So, bwonsamdi

[Trassk]

Throughout BFA, as horde, we were given just subtle suggestions on what bwonsamdi was up to. We know that he was completely against sylvanas raising the dead into undead, because as a death entity he needed the souls of the dead to be pulled into the afterlife.

we also found out he had a boss he refereed to, suggesting he's really just a lower entity to a much larger being.

I think it goes without saying that the larger entity he's referring to is either the jailer or the arbiter. Based on everything we know, the arbiter is the entity that decides on where souls end up in the shadowlands, while the jailer is the one containing the souls in the maw. Between these two, I would say the jailer would more suit what bwonsamdi refereed to as his boss.

This is where the questions come in. If the jailer is bwonsamdi's boss, as in the souls bwonsamdi collected were sent to him, did bwonsamdi know what the jailer was doing, as in bringing all souls into the maw to gain power?
And if bwonsamdi has been part of the jailers plan, which now would put bwonsamdi at odds with all living souls such as us, who is going to go into the shadowlands to stop the jailer doing this, does that mean we're be facing bwonsamdi as a foe?

Also as he was against sylvanas for raising the undead, yet she is now the jailers trophy wife, how does this tie in with him doing these deeds for the jailer and not questioning sylvanas suddenly being the jailers fav pet?

[Maljinwo]

Bwonsamdi seems more on the Arbiter side to me. He refers to a balance between life an death, while the Jailer was hoarding souls

He also has his own pocket dimension in the Shadowlands and im sure he wouldn't appreciate having his souls funneled to the Maw

[Super Dickmann]

It sounds more like Bwon is on the arbiter's side of things, but that he also has his side gig, given that he tasks you with bringing in a million souls, which does kinda violate the whole "let them die and go before the arbiter to be judged".

[Trassk]

Bwonsamdi seems more on the Arbiter side to me. He refers to a balance between life an death, while the Jailer was hoarding souls

He also has his own pocket dimension in the Shadowlands and im sure he wouldn't appreciate having his souls funneled to the Maw

that could be true yeah, maybe for all his more sinister demeanor he really is more one for upholding the balance of life and death, which would make him someone who'd be against the plans of the jailer and sylvanas in shadowlands.

[agentsi]

Bwonsamdi also wanted Sylvannas' head, meaning that whichever covenant he is working for in the shadowlands, knew what the jailer and her were up to.

[Rustedsaint]

No he didn’t like sylvanns and wanted her head.
His boss is probably someone different who wants to keep the balance

[Trassk]

It sounds more like Bwon is on the arbiter's side of things, but that he also has his side gig, given that he tasks you with bringing in a million souls, which does kinda violate the whole "let them die and go before the arbiter to be judged".

theres that too, forgot about the request he was gonna make.

maybe he is just all about self and only upholding his personal stake rather then working for any of the greater powers in the shadowlands.

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Bwonsamdi also wanted Sylvannas' head, meaning that whichever covenant he is working for in the shadowlands, knew what the jailer and her were up to.

I really want this stuff addressed in the lore coming into shadowlands, details like this are some of the better parts of the story.

[Super Dickmann]

theres that too, forgot about the request he was gonna make.

maybe he is just all about self and only upholding his personal stake rather then working for any of the greater powers in the shadowlands.

That was previously the default, far as I can tell. Helya had a similar gig going of nabbing souls to empower herself. And it's what the Jailor/Sylvanas are doing as well. As is the Lich King, since he grows more powerful the more souls, i.e undead he has under his control.

He is 100% anti-Sylvanas and the Jailor given that he both went on about getting her head and that she was disrupting the balance, which we now know was not a reference ot her raising undead but her soul-funneling gig. Given what we know thus far, my go-to is that he has a deal with the Arbiter to be allowed to skip the judging process and nab souls, in exchange for keeping them secure, hence why he was annoyed when Zalazane busted out, since the Arbiter could withdraw the deal. Of course, nothing happened, since she's been supplanted by the Jailor at the moment.

[Jaggler]

theres that too, forgot about the request he was gonna make.

maybe he is just all about self and only upholding his personal stake rather then working for any of the greater powers in the shadowlands.

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I really want this stuff addressed in the lore coming into shadowlands, details like this are some of the better parts of the story.

There's a dungeon about Bwonsamdi and his boss, so we sure gonna get some answers

[faithbane]

I mean.. considering there are these "pocket dimensions" and a few mini-realms in the shadowlands that we know of that are owned by certain entities kinda causes a paradox with the whole souls go in front of arbiter to be judged claim..

It isn't possible for shadow hunters to dedicate themselves to bwonsamdi and have their kills and their souls bound to bwonsamdi and at the same time go in front of arbiter to be judged and assigned to a realm..

Also, we thought nature/druidic death went to emerald dream, we even saw examples of entities that we kill on azeroth, and straight up in emerald dream! now we hear that there is actually a nature realm in shadowlands that they are suppose to go first like wtf?

[agentsi]

theres that too, forgot about the request he was gonna make.

maybe he is just all about self and only upholding his personal stake rather then working for any of the greater powers in the shadowlands.

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I really want this stuff addressed in the lore coming into shadowlands, details like this are some of the better parts of the story.

I agree, they can't leave this stuff out. It has to be stated somewhere or experienced by the player at some point. If we go into 9.1 and we still haven't had that resolved, that's a major issue to me.

Another issue I see, is iirc, Ion talked in a Q&A about how well received the voice acting and the character of Bwonsamdi were. So they added more stuff for him almost on the fly during the expansion. Meaning, it wasn't written into the lore before BFA launched, like most other details. I wonder if this was one of those situations where it will just be left to us to decide who he was actually working for.

[Nephys]

You are completely wrong, bwonsamdi is working against sylavanas and the jailer, the jailer stole vol jins soul from him. It's more likely that bwonsamdis boss is neither the jailer nor the arbiter, but instead the leader of another covenant.

The sjadowlands have lots of covenants, it's unlikely we have seen all of them, and very likely that more will be added as the expansion goes, probably his boss will be one of those added later.

I'm also curious about helya, does she have her own covenant? Or is she working with the jailer? She worked with sylavanas, and she's working with the jailer, so... Yet helya is not just a mere servant, I hope

[TickTickTick]

bwonsamdi doesnt make much sense now that the way shadowlands function is revealed

before blizzcon we didnt know for sure where the souls that go through him are going. he seemed reaaaaaally eager to collect as many as possible, making deals with living trolls to bring him more souls. but... its not like a soul has to be lead by someone to travel to shadowlands - they all end up here. and its not like these souls powered him up in any way because he's not the one to decide where they're going. no matter where you die, no matter who's nearby, you always end up in shadowlands before the arbiter to be judged.

so whats the deal with bwonsamdi? was he ripping some of this juicy anima from each soul? is he falsely lead to belive he grows stronger, for amusement of shadowlands higher ups? i dont really know what is the point of his character at the moment, he isnt really needed at all. he also doesnt have a clue that all these souls he's getting excited about go straight to the maw. and if it benefited him in any way, why would he be so mad at Sylvanas then?

idk, it doesnt really make sense anymore

[Flurryfang]

It sounds more like Bwon is on the arbiter's side of things, but that he also has his side gig, given that he tasks you with bringing in a million souls, which does kinda violate the whole "let them die and go before the arbiter to be judged".

But does the arbitor not only distrubute the souls between the realms of shadowlands? It does not seem like Bwonsamdis world is not a place on the Arbitors list. Seems just like he holds them in the world instead.

[Aresk]

Well, souls don't just end up in the Shadowlands. As PCs, we've died several times and never once gone before the Arbiter. We've been met with Kyrians and Bwonsamdi. We've boarded the ferryman's boat or forced directly into Helheim by Vrykul rituals. It could be Bwonsamdi is a venue of ferrying these souls to the Shadowlands and gets some sort of fee for transporting them.

On the topic of his boss, I figure it's probably some other loa spirit. It could be the arbiter. I think the jailer doesn't make a lot of sense, personally, but everyone above has pretty much covered my reasons for that.

Edit: I also found it interesting that, theoretically, Grand Empress Shek'zeer should be in the Maw based on when she died (MoP) and when things broke (WotLK or before), and death knights had no problem entering the Shadowlands, tearing some of the essence from her soul, and then returning to the order hall in Legion. Kind of makes light of the fact that no one ever leaves the Maw, since a bunch of DK champions and their minions were able to go there and back.

[Romanthony]

I think it was mentioned somewhere, that in one zone, we will be seeing Bwonsamdi and seeing what hes up too

[shoc]

I think most likely Bwomsamdi's boss is the leader of the Necrolord Covenant. I mean, just compare art styles for a second.




Of any of the Shadowlands covenants, Bwomsamdi is very obviously running with the Necrolords or is a powerful Necrolord himself. The ghoulie boney aesthetic is undeniably Necrolord.

It would also explain why he wants to send lots of souls to the afterlife, because the Necrolord covenant is a militaristic power that has the greatest strength of numbers.

[LarryWithTheWeatherReport]

Bwonsamdi is probably just a minor big shot compared to the other head honchos in the Shadowlands. I doubt he's a agent of the Arbiter, he seems far too weak for that. Maybe a agent of one of the Covenant leaders or just a agent of a completely different entity in the Shadowlands since the realm is infinite so it's very possible there could be a Loa sub section somewhere in the realm.

[Aucald]

I would assume psychopomps like Bwonsamdi probably serve the Arbiter - either directly, or in the general command structure that descends from the Arbiter.

[TickTickTick]

Well, souls don't just end up in the Shadowlands. As PCs, we've died several times and never once gone before the Arbiter. We've been met with Kyrians and Bwonsamdi. We've boarded the ferryman's boat or forced directly into Helheim by Vrykul rituals. It could be Bwonsamdi is a venue of ferrying these souls to the Shadowlands and gets some sort of fee for transporting them.

Well, people dont just walk around with the heart of their planet soul. Or with legendary weapons. Or dont just happen to beat the biggest threats, saving the world again and again.
The fact that the val'kyr are bringing us back doesnt mean everyone has the same luxury. It's just not our time to die yet.

I wouldnt take the PCs as a rule because we are one of a kind. All the other characters go to Shadowlands when they die. But tbh I wouldnt even take us dying as canon, its pure gameplay. Is there any offical lore entry about the PCs dying and coming back, besides LK/Argus fights?

And what about the characters who died somewhere, alone? Do you think their souls just wait there until some "ferryman" finds them? What about Draenor and countless other planets?