Saurfang, Vol'jin, Rastakhan, Varian in the world of Shadowlands

[Chonar]

Eh.. you seem to have forgotten something. Blizzard said that the machine of death broke when sylvanas tried to kill herself after the events in icecrown during wrath of the lich king. Now i dont read the books i admit that so any of the lore buffs could point to that timeframe. But this basically means that everyone has been going to the maw since at least the cataclysm expansion. So many of the charaters you point out are probally actually in the maw like tirion etc since they died after those events. Id say any that died in warcraft 3 where sorted correctly but any after the end of wrath where not.

Sweet! Please supply a link to this claim, because I haven't seen this anywhere.
Not saying you're making shit up, but I personally would love to see a direct quote.

My personal theory is the connection between two realities is what broke it. The connection between two alternate timelines is such a fundamentally cosmic event that it seems the only thing 'big' enough in recent history that would cause the machine of death to break.

[Reinhart11]

My predictions are as follows for a handful of recognisable names:

Bastion
Uther - Confirmed in Bastion for his valor and servitude to the Light.
Tirion - While it first seemed his soul was burned by the Fel at the Broken Shore, the Paladin Class campaign in Legion revealed he later died from his wounds, not from his soul being fel-burned. This would mean his soul could travel to Bastion.
Durotan - His honor in life, dedication to his people staying uncorrupted, and putting himself in harms way so others may live, would earn him a place in Bastion.
Rhonin - Sacrificed himself so others may live, and dedicated to the pursuits of knowledge and bringing peace to Azeroth.

Revendreth
Kael'thas - Confirmed in Revendreth to atone for his hubris and megalomania.
General Brigitte Abbendis - The Scarlet Crusade / Scarlet Onslaught were devoted for certain, but devotion without valor just results in wrathful vanity.
Antonidas - While usually a kind and a wise teacher, Antonidas was also prideful, and quite dismissive of others. If he went to Revendreth, it is likely he's already near the end of his penance by the time we meet him.
Daelin Proudmoore - Blinded by hatred towards an entire race, it's likely he's doing pennance for that.
Othmar Garithos - Move over, Daelin. Hatred towards one race? How about hatred towards all races other than your own? Garithos is likely being feasted upon by Revendreth's denizens and wont be done for a long time.
Majordomo Staghelm - Prideful and vain, and betrayed his people in exchange for power.

Ardenweald
Cenarius - Semi-Confirmed in Ardenweald. Is currently "alive" in the Emerald Dream, but may potentially be free to travel between Day/Summer (Emerald Dream) and Night/Winter (Ardenweald).
Agamaggan - Absent from Azeroth for the longest time. Thats one hell of a sleepy pig.
Cairne Bloodhoof - Noble and strong and -like most tauren- deeply connected to the natural world. If there is an eternal hearth of ancestors, it is likely located in the autumnal fields of Ardenweald.

Maldraxxus
Draka - Confirmed in Maldraxxus for her commitment to strength and growth in power from a sickly orc to a fierce warrior
Anduin Lothar- Despite being a Paladin, Lothar's military might and prestige would earn him a commanding place amongst the Shadowlands' standing armies, which are housed here.
Orgrim Doomhammer - Likely vying for power and influence in Maldraxxus with Lothar, which would be quite fun to see.
Grom Hellscream - Might makes right, and Grom was one of the mightiest. While his death was bastion-worthy valorous, his life was one of constant battle. If given the choice, he wouldn't give Bastion a second glance.

The Maw
Saurfang - Likely in The Maw, his death is post-WoD, which currently seems to be the moment where the Engine of Death broke.
Varian - Uncertain. If a living creature is destroyed by the Fel, does the soul get consumed in the process (similar to fueling the Legion's soul engines)? If yes, Varian has ceased to be. If not, his soul is in the Maw due to the broken engine of Death.
Gul'dan - See Varian, except he actually belongs here.
Arthas - Completely corrupted by his pride. While a victim of Frostmourne, many of the decisions leading to where he ended up were still his own.
Xavius - Empowered by the Legion, yet loyal to the Old Gods, there is no redemption for him.
Grand Apothecary Putress - Betrayer, mass murderer, sycophant.

Shadowlands (Other)
Rastakhan - Likely in Bwonsamdi's pocket dimension, De Other Side.
Vol'jin - A special case. "Touched by the Hand of Valor" would indicate a connection to Bastion, but I'm thinking it may be the Arbiter who empowered him, if she is aware of the Jailer's plans. He may be in the Shadowlands, but it doesnt seem he's bound to it like the others are.

Not in the Shadowlands
Kel'thuzad - Unlikely. Upon his defeat in WotLK, his Phylactery was never found, unlike when we defeated him at lvl 60.
Ner'zhul (Alternate Draenor) - Since Draenor is in another reality / timeline, and he died there while also belonging there, it is likely he ended up in that Reality / timeline's Shadowlands. While all Realities' Shadowlands may be one and the same, without a Dark Portal in the Shadowlands connecting that, it is likely a "layer" ontop of ours which we cannot interact with. (lol layering)
Medivh - Seems to have stepped outside of the Circle of Life and Death and is apparently free to roam Azeroth. Is he a spirit? Is he something more? It hasn't been explained and Kadghar has been just as confused about it as we are.
Aegwynn - Most likely? See Medivh.
Garrosh - Like Ner'zhul, those who died in Alternate Dreanor are likely only to be found in that "reality layer" of the Shadowlands. However, his spirit did originally belong to our reality, so unlike Alternate Ner'zhul, this may not be the case for Garrosh.
Emperor Thaurissan - His Spirit is roaming Azeroth still, found in Blackwing Descent

Anduin Lothar never was a Paladin at any point in his live. Aside from that, he is not comparable to the Orc Warlords, who came from a world and from a society, where war was the constant state of live.

Anduin Lothar fought because he had to, so the human kingdoms would survive and out of the desire to protect his people. He was not interested in war for the sake of war and conquest. He was also not especially interested in power, although he surely trained himself to stay in shape and resemble a competent, powerful Knight. Because thats what he was. A Knight. Not a Paladin.

Aside from that, Anduin Lothar was very honorable for Warcrafts standards.

So if he shows up, his place would definitely be in Bastion. Not Maldraxxus.

[Daronokk]

Garrosh - Like Ner'zhul, those who died in Alternate Dreanor are likely only to be found in that "reality layer" of the Shadowlands. However, his spirit did originally belong to our reality, so unlike Alternate Ner'zhul, this may not be the case for Garrosh.

Pretty sure Garrosh is confirmed. He was specifically named when told we would see fallen heroes and villains again.

I'm wondering if he would be in Maldraxxus, Revendreth or The Maw.

I'm also wondering which characters are getting redeemed and which are coming back to the living. This for me is the most exciting part of this expansion. So much possibilities with the lore. I want to know what happens to all these characters.

[Dimad]

WRONG! They said Sylvanas’ first contact with the Jailer happened when she killed herself.

Blizz has not, in any interviews, said when the “machine” of Death has broken. So we currently do not know when souls started pouring into the Maw.

Yeah they did.
https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...xt-Panel-Recap

Says so in there. Says the machiene of death has been broken for the last few years

[Maljinwo]

Vol'jin has not been mentioned once so far and to be honest, i'm sure the writers forgot about him.
But yeah, he seems to be the first to escape the Maw (And Bwonsamdi, apparently since he has his own pocket dimension) in years, probably thanks to the arbiter

[Sinfelle]

Yeah they did.
https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...xt-Panel-Recap

Says so in there. Says the machiene of death has been broken for the last few years

Ok Bill Nye, exactly how long is “the past few years”? That’s word for word exactly what they said. So scientifically speaking if I was to ask you the exact duration of “a few years” how many days, months and seconds are we talking about? You don’t know. Could be two, could be ten.

So no, we do not know when it started. Just “a few years” ago.

[Zyky]

You mean that because Sylvanas used some weird power from the Shadowlands that they don't end up in the Shadowlands?

I'd say since it's all connected to the Shadowlands that them ending up there is a given. From a storytelling perspective it doesn't make sense to connect something for it to not be connected. Really weird logic you're using.

The same way that Arthas was using abilities from the Shadowlands but he absorbed their essence into Frostmorne and it didn't even end up in the Shadowlands. It isn't weird logic at all.

[Minikin]

We will see Saurfang's son and try to help him free Saurfang from the Maw, thus ending his storyline for good. Unless he gets brought back :^^^)

That would be pretty epic. Seeing dranosh come back to save his dad.

[Chonar]

Pretty sure Garrosh is confirmed. He was specifically named when told we would see fallen heroes and villains again.

I'm wondering if he would be in Maldraxxus, Revendreth or The Maw.

I'm also wondering which characters are getting redeemed and which are coming back to the living. This for me is the most exciting part of this expansion. So much possibilities with the lore. I want to know what happens to all these characters.

Oh, I totally missed that.
Then I'm gonna assume if your spirit "belongs" to one reality, you will return to that reality's Shadowland upon death, no matter if you went to another. Some sort of a.. preservation of energy kind of deal?

Anduin Lothar never was a Paladin at any point in his live. Aside from that, he is not comparable to the Orc Warlords, who came from a world and from a society, where war was the constant state of live.

Anduin Lothar fought because he had to, so the human kingdoms would survive and out of the desire to protect his people. He was not interested in war for the sake of war and conquest. He was also not especially interested in power, although he surely trained himself to stay in shape and resemble a competent, powerful Knight. Because thats what he was. A Knight. Not a Paladin.

Aside from that, Anduin Lothar was very honorable for Warcrafts standards.

So if he shows up, his place would definitely be in Bastion. Not Maldraxxus.

Good call, true.
Though I do hope there is more to Maldraxxus than "this is where people fond of war (most orcs) go", and will also take other factors into account.

[RedFenix]

Emperor Thaurissan - His Spirit is roaming Azeroth still, found in Blackwing Descent

Sorceror-Thane Thaurissan is in Blackwing Descent, not his son Dagran. Dagran has the same robe, but not the same crown and weapon.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Spirit_of_Thaurissan

[Good ol Stroggylos]

Definitely need Garrosh, they have to right the wrong of his tragically stupid end.

Garrosh did nothing wrong and went to the bastion . Actually he met a punishment there that would also make haters happy : he forgot who he is and transformed into a blue humanoid.

[Shelly]

Vol'jin has not been mentioned once so far and to be honest, i'm sure the writers forgot about him.
But yeah, he seems to be the first to escape the Maw (And Bwonsamdi, apparently since he has his own pocket dimension) in years, probably thanks to the arbiter

We're still waiting for the full lore on it all but from all appearances Bwonsamdi is working for the Jailer.

Remember that part in the Vol'Jin quest where Bwon talks about Vol'Jin's soul no longer being where he put it and "oh no, the boss ain't going to like that!"

My guess is that the boss is The Jailer and that Bwon made a deal with him to keep the souls of trolls that worship him instead of the souls going into the Maw.

There is another possibility though that depending on your beliefs that various beings can act as an intercessor between them and the Shadowlands. So trolls that follow Bwonsamdi typically would go there and he'd get that Anima. LK kills folks and immediately takes their anima into Frostmourne and resurrects their bodies. Elune stopping Ysera from fully going to the Shadowlands and instead being placed in the stars and the Dream. Legion kills someone and their anima is taken in by a soul engine.

Really they've been pretty fast and loose with the "afterlife" of WoW for a while now, and while I expect them to continue to do so it might be interesting to see where they go with all this.

[Muajin76]

Didn't NK recently speculate on the possibility of varian being there? Somsone said she hinted at clues being tossed in shadowlands about it.

[GreenJesus]

Saurfang and Varian are most likely in the Maw. Vol'jin will certainly show and Rastakhan might have been saved by Bwonsamdi.

"Saved" by Bwonsamdi.... right...

[Muajin76]

"Saved" by Bwonsamdi.... right...

ikr. more like some kind of bargain would be struck in order for Bwonsamdi to *save them*

[Cosmic Janitor]

I hope we won't see Varian. He deserves better than to be dragged into another Sylvanas plot, he was also disenchanted by fel magic.

[TheramoreIsTheBomb]

Varian should remain as he is. BEST death ever in Warcraft franchise.

[Chonar]

Sorceror-Thane Thaurissan is in Blackwing Descent, not his son Dagran. Dagran has the same robe, but not the same crown and weapon.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Spirit_of_Thaurissan

I see. Shame the ingame ghost was never named appropriately, that could've been made more clear.

[GreenJesus]

Varian should remain as he is. BEST death ever in Warcraft franchise.

This. He probably has the coolest death in the franchise. It would cheapen his death to have Anduin talk to him about how his peepee feel funny whenever he sees Baine.

[greeeed]

Revendreth
Daelin Proudmoore - Blinded by hatred towards an entire race, it's likely he's doing pennance for that.

I won't call it blind since everything he say happened.

Most of shit we have won't happened If he killed them right there and then if not for Jaina.