Who are the Faceless Ones? Why are Old Gods warring?

[chrisisvacant]

I've always thought of the Old Gods as twisted reflections of the titans.

The titans strive for order in the universe while the Old Gods desire eternal chaos.

The Burning Legion is sort of a third, late arrival to the game, and they want obliteration - absolute nothingness. Sargeras' solution to chaos.

Yeah, I get the idea that the Old Gods, whatever race they are truly known as, are at constant war with the Titans. They essentially race through the galaxies attempting to populate planets in order to dominate the other and I suppose, sick of this war and all its destruction, Sargeras aims to create a vacuum whereupon both good and evil are finally stopped forever. Sort of makes an anti-hero out of him. Too bad he's such a dick.

[Caerule]

Book or not, I fully agree with Darenyon. What are the Faceless? The answer is pretty simple.

The Faceless are us.

The corruption of the Old Gods has changed many races, turning them to flesh, and degrading their structure and function. What happens when our corruption becomes total? I believe it's quite clear that the Faceless are the answer to that.

There are plenty of examples of people becoming faceless. It's what happens when you lose all control in the fight against Yogg-Saron. And even in the Saronite mine the Val'kyr keep in Icecrown, the miners that lose their minds throw themselves into the depths. And what crawled out of that saronite-filled hole? A Faceless.

And that's what the Faceless are: Corrupted flesh under the control of the old gods. Mortals that lost their own will completely to corruption and are now ruled by the will of something else.

[Fabled]

O.o

Now that is an interesting concept (though it kind of is similar to what is brought up earlier in this thread re: corrupted residue given sentience). Any idea where this is posted?

The opening quests for the Alliance to get to the Highlands has a Major Samuelson turn into a Faceless One upon finding out about his workings with the cult. Then in another Alliance quest you watch a dwarf priest I think it was, turns into one too, both which you kill of course.

This only furthers the concept that the followers of the Old Gods become these monstrosities, seeing that Samuelson prays to the old ones for his power and ascension, while the dwarf was corrupted by the nearby Maw of Madness - Iso'rath's either whispers, or some other corruption, I can't quite remember. Granted there might be true Faceless Ones, ones that just came into existence from the Old Gods making them one way or another, but the mortals of Azeroth becoming them too? That's the easiest way to make your own army, similar to the Forsaken raising their own undead.

[Faroth]

I think he is somehow trying to spread his corruption into azeroth to gain servants which their ultimate goal is to free N'zoth from his prison. This is where Azshara comes in. I think as Her and her people while sinking, N'zoth was able to contact her and promised her power and life which turned Her and her people into naga. We also see azhara commanding faceless ones in the underwater 5 man dungeon with king neptulon.

I believe Azhara is planning to use king neptulon and his power of the sea to free N'zoth of his ancient curse. Though I'm not sure what he is doing in the emerald dream making the emerald nightmare. Maybe the emerald dream has some averse affect. Whatever happens to the dream happens to azeroth as well? Maybe he is trying to find the Ny'alotha of the emerald dream and sink it which in turn would raise Ny'alotha in azeroth which would reveal his location to Azshara.

I'm hoping Azshara proves to be more than N'Zoth's lackey. In fact, I've often said I would LOVE a "naga expansion" that seems to be all about bringing down Azshara, only to pull a trick on us and have Azshara corner the Alliance/Horde into helping her.....defeat N'Zoth. Using Neptulon to gain further control of the sea, drawing Horde and Alliance to ally with her against the Old God (not as friends...as in "we don't have a choice but to help the naga against a greater threat). All this concluding with an expansion where the "final bad guy" turns out to indeed be a bad guy and such a good one that she outplays us, outmaneuvers us, and actually escapes us/gets the better of us at the end. N'Zoth being the final boss and Azshara now free to do what she wishes rather than serve an Old God.

Because y'know what...Azshara is supposed to be supremely bad ass. Supposedly with the exception of a few like Kil'jaeden and other higher rank members, the demons of the Burning Legion were actually afraid of her. She had a personal guard of Legion demons who became so loyal to her, they would have fought their own kind in her defense.

It would say a lot if she were to scheme, plot, plan, and throw off the shackles of her Old God master. A feat no other has done. And what would that say about her when we revisited her for another expansion to really deal with her?

But Blizzard is pretty straightforward with WoW, so I feel confident nothing like this would have any chance of happening.

[leaks]

Wasn't there something recently that stated the Faceless as originally being servants of the Titans? Or was this demons? I forget :S

Either way, I'm finding this thread a very interesting read.

You're thinking of warlock's doomguards.

Also the titans didn't arrive before the old gods.

[leaks]

Doomguards! That was it!

Pretty sure the Titans were there first. Unless I'm forgetting my WoW lore. The Titans ordered Azeroth, the Old gods showed up after and became parasitical with the planet and so bonding with it, creating the curse of flesh that was used on the Vrykul, Gnomes, Dwarves and so on, which were created by the Titans to assist in ordering the planet and keeping watch of it (essentially). Then the Titans returned and went to war with the Old Gods because of the chaos they stood for and had visited on the world. They couldn't outright kill them because they were not so connected to Azeroth so chained them beneath the surface. That's the way I remember things at least :S

The titans had to subdue the elementals before they could reshape the world. The elementals that were already mad and worshiping the old gods.

[Flaks]

Since N'zoth is imprisoned into azeroth itself if C'thun and Yogg carried out their plan he would die with azeroth. Hence why he is fighting against them or his minions.

How would that kill N'zoth? C'thun and Yogg-Saron weren't trying to destroy Azeroth. All old gods want is chaos, not the destruction of Azeroth.

[Deleted]

Correct. There is also 1 more old god missing (so far) There seems to be an old god on each continent. Cthun on kalimdor, Yogg on northrend, Y'shaarj in Pandaria and Nzoth in the seas.

Actually... Maybe if you count the fact that Azeroth used to be one continent (All 4 continents were together) Unless the Old Gods came after the divide but still... I mean just because there's 4 continents, couldn't automatically mean there's 1 on each

[Tzalix]

I don't think Faceless Ones are a "race" in that sense. I think it's more likely that all the different Old Gods shaped their own Faceless Ones to do their bidding. They all look similar because they are all spawns of Old Gods, and Old Gods think alike!

[Golden Yak]

Pretty sure the Titans were there first. Unless I'm forgetting my WoW lore. The Titans ordered Azeroth, the Old gods showed up after and became parasitical with the planet and so bonding with it, creating the curse of flesh that was used on the Vrykul, Gnomes, Dwarves and so on, which were created by the Titans to assist in ordering the planet and keeping watch of it (essentially). Then the Titans returned and went to war with the Old Gods because of the chaos they stood for and had visited on the world. They couldn't outright kill them because they were not so connected to Azeroth so chained them beneath the surface. That's the way I remember things at least :S

The timeline is still a little unclear on this point - there's no solid information.

The earliest lore indicates that the titans arrived to find Azeroth under the rule of the Old Gods. Some blue sources mention certain races predating the titans but not the Old Gods, which would necessitate the Old Gods being there first.

Some other sources seem to indicate that the titans arrived first and the Old Gods came later, but they might also indicate that the Old Gods were first but remained hidden until after the titans had defeated the elementals and begun their work. The titans eventually discovered them after their creations were infected, and then all-out war broke out.

Like I said - it's still unclear. I really do want some of this straightened out.

Actually... Maybe if you count the fact that Azeroth used to be one continent (All 4 continents were together) Unless the Old Gods came after the divide but still... I mean just because there's 4 continents, couldn't automatically mean there's 1 on each

The earliest Old God lore said '5', so that's what I'm banking on. That would give us one on each continent, and one in the sea. Provided there is actually on in the Eastern Kingdoms somewhere, I'm not sure where it could be though.

[Kaleredar]

I've always taken it that the old gods merely coagulated whenever Azeroth itself formed. The old gods then created the faceless, enslaved the elementals, and started fighting one another.

Moreover, there's no evidence that the old gods were ever seriously warring with one another; I.e, to defeat the other old gods and then rule Azeroth or some such. Everything I've ever read about them indicates they warred endlessly with one another, yes, but I'd contend that was by design. Nothing says that they wanted to "win." it seems most reasonable to me that they intended to watch their forces crash endlessly together, because that's the definition of chaos. Not one of them sitting pretty on Azeroth after having defeated the others.

[Deleted]

Faceless ones are likely other intelligent species transformed into faceless ones, just like the satyr are high elves turned into satyr by the Burning Legion, or turned into naga by the old gods.
In the Alliance pre-quest chain for Twilight Highlands Major Samuelson transforms into a faceless after failing to stab the king.

[Puppy]

If you want to know a little bit more about old gods outside of WoW I suggest you read H.P Lovecraft, all the old gods in his books bare very similar resemblance to the WoW counterparts.


Yog-Sathoth, Cthulhu, Azathoth, Shub-Nigurrath all have different races that serve them across the universe kinda like the Qiraji or the Mantid.

[chrisisvacant]

If you want to know a little bit more about old gods outside of WoW I suggest you read H.P Lovecraft, all the old gods in his books bare very similar resemblance to the WoW counterparts.


Yog-Sathoth, Cthulhu, Azathoth, Shub-Nigurrath all have different races that serve them across the universe kinda like the Qiraji or the Mantid.

I'm actually a huge Lovecraft fan which is probably why these Old God storylines are my favorite in the entirety of Warcraft lore.

I am not sure, however, if there is a Faceless equivalent in Lovecraftian lore. I have noted, however, the direct similarities between the known 4 Old Gods and their Lovecraftian inspirations.

[Golden Yak]

I am not sure, however, if there is a Faceless equivalent in Lovecraftian lore. I have noted, however, the direct similarities between the known 4 Old Gods and their Lovecraftian inspirations.

The Faceless on modeled on Cthulhu himself, who like the Faceless Ones is a servant of far more powerful entities. In some depictions Cthulhu is served by a race of smaller creatures who otherwise resemble him.

[Azahel]

It seems that there is a lot of complexity going on in the Old Gods' storyline involving child races. Typically, the Old God does not resemble the race he creates to do his bidding and, additionally, all Old Gods have some sort of connection to or display usage of Faceless Ones.

Faceless Ones are often misconstrued as being directly created by (originally) Yogg-Saron and then also N'Zoth. However, neither of these are true. It seems that each and every Old God has displayed reliance on Faceless Ones in carrying out their greater schemes, including the creation of lesser races such as the Qiraji, Naga, and Sha. N'Zoth's Faceless Ones do tend to have a more aquatic appearance, but this is likely due to N'Zoth being chained under the sea and the Faceless Ones evolved over time.

Additionally, murals of Faceless Ones are seen in countless locations including raids and dungeons associated to N'Zoth, Yogg-Saron, and Y'Shaarj. C'Thun has a huge following of Faceless Ones in the Twilight Highlands and Bastion of Twilight, etc.

So, who are they? They are clearly a very developed race with different roles manifesting in different physicalities - casters, generals, "grunts", etc. They have their own language and their own hierarchy. So, where do they come from? Are they formed from the blood of the Old Gods? If so, who is responsible for which one? Furthermore, when we discuss the Faceless Army headed by Warlord Zon'ozz, etc - why would armies of the same race attack each other in this fashion? Further still, if the Big 3 (C'thun, Yogg-Saron, and N'Zoth) were supposed to be in cahoots, then why would Zon'ozz's army fight against the others?

/equip tinfoil hat

Why fight each other? Very simple. They'd make you eat your own entrails for fun. They're chaotic, the world was pure chaos when they ruled.
They'd stick a dynamite on their best followers just to laugh when they exploded if they had dynamite when the titans arrived...

[Shedeo]

Since the nature of the old god's has only been hinted at with titan lore, i have theories on them and the faceless ones. One of the titan machines says that azeroth was infected early in its development by "parasitic, necrophotic symbiotes". I think that this means they are god-like beings from outside the universe that azeroth inhabits. My guess is they need to be summoned by beings (like the faceless ones) to azeroth. There is a quest in outland where you stop some arraokoa from summoning an old god to Outland. Once summoned in they are bound to the planet and if killed cause a backlash that can bring doom to a planet (the sha).

My theory is that the faceless ones are a primordial race of azeroth that summoned the old god's to azeroth. Once the first old god was summoned in others tried to find their way in, like flies to garbage. I'm sure a future expansion will elaborate on the faceless ones, they're one of the few unwritten parts of WoW's lore already in the lore.

Prettymuch this. I've always considered the Faceless to be the progenitor race of Azeroth, who summoned these beings from beyond time and space to infect the planet with their "glory."

I'm still curious, though, why they seem to use Faceless One murals as depictions of the gods yet no gods even remotely resemble Faceless Ones. Why erect Faceless statues? It seems to me that Faceless Ones rarely ever bother with idol worship outside of their designated god.

Quite simple. It is not idol worship, merely them erecting memorials to their heroes, ancestors, and champions, similar to the entry bridge of Stormwind.

[Deleted]

None of the old gods get a long, they wish to destroy each other and take whatever the other one has to enhance or strengthen it's domination.

Even the sha's don't get along, they all wish to burry each other lol.

[JudgePayne]

As I see it the old gods have two branches of servents each the elementals and the faceless ones.

[Madruga]

Maybe the Eastern Kingdoms's Old God is beneath Tirisfal Glades?

It has been implied there is something terrifying down there, which also explains why the Highborne were drawn to that place. And there is that weird circle of wisps on the western mountains. Granted, Blizzard stated that terrifying thing is not an Old God, but who knows... The Sha were not suposed to be Old Gods as well.

Or maybe the Old God is close to Stranglethorn. After All, there were peole going mad in Stranglethorn, there was that quest with a chest containing a piece of an Old God, Hakkar does name himsled "Blood God" and, well... Maybe trolls summoned an Old God there ages ago?