[Fan Expansion Concept] WoW: Age of Nightmares (help me complete!)

[MechaCThun]

WORLD OF WARCRAFT
AGE OF NIGHTMARES

- - - - - - - - - -

DISCLAIMER: I have been working on/concocting this concept for an expansion off and on a little over 3 years now. It first came into my mind a couple of days prior to Mists of Pandora (MoP) being revealed. At that time I was not too happy with World of Warcraft (WoW) going into that direction, and that fueled the fire inside me to make an expansion I felt that was satisfying lore-wise and gameplay-wise.

DISCLAIMER #2: Please be aware that this concept expansion will have inconsistencies in the lore and maybe in the mechanics of the game. With my hopes high I wish to leave it to you, the MMO-Champion.com community, to help me fill these gaps and complete my vision. Any suggestions, constructive criticisms and/or theories are welcome to help add to the lore of this expansion!


UPDATE - 8/31/2015: After reviewing the replies this thread has gotten, as well as my consistent toying around with this concept, I have revamped the concept slightly...
- - - - - - - - - - - -

PREFACE

With the announcement of “Legion” and the bundling of the Emerald Dream/Nightmare into parts of a leveling zone coupled with a raid, I have even more of a drive to see this concept through. I’ve been playing these games since Warcraft II and became a rabid fan when I picked up Warcraft III. So understandably, and big lore plot that is the Emerald Dream has always been illustrious in my eyes.

I’ve tried to stay true to the flavor of WoW with my own additions of flavor. I kind of want this expansion to be the “scariest” expansion to date. The same fears I had when I never played Alliance before and I ended up passing through Duskwood. The ambience of that zone was scary to me, and I want that feel back for an entire expansion.

Hopefully you all are still here with me through this wall of text, so without further hindering, allowing me to reveal the next expansion of World of Warcraft...

AGE OF NIGHTMARES

- - - - - - - - - - - -

STORY OVERVIEW

• Age of Nightmares (AoN) chronologically takes place after the events of Warlords of Draenor (WoD), saving the “Legion” expansion for after.
• Events of AoN will begin roughly 3-4 months after the fall of Archimonde in Hellfire Citadel, with the armies of both the Alliance and the Horde still trying to make their ways home from Draenor.
• Because of this, the military might of both factions are at a severe detriment. Both sides are not even at 50% of their full military capability.
• Azeroth’s heroes (player controlled characters, also known as “adventurers”) are among the first to make it back to Azeroth
• The main threat of the expansion is immediately confronted with the arrival of our heroes, and the nations of the world are forced to deal with it: the Void has manifested itself within the Emerald Dream, changing it completely, and attempting to consume/absorb Azeroth from the inside out...

- - - - - - - - - - - -

THE VOID

• Enter: the Void. The entity known only as “the Void” is a universal force of dark energy. Heroes from both factions have come into contact with this force of destruction in the past; most recently on Draenor with the dark shaman Ner’zhul and his Shadowmoon clan orcs practicing this dark magic.

“It is said that in the beginning there was Light and there was Void and in a time long ago, the two collided in the abyss of the Great Dark. As a result, infinite worlds spiraled out into the newly forming cosmos. The Twisting Nether - the ethereal dimension of the demons - is the line between the ebb of Light and the flow of Void.”

• The polar opposite of the Holy Light, the Void is just that: void of light. This dark, shadowy magic is necromantic in nature. Its capability ranges from raising the deceased to enslaving the mind, body and soul.
• Now within the Emerald Dream, its power and capability has increased significantly leaving nothing on Azeroth outside its path of destruction...

- - - - - - - - - - - -

THE EMERALD DREAM

• Enter: the Emerald Dream (ED). The ED is an ethereal realm tied its host: the physical realm known as the planet Azeroth. The ED is an ever-changing, making it fragile. To explain it simply, “the Emerald Dream is basically how the world would have been, if intelligent beings had not altered its surface.”
• This world is entirely spiritual, as opposed to Azeroth’s physical nature.

“Unlike Azeroth, the Emerald Dream is a realm that is primarily spiritual instead of physical. All who enter the Dream can affect it to a minor extent, but only temporarily: the underlying structure of the Dream inevitably reasserts itself. Even Ysera cannot change the Dream permanently, nor, indeed, would she wish to do so. She does not control the Dream; on the contrary, it is closer to the truth to say that the Dream controls her. Using the Dream as her unfaltering guide, she regulates the ebb and flow of nature and the evolutionary path of the world itself.”

• Now that the Void occupies the ED, it has been twisted into a bastion of shadow magic and dark energy. The realm itself is now a realm made up of the nightmares of mortals, terrors birthed from the Void itself known as “void-spawn” and a hub for lost spirits to roam endlessly.

• Because of this the ED has become volatile. The ED is now attempting to absorb Azeroth into itself, full consuming it and leaving nothing but the ED left. This is the most severe threat to the whole of Azeroth ever; even more than the Cataclysm...

- - - - - - - - - - - -

FEATURES

1. LEVEL CAP: 110
-Nothing fancy here. 10 levels to grind through!

2. NEW WORLD: The Emerald Void
-This one was (is) a tough one. Due to the ED essentially being another version of Azeroth, it would be hard to dedicate a new continent to grind through as the same size as the current game world.

-Bastions of Nightmare. The areas (zones) around Azeroth that have the barriers between both realms completed broken are known as Bastions of Nightmare (BoN). These areas will reflect where the ED has broken through and is absorbing physical Azeroth.

-While still keeping the theory of “Mortal Kombat” merging in mind, these areas act also as portals into the ED where a lot of the content will take place.

-The story of AoN spans over a time fram of 1-3 years. As time progresses the Void WILL completely overtake certain parts of Azeroth. The fear of encroaching doom will be prevelant; a long the lines of a "zombie apocalypse" with the feeling of death at every turn. Adventures will be able to venture into these BoN hubs and enter the ED itself.

-The Void is all consuming (as Dimensius' title also implies) and will stop at nothing until everything is conquered!


3. NEW DUNGEONS & RAIDS
[SIZE=1] *I have numerous ideas for certain new dungeons and raids, but I am waiting for community input before I post them. I just want to make sure they fit the theme and feeling of the expansion. Any suggestions?[/SIZE]

4. NEW NEUTRAL RACE: Ethereals

5. LEGACY OF HEROES
-The “Legacy of Heroes” (LoH) will be a new system to progress through, similar to what Path of the Titans should be.

-Based on your faction, race, and class, you will be able to choose a hero from the past to honor and in turn empower you. The Void is necromantic in nature and the spirits of deceased warriors are returning. Are they good? Are they bad? Or are they in a state of limbo...

-Example: Human and dwarf paladins will honor Uther the Lightbringer. Orc warriors will honor Grom Hellscream (or Orgrim Doomhammer?)
*I have many different ideas for honorable heroes for each race/class combination but I am sure I haven’t thought of them all. For those inclined to the lore, give me ideas!

-You will get to honor your fallen hero as soon as you progress through the expansion. The hero’s soul will follow you through questing, dungeons, PvP and give advice, direction, and flavorful text.

-This system will alter the cosmetic effects of abilities, add mechanic effects to spells, and once fully leveled will give you the “Avatar of Heroes” ability. You will become empowered for 1 minute by the soul of your hero, transforming INTO the hero. Much like Demonology warlock’s Demon Form, current spells will be changed into something different.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

ETHEREALS

"...Treading the chaotic spaces between worlds, the ethereals are astral travelers who dwell within the Twisting Nether. They are known to be collectors and traders of arcane items and artifacts. Now drawn to Outland, many ethereals are seeking to track down its treasures and steal them back into the Twisting Nether. They are liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to pursue their mysterious aims. The ethereals have no care at all for the Burning Legion. They would even play both sides of the conflict against each other if doing so would serve to further their own goals..."

-Race known as "ethereals" are beings made of pure arcane energy. Once they had physical form, that is, before the forces of the Void obliterated their bodies

-Escaping into the Twisting Nether, the ethereals ended up in Outland where to this day they continue to play the monetary markets of all major civilizations to further their goal

-Through their magic and technological prowess they are able to sustain themselves by being wrapped in enchanted cloth. These "arcana-wraps" keep their arcane forms leveled and now they have begun to gain some resemblance of their former selves back
- -With the introduction of ethereals as a new race, of course a model update is in order. I see them having minimal facial features such as outlines of eye brows, eyes, nose, a mouth moving under a cloth wrap, perhaps even fingers...

-Since being all but wiped out by the Void, the ethereals are now forever Void-touched, and with that are immune to it's corruption on Azeroth or in the ED. They sleep but do not dream, making infiltration into their dreams impossible

-Ethereals also have an affinity for all energies, including dark energies. I wonder how they could be utilized in fighting back the Void corruption that is overwhelming the world...

-Because the kingdoms of Azeroth are at a disadvantage of manpower both Varian Wrynn and Vol’jin have extended their hands to help the ethereal race if they would help them fight the Void, an enemy they are all to familiar with

-The ethereals will begin their leveling experience on their home world as they escape from Dimensius and end up in a phased portion of Outland where eventually they will choose what faction they will join

-Ethereals may become: warriors, rogues, mages, and warlocks
- -I would like these class combinations to fit the role ethereals have in the lore, so it may be a good idea to give them more classes. Somebody convince me!

- - - - - - - - - - - -
DISCLAIMER #3: This is a work in progress everyone. I have constantly changed up this concept and I feel like I’m finally getting something down solid. I’ll re-iterate the fact that I’m also relying on help from you all to complete this!
I also feel like I do not have enough features, so there has been a new class idea I've been toying around with also. We'll see if I end up bringing it in...

Thank you for your time in reading this.

[Golden Yak]

I've been wanting an Emerald Dream expansion myself for a long time (still plan to make my own eventually) - I was very disappointed to here Blizzard ultimately decide not to pursue one. Also disappointed to hear that the Emerald Nightmare storyline will be wrapping up in a single raid come the next expansion, but I'm still looking forwards to seeing it when Legion drops. I still think that the Dream has the potential to fill an entire expansion, but not without the corruption of the Nightmare as an enemy.

The notion of the Void reaching out and attacking the Dream is interesting - no reason it couldn't happen if the Void is a force that seeks to devour all realities. And attacking through the Dream isn't a bad idea if Azeroth itself is too tough a nut to crack (which is probably why the Nightmare was used by N'Zoth in the first place).

In terms of names - the Emerald Abyss/Expanse? Specifically, it could refer to the immediate region being engulfed by the Void. I always imagined that a Dream-based expansion wouldn't encompass everything in the Dream, but simply one continent-sized part, with the rest shrouded in impassable Nightmare corruption - basically like this. There are any number of different climates that could appear - if the Dream is a reflection of Azeroth, then it will have every environment Azeroth days (forests, mountains, swamps, jungles, deserts, etc.)

Good luck with the rest of it!

[Gamestar]

Make sure to remove well rested!

[Jtree]

Kinda of a fan of the Emerald Dream myself, so I'm all for this.

I think Ethereals are a legitimate possibility for a future race. For classes, they can definitely be warriors, everybody can be warriors. I'd think hunters are an options as well, as they tended to keep flesh beasts around in Blades Edge Mountains. Being a high tech race, they would surely be familiar with projectile weapons.

Monks are a maybe, IMO. If they are added in Azeroth, with a starting zone just vague enough to suggest this playable organization has been there for a while, monk trainers could have come in to teach their ways. Perhaps the playable Ethereals start out as part of the group running transmog and void storage in the major cities, and decides to actively enlist with a faction?



P.S. Your class list is hard to read, with the very light colors used in most of the class names.

[Jmills]

Good concept, I can see you've really thought this through!

Unfortunately, Blizz has said that they wouldn't do a whole xpac around the emerald nightmare, and that were getting a raid in legion instead.

[vindicatorx]

Sorry but I have zero interest in the emerald anything.

[MechaCThun]

Thank you everyone for the input, especially GoldenYak and Jtree. I have altered it a bit. Any suggestions out there for a first tier raid? I have dungeons in the works...

EDIT: Trying to clean up the concept as I type this... haven't posted threads on MMO-Champ in years so I'm a little rusty