction leader (Arthas/Sylvanas) exits their gated fortress (Wrathgate/Orgrimmar) in response to a challenge issued by the leader of an invading group (Bolvar/Varok). A legendary orc warrior (Dranosh/Varok) then proceeds to rush headlong into one-on-one combat against the undead faction leader, muttering "Let it be finished!"
    • An orc protagonist (Varok/movie-verse Durotan) challenges a corrupt/honorless/villainous Warchief (Sylvanas/movie-verse Gul'dan) to mak'gora, and is ultimately slain by the Warchief's horrifying dark magic (which is often considered cheating, according to typical mak'gora rules). But despite losing the mak'gora, the orc protagonist (posthumously) ends up winning over the hearts and minds of the Horde, with the duel somehow having exposed the Warchief's true nature (thus turning the Warchief into an outcast)
    • A wielder of Shalamayne (Varian/Varok) makes a heroic last stand against an enemy of overwhelming power (Gul'dan's army of demons at the Broken Shore/Sylvanas), knowingly sacrificing their lives in order to save the lives of others. (covering the Alliance retreat in Varian's case, while in Saurfang's case, he was aiming to avoid Horde soldiers killing other Horde soldiers). And then prior to being killed, the Shalamayne wielder's final words reaffirms his dedication towards an honorable cause greater than himself ("For the Alliance!" in Varian's case, and "For Azeroth!" in Saurfang's case).
  • Honor Before Reason: Sylvanas accuses him of this during the Battle for Lordaeron scenario as he prefers dying in combat to living on in Sylvanas' Horde. Beforehand Varok had also refused to kill Malfurion because he threw his axe into his back while the former was fighting Sylvanas, and Sylvanas uses that to blame Saurfang for the burning of Teldrassil in A Good War.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Serves as this to the hot-headed and overly aggressive Garrosh Hellscream.
  • I Am a Monster: Has this opinion of himself and the entire Horde during the lead-up to Reckoning, saying that, with all the atrocities the Horde committed while calling it honour and glory under its various evil Warchiefs (paving a continent-spanning road with the bones of their victims, which they then called "Path of glory", under Blackhand/Gul'Dan, nuking Theramore and restarting a horrible war under Garrosh, burning Teldrassil under Sylvanas), the horde doesn't deserve to exist and must be torn down anew.
  • Inspirational Martyr: Saurfang dies challenging Sylvanas to Mak'Gora, and in doing so completely ruins her position as Warchief by making her blurt out that the Horde means nothing to her.
  • Leitmotif: In all the Battle for Azeroth cinematics that feature him, Saurfang scenes are sometimes paired with a mournful horn call.
  • Named Weapons: His axe is called The Arcanite Reaper. The name itself comes from an old axe that player's could acquire in game that had the same model as Saurfang's axe (The axe in question is not available anymore). Although the model of his axe has changed over time(Or perhaps Saurfang had a new Arcanite Reaper made since the Lich King shattered the original when it was wielded by Dranosh), the name Arcanite Reaper stuck, as seen when the player Battlelord commissions a copy of it, dubbed The Arcanite Bladebreaker, be made for themselves.
  • No Social Skills: A very skilled and powerful warrior, and a masterful battlefield tactician, but he is not good with people. He admits diplomacy is not his strong suit. When approached by a young Shaman soldier a the Siege of Lordaeron, he is asked what to do. All Saurfang can say is, "Don't die."
  • Offscreen Momentof Awesome: Successfully follows two rogues sent by Sylvanas to assassinate Thrall.
  • Old Soldier: Varok is a decorated veteran of almost every single war the orcs have fought since the draenei genocide, maybe even earlier, meaning he has more experience than just about any soldier who is not Long-Lived (and probably a fair number who are). He still throws down with the best of them. Appropriately enough, one of the cinematics dedicated to him in Battle for Azeroth is literally called "Old Soldier".
  • Only a Flesh Wound: Players find him kneeling in a pool of his own blood, his axe still impaled in a writhing mantid, and you can tell by how he talks that he's in a LOT of pain, but he simply states, "I will live."
  • Outliving One's Offspring: His son Dranosh died at the Wrathgate. Even worse, he was resurrected as a Death Knight and Saurfang had to kill him, losing his son again. These events completely shattered him, and were the main reason he stayed in Northrend after the Lich King war and sat out the Cataclysm conflict.
  • Pre-Battle Banter: Engages with this before the Siege of Lordaeron, with a young Troll named Zekhan. Begins with Saurfang abandoning the Horde, ends with Zekhan restoring Saurfang's faith.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Downplayed, but he gives one to Garrosh in Wot LK about what his aggression towards the Alliance will lead to.
    Saurfang: So the prodigal son has spoken! Your father's blood runs strong in you, Hellscream. Impatient as always... impatient and reckless. You rush headlong into all-out war without a thought of the consequences.
    Garrosh: Do not speak to me of consequences, old one.
    Saurfang: I drank of the same blood that your father did, Garrosh. Mannoroth's cursed venom pumped through my veins as well. I drove my weapons into the bodies and minds of my enemies. And while Grom died a glorious death — freeing us all from the blood curse — he could not wipe away the terrible memory of our past. His act could not erase the horrors we committed. The winter after the curse was lifted, hundred of veteran orcs like me were lost to despair. Our minds were finally free, yes... free to relieve all the unthinkable acts we had performed under the Legion's influence. I think it was the sounds of the draenei children that unnerved most of them... you never forget... Have you ever been to Jaggedswine Farm? When the swine are of age for the slaughter... it's that sound. The sound of the swine being killed... it resonates the loudest. Those are hard times for us older veterans.
    Garrosh: But surely you cannot think that those children were born into innocence? They would have grown up and taken arms against us!
    Saurfang: I am not speaking solely of the children of our enemies... I won't let you take us down that dark path again, young Hellscream. I'll kill you myself before that day comes...
    Garrosh: How have you survived this long, Saurfang? Not fallen victim to your own memories?
    Saurfang: I don't eat pork...
    • Gives another one to Sylvanas during their mak'gora outside the gates of Orgrimmar, causing her to blurt out that the Horde means nothing to her and ruining her standing as Warchief, forcing her to flee.
    Saurfang: You cannot kill hope. You tried at Teldrassil. You failed. Hope remains. You set us to kill each other at Lordaeron. You failed. Here we stand. You. Just. Keep. Failing! The Horde will endure! The Horde is strong!
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Looks stellar compared to Garrosh, realizes the horde is slipping into its old ways and both acknowledges and regrets the near genocide of the draenei by the orcs.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Saurfang is a master of his Blood Fury, allowing him to enter an Unstoppable Rage in combat without risking the well being of those fighting with him. The Blood Fury, like all Orcs, causes his eyes to glow red.
  • Red Is Heroic: As of Battle for Azeroth he wears a blood-red suit of armour, and he's one of the most notable heroic orcs in the setting.
  • Retired Badass: In Cataclysm he remains with the skeleton crew in Northrend to mourn his son, not taking an active military or leadership role. The state of the Horde in the latter half of Mists of Pandaria calls him into action once again. By Legion, with the new Warchief having her own city to run, Varok is officially out of retirement and is the leader of Orgrimmar.
  • Rousing Speech: Plenty, though his legendary speech during the Qiraji war is up there with the best of them.
    High Overlord Saurfang: I am Saurfang. Brother of Broxigar. You know me to be the Supreme Commander of the Might of Kalimdor. An orc — a true orc warrior — wishes for one thing: To die in the glory of battle against a hated enemy. Some of you have fought in battles. Peace has been with us for many years. Many years we sat idle but many years we battled. In those years — where strife the land and Legion and Scourge sacked our homes, killed our families — these insects dwelled beneath us. Beneath our homes — waiting. Waiting to crush the life from our little ones. To slay all in their path. This they do for their god. And for our gods? We defend. We stand. We show that as one. United. We destroy. Their god will fall. To die today, on this field of battle, is to die an orcish death. To die today is to die for our little ones. Our old ones. Our… loved ones. Would any of you deny yourselves such a death? Such an honor?
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: He has still never really gotten over the atrocities he committed during the days of the old Horde, saying that even hearing pigs being slaughtered brings back the memories. As an Orc, he continues life as a warrior, thinking it honorable for him to look beyond his past and redeem himself for it. During the Burning of Teldrassil, he has an episode as he desperately attempts to stop catapult operators from continuing the assault, but it's too late. The screams of innocents emanating from the burning tree sends his mind directly back specifically to the sacking of Shattrath, and the burning of Stormwind.
    Saurfang: "So, you know me, is that it? What I've seen? WHAT I'VE DONE!?"
  • Spectacular Spinning: His signature attack involves his eyes glowing a fierce red, and him unleashing an extremely powerful Bladestorm. Whenever it's depicted, it annihilates everything in his axe's path.
  • Spit Take: Saurfang ends up choking on his drink when he hears Baine mention that Gallywix was sending more goblins to Silithus, noting that nothing good ever comes out of Silithus.
  • Spotlight Stealing Character: Unfortunately, his aforementioned status as Breakout Character and Battle for Azeroth being explicitly his story means that the Night Elves, who were the victims of the War of Thorns, got little to no screentime, the narrative instead focusing on Saurfang's turmoil over it.
  • Suicide by Cop: Attempted before the Siege of Lordaeron. Ashamed of the actions of the Horde during the War of the Thorns, he shed most of his armor and marched towards the Alliance army alone to claim his warrior's death. He's talked out of it by Zekhan.
  • Thanatos Gambit: He challenges Sylvanas to Mak'Gora, knowing she'll accept because she "wants to make him suffer" and that she'll give herself away and reveal her true intentions during the duel.
  • Thousand-Yard Stare: More of a Thousand-Yard Grimace, he sports this before the Siege of Lordaeron, gazing out beyond the ramparts at the Alliance army preparing their siege artillery. Zekhan interrupts it.
  • Tragic Keepsake: He keeps a necklace, a stone engraved with the Horde crest, from his son's body. Attempts to burn it before the Siege of Lordaeron, when all his hope is lost, but Zekhan retrieves it for him, to trigger his Heroic Second Wind.
  • Tranquil Fury: Saurfang has mastered his emotions and the Blood Fury. While he feels the same rage that all Orcs invoke when in battle, he has mastered it to the point that his face remains a haunting blank in battle, with only his glowing red eyes to signal the burning rage sealed within.
  • Tribal Facepaint: Sports this with his updated model in Battle for Azeroth. As opposed to actual paint, it's ashes from a brazier he marked himself with.
  • Warrior Poet: Saurfang is a perfect intermediary between the renewed ideas of orcish honour Thrall instilled in the renewed Horde, while still showing the savagery and unrelenting might of the Horde during the first two wars. He is one of the fiercest orcish warriors alive, but understands the mistakes made of the past and sees battle not as a means to violence or dominance, but to protect the lives of your loved ones.
  • Wham Line: The moment Saurfang said this, his fate was sealed:
    Thrall: These warriors have sworn to fight for you. Many lives will be lost.
    Saurfang: Or perhaps just one... Sylvanas Windrunner! I challenge... Mak'gora!
  • What the Hell, Hero?: He has been on the receiving end of this by Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner during the Battle for Azeroth. Sylvanas believes that his desire to uphold honor during wartime is not only foolhardy but also counterproductive as it allowed Malfurion to escape and miraculously recover, giving the Night Elves hope they wouldn't otherwise have. She proceeds to demonstrate her point by burning the World Tree to make up for Malfurion's escape, thus ruining Saurfang's hopes for a quick and clean war against a divided Alliance.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: He does this to Thrall when he tries to convince him to come back and deal with Sylvanas.

    Eitrigg 

Eitrigg

Clan: Blackrock

Class: Warrior

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English), Kirill Radzig (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eitrigg_border_6603.png
It's not easy being green. Not that Eitrigg would know.

"Have you ever stood against the will of an entire nation, human? Have you ever questioned an order, knowing that to disobey meant immediate death?"

An aging orc veteran from the Blackrock clan who initially left the Horde after his sons died. He was found and spared by Tirion Fordring some time before the Third War, but the Alliance eventually learned of Eitrigg and had him sentenced to execution. Tirion risked his position and life to save Eitrigg, becoming an exile in the process but earning a lifelong companion. Eitrigg joined Thrall's new Horde, serving as an adviser in Thrall's court, and later, at Tirion's request, was allowed to go to Northrend to serve alongside the Argent Crusade.

After the War in Northrend, Eitrigg returned to his counseling duties, now for Garrosh instead of Thrall. He retained his position throughout the expansion, until finally abandoning Garrosh's regime and assisting the revolution. When the Legion came to Azeroth, Eitrigg was recruited by the player Battlelord, fighting across the Broken Isles while continuing his duties as an Orgrimmar politician and adviser.

In Battle For Azeroth, Eitrigg continues his service as adviser, diplomat and commander. He co-commands Horde troops in the Arathi Warfronts along with Rokhan and Lady Liadrin. His diplomatic skills remain on point, and he serves as the primary instigator for the Mag'har tribes of alternate Draenor joining the Horde. Lastly, he personally accompanies Nathanos and the player to Zandalar isle, advising you and the Blightcaller.

By Dragonflight, he is revealed to have become the Chieftain of the Blackrock clan.


  • Armor-Piercing Question: Says the above quote to Tirion when he asks why the Orcs would go along with the warlocks if they were indeed honorable. His statement that Tirion never had to sacrifice anything to do the right thing has a similar effect.
  • The Atoner: In Of Blood and Honor, Eitrigg seeks to undo the evils he did in the past.
  • Badass Normal: Eitrigg has fought in every war fought by the Horde, was once one of Orgrim Doomhammer's lieutenants alongside Varok Saurfang and is still a very capable warrior despite his old age.
  • Barbarian Hero: As opposed to the heavily armored Varok Saurfang, The Ace who fights enemies in a Tranquil Fury and reflects the Arms Warrior specialization, Eitrigg, wearing lighter armor, dual wields and fights his battles with a masterful handling of reckless abandon, reflecting the Fury Warrior specialization. This doesn't change that he's old, wise, and experienced in tactics and diplomacy, it's just his combat style.
  • Berserk Button: Racial slurs. Being called a blackblood or green-skin does not amuse him.
  • The Berserker: He tends to rush into battle with reckless abandon, as well as using his Blood Fury more than often for this specific reason.
  • Cool Old Guy: Served as an advisor to Thrall and Later Garrosh, Vol'jin and Sylvanas, but found that his advice was not always heeded by Garrosh.
  • Defector from Decadence: Eitrigg abandoned the Old Horde after his sons' deaths, revealing just how far the orcs had fallen. He returns when Thrall became Warchief and brought the orcs back to their shamanistic roots.
    • Subverted in Mists of Pandaria, where Eitrigg is the only adviser left by Thrall that remains by Garrosh throughout the expansion, until the very end where Eitrigg aids the revolution by telling them of the Underhold beneath Orgrimmar.
    • And again in Battle for Azeroth where he stays in Orgrimmar during the final siege but is poised to cause trouble inside the city, if the player is a Sylvanas loyalist that have to beat him into submission and drag him to Sylvanas, though he makes one final plea to the player character which serves as the absolute last chance to ditch the loyalist route and go join the rebels.
  • The Dragon: He once served as one of Blackhand and then Orgrim Doomhammer's lieutenants during the First and Second War. He was the one that Doomhammer charged to handle and watch Garona.
  • Dual Wielding: As of Legion, prefers to wield a pair of axes in combat.
  • Foil: To Varok Saurfang as of Legion. Both are elderly veterans of the First and Second Wars, sons of the Blackrock Clan, and were disillusioned by the atrocities committed under the Old Horde. Unlike Saurfang, Eitrigg left the Horde and wandered the Eastern Kingdoms outside of internment. In doing so he developed a diplomat's tongue and an ambassador's gentleness. He serves as a politician and adviser in Orgrimmar, whereas Saurfang admits that diplomacy is the furthest from his strong suit. Their combat styles are opposite as well, for despite Eitrigg's skill as a politician and adviser, he is a Barbarian Hero who fights with Unstoppable Rage, akin to The Berserker, as opposed to Saurfang, a cool-headed Ace who's mastered his emotions and Blood Fury. Eitrigg's voice is also fierce and guttural, contrary to his mastery of words, as opposed to Saurfang, who isn't very poetic but speaks in a smooth, deep tone.
  • Heel Realization: When serving as Garona's handler the half-orc assassin told him everything she knew about Guld'dan, the Shadow Council, demons and the Horde's real purpose. Eitrigg at first didn't believe her but when his sons died in the Second War and the Horde's defeat he came to realize that what Garona said was true, causing him to leave the Old Horde.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: All depictions of Eitrigg depict him without a helmet.
  • Mandatory Unretirement: Eitrigg was previously depicted as retired as a frontline warrior due to his age and position as advisor. Following the glut of orc character deaths from Cataclysm to Legion, Eitrigg returned to the battlefield.
  • Non-Player Companion: In Legion, Warrior players can recruit him as a Champion of their class hall, and uniquely, he can be assigned as an actual guardian out in the world. When you leave Dalaran or your Class Hall, Eitrigg will appear, following you around and assisting you in combat. He can be told to change tactics as well, serving as either a tank who will absorb damage for you, or a damage-dealer who will primarily kill enemies. More specifically, however, he tends to the Fury Warrior style of fighting.
    Eitrigg when assigned to a mission or to accompany you: "Zug zug. I will not fail you, Battlelord."
  • Old Soldier: Eitrigg has fought in all the wars throughout the Horde's history and is quite elderly.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: Eitrigg lost two of his sons in battle. Ariok, his youngest son, is the only one left alive, though he gets turned into a Hulked Orc in Warlords of Draenor.
  • Rank Up: By the time of Dragonflight Eitrigg has become chieftain of the Blackrock clan, representing the clan during the Kosh’harg festival in Durotar, where he accepts adventurers into the clan and tell them of the Blackrock’s history as warriors and metalsmiths.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He was one of the few honorable orc leaders remaining during the First and Second War, and while handling and watching Garona he sympathized with the half-orc and her tragic past. He was also the only adviser that Thrall appointed to Garrosh that remained an adviser through the whole Cataclysm expansion. He's an honorable Orc that favors diplomacy, however, and found his council was almost always ignored.
  • Shipper on Deck: In The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, Eitrigg notes that it's a pity Jaina Proudmoore wasn't born an orc, otherwise she would have been a perfect mate for Thrall. This gets a hearty laugh out of the Warchief.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Previously depicted as a long retired warrior who was elderly even when Arthas had started training under Uther Lightbringer, starting from Legion Eitrigg was depicted as a active warrior who fights like a Berserker.
  • Trash Talk: All of the Warfront Commanders take part in this, at least a little bit. Eitrigg gives us these gems when successfully taking Highperch:
    Eitrigg: "We've captured Highperch! Muradin! I can see your bulbous nose from up here!"
    Eitrigg: "Highperch is ours! Where's that 'Alliance retribution', Turalyon?"
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The Horde Campaign in Drustvar reveals him to have a fear of witches, something that Gallywix initially mocks him for... only to concede the point after seeing how damn scary the Drustvar witches actually are.
  • You Are in Command Now: By the time of Dragonflight, Eitrigg has become the Chieftain of the Blackrock clan.
  • You Don't Look Like You: Artwork mostly portrays him as a green Blackrock orc, while in game, he's portrayed as ash-skinned like the Blackrocks that currently inhabit Blackrock Mountain. The above picture looks almost exactly like his model, down to the hair and armor, except for the skin color. Here's his model for comparison.

    Rexxar 

Rexxar

Champion of the Horde

Clan: Mok'nathal

Class: Beastmaster Hunter

Voiced by: Steve Blum (English/Warcraft III and Heroes of the Storm), Matthew Mercer (English/World of Warcraft and Hearthstone), Alexander Novikov (Russian/Warcraft III), Oleg Belov (Russian/World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rexxar_border_255.png

"The orcs changed because one person said so. That person now stands before you as Warchief. Do you doubt him?"

One of the few Mok'nathal (Half-orc, Half-Ogre) on Azeroth, Rexxar was a soldier of the Horde during the Second War. He abandoned them due to their brutish ways, and swore to live the life of a nomad, the animals of the wild as his only companions. After years of solitude, he travelled to Kalimdor where he met the orc Warchief Thrall. Learning that the Horde had reformed, he chose to aid Thrall in setting up the orcs' new nation of Durotar, and played an integral role in defending the orcs from a renewed human threat. He has since become hailed as the Champion of the Horde, and though he prefers to live in solitude, he still shows up to aid the Horde in times of great need. One such time was during the conflict in Outland, where he personally stood in defense of Thunderlord Stronghold against encroaching Alliance, and during the Cataclysm, where he returned to Orgrimmar to fight off the Elemental Unrest.

A younger version of Rexxar appears in Warlords of Draenor, disconnected from the main continuity.

Rexxar reappears in the Hunter Order Hall in Legion. While he remains independent and refuses to outright join the Unseen Path, he tells the player Huntmaster that he will fight alongside them against the Legion, and can be recruited to fight across the Broken Isles. Later on, in Battle For Azeroth, he returns to aiding the Horde, seeking a Naga artifact for the Horde to defend against the Alliance with, and is also able to be recruited for combat missions against the Alliance.


  • A Hero to His Hometown: While Orgrimmar is not his hometown, he was integral it the building and settling of it, and since, has carried the title Champion of the Horde, a title that few others have.
  • Bash Brothers: Rexxar and Rokhan became good friends due to working together against Daelin Proudmoore in Warcraft 3. It wasn't until Battle For Azeroth that they can meet again.
  • Bears Are Bad News: Misha, Rexxar's preferred pet.
  • The Beastmaster:
    • THE Beastmaster, he's essentially the inspiration for the Beastmastery aspect of Hunters in World of Warcraft. When his presumed first pet, Haratha, dies in the Second War in a fight by the dark portal, he flips off Grom Hellscream and the Warsong Clan so he can live in the wilderness with animals.
    • Taken to a new level in Warlords of Draenor. Rexxar has a very large amount of animal companions, including his wolf Haratha and a Dread Raven named Nisha. He has a small camp in Gorgrond that is manned entirely by animals, including an innkeeper Rat named Keepers.
  • Cool Mask: His wolf pelt qualifies.
  • Dual Wielding: He wields two axes.
  • Fluffy Tamer: Tamed a ferocious bear, a charging boar, a roaring wyvern, a dire wolf, and a large hawk. Even then, he's the real animal here.
    Rexxar: The beasts around me are nothing, compared to the beast within.
  • Full-Boar Action: He has a boar pet named Huffer, which may have been the unnamed boar Quilbeast he summons in Warcraft 3.
  • Half-Breed Discrimination: Rexxar faced some of this during The Founding of Durotar. The orcs at the gates of Orgrimmar gruffly addressed him as "half-breed", and told him not to take too long delivering a message to Thrall. Some of the ogres from the Stonemaul clan called him "half-breed" as well. Thrall, however, was in awe of him, possibly out of surprise at meeting one of the Mok'nathal, and Kor'gall was willing to overlook his orc blood to acknowledge his ogre descent, and allowed him a fair run of the Rite of Passage all Stonemaul were expected to face.
  • Hermit Guru: Rexxar is as wise and noble as Thrall. Mostly from living in the woods and staying the Hell away from the craziness of Orc society.
  • I Have No Son!: His father feels this way towards him for leaving his clan to join the Horde during the Invasion of Azeroth. Rexxar still considers himself a part of the Mok'nathal clan, and wants to reconnect with them, but his father is the current chieftain, and will not have him return.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Rexxar pretty much just retires back to the life he was living before after single handedly saving the entire Horde.
  • Klingon Promotion: How you get to be ruler of the ogres.
  • Loners Are Freaks: Subverted, Rexxar is a nice guy but prefers animals to the company of the people and at the end chooses to wander the wilderness rather then stay in Orgrimmar.
  • Mercy Kill: With one of his wolves pierced by a harpoon in Kul Tiras, Rexxar feels it is too late to save his companion and instead ends their suffering.
  • Naming Conventions: Leans towards the suffix '-isha' for a lot of his companions in Warlords of Draenor.
  • Nature Hero: Rexxar generally doesn't care for the trappings of civilization.
  • Nemean Skinning: He's never been seen without a wolf pelt over his face and eyes.
  • Noble Bird of Prey: He has a pet hawk called Spirit. Humorously, his "hawk" uses an owl model.
  • Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid: He's Half-Orc, Half-Ogre.
  • The Nose Knows: Implied by his Warcraft 3 dialogue, and would make sense considering his animal theme.
  • Panthera Awesome: He has a Wyvern pet named Leokk. For those wondering, Wyverns in Warcraft, also known as Wind Riders, are basically flying lions with scorpion tails. They seem very similar to manticores.
  • Player Character: For the bonus campaign of Frozen Throne.
  • Team Pet: No, not Rexxar himself, but his bear, Misha, plays this role in the Durotar Group.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Issues one to the other races, although he's monologing to Misha and it's not directed towards anyone specifically.
    Rexxar: I have watched the other races... I have seen their squabbling, their ruthlessness. Their wars do nothing but scar the land, and drive the wild things to extinction. No, they cannot be trusted. Only beasts are above deceit.
  • The Leader: Of the Durotar Group from Warcraft III.
  • True Companions: His relationship with his beasts is meant as a mirror to the Horde's relationship with each other, on a much smaller scale. While he constantly says that 'he hunts alone,' he knows he doesn't. So do the Horde races. Exemplified by his Heroes of the Storm speech.
    "It is said that I hunt alone, wandering these bitter lands, far from civilization. But in truth, I hunt with family, one that I hold close. I protect them, and they protect me. I am Rexxar, Champion of the Horde, and I never hunt alone."
  • Rousing Speech: Issues one to Thrall's forces before they attack Admiral Daelin Proudmoore's base.
  • Worthy Opponent: He regards Daelin Proudmoore as a proud warrior and tells Jaina to remember him that way.

    Drek'thar 

Drek'thar

Clan: Frostwolf

Class: Shaman

Voiced by: Ike Amadi (English), Vladimir Ferapontov (Russian/Warcraft III), Ilya Isaev (Russian/World of Warcraft)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drekthar_border_545.png

"Someone is breaking down the door! Bar it! Do not let him in!"

The elder shaman of the Frostwolf clan, Drek'Thar served as Thrall's tutor many years ago. Blind since birth, Drek'Thar had to prove his worth during the Horde's dark period, being one of the first shaman eager to learn the dark arts of warlock magic. He found the spirits of the elements to be close companions, so shamanism became his path to might. Despite his power over the elements, Drek'Thar always maintained his meekness and wisdom.

Since Cataclysm, Drek'thar has become senile and is now under care. With his senility, however, he has been receiving odd visions which have been proving eerily accurate. He has also become openly opposed to the Horde’s alliance with the Forsaken, believing they are a menace. However, his warnings have fallen on deaf ears, and he has been abandoned by his old allies.

A younger version of Drek'Thar appears in Warlords of Draenor as a part of the alternate timeline's Frostwolf clan. He can no longer hear the elemental spirits as he used to, and a prominent questline in Frostfire Ridge involves him and Durotan's wife Draka seeking out a fire elemental.


  • The Atoner: Feels terrible guilt for the crimes he committed as part of the Old Horde and will never fully forgive himself, believing that he was fully responsible for them. While recounting the formation of the Old Horde and it's actions to Thrall in "Rise of the Horde" he has tears in his eyes.
  • Badass Boast: "Stormpike weaklings, face me in my fortress — if you dare!"
  • Blind Seer: Despite being blind, the Spirits and Elements grant Drek'Thar a different kind of vision.
  • Blind Weaponmaster: Highly capable fighter even without eye-sight.
  • Cassandra Truth: His advice is heeded way too late. Actually, in Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, his advice is heeded right away. He foresaw an orc attack on a meeting of Druids and troops are sent out to protect it, but it ends up being a false alarm as it turns out that the meeting Drek'thar saw was one that occurred later. But in between that his visions do get dismissed until his caretaker realizes that he was right all along.
    Drek'thar: The land will weep, and the world will break!
  • Defector from Decadence: After the Frostwolfs were banished by Gul'dan he realized the wrongness of having abandonned shamanism in favor of becoming a warlock and became the first shaman to try and succeed at reconnecting with the elements.
  • Dual Wielding: Initially a pair of shortswords, later two axes.
  • Exposed to the Elements: Alterac Valley is cold and covered in snow, yet he wears next to nothing on his upper body.
  • Handicapped Badass: At first, his blindness never really hindered Drek'thar. If anything, he considered the loss of his sight a worthy trade for his shamanistic ways. Old age robbed him of the "badass" part later as he became wheelchair bound and senile.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As he has become senile, whenever he is lucid, you know that he feels strongly about something. Examples include hearing about Cairne's death and vehemently refusing to support the Forsaken's atrocities.
  • Sanity Slippage: Because of his old age, Drek'Thar has gone senile and his memory's become spotty.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Deeply regrets his deeds as part of the Old Horde, and as he believes the Forsaken commits atrocities without feeling anything, refuses to help them, much to Cromush's dismay.

    Rehgar Earthfury 

Rehgar Earthfury

Clan: None

Class: Shaman

Voiced by: Matthew Mercer (English), Michail Belyakovich (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rehgar_art.jpg

"At Dire Maul, I recouped my investment in those two a thousand times over. I knew this day was coming. A man is truly a prisoner only as long as he agrees to remain one. After that, in his heart, at least, he is free. And where his heart is, his body may follow if his will is strong enough."

Rehgar Earthfury is an Orc Shaman of unknown Clan origin. Born into a clan at war with ogres, he was taken as a slave by the ogres at a very young age, and was forced to learn to fight before an Orc regularly does. Impressed by him, the ogres used him as a training puppet for their warriors. As he grew, they tried to make a gladiator out of him, but he won every time, so they sold him to an Orcish gladiator ring to recoup their losses. After the invasion of Azeroth, he again, ironically, was used by humans as a gladiator but was able to escape his master. He kept fighting in the rings, however, gaining fame and fortune for himself, which he used to both pay off his former master and buy a gladiator of his own, an Orc named Bloodeye Redfist..

Later on, after acquiring both Broll Bearmantle (a willing slave) and Valeera Sanguinar (a criminal) as gladiator slaves, he discovered and amnesiac human washed up on the coast of Durotar. Dubbing the human 'croc-bait', his new gladiator team won him more wealth than he could possibly want. He sold Valeera, but let Broll and the human escape. He had no urge to recapture them, and had even grown attached to them (and they to him), before saying the quote above. Unbeknownst to him, the amnesiac human was none other than Varian Wrynn, king of Stormwind, who had been kidnapped and subjected to a Literally Split Personality so his treacherous advisor could use his clone as a puppet ruler.

Since then, he became Thrall's adviser during his term as Warchief and has since become the Earthen Ring representative on the Council of Tirisfal.


  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Wields a shamanistic, two fingered claw.
  • Demoted to Extra: A major character in a few novels and comics, but has never actually appeared in any of the Warcraft games.
    • Though he suddenly appears in Heroes of the Storm
    • Finally makes his appearance in the main game in the Legion expansion.
  • Elemental Powers: Par the course for a Shaman.
  • Gladiator Games: Was raised as a gladiator, and later became a gladiator master himself when he bought his freedom.
  • Happiness in Slavery: All of his gladiators except Broll had this. Rehgar wasn't a ruthless master, and was actually very fair to his gladiators. Their servitude to him was slavery in name only, and he gave them a very generous cut of the profits. The Human even regards Rehgar as a close friend and father figure. When Varian sees Rehgar with Thrall at the Theramore Peace Summit, he's actually happy to see him again.
  • Icy Blue Eyes: Similar to Thrall, and significant in Orcish society.
  • Made a Slave: As a child he was a slave to ogres before being sold to an orc arena and served as a gladiator for much of his youth.
  • Nemean Skinning: Wears a shamanistic wolf pelt.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Not just to his gladiators, but as an adviser as well. In the comics, he serves as a calmer, more rational foil to Garrosh Hellscream.
  • Retired Badass: No longer a gladiator master, but he can still throw in with the best of them if he needs to.
  • Retired Outlaw: It's Hand Waved, but what he was doing was actually illegal in Orcish society. Gladiator games are fine, it's just the slavery part. It's unknown if anyone knows about his past, but he's not interested in the gladiator business anymore.

    Aggra 

Aggralan

Clan: Frostwolf

Class: Shaman

Voiced by: Athena Karkanis (English), Liubov Germanova (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aggralan_border_6275.png

"You say you have come to seek knowledge and understanding, but you are dressed for battle. That is why I question you and your willingness to do what must be done."

A Shaman of Frostwolf origin who lived among the Mag'har in Nagrand, she was raised as a student in Shamanism when the spirits chose her for the path, and learned under Greatmother Geyah. Her life changed when Thrall came to Nagrand to learn more about Shamanism, and to seek answers from a shattered world like Outland, to perhaps learn how to save Azeroth from a similar fate. While she wasn't on board with the idea at first, the Greatmother enlisted her to aid Thrall in his quest, and she did, going with him to Azeroth once he found the answers he sought.

Later, she is seen at Thrall's side almost everywhere in Cataclysm, helping keep the Maelstrom stable, guiding players into Deepholm and helping rescue Thrall from his chains in Elemental Bonds, before marrying Thrall and bearing his child.


  • Anime Hair: In artwork, her ponytail is looooooooong.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Early on in "Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, asks him "You see? If you do not know who you are, how can you know what to do?", as his internal conflicts have gotten to the point at which he cannot reliably help his fellow Earthen Ring shaman.
  • Babies Ever After: Aggra has given birth to Go'el's son after Cataclysm. She's apparently given birth to a second child some time during Warlords of Draenor.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Has this with Thrall at first. Somewhat unusually for this trope, it actually leads him to get legitimately frustrated with her at first, and as their relationship deepens, she largely grows out of it.
  • Brutal Honesty: Even after defrosting to Thrall and becoming his mate, Aggra has no reservations for telling him harsh truths he might not want to hear.
  • Canon Immigrant: Originally introduced in The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm novel.
  • Defrosting the Ice Queen: Begins as stern, strict, and more prone to arguing with Thrall than helping him, but ends up pretty nice to him afterwards.
  • Happily Married: Thrall and Aggra have a loving, supportive relationship as official mates. Aggra is always there to remind Go'el of all that he's capable of, as well as giving him a harsh reality check when needed.
  • Informed Ability: In The Shattering, she's described as being an extremely adept Shaman, but we never see her use these skills.
  • Insistent Terminology: She only ever calls her mate "Go'el" and refuses to address him as "Thrall".
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Also wields a shield.
  • Men Act, Women Are: Subverted once, in the Elemental Bonds questline. When Thrall has been banished to the Elemental Planes, she is the only one (Along with the player) who goes to save him. Played straight while Thrall is around, though.
  • Most Common Superpower: Again, just look at the damn picture.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: Her outfit has a neckline that plunges down to her navel.
  • Never a Self-Made Woman: Her main claim to fame is being Thrall's bride.
  • Satellite Character: Based around Thrall.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • Issues quite a few to Thrall during his stay in Nagrand, ranging from his desire to be called by his "slave name" rather than the name his parents gave him, and his wearing of plate armor rather than traditional Shaman garments. See the quote at the top.
    • May or may not have also given Thrall one for trying to keep her at home with the kids during the Draenor campaign:
      Aggra: Go'el thinks that I should have stayed back on Azeroth with our children. I have put him in his place on that matter.
  • Ship Sinking: Ended the possibility of a romantic relationship between Thrall and Jaina.
  • Tsundere: Originally introduced as one, but wears out of it.

    Nazgrel 

Nazgrel

Clan: Frostwolf

Class: Warrior

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nazgrel_border_8292.png

A raider of the Frostwolf clan who serves as Thrall's advisor and doesn't trust humans, Nazgrel was the head of Thrall's security force in Durotar and the last living descendant of Kash'drakor, the "Legend of the Frostwolf". In Warcraft III, he followed Rexxar around Durotar on Thrall's behalf, serving as the Warchief's eyes and ears. In World of Warcraft, he spent vanilla in Grommash Hold, advising Thrall on military matters before being shipped off to Outland in Burning Crusade. There, he spearheaded the Horde's offensive against Hellfire Citadel and the Fel Orcs, eventually rewarding the player if they successfully defeat Magtheridon.

His past self makes a small token appearance in Warlords of Draenor as a child.


  • BFS: Wielded one in Warcraft III as he was a scaled-up Raider unit. He gets a unique appearance in Reforged that gives him the above axe instead.
  • The Cameo: You rescue his past self in Warlords of Draenor, although he's a child during this time and his main timeline self appears to reward the Horde player when they reach Prestige Rank 2 along with other notable leaders.
  • Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: In Nazgrel's first scene in the unreleased Warcraft Adventures Thrall scares away a wendigo that Nazgrel was fighting, to the latter's annoyance as it was part of his Strength Equals Worthiness Coming Of Age ritual.
  • Cycle of Revenge: Doesn't trust humans due to their treatment of orcs.
  • Demoted to Extra: After leading the Horde forces in Hellfire Peninsula and setting up Thrallmar in Burning Crusade, Nazgrel has more or less faded into the background in World Of Warcraft. He isn't mentioned as a candidate for Warchief despite being Thrall's close advisor and he never gives his thoughts on Garrosh's appointment.
  • Heroic Lineage: If the item description of the WC 3 item, Serathil is to believed, Nazgrel is the last descendant of a famous war hero called Kash'drakor. We meet his father in Warlords.
  • Large and in Charge: He's the leader of the Horde forces in Hellfire Peninsula, and he's twice the size of other orcs. He's also the head of Thrall's security forces in The Frozen Throne and is represented by a scaled-up Raider unit.
  • Magic Knight: If certain sources, such as the trading card game, is to believed, then Nazgrel may be this.
  • Mounted Combat: In Warcraft III and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures, Nazgrel was a raider who fought on wolf-back.
  • Nemean Skinning: Known for wearing a wolf pelt.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: He was never a super large character, but he was memorable, fairly consistent. and one of the few WoW characters in the game from Warcraft 3. But he hasn't been seen, or mentioned at any point since Outland. Although his child self is shown in a brief Gorgrond quest in Warlords showing he hasn't been completely forgotten.
    • The Bus Came Back: Nazgrel finally makes his return to Azeroth in Dragonflight for the orc heritage quest chain. While he doesn't have a major role in the Kosh'harg festival, he does have an updated model which is usually only down when a character is being in use by Blizzard.

    Dranosh Saurfang 

Dranosh Saurfang

Saurfang the Younger

Clan: Blackrock

Class: Death Knight (former Warrior)

Voiced by: Chris Metzen (English), Yuri Menshagin (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dranosh_saurfang_border_7561.png
Oh, if only he could have let the Alliance have all the fun that day...

"Rise up, sons of the Horde! Blood and glory await us!"

Also known as Saurfang the Younger. Son of Varok Saurfang and Commander of the Kor'kron Vanguard. He fell at the hands of the Lich King during the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate.


  • Ancestral Weapon: He says the armor and axe he wears at the Wrathgate were given to him by his father, and indeed he is depicted with the same suit of armor his father wore in his original appearance. However, in what may be an error, he carries the same axe that he did in Nagrand in his Burning Crusade debut.
  • Ascended Extra: Yeah, that NPC of no real consequence from Nagrand is now a hero of the Horde. Granted, he bears the name Saurfang.
  • Blood Magic: Favors the Blood Death Knight specialization, and his abilities in Icecrown Citadel involve a mark of blood, and summoning ravenous bloodbeasts.
  • Body Horror: Becoming a Death Knight tends to do this. Even after he's been active and fighting, his chest is frozen over, and his father cuts through the ice with his fingers to reach the Tragic Keepsake.
  • Came Back Wrong: As Deathbringer Saurfang, a Death Knight in service of the Lich King.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: He shows up in Nagrand, and later follows Garrosh and the other Mag'har orcs into the Horde.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: He proves his skill in battle by cutting down 3 massive Ice Vrykul in a single swing of his axe. Likewise, he is cut down in a single blow by Frostmourne.
  • Dying as Yourself: "I am... released."
  • Face–Heel Turn: Again, as Deathbringer Saurfang. Not that he had a choice.
  • Interface Spoiler: As a result of him being listed on the achievement page, almost everyone knows he dies and comes back as a boss in Icecrown Citadel.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Charged the Lich King alone ahead of everybody else. Suffice to say, that did not end well for him.
  • Meaningful Name: "We named him Dranosh. It means 'Heart of Draenor' in orcish."
  • Missed the Call: A novel states that if he had not died at the Wrathgate, he would have become Warchief of the Horde over Garrosh.
  • Neck Lift: Does this to Varok, Muradin, and whatever Horde and Alliance soldiers they brought with them, using Death Knight magic.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: While he was rather hot-blooded he was far more reasonable and less aggressive than Garrosh, and understood well the virtues of being on peaceful terms with the Alliance,keeping peace with Bolvar Fordragon and his forces and even working together with them against the Lich King during the assault on the Wrathgate. While thinking about who should replace him as Warchief Thrall lamented Dranosh's death as he thought that he would have been the ideal Warchief, having been strong and wise at the same time.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: When he talks about how his war party was slaughtered by the Murkblood Broken, his eyes flash red with the Blood Fury — perhaps the first indication we got that it was a trait of the orc race and not a product of the blood of Mannoroth.
  • Tragic Keepsake: He has a necklace with a pendant bearing the Horde's crest. When he dies, his father, Varok Saurfang, takes it up.
  • We Named the Monkey "Jack": When he rebuilt Orgrimmar after it was almost burned to the ground, Garrosh built a large wall to protect the main entrance to the city and named it the Dranosh'ar Blockade.

    Jorin Deadeye 

Jorin Deadeye

Clan: Bleeding Hollow

Jorin Deadeye is the son of the legendary Kilrogg Deadeye, heir to the Bleeding Hollow, and co-leader of the Mag'har.


  • Almighty Janitor: He's not officially a Mag'har leader. It's just that Garrosh, in his depression, was so worthless, Jorin stepped up to pick up the slack. He's grown to despise the young Hellscream for it.
  • Ambiguous Situation: It is so far unknown how he avoided being corrupted, that is, having green skin, whether he simply wasn’t offered the Blood of Mannoroth for some reason or that he was afflicted by the Red Pox and forced into quarantine before it the corruption of the orcs.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Fitting for a Deadeye, Jorin is missing an eye and wears an eyepatch. Presumably having given it up for a vision of the future.
  • Eye Scream: Like his father, Jorin is missing one eye. Unlike his father, no one knows how it happened.
  • Generation Xerox: Played with. Jorin shares his father's top-knot hairstyle and missing eye, complete with Eyepatch of Power, and seems to have a similar temperament to that of Kilrogg. The difference is, Jorin isn't a warrior — whatever class he's supposed to be, he wears cloth armour and carries a simple staff.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Jorin seems fairly dour, even considering how little the player talks to him.
  • The Leader: His official title is “Bleeding Hollow Warchief”.
  • Like Father, Unlike Son: Zig-sagged, while he has continued the eye-removal tradition of his father and ancestors, unlike his father, who was a fighter, Jorin’s robes imply that he is a caster class.
  • Put on a Bus: No mention of him is made after The Burning Crusade, not even in a novel where Thrall goes to Garadar.
    • The Bus Came Back: 16 years after making his debut, Jorin finally makes his return to Warcraft, visiting Orgrimmar and Durotar for the Kosh'harg festival during Dragonflight. While he doesn't have a big role in the festival, Jorin does reveal his plan for the Bleeding Hollow to reunite and settle on Azeroth in the future.
  • Number Two: Garrosh is the official leader of the Mag’har during the Burning Crusade, but it’s Jorin that does the work of making sure that the Mag’har lands are defended, which he does by sending out the adventurer to fight Ogres or demons, acquiring vital information and performing diplomatic missions.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Is pretty concerned with the security of the Mag'har.
  • The Resenter: Justified, Jorin is really unhappy with the complacency of Garrosh, who does absolutely zilch to defend the Mag’har, calling the young Hellscream a “impotent whelp” and often complaining about him not being more like Grom.
  • Sole Survivor: According to himself, Jorin is the last of the Deadeye lineage.

    Broxigar Saurfang 

Broxigar Saurfang

Clan: Blackrock

Class: Warrior

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English), Alexander Khmelnitsky (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brox.jpg
A blaze of glory unequaled in scale.

"Farewell wizard! It is my honor to have fought beside you and the rest!"

Also known as Broxigar the Red Ax, Brox was the older brother of Varok Saurfang. In the new timeline, he was sent back to the War of the Ancients, and allied himself with the Night Elves, Ancients, and Dragons against the Burning Legion. When Sargeras himself prepared to enter Azeroth through a portal, Broxigar flung himself through and began cutting a swath of destruction through Legion forces before being confronted by a furious Sargeras. Then, Broxigar did something that no other mortal had done; wound Sargeras, ever so slightly, albeit at the cost of his life. This wound was enough to wrench Sargeras' attention away from the portal, closing it shut around him. In the present day, Broxigar is revered as a hero by the Horde, Alliance, and Dragons alike.


  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Axe of Cenarius, blessed by the wild god himself, is supernaturally light in weight and sharp of blade. Not even bone puts up any resistance to Brox when he cleaves a demon in two.
  • The Atoner: His actions while under the sway of the demon blood haunt him to the verge of almost allowing himself to die. Eventually, he decides to make amends by fighting the Burning Legion and with his Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Atop a Mountain of Corpses: By the time Sargeras came to personally see to Broxigar, the orc stood on top of a mountain made up of thousands of demon corpses blocking the entrance to Azeroth.
  • Critical Existence Failure: By the time Sargeras got to him, one of Brox's arms was broken, a leg was shattered, and a demon had gouged out one of his eyes. Sargeras' deathblow was a literal swat.note 
  • Death Seeker: After failing to die with his allies during the Third War, Brox had been secretly hoping that every mission Thrall sent him on would be the one to kill him. During the War of the Ancients, he comes to realize how shameful he was being, looking for a place to die while his comrades fought for their lives. He swore then that while he won't fear death, he wouldn't go looking for it either.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Broxigar is the only mortal (And possibly only being) to have inflicted a wound on Sargeras, a feat otherwise ludicrously unthinkable.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: Though it cost him his life, Broxigar slew thousands of demons within the Twisting Nether (killing them permanently) and even injured Sargeras to prevent the Legion's invasion.
  • Fingore: Illidan, thinking the caged Broxigar was trying to attack Tyrande(he was returning a bowl to her), cast a fire spell that severely burned Brox's fingers. Tyrande was able to heal the wound, fortunately.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: His sacrifice is the reason that Azeroth survived the Legion's invasion.
  • In-Series Nickname: He mostly prefers to go by Brox rather than his full name.
  • Old Soldier: By the time he was sent back to the War of the Ancients, Brox was a veteran of the Second and Third Wars and had begun to show his age with graying hair and a slight stoop in his posture.
  • Sole Survivor: Of the party of orcs holding a mountain pass against the Burning Legion, only Brox made it out alive. He would have died moments after his last ally, but reinforcements arrived just then to finish off what was left of the demons.
  • Survivor's Guilt: Experienced incredible guilt for being the only survivor of the group holding a mountain pass against many demons during the Third War, an act for which he was praised as a hero by others.
  • They Call Me Mr Tibbs: He doesn't like being called by his full name and instructs everyone to call him Brox. The one person he lets call him Broxigar is Tyrande, who he reveres as a "shaman".
  • True Companions: With Tyrande, Malfurion, and the other time travelers.
  • Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: After losing his original axe, Cenarius and Malfurion provided Broxigar with a new axe made of wood blessed by the wild god, stronger and sharper than any metal.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: Kills literally thousands of demons trying to pass the portal into Azeroth, and manages to (briefly) waylay Sargeras himself.

    Mankrik 

Mankrik

Clan: Burning Blade

Class: Blademaster

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000000000000000000000000000000000_12.png
A member of the Burning Blade clan that settled down with his wife Olgra. He started out as a lowly NPC with a single quest, which has since ascended to legend status due to how hard it was to complete.
  • Adaptational Backstory Change: In the alternate Universe, Mankrik is a member of the Frostwolf clan, not the Burning Blade.
  • Ascended Extra: Big case of this, has two little quests in Classis WoW, but come Cataclysm Mankrik has gotten out of retirement and is both fighting more Quilboar in the Southern Barrens and The Twillight Hammer in Hyjal (as are many characters that has been encountered by adventurers over the years).
  • BFS: He’s a Blademaster, which in Warcraft means a big blade comes with the territory.
  • Blood Knight: one quote “Let the slaughter begin”
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: In Hyjal he’s essentially a bodyguard and aide to the adventurer on a quest against Black Dragons.
  • Call to Agriculture: He briefly tried his hand on farming in the Barrens with his wife. It didn’t end well.
  • Crusading Widower: Mankrik absolutely lost it when he saw his wife overwhelmed by Quilboar and he continues it during Cataclysm, cutting down every single Quilboar he finds and sending adventurers to do the same.
  • Due to the Dead: At the time of Cataclysm Mankrik has found and buried his wife Olgra and made a small shrine for her.
  • Eyepatch of Power: By the time of Dragonflight Mankrik has begun wearing an eyepatch.
  • Guide Dang It!: His notoriety comes from how obtuse his quest was to figure out, even by the standards at the time.
  • Implied Love Interest: It’s heavily speculated by fans that Mankrik gets involved with Mahka, a female orc shaman that sends adventurers to aid him, stating she’s unable to bear the pain that Mankrik is going through.
    • This is further supported by events in Dragonflight, where Mankrik specifically looks for a nice bracelet for Mahka at the trading post in Orgrimmar, and later they attend the first Azerothian Kosh’harg festival together.
  • Left for Dead: The quilboar didn’t finish him off, they regretted it.
  • The Lost Lenore: His wife whom he originally sends out advanturers to find after Mankrik was separated from her during a Quilboar attack. Prior to Cataclysm, Mankrik has given Olgra a proper burial, but the pain is still there.

     Geya'rah 

Geya'rah

Clan: Frostwolves

Class: Warrior

Overlord Geya'rah is the daughter of Durotan and Draka from Alternate Draenor, the Daughter of Wolves and leader of the Mag'Har orcs that came over from Alternate Draenor.


  • Battle Trophy: On alternate Draenor Geya’rah mentions that she has the skull of a Draenei Exarch (the leaders of the Draenei people) on her wall and plans on adding another.
  • Canis Major: Her mount is a big black wolf.
  • Delinquent Hair: Geya’rah sports a large spiky mohawk on top of her head, which ends in a long braid trailing down her back.
  • Fantastic Racism: Justified, since on her own world the Lightforged Draenei began to forcefully convert the orcs that didn’t resist. Those that did, like Durotan, were killed. She’s spent many years fighting them as a result. So, her hatred for them is quite understandable. Unfortunately, this hatred also extends to the Draenei of Azeroth, who have faced hardships very similar to those of the Mag'har, and aren't as zealous as their AU counterparts. Despite this, or due to her lack of knowledge regarding this, Geya'rah's thoughts to finding out that there are Draenei on Azeroth, is to have them and anyone allied with them eradicated.
    Geya’rah: “There are Draenei on this world? Not for long.”
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Her relationship with the Horde Adventurer and Eitrigg can best be summarized like this, as she only leads the Mag’har in joining the Horde after she’s fought alongside them for several quests, against the Ogres and the Lightforged Draenei.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Geya'rah was only one of two Horde leaders to stay loyal to Sylvanas, alongside Gallywix, believing that she showed strength by killing Thomas Zelling and arresting Baine Bloodhoof, both of whom she saw as honorless traitors. After Sylvanas is exposed and she abandons the Horde, Geya'rah realizes her mistake.
  • Hot-Blooded: Very much so. Eitrigg notes that it's an admirable trait. Too bad that coupled with her Fantastic Racism, it can easily turn very nasty.
    Geya’rah: “The Alliance embraces the Draenei and their Lightforged kin. That alone is reason to crush their cities to dust.”
  • Number Two: Initially serves as Warchief Grom's second-in-command, and is made leader when he stayed behind to face off against Exarch Yrel.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Technically with Thrall, as she is much more Hot-Blooded and aggressive than his calm, shamanistic view, though their only interaction so far is simply calling each other by name.
  • Walking Spoiler: Spoils the ending of Warlords of Draenor and the Lightbound in AU Draenor.


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