How should conflict be introduced within the Alliance?

[Deleted]

Horde players often complain that the Alliance gets to be perfect and unified, while the Alliance often complains that the Horde gets more complex story development. Regardless of which side you agree with, I think it's fair to say that the Alliance should be given some conflict. That's the only way to make the stories of the interconnected Alliance races more interesting.

So. How do you think this should happen? Should the other Alliance races turn against the humans for being too politically and culturally dominating? Should the dwarves recede from the Alliance to the safety of their caverns? Should the Worgen raise hell for not being helped at all with Gilneas? Should the Gnomes turn against the Night Elves for rejecting technology in favour of the earth?

There are so many ways the Alliance could become more complex, but right now, it's all "Yo Varian is so perfect, isn't Varian perfect? We all love Varian and his perfect perfectness yay for us" - Paraphrased from Velen

[Destinas]

Any kind of conflict made in the Alliance, with the current lineup of races, would feel forced. The Alliance has more in common with each race than the Horde does now. The original Thrall's Horde had a lot in common with their tribal themes, shamanism, and overall values. Now, with the addition of Forsaken, Blood Elves, Goblins, and Pandaren, they're a loosely tied group that is held together for their hatred of the Alliance, and the fact that all of them have had to fight to survive.

On the polar opposite is the Alliance. The Dwarves and Gnomes have always supported the humans, and they have similar values. The Draenei work with humans well enough for their reverence of the Light. The Worgen work well with humans because, well, they are humans at their core. Worgen also help bridge the Night Elves further into the Alliance with druidism, and the responsibility the Night Elves have taken with the Worgen curse. Though, while the Night Elves have certainly always had a cordial relationship with the rest of the Alliance, they are the oddest in the Alliance. Though, they respect everyone else well enough, since it's not like the technology of the Alliance is used like the Goblins, where nature suffers constantly in the advancement of technology (though, the Gnomes and such haven't been nature-loving by any means).

If the Alliance had any inner strife, it would most likely come from newer races, subraces, or lore races. Things like High Elves, Dark Irons, any Leper Gnomes allied with them, Highborne, etc. Most of these races have been on the outside of Alliance conflicts and politics until recently. In the case of Dark Irons, they continue to prove that they care about the Alliance, yet everyone still doesn't trust them much. The Highborne and High Elves could have some conflict with the rest of the Kaldorei, since the High Elves' ancestors were banished for being elves that use magic, yet the Highborne were accepted into the Alliance around the time of the Cataclysm.

Things like that would be the biggest sources of conflict within the Alliance without making ti feel forced. Just my two cents, though.

[Lord Pebbleton]

Destinas summed it up perfectly.
The only conflict we may see would be related to sub-classes and my vote goes to Dark Irons. Otherwise, the Alliance has no reason to hate their own.

[Wyrt]

Any conflict that removes Varian as high king has my vote.

[Zabatakis]

I think there was a pretty good angle with the Nelfs deep mistrust of arcane magic and the Humes/Gnomes abusing it (maybe not as bad as the horde races but they are already at war with them). Then they decided fuck it, not so bad after all and let the Highborn back.

So I dunno.

[Wyrt]

I think there was a pretty good angle with the Nelfs deep mistrust of arcane magic and the Humes/Gnomes abusing it (maybe not as bad as the horde races but they are already at war with them). Then they decided fuck it, not so bad after all and let the Highborn back.

So I dunno.

Or Varian's increasing love of fel magic could piss off the night elves and draenei.

[Deleted]

The only conflict I can see making sense is with Jaina wanting to wipe out the horde or the Dark Irons causing trouble anything else would be silly. The Alliance are very stable atm otherwise and doesn't make sense to introduce conflict just to equal them out with the horde.

[Trassk]

Varians the obvious first choice, also Jaina. Infact more so Jaina, she uses her magic to dispose of Varian and lock him in an arcane prison, and assume the throne, while anduin is absent.
This causes a rift in the alliance between those wanting to destory the horde outright, and those standing against it, causing rifts in the faction.

It will of course end with Jaina either being killed or imprisoned herself like she did Varian, but its Anduin who leads the charge against her alongside Baine, against the Jaina loyalists.

The fallout with cause dalaran to shift back to a neutral state, with one of the remaining council members leading it.


To be frank, Jainas the best the alliance has going for it for some inner faction conflict, because no other leader is really all that, maybe except Genn, but I'd see him siding with Jaina.

[Wyrt]

Varians the obvious first choice, also Jaina. Infact more so Jaina, she uses her magic to dispose of Varian and lock him in an arcane prison, and assume the throne, while anduin is absent.
This causes a rift in the alliance between those wanting to destory the horde outright, and those standing against it, causing rifts in the faction.

It will of course end with Jaina either being killed or imprisoned herself like she did Varian, but its Anduin who leads the charge against her alongside Baine, against the Jaina loyalists.

The fallout with cause dalaran to shift back to a neutral state, with one of the remaining council members leading it.


To be frank, Jainas the best the alliance has going for it for some inner faction conflict, because no other leader is really all that, maybe except Genn, but I'd see him siding with Jaina.

Could it not be a 100% human storyline? That's not "conflict in the alliance" it's "conflict in Stormwind."

[Skeppio]

Varians the obvious first choice, also Jaina. Infact more so Jaina, she uses her magic to dispose of Varian and lock him in an arcane prison, and assume the throne, while anduin is absent.
This causes a rift in the alliance between those wanting to destory the horde outright, and those standing against it, causing rifts in the faction.

It will of course end with Jaina either being killed or imprisoned herself like she did Varian, but its Anduin who leads the charge against her alongside Baine, against the Jaina loyalists.

The fallout with cause dalaran to shift back to a neutral state, with one of the remaining council members leading it.


To be frank, Jainas the best the alliance has going for it for some inner faction conflict, because no other leader is really all that, maybe except Genn, but I'd see him siding with Jaina.

Jaina then escapes her prison and travels to another timeline and creates the Arcane Alliance to dismantle the Horde in the new expansion: Mage-Lords of Kalimdor.

[Jokubas]

As long as Blizzard promotes faction rivalry and factions are a permanent part of your character, I think conflict within the Alliance shouldn't be introduced, and the Horde ones should be resolved and then never brought back.

The problem is, the players have no control over it. It's hard to have any faction pride when your faction can be hijacked by a character you're forced to treat as a reasonable authority figure until the plot finally wants to confront them. It's hard to take a bad seed as a complex part of your faction when you can't bring justice to them until the story wants you to.

[Wyrt]

As long as Blizzard promotes faction rivalry and factions are a permanent part of your character, I think conflict within the Alliance shouldn't be introduced, and the Horde ones should be resolved and then never brought back.

The problem is, the players have no control over it. It's hard to have any faction pride when your faction can be hijacked by a character you're forced to treat as a reasonable authority figure until the plot finally wants to confront them. It's hard to take a bad seed as a complex part of your faction when you can't bring justice to them until the story wants you to.

I don't have any faction pride as is. I don't like Stormwind, but everything alliance is just dripping with Stormwind and we randomly got Varian shoved very far down our throats.

I like draenei and night elves and I don't feel any pride in the alliance when playing them because I don't give a shit about Stormwind, Varian, Barbie Princess Castle, or the derp lion banner. I really dislike the constant homogenization that's been going on in the alliance, if I wanted to play a human I would have picked that on the character creation screen.

So, yeah, faction pride is pretty much a no go for me.

[Zuben]

Moira is the first thing to come to mind and thus would be a little too "yeah, we all saw that coming". Tyrande could challenge Varian's position if she hadn't conceded to him in A Little Patience, but since she did a challenge would feel 180 now. Worgen could go at the Forsaken on their own without agreement with the rest of the Alliance, but I don't see Varian giving them more shit about it than a light scolding, after which he would proceed to support them.

In all honesty, I don't see many options for a catalyst right now. There would first have to be an expansion's worth of development, costly decisions from Varian that cause a race great losses or something.

[derpkitteh]

i don't see the need.

the factions don't have to mirror each other in every way, that gets annoying(like taylor being killed to even out the horde losing nazgrim).

also, this isn't a soap opera, i don't want it to behave as one.

[Matius]

Defias Brotherhood was a nice touch, Katrana Prestor aswell with her schemes making all the lands fending for themselves like Lakeshire against Blackrocks, Darkshire, Westfall etc., Fandral Staghelm was cool and so on.

- I think that Wrynn has too much control over forces, not exactly a conflict but there should be more representatives of other nations to contest with Wrynn.
- Night Elves should be more independent and proud.
- Dwarves are fine as they are, I like that Dark Irons are finally back in the fold but awakening of Magni and him finding Dark Irons in his home might spice up things.
- Internal power struggle within Stormwind, perhaps under some Noble Houses who are against Alliance ever working with Horde and demanding war reparations from them.

[Splub]

Night Elves taking offense to something the Dwarves, Worgen, Humans, or Gnomes do that threatens nature.

[derpkitteh]

- Dwarves are fine as they are, I like that Dark Irons are finally back in the fold but awakening of Magni and him finding Dark Irons in his home might spice up things.

if i'm remembering correctly, magni is aware of the world in his stone state. thrall either sensed him or saw him directly during a shaman thingy he was doing.

[Jshadowhunter]

Aren't the Defias Reborn still supposed to exist?
I mean I seriously doubt that rebelion of people of Westfall against the king would simply die out with Vanessa's death. What happended in Cata just felt unresolved.

[Krazzorx]

I don't think conflict should be needed for "complex story development", honestly. Conflict would just feel forced or end up a mirror of Horde story.

Nearly every story has conflict though. Adding conflict to the Alliance wouldn't be mirroring the Horde, it would be normal. Even the best of friends don't always have perfect relations.

Dark Iron Dwarves, definitely room with the Night Elves to add internal conflict, especially whenever they bring the Naga around due to past history.

While not Alliance specifically, we got a good amount of internal Draenei conflict in WoD. And that would've been a race many would say would've had very little chance of internal conflict.

Using the common fan theory of a South Seas xpac, they could easily add internal Night Elf conflict with the resurgence of the Naga and their past history plus Kul Tiras for the humans.

[sweepdeepsPL]

The Alliance doesn't really have much conflict because there's no real need to. Their leaders aren't pricks (white streak Jaina was their attempt at this and it looked really forced), their races have a history of co-operation, and their lands are fertile and easily defensible. It doesn't make a huge breeding ground for warmongering assholes who want to dominate the world.


The Humans have been allied with the Dwarves and Gnomes since WC1, the Night Elves don't have particularly strong inclinations towards domineering (other than restoring Ashenvale and Desolace to their untouched state--but then again who doesn't?). Draenei are in relatively the same boat as the Night Elves, seeing as they have their chill little pair of islands out in the middle of safely controlled Alliance waters. While the worgen do have an aggressive tendency, particularly towards the Forsaken which invaded their home, they're a minority amongst the total population of the Alliance as well as the leadership of the Alliance in this respect. Oh, and Pandas will be Pandas, just content to chill out and have fun.



So long as the Alliance are written in the lore to be not aggressive, or with races that have a long and storied past of friendship, there won't be conflict in the Alliance itself that is either forced or artificial. Their leaders are just, their population is situated in beautiful locales, and they have no reason to ever have anomosity amongst one another.