History Characters / WarcraftTheOldGods

* {{Expy}}:
** Azshara causing the corruption of Night Elves (in various ways, Naga, Satyrs, Highborne magic addiction, etc.) is very reminiscent of [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Lolth]] corrupting Elves into Drow. Before the appearance of the Nightborne, Azshara was the most among Warcraft Elves in look to [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Drow]], and with her white dress, was very similar to Lolth when she's portrayed in Drow form. Like Lolth, Azshara also became in part an 8 legged invertebrate (well, [[DependingOnTheArtist at least when she is presented as such]]), although part octopus, rather than spider.
** How beloved Azshara was, to the point Night Elves didn't connect her with the decadence of other Highborne, is reminiscent of what [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Galadriel]] feared she would become if she took the One Ring, i.e. ''All shall love me and despair''.
** From TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}, Azshara resembles Morathi. Both were queens of the still unified elves, both are [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman incredibly beautiful]], both are [[LadyOfBlackMagic incredibly powerful sorceresses]] and both caused with their actions ultimately the sundering of the elves. When Azshara is presented as serpentine after her transformation, she looks quite like Dechala, and both were royal elves, transformed by Chaotic Gods. Although the status of Dechala expies, extends to other Naga, as written under Lady Vashj.
** She is also remeniscent of Queen Zeal from VideoGame/ChronoTrigger, both being matriarchal magical rulers who caused the downfall of their people for more power and made deals with an EldritchAbomination.

'''[[Characters/WarcraftTheAlliance The Alliance]]:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceStormwind Stormwind (Humans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceLordaeron Lordaeron (Humans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceGilneas Gilneas (Humans/Worgen)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceKulTiras Kul Tiras (Humans)]] [[Characters/WarcraftJainaProudmoore (Jaina Proudmoore)]]- [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceHumanKingdoms Other Human Kingdoms]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceIronforge Ironforge (Dwarven Clans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceGnomeregan Gnomeregan (Gnomes)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceQuelThalas Quel'Thalas/Telogrus Rift (High Elves and Void Elves)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceDarnassus Darnassus (Night Elves)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceExodar The Exodar (Draenei)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceTushui Tushui (Pandaren)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceVindicaar Vindicaar (Lightforged Draenei)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceMechagon Mechagon (Mechagnomes)]]\\

'''Other factions:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeOldHorde The Old Horde/Iron Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheScourge The Scourge]] [[Characters/WarcraftArthasMenethil (Arthas Menethil)]]| [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasAndFollowers Sylvanas and her Followers]] [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasWindrunner (Sylvanas Windrunner)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftKnightsOfTheEbonBlade Knights of the Ebon Blade]] | [[Characters/WarcraftIllidanAndFollowers Illidan and his followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeGarroshsHorde Garrosh's Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftPandaria Pandaria]] | [[Characters/WarcraftOthers Other mortals]] | '''The Void (The Old Gods)''' | [[Characters/WarcraftTheLight The Light]] | [[Characters/WarcraftEternals Eternals]] | [[Characters/WarcraftShadowlands Shadowlands (Death)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTitans The Titans (Arcane)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheBurningLegion The Burning Legion (Fel)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheDragonflights The Dragonflights]] | [[Characters/WarcraftWildGods Wild Gods]]\\
'''Individual media''': ''[[Characters/Warcraft3Heroes Warcraft III]]'' [[Characters/Warcraft3Heroes Heroes]] | [[Characters/WarCraft2016 Film characters]] | ''[[Characters/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft Hearthstone]]'' [[Characters/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft characters]] | ''[[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftUniverse Warcraft]]'' [[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftUniverse characters in]] ''[[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftUniverse Heroes of the Storm]]'' ([[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftAssassins Assassins]] - [[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftWarriors Warriors]] - [[Characters/HeroesOfTheStormWarcraftSupport Support]])-]]]]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: While their curse of the flesh succeeded at turning most titanic servants into organic beings that are physically weaker and made vulnerable to corruption, it also led these new mortal races to develop qualities that they didn't have before such as courage, virtue or resilience; qualities that would prove to be invaluable for the mortal races and help them face and overcome not only the Old Gods but also other threats such as the Scourge or the Burning Legion.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: As necessary as it was, it turns out the Old Gods went too far in corrupting Neltharian into Deathwing for their own good. He created the Dragon Soul(later renamed the Demon Soul) by their design, then they manipulated Illidan and the Burning Legion into setting all the necessary steps to use the Demon Soul to usurp the Legion's portal to instead free them from imprisonment. Unfortunately, in his madness, Deathwing was ''so'' obssessed with the Demon Soul that he refused to give it up. At the critical hour, he reclaimed the relic despite the Old Gods doing everything in their power to keep him away. This led to the chain of events that saved Azeroth from both Legion invasion and the Old Gods' return.

* BadPowersGoodPeople: It requires a copious amount of willpower, and extreme caution, but one ''may'' use the Void for good, which is something that playable void elves and shadow priests do. As seen with Alleria, it is preferrable to maintain strong emotional connections (in her case, her family) if you seek to do so, as they can serve as anchors preventing you from going insane.

* DarkIsEvil: It's associated with darkness in all its forms. Voidwalkers represent the darkness of space, with Void Lords acting like black holes, while the Old Gods are the darkness of the night sky and the deep places of the world. Y'shaarj is even called the "Darkest Shadow". Those Void creatures that are not just [[LivingShadow living shadows]] often resemble subterannean or abyssal animals: the n'raqi look like deepwater squids, and the aqir like insects.

* {{Necromancer}}: While Death is another, separate cosmic force in the Warcraft universe (indeed, most undead, being mindless, are pretty resistant to Void whispers), the Void is apparently attuned enough to it that it can be used for necromancy. The Shadowmoon clan on alternative Draenor used the power of a darkened naaru to raise the dead, and G'huun apparently interefered into the realm of death so much that [[{{Shinigami}} Bwonsamdi]] himself interfered.

* PsychicPowers: While Blizzard has clarified that Void magic isn't psychic per se, it does neverthless have the ability to affect or control minds. It actually shares this ability with the Light, but whereas the Light's mental effects are mostly inspirational, influencing those emotions that come from the "heart", the Void manipulates the more logical, rational aspects of the psyche, hence why it can be used for mind control or inducing madness.

The Old Gods' efforts seem directed largely at the corruption and/or destruction of the Dragonflights and the Titan Keepers, as those are their principal foes. Unlike the Burning Legion, they avoid direct confrontation, preferring the slow whispers of madness and the tempting of mortals and immortals alike into acts of self-destruction. Over the years, they've rooted their tentacles in numerous disparate villainous factions, and deliberately fuel conflicts between the Alliance, Horde, and even the likes of the Scourge and the Burning Legion. With the world's major factions in disarray, they plot to escape their prisons in an event called the Hour of Twilight and restore their Black Empire, delivering Aeroth's world soul into the hands of their masters, the Void Lords.

* ArcWelding: The Old Gods and the Void were originally independent forces, with the implication (what with warlocks being able to summon voidwalkers and all) that the creatures of the Void were just particularily odd demonic entities. However, the more the game developed, the more evident was the connection between the two. In ''Burning Crusade'', the Void was shown to be a force independent of the Legion, with leaders of their own and acting on their own accord (with WordOfGod later confirming that they are not demons at all). ''Wrath of the Lich King'' and ''Cataclysm'' showed them manipulating unique shadow magic of their own, twilight magic -- quite similar to the Void in terms of appearance. In ''Mists of Pandaria'', we were introduced to the Sha, with a very voidwalker-like appearance yet clearly connected to the Old Gods, while ''Warlords of Draenor'' showed void magic as blatantly independent from demons (used by the Iron Horde) as well as being quite Old God-like, tentacles and all. Finally, ''Legion'' and ''[[Literature/WorldOfWarcraftChronicle Chronicle]]'' confirmed the connection between the two, with the Old Gods placed at the very top of the Void's hierarchy, with the exception of the Void Lords, who seem to be set to become Warcraft's new primary antagonists.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Despite their common origin and goal of corrupting Azeroth's World-Soul the Old Gods were in constant war with each other for dominance over Azeroth during the days of the Black Empire with N'Zoth having wagged war against C'Thun and Yogg-Saron at the same time and been defeated by Y'Shaarj on what would later become the Broken Shore. Even after their imprisonment and despite having common subordinates such as the Twilight's Hammer none of the remaining Old Gods coordinate their efforts and plans together to facilate their escape and return to power.

* CreepyMonotone: Compared to his bretheren, C'Thun's voice rarely goes above a droning whisper.

* HumanityEnsues: {{Invoked}}. Yogg-Saron is the source of the Curse of Flesh, the affliction that turned the various Titan-Forged races from rock and stone to flesh and blood. By making them biological, Yogg-Saron made the future races more suseptible to madness and corruption.

* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: What passes for his body is lined with numberous gaping mouths of sharpened fangs.

* WhyIsntItAttacking: At the conclusion of the Eternal Palace raid, [[spoiler: N'zoth is freed after Azshara is defeated but succesfully completes her ritual and shuts down the Titan lock binding him. As the Titan chains binding him are destroyed, N'zoth opens one his eyes and immediately sends a shadowy tendril upwards towards the platform. He pierces the air bubble surrounding the raid and [=NPCs=], and they ready themselves for his attack. However, N'zoth ignores everyone as his tendrils rush past them and towards Azshara's body, picking her up and reviving her, before the tendrils immediately drag her back through the hole and disappears. There's a beat as the [=NPCs=] are still at the ready for N'zoth's retaliation, but he merely gives a single cryptic warning, and then leaves without manifesting further. ]]

* FantasticRacism: They hold every being that’s not them with pure contempt, a holdover from their elitist attidue as Highborne prior to being reborn as Naga, and reflecting the attitude of their Queen Azshara who originally desired Sargeras to [[FinalSolution wipe Azeroth of all non-Highborne races]]. Some exceptions are the Naga who once allied with Illidan and Kael'thas, who expressed an admiration for the Blood Elves' martial prowess and their mutual Highborne origins.

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Naga enslave local populations of gilgoblins and makrura by attaching [[PuppeteerParasite zoatroids]] to their heads to mindcontrol them, and control seagiants through force.

** Azshara causing the corruption of Night Elves (in various ways, Naga, Satyrs, Highborne magic addiction, etc.) is very reminiscent of [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Lolth]] corrupting Elves into Drow. Before the appearance of the Nighborne, Azshara was the most among Warcraft Elves in look to [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Drow]], and with her white dress, was very similar to Lolth when she's potrayed in Drow form. Like Lolth, Azshara also became in part an 8 legged invertebrate (well, [[DependingOnTheArtist at least when she is presented as such]]), although part octopus, rather than spider.

* MotherOfAThousandYoung: At least symbolicaly to the thousands of naga eggs housed in her personal hatchery in the Eternal Palace. While the Dungeon Journal clearly states that Azshara claims all the hatchery eggs as her property, it's not clear if all or any are literally laid by her. Notably, the hatchery is solely tended to by a servant of N'zoth -- Orgozoa -- and guarded by other abberations linked to N'zoth.

* ZergRush: Their most frequent tactic due to their insectoid nature, nearly-endless numbers, and very fast reproduction rate which allow them to overwhelm or outlast most of their enemies in straight battle. This is why the dragons and Night Elves chose to imprison the Qiraji behind the Scarab Wall as it wouldn't have been possible for them to fully defeat them in war, and why the Mogu and later the Pandarens couldn't fully defeat the Mantids despite pushing back their attacks. However their usual lack of tactics have allowed smarter enemies such as the Titan-Forged or the Trolls to get the edge on them several times and they suffer against foes that can outnumber and outrush them such as the Scourge did to the Neurbians during the Spider War, as even the Nerubians'numbers and reproduction rate couldn't match the Scourge's raising of deads, including Nerubians', to reinforce itself.

* EvilMakesYouUgly: Xavius was turned from a Night Elf after his death into a more fearsom satyr. The "Shade of Xavius" in Darkheart Thicket isn't too bad as far as aesthetics go, but when you see his true form in the Emerald Nightmare... well, one might wonder if he's a long-lost relative of [[PigMan Ganon]] of Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda fame.

* GoodShepherd: Prior to his turn to evil, Benedictus was a geuinely kind-hearted spiritual leader.

* {{Retcon}}: In ''Literature/ThrallTwilightOfTheAspects'', his first appearance as a villain, he was actually the Twilight Father, and the prophecy of Thrall's victory against Deathwing which was known by the Twilight Prophet in 4.2 was shown in Twilight of the Aspects to have been clearly prophecied by a seperate yet unmentioned entity from Benedictus. In 4.3, Benedictus is referred to as the Twilight Prophet instead, and no mention is made of any Twilight Father.

* DugTooDeep: One of her quotes in the Azure Span imply this trope, but she doesn't elaborate on what exactly would be found in the depths.

* DimensionLord: As the Nightmare Lord, N'Zoth placed Xavius in charge of spreading the Emerald Nightmare's influence. Within the Nightmare, Xavius could manipulate everything and create YourWorstNightmare for anyone who entered.

** How beloved Azshara was, to the point Night Elves didn't connect her with the decadence of other Highborne, is reminiscent of what [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Galadriel]] told she would become if she took the One Ring, i.e. ''All shall love me and despair''.

* DealWithTheDevil: He himself says he likes deals. He's made two that we know of. In exchange for Deathwing's service to the Hour of Twilight, N'Zoth would relieve him of his duties as Earthwarder and all the burdens that came with it. To Azshara, he asked for her and her people to serve him in exchange for saving their lives when they would have drowned during the Sundering. Though Azshara appears to make him sweeten the deal first, N'Zoth in turn may have known that Azshara would never settle for servitude (given that he'd watched her for a thousand years) so the initial offer was possibly just part of a particularly devious gambit.

* AllThereInTheManual: His FaceHeelTurn was given little to no explanation until ''Literature/WorldOfWarcraftChronicle''. After the third war, and specifically the horrors of Lordaeron, Benedictus faith started to wane. The Twilight's Hammer cult eventually picked up on this, and send spies to see if they could stubbly convince him to join. The Old Gods plagued his mind with visions of The Hour of Twilight which he found beautiful, he eventually forsook the light and join the cult.

'''Other factions:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeOldHorde The Old Horde/Iron Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheScourge The Scourge]] [[Characters/WarcraftArthasMenethil (Arthas Menethil)]]| [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasAndFollowers Sylvanas and her Followers]] [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasWindrunner (Sylvanas Windrunner)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftKnightsOfTheEbonBlade Knights of the Ebon Blade]] | [[Characters/WarcraftIllidanAndFollowers Illidan and his followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeGarroshsHorde Garrosh's Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftPandaria Pandaria]] | [[Characters/WarcraftDracthyr Dracthyr]] | [[Characters/WarcraftOthers Other mortals]] | '''The Void (The Old Gods)''' | [[Characters/WarcraftTheLight The Light]] | [[Characters/WarcraftEternals Eternals]] | [[Characters/WarcraftShadowlands Shadowlands (Death)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTitans The Titans (Arcane)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheBurningLegion The Burning Legion (Fel)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheDragonflights The Dragonflights]] | [[Characters/WarcraftWildGods Wild Gods]]\\

'''Other factions:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeOldHorde The Old Horde/Iron Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheScourge The Scourge]] [[Characters/WarcraftArthasMenethil (Arthas Menethil)]]| [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasAndFollowers Sylvanas and her Followers]] [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasWindrunner (Sylvanas Windrunner)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftKnightsOfTheEbonBlade Knights of the Ebon Blade]] | [[Characters/WarcraftIllidanAndFollowers Illidan and his followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeGarroshsHorde Garrosh's Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftPandaria Pandaria]] | [[Characters/WarcraftOthers Other mortals]] | '''The Void (The Old Gods)''' | [[Characters/WarcraftTheLight The Light]] | [[Characters/WarcraftEternals Eternals]] | [[Characters/WarcraftShadowlands Shadowlands (Death)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTitans The Titans (Arcane)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheBurningLegion The Burning Legion (Fel)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheDragonflights The Dragonflights]] | [[Characters/WarcraftWildGods Wild Gods]]\\

'''[[Characters/WarcraftTheAlliance The Alliance]]:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceStormwind Stormwind (Humans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceLordaeron Lordaeron (Humans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceGilneas Gilneas (Humans/Worgen)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceKulTiras Kul Tiras (Humans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceHumanKingdoms Other Human Kingdoms]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceIronforge Ironforge (Dwarven Clans)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceGnomeregan Gnomeregan (Gnomes)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceQuelThalas Quel'Thalas/Telogrus Rift (High Elves and Void Elves)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceDarnassus Darnassus (Night Elves)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceExodar The Exodar (Draenei)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceTushui Tushui (Pandaren)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceVindicaar Vindicaar (Lightforged Draenei)]] - [[Characters/WarcraftTheAllianceMechagon Mechagon (Mechagnomes)]]\\

'''Other factions:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeOldHorde The Old Horde/Iron Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheScourge The Scourge]] | [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasAndFollowers Sylvanas and her Followers]] [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasWindrunner (Sylvanas Windrunner)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftKnightsOfTheEbonBlade Knights of the Ebon Blade]] | [[Characters/WarcraftIllidanAndFollowers Illidan and his followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeGarroshsHorde Garrosh's Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftPandaria Pandaria]] | [[Characters/WarcraftOthers Other mortals]] | '''The Void (The Old Gods)''' | [[Characters/WarcraftTheLight The Light]] | [[Characters/WarcraftEternals Eternals]] | [[Characters/WarcraftShadowlands Shadowlands (Death)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTitans The Titans (Arcane)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheBurningLegion The Burning Legion (Fel)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheDragonflights The Dragonflights]] | [[Characters/WarcraftWildGods Wild Gods]]\\

** First, she made a deal with Sargeras's minions to support the Burning Crusade as it came to Azeroth. While nominally a bad idea all around, Sargeras values smart, powerful minions, ensuring her and her Highborne had a high chance of surviving the destruction of Azeroth if the Legion won, albeit as demons.

The Old Gods are the Warcraft universe's resident {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. They are the highest lieutenants of entities known as the [[UltimateEvil Void Lords]], launched into the Great Dark Beyond to find and corrupt an infant Titan world-soul so that they could bring about the [[ApocalypseHow end of the universe]]. Titan history discovered in Storm Peaks and Ulduar reveal that the Old Gods apparently came to Azeroth not long after its creation and began altering the Titans' creatures with something called the Curse of Flesh. Upon discovering this, the Titans waged war on the Old Gods, eventually imprisoning several of them within Azeroth itself. To prevent the Old Gods from returning, they created the Dragon Aspects and numerous Titanic Keepers and charged them with protecting the world.

'''Other factions:''' [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeOldHorde The Old Horde/Iron Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheScourge The Scourge]] | [[Characters/WarcraftSylvanasAndFollowers Sylvanas and her Followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftKnightsOfTheEbonBlade Knights of the Ebon Blade]] | [[Characters/WarcraftIllidanAndFollowers Illidan and his followers]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheHordeGarroshsHorde Garrosh's Horde]] | [[Characters/WarcraftPandaria Pandaria]] | [[Characters/WarcraftOthers Other mortals]] | '''The Void (The Old Gods)''' | [[Characters/WarcraftTheLight The Light]] | [[Characters/WarcraftEternals Eternals]] | [[Characters/WarcraftShadowlands Shadowlands (Death)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTitans The Titans (Arcane)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheBurningLegion The Burning Legion (Fel)]] | [[Characters/WarcraftTheDragonflights The Dragonflights]] | [[Characters/WarcraftWildGods Wild Gods]]\\

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Despite their common origin and goal of corrupting Azeroth's World-Soul the Old Gods were in constant war with each other for dominance over Azeroth during the days of the Black Empire with N'Zoth having wagged war against C'Thun and Yogg-Saron at the same time and been defeated by Y'Shaarj on what would later become the Broken Shore. Even after their imprisonment and despite having common subordinates such as the Twilight Hammer none of the remaining Old Gods coordinate their efforts and plans together to facilate their escape and return to power.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Xal'atath serves those who prove themselves strong enough to wield it and will abandon those who cannot, [[YouHaveFailedMe occasionally finishing the latter itself]]. When it chooses to side with the player, it doesn't hesitate to [[spoiler:absorb the last of the life essence of one of the strongest servants of the Old God Yogg-Saron]], even ''encouraging'' the adventurer to do so, [[spoiler:despite the original intent of the Twilight Hammer to have it revive said servant]].

When some of the void corrupted Naaru crash-landed on Draenor some of orcs attempted to harness its void energies and were driven mad. The Chieftains eventually forbid the orcs into tapping into their powers. Many ignored this order and were promptly banished. Growing in number they waited for the end of the world, The Hour of Twilight.

When the war between the draenei and orcs was getting underway Gulden order Cho’gall to recruit them. Cho’gall told them the Horde would help them bring about The Hour of Twilight. They agreed to join forming the Twilight Hammer Clan.

When the Twilight Hammer Clan came to Azeroth they felt the presence of the Old Gods. Cho’gall up until this point didn’t care about their prophecies, but when he felt the Old Gods presence he became a firm believer in void.

They took part in the First and Second wars, until they joined the Stormreavers in the search for the Tomb of Sargeras. Most members of the clan were slaughtered by the Blackrock and Black Tooth Grin clan members dispatched by Doomhammer to eliminate the traitors.

* AxCrazy: One of if not the craziest clan of the Old Horde, due to its members having all being made insane by listening to the Void whispers. The original clan and the cult that it later became are all fanatics obsessed with the end of the world.

He is eventually revealed to be part of the Twilight Hammer cult as the Twilight Prophet spoken of by Fandral when he attacked Thrall. He took over leadership of the cult after Cho'Gall's death.

* AllThereInTheManual: His FaceHeelTurn was given little to no explanation until WorldOfWarcraftChronicle. After the third war, and specifically the horrors of Lordaeron, Benedictus faith started to wane. The Twilight Hammer cult eventually picked up on this, and send spies to see if they could stubbly convince him to join. The Old Gods plagued his mind with visions of The Hour of Twilight which he found beautiful, he eventually forsook the light and join the cult.
* BadassPreacher: You wouldn't think that the Warcraft equilavent to the Pope would be much of a frontline fighter, but he proves himself when he not only fights the elemental invasion of Stormwind, but also journeys to Wyrmrest in Northrend for the FinalBattle in ''Cataclysm''. And then you end up fighting him as a boss, and he's a reasonable challenge.

* BastardlySpeech: In Varian's short story, gives one that sounds like a sermon preaching hope on the surface, but actually sounds more like subtle Twilight Hammer propaganda when you think about it.

* AxCrazy: One of if not the craziest clan of the Old Horde, due to its members having all being made insane by listening to the Void whispers. The original clan and the cult that it later became are all fanatics obsessed by the end of the world.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Following the Second and Third wars, the Twilight's Hammer has become a cult that includes members of all races.

* TokenEvilTeammate: While the original Horde was already a very evil and violent organisation, most of its members didn’t want to destroy their world or Azeroth while the Twilight Hammer has always sought the destruction of the world and return to nothingness wanted by the Void.

* ZergRush: Their most freqeuent tactic to their insectoid nature, nearly-endless numbers, and very fast reproduction rate which allow them to overwhelm or outlast most of their enemies in straight battle. This is why the dragons and Night Elves chose to imprison the Qiraji behind the Scarab Wall as it wouldn't have been possible for them to fully defeat them in war, and why the Mogu and later the Pandarens couldn't fully defeat the Mantids despite pushing back their attacks. However their usual lack of tactics have allowed smarter enemies such as the Titan-Forged or the Trolls to get the edge on them several times and they suffer against foes that can outnumber and outrush them such as the Scourge did to the Neurbians during the Spider War.

%%* AxCrazy

* InTheHood: Initially wore a hood that covered his bald head. In ''Cataclysm'' he puts on a NiceHat more fitting of his title.

* NiceHat: His pope-esque hat in Cataclysm. Many a player was disappointed it wasn't in his loot table.

* [[TheDragon The Dragons]]: [[spoiler:To the Void, the eternal nothingness beyond the universe that has existed since before time began. The Void Lords created the Old Gods and scattered them throughout the Great Dark Beyond with the goal of corrupting a Titan in order to bring about the end of existence, and a return to the nothingness they crave.]]

* [[PuppetKing Puppet Queen]]: Though Azshara got power and the ability to survive under the waves, along with a nation to rule, N'Zoth is ultimately calling the shots when she becomes a naga.

* RedOniBlueOni: He himself serves as both. Cho, the Blue Oni, is eloquent and intelligent. Gall, the Red Oni, has been reduced to a gibbering lunatic who speaks with riddles, doublespeak and cryptic prophecies. An orc seer explains that Gall was fully taken over by the Old Gods, hence the result. It also means that you want to be as far away as possible [[OhCrap when the two heads speak in unison]]. In the final battle, when they channel the full corruptive might of the Old Gods, Cho suddenly becomes ''very'' afraid while Gall is ecstatic, implying that even as corrupted as he was, [[UpToEleven there was still something beyond it that absolutely terrified Cho.]] ''Warlords Of Draenor'' downplays this a bit. While the two heads still fit the trope and Gall is still a bit more demented than Cho, they seem to be much more on the same page than they were in the main timeline. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Gall had not yet been fully corrupted by the Old Gods in this timeline.

* OpportunisticBastards: While they weren't responsible for the War of the Ancients, the invasion of the Old Horde or the Scourge or Illidan Stormrage's actions, the Old Gods always took advantage of these events to try to advance their own agendas of weakening the world defenses and freeing themselves. Deathwing was ever their tool in this regard; Having Deathwing turn on his fellow dragons just at the moment when the dragons looked like they were capable of repelling the Burning Legion's invasion with the Dragon Soul, had him isolate Stormwind during the First War so the Horde could destroy the kingdom and later had him give the Demon Soul to the Horde so they could enslave the Red Dragonflight or sent Nagas to serve Illidan and help him against the Burning Legion and the Scourge.

* OverarchingVillain: N'zoth's among the main [[BigBad BigBads]] of the setting and easily one of the longest-running antagonists in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', having been working in the shadows for several expansions. ''Legion'' heavily implied he'll be taking center stage soon, which came to pass in ''Battle for Azeroth''.

* WeakButSkilled: In ''Legion'', one of [[TalkingWeapon Xal'atath's]] musings hints that N'Zoth in terms of power is the weakest of the Old Gods, as she refers to all the other gods by name except him while talking about how [[spoiler:"weakest of us may be the ultimate victor"]]. Considering the fact N'Zoth happens to be the OverarchingVillain of the other Old Gods, "weakest" doesn't translate to "ineffectual".

* BaldOfAwesome: He has a bald head, though it's hidden beneath a hood, and later a hat in ''Cataclysm''.

* FanNickname: Xal and Knaifu. The first one being self-explanatory and the second being a combination of the words "knife" and "waifu."