Is being undead a requirement for being a new DK?

[Thage]

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: As demonstrated repeatedly since Warcraft 3, one of the criteria for raising a death knight is that this person has to draw the attention of the Scourge or the Ebon Blade as a noteworthy individual, otherwise the Scourge/Ebon Blade would be wasting their time attempting to raise this person as a Death Knight instead of adding them to the pile of mindless Scourge (or used as cannon fodder/ghouls, for the Ebon Blade). Legion goes out of its way to reinforce this point, as every Death Knight you raise as part of the Order Hall questline is someone who was a person of importance in life, and has been dead for some time now (twice over, in Darion's case). Sally Whitemane, High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, General Nazgrim of the Horde, King Thoras Trollbane of Stromgarde, and Highlord Darion Mograine of the Ebon Blade are all names worth knowing.

There is no reason to assume that the allied races and pandaren who are made death knights didn't undergo the process of death, revival, and training that the rest of the Ebon Blade did; it's just that (like the regular allied race PCs) you're skipping their initiation process to play one ready to stand battle. So far, Arthas and Bolvar remain unique in that there's no evidence they died before getting their powers as death knights. Every other example we've gotten involves someone who had to die first. What's worth noting is that your death knight, like the rest, was somebody before they died. I'd take current lore into account and odds are good you either died in the Fourth War or during the current war against N'Zoth.

After Shadowlands launches, odds are, like the WotLK death knights, you died in the pre-expansion Scourge invasion event in canon, but the starting quest is ambiguous enough to give you wiggle room as to when you died--you could stretch it from a roleplay perspective and say you had died during the events of Legion, if you want to. The Ebon Blade has certainly been busy raising death knights all across the board, as the nameless NPC troops evidence, and the last two wars have left them no shortage of dead heroes to initiate into the order.

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Are "Forsaken" DKs even technically Lore?

The original DK starting zone occurs nearly the same time the Forsaken are being established. The point of the Forsaken were they are shambling monstrosities that regained their facilities, but they had been in various states of decay. DKs on the other hand are freshly turned for the most part, becoming the DK is what makes you undead.

Going by A Special Surprise, Forsaken death knights are exceptionally unlucky. You break free only to fall back under the Scourge's sway, only this time you're elite cannon fodder rather than regular cannon fodder.

[StillMcfuu]

Going by A Special Surprise, Forsaken death knights are exceptionally unlucky. You break free only to fall back under the Scourge's sway, only this time you're elite cannon fodder rather than regular cannon fodder.

This is kind of my point. Outside of the player character, are there any actual Forsaken DKs?

[Thage]

This is kind of my point. Outside of the player character, are there any actual Forsaken DKs?

There's a few scattered about in Northrend (and the Ebon Hold in Legion). Not currently subbed so I can't run around and get a list of names, but they're out there.

[StillMcfuu]

There's a few scattered about in Northrend (and the Ebon Hold in Legion). Not currently subbed so I can't run around and get a list of names, but they're out there.

Cool, I never really gave it a thought. I'll give a look next time I'm on.

[omeomorfismo]

arthas was dead, he transitioned to undead pretty naturally after picking the runeblade. i mean, he literally took his heart and throw it and in w3 cinematic he has pretty clear pallor mortis

This is kind of my point. Outside of the player character, are there any actual Forsaken DKs?

there is the forsaken dk that help you to gain an undead tempest dragon in legion

[TheRevenantHero]

Ah, see, there are instances of biologically alive death knights, isn't that what Arthas was? So could the new allied race DKs also be that in theory? They don't need to be undead, do they, technically speaking.

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But he proves there is precedence if you have a unique power source or a lich king is involved.

Can I theorise that undeath was only necessary so that the Lich King could totally control the DK, but in essence it isn't actually mandatory to being a DK. A Lich King can make/train you alive - it's not like living people can't wield dark powers and magics of death.

No. Second generation death knights were only possible with Frostmourne. Bolvar simply doesn't have that kind of power.

[CrawlFromThePit]

I.......HUH?!?!?! Lol...the word "DEATH" is literally part of the class name. All DEATH Knights have been raised from the DEAD, yes.

Death Knight doesn't mean Dead Knight.

[SkagenRora]

Technically, all DKs are in a state of undeath. However, compared to, say, Forsaken which are in a heavily decayed state of death, Death Knights are kinda freshly dead, without any rot. Skin's cold and all, but you aren't going to smell decomposition from a DK.

Which is why i always found it weird when people chose a skin color other than a Death knight specific one for their character.. Since i doubt a dead person would be as green as an alive orc or as red as an alive Blood elf.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Which is why i always found it weird when people chose a skin color other than a Death knight specific one for their character.. Since i doubt a dead person would be as green as an alive orc or as red as an alive Blood elf.

I mean that's the thing tho, if you are really fresh you can look almost alive.

[spalernTJ]

Are these new death knights 4'th generation death knights? And are the new death knights not hotwired killing machines? If I remember correctly, part of the control and training death knights underwent under the Lich King was the removal / killing of emotions and giving them an innate luster for pain and death.

Basically, would Bolvar make the new death knights as emotionless and cruel as older generations? I can't really imagine it. What's the whole lore behind this? What kind of effects does this version of death knights have on the individual from a lore and RP perspective? Are they willing subjects? Do they offer something of their own (Emotions, connections to life) to become a death knight?