The Undercity and You: A History Lesson

Before I jump right into the history, I just want to say: I'm a huge advocate of taking your environment into consideration when you roleplay, especially since your location does not have to simply be a “where” it can also be a “how” and a “why”. After all, your character probably has a reason for going to the places they do, even if it's something as simple as: “I was deep in thought and my feet lead me here.” Having a reason for your character to be where they are is important for three reasons:

1. It gives you a premise for any roleplay you find. 

A Goblin in the Barrens might be picking up odd jobs, they might be there to trade, or they might be there to draw a picture of a zhevra because they find stripes beautiful. Having a reason for being where you are opens the door to more roleplay with random strangers since that type of random roleplay starts with conversation, and your reason for being where you are gives you a great place to start.

2. It tells other people you're experienced. 

Newer roleplayers tend to put their characters in certain places because they think it looks cool. However, this can sometimes leave your character seeming out of place especially in cases where there is sufficient lore to indicate that your race, faction or class would not typically be in that location. In those cases an experienced roleplayer would probably have a very good reason to be where they are. By showing your character is where they are for a reason, you're showing other people you're an experienced roleplayer and it encourages them to approach you.

3. It reminds you to interact with your environment, which adds realism to your character.

Roleplaying in WoW is (with some exceptions, I'm sure) predominantly written, and in good writing characters can be even further developed by the way they interact with their environment. For example, thanks to weather effects our Forsaken characters can seek shelter as the skies darken in Tirisfal and have our empty eye sockets fill with rain water when we look up. By knowing why your characters are where they are, it keeps you conscious of your environment and reminds us to respond to the things around us which, in turn, makes our characters feel more real.

With all that being said, there are many places in the Warcraft universe that are rife with lore and roleplay potential that are often ignored – or, at the very least, not actively engaged - by people in their roleplay. The Undercity is a prime example of such a location; it has a deep history, and is a really unique place to roleplay. You can read all about it after the break.


And now, on to the history.

The Undercity was originally the sewer system and prison of  Lordaeron,  it housed crypts for the royal families, and was the home to the lowest class of people in the city – the homeless and destitute. The language that those lower class citizens spoke is actually where Gutterspeak originated; it was based in common but over time adopted so many slang terms and words from other languages that eventually it became a language all its own.

As an aside: the Forsaken deeply resent common, and those that remember it (there are references in-game of Forsaken that both remember and forget it) often refuse to speak it. Adopting Gutterspeak as their language was done in an effort to spite humans; since it was only spoken by poor citizens that lived in the sewers. On that note, I don't know why with patch Patch 4.0.3, the one where the world shattered, Gutterspeak was changed to 'Forsaken' from the in-game language selector. I have no idea how to approach that change in-character.

After the Second War, the leader of the Horde, Ogrim Doomhammer (this was before Thrall), was imprisoned in the Undercity.* Around that time the ruler of Lordaeron, Arthas's father King Teranas, had ordered the Orcs be sent to internment camps rather than executed. His mercy to the Orcs and Doomhammer was not well received by the kingdom, partly because their taxes paid for the camps. If your Forsaken remembers being alive and was old enough at the time, they would have had an opinion on the camps. Shortly afterwards Doomhammer escaped, much to Teranas's shame.

*According to the Arthas novel. I realize WoW Wiki says he was held in the palace. 

After had Arthas become corrupted by Frostmorne and returned to Lordaeron from Northrend, he murdered King Teranas. His lieutenants, Falric and Marwyn (who made an appearance as bosses in the Halls of Reflection) had been risen into Death Knights and slaughtered the citizens of Lordaeron and raised them as mindless undead. In fact, your Forsaken may have been killed and made undead by them.

Arthas then ordered the Undercity to be expanded, which is the reason for all the Scourge-like architecture you can see there. However when Arthas was summoned to Northrend and the Lich King was weakened Sylvanas staged her coup with the Scourge who regained their sentience, and named them the Forsaken. She took control of the Undercity and also forced a Dreadlord named Varimathras, who had previously been an Agent of the Burning Legion, into her servitude in exchange for his life.

In between the five year gap from the end of the Warcraft III Frozen Throne game to the start of World of Warcraft the Forsaken worked on finishing expanding and making the Undercity their home. If your character was one of the first liberated by Sylvanas, they made have aided in the process. (Pictured in the Ashbringer comic, below.)

All was well and good for the Undercity until the events of the Wrathgate in Northrend when Varimathras staged a coup against Sylvanas. The Forsaken loyal to him took the Undercity for a short time, and the refugees from the Undercity were sent to Orgrimmar. Eventually Varimathras was defeated by Thrall, Sylvanas, Vol'jin, and some Horde adventurers but the actions of Varimathras's chief lieutenant Putress meant the Forsaken were no longer trusted. Since then, the Undercity has been effectively placed under martial law, the former abomination guards have been replaced with Orcish Kor'kron.

Some things to consider in your roleplay when it comes to the Undercity:

The living hate it there. The Undercity is a pit in the ground filled with sewage, corpses, and scourge architecture. It smells, there are humans crammed into cages and crying, and rivers of green sludge run through the canals. The Orcish guards make frequent reference to how much they hate it, and the roleplaying guide sates that only small handfuls of Orcs, Trolls and Tauren make their home there. Not a single Blood Elf lives in the Undercity according to the cannon literature; likely because of their massive cultural gap to the rest of the Horde. It's also very, very dark and offers little by the way of lighting, though the view in-game would have you think otherwise.

Many roleplayers forget how inhospitable the Undercity would be when they visit it on their living characters, so it's not a bad idea to call attention to it. If your Forsaken is the helpful type, they could offer a breathing visitor a handkerchief to press to their faces, or tell them where they might be able to pick up a gas mask.

The Undercity means a lot to the Forsaken.  Lordaeron and it's surrounding lands represent more than just a strategic foothold to the Forsaken. They've had to work hard to protect their lands from all manner of foes from Scarlets, to Gnolls, to Worgen, and even the Alliance. The Forsaken consider Lordaeron to be truly theirs, since they called those lands home in life. It's evident in the new Forsaken architecture in Cataclysm, as they still use the emblem of  Lordaeron in quite a few places.

For the Forsaken Defilers, the faction for the battleground Arathi Basin, this is major theme. They often remark how the Humans of the Arathi Highlands are attempting to take lands they have no longer have claim to, and only have an interest because they are rich in resources.