I’d imagine that there’s a bit of a tense stalemate between Thunder Bluff and Orgrimmar at the moment. Two cities within a stones throw of each other holding two diametrically opposed characters.
It seems as though the Tauren have taken back Baine without issue, and since he has taken up his normal post as High Chieftain, they aren’t making any attempt to hide him. He is however, absolutely a fugitive and traitor of the Horde (as it is currently led).
I think loyalist RPers wouldn’t have much reason to be there, if Baine is back in charge he may be reluctant to let people in to the city in fear that Sylvanas might be sending agents through to assassinate him and his people. Not to say that they wouldn’t already be there, but that’s not the game she’s playing and Baine doesn’t know that. If you’re a traitor, you’re not really going to resume business as normal.
I think we’re in a bit of a calm before the storm moment, we’ll see what happens at the end of the Azshara raid and see if that changes anything, but I suspect neither side is willing to make a move just yet. The implication is heavily in favour of Thunder Bluff now being a refuge for rebel RP though.
Weird how Saurfang and Thrall aren’t there as well hanging out with him, that would give it a bit more oomph and really sell it as rebel HQ.
Random thought. Considering Thunderbluff/Mulgore supplies Orgrimmar and Durotar with the majority of its clean drinking water. Loyalists are pretty much on the backfoot already. Really.
The greatest fear for Baine, Saurfang and Thrall right now is that Sylvanas will come for Thunder Bluff just like she came for Teldrassil. Also taking into account that Thunder Bluff doesn’t solely consist of Tauren, I think it’s a case of Baine’s followers protecting him but the rest of the city remains in an uneasy peace.
I’d be pretty pumped to see how the Tauren deal with a full on siege, given that they’re a race that has never had to deal with anything like that before. Nomadic race out on the plains fighting in war parties and moving from place to place, now finding themselves rooted to a city that is surrounded by open plains and has no walls to protect it from projectile fire.
I suspect the other rebel races would assist with this, perhaps Blood Elves (assuming they join) raising some kind of magical shield around the city? Lots of possibilities to be had. Maybe even some shamans calling on the wind to push away light projectile fire?
If anything it would be an ideal time to introduce the scrapped Barrens Warfront, with loyalists on one side and rebels/alliance on the other. Using it as a sort of no man’s land to prevent Sylvanas from marching directly on Mulgore.
I don’t think Sylvanas will attack Thunder Bluff. The traitors and the alliance attacking Orgrimmar was enough.
They came with Jaina, who’s just recently attacked Zandalar and killed the king. She’s playing them like a fiddle, it will only get her more support.
I think a rebel hub might be cool, however I’m not certain it’s still wise to plot out in the open for everyone to see. It’s still uncertain what the people’s reaction to this is.
I think part of it depends on what public perception is of Thrall, was he the good boi Warchief that the game makes him out to be? Or are the public salty about him leaving them with Garrosh and abandoning them?
If they’re all about Green Jesus, then hearing that Thrall was involved might sway some people into thinking that maybe there’s something to the rebellion after all as opposed to the mad dog Saurfang going it alone. I’d like to say that Sylvanas intended for Thrall to get involved, and it’s part of her long con but I don’t know.
Pairing up with Jaina after what happened to the Zandalari was not a good move though.
That’s the point, Sylvanas wins over the public. She points out those of the Horde who were slain by Thrall and Jaina and she wins the support of the people. It’s to destroy the image of her opposition, I think she got what she wanted out of it.
If she wanted to kill this group of rebels, she’d have taken care of them in the underhold because she knew they were coming to save Baine.
I’m waiting for the big reveal from Blizzard where they explain why she’s doing all of this and we don’t have to speculate anymore. My big fear is that they’re just going to ignore moments like that and still have it all play out by the book and it’s just that she’s bad people and the Horde as a whole turn on her (including the Forsaken).
I want to believe that she’s been doing all of this knowing that Nzoth is coming and actively trying to get him out so she can pre-emptively foil his plans, not sure it would redeem everything she’s been up to, but that’s where I think it might be going.
Well, if what I said is true and that is the effect that will be intended and portrayed. She has essentially shown the horde that it’s primary leaders cannot be trusted, but they can trust HER.
As for what her deal with N’zoth is, it’s only speculation right now and we can’t really say what it is? For me I believe she will use Xal’atath to send n’zoth to the Shadowlands. In the evil dead series a blade of pure evil is used to defeat the dark ones (Cthulhu etc).
I’m afraid that in general lovecraftian lore, once the old god is released, it’s the end of the world
so… you’re going to torch the solid rock pillars that thunderbluff rests on?
That sure is silly indeed haha… say you happen to have a spot open for tacticians down there?
It would be pretty cool, to be honest, because as you say, siege warfare is not really part of the Tauren repertoire. Someone mentioned the great gate, and whilst that was/is a potent obstacle to the Theramore troops trying to invade Mulgore, it isn’t going to prove an obstacle to Sylvanas. She wouldn’t even be taking that route, She’d just march her troops over the Southfury and come down from the North. It would be awkward, time consuming, maybe, but less so than trying to go via the Great Gate I reckon.
Its a Plain, Mulgore, and that is going to work in the defenders favour. The attackers would have no cover. The instant they came into range they would be under continual assault, with limited ways of retaliating (Initially) as, well, gravity itself is on the defenders side. Sure, Sylvanas could send aerial cavalry in, but the implication in game is that the Tauren are pretty crack hot on that front themselves (Just look how many Horde Flight Masters are Tauren, in comparison to other races, possibly only Orcs have similar numbers)
It has an excellent method of defence, as in “When the lifts come up, just keep them there” Ironically it is same, but in the different direction as Undercity, Just keep the lifts down low. In both cases, foes would be cut off from a direct assault.
However- There- is a difference. Shut off the Undercity elevators and no one can realistically attack the city itself, just the surface parts. Shut off the Thunder Bluff elevators and it is still vulnerable to siege weaponry. Not Darnassus levels of vulnerable, it is after all, stone, not wood, but still the attackers are likely to have the sheer advantage of numbers of siege weapons, and mobility of them.
I don’t think Sylvanas would go for it though. I -think- she’s too smart. She seems the type who would be more “Crack on with the original plan, then let history prove me right!” rather than change horses midstream. She -knows- she needs the rest of the Horde to -believe- she is right, and she knows that stopping the war against the Alliance, to start one on Thunder Bluff is the surest way to lose that support.
Of course, a lot depends now, on how Baine plays it. Is he going to war against Sylvanas? Well he…kind of has a reason, but equally, He is Horde, and does not have the strength to do so alone. At the same time, Is he going to continue the War against the Alliance? But…one of the Alliance just helped save him?
Is he going to pull an ‘Anasterian’ and just table flip, walk out and go “Done with your shiz” and pull his people out of the War?
A lot of it is really very up in the air, we know how the other Horde leaders feel about Sylvanas, as the ‘Champion of the Horde’ but we don’t know that as the characters we RP. Our Racial Leader is not our best buddy who consults us on everything, Sure, -we- know Sylvanas is rapidly losing support and control, but our -Characters- do not.
This is why I still think it is a bit early for people to start overtly rebelling. Oh it will be simmering under the surface, and Thunder Bluff is a massive Elephant in the room that is going to polarise things, and starting small scale there will be petty and not so petty acts of rebellion and refusal with the more cruel edicts of the Banshee Queen and her organs of state, but we’re not at Garrosh levels yet, I don’t think.
Still, for those characters who -are- then Thunder Bluff is the logical choice of venue for such, as it is probably going to remind Baine himself, of when he and Vol’jin plotted against a Tyrant. It has a neat symmetry to it.
It really depends how one or both of two people play the next card, and that’s Sylvanas and Baine.
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