Lore Watch Podcast

We thank our listeners and patrons for giving us another round of great questions, which we summarily answered and used as a diving board directly into the deep end of tin foil hat theories and speculation. First, who was the elf Xal'atath is currently using for a body? While we do have a pithy answer to this identity courtesy of a particular quest line, there's also a broader lore implication in terms of who this poor erstwhile High Elf once was. Another listener wanted to know what kind of humanoid form Azeroth will have, and specifically suggests it may be a Troll. Trolls were one of the progenitor races of Azeroth, so is it possible they were formed in her likeness? This leads us into a discussion of the races of Azeroth and how they may have evolved over the centuries -- and who may have been pressing a thumb on that evolutionary scale.If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).

Our readers dutifully sent in questions, and our three hosts -- Joe, Matt, and Eric -- gave them all the answers they could want, and more. They start off with a discussion on the music of WoW, spurred by the inclusion of Player Housing decor, and how Taurens all got drums. It evolves from there, to discuss how the themes present within in-game music mirror real life music characteristics. Then, they pivot to more Void vs Light in a continuation from last week, and how those forces might shape both the world we play in, and Anduin and how his characterization may continue forward. The last question involves the discussion of source influences on WoW, from Arthurian Legend through Tolkien, and then we come back to music. However, now the topic is basically the soundtrack to Stranger Things.If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).

Our listeners had a lot of questions for the Lore Watch crew this week, and they all center on Midnight, specifically the role of the Void and Old Gods. Is there another forgotten Old God waiting in the wings? Will all the Old Gods come back to wreak havoc during The Last Titan?Perhaps most tantalizingly in light of the events to come, with all this Void power at her command, what exactly is the prize Xal'atath is here to seek?

As we make our way into the Midnight prepatch and beyond, Matt, Joe, and Eric take the opportunity to recap the lore of The War Within. In case you missed it -- or maybe missed some of the signs leading up to it, or through it -- we have the story. It starts with a literal bang, and the destruction of Dalaran. The implications of that, from how it affects the plot all the way to how it affects the way the writers can shape the story forward, set the stage for all the The War Within, and perhaps beyond as we make our way back into Silvermoon City in Midnight, and then Northrend in The Last Titan. We'll talk about the hijinks of Xal'atath, and why the heck we ended up in Undermine, anyway.All those detours and more on this episode of Lore Watch!If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).

This week Joe is joined by our writer Eric O'Dea to discuss Blood Ties, the newest WoW novel. The events of Blood Tieshappen between the end of The War Within but just before Midnight -- basically when we are right now. As such, there will be spoilers for both Blood Ties and a little bit of what we know happens in Midnight.Joe and Eric point out various details they found particularly effective, and things they wished we had more of in other contexts. A fun little dinner party with lots of expository dialogue is a treat, for instance. But there's a lot of ground to cover, and Eric and Joe have a lot to say!

This week Joe and Matt are answering another listener question, this time concerning Paladins, and how they serve as an intersection between the divine Light, and the Titans who shaped Azeroth. As you might imagine, the answer will span the cosmos, and go completely off the rails in the process. Paladins in particular serve as a mash-up between some Light power and Titanic power -- does that mean a Titan of the Void could occur? There's a lot of ground to cover, some of which will take us into Midnight and what may happen as we start to make our way toward the final act of this trilogy.But you can count on one thing: an Odyn mention means he gets called a jerk again. We don't make the rules.

This week by special listener request, Matt and Joe are delving into Icewind Dale -- perhaps literally, because it involves the iconic character Drizzt Do'Urden, the Drow Ranger. Icewind Dale began simply as a region in Dungeons and Dragons, and then became the title of a series of three novels penned by R. A. Salvatore, with the first published in 1988 and the last in 1990, and then a video game in 2000 set in the region. As such, there is a ton of lore to discuss, including its roots, which begin -- like almost every work in modern fantasy fiction -- back with Tolkien, and its use as a setting in D&D. Join us as we discuss one of the most beloved series in the D&D oeuvre.

Because it's Christmas, and on Christmas you get a little treat, Joe and Matt are discussing all the ways crossovers are used in comics. From KISS to that one time Doctor Doom was Santa, to more mundane crossovers, adding a different set of characters to an existing comic can add new life to a stale plot. This episode has it all, from Archie to Transformers, perhaps both at the same time, and maybe in the Spiderverse. The sky's the limit when it comes to mashing up pop culture!

Since Paladins were announced as the next class to join the roster in Diablo 4 in its next expansion Lord of Hatred -- and already playable with preorder -- Matt and Joe sat down this week to chat about both, but mostly Paladins and their history within the franchise. First, they dive into the place of Paladins within the franchise as contrasted by other classes. Blizzard seems to be cribbing heavily from Diablo 2, with almost all the classes from that game now available in D4. They touch on Paladins from D2, their famous fall, and how that led to the Crusaders from Diablo 3.The story we see in the cinematic also has our Paladin facing off against Mephisto while he inhabits Akarat's body, which he possessed at the end of the previous expansion, Vessel of Hatred. Akarat being one of the founders of the faith the Paladin belongs to, this is a deeply interesting contrast -- as well as a personal religious crisis in the making.