[WIP] Service After Death: A Death Knight Guide

[SachikoMaeda]

My own little guide for my favorite class. I know guides for Death Knights have been done, but I wanted to take my hand at writing a guide for them.

My personal favorite class. When done properly, you are given an interesting dynamic for your character. While I will not tell you what is and what isn't "proper" for your Death knight, I will give you facts and misconceptions of the Death Knights we are allowed to roll here on Conquest of the Horde once you have obtained Gruntship.

What makes a Death Knight a Death Knight? How are the different from the other undead? What differences are there in the three generations of Death Knights? I will cover these questions and more within this guide.

Table of Contents
Server Requirements for Death Knights
What is a Death Knight?
The Three Generations.
Undeath on the Mind.
The Ebon Blade
Blood, Frost, and Unholy.
Saronite.
Forsaken and Death Knights - A Comparative Analysis.
The Shadow Realm and You.
Misconceptions.

Server Requirements for Death Knights

In order to roll a Death Knight here on Conquest of the Horde, you must be a Grunt (which means you must be active on the server for at least a month, have at least one approved character, and completed your questionnaire).

If your Death Knight is not approved, they cannot level past 65. Once approved, feel free to manual level or ask a GM for a bump up to 80.

We are only allowed to play a Third Generation Death Knight.


What is a Death Knight? (To be expanded)

Powerful undead killing machines. That is usually what comes to mind when one thinks of a Death Knight. After all, it's in their name. Death Knights. Knights of Death. Or you can use the derogatory term used for all undead and simply call them "deaders". They require a great amount of power to raise from the dead as more than just a ghoul or mindless husk. They are generally much more well preserved than Forsaken tend to be. The ones we play are characterized by their glowing runic blue eyes and noticeable "echo" in their voice.

They vary greatly from other classes in that they are physically inclined spell casters. Claiming them to be the undead paladin tends to be both an accurate and inaccurate analogy for the Death Knight. They are both plate wearing spell casters, but Death Knights are not Lightflingers. As a matter of fact, Light as well as Fire magics are their greatest weaknesses. Their runeblades are their weapon of choice, and the runic blood, frost, or unholy magics made them a formidable opponent. They, however, are NOT an excuse to play an overpowered character. Your Death Knight is on equal terms with all other characters.


The Three Generations

First Generation
A great explanation of the First Generation Death Knights can be pulled from WoWpedia.

The original death knights were created for Orgrim Doomhammer by Gul'dan as powerful soldiers of the Horde. These death knights were created by placing the souls of the slain warlocks of the Shadow Council into the corpses of fallen Stormwind knights, the first of whom was Teron Gorefiend. Unlike modern death knights of the Scourge, these ghoulish fiends were not battle hardened warriors; they were insidious necromancers who possessed superior intellect and tremendous magical power. They often favored the use of terror tactics and reanimated the corpses of enemy soldiers who fell in battle to serve them as mindless undead minions.

Most of these death knights were destroyed during and after the Second War, either killed by the Alliance or transformed into liches by Kil'jaeden.

Second Generation
Arthas's Generation of Death Knights. After Draenor was sacked, the Lich King set to raising a new breed of Death Knights for the Scourge. His first choice was none other than Arthas. These Death Knights possessed no free will and only did as the Lich King commanded. They are more familiar to the Third Generation Knights we know and love. They were decked out in plate armor and utilized the runic magics that the next generation did. They carried great power and were not to be messed with.


Third Generation
These are the Death Knights we roll and the only playable Death Knights on Conquest of the Horde. They were risen by Scourge to garrison the necropolis of Acherus: Ebon Hold to assault Light's Hope Chapel and eliminate the Argent Dawn. Through some twist of fate, these Knight broke free of the Lich King's will and turned against his will after the battle of Light's Hope. Lead by Highlord Darion Morgaine, the Knights allied themselves with their former races and factions, as well as creating the organization of the Ebon Blade.

These Knights have their own free will and are up for open interpretation. If they have regained emotion, memories of their past, or any other assorted possibilities go into the hands of you, the one who will create that Death Knight and give it the unlife it deserves to run about on Conquest of the Horde as you desire... However...

A note regarding Blood Elf Death Knights: In order to be Blood Elf Death Knight and not a High Elf Death Knight, there must have been an intake of fel after Silvermoon was attacked by the Scourge. If there was no fel intake, then they are a High Elf Death Knight and unplayable. Remember that no High Elves are playable on Conquest of the Horde without CMC (or maybe admin approval). No exceptions.


Undeath on the Mind

To quote our lovely @Reigen

Death knights actually fully regain their memories and their minds were 'suppressed' in a way. They know what they did, unlike the forsaken, they saw the slaughter they committed but could not control their bodies. They also very much still have emotions, but that depends on the death knight and how well their psyche handled what they did.

They had only one goal: do as the Lich King demanded. They were mindless puppets made only to kill. However, the Lich King's words did not stick to the Third Generation. Something within them was different that had allowed them to gain their own will.

After the battle of Light's Hope Chapel, your Death knight would have had time to contemplate what they were to do with their new found "life". Some come to see it as a curse, forced back from their peaceful slumber only to kill, shunned by their own people, and have no place to call home. Others may see it as a gift of new power, free from mundane tasks of eating and breathing, and free from the burden of emotions that could have weighed them down. Or perhaps they have gained no grasp as of to who they are and remain to be a broken person, wandering about to try and find their place in a world where many view them as a monster.

Death Knights require no sleep. They do not need food or water. They do not need to breathe. They are dead, yet still alive. Some may wish to become alive again or to try and blend in the society of those who's hearts still beat. Others may leave the Ebon Blade to continue the "life" they had known of killing and keeping the living from drawing another breath. Regardless of what they chose, they will always hunger.

The Hunger

Death Knights, if I have not said it enough, were raised to kill. They will always have the desire to induce fear, pain, or kill. How they chose to go about sating their hunger is up to the player. Those with the Ebon Blade may prefer hunting animals rather than killing the sentient that they work with. Rogue Death Knights may prey upon sentient beings that ventured too far from their settlement. No matter what they do, Death Knights will always feel the hunger. There is no escaping it. It was their sole purpose in undeath and it is a constant reminder of it.

The Cursed

These are generally the Death knights that chose to wallow in grief of their undeath. The "emo knights" so to speak. Their outlook is simple to understand: Being brought back from the dead was nothing but a curse. They are a blight on the face of Azeroth and either do little but sit and mope, or are more proactive and try to slay the Scourge to prevent others from being afflicted with their curse. Pessimism is their main quality.

The Empowered

These love their new undeath. The power they have obtained motivates them to do more. Whether it be to continue their purpose of killing or to fight with the Ebon Blade only to increase their powers. Optimism fuels them. They tend to look down on those who feel they are cursed and that they waste their powers complaining.

The Broken

They do not know who they are, who they were, or what they are doing here. Their minds have been broken when they were freed of the Lich King's will. Without proper guidance, they had no choice but to look inward to try and answer the questions that tear at their mind constantly. They tend to have no emotion and very little memories of their past in their mind. They tend to take a neutral stance and look to advance themselves. They are a puzzle that has yet to be pieced together.

The Bored

They have no drive. No purpose. They are bored. They will do whatever they do just to gain some sort of amusement. Much like he Wildcard, they're unpredictable and have very little backing to their actions. Sating their hunger will only get them so much amusement. Most of the time they may either start conflicts between the living or end them. There is no telling what they will do.

The Wildcard

Unpredictable in any way. They have no under laying motivation and do what they do simply because they can. They more than likely have no clue what their purpose is, but they don't let that stop them. They will always move forward erratically. To try and plan their next move is near impossible.


The Dark Knight (contributed by @Micheru )

Damned, cursed with undeath and the hunger, the Dark Knight still retains enough of his humanity to follow a corrupted version of the creed he did in life. Wandering in search of a quest of a new ideology to champion. The Dark Knight will defend the weak and fight evil on principle, but the hunger gnaws at them. Much like a mistreated dog, you never know when the Dark Knight will turn from a friend into your deepest fear. The Dark Knight walks a line between good and evil, and wavers dangerously.

Brainrot/Psychosis
The negative effects of undeath.

Death has its drawbacks. After all, it's death. And the first thing to be affected when your heart stops beating is your brain. The lack of oxygen rich blood flowing through you kills your brain cells. That's why in real life, if you were to die, they want to resuscitate you as fast as possible to prevent brain damage. Now just because your character has died does not mean they will lose all bodily function and cognitive abilities. Not at all. Here in World of Warcraft, it is safe to say the magics restored their mind... However, the longer they are dead, the harder it would be to fully restore it.

Forsaken and Death Knights both can be afflicted with brainrot as the player chooses, though it is much more common amongst the Forsaken. Symptoms tend to include impaired movement, loss of memory, and seeming to be completely insane. They may be running about with pants on their head and swinging about a cat, claiming to be the Loa Emperor of Humankin. Don't see this as an excuse to play someone pants-on-head idiotic. My example used it considered to be an extreme of the brainrot type.

Whereas on the Forsaken, this affliction tends to be a physical condition from the magics keeping them together could fail, a Death Knight with this type of outlook could have been greatly traumatized by their actions while under the Lich King's command. An extreme amount of stress could bring about an extreme reaction such as this to "protect" the person from contemplating their actions.


The Ebon Blade

Who They Are

The Ebon Blade is an organization many people misinterpret. They did break away from the Scourge, yes, meaning they are their own entity. Independent from the Lich King. It was their goal when they formed to bring down the Lich King after he had admitted to sending the Death Knights of Acherus on a suicide mission. Highlord Darion Mograine is their leader and has been since they separated from the Scourge.


What They Do




How They Came to Be

This is one of the times where we look to WoWPedia for a delicious copypasts of lore knowledge.

The Knights of the Ebon Blade were originally an army of Scourge death knights trained in the halls of Acherus. They were created (or so they were told) for the purposes of destroying both the Scarlet Crusade in their enclave east of Tyr's Hand, and the Argent Dawn at Light's Hope Chapel. In truth, the entire plan was conceived by the Lich King himself not to destroy the Argent Dawn, but rather to use the death knight legion as bait to lure out the Highlord of the resurgent Order of the Silver Hand, Tirion Fordring.

During the Battle for Light's Hope Chapel, where ten thousand Scourge faced off against three hundred defenders of the Light, the [Corrupted Ashbringer] wielded by the death knight commander, Highlord Darion Mograine, refuses to obey its wielder. When Fordring arrives, his powers of the Light prove too great for even ten thousand to oppose, and Mograine orders his death knights to surrender. Fordring scolds Mograine for his foolishness and tells him that Arthas sent him and his death knights on a suicide mission. As they await the paladin's judgment, they witness a vision of Mograine's father, Alexandros, the legendary Ashbringer himself. He told his son that he would one day wield the Ashbringer and use it to mete out justice, but "that day is not today".

The Lich King himself arrives not long afterwards and confirms that he had indeed sent the death knights to their deaths in order to bring Fordring out of hiding. Enraged by this treachery, Mograine attacks, but the Lich King swats him aside in one hit and focuses his attention on Fordring, incapacitating him with a crippling spell and knocking back the Argent soldiers who charged in. Remembering the words spoken by his father, Mograine throws the corrupted Ashbringer to Fordring, whose powers of the Light succeed in purifying it. With the purified blade in hand, Fordring charges into the Lich King and throws him back. Leaving their battle for another day, the lord of the Scourge flees back to Northrend, warning Tirion that: "When next we meet, it won't be on holy ground, paladin."

After Arthas' departure, Fordring calls for the union of the Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand into the Argent Crusade, intended to bring the war to Icecrown itself. Mograine pledges himself and his knights to the same cause, naming his new order the Knights of the Ebon Blade. With their free will restored, Mograine and his death knights return to Acherus and capture it, destroying the Scourge remnants within.


Their Views

Their purpose was to remove the threat of the Lich King.


Blood, Frost, and Unholy

All Death Knights work with runic magic of three classes. Blood, frost, and unholy. I will do my best to break down the abilities used in game and how they work in a Role Play environment. Death Knights usually focus on one of the three, each empowering them in different ways.

Color guide: Any ability listed in purple is considered a basic Death Knight ability and is available regardless of what class you chose.

Blood

• Blood Boil - Boil the blood of your opponent. This will cause their body temperature to rise to a controlled level by the Death Knight. It can be used to warm a living person to comfort them in cold, or boil the blood with an intent to kill.
  
  
• Blood Strike -
  
  
• Dark Command -
  
  
• Strangulate - Strangle the opponent with runes. This silences the opponent to keep them from speaking and/or spell casting.
  
  
• Pestilence
  
  
• Abomination's Might
  

Knights that focus on Blood tend to look more alive than the others do. There is no lore that I have found that claims a Death Knight does or does not still have blood in their system. Most people play those in the Blood field as still having blood in their own veins, even if it may be deluded with ichor or partially drained depending on how that particular Knight may have died. The use of blood or ichor is optional with these. Some Knight may try to hide their affliction and blend in with society by hiding their eyes and artificially circulate blood to make themselves appear to be alive. If they do this, they lose use of their runes elsewhere and will be prone to attack. Note this is not supported by lore from what I have found.


Frost

• Icy Talons - Use Frost runes to give the Death Knight talons of ice. A great weapon choice for any Knight who prefers fighting in close range.
  
  
• Annihilation
  
  
• Chains of Ice - Summon chains of ice through runes. The chains are used to immobilize the target.
  
  
• Mind Freeze
  
  
• Path of Frost - Freeze the surface of any body of water to an appropriate thickness to support the Knight. This allows them to walk across water. They are able to share this spell with other Knights as well as living creatures.
  
  
• Icy Touch
  

Few in number player wise, Frost inclined Knights look more like corpses than the Blood counterparts. They can preserve themselves better than a Blood inclined Knight who may be more prone to rotting in higher temperatures. They were found moreso in Northrend than elsewhere since they would have been in their element.


Unholy

• Death Gate - I doorway to anywhere summoned by a Death Knight. In game mechanics allow only to go to the Ebon Hold, though many play the Gate as being able to go anywhere. Many see the Gate as only travel-able by Death Knights and any living that enters it will die. Others see it as living only being able to pass through it if carried by a Death Knight.
  
  
• Death Grip - manipulation of unholy runes allows for manipulation of arcane shadow. The Death Grip allows a Death Knight to manipulate Shadow around their target and pull it in to them. Note the Grip is only capable of pulling.
  
  
• Anti-Magic Zone - A field that negates spells that come in contact with it.
  
  
• Unholy Blight
  
  
• Contagion
  
  
• Death Coil - A bolt of unholy energy that is quite dangerous to any living creature. While it can harm undead, it can heal them at control of the Death Knight. The greater the experience in Unholy runes, the greater their abilities to heal with a Death Coil. This spell can also be used by necromancers.
  

They are the embodiment of undeath. They tend to rot further than the others or are more well preserved than the other two. They will have greater control over their own bodies as well as the ghoul they command. They can heal other Knights better than the other two. However, they are generally unliked more by living than the other two. They usually work in secrecy or carry their powers like a badge of honor.



Saronite

Where it comes from (Gonna expand on more later)

To quote WoWpedia again:

Saronite is an element associated with the Old God Yogg-Saron. According to the Archivum Console in Ulduar, a powerful acid found within Yogg-Saron is believed to be responsible for the liquefaction of Saronite.

It is commonly referred to as the "Black Blood of Yogg-Saron". It is only found in Northrend and can prove risky for any living to try and mine it.


Properties (Gonna add to it later)

Saronite is one of the toughest metals available in World of Warcraft. It's the metal of choice for Death Knights. Why is that? It is resistant to magic and reflects Light attacks. Gee wilikers, Batman! How come everyone doesn't use Saronite? The answer is actually quite simple. To the living, Saronite is very dangerous and can cause mental corruption over time. The corruption starts with hearing sounds. Whispers. In time they may have a small personality shift, whereas they may have preferred to drink milk, they suddenly decide they hate milk and only want juice.

While it is the number one metal of choice for a Death Knight, it is incredibly difficult to come across. Chances are they would not have any saronite aside from what they had with the Scourge or, if they are lucky, they acquired some from the Ebon Hold. The standard blacksmith cannot work with it because of its corrupting qualities. It is possible to purify saronite, though it looses many of its magic resistant and Light reflecting qualities are lost.


Forsaken and Death Knights - A Comparative Analysis.

What it means to be Forsaken

What it means to be a Death Knight

What about the Forsaken Death Knights?


The Shadow Realm and You.

What is the Shadow Realm?


What is it used for?



Misconceptions

All Death Knights are Overpowered because they start at level 55.

To me, this is just a game mechanic. Our lovely @Rigley has explained it wonderfully before. Since I do not have an exact quote, I'll try to explain it myself. If you wanted to claim DKs as being OP because they start at level 55, then you are forgetting that other classes can reach, and go beyond, level 55. Our level 1 characters can represent the "newbies". Those who just started their adventure. DKs start at level 55 to show that they had prior experience before they were resurrected.

DKs and any other class can make it to level 80 (in WotLK). If DKs were supposed to be OP, they'd be able to go beyond while no other class could. Don't think a DK is an excuse to play someone OP!

All Death Knights feel no emotion

This is up for player interpretation. It is my interpretation of the DK class that they can regain some, most, or all emotion depending on how much they look to their past to remember what it was like when they were alive. By majority, they will have some sort of opinion. They feel something when they hunger, and they feel something when they sate it. That is enough basis that they can feel some sort of state, whether it be emotional or not. Emotional limitations are strictly up to the player.

Death Knights can't die! They're already dead!

Saying a DK can't die again is like saying you can't kill a zombie. They killed Arthas after all... Right?

Death Knights have no weakness due to their saronite armor

While saronite can deflect most magic, the DK behind the armor is not immune to the magics thrown at them. There are opening in the armor whether you like it or not. Otherwise they'd have to find a way to travel encased in a cube of saronite.

Death Knights are always suffering

Not always. As seen by The Empowered section, some feel that the undeath has given them a greater purpose. Not all of them will cry undead tears over being undead.

The Death Knights of Acherus states that...

First of all, that book was mostly for laughs. Though there could be some viable lore in there as of to how Death Knights were organized while under the Lich King. Lets look at some examples...

Name: Harmony
Status: Deceased
Comment: The name of this death knight was found in violation of common Scourge decency. Struck down by the Lich King.

Obviously the Lich King did not like happy sounding names. Something to keep in mind when rolling a Death Knight.

Name: Milton
Status: Executed
Comment: Caught. Was found without armor or runeblade asleep next to his deathcharger. The deathcharger was returned to Salanar without any serious injury. Death knights are not permitted to sleep.

During Scourge time, obviously they would have killed your Knight for doing those actions. The Ebon Blade, however, tends to fly with a "we don't really care what you're doing" attitude. They won't go out of their way to hunt you down for taking a nap. This could be used to prove that:
A) They can remove their armor.
B) They can be separated from their runeblade.
C) They can sleep.

---

Updates:
Added in two new sections:
"Saronite" and "Forsaken and Death Knights - A Comparative Analysis."
Added quotes from Reigen.
Added in a section on "Brainrot"


Added in two new DK "Personalities".
"The Bored" and "The Wildcard".

Added in a few Misconceptions.

Cleaned up a few typos.



Expanded many points. Almost done with expanding.

Added in blurbs about each school of runes and how they typically effect DKs. Going to add/modify in time.


Added in two new sections, "The Ebon Blade" and "The Shadow Realm and You"

Added in a few bits.
Added a reference to The Death Knights of Acherus as recommended by Dae.

Tormentors removed due to recent GM motion to remove them.

[Ruibarra]

*Snickers* Cube of Saronite.

[JTJP770]

I support this guide. :3

[Dae]

I'd personally like to see a bit talking about the differences in playing a DK and a Forsaken; I've always found it very interesting to see how differently people play them, even though, short of the significant bloodlust, better preservation and special DK rune-ie magics, the differences are primarily a cultural one.
The personality traits you've listed, for example, can apply just as well to the Forsaken.

Also, the long-term effects their Saronite can have on the living in the proximity and the matter of Living Death Knights on the server.
OK, now I'm just being a pain.

Good guide; its nice and very relevant to character creating.

[SachikoMaeda]

I'll be sure to add in a bit on Forsaken for comparing them to standard DKs. Maybe make up a diagram to show similarities and differences.

And I think I will add a section on Saronite so people don't automatically assume it's lolgod armor. And you sure aren't being a pain xD You're giving me good advice on how I can better my guide! I'll be sure to use it!

And thanks I'm trying my best to be helpful!

[Kage]

This has been supported by KageAcuma.

[Dae]

I'll be sure to add in a bit on Forsaken for comparing them to standard DKs. Maybe make up a diagram to show similarities and differences.

Yes!!!

Edit: Oh, my. Apparently this is my 100th post here at CotH. What a truly meaningful contribution to the community this post is.

[Kage]

I'll be sure to add in a bit on Forsaken for comparing them to standard DKs. Maybe make up a diagram to show similarities and differences.

Yes!!!

Edit: Oh, my. Apparently this is my 100th post here at CotH. What a truly meaningful contribution to the community this post is.

I say congrats to that.

[SachikoMaeda]

Updated!

[Kaghuros]

Ugh, you added the worst two "lolrandumb" or "insane" stereotypes that people use in Death Knights. "The Wildcard" doesn't seem like proper motivation for a real character, or if it is you haven't couched it in any form of reasonable thought. By putting it in this guide, if you want it to be held up to any sort of standard by others, you've given people an expectation that they can play "stupid crazy" and not be ridiculed for the shallow and uninspired choice they've made.

Following up with that, "Brain Rot" appears to be entirely based on speculation and could also be used as an excuse to play a character with Chaotic Randumb tendencies. The thing you might be thinking of is how Forsaken tend to wear out with age, slipping back into mindless undead because of the imperfect nature of their resurrection. That said, there's no problem with playing a character who has missing memories or whose psyche is broken from the Lich King's domination. Just don't expect a full-retard Death Knight to ever have made it out of Acherus in the first place.

[SachikoMaeda]

I'm still gonna be modding it some. It's gonna see a lot of work before I claim it good enough to move to the official guides.

EDIT: Added in a nice little snippet at the end of the brainrot section:

Don't see this as an excuse to play someone pants-on-head idiotic. My example used it considered to be an extreme of the brainrot type.

[Kaghuros]

It's still pure speculation though, isn't it? Unless you have a source for saying that Death Knights can come out of necromancy wacko, in which case I don't particularly mind it.

[Harmonic]

There's no proof to the contrary either though.

[SachikoMaeda]

There's nothing for or against it. I'd leave it to player interpretation.

[Ben]

DK's being mad is entirely plausible. They're given Saronite armour for Pete's sake, then sent off into the world to kill stuff.

Against their will.

Something's gonna' break, right?