The Forsaken

The Forsaken have one of the most tragic backstories in World of Warcraft, which sets the foundation for them to become the most morally challenging factions, as the darkness they suffered often permeates through everything they do as well.

Forsaken history is relatively brief, if not for the fact that until the Third War the Forsaken were mostly the human kingdom of Lordaeron. During the Third War, the Scourge (the endless army of undead who swarm over Northrend) began an assault on the kingdoms of Lordaeron. 

But before that, a brief primer on what the Scourge actually is.

The Burning Legion have experimented with using the undead as a weapon for millenia. They learned that for hordes of undead to be an effective fighting force there had to be a central consciousness controlling them. So, the Helm of Domination was forged and the first Lich King was created. This Lich King was the orc warlock who had served the Legion on Draenor; Ner’zhul. With the undead now yoked under one consciousness, the goal was for the Scourge to assault the living races of Azeroth and soften them up for the Legion’s main assault. Ner’zhul would eventually break free of the Legion’s control and lure the Lordaeronian prince, Arthas, to Northrend, whereupon touching the cursed blade Frostmourne Arthas’ soul was absorbed and fused with Ner’zhul. With a strong new body and Arthas’ forces now undead and under scourge control, the time came for the Lich King to lead his forces back to Lordaeron, already buckling under a plague spread with infected grain by the necromancer Kel’thuzad and his Cult of the Damned.

When Arthas and his Scourge force arrived they found plenty of fresh undead to take control of, and he then went on to overthrow his own father’s kingdom, slaughtering Lordaeron’s population and raising them as fresh Scourge. In time, after Arthas ravaged the high elf kingdom of Quel’thalas, he would raise the elves’ ranger-general, Sylvanas Windrunner, into a banshee as an act of spite against her resistance to his advance. Sylvanas would eventually break free of his control, and in turn free a large portion of Lordaeron’s population from the grip of the Lich King’s control. These free undead would swear loyalty to Sylvanas as their Dark Lady or the Banshee Queen. They eventually moved to secure the ruins of Lordaeron’s capital, building their own capital underground; the Undercity. From here, Sylvanas and her loyal Forsaken would build a powerful military base, due to their lack of a need for food, sleep, or medicine, in addition to a certain determination and ruthless borne of perhaps losing some of their empathy and compassion.

The Forsaken would attempt to reach out to the surviving human kingdom, Stormwind, only to be rebuffed out of fear and shock at being essentially animated corpses. This led to a bitterness in the Forsaken, and anger towards living humans. This was exacerbated by the uprising of uninfected humans, mostly Lordaeronians with some support from Stormwind, who created the Scarlet Crusade, to reclaim and purge Lordaeron of all undead, Scourge and free.

The Horde, needing allies in the Eastern Kingdoms to keep a second front open in case of war with the Alliance, approached Sylvanas about joining the Horde. The Horde viewed the Forsaken with a certain amount of distrust, due to their affliction and penchant for working with dark magic and plagues, and the Forsaken in turn viewed the Horde initially as merely a layer of protection to keep the Alliance from focusing entirely on purging Lordaeron of undead. Thus, the Forsaken joined the Horde out of necessity and convenience.

Sylvanas’ Apothecary Society would also be constantly working on experimentation to create deadly plagues to use against the living. The deadliest concoction they created was called Blight, it was a noxious, deadly substance that when sprayed or launched into an area would spread a vile green liquid that in turn became a gaseous agent as well, immediately killing any living creature it came into contact with. The Forsaken, naturally, were immune. This research would require a constant stream of living subjects to experiment on, leading to constant attacks on uninfected Lordaeronian settlements and Alliance outposts to procure test subjects.

The Forsaken would go on to have a trouble history with the Horde, involving internal revolts leading to the massacre of combined Horde and Alliance forces fighting in Northrend, and Sylvanas eventually becoming warchief and plunging Azeroth into one of its worst conflicts, the Fourth War, which results in the genocide of the Night Elves at Teldrassil and the Forsaken blighting and abandoning their own capital, Undercity, during the Alliance retaliation. Sylvanas’ story continues outside the Horde now, as she is eventually dethroned by near-victorious Alliance forces working alongside Horde rebels to bring an end to the war without more cities, including possibly Thunder Bluff and Orgrimmar itself, having to be conquered.

Forsaken can play as warriors, death knight, hunters, rogues, monks, mages, priests, and warlocks. 

Forsaken racial bonuses are all based on their being undead, and the unique situation that puts them in.

1. Will of the Forsaken. Every 30 minutes, a Forsaken can clear any charm, fear, and sleep effects on them and become immune to them for 30 seconds. This is due to the immense mental strength it takes for Forsaken to constantly be resisting the Lich King’s call.

2. Cannibalize. This is exactly what it sounds like. The Forsaken are essentially zombies. They can regenerate 7% of health and mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds by eating the body of a nearby humanoid.

3. Touch of the Grave. Forsaken exude dark energies as a result of the magic which animates them. This gives them an ability with their attacks and spells to drain health from their target at random for the damage dealt. Being dead also means Forsaken do not breathe, and thus can stay underwater indefinitely.

4. Shadow Resistance. Shadow magic created the Forsaken, it flows through them. They take 1% less damage from shadow-based attacks and spells.

If you want to play a race with a decidedly bleak background than normal, and perhaps to engross yourself in an amoral or even antagonistic role to the world around you, the Forsaken are a good choice. They are also a good choice if you want to play someone who might be trying to hold on to some shred of their humanity despite all the horrors they endured and continue to endure. Whichever way you choose, may the Dark Lady watch over you!