Thanks to Blizzard's World of Warcraft, players have become an active part in expanding the lore of Warcraft's Azeroth. Aside from main storyline quests, players have access to a wealth of Raids and side quests that offer interesting insights regarding the world of Azeroth and the Warcraft mythos. Essentially, players almost always have a reason to come back to playing.
Interestingly, aside from WoW's ever-expanding story, a lot of things also happen behind the scenes. Players willing to explore enough might find some fun things amongst Azeroth's natives. Likewise, others who venture in too deep might find rather disturbing things about the world and the lore that may have a lot of implications.
10 The Sad Truth Of The Defias Brotherhood
Fans would recall the Defias Brotherhood as one of the chief factions against the Alliance. At first glance, Edwin VanCleef, leader of the Brotherhood, seems like a "typical villain" at best. In turn, players may seem more than inclined to help the Alliance eliminate him once and for all.
However, VanCleef seems to be justified in his hatred for the Alliance. As it turns out, the nobles of Stormwind tasked VanCleef to rebuild Stormwind City after the First War. Under Onyxia's influence, unfortunately, the nobility refused to pay VanCleef. The man and his allies rallied together in response, organizing the Defias Brotherhood.
To make matters worse, players soon get contracted by the city to eliminate VanCleef to end the Brotherhood's rampage in the Eastern Kingdoms. As soon as players kill VanCleef, his daughter, Vanessa, will see her father's decapitated corpse.
9 The Forsaken Blight
It's courtesy of the Scourge's Plague that brought much of the Eastern Kingdom under the Burning Legion's control. When Sylvanas Windrunner freed herself and her Forsaken, they joined the Horde to end the Scourge once and for all. However, players might be surprised when Sylvanas detonated the same Plague against both the Horde and the Alliance during their brutal confrontation in the Battle of the Wrathgate. Fans might also wonder how Sylvanas have come across the plague in the MMO.
Interestingly, it's not the Scourge's Plague at all. In fact, Sylvanas had tasked her officers in the Undercity to develop the Forsaken Blight as an upgrade of the Scourge's Plague. Players will notice this as they explore Undercity, as members of some Alliance races are experimented upon in cages.
8 The Fall Of Theramore
The port town of Theramore served as the capital of the nation Theramore, ruled by the Proudmoore family. Under Jaina Proudmoore's leadership, Theramore became the Alliance's central hub for its navy and army. At some point, Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof of the Mulgore Tauren warned Jaina of an impending assault. Thanks to this advanced warning, Jaina managed to organize a resistance to fend off the Horde Assault.
Instead of overwhelming Theramore with numbers, Warchief Garrosh Hellscream instead detonated a mana bomb empowered by a powerful focusing iris. As a result, Theramore fell in an instant, killing most of its citizens, except those saved at the last moment, including Jaina. The mana bomb impact was akin to a nuclear detonation, with corpses and even intact bodies slowly crumbling to dust.
7 Ruins Of Lordaeron
In the Third War, Arthas Menethil, completely corrupted by the Lich King via Frostmourne, enters Lordaeron's throne room and kills his father in cold blood. This incident marked Arthas's full descent to becoming the Lich King and Lordaeron's fall to the Scourge. However, players can also see and hear the remnants of the horrific event when they visit the Keep themselves.
Players who exit Undercity can reach the remnants of Lordaeron Keep. When they enter the throne room, they can still see the blood splatter from where King Terenias's crown fell. They may also hear the dialogue between Arthas and King Terenias repeating every few minutes. Moreover, players who use any ability that can detect invisibility will see ghosts of Lordaeron's citizens still haunting the area.
6 Schnottz And The Ultimate Weapon
The Goblin Commander Schnottz, "The Furrier," inhabits Uldum and blames the player for an assassination attempt. Thankfully, the archaeologist Harrison Jones saves the player before a firing squad executes them, and the two soon discover Schnottz's true intentions. As it turns out, Schnottz serves the powerful Deathwing the Destroyer and has been searching for "The Ultimate Weapon" in Uldum. As per Schnottz, this Ultimate Weapon can "destroy all life" in Azeroth.
While the player stops Schnottz in time, the prospect of an "Ultimate Weapon" is still horrifying. Since Schnottz and the player never got to acquire the artifact, the Ultimate Weapon still rests in Uldum, waiting for someone to stumble upon it.
5 The Path Of Glory
The Horde's first chieftain, Blackhand, used the Hellfire Citadel as his headquarters as the orcs pummeled through the remaining Draenei resistance in Draenor, now known as Outland. The Citadel remains as the last "site" that players can visit prior to the Dark Portal.
Adventurers who travel between the Citadel and the Dark Portal will run along a conveniently-placed, graveled road known as the Path of Glory. However, players who look down will realize that the road is actually paved with the trampled bones of the Old Horde's Draenei victims. After all, the Old Horde's skirmish annihilated around 80-percent of the Draenei race.
4 Thaddius And Kel'Thuzad's Experiments
Fans excited about the MMO's endgame will have heard of Naxxramas and its challenging Quarters. At first glance, Thaddius of the Construct Quarter proves Kel'Thuzad's proficiency in creating abominations from flesh and bone. However, players who play the raid with their music and ambiance up will also experience Kel'Thuzad's horror.
In the lore, Commander Eligor Dawnbringer describes Thaddius as an abomination created from the flesh and souls of innocent women and children. However, the real horror begins when the plights and screams of women echo around Thaddius as players fight him. As it turns out, the screams are coming from Thaddius itself. This also explains why the large abomination thanks the player raid when it falls, as this signals the freedom of these souls from years of torment.
3 The Horrors Of Scholomance
After the Second War, House Barov managed to restore the wonderful manor-fortress of Caer Darrow. Given their status as one of Lordaeron's noble families, the Barovs made a pact with Kel'Thuzad to maintain their influence in exchange for the Arch Lich's use of Caer Darrow. Following their pact, Kel'Thuzad began using Caer Darrow as a school of Necromancy.
Now known as Scholomance, the manor became the site of various horrific experiments. In particular, Kel'Thuzad and his acolytes tortured the bodies of Caer Darrow's servants to develop a horrific plague. Despite separate interventions from Uther the Lightbringer and players, Scholomance remains a school of Necromancy.
2 The Bodies In Karazhan Crypts
While Sargeras and the original Medivh fought for possession of the latter's body, the Guardian headquartered himself in the citadel of Karazhan. In vanilla WoW, players who die in Morgan's Plot can visit a strange underground area as a ghost. This out-of-bounds area seemed underwater, with various humans hanging upside down.
In Legion, Blizzard revealed a spine-chilling backstory of this strange place. Now named the Forgotten Crypt, this area served as Medivh's prison for people who commit the most punishable of crimes. As it turns out, the Guardian would catch these people and put them in this area of the Crypt, called the Pool of Upside-Down Sinners, to drown.
1 Challe And Her Little Tykes
In the land between the hostile territories of Zangarmarsh and Nagrand lies Challe's Home For Little Tykes. The Home, managed by Challe the Troll, serves as a safe haven for both Alliance and Horde children. Thankfully, the sight of two babies and three kids playing around gave the Home quite a wonderful ambiance. However, some details in the background seemed amiss.
For instance, the Home has a dog house with no dog, but instead, rotting meat. Meanwhile, bones of a small humanoid inhabit one of three cages behind the hut. Players can also fight Challe in alternate Draenor's Nagrand. Oddly enough, the Troll takes the form of a shapeshifter that kills people to maintain her youth.