OctoWow - Forums

Keep faction identity. NO undead paladin ad NO dwarf shaman.

Megroms89 wrote: Mon May 11, 2026 9:32 am

Dzielkus wrote: Sun May 10, 2026 7:23 amNo.

So the undead hunter doesn't bother you? The shamans and the undead bother you.

Hunters have no lore restrictions; they can all hunt and tame beasts.

Paladins and shamans have strict lore restrictions that I believe can't be justified without a disgusting retcon like the one Blizzard implemented.

It simply can't be done, end of discussion.

The lore for Paladins and Shamans in WoW is interesting and varies based on the era. Gameplay conceits set to one side both classes fit aesthetically with the races, but not in the same way as they do the natural faction.

Undead fit the Paladin in the same vein as the concept of the Leper Knight (most famously depicted via King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven). A Knight who compensates for the decrepitude of his body with the steadfastness of his faith, and who often pursues a righteous death before the malady can reduce him to an invalid.

Dwarven Shamans fit the archetype of the Celtic Druid. Totemic, robed, bearded wisemen in touch with the spirits of the world both living and dead, and channels for the powers of greater, pagan gods.

Forsaken paladins would likely be people who, in their turmoil, have doubled down on their faith in the Light and whose iconography would draw from concepts such as 'the mortification of the flesh', a form of ritualistic self-harm you may have seen in the manga Berserk (or more likely parodied by the chanting monks in Monty Python's Holy Grail) only with the Forsaken the very act of faith itself would be the source of their suffering. They would be well characterised to consider their undead forms as a punishment for the failures of Lordaeron in life and would devote themselves to a life of sacrifice until they have finally earned salvation through death in service of the Light. The only major stumble for this is that the nature of Paladins is their bodies are deeply infused with the Holy Light and this is what makes them more than just armoured priests. Their accumulated bodies laid to rest at Light's Hope sanctified the ground so heavily that even the Lich King could not overpower Tirion beneath it's belltower. Forsaken would not be able to have their bodies be so sanctified, but I don't think that is a bug so much as it is a feature, further playing into their nature as a shadow of their living selves.

Dwarven Shamans would likely be councils of elders who have devoted their lives to hearing the voices of the mountains, storms, ice, magma, and thunder of their great home. Living not in harmony with the elements as do the Horde, but as their masters. Not unkind masters in the vein of Garrosh's Dark Shamans, but certainly a different relationship with the elements than the Horde. The Dwarves of Ironforge carve mountains, brave storms, withstand ice, and take heat from a great pit of magma to fuel their industry. The elements would need to be kept placated, with the Shamans using their powers to blunt the onslaught of the elements of Azeroth. Moreover, my view of Dwarves is that they are deeply tied to their ancestors and their dead. Just as Shadowforge is flush with ancient spirits I'm sure the Dwarves of Ironforge have their own funerary rites which likely predate the Church of the Holy Light, based as it is in Stormwind.

If explored through ideas similar to these there is also no issue with justifying cross-faction violence. The Alliance would never accept the bastardisation of the Light practiced by the hated undead, nor would the zealous undead have time to consider the weak-minded sensibilities of the living who know nothing of the curse afflicting their people nor the penance they are taking to remedy it. The Horde would never accept the Dwarves' haughty approach to the Elements and the Dwarves would have neither the time nor the inclination to break bread with savages.

The conversation should ultimately come down to being one of what creates the best gameplay experience but narratively the sauce is there to cook some really juicy lore.

No to Tauren Paladins though. No matter how hard we cook with Sunwalkers there really is no excuse for seeing Tauren in Judgement armour. The Sunwalker aesthetic is just too different and would be better off being explored as a subset of Druid.