To be honest, ever since WarCraft 3 not many characters have truly died. Grom died but was largely reborn as Garrosh. Cairne died but his personality lives on through Baine. Arthas died, but Bolvar took his place. Deathwing died but his son, Wrathion, lives on as a semi-antagonist.
Illidan and Kael where the first two major lore characters in WoW to die and stay dead and now there's talks of Metzen wanting to "revisit" Illidan.
EDIT: forgot Muradin
Knowing Blizzard, he is alive, wants vengeance above all, and is corrupted.
Oh did he really die? Just cause he was a raidboss? he isn't dead in wowwiki. doesn't mean he died in lore. doesn't mean even if he died it wouldn't be retconned.
And even if he died, he probably wasn't allowed to die. KJ doesn't care much for death. It does not mean anything. Nerzhul died too when he met KJ but was still forced to serve him as the lich king. Illidan did not hide in the BT cause of some mortal heroes opposing him, he hide there cause of KJ, the only reasion why he went there anyways. If illidan is a corpse KJ could easily snatch him, finally and take his soul.
Probably he would be resurrected by KJ and captured or in mindcontrolled/tortured by him and we need to free him or something along the lines. endless possiblities in a fantasy fiction game... real life logic will fail.
Last edited by Tyrannica; 2013-07-22 at 06:09 PM.
I'd like to see Illidan come back as a potentially good guy.
I've got an idea which will blow ALL OF YOUR MINDS!
Illidan surives his defeat. Maiev goes to give the killing blow once the heroes leave with their loot, but she can't do it because she knows he's right - she's nothing without him.
Illidan drinks the last Vial of Eternity he has with him to recover.
Maiev decides to keep him under her control and give him a chance to prove himself by fighting the Legion.
THEY FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES.
Meanwhile, back on Azeroth, the overwhelming majority of the orcs languished in internment camps. One Orc had a dream. A dream to reunite the disparate souls trapped under the lock and key of the Alliance. So he raided the internment camps, freeing those orcs that he could, and reached out to a downtrodden tribe of trolls to aid him in rebuilding a Horde where orcs could live free of the humans who defeated them so long ago. That orc's name was... Rend.
This is an interesting point, but i think the Frostmourne needs to deliver a killing blow in order to steal a soul.
Arthas never finished off Illidan so Frostmourne never got the chance to NOMNOM on his soul - unlike the Dreadlords who either can't be killed or don't have a soul.
Wowwikia says that the Dreadlords are the only known truly/fully demonic beings - ALL other "demons", like the Eredar, the Satyrs or the Pit Lords, are horribly corrupted species that became demonic through Sargeras.
source: http://www.wowwiki.com/Nathrezim
IMO this special trait of the Dreadlords is what allows them to survive death and be reborn, while even much stronger half-breeds like Archimonde are fully vulnerable to death and bodily harm.
But imagine this crazy plot:
1. Illidan is tricked by Arthas/LK into attacking Tichondrius (most powerful dreadlord) - Lich King knows that Tichondrius was promised/given lordship over the Scourge as soon as Archimonde wins at Hyjal, so LK arranges for T's downfall.
2. Illidan seemingly slays Tichondrius, but is in fact possessed by him - in similar way as Sargeras possessed Medivh when he was an infant. Hidden but with ever increasing influence, he lies in wait.
3. As the lore geeks know, the Dreadlords MADE the plague and the scourge - it is their magic and their design, their "project" - same as Orcs were the pet project of Magtheridon who's blood was used to fuel the orc demonic rage.
4. Tichondrius, fully knowing the soon downfall of Archimonde, decides to take a shot at the Lich King for the control of the Scourge (and to either suck up to OR be finally free of Kil'Jaeden's command) while wearing his "Illidan suit" - whether illidan is aware of the dreadlord's possession is unknown.
5. After all the failures Illidan had against LK/Arthas, Tichondrius goes raging (similar to how balnazaar went raging in stratholme after cataclysm struck) - and decides to wrestle for complete control over Illidan's mind. He either wants to fully command illidan's body, or he intentionally wants to make him insane.
6. This obviously results in illidan making strange, illogical and senseless (even insane?) actions across outland - as well as alienating from his allies, like the Draenei Akama and the Kael/Blood Elves (and perhaps even the Naga, who are only allowed in the moist Sewers of the black temple).
7. The warlock green fire quest also reveals that Illidan made a very very strange fount of souls and energy in the black temple, which the NPC warlocks are clueless as to how or even why it truly exists - something of this design could be made by Tichondrius's through illidan for unknown purposes. The warlock green fire quest also makes references to the Dreadlord's homeworld and themselves.
8. Tichondrius could have kept the Skull of Gul'dan not as a memento (as illidan might have it seem), but as a source of either power or perhaps even communication with other demons - the skull had huge power before illidan consumed it.
9. Tichondrius might have even planned for Illidan to go insane and get killed - perhaps slaying Illidan infused the Skull of Gul'dan with it's tremendous powers once again, which allows Tichondrius to use it as he sees fit (not as Archi/KilJ command)?!
10. After Illidan is slain, Tichondrius leaves his body and continues on with his plans - which might explain why so many demons are still gathering around the black temple in greater numbers (warlock green fire quest). Their TRUE master, the dreadlord ruler Tichondrius, is fully alive and furiously working on whatever scheme he has hatched over the decades.
11. Hence comes the Burning Legion expansion with a major focus on BL's planets/homeworlds and perhaps even it's demonic species rebelling against Sargeras/KJ, since it was clearly stated many of the demonic species (including dreadlords) are unwillingly serving the lords of the BL.
Seems crazy, but honestly i would like the story
FFXIV - Maduin (Dynamis DC)
Even the Pit Lords? wow i never considered them to be corrupted, too. Next expansion should be about liberating all corrupted species from the BL. This might end BL, eventually, if Sargeras and KJ are finally dealt with for good, too.
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I regret never doing the green fire quest with 1 of my warlocks before i canceled my subscription.
But the story is good, i always wondered about the part with Tichondrius he is unkillable after all an the most powerful dreadlord - and Ilidans increasing madness after the events at the frozen throne later in BC.
Blizzard should hire you as a writer - they need some desperate help to create an intelligent and challenging story anways. I like tricky stories that makes me think. Afaik not the strong point of an mmo with PG12, so i try the solo rpg again the stories were better with a more crazy plot.
Not sure if blizzard can pull off an interesting story again in wow, without real good writers, for once.
I think we will see Illidan resurrected at some point. Metzen has allready stated he's a sucker for a good redemption story, so he'll be back no doubt, most likely rezzing because he's mostly Demon now.
I wouldn't mind him in the role Wrathion has had in this expansion for a possible Burning Legion Expansion. Chat with us about the stuff going on in the expansion, having us fulfill shady tasks for him in return for cool stuff. Things like that. It would preserve him for a later role elsewhere AND free up Wrathion for a more shady role as well.
Illidan already died and got ressurected once. Azerothian Super Villains anyone ?
Blizzard would be ripping off Ian Beckmans idea. Then again, Ian borrowed their characters...