Stormheim Lore (spoilers?)

[Darillyn]

Now, I have read the chronicles book and so I know why Stormheim exists and all that jazz, but for someone who has not read the book, has anyone noticed that basically no lore is ever explained in game? I'm nearing the end of the zone and there's just never been any explanation at all, unless I have missed something.

For example, everyone is just okay with the fact that vrykul even live here, despite the fact that it was assumed they were only in Northrend? Nowhere does it say this group left Northrend long ago in search of their holy land. Storm dragons are a thing, yet zero lore behind their existence. What's the deal with the talking tree? Why are the bonespeakers twisting the dead? I get that one clan was usurped by the God King and joined up with the legion, but why are the other clans aggressive too (and again they have no real individual lore). Who are the valkyra?

The zone is beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing, but it really feels like they just breezed over the lore. People have been asking for more vrykul stuff for years, and when they take the time to do it (especially in an expansion where it does feel admittedly out of place to begin with) they don't really explain anything.

[Enthralled]

Now, I have read the chronicles book and so I know why Stormheim exists and all that jazz, but for someone who has not read the book, has anyone noticed that basically no lore is ever explained in game? I'm nearing the end of the zone and there's just never been any explanation at all, unless I have missed something.

For example, everyone is just okay with the fact that vrykul even live here, despite the fact that it was assumed they were only in Northrend? Nowhere does it say this group left Northrend long ago in search of their holy land. Storm dragons are a thing, yet zero lore behind their existence. What's the deal with the talking tree? Why are the bonespeakers twisting the dead? I get that one clan was usurped by the God King and joined up with the legion, but why are the other clans aggressive too (and again they have no real individual lore). Who are the valkyra?

The zone is beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing, but it really feels like they just breezed over the lore. People have been asking for more vrykul stuff for years, and when they take the time to do it (especially in an expansion where it does feel admittedly out of place to begin with) they don't really explain anything.

Storm dragons = all dragons (including the classic dragonflights) are evolved from elementals that escaped imprisonment by the titanic keepers during the taming of the world. This is simply another iteration.

The vrykul settlement is not too weird, really. They, and the Val'kyra there, are all connected to the Keeper Odyn, who took his cookies and broke off from Ulduar in a snit ages ago. This and the stuff about the dragons is all explained in the Warcraft Chronicle Vol. 1 book.

Now the only odd thing is how the Vrykul could have lived in such close proximity to the ancient night elf civilization and gone unnoticed.

[TickTickTick]

This and the stuff about the dragons is all explained in the Warcraft Chronicle Vol. 1 book.

You clearny misunderstood the purpose of this thread: OP states, that it'a all clearly explained in the book, but a non book reader has no idea what's going on, cause nothing's explained in game.

[Qualia]

You clearny misunderstood the purpose of this thread: OP states, that it'a all clearly explained in the book, but a non book reader has no idea what's going on, cause nothing's explained in game.

You are meant to read the book(s) to enjoy the game fully, though. I wouldn't argue whether it's good practice or not, but this is not the first time you need to read something outside the game to fully understand what was going on in the game.

[Darillyn]

You clearny misunderstood the purpose of this thread: OP states, that it'a all clearly explained in the book, but a non book reader has no idea what's going on, cause nothing's explained in game.

Yes exactly. Blizzard typically does a decent enough job of conveying racial/faction lore as you play through the game. It was just strange to me that they didn't really do that this time in a zone that I think really needed it. The average lore fan who didn't read the book is probably very confused. I mean it really seems that from quest to quest Havi or someone else is introducing yet another Norse-themed group for you to interact with without bothering to say WHO they are.

[the]

I didn't read any of the books, ever.

Played through the entire zone (as Horde) reading almost all quest text, did the Halls of Valor dungeon. But I'm very used to Blizzard just having haphazard "lost" groups in different areas and this didn't feel different. Got introduced through Khadgar going "hey there's Vrykul over there, that's weird" or whatever he said while we were flying. That's really all I needed to know. Similarities were mentioned during questing between the Val'kyr and the Storm-maidens.

The only thing I really cared about an explanation for was the Sylvanas cutscene as that went totally over my head. Don't know what that lantern was ahead of time, or what she was attempting to do. From the cutscene context I understood it allowed her to control val'kyr and Genn knew that and wanted it stopped. From earlier quests "forsaken going to go extinct unless we find a way to make more" and Genn I suppose wanting that stopped (apparently she killed his son? / raised him into undeath? I guess). If it was explained in the quest text I missed it.

For the face in the tree it felt like a call-back to Disney Pocahontas / Game of Thrones. Blizzard throws stuff like that in all the time so never gave it a second thought.

[Deleted]

Well for the Vrykul matter, being there its not as crazy as it seems since Broken Isles it is somewhat close to Northrend. Also Vrykul have this Viking theme and all stuff so it does not feel alien, at least for me, to find settlements here and there around Northrend area. Now Vrykul in Pandaria would have been a sight to behold :P...

[n7stormreaver]

For example, everyone is just okay with the fact that vrykul even live here, despite the fact that it was assumed they were only in Northrend? Nowhere does it say this group left Northrend long ago in search of their holy land.

Definitely not okay

[Darillyn]

I don't have any issue with them being there, but what I am trying to say is any quest stating "Hey, the vrykul of Stormheim left long ago to find our holy land and we settled here" would be appreciated by people who didn't read the lore book. Instead of just leaving players to assume for themselves why they're here.

[xavierjn]

I totally agree about the Sylvanas cutscene. It felt to me like it came out of nowhere. I had to theorize what was going on. If Blizz is deciding to base in-game information on an individual's prior reading, maybe they could add a reference to that specific book or set of books that explain it. A Footnote at the bottom or on the side of a cutscene or quest text would be a decent addition to offer us more clarity if we desire to pursue individual storylines only, versus reading every book they have published.

[Mehrunes]

But why does a race need an explanation to be somewhere? The Tauren are on Broken Isles as well. Not much in game on that either, it's mostly book and comic lore. Same with related Yaungol in Pandaria and Taunka in Northrend. The only explanation is "they just live here". It was an assumption the Vrykul only lived in Northrend? Well, it was a wrong assumption then. There are ancient places that are apparently very important to the Vrykul on the isles. So is Odyn's place.

[Darillyn]

The difference between tauren and vrykul is that we have known for a long time that the tauren once ranged across all of ancient Kalimdor. When the world split apart it would only make sense that tauren tribes were isolated in various regions. And the tauren sub-races have all been explained. Taunka evolved to combat northern weather while the yaungol evolved to be aggressive and warlike to combat the mantid they were stuck with. Even the Highmountain tribes' more advanced settlements were due to them being stuck there and having to work together.

The big difference is that most if not all of this lore is accessible through the game itself. If the average player wants to know why there are vrykul in the BI then they need to buy the lore book, which shows that Blizz did not provide enough in game lore for them. And the location of vrykul is just one example of this in the zone, like I said there are plenty more examples of this going on.

[caervek]

Now, I have read the chronicles book and so I know why Stormheim exists and all that jazz, but for someone who has not read the book, has anyone noticed that basically no lore is ever explained in game?

Yeah it's really annoying, not as bad as when Thrall suddenly went from being in a "will they/wont they" relationship with Jaina to being married to some random brown orc, but still quite annoying.

It probably gives the 1% of players who have read the books a warm feeling when something happens that only they have foreknowledge of but in general it's a shitty way to engineer a games story.

[purebalance]

You are meant to read the book(s) to enjoy the game fully, though. I wouldn't argue whether it's good practice or not, but this is not the first time you need to read something outside the game to fully understand what was going on in the game.

Our characters have not read Chronicle. As such you really should only have to understand as much as your character would.

[Darillyn]

Yeah it's really annoying, not as bad as when Thrall suddenly went from being in a "will they/wont they" relationship with Jaina to being married to some random brown orc, but still quite annoying.

It probably gives the 1% of players who have read the books a warm feeling when something happens that only they have foreknowledge of but in general it's a shitty way to engineer a games story.

I am totally cool with Blizz publishing books about WoW, but these books should be complimentary stories that overall don't impact the lore in any big way. I mean half the time Blizz just retcons it anyway (wasn't the nightmare defeated by Malf in his book?) but things like Garrosh's trial and escape should have absolutely been in game. The purpose of Chronicles should be expand on already existing in game lore, not to serve as an excuse to not add it to the game.

[Deleted]

Why are there gnolls in Redrige Mountains? Why are there tuskarr in Northrend? Why are there saberon in Draenor? Because why not? They just live there.

Of course you can explain it by migrations, and so on. But that's advanced knowledge that, as a character, we just don't have yet at the beginning of the expansion.

It would be weird if they were in a land far from the settlements we already know, like Pandaria; but that's not the case. (Thanks n7stormreaver for the picture: http://i.imgur.com/RcX3tYW.jpg)

I agree that events like those of Stormrage or the Trial should be better explained in game. But this is a different matter. For the vrykuls of Stormheim, it's archeological and historical knowledge.

[Netherspark]

All plot and no story - that's what quests are nowadays.

The Lorewalkers partially made up for the lack of background lore in Mists, but we've not had anything similar since then.

[Magnagarde]

There is only so much you can find out as you adventure through a land. It is not like Blizzard will put all the information on tablets, books and scribes for us to find and read, to be come all-knowing. We find out what we need and what we can find out while playing the game and that is what happens in character with the lore. Out of character you recieve additional artwork, novels and books to give you the full picture.

I would honestly be disappointed if our characters found out everything about anything they come across.

For example, when you fly to get Light's Heart, Khadgar is amazed at all the elven structures/ruins scattered across the landscape and he even appears to be surprised at seeing a Vry'kul settlement in the distance. There is however little time to ponder over these things. The Explorers' League is there to do that. The rest of the characters are busy preventing the Burning Legion from conquering Azeroth and are getting together what they can in a hurry.

[TickTickTick]

You are meant to read the book(s) to enjoy the game fully, though. I wouldn't argue whether it's good practice or not, but this is not the first time you need to read something outside the game to fully understand what was going on in the game.

What? Absolutely not.
You read the books to advance your knowledge about something, to make it 100%, there I agree.
It never should have happened (and never have, until Stormheim) that you need to read the book to have ANY idea what's going on in the zone. As I said, it never happened before. Blizzard always gave at least glimpses of information.

It really feels strange, cause the visuals/audio are great. But the story flows so oddly, and the conflict between Alliance and Horde there doesnt help either.

[Qualia]

What? Absolutely not.
You read the books to advance your knowledge about something, to make it 100%, there I agree.
It never should have happened (and never have, until Stormheim) that you need to read the book to have ANY idea what's going on in the zone. As I said, it never happened before. Blizzard always gave at least glimpses of information.

It really feels strange, cause the visuals/audio are great. But the story flows so oddly, and the conflict between Alliance and Horde there doesnt help either.

I never said that "you need to read the book to have ANY idea what's going on in the zone.", though. Even without the book, we still know what is going on in the zone. We know that we have to do quest X because of reason Y - all of those were described in the quest text. The storyline is pretty clear. I can't remember if there was any quest that were unexplainable if you haven't read any book outside the game, at least.

What the book(s) gave us is only the background knowledge to allow you to fully understand the story - as you said. Just think about it - does it matter to our character if the answer for OP's questions were provided in game? Do the characters need to have any kind of extensive knowledge about background information of Stormheim to do what we did? Not really. The background information would allow us to enjoy the story better, but even without it, the story can go on just fine. Those background information was the icing, not the cake (not like there was that much more information about Stormheim in Chronicle than in game anyway).

Moreover, it happened before, so it's not true that this has never happened until Stormheim. I'd say that, for example, not reading "War Crimes" and Hellscream short story should have made you a lot more confused when WoD started compared to this.