Undead

Biodata

History

Death Knights appear during the Second Orc War: dead orcs are given life anew through human corpses. Orcish necromancy also produces skeletons, though Nathanos and Jaina later conclude that the rotting creature they find near Andorhal is unlikely to be an orcish creation. Nathanos suspects it was turned into undead while still alive 111 181.

Kel'Thuzad creates undead through cursed grain, spreading a plague through Lordaeron. The Scourge subsequently fields skeletons, ghouls, Abominations and other creatures under the control of the Lich King and his servants. Arthas kills Nathanos and raises him as a Death Knight; Nathanos later preserves his own will while concealing his resistance to the Lich King 182 204 207 247.

Undead who escape the Lich King's control gather at Darrowshire. Under the Witherer's leadership, they name themselves the Forsaken and resolve to fight the Scourge. Other free undead, Rennid Bartholome and Rupert, are welcomed into the Argent Dawn 322 446.

Appearance

Undead bodies vary widely according to their origins and condition.

• Walking corpses may have peeling gray-green flesh, exposed bone and visible decay 180 181.
• Some raised skeletons have dried out completely, leaving bones beneath scraps of clothing 182.
• Nathanos bears cold skin, dark markings and crimson eyes after his resurrection; later, Krasus remarks on how intact his body is compared with other undead 276 825.

Abilities & Limitations

Necromantic animation

• Necromancy moves an undead body and connects it to its consciousness. Those with greater affinity may retain their souls and ability to think; those with less may become mindless walking corpses 499.
• Some undead remain under the Lich King's commands, while others resist or break free of that control 207 247 322.
• Death Knights wield dark power; other forms range from skeletons and ghouls to Abominations and risen dragons 111 204 606.

Endurance and decay

• Undead do not need to breathe, eat or sleep, and their bodies do not tire as living bodies do. They can still retain habits of the living and experience mental fatigue 213 240 632 643.
• The Lich King's power can preserve Nathanos's body, but he is told that freedom from that power will leave his flesh to decay and prevent wounds from healing 240.
• These limits are not universal: Meryl has endured for nearly three thousand years as an undead, while Nathanos later says that his own body no longer decays and that he can control his breathing and heartbeat 707 795.

Place in the World

• Many living people regard all undead as evil or mistake free undead for members of the Scourge. The Forsaken face hostility even after regaining their freedom 193 322.
• Rhine's encounter with restrained undead prompts debate within the Argent Dawn about whether the dead can regain their true nature. Maxwell later welcomes Rennid and Rupert into the order 442 443 446.
• Freedom does not guarantee self-control: Nathanos refuses the Vampyr clan's submission because of its thirst for blood and slaughter 658.
• Some Forsaken question what territory and power can offer people who cannot enjoy ordinary living comforts 610.