What makes Thrall a Hero

[Frumpy Frumpy Frak]

it's not because he thinks like a human he is the most peaceful leader the horde ever had, it's because he is a hero. he's just a hero, nothing more nothing less.

it's not because it is shaped like an apple it is one of the reddest apples this forum has ever had, it's because it is an orange. it's just an orange, nothing more nothing less.

Your logic, not mine.

[Albert the fish]

what makes Thrall a hero?
he took control of a broken and largely enslaved Horde and rebuilt it into a force rivaling the dominant Alliance in an extremely short period of time.

he took the Darkspear Trolls, who were on the verge of extinction, and risked his own men an his own life to save them from needless death.

he took the Tauren, who were in serious danger, and risked his own men and his own life to save them from needless death.

he took the Forsaken, who the world damned and mistrusted, and accepted them as allies(even if that trust was later betrayed by an independent faction within the Forsaken, it was still a heroic, if naive, thing)

he saw the plight of the Blood Elves, once one of the greatest enemies of his people and offered them asylum within the Horde, forgiving them for what transpired in times past.

he joined with his greatest enemy to stop a universally destructive force. he could have simply drank of demonic blood again and saved his people and rid himself of the Alliance that way.

basically he always seems to make the move that helps others at cost to himself and his own people. maybe not the best leader ever, but a hero nonetheless.

[Hareshkana]

And Drek'thar was the first confirmed Shaman since Warlocks... who else taught Thrall shamanism?

And to Albert the fish... Thrall was never exposed to any demonic blood. Sure he met some corrupted Orcs, but never was he confronted with drinkable stuff

[Albert the fish]

And Drek'thar was the first confirmed Shaman since Warlocks... who else taught Thrall shamanism?

And to Albert the fish... Thrall was never exposed to any demonic blood. Sure he met some corrupted Orcs, but never was he confronted with drinkable stuff

you mean to tell me you honestly believe Thrall could not have met a demon..any demon and said
"the Horde is willing to submit to the Burning Legion once more" Mannoroth himself would have have cheerfully come stomping down to proffer his own veins in order to regain their chosen army?

[Maskara]

News about Thralls retirement made me sad.So i like decided to write down some things why he doesnt deserve a treatment like this, in other words what makes him so EPIC:
1.Dude build up the HORDE.
2.He united all orc-clans.
3.He participated in battle for Hyjal & succesfully defeated Archimonde and his crew.
4.He managed to take down ( together with Hellscream ( NOT Garrosh)) Mannoroth. Mannoroth was a relative of Magtheridon,so he cleared Magth. Chamber just with 2 men,and not 25.And check this out : he even didnt use his ankh.
5.Thrall used to be the hardest City Raid boss,back in Vanilla-WoW.

Atm, i dont remember anything else,so please lore-folks,continue that topic

He was raised raised by Humans in Durnholde, mainly Tareethra. He keeps the bond between Theramore (yeah, screw Stormwind) and Orgrimmar. He saved his friend Grom from corruption which inturn led Grom into saving the Horde, and last but not least; he's Horde.

[Exxile87]

News about Thralls retirement made me sad.So i like decided to write down some things why he doesnt deserve a treatment like this, in other words what makes him so EPIC:
1.Dude build up the HORDE.
2.He united all orc-clans.
3.He participated in battle for Hyjal & succesfully defeated Archimonde and his crew.
4.He managed to take down ( together with Hellscream ( NOT Garrosh)) Mannoroth. Mannoroth was a relative of Magtheridon,so he cleared Magth. Chamber just with 2 men,and not 25.And check this out : he even didnt use his ankh.
5.Thrall used to be the hardest City Raid boss,back in Vanilla-WoW.

Atm, i dont remember anything else,so please lore-folks,continue that topic

Not gonna hate on you, but when you post something lore-related, make sure you know what you're talking about. Most of that is completely wrong (it was, in fact, NOT Garrosh that finished Mannoroth...props on 1 in 5 facts being correct).

[Tro]

Taurens say hi

Tauren Shamans are a game mechanic

[Hareshkana]

you mean to tell me you honestly believe Thrall could not have met a demon..any demon and said
"the Horde is willing to submit to the Burning Legion once more" Mannoroth himself would have have cheerfully come stomping down to proffer his own veins in order to regain their chosen army?

Almost all Brown Orcs would of said no if they just saw a demon who offered them it's blood for power. It's the same thing, whenever Thrall met demons, he was there to kill it.

[Albert the fish]

Almost all Brown Orcs would of said no if they just saw a demon who offered them it's blood for power. It's the same thing, whenever Thrall met demons, he was there to kill it.

that's sorta the point i was making here actually

Thrall COULD have chosen to offer the Horde back to the Burning Legion. they would have accepted and the Horde would be fine and they'd probably even leave Thrall in charge of the Horde so long as he remained loyal to the Burning Legion.
instead he chose to risk the Horde's existence by teaming up with the Alliance and the Night Elves(who were separate at the time) and fight the demons.

that's a heroic act.

[dogpie]

Tauren Shamans are a game mechanic

Tauren were Shaman long before they ever met Thrall. (Not that I'm bagging on Thrall, he's the best warcraft character there is)

[Duskmourne]

His intentions are good; he is honorable and wise.

[Deleted]

There is plenty of stuff on Wowwiki about Thrall and his exploits, it's a very worthy read, but I thought to post here the most meaningful exerpts:

In one of the most spiritual experiences of his life, Thrall befriended the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and the Wilds. He became the first new shaman since Gul'dan's vile corruption of the Horde. He returned to the camp a new orc and became fully immersed in the old ways of the shaman and his clan, embracing his role as son of the chieftain. This was a significant and symbolic event, since Thrall was the first shaman to be accepted by the spirits since Drek'Thar's time. Not only did this mean Thrall would be destined to be one of the greatest shamans in orcish history, but it also meant that the spirits finally forgave the orcish race for consorting with demonic powers, and deemed Thrall as the first of a brand new generation of shamans.

It was then that the stranger revealed himself as Orgrim Doomhammer — the Warchief of the Horde. Doomhammer had been contacted by Drek'Thar about the return of the son of Durotan. The Warchief decided to provoke Thrall into a fight to see if Drek'Thar's praise was deserved — and it was. Not only was Thrall able to challenge Doomhammer's strength, he also was able to best him — a feat only once before accomplished...by Thrall's father.

The following passage quite well demonstrates how Thrall doesn't wish for needless war and killing and is thoughtful even towards the former captors of him. It also demonstrates how powerful as a shaman he is.

If the Alliance would let them be, they would not trouble the Alliance and would be willing to engage in cooperation and trade. If the Alliance chose to fight them, they would have made an enemy the likes of which had never been seen before — making the old warlock-controlled Horde shrink to insignificance. He then left Durnholde after allowing Sergeant and the surviving humans to walk away unharmed. When they were gone he called upon the Spirit of the Earth to destroy the keep, before leading his people to freedom.

He is proud, not only of his legacy and race, but also of their freedom:

As Archimonde made his way up the mountain towards Thrall's base, he taunted Thrall by saying that his race wasn't worth bothering with and that the orcs were weak. Thrall replied that their spirit is strong and if they are to be defeated at least they are free, and struck out, attacking Archimonde and hurting him a little with a Chain Lightning, before Jaina teletransported him away

Thrall deeply hates the Legion and does not allow the Horde to become servants and puppets of anyone else. To meet this end he does not hesitate even for a blink of an eye to smash someone's head in.

After the battle began, however, Jaina contacted Thrall with information that his Burx was working for the orcish end of the Burning Blade cult. Infuriated at the idea that an orc would once again serve the Legion (the demon Zmodlor was pulling the strings of the cult), Thrall immediately stopped the battle (with some impressive aid from the Spirits) and denounced Burx. When the warrior protested that he was acting within the Horde's interests, Thrall smashed his skull with the Doomhammer.

[Taliron]

that's sorta the point i was making here actually

Thrall COULD have chosen to offer the Horde back to the Burning Legion. they would have accepted and the Horde would be fine and they'd probably even leave Thrall in charge of the Horde so long as he remained loyal to the Burning Legion.
instead he chose to risk the Horde's existence by teaming up with the Alliance and the Night Elves(who were separate at the time) and fight the demons.

that's a heroic act.

No, Thrall could not have chosen to offer the Horde to the legion. He had seen first hand the corruption of his people, his own people wouldn't have left him. Archimonde was there to destroy, the legion knew the Orcs wouldn't of sold themselves to the legion, not after sacrificing so much to regain their freedom. The Orcs were teamed up with the Humans before they knew anything about demons.

[Albert the fish]

No, Thrall could not have chosen to offer the Horde to the legion. He had seen first hand the corruption of his people, his own people wouldn't have left him. Archimonde was there to destroy, the legion knew the Orcs wouldn't of sold themselves to the legion, not after sacrificing so much to regain their freedom. The Orcs were teamed up with the Humans before they knew anything about demons.

a good example of a strawman argument.
it's got nothing to do with anything.

[Taliron]

a good example of a strawman argument.
it's got nothing to do with anything.

His argument was pathetic to begin with. Any Orc, Human or Night Elf would never side with the legion if they had experienced what Thrall had, none who had any good in them at all. To say that Thrall did what any sane thing would do is hardly a cause to call him any more heroic or honourable than most

[Sephyxia]

1: He didn't just sit in Orgrimmar (which btw he took a large part in building himself, that's right, he built orgrimmar!), he is the warlord of the horde, which is basically king. If he didn't do something himself that's because he delegated it to someone else while he was busy making treaties with other factions and creating war strategies. When was the last time you saw any of our presidents out on the front lines or down in a natural disaster zone working all day every day?
2: Mannaroth was more powerful then Magtheridon, which btw is a 25man raid boss in BC, which for the most part still cannot be two manned. Mannaroth was fucking powerful, Thrall can't win them all. He isn't a god afterall.
3: The Horde's base at Mt. Hyjal was directly in Archimonde's way. In fact, the entire base was leveled before the Demon lord pushed through. Thrall himself fought in the battle but ducked out when he knew he was losing. You see the plan wasn't to kill or get killed by Archimonde, it was to buy Malfurion time.
4: You're right, he didn't unite all the orc clans. He did however unite all the surviving orc clans in Lordearon, picked up a tribe of kick ass trolls, carved the tauren a new homeland, and made a nation that currently rivals the Alliance. So no he may not have united the orcs, but he did create one of the two most powerful forces vying for control of Azeroth.

He never even dropped a totem =P

Thrall is badass for so many reasons that even chuck norris thinks of him as not quite as good as himself, but not too bad either.

I can solo Mag'theridon with my DK Tank. It takes around 20 - 25mins though.

[Skronk]

5. And no, he didn't unite all the clans. How could he, when the only clans remaining were in Outlands, and under Mag's taint? He united those Orcs stranded in Azeroth who suffered from the lethargy of not having that taint.

he did not unite all the clans left in azeroth either, The Blackrock clan are still independant and indeed hostile towards the new horde, along with The Twilights hammer, and The Burning Blade are other notable clans

[Sephyxia]

he did not unite all the clans left in azeroth either, The Blackrock clan are still independant and indeed hostile towards the new horde, along with The Twilights hammer, and The Burning Blade are other notable clans

Someone already posted that Thrall only combined the Lethargic Orcs and some lost Orcs that were found in Azeroth. The only reason the Horde is big now is because it's comprised of 5, going to 6, different races.

[Tealc]

the biggest thing that makes him a hero in my mind is the fact the he has kept the horde from killing itself.

The undead are in the horde for safety in numbers, plain and simple. If they had more sheer numbers they would have struck out on their own a long time ago. might not be the smartest move, but just seems they would rather be alone.

The Tauren are too peaceful for their own good. Capable warriors when called upon they are,but they resort to peace too often.

Im pretty sure ever the Blood elves don't like the Blood elves, never mind the rest of the horde.

The trolls fight well, but are just to small in numbers. They get along decently well with the orcs, but would seem to care little to nothing about the other races.

Orcs love to fight. Since being used by the burning legion they wouldn't seem to have the greatest amount of trust for anyone besides their own people and even that seems shaky every now and then.

All the races in the Horde have little to nothing in common except for their enemies. Its not really a very far out idea that if they didn't have the alliance to deal with the Horde would straight out war with each other.

[gridia444]

What makes Thrall a hero?

His early 90s Hulk Hogan physique. 22" PYTHONS, BROTHER!