Let's discuss Zandalari Druids: An Informative RP Thread!

Argent Dawn
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What is the purpose of this thread?

Firstly, hello everyone and welcome! The purpose of this thread is to spark discussion amongst those passionate or interested in the topic of Zandalari Druids. Hopefully it will provide guidance to those who wish to RP such a concept!

Below I shall post in-game quotes and answers to the questions I’ve had while on my journey to better understand Zandalari druids. A series of accumulated information! I hope you may find this useful!

Keep in mind that you are free to add your own thoughts and I am in no way, shape or form telling you how you should RP your character! (No shape or form, get it? Gonk? Loa of Shapes? I am funny.)

1. Who is Gonk?
Gonk, the Great Hunter, is the ancient raptor loa of shapes and master of the hunt. The Darkspear trolls heard many of the Zandalari’s tales about Gonk. He taught both tribes how to be druids, and the Zandalari druids serve him as the Raptari.

2. Who are the Raptari?
The Raptari are a Zandalari order that serves Gonk. They consist mainly of druids, but also include warriors and hunters. Unlike the Darkspear tribe druids, Gonk did not merely speak to the Zandalari. Gonk for the Raptari is not just a fragment or an echo of him, but physically there, a real voice they can listen to in person.

3. The loa of shapes: Shapeshifting

I. Whilst questing in Zuldazar, along Wardruid Loti, you can see her shapeshift into the land’s native creatures: Dazarian Stalker, Ankylodon, Pterrordax and of course, the travelling Raptor form.

II. Wait… So if you take the shape of a pterrordax, does that mean you are channeling Pa’ku?

The answer is: no. I pondered this for a while, but I believe that the raptari are capable to take on many shapes besides the one of their loa. Through druidism, Zandalari simply take on the shape of one of their native land’s creatures that better suits them in that situation.

Simply put, the forms one can shapeshift into are not necessarily affected by the appearance of a specific loa. Gonk is the master of all shapes!

III. What about the aquatic form?

This would also be part of Gonk’s teachings! Here I shall insert a segment which belongs to one of the ‘Tales of the Loa’ stones:

"Be it hoof or paw or hand,
He roams de sea and sky and land.
With dis loa we will stand.
He is Gonk!"

  • Bonus:

Additionally, if you interract with Gonk in his little cave, he will say the following:

“Long ago I decided to let my followers choose any loa to follow.”
This implies that Gonk would not mind his followers worshipping multiple loa.

IV. Wait… So what about the Moonkin form? Or restorative druidism?

Now this is where it gets interesting. No raptari druid appears to ever shapeshift into this form. Nor have I found anything about the Raptari channeling the nature’s mending powers! Gonk of all things certainly does not represent restoration, healing or growth of any kind! However, deep into the jungle, somewhere North-East of the Garden of the Loa, you can find some Zandalari shapeshifted into the boomkin and ankylodon forms! These individuals call themselves: The Lun’alai.

V. What are the Lun’alai?

Little is known of the Lun’alai, they are a small group of Zandalari troll druids located in Zuldazar. Staying in Moonkin Form, they prefer the groves of nature to the cold stone of the city. The Lun’alai have long possessed the gifts of nature, to take the forms of the wild. Theirs is the way of balance, not bargains. Many of the Zandalari believe them to be heretics and claim that their matron is no loa. The Lun’alai say that they are welcome to have their opinions.

The Zandalari by the name of Jin’alun tells you these things as you interact with him in game. He is the leader of the Lun’alai. And as you might guess, it is heavily implied that their matron is Elune.

Does this mean they are the druids with restorative powers? Since they claim to having possesed the powers of nature for a long time? Are the Lun’alai the equivalent of a Druid of the Wild, in that they are versatile with the powers they harness?

Unfortunately there is not much else that I could find about these guys. A shame since I would be truly interested in them!

  • Edit 1:

" Jin’alun claims that they and their order live among nature, rather than the stone walls of Dazar’alor. While other troll druids bargain with the loa to obtain their power, Jin’alun claims that their matron deity gives her power freely through worship. Due to this, they are seen as heretics and live outside the city. "

I kept browsing for information and found this. I believe the person is paraphrasing what Jin’alun tells the player. This adds some depth nonetheless!
The source of this comment is a thread on mmo-champion regarding the Lun’alai.

  • Edit 2:

I have taken a deep dive seeking to find out as much as possible about trolls and Elune. It is said that Elune had been worshipped by the primitive species thousands of years ago.
I have also come upon some in game items that connect the trolls to the worshipping of Elune.

1. The Troll Legends Tablets in Stranglethorn:

There is a quest line for the Alliance players in Stranglethorn where the player is required to collect four tablets with trollish poems and inscriptions. Two of them make references to the moon as some form of powerful entity or as a symbol of faith.

(Search for: ‘The First Troll Legend’ and ‘The Fourth Troll Legend’, part of the quest ‘Kurzen’s Mystery’)

2. ‘Crumbling Ceremonial Vestments’, a grey item from Legion:

This item can be collected from a long list of mobs. The item is grey and it is implied to be ancient. It also reads:
“The markings on this robe resemble both the sign of Elune and several venerated Loa spirits.”

(Search for: Crumbling Ceremonial Vestments)

3. Acceptability:

While it seems perfectly viable to RP such a character concept, I do not believe it would be taken lightly by many trolls. So far we know that the leader of the Lun’alai admits to have been called heretics. It should also be noted that the location of these NPCs is very far from the City of Dazar’alor, bordering on Nazmir. The location is closed off and furthermore, the ‘entrance’ is guarded by two Lun’alai druids in their guardian (ankylodon) form. This implies that they might be on alert for potential hostility.
It is also an interesting side note that their little altar has a clear view of the Sun/Moon, framed by branches which veil the location from plain sight.

  • Edit 3:

SPECULATION AND THEORY: The powers and abilities of the Lun’alai.

Alright, the following is my own theory and speculation of how the Lun’alai work based off of facts. This is me seeking the most logical explanation of what kind of powers these druids have and how they work.

1. Shapeshifting:

Here we know that the Lun’alai can shapeshift into multiple beasts other than their curious boomkin form, as there are two Lun’alai druids shifted into an ankylodon form.

We also know that the Raptari NPCs are never really seen in a boomkin form.
Raptari druids gain their power to shapeshift from bargains with their loa, Gonk. But we haven’t witnessed them using magic based abilities (correct me if I am wrong).

“We of de Lun’alai have long possessed de gifts of nature, to take de forms of the wild. Ours is de way of balance, not bargains.”

As this quote by Jin’alun states, the Lun’alai shapeshift by means of nature magic and not loa bargains. There are also other facts that connect the trolls to Elune and nature magic.

  • Elune first spoke to the trolls and taught them titan language, we know that Eonar took solace on Elunaria which is speculated to have a connection with Elune.

  • Elune is also connected to Malorne, therefore Cenarius who is a representative of druidism.

  • Elune plucks Ysera’s body and raised it into the sky, implying the moon goddess has a connection to nature.

2. The Boomkin form:

For this part I came up with a bit of speculation. As I’ve stated before, we have not seen the Raptari turn into this form. The other forms are likely accessed through druidic, nature magic by the Lun’alai. Then I thought…

  • The wildkin (or moonkin), are said to have been created by Elune as guardians. Magical creatures whom are said to possess a natural and druidic energy. These creatures appear to be a combination of an owl and a bear.

Now what if, for the Zandalari, Elune bestowed them with this form?

  • It appears to be a humanoid Pterrordax with feathers. Perhaps the feathers make reference to the original owl, considering you don’t really find that many native feathered beasts.

  • Or maybe it’s a combination of a Pterrordax and a Ravasaur as I have found them to have feathers.

This is all speculation based on the facts I’ve found. It’s how I tried to make sense of it. I really hope in the future there will be some elaboration on the topic.

I doubt that these are remnant of the Dark Trolls but there might be a connection? They claim to have possessed these gifts for a long time, therefore who knows how long and what had happened.

Nevertheless, these druids are legitimate and are listed as an independent organization along Thornspeakers and Raptari. The NPCs also have a ‘Zandalari Empire’ tag underneath them which states that despite some judgement, they are still alligned with the Empire; they simply prefer to be out of the City and in nature. If you wish to RP one, I believe it’s very viable. BUT, I doubt that they would be taken lightly by other trolls (ICly, due to their different beliefs) and I also doubt that they would go around preaching about who they are. They seem to be peaceful, free spirited and open minded in nature due to their teachings. Of all Horde races, I believe that they would connect with Tauren the most personally.

These are the bits and bobs I’ve gathered from in game sources through observing and interacting with dozen of NPCs, questing and text objects. I’d love to hear opinions, so let me know of your thoughts and concepts! Maybe you have a few words of wisdom to share! :smile:

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Very interesting! That last bit about the Lun’alai have inspired me for sure!

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They are very interesting, for sure. But we have very little on them… In game there are only 4 NPCs huddled up in the same location. Out of which only one is interactive…

Hopefully we will get more of them in the future as I would be very interested in approaching this concept!

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Very well written and helpful post! I’m not planning on playing druid myself but I will definitely direct my friends here if they have questions. Hope to see this gets updated!

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I shall keep editing the main post with more information that I find, if I can find anything else about Raptari but especially about Lun’alai druids. I am very interested in RPing one, therefore I want to do all the research I can on the topic relating to trolls and Elune.

Stay tuned! :smile: :blush:

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I am toying with the idea of a Lun’alai myself! Although if the npc’s we see are in their moonkin form, does that mean they are trapped in there? That is if they spend too much time in that form so to speak.

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I believe this applies to all druids that one should not spend too munch time in a shapeshifted form, otherwise they might succumb to the animal’s primal state.

As for the NPCs, there are two in boomkin and two in guardian form. They also say to have possessed the abilities of nature for a long time. This implies they can shapeshift into all forms of the land by nature magic instead of loa bargaining magic.

Furthermore, the Lun’alai in game are surrounding an altar facing the Sun/Moon (depending on the time of day), so I believe the reason for them being into their shapeshifted forms is because we stumble upon them during some form of ritual perhaps. Making prayers, so forth.

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I see, very interesting! I do wonder what manner of creature the Zandalari form is though, I cannot seem to find anything about them online. Would be handy to know in order to RP the creature more appropriately .

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Hugh did not know about lun’alai.
Hope we get more info on them, would be quite interesting to see if there are some who actively worship Gonk but low-key support this matron to gain her favor as well.
Gonk of all Loa would probably not object to something like that and certainly could be at least pulled off as decent char concept if anything.
Raptari Lun’alai if you will.

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The Lun’alai do not worship any loa. They state that they prefer balance and naturally obtained magic through pure worship to this ‘Matron’, instead of bargaining with loa. And to receive teachings and powers from the loa you create bargains with them. Like… Contracts.

The Lun’alai also don’t disrespect other loa and they seem very understanding. Because Jin’alun says that some Zandalari call them heretics… And they can have that opinion whether the Lun’alai disagree or not. Meanwhile we have witnessed that many followers are very proud about the loa they serve. Even insulting another’s loa (especially followers of Pa’ku and Gonk, they really don’t like eachother).

Raptari are the followers of Gonk, Lun’alai worshippers of the ‘matron’. I am inclined to believe Raptari or most loa worshippers would likely be judgemental or unaccepting of Lun’alai Zandalari. Emphasis on most, not all. Who knows, maybe some Zandalari are more open minded.

Check the newest Edit 3!

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Now I wanna RP a Lun’alai even more! Thank you very much!

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I am really glad to have been of help!

I might be guilty of enjoying myself a bit too much doing all this lore diving and trying to make sense of the little we have! :smile:

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Is Zajha one of the Lun’alai or the Raptari? Kinda tempted to hear how it goes if they are the former!

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I plan to clench my teeth and make her a Lun’alai Druid as I connect more with what they represent and I believe they suit my character better! When I decided to play a Zandalari I thought about her behavior and appearance. Not too pompous, not too much gold, not too proud but free spirited and wild at heart.

Gameplay wise I wanted to play Resto and Balance offspec, I tend to mirror what I play OOCly into RP. Yet I still wanted her to be able to shapeshift into other forms. So I began doing heavy duty research. ^^

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I would love to hit you up on discord sometime and discuss it further, as you have intrigued me to this small corner of Zandalari culture :smiley:

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I was pondering about creating a discord group dedicated to Zandalari druids but welcomes all those who would wish to find out more about them…

Alas, until then you can find me at NinjaBunny#1300!

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Impressive guide!

I do not play druids, but seeing a dedicated thread for Zandalari’s own special druidism makes me happy. I’ll forward this to any of my friends looking to play them!

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This guide needs a bump i think, specially with upright druid mon- err, de raptari being popular :slight_smile:

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Thank you, I am glad you like it!

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