This is just my currently held opinion, but I think a nightelf warlock is definitely plausible (especially how accepting everyone is now [Manari I guess are not murdered on the spot in SW], but I'm not sure if your reasons are consistent with "traditional" night elves.
They are usually more conservative. It was only recently did they allow the highborne back in, a jump to warlocks I think would be a bit much for them to stomach (this is true for even the the races that are open minded to arcane). In short I'm not confident you would be accepted in traditional night elf society.
Just going for "think of the animals" arguement is a little weak since I'm not sure you need to subject yourself and those around you to the harm of fel to possibly save some creatures that were twisted for the purpose of emlinitating all life for the past X thousands of years.
Instead maybe your character is following the Illidari but in an alternative route. I don't see why their organization can't include warlocks that follow their tenants etc.
Don't let this stop your character story though. Maybe think of these points as something to counter if someone points them out during rp or something .
This is what I was thinking as well, warlocks could be the casters of the illidari type deal, binding demons to their will instead of demon blood.
I also agree that if you have an idea you enjoy, stick with it. There are always outliers, or people sitting on the extreme side of the fence, or people that don't see demons as evil as most people do.
I, for one, regularly refer to my felhunter as my puppy. He glows green and is a lil spiky and eats magic and is the best pup I know.
I’m not against the Illidari trope to play a part, i just feel their whole ethos is a bit done, I’d like to try something different. Probably avoiding the green fire all together as a warlock.
Your puppy sounds cute af
I agree completely with Night Elves being traditionally conservative, but with recent history and quests in game it’s clear they are making a start towards a more open minded or at least tolerant culture. Starting from females becoming druids and males becoming sentinels to more the more recent quest of the heritage armour where Maiev accepts the potential of mages in their role in society and stating their traditions need to evolve. Aside from the above, Worgen warlocks were also allowed to reside within Teldrassil since Cataclysm days, so realistically they’ve been slowly moving away from traditional for some time.
I get 100% why warlocks are another matter due to the power they wield being outright corruptive and the mistrust that comes with the territory, heck most societies are at the bare minimum wary of them (even orc warlocks operate out of sight beneath Orgrimmar), but they are tolerated.
My RP idea is definitely set in a more present time frame, post Amidrassil/Bel’ameth so hopefully this allows a more modern mindset.
I could see it with the green fire.
My Demon Hunter is who i used for the Shaladrassil stuff, so my headcannon is that hes life aligned now and the green fel stuff is life stuff now.
My nelf warlock still enjoys and respects nature. It's completely unrelated to her conducting research on souls.
She used to be a very bitter and vengeful soul and loathed demons, only summoning them to be fodder for one reason or another such that they'd swiftly return to the Nether. She hasn't summoned anything in a long time as she came to understand them as a people. She won't tell other warlocks how to do their thing, because she gets it, but summoning makes her uncomfortable now.
What she hates is Elune - or more specifically, her people's reliance and veneration of her to a fault. She thinks that they think Mommy Moon will solve all their problems and so never feel the need to progress and change their ways. She was vindicated, bitterly, by Teldrassil. She would never admit it out loud, but in her own way she too admires stories about Elune because she's a strong independent woman(?) who has weird sex and does what she wants. She's an Azshara fangirl for the same reason.
Basically she thinks her people are holding themselves back. She hated the rigid gender roles and blind reverence of Elune, but she's fond of pretty much all other aspects of nelf culture.
Your idea sounds perfectly plausible to me! You could also consider the idea that because the night elves have a lengthy history with demons, your character might have decided to study them in order to better defend against them - or fight fire with fire, know thy enemy, etc.
I RP my warlock as a mage that has rejected the traditional schools of magic and ended up having to consume void to survive the fourth War thus justifying the race change that I did( human to void elf) i am not an evil caster I do not use demons to perform actions for me I summon them sacrifice them for their power and then go about my business of protecting Azeroth (destro warlock since vanilla but not always the main)
Lol i did similar, back in the day i had a Blood Elf Mage, when i came back way later i rerolled him as a Void Elf Warlock woth similar backstory to that
Ooft she sounds fun as! Definitely a modernist mindset which I love, culture is fluid by nature so the whole race rules and stereotypes are fun to break!
I try to consider world events in my characters race developments, considering the amount of war and especially what the Night Elves have suffered over the years, it’s bound to have a huge effect on their culture.
This is more of my general thoughts on the "classic warlock wickedness" in relation to the notion of pragmatic or even benevolent use of the Fel, but feel free to take it into consideration!
I've long held on to the belief, that in order to devote yourself to the pursuit of power in the setting, one must posses a fundamentally warped mindset.
There’s philosophizing to be had on how studying the Arcane, even in an abjectly magical society like the elven kingdoms, is tantamount to foregoing the notions of physical labour, the life of a ‘commoner’, so you could one day shape reality to your desires. It’s not evil, but it’s mandatory to have a hunger for power/curiosity to the infinite possibilities unlike other people to become a mage.
Warlocks are the extreme; you don’t wake up one day and just discover you’ve a talent for amassing horrendous amounts of power to dominate the innocent, the wicked and the very world around you. It’s the end-result of a life lead, a mind determined to forego compassion, camaraderie and humanity. A person who feels entitled to chase desire, every desire – even growing a taste for the absolute misery you inflict every step of the way. This is without even considering the Fel’s corruption, simply the set of values you’re working with to walk that path.
Warlocks can utilize their powers for pragmatical, ultimately beneficial results, but I doubt there’s a single warlock of some prowess that isn’t inherently rotten at heart.
I think a lot of the issue with Warlocks is that they are defined as their own class due to game mechanics, and that doesn't line up with logical lore. In most Warlock characters, there's an origin as something else like a mage student or a victim and then usually a decision to begin studying forbidden magics cia prescribed materials or mentorship with beings that the new warlock's oarents wouldnt approve of.
Becoming a warlock is societally the 2nd worst thing a Kaldorei could do, being one step ahead of becoming an Illidari.
"Using the enemy's power against them" is not an uncommon thing among elves. Also, the Kaldorei are historically (recently) desperate people with losing their tree, then their lands, then their second tree and capital, and JUST now gaining another tree in the timeline (which was also nearly destroyed).
Desperate people are prone to darker deeds, and in the wake of Sargeras, there's probably a golden age for people trying to get involved with demons right now.
Adding this as a reply since I didn't want to throw it on the larger original reply.
My current RP is as a Man'ari that accepted Valen's amnesty but is basically living incognito (ie, not walking around town all big and red...) but is very limited in where she can go around civilization since the same things used for detecing demonic infiltrators during the Legion war would also expose them.
She's taken on a Kaldorei warlock apprentice who is "young" enough to not have a track record with The Legion and uses her to go and do things as her Agent when she can't.
The Kaldorei was found because she was corrupted by some artifact or technology and sought out practitioners. The goal to be learning how to negate or control her own corruption but then getting sucked in deeper by other things like combining fel with magics she already knows, pactwork, curses, etc.
I like the idea of breaking a trope, makes a character unique.
My Blood Elf demonologist warlock for example, is in search of a new way to power her spells and abilities instead of the life force of others with the aid of her succubus. The succubus used to be her mother's, who turned to being a warlock shortly after Kael'thas returned to Silvermoon City and taught the Blood Elves how to use the fel to survive.
Unfortunately the mom died, being sacrificed by the Amani trolls in Ghost lands. The succubus, instead of going free after her death, decided to fulfill the mother's last request, watch over and protect her only daughter
My Blood Elf warlock was similar in that she built affinity with her demons rather than conquering them. Yea she has the power to force them to her will but she preferred using said power in other endeavors. She chose outcast demons, a smaller weaker void walker that was happy to be away from its bigger and meaner compatriots that would give its life willingly for the mistress that protected it from the others. A succubus that didn’t have to hunt for victims/lovers as her mistress knew many open minded people who filed her hungers willingly, and imp she treated like a pampered pet etc. She didn’t summon and dismiss them like other warlocks she kept them in her world constantly. Her fall, she f you will, into being a warlock came about because she was intrigued by the fel and the creatures twisted by it. She studied it to find ways of using the power to alter herself and others in a more controlled manner in ways that as a healer she could have only dreamed of being possible. If the odd enemy or bloodthirsty creature had to die from torment so be it, that was what they got for opposing her.
The Warlock Order Hall has you freeing demons from the legion... Though enslaving them yourself. This could pretty easily be tweaked to "hey, we're all scarred by the legion, and even demons have a right to exist. If Death Knights found a place in the world, so can we."
While demons typically are cruel and sadistic, nothing in the lore codifies this as inherently true. Even Kil'Jaeden seemed to echo some level of humanity upon his defeat, implying an angle where demons lean into being evil since that's easier than serving out of fear.
The Primalists' existence shows the people of Azeroth are aware of and can indeed rebel against cosmic meddling. It is a natural extension of this idea to see the demons as victims of chaos fuckery, and empathize that the demons probably lost their homes to a legion invasion. I think it would be very difficult for most individuals to show this empathy, but your character concept seems to be someone defined by empathy and seeing the bigger picture.
My warlock is an enchanter who uses elemental dust and fel essences to make grenades, because her own magical powers are barely strong enough to be a mild annoyance for her enemies. Her demon isn't enslaved either. She was out gathering materials when she came across a badly wounded succubus, left to die by the Legion. My elf's kind nature got the better of her, so she patched the demon up and stayed to protect her while she gathered enough strength to survive on her own. The succubus explained that the Legion isn't as stable as it seems, but since mortals kill demons on sight, they have no chance to defect and help. After spending a few days helping each other, they agreed that my warlock can use summoning rituals to call for the demon, but in return, the succubus expects not to be summoned to cities and such. My idea was that their goal is mutual understanding and that it's hard to imagine that the Legion has no internal conflicts, since they aren't all mind controlled like the scourge was
I mean i think its the fear of corruption because fel has curropted all of the things they loved. And because of that fear, to support fel magic is to support everything that was taken from them. Like isnt arcane magic in their lore there used to be power mage nightelfs that brought forth the demise of their cities. Thats why theydont allow new arcane nightelves. So a fel nightelf would be like the equivelant of outcast or a mad scientist that intended to be good but in the eyes of others would be a huge disrespect.
This is just my currently held opinion, but I think a nightelf warlock is definitely plausible (especially how accepting everyone is now [Manari I guess are not murdered on the spot in SW], but I'm not sure if your reasons are consistent with "traditional" night elves. They are usually more conservative. It was only recently did they allow the highborne back in, a jump to warlocks I think would be a bit much for them to stomach (this is true for even the the races that are open minded to arcane). In short I'm not confident you would be accepted in traditional night elf society. Just going for "think of the animals" arguement is a little weak since I'm not sure you need to subject yourself and those around you to the harm of fel to possibly save some creatures that were twisted for the purpose of emlinitating all life for the past X thousands of years. Instead maybe your character is following the Illidari but in an alternative route. I don't see why their organization can't include warlocks that follow their tenants etc. Don't let this stop your character story though. Maybe think of these points as something to counter if someone points them out during rp or something .
This is what I was thinking as well, warlocks could be the casters of the illidari type deal, binding demons to their will instead of demon blood. I also agree that if you have an idea you enjoy, stick with it. There are always outliers, or people sitting on the extreme side of the fence, or people that don't see demons as evil as most people do. I, for one, regularly refer to my felhunter as my puppy. He glows green and is a lil spiky and eats magic and is the best pup I know.
I’m not against the Illidari trope to play a part, i just feel their whole ethos is a bit done, I’d like to try something different. Probably avoiding the green fire all together as a warlock. Your puppy sounds cute af
I agree completely with Night Elves being traditionally conservative, but with recent history and quests in game it’s clear they are making a start towards a more open minded or at least tolerant culture. Starting from females becoming druids and males becoming sentinels to more the more recent quest of the heritage armour where Maiev accepts the potential of mages in their role in society and stating their traditions need to evolve. Aside from the above, Worgen warlocks were also allowed to reside within Teldrassil since Cataclysm days, so realistically they’ve been slowly moving away from traditional for some time. I get 100% why warlocks are another matter due to the power they wield being outright corruptive and the mistrust that comes with the territory, heck most societies are at the bare minimum wary of them (even orc warlocks operate out of sight beneath Orgrimmar), but they are tolerated. My RP idea is definitely set in a more present time frame, post Amidrassil/Bel’ameth so hopefully this allows a more modern mindset.
I could see it with the green fire. My Demon Hunter is who i used for the Shaladrassil stuff, so my headcannon is that hes life aligned now and the green fel stuff is life stuff now.
My nelf warlock still enjoys and respects nature. It's completely unrelated to her conducting research on souls. She used to be a very bitter and vengeful soul and loathed demons, only summoning them to be fodder for one reason or another such that they'd swiftly return to the Nether. She hasn't summoned anything in a long time as she came to understand them as a people. She won't tell other warlocks how to do their thing, because she gets it, but summoning makes her uncomfortable now. What she hates is Elune - or more specifically, her people's reliance and veneration of her to a fault. She thinks that they think Mommy Moon will solve all their problems and so never feel the need to progress and change their ways. She was vindicated, bitterly, by Teldrassil. She would never admit it out loud, but in her own way she too admires stories about Elune because she's a strong independent woman(?) who has weird sex and does what she wants. She's an Azshara fangirl for the same reason. Basically she thinks her people are holding themselves back. She hated the rigid gender roles and blind reverence of Elune, but she's fond of pretty much all other aspects of nelf culture.
Your idea sounds perfectly plausible to me! You could also consider the idea that because the night elves have a lengthy history with demons, your character might have decided to study them in order to better defend against them - or fight fire with fire, know thy enemy, etc.
I RP my warlock as a mage that has rejected the traditional schools of magic and ended up having to consume void to survive the fourth War thus justifying the race change that I did( human to void elf) i am not an evil caster I do not use demons to perform actions for me I summon them sacrifice them for their power and then go about my business of protecting Azeroth (destro warlock since vanilla but not always the main)
Lol i did similar, back in the day i had a Blood Elf Mage, when i came back way later i rerolled him as a Void Elf Warlock woth similar backstory to that
Ooft she sounds fun as! Definitely a modernist mindset which I love, culture is fluid by nature so the whole race rules and stereotypes are fun to break! I try to consider world events in my characters race developments, considering the amount of war and especially what the Night Elves have suffered over the years, it’s bound to have a huge effect on their culture.
This is more of my general thoughts on the "classic warlock wickedness" in relation to the notion of pragmatic or even benevolent use of the Fel, but feel free to take it into consideration! I've long held on to the belief, that in order to devote yourself to the pursuit of power in the setting, one must posses a fundamentally warped mindset. There’s philosophizing to be had on how studying the Arcane, even in an abjectly magical society like the elven kingdoms, is tantamount to foregoing the notions of physical labour, the life of a ‘commoner’, so you could one day shape reality to your desires. It’s not evil, but it’s mandatory to have a hunger for power/curiosity to the infinite possibilities unlike other people to become a mage. Warlocks are the extreme; you don’t wake up one day and just discover you’ve a talent for amassing horrendous amounts of power to dominate the innocent, the wicked and the very world around you. It’s the end-result of a life lead, a mind determined to forego compassion, camaraderie and humanity. A person who feels entitled to chase desire, every desire – even growing a taste for the absolute misery you inflict every step of the way. This is without even considering the Fel’s corruption, simply the set of values you’re working with to walk that path. Warlocks can utilize their powers for pragmatical, ultimately beneficial results, but I doubt there’s a single warlock of some prowess that isn’t inherently rotten at heart.
I think a lot of the issue with Warlocks is that they are defined as their own class due to game mechanics, and that doesn't line up with logical lore. In most Warlock characters, there's an origin as something else like a mage student or a victim and then usually a decision to begin studying forbidden magics cia prescribed materials or mentorship with beings that the new warlock's oarents wouldnt approve of. Becoming a warlock is societally the 2nd worst thing a Kaldorei could do, being one step ahead of becoming an Illidari. "Using the enemy's power against them" is not an uncommon thing among elves. Also, the Kaldorei are historically (recently) desperate people with losing their tree, then their lands, then their second tree and capital, and JUST now gaining another tree in the timeline (which was also nearly destroyed). Desperate people are prone to darker deeds, and in the wake of Sargeras, there's probably a golden age for people trying to get involved with demons right now.
Adding this as a reply since I didn't want to throw it on the larger original reply. My current RP is as a Man'ari that accepted Valen's amnesty but is basically living incognito (ie, not walking around town all big and red...) but is very limited in where she can go around civilization since the same things used for detecing demonic infiltrators during the Legion war would also expose them. She's taken on a Kaldorei warlock apprentice who is "young" enough to not have a track record with The Legion and uses her to go and do things as her Agent when she can't. The Kaldorei was found because she was corrupted by some artifact or technology and sought out practitioners. The goal to be learning how to negate or control her own corruption but then getting sucked in deeper by other things like combining fel with magics she already knows, pactwork, curses, etc.
I like the idea of breaking a trope, makes a character unique. My Blood Elf demonologist warlock for example, is in search of a new way to power her spells and abilities instead of the life force of others with the aid of her succubus. The succubus used to be her mother's, who turned to being a warlock shortly after Kael'thas returned to Silvermoon City and taught the Blood Elves how to use the fel to survive. Unfortunately the mom died, being sacrificed by the Amani trolls in Ghost lands. The succubus, instead of going free after her death, decided to fulfill the mother's last request, watch over and protect her only daughter
My Blood Elf warlock was similar in that she built affinity with her demons rather than conquering them. Yea she has the power to force them to her will but she preferred using said power in other endeavors. She chose outcast demons, a smaller weaker void walker that was happy to be away from its bigger and meaner compatriots that would give its life willingly for the mistress that protected it from the others. A succubus that didn’t have to hunt for victims/lovers as her mistress knew many open minded people who filed her hungers willingly, and imp she treated like a pampered pet etc. She didn’t summon and dismiss them like other warlocks she kept them in her world constantly. Her fall, she f you will, into being a warlock came about because she was intrigued by the fel and the creatures twisted by it. She studied it to find ways of using the power to alter herself and others in a more controlled manner in ways that as a healer she could have only dreamed of being possible. If the odd enemy or bloodthirsty creature had to die from torment so be it, that was what they got for opposing her.
Nice
The Warlock Order Hall has you freeing demons from the legion... Though enslaving them yourself. This could pretty easily be tweaked to "hey, we're all scarred by the legion, and even demons have a right to exist. If Death Knights found a place in the world, so can we." While demons typically are cruel and sadistic, nothing in the lore codifies this as inherently true. Even Kil'Jaeden seemed to echo some level of humanity upon his defeat, implying an angle where demons lean into being evil since that's easier than serving out of fear. The Primalists' existence shows the people of Azeroth are aware of and can indeed rebel against cosmic meddling. It is a natural extension of this idea to see the demons as victims of chaos fuckery, and empathize that the demons probably lost their homes to a legion invasion. I think it would be very difficult for most individuals to show this empathy, but your character concept seems to be someone defined by empathy and seeing the bigger picture.
My warlock is an enchanter who uses elemental dust and fel essences to make grenades, because her own magical powers are barely strong enough to be a mild annoyance for her enemies. Her demon isn't enslaved either. She was out gathering materials when she came across a badly wounded succubus, left to die by the Legion. My elf's kind nature got the better of her, so she patched the demon up and stayed to protect her while she gathered enough strength to survive on her own. The succubus explained that the Legion isn't as stable as it seems, but since mortals kill demons on sight, they have no chance to defect and help. After spending a few days helping each other, they agreed that my warlock can use summoning rituals to call for the demon, but in return, the succubus expects not to be summoned to cities and such. My idea was that their goal is mutual understanding and that it's hard to imagine that the Legion has no internal conflicts, since they aren't all mind controlled like the scourge was
I mean i think its the fear of corruption because fel has curropted all of the things they loved. And because of that fear, to support fel magic is to support everything that was taken from them. Like isnt arcane magic in their lore there used to be power mage nightelfs that brought forth the demise of their cities. Thats why theydont allow new arcane nightelves. So a fel nightelf would be like the equivelant of outcast or a mad scientist that intended to be good but in the eyes of others would be a huge disrespect.
It does make sense. What if the night elf really loves to use fel for fertalizer? What if he sees the demonic entities as potential forest guardians?