Design choices

This version of Warcraft is based on the following ideals. They are sometimes at odds, so I attempt to use the higher rules over the lower rules. If that fails or the result is unsatisfactory, I will keep to personal taste.

Primary Decisions

Faction Divisions

The MMO split of Alliance versus Horde is there for gameplay reasons, but it does not make sense otherwise. The fourway split of Warcraft III is much more logical and is in turn maintained. This doesn't prevent the factions from working together again, just as at Hyjal or Silithus, but there are divisions for a reason.

Older Lore

The older the lore is, the better it is, at least generally speaking. There are gaps at times when people didn't pay attention even early on. Reconciliation must be attempted.

The Games over Books

This is tricky, but the games should win over what someone writes later on. A detailed retelling of an event in a book is useful, but its failure to keep true to a game needs to be reconciled somehow.

Turtle WoW Is Included

That private server did things right. Its lore should be included when possible. An exclusion here does not mean that it's invalid, but rather it's not yet been written in perhaps.

Keep Within a Time Period

Lore needs to stay within the bounds of Wrath of the Lich King preferably, likely before late 2010. The lore begins falling apart very quickly after this point. It's vaguely acceptable to pass beyond this point for minor things, such as usage for an already existing herb, but it's unacceptable to add new continents or unadapted plot points. WoW Forever does not exist within this time period and is made by the same people who already ruined the game.

Med'an Isn't Real and Can't Hurt You

This comic character is explicitly not included, even if the lack of space goats didn't already invalidate his birth.

Biology (Mostly) Matters

The story should be internally logical. A small, pregnant woman will not toss a grown man. An army of gnomes armed with knives will not defeat an equally sized army of tauren. Prayer alone cannot save a fight until it actually does somehow.

History Matters

Dynasties do not rule a country for a millenium, nor do borders stay approximately the same. The Empire of Arathor could not spawn a handful of eternal nations, nor would people just stay in place for centuries at a time.

Cascading Results

All of this leads to some major changes over time. For example:

• Because older lore is favoured, draenei are still somewhat horrifying creatures native to Draenor, not interstellar, Light-worshipping space goats. No space ship ever crashes, no supposed "Army of the Light" that never matters anyway, no Med'an is ever born.
• The night elves are still startlingly arrogant and distrustful of outsiders, bordering on jingoistic. An alliance of convenience with younger races and literal aliens cannot survive this.
• The Forsaken never joining the Horde means that even fewer people are aware of their atrocities and plans. They don't need to fear watchful eyes and their plans may move much faster.
• The Dark Portal hasn't reopened yet. We don't know what's happening there, but it's certainly not a borderline thriving continent with vast areas of greenery somehow.
• The Horde's spellcasting is almost entirely limited to shamans. They do not have mages via the Forsaken, they do not have access to teleportation (which is scaled back anyway in older lore), and they have almost no cultural basis for understanding arcane magic.
• The Guardians of Hyjal are similarly limited in their spellcasting, namely through druids and priestesses. They hate arcane magic and will not consort with it.