Is the Warcraft 3's 'Game Manual' considered canon? If so...

[TheWorkingTitle]

There's a handful of questions regarding a few specific lines throughout it's pages that I have, such as...


1. Tyrande Whisperwind - "Tyrande is an ancient night elven princess and high-priestess of the moon goddess, Elune." - Page 149, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- If she's a princess, who are her royal parents and is her blood-line special in any way? Has there ever been quests in WoW or anything written in the books to supplement this statement?



2. Mutant Murlocs - "Though Murlocs abound along the rugged coastal regions of Kalimdor, there is a mutant strain of the race that has emerged in recent months. Though it is unclear what has caused the creature's strange mutations, many agree that something dark and sinister is awakening deep beneath the raging Maelstrom. The mutant Murlocs have been so corrupted that they have been known to turn on their own brethren under duress. - Page 143, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Something had to be asleep in order for it to awaken. Has N'zoth been awake and seemingly active since Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos? If not N'zoth, what else is capable of corrupting an entire strain of a race from deep under the Maelstrom?



3. Dryads/Keepers of the Grove - "The enchanted Dryads are the daughters of the Demi-God, Cenarius." and "The enchanted Keepers are the favored sons of the Demi-God, Cenarius." - Page 117 and 120 respectively, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- I'll go out on a limb and say Cenarius isn't asexual. Who's the mother, to the first of these Dryads and Keepers of the Grove?



4. Nerubians - "Though the Nerubians were immune to his plague, Ner'zhul's growing necromantic powers allowed him to raise the spider-warriors' corpses and bend them to his will. As a testament to their tenacity and fearlessness, Ner'zhul adopted the Nerubians' distinctive architectural style for his own fortresses and structures. Though there are few pockets of Nerubian warriors left, they still seek to gain vengeance upon Ner’zhul and reclaim their subterranean kingdom. - Page 141, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- Are there any known *living*, free, independant, establishments of Nerubians ever being mentioned about or shown in any books or WoW itself?



5. Warcraft 3's depiction of the World Map - Page 128 and 129, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Is this just a grossly outdated map or is there anything to be construed out of these proposed islands dotting the open seas?

[Deleted]

I think nothing is considered canon at this point.

[Deleted]

1. She was born as a regular night elf. According to the "War of the Ancient"-trilogy, she served as a moon guard and was somewhat blessed by Elune - she could heal infected demonic bites while others couldn't. However, it wasn't until her superior died until she was promoted.
Afaik, the only night elven queen ever mentioned was Azshara and when Tyrande decided to rule the night elves, she might have been called princess by someone. But she would reject such or any comparison to Azshara immediately.

If she's a princess, who are her royal parents and is her blood-line special in any way? Has there ever been quests in WoW or anything written in the books to supplement this statement?

2. There are different races of murlocs like deepsea murlocs. I am not sure if one could associate them with the ones encountered in WC3, but they might be mutated. If this is the doing of N'zoth, and this could well be, but he didn't start to plot during the third war, he's scheming for centuries. It could also be the doing of Azshara and her nagas which are known to sometimes enslave murlocs. However, they serve the old god, so it would be N'zoths doing indirectly.

3. You shouldn't take this too literal. Dryads and Keepers of the Grove are just modified druids. Before Malfurion somewhat established the Circle of Cenarius (or druids in general), there were none.

4. Yes there are. Have a look at Azjol-Nerub. There is a living (non-undead) Nerubian outside, destributing quest to make you reconquer their kingdom. Besides, Arthas, as a deathknight, faced living Nerubians calling his aquintance, Anub'arak, the traitor king (Arthas: "Who? me?")

5. Of course, this map is not up to date. However, one of these islands could be Pandaria (not known to most of Azeroths inhabitants, but possibly to the reader). Nonetheless, there are other known islands which we couldn't visit, yet:
Tel'Abim (where bananas come from)
Zandalar
Kul'Tiras (even important in WC3)

The Eastern one would somehow fit to Tol'Barad. Do not forget Kezan, either.

[Deleted]

Ye Blizz keeps shitting on the lore each content patch, book and now tweets even so at this point anything older than the latest tweet can't be considered canon and almost everything from WC3 has been retconned now so it's basicly an unrelated game at this point or alternate universe.

[Nirox]

There's a handful of questions regarding a few specific lines throughout it's pages that I have, such as...


1. Tyrande Whisperwind - "Tyrande is an ancient night elven princess and high-priestess of the moon goddess, Elune." - Page 149, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- If she's a princess, who are her royal parents and is her blood-line special in any way? Has there ever been quests in WoW or anything written in the books to supplement this statement?



2. Mutant Murlocs - "Though Murlocs abound along the rugged coastal regions of Kalimdor, there is a mutant strain of the race that has emerged in recent months. Though it is unclear what has caused the creature's strange mutations, many agree that something dark and sinister is awakening deep beneath the raging Maelstrom. The mutant Murlocs have been so corrupted that they have been known to turn on their own brethren under duress. - Page 143, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Something had to be asleep in order for it to awaken. Has N'zoth been awake and seemingly active since Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos? If not N'zoth, what else is capable of corrupting an entire strain of a race from deep under the Maelstrom?



3. Dryads/Keepers of the Grove - "The enchanted Dryads are the daughters of the Demi-God, Cenarius." and "The enchanted Keepers are the favored sons of the Demi-God, Cenarius." - Page 117 and 120 respectively, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- I'll go out on a limb and say Cenarius isn't asexual. Who's the mother, to the first of these Dryads and Keepers of the Grove?



4. Nerubians - "Though the Nerubians were immune to his plague, Ner'zhul's growing necromantic powers allowed him to raise the spider-warriors' corpses and bend them to his will. As a testament to their tenacity and fearlessness, Ner'zhul adopted the Nerubians' distinctive architectural style for his own fortresses and structures. Though there are few pockets of Nerubian warriors left, they still seek to gain vengeance upon Ner’zhul and reclaim their subterranean kingdom. - Page 141, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- Are there any known *living*, free, independant, establishments of Nerubians ever being mentioned about or shown in any books or WoW itself?



5. Warcraft 3's depiction of the World Map - Page 128 and 129, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Is this just a grossly outdated map or is there anything to be construed out of these proposed islands dotting the open seas?

1. not sure about this one, possibly retconned
2. yeah pretty sure it would be N'zoth i dont think we have anything to confirm he was asleep during this time
3. sons and daughters may not mean biologically, could be just a manner of speaking, dont think a mother has ever been mentioned
4. not that i know of, there are those Nerubians we do quests for the dungeons but i cant think of others besides that
5. the map is outdated, they just needed to give a general location for everything whereas WoW needed specifics, those islands are almost definitely there however, mostly troll civilisations and south seas stuff, haven't been in game yet

[Wyrt]

I'll go out on a limb and say Cenarius isn't asexual. Who's the mother, to the first of these Dryads and Keepers of the Grove?

I just assumed he hooked up with slutty night elf chicks.

[Kraenen]

For some reason I love looking at those old maps of azeroth and draenor/outland. I was always fascinated with the map of hellfire peninsula in the blood elf campaign.

Island west of kalimdor is feathermoon stronghold i think. A couple of those islands could be kul tiras, the goblin place, and maybe even pandaria (who knows how early it was conceived).

[Traveler Voltin]

There's a handful of questions regarding a few specific lines throughout it's pages that I have, such as...


1. Tyrande Whisperwind - "Tyrande is an ancient night elven princess and high-priestess of the moon goddess, Elune." - Page 149, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- If she's a princess, who are her royal parents and is her blood-line special in any way? Has there ever been quests in WoW or anything written in the books to supplement this statement?



2. Mutant Murlocs - "Though Murlocs abound along the rugged coastal regions of Kalimdor, there is a mutant strain of the race that has emerged in recent months. Though it is unclear what has caused the creature's strange mutations, many agree that something dark and sinister is awakening deep beneath the raging Maelstrom. The mutant Murlocs have been so corrupted that they have been known to turn on their own brethren under duress. - Page 143, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Something had to be asleep in order for it to awaken. Has N'zoth been awake and seemingly active since Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos? If not N'zoth, what else is capable of corrupting an entire strain of a race from deep under the Maelstrom?



3. Dryads/Keepers of the Grove - "The enchanted Dryads are the daughters of the Demi-God, Cenarius." and "The enchanted Keepers are the favored sons of the Demi-God, Cenarius." - Page 117 and 120 respectively, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- I'll go out on a limb and say Cenarius isn't asexual. Who's the mother, to the first of these Dryads and Keepers of the Grove?



4. Nerubians - "Though the Nerubians were immune to his plague, Ner'zhul's growing necromantic powers allowed him to raise the spider-warriors' corpses and bend them to his will. As a testament to their tenacity and fearlessness, Ner'zhul adopted the Nerubians' distinctive architectural style for his own fortresses and structures. Though there are few pockets of Nerubian warriors left, they still seek to gain vengeance upon Ner’zhul and reclaim their subterranean kingdom. - Page 141, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual.

- Are there any known *living*, free, independant, establishments of Nerubians ever being mentioned about or shown in any books or WoW itself?



5. Warcraft 3's depiction of the World Map - Page 128 and 129, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Is this just a grossly outdated map or is there anything to be construed out of these proposed islands dotting the open seas?

The very buttom island is panderia.

[zeviand]

The game manuals are canon.

1. Tyrande being a princess is never mentioned again outside of the manual, so it is safe to assume this is a retcon.

2. The darkness beneath the Maelstrom is generally considered to be an Old God or Azshara.

3. Keepers and dryads are consistently called sons and daughters of Cenarius, so this is canon. It is never specified who he mated with to make his children, or if they are metaphorical children, as Night Elves are also sometimes called Cenarius' children.

4. There are living Nerubians shown outside Azjol'nerub in WOTLK. There is actually a quest to retrieve their eggs so they may repopulate after you help clear out the undead from their kingdom.

5. I can't account for all the islands, but the one to the lower left of Kalimdor is the Sardor Isle, where Feathermoon Stronghold used to be. The large islands below the Maelstrom could be Pandaria and Kezan. The islands in the Eastern Kingdoms are probably Tol Barad or Kul Tiras. The islands north east of Lordaeron are probably the Lost Isles (they look like them, although where the lost isles are is never clear, they seem to drift around the maelstrom). The island next to Azeroth might be the Darkspear islands or Zandalar.

[Nirox]

5. Warcraft 3's depiction of the World Map - Page 128 and 129, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual

- Is this just a grossly outdated map or is there anything to be construed out of these proposed islands dotting the open seas?



[/QUOTE]

After the first and second wars they got super into cartography

[Thimagryn]

Cenarius is a demigod, and there isn't any rule or lore saying that they are bound to physical biological standards. Beings can be created through magic or other supernatural means.

On top of that, the 'Sons and Daughters' could be a figurative term to certain Night Elves who were transformed and gifted with their current forms. We know Night Elf physiology can change with magic; just look at Malfurion's wings, Illidan's demonic form and Broll who was born with antlers.

[Wyrt]

Broll who was born with antlers.

His mother must have hated him.

Well, assuming she somehow lived through that.

[gegalfo]

regarding the nerubians, you fight a bunch of the in the frozen throne as you make your way through azjol nerub and those referring to anub'arak as traitor king so those must be part of those not controlled by nerzhul

[Ispamx]

In reference to the map question, although most have already been answered, the ones just south of Northrend could be the Isle of Conquest, Strand of the Ancients or the Darkmoon Faire island. Isle of Conquest and Strand of the Ancients are confirmed to be near Northrend and Strand of the Ancinets appears to have part of the Path of the Titans connected to it, which would mean it would likely be south of Dragonblight. In addition, the Darkmoon Faire island is speculated to be near Northrend due to the cold atmosphere and a similar sky to the Northrend one.

[chazus]

The bottom is not pandaria. Pandaria did not exist lore-wise until ... well.. MoP.

Far Left: Feathermoon
Just SE of Kalimdor: Tel Abim
Southern island: Kezan/Undermine
North of Kezan: Zandalar
NE of Zandalar: Broken Isles/Tomb of Sargeras
Island between Azeroth and Lordaeon: Kul'Tiras
Two Islands beneath Northrend: Nothing really, no note of those. Mystery!

[Nirox]

Pandaria did not exist lore-wise until ... well.. MoP.

Thats not true, its location was never shown but it certainly did exist lore wise

[TheWorkingTitle]

I think nothing is considered canon at this point.

It sure feels that way doesn't it? It particularly disturbs me being a Warcraft fan before WoW and seeing how much has been retconned or altered. Still, some of this may be fleshed out later on /crosses fingers.

[Bitehattori]

In reference to the map question, although most have already been answered, the ones just south of Northrend could be the Isle of Conquest, Strand of the Ancients or the Darkmoon Faire island. Isle of Conquest and Strand of the Ancients are confirmed to be near Northrend and Strand of the Ancinets appears to have part of the Path of the Titans connected to it, which would mean it would likely be south of Dragonblight. In addition, the Darkmoon Faire island is speculated to be near Northrend due to the cold atmosphere and a similar sky to the Northrend one.

Under northrend; Isle of Suramar and strand of the anchients but isle of conquest is on the LEFT of Northrend. You can see Sholazar in the BG.
Far left of kalimdor; That island full of naga in classic
South; Pandaria, timeless isle and isle of thunder
Above; Troll kingdom, Kul'tiras or Darkmoon Faire island but DMF has gilneas forestry.

[Ispamx]

Thats not true, its location was never shown but it certainly did exist lore wise

This is correct. Pandaren existed in easter egg form in WC3 and I believe when asked about it at Blizzcon the devolpers confirmed that they did live on an island, though I'm not sure if the name Pandaria was specifically given. This is just from memory though so I may be incorrect about it.

[TheWorkingTitle]

1. not sure about this one, possibly retconned
2. yeah pretty sure it would be N'zoth i dont think we have anything to confirm he was asleep during this time
3. sons and daughters may not mean biologically, could be just a manner of speaking, dont think a mother has ever been mentioned
4. not that i know of, there are those Nerubians we do quests for the dungeons but i cant think of others besides that
5. the map is outdated, they just needed to give a general location for everything whereas WoW needed specifics, those islands are almost definitely there however, mostly troll civilisations and south seas stuff, haven't been in game yet

2. I figured N'zoth but there's also Ny'alotha which is supposedly down there too, I think. The Yogg-Saron puzzle box says something like "In the land of Ny'alotha there is only sleep."