Something just popped into my head today.
In the argent tournament, the raid, there is a little bit before each fight, and before a fight with a large demon, a gnome warlock is introduced, and fairly well accepted by varian Wrynn to summon forth a demon for the tournament. And it got me thinking. IF warlocks are as kill on sight as they are portrayed in RP here...things like that shouldnt happen. And, warlock trainers in game, even the ones out in public, are not to shy about letting it be known they are warlocks, heck, some openly admit it, but they are not instantly mauled by angry mobs or guards.
So...are warlock's truly illegal, or are they considered a necessary evil, like the deathknights. Ive only found it strange that a necromantic deathknight who raises the bodies of dead soldiers to fight for them is generally accepted to wander about stormwind, but the slightest hint of a warlock results in roaming death-mobs.
Before the argent tournament warlocks were generally hated because of their connections with demons. I'm going to use peon/peasant logic here and say if you work with demons, and demons killed hundreds of your friends including paladins that were later turned into death knights. (note demons made DKs) thus they would fear demons more then their brother after he was killed, they still have some relation with their brother.
Now that the AT is here, every. Single. Body. Is needed. This means Mage warlock warrior paladin ect. From this call all the warlocks that don't intend on world domination via demons (they do exist!) came out from hiding and presented themselves under the argent tournament banner. Thus tirion kept them safe.
Here we are in current times. The lich king is dead and the call to arms is over. Now the warlocks are not really needed anymore so the smart ones are going back into their holes and staying there until the next time such a call is put out. Alteast this is all my own interpretation on the events.
And yes as amerason put it. It isn't illegal per say, but toteing around demons in the public is asking for a beating by the common folk.
That's all i wanted as confirmation, as its a pain when you have paladins after your blood the instant any hint of it is about. Ive never really beleive that a paladin has the authority to judge death on members of the alliance for such things without provocation.
As far as I know, from the WoW summation of warlocks, they are seen as a needed evil. Like Death Knights.
Largely, they are tolerated. But, away from the eyes of the guards...
Section V. The Witchcraft Act
Trafficking with Demonic Entities
A citizen shall be guilty of Heresy, if
I. he should knowingly commune with, aid through word or through deed, or keep the company of any demonic entity; or
II. he knowingly summons or aids in the summoning of any demonic entity; or
III. he willfully incites or influences a demonic entity to attack another citizen; or
IV. he invokes unholy or fel magics, or those of the Shadow.
V. If a demonic entity under the control of a citizen should slay another citizen, its master shall be held to account for murder.
Dangerous Demons
A citizen shall be guilty of Courting a Dangerous Demon, if
VI. he summons a dangerous demon anywhere within the Realm; or
VII. he assists in the summoning of a dangerous demon anywhere within the Realm
VIII. A dangerous demon shall be regarded as any class of demon liable to cause great damage to life and property, such as Felguards, Infernals, Doomguards, etc.
Trafficking with Undead Entities
A citizen shall be guilty of trafficking with the undead, if
IX. he should commune with, or aid through word or through deed, or keep the company of any undead entity; or
X. he knowingly conceals the existence of location of an undead entity from the lawful authorities; or
XI. he willfully incites or influences an undead entity to attack another citizen; or
XII. he wields that weapon which is known as a 'rune blade'.
XIII. Lawful authorities shall be regarded as
(a) any servant of His Majesty appointed to keep the peace, and currently upon his duty
(b) any servant of His Majesty whose appointed duties involve the tracking, discovery or control of the undead.
XIV. Citizens shall be righted to strike down and slay any undead entity witnessed in the Kingdom of Stormwind, provided it is proven that the entity in question is truly undead.
Amended around the time of the Invasion of Northrend, by the order of His Majesty: XV. Exceptions shall be made under sections IX and XIV where the undead entity in question can show that it is sworn to the Knights of the Ebon Blade, or otherwise bears the writ and seal of His Majesty allowing it to fight for the Alliance.
Necromancy
A citizen shall be guilty of Necromancy, if
XVI. he should, without
(a) the authorisation of the Church of Holy Light, or
Miah Wrote:So...are warlock's truly illegal, or are they considered a necessary evil, like the deathknights.
To note, this is very different from death knights. The entire point of the DK quest chain is that you're a fallen hero breaking free from the LK's control and subsequently seeking redemption. The DK chain even ends with Wrynn/Thrall shouting to the city for them to treat you as they would any other champion of the Alliance/Horde.
Warlocks are a trickier matter.
The in-game dialogue text states quite plainly that warlocks are allowed within the Horde. The Forsaken don't seem to care, and the Orcs tolerate it. There's no secret that Neeru Fireblade, and the other warlocks in the Cleft of Shadows, really are warlocks. They're just in service to the Horde.
The Horde Player's Guide is a little inconsistent on the matter. On the one hand, Brann's notes on Orc Society states that warlocks are forced to operate in secrecy in Durotar. On the other, he later goes on to say that he's heard of warlocks gathering together to protect the Horde from demonic influence, and the "uncorrupted warlock" variant states that those of this class will sometimes openly declare their profession and offer their services to the Horde. I think it's important to keep in mind that the D20 is primarily set during the early parts of Classic, though, so not everything said there should be taken for fact.
As far as the Alliance goes, my understanding is that Gnomes have no negative disposition to any particular flavor of arcanist. Humans do, but events since Classic may have shifted that opinion, as warlocks have no doubt been helping the Alliance as well. The Alliance Player's Guide suggests that the Gnomish mindset also gives them resistance to arcane corruption, so it's likely they simply don't have the negative experience with warlockry to really hate it.
My interpretation is that warlocks aren't outlawed, but you wouldn't want to summon a demon in civilian villages or capital cities.
The way I've understood Warlocks that openly declare themselves to the public, is that they've taken the ultimate sacrifice to fight off demons; They're the Demon Hunters of the non-elf races (Don't think that Blood Elves can't become Demon Hunters, it's stated that it's not all that uncommon for them to in the D20 RPG books), who are trying to fight fire with fire. As such, it's of my opinion that a warlock that's not openly summoning a demon in a town, or flinging fel around (Without good reason might I add!) would be accepted much like a Demon Hunter would; They'd be given a room at the local inn, maybe a bite to eat, then told to get the hell out.
Blood Elves and Undead revere the control of demons (and any kind of other magics) for their own uses...
Gnomes are marely curious about everything, like fel magic and demons.
I think humans and orcs are basicly on the same starting point. Commoners might not accept the warlocks, but commanders and military leaders welcome their aid more ofthen than not.
That's what I've seen from playing the game anyway and reading some (I do not claim to be an expert) of the fluff.
Well, I think that the warlocks are, within the alliance at least, outlawed. They summon demons not to fight them, but just to use them as tools, that's how I understood it.
Also, it isn't true that most of the warlocks state in the public, that they are warlocks. The warlocks in Stormwind are hiding in a cellar of a tavern! One of these warlocks gives the player a quest, in which is stated that someone has noticed that cellar and it's your task in that quest to find the person and kill him with poison.
Like I said, only the 'good' warlocks would be likely to accepted. Terms for such warlocks would likely be a weekly Atonement spell via the church of the holy light. To quote the RPG book;
Quote:Reverse Magical Alignment Change: If a creature has had its
alignment magically changed, atonement returns its alignment
to its original status at no cost in experience points.
Redemption or Temptation: You may cast this spell upon a
creature of an opposing alignment in order to offer it a chance
to change its alignment to match yours. The prospective
subject must be present for the entire casting process. Upon
completion of the spell, the subject freely chooses whether
it retains its original alignment or acquiesces to your offer
and changes to your alignment. No duress, compulsion, or
magical infl uence can force the subject to take advantage of
the opportunity offered if it is unwilling to abandon its old
alignment. This use of the spell does not work on outsiders or
any creature incapable of changing its alignment naturally.
Though the spell description refers to evil acts,
atonement can also be used on any creature that has
performed acts against its alignment, whether those acts
are evil, good, chaotic or lawful.
Material Component: Burning incense.
Focus: In addition to your holy symbol or normal
divine focus, you need a set of prayer beads (or other
prayer device, such as a prayer wheel or prayer book)
worth at least 500 gp.
That's only select parts of the spell that pertain to the current discussion however. In any case, I believe that if a warlock was to openly be a part of the Alliance Military Forces, they would be forced into doing this weekly, as to not turn against his allies.
Warlocks are not outlawed with the Alliance, though they are very much feared. If you ask any guards about where the Warlock class trainer is they go 'Uhh...I dunno, but you should check here!'.
The guards know about Warlocks. They are allowed to exist in the city. But if they start summoning demons and what-not in public, then there is a problem. If this demon causes any damage, then the guards would give the Warlock the punishments the demon would receive if the law really applied to them. So this is most likely stockade time. Or excecution, if the demon does some really crazy shit.
Mind you, a Warlock who summoned a demon would be told to 'get that thing the hell out of here' immediately. Or, you know. The guards would cut the thing in two if he/she couldn't. And the Warlock -might- be punished if they didn't cooperate -immediately- upon the guards telling them to do something. Alliance guards have little tolerance for fel users.
Normal Warlock spell casting like shadow-bolts and what not though? That would be treated the same way a Mage casting a fireball spell would.