With Legion pretty much complete and awaiting launch on August 30th and the pre-expansion event confirmed to not start until next month as well, we’re in a bit of a dry spell. In the meantime, I thought it would be interesting to share another of my expansion concepts. You may remember my ill-fated Age of Azshara project, which I may revisit in the future, but this time I’ve chosen to focus on a different idea for an expansion. Ever since patch 4.1, the Zandalari trolls have slowly been built up as a new villainous group. Their mysterious prophet Zul has grown in infamy despite us never actually seeing him.
Some may bemoan troll raids, but they were absent from Warlords of Draenor and there’s no sign of any troll involvement in Legion. I think we’ve been given enough of a break to welcome a troll expansion to confront Zul, King Rastakhan, and the Zandalari once and for all. I’ve also been careful to fill my expansion concept with new races and enemy groups alongside the Zandalari to prevent any “troll fatigue.”
Today I’ll be talking about the basic plot and feature overview for the expansion, which I’m calling The Hand of Zul. We’ll go into greater detail on zones, dungeons, characters, races and more in future articles. Read past the jump if you’re interested.
The hand of Zul will span all the continents of Azeroth once again! An ye lesser races will know pain!
-War-God Jalak
Ravaged by the Cataclysm, Zandalar, the great capital and birthplace of troll-kind, is on the brink of destruction. Under the control of the prophet Zul, the Zandalari trolls have forsaken their relationship with the so-called ‘lesser races’ of Azeroth, planning  to re-create the troll empire of old. Their attempts to rally the Gurubashi and Amani were quashed, their settling of Pandaria driven back, even the Loa have abandoned them in favor of the Darkspear tribe. The Zandalari have grown desperate to ensure their survival. The Golden Fleet of Zandalar has been spotted off the coasts of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, sending troll emissaries to recruit races and factions disenfranchised with the Alliance and Horde. Between this “mongrel army,” the Zandalari’s ancient magic, and the Loa they have enslaved, Zul’s dream of a reborn troll empire is all too possible.
As the Alliance and Horde sail for the shattered remnants of Zandalar, a group of Zandalari heretics arrive with a warning. Zul’s army is only the beginning. He is searching for an artifact of immeasurable power, which he will use to tear apart the veil between the world of mortals and the world of the Gods… and remake Azeroth in his image.
-Explore the primeval continent of Zandalar, birthplace of troll-kind and home to ancient secrets.
-Discover the many races who call Zandalar home, including the bloodthirsty raptaak, savage jalgar, nomadic tenyol, and the secretive chupen.
-Face insidious villains including Zul, Gangris Riverpaw, King Rastakhan, Magatha Grimtotem, Shokol Redhorn, High Khan Aratas and more.
-Fight alongside legendary heroes such as Danath Trollbane, Vereesa Windrunner, Baine Bloodhoof, and Rokhan.
-New Horde Race: A splinter faction of Zandalari Trolls, horrified by the depths Zul and King Rastakhan have sunk to in order to save their people, have joined the Horde.
-New Alliance Race: Their centuries of experience fighting the Amani has prompted the High Elves to lend their full might to the Alliance’s war effort against Zul.
-A Dynamic World: The war in Zandalar is ever changing, what might be a faction stronghold and quest-hub today could be captured by the Zandalari (or even the opposite faction) tomorrow, unless you mount an offense to retake it…
-New character customization features: Facial scars, new hairstyles, facial hair for trolls and more options have been added.
-11 new dungeons, including Heroic Zul’Farrak.
-2 new raids.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this expansion concept. Next time, I’ll go into detail about the zones featured in The Hand of Zul.
World of Warcraft Writer and columnist for Blizzplanet. I am also known as The Red Shirt Guy (BlizzCon).
