Recap / World of Warcraft (Original Game)

Story recap page for the original World of Warcraft, as well as World of Warcraft: Classic.

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Awhile after the events of Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, Thrall expanded his ranks by inviting Sylvanas' undead Forsaken into his Horde which consisted of his Durotar Orcs, Cairne's Bloodhoof Tauren, and Vol'jin's Darkspear Trolls. Meanwhile, Magni's Ironforge Dwarves, Gelbin's Gnomes, and Malfurion's Night Elves, pledged their loyalties to the Alliance; guided by the Human kingdom of Stormwind.

Some setting changes amongst the factions have also occurred. The Alliance Gnomes were forced to take shelter amongst the Dwarves of Ironforge after a plan to cleanse the nearby Gnomeregan capital city of a Trogg invasion with a Gnome-crafted disease had gone horribly wrong, and transformed many Gnomes into leper variants that turned hostile against their race. Meanwhile on the Horde side of things, the Trolls of the Darkspear Tribe were forced out of the Echo Isles, and have taken residence on the Durotar mainland after Hexmaster Zalazane turned traitor, and mind-controlled many of his fellow Darkspear trolls to work for him, and takes control of the isles.

Some time after, it turned out that Stormwind's king, Varian Wrynn, had mysteriously disappeared en route to Theramore Isle; having been taken captive by the Defias Brotherhood, and imprisoned at Alcaz Island. As a result of Varian's disappearance, Highlord Bolvar Fordragon becomes the temporary Regent of Stormwind due to Varian's son, Prince Anduin, being too young to be crowned the next King. It is soon discovered that Bolvar's services were affected through mind-control of the black dragon, Onyxia, who ruled Stormwind in disguise as the human noblewoman, Lady Katrana Prestor. Meanwhile, a major 3-way-war within the interiors of Blackrock Mountain had exploded between Rend's Dark Horde, Ragnaros' Elementals, and Dagran's Dark Iron Dwarves, for control of the spire.

Raid: Onyxia's Lair

Fighting out of his imprisonment, Varian is able to return to Stormwind, and Onyxia's cover is finally blown. The black dragon drops her Prestor masquerade, and takes Prince Anduin captive; escaping to her lair at Dustwallow Marsh. Tasked by their faction leaders, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance raid her Dustwallow home to rescue Anduin, and defeat Onyxia for good.

Rend's Dark Horde

One storyline within the Blackrock Mountain was the battle against the false Orc Warchief known as Rend Blackhand; the son of the first ever Warchief from Warcraft I. As it turned out, Rend had been building up his own force of Orcs, and such, known as the Dark Horde within the upper fortress of the mountain, and managed to form an alliance with Nefarian of the Black Dragonflight to help bolster his numbers with Black Dragons. The two conspired together to create an army that would one day be unleashed on the world, but ended up having their plan foiled due to Thrall tasking heroes of the Horde to enter Rend's stronghold, and kill the Dark Horde Warchief for good.

Dagran's Dark Iron Dwarves

Close by, Blackrock Mountain was also the location of the war against the hostile Dwarves of the Dark Iron clan. Its ruler, Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, had supposedly kidnapped Magni Bronzebeard's daughter, Moira (She was actually seduced by him, and got pregnant with Dagran's child), which forced heroes from the Alliance, as well as the Horde who saw an opportunity to have better relations with the Ironforge Dwarves, to raid the Dark Iron capital city within the depths of Blackrock Mountain to save Moira. The threat was eventually vanquished due to the death of Dagran. However, because Moira had fallen in love with the Dark Iron emperor, she ends up hating her father for the attack, and chooses not to return to Ironforge.

Raid: The Molten Core

Within Blackrock Mountain, the ancient elemental fire-lord, Ragnaros, resurfaced to endanger both the Horde and Alliance, and made his home within the spire's molten core. The heroes of the Horde and Alliance fought back against his fire elementals into the heart of Blackrock Mountain, and were able to send Ragnaros back to the Elemental Plane.

Patch 1.6 - Raid: Assault on Blackwing Lair

Deep within Blackrock Mountain, the black dragon, Nefarian, conducted twisted experiments with the blood of other dragonflights. Intent on seizing the entire area for his own, he recruited the remaining Dark Horde, a rogue army that embraced the demonic bloodlust of the old Horde. These corrupt orcs, trolls and other races battled against the Ragnaros and the Dark Iron dwarves for control of the mountain. Nefarian created the twisted chromatic dragons and a legion of other aberrations in his bid to form an army powerful enough to control Azeroth and continue the legacy of his infamous father, Deathwing the Destroyer. Nefarian was vanquished by the heroes from the Horde and the Alliance.

Patch 1.7 - Raid: Rise of the Blood God

Years ago, in the ruined temple of Atal'Hakkar, loyal priests of the Blood God, Hakkar the Soulflayer, attempted to summon the wrathful deity's avatar into the world. But his followers, the Atal'ai priesthood, discovered that the Soulflayer could only be summoned within the Gurubashi tribe's ancient capital, Zul'Gurub. Newly reborn in this jungle fortress, Hakkar took control of the Gurubashi tribe and mortal champions of the trolls' mighty animal gods. The Soulflayer's dark influence was halted when the Zandalari tribe recruited heroes and invaded Zul'Gurub.

Patch 1.9 - Raid: The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

The great desert fortress of Ahn'Qiraj, long sealed behind the Scarab Wall, was home to the insectoid qiraji, a savage race that had once mounted an assault to devastate the continent of Kalimdor. But something far more sinister lurked behind Ahn'Qiraj's walls: the Old God C'Thun, an ancient entity whose pervasive evil had suffused Azeroth since time immemorial. As C'Thun incited the qiraji to frenzy, both the Alliance and Horde prepared for a massive war effort. A mixed force of Alliance and Horde soldiers, dubbed the Might of Kalimdor, opened the gates of Ahn'Qiraj under the command of an orc named Varok Saurfang. The heroes laid siege to the ruins and temples of Ahn'Qiraj, and vanquished C'Thun.

Patch 1.11 - Raid: Shadow of the Necropolis

In the Lich King's haste to spread the plague of undeath over Azeroth, he gifted one of his greatest Lich servants, Kel'Thuzad, with the flying citadel of Naxxramas as a base of operations for the Scourge. Consistent attacks from the Scarlet Crusade and Argent Dawn factions weakened the defenses of the floating fortress; enabling an incursion from the heroes that led to Kel'Thuzad's defeat. However, a traitor among the ranks of the knightly order of the Argent Dawn ran away with Kel'Thuzad's cursed remains and fled to Northrend, where the fallen Lich could be reanimated.

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