The evil of Plot Bunnies stops for no mortal and as such I’ve been toying with the idea of a Harry Potter / World of Warcraft crossover recently. The basic concept leans heavily on the pre-game lore of Warcraft. In short, the story will set up a back history for our planet very similar to that of Warcraft.


The Pre-Story:

In Warcraft the Orcs, under the leadership of first Ner'zhul and later his apprentice Gul'dan strike a deal with Kil'jaeden the Deceiver – Demonlord of the Burning Legion. However, Sargeras - the created of the Legion and Fallen Titan - was unwilling to risk failure. Kil’jaeden was ordered to find another world another world and potential force to weaken Azeroth prior to their invasion.

In the furthest expanses of the Twisting Nether the Demonlord felt a presence that drew his attention. When Kil’jaeden followed the presence he came upon a small world that proved a shock to him. It was a world untouched by the Titans and rich in the most primordial of arcane energies. Unlike Azeroth whose energies had been enriched by the Titans, and thus made all the more attractive to the Legion, this planet was raw and harsh. It was perfect for Kil’jaeden’s purposes.

Among the inhabitants of the planet the Deceiver discovered enclaves of mortals calling themselves wizards. The powers they possessed impressed the Demonlord for their variety and potential. The most intriguing discovery, however, had been the susceptibility to corruption their arcane energies presented. Unlike the worlds touched by the Titans or Legion the energies of this world were not divided into specific classifications such as Light (a.k.a. Holy), Shadow, Life (a.k.a. Nature), Arcane, or the Elemental (a.k.a. Fire and Frost). Here the energies fell into only three varieties: Light, Neutral, and Dark. The part that impressed Kil’jaeden the most, however, was that the depths that the dark energies could delve to in some ways surpassed even the Fel-energies of the Legion.

The Demonlord wasted no time in seeking out a soul among the wizards who would be easily corrupted and bent to the will of the Legion. His searches lead him to a young man by the name of Tom Riddle who was just entering his education in what these mortals simply called magic. The boy held a dark heart. He had both will and desire to control and the thirst for power that would make him the perfect tool for the Legion.

So it was that eleven year old Tom Riddle began to hear the whispered voice of Kil’jaeden. The voice spoke of power, immortality, and the means to control or destroy those who had wronged him. Tom Riddle’s decent into darkness was carefully cultivated by the Demonlord through whispered thoughts and suggestions for the next six years. Then, in Riddle’s final year at Hogwarts Kil’jaeden appeared to his protégé for the first time and made him an offer.

Tom Riddle, now calling himself Voldemort, struck a deal with his no longer anonymous benefactor and the Burning Legion: Immortality and the means to power in exchange for the servitude of the Magical world of Earth. The Demonlord ordered the rising Dark Lord to brand his followers with a mark so as to proclaim their obedience to the Legion. Voldemort agreed, but neglected to inform his growing number of followers of the mark’s true significance. After all, the selling of one’s soul wasn’t a popular price to pay even amongst the corrupt of the magical world.

Unfortunately Kil’jaeden had underestimated the power that the “Light” held among the wizards. His puppet’s rise to power stagnated as the battle for the Wizarding World heated up. Just as the Demonlord was about to intervene his attention was drawn back to the worlds of Draenor and Azeroth. The invasion of Azeroth by the Orcish Horde drew near and his focus was required there. It would be fifteen years before he returned to the small planet to check on his pawn.

In the shadows of the Twisting Nether one being had sat patiently watching the primal world and Demonlord. When finally Kil’jaeden’s presence faded from the world it acted. A prophecy was delivered, a child was born, and Voldemort was slain. However, the Dark Lord had been taught the secrets of Shadow Magic and adapted them to the dark energies of his world. Six Soul Stones had been created and infused into objects prized by the Dark Lord. His body may have died, but he had not.

Shocked at the turn of events the being instantly realized the danger the small world now found itself in. The child it had blessed as the defeater of the vile and corrupted Tom Riddle now served as an anchor for the Dark Lord. Should the child be killed, or his blood shed over one of the six Soul Stones; Voldemort would be returned greater and more terrible than before. Yet, even should those events not come to pass it would only be a matter of time before the free-roaming spirit of Voldemort would be able to find another means of resurrection. His soul, after all, was firmly secured in the mortal realm.

The being considered the situation carefully and it was during these considerations that another of its race arrived. Four years had passed since the Dark Lord’s fall and in that time the Orcish Horde of the Legion had invaded the world of Azeroth. The races of that world had defeated the invasion, but not without great cost. It was then, after the news of the Legion’s failure had been delivered, that the being came upon a plan to not only secure the world it now watched, but potentially destroy the Legion.

Without further thought the being wiped the small child’s memories and sent it to the world of Azeroth. The child would grow up an orphan among many others. It would learn the secrets of Azeroth and it’s mighty energies, but he would still draw on the primal forces of his own world. The combination would be amazing. In time the being would return the child to its own world to put an end to Voldemort and the Legion’s plans there once and for all.


The Plot:

The basic idea I’m working on at the moment involves Harry growing up on Azeroth and training in one of the “classes” as defined in the World of Warcraft game. I’m going to mess with the timeline of events a bit and have Harry in his late teens during the 2nd War (a.k.a. Warcraft: Tides of Darkness / Beyond the Dark Portal). He will return to Earth somewhere around age 19-22ish after participating in the events that lead to the destruction of Draenor (Outland).

The story will primarily take place on Earth with a prologue that covers the back-story and Harry’s youth / training. The events of the story will take us from start to finish of Voldemort’s revival and the 2nd war.

The Question:

At the moment, as I compile notes for the story (and work on ch. 4 of Legacy), I’m at something of an impasse. I need to know what “class” Harry should be. I can make pretty much any class work for the story, but obviously some elements are going to change depending on what it is. Thus, I present this poll to help me decide.

If you’re unfamiliar with Warcraft and the classes take a look here.

Thanks!

 

I've never played WoW, only W1-W3 so I don'y know if your plot bunny is ok, but I does sond good. About the "class": I voted warlock, but my second guess would be mage.

 

Interesting. I guess Harry should be either; Paladin, Druid, Lock, or Arcane Mage.

 

Paladin, Shaman, or Druid definitely. Those classes of magic are so far out of sync with WB's style it would just be awesome. That and who expects your opponent to turn into a cat or drop a totem that causes a giant rock creature to attack you?

Can you imagine Harry going around yelling "By the Light be cleansed!" then bashing someone with a war hammer?

 

....oh the mental image I just got.

Great. Now not only do I have to deal with this plot bunny, but now I've got one for a parody of the damn story before I've even written it!

 

Heh, i try my best.

 

The class should be determined by needs of the plot itself really. How so?

Do you need for Harry to do some melee/hand to hand combat or any ninjaing badassness? Go rogue/warrior/hunter.
Is all you need an extra oomph to his magic? Go mage.
Or maybe you need versatility and unseen before magics? Shaman or druid.
Do you want for Harry to tap into dark powers? Warlock is the answer.
Want the classic inner Light vs. Dark dillemma? Go priest.
Is Harry meant to be a champion of light? The answer is pretty obvious.

There's no need for a poll really. Just think of what class will make the story most attractive plot-wise and which class might enrich Harry's character to make it more interesting.

As for my personal opinion:
- Hunter/rogue/warrior just doesn't really fit. If you want to make a story about magic then those classes just won't work.
- Mage: mages would be pretty boring simply because most if not all of a Warcraft Mage abilities could easily be replicated by a HPVerse wizard. The only thing that's added is wandless magic.
- Warlocks: warlocks are badass and dark therefore it's an awesome choice for DLP crowd.
- Priests: although light vs dark(or more: holy vs shadow) thing would be pretty cliche it's still a worthy choice to consider. If well-executed it could add quite a lot to the story. Besides, one word: Shadowform.
- Druids: shapeshifting abilities might sounds badass in theory but let's be honest here. What good does shapeshifting into a bear do if you can just get AK'ed? It's like a multiple animagus form + some perks like the ability to instantly heal or summon forces of nature.
- Shamans. The whole totemic system might be very interesting if it was well used. Just because shamanic magic would be different and unusual from HP magic. It also applies a bit to druids but no to the shaman extent.
- Paladins. I think that being a paladin would make Harry very one-dimensional. In my opinion it's a no-no.

I think that if I were writing this story I'd go with priest or warlock.

 

That is an excellent argument but arn't warlocks overused as it is? I mean not even crossing over with WC, dark wizards that summon demons is just so...common. Shaman magic or Druid magic would be great, besides no one said Harry would use his cat and bear forms in combat, Balance spec druids are crazy powerful.

 

.....

Good lord...

another idea for a HP/WoW spoof. OOMkin Harry. The visual....priceless.

Voldemort downed by Moonfire spam. Oh god...my sides hurt at the visual.

Edit: If I had a better suite of video editing software I would make a WoW video with HP cut in just for this idea. Hell, I might try it even with the crapy software I have.

 

If you were doing Warcraft 3/ HP crossover (better idea then WoW IMO) then I would say Bloodmage or maybe a Spellbreaker. Spellbreaker would be sweet

But with WoW I don't know I guess I would have to go with Warlock or Shaman. My problem with this idea is instead of directly copying over a character class, inspire a character off the class, if you understand what I mean. So don't have him running around yelling fire blast, well you get the point I hope if not Ill try to better explain. A good example would be Mana, don't use it in its point form. Harry will notice as he uses spells that his magic is running low but he wont be able to tell you that he only has 55 mana points left. I know this should be obvious but some people don't realize it.

 

Where was a Bloodmage in Wc3?

 

First, in order for Harry to be a "Blood" anything he would have to be a Blood Elf. This would make him an elf...and I'll be damned. That's all I'll say on that.

...I lied...I'm saying more. Harry will hate Elves in all their many and whiney arsed, think we're better than everything, fucked up the world, forms. In fact...should I find a way to have Harry be the sole reason for the extinction of ALL elves it shall be so...starting with those *%# #^(! Night Elf Hunters!!!

...ok. Now that I've got that out of my system...

Any magic-using class from WoW will be adapted for literary use and then adapted further to incorperate Harry's "primal" magical nature. No matter what class he ends up being he will be unique among his peers I can promiss that.

..."By the Light be cleansed!"... Harry casts a cleanse on Remus who prompty explodes. "Ha! No more curse!"

 

Oh man that's messed up Kender! You just offed Remus! I love it!

So what class are you leaning towards at the moment?

 

Well both the poll here and at my yahoo group seem to be leaning toward Warlock. I myself voted for the slightly cliche Paladin class because I'd love to write a scene where Harry just hauls off and obliterates a few Death Eaters with a massive 2handed Mace. I mean come on... no way Harry isn't going to be a Retribution Paladin and the reactions the Order would have...priceless.

However, I can promise that no matter what class comes out on top I'll be able to enjoy myself in the fight scenes and 'ol Dumbles' reaction.

 

"You say you fight for the light? Nay i say! I Harold Potter Trained in the visage of the Knights of the Silver Hand fight for the light!"

 

At this rate I'm going to write the parody first and then get back to the serious story.

"Oh my god! All the Death Eaters are suddenly going for Harry!"

"Well of course they are. Bastard Warlock pulls agro every time."

 

Oh please...if the tank could do his job no warlock would ever pull aggro...well...any smart non destro spec anyway.

 

Harry walks calmly toward the approaching Death Eater Army by himself.

"Oh no! Harry's dead for sure...we have to help him!"

"Nah. He's a Warlock..."

The Death Eaters scatter, running in various directions screaming in fear.

"...they won't get a chance to stop running in fear for a week or two."


Edit: Ok. Sorry...very off topic now. Promiss not to post anymore non-related goofyness.

 

Hehe sorry wasn't thinking about the whole stinky have to be a blood elf to be a spellbreaker or a Bloodmage. BTW to the one who asked Bloodmages are from "The Frozen Throne" guess I assumed people would know that.

Yea Pally would be pretty cool, bashing in heads with a war hammer, I guess my biggest problem with it is while the flavor is nice, the spells are traditionally buffs and heals. While this is nice in game, it doesn't translate very well into literature. Yea going over Pally spells and I just can't see it being to successful but someone correct me by all means if I am wrong. Again flavor is amazingly excellent but execution would be poor unless you are willing to go way out of the realm of WoW pallidans into more traditional fiction and older warcraft pallies.

Warlock would work nice, summoning giant infernals with battles of will to control them. Add in throwing fire to burn off the skin of your enemies while hurling balls of entropy (or shadow magic but entropy is a much better literary way of describing it in my opinion).

At this point I'm voting for Warlock or Shaman.

Edit:
Reading back to your reply to my previous post, I guess a Pally might just work if you hevily incorporate his "primal" magic.

Spotting the skeletons ahead, Harry charges forward quickly casting a exorcism on the one to the left. He prepares to strike another with his hammer channeling a bone breaker curse, as his hammer hits the skeleton loses a defined form as it falls to the ground into a pile of shattered bones, the ribs being no more then a fine powder.

Ok my writing skills suck but I guess I could see it work, use his Hammer as a combination focus and channel spells into the head to work on impact.

Also the auras would be interesting: everyone around Harry could feel their minds become more focused on the incantations they were reciting and able to block out the natural distractions of the battle around them.