wow WoW Shadowlands: The Jailer's Identity Revealed in Early Concept Art

[Stan 5,021]

Pyromancer has leaked some early concept art of the Jailer intended for internal use only. The Jailer is the main antagonist in World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion. This article contains spoilers.

A while ago, we speculated about the mysterious Jailer's identity and we know that Sylvanas has been working with him for some time now. Blizzard also confirmed that the Jailer is a completely new character that we haven't seen before.

From the leaked concept art, his crown resembles Leoric's Crown from Diablo and the beard is indicative of his age, and perhaps, the titans.

It's interesting to see that the chains are actually part of his armor and the character does not appear to be physically chained or anything.

Based on the description, the Forge of Domination is located in the Tower of the Damned, a place where the Lich King's helm was originally forged. Do you think the Jailer could be the very first Lich King?

Here's Pyromancer's video if you want to watch the reveal part yourself.

Thanks to @Amateurpeeweeeeh for telling us about this!

[FourEyedFoxie 16]

That guy is an *filtered*. 

[darkgreenwax 410]

I mean, he definitely looks like a Titan. Perhaps Sargeras was not the only one to have broken away?...

If the Lich King's helm was forged there, I wonder what other types of enchanted armor can be or have been made?

This seems like a great expansion to be roleplaying a Death Knight, that's for sure.

[Marick 11]

3 hours ago, TyZone said:

I mean, he definitely looks like a Titan. Perhaps Sargeras was not the only one to have broken away?...

If the Lich King's helm was forged there, I wonder what other types of enchanted armor can be or have been made?

This seems like a great expansion to be roleplaying a Death Knight, that's for sure.

Its more likley he is a Titan's creation then a Titan.Most of Titan Keepers resemble them(Freya looking like Eonar,Thorim like Aggramar etc).Could be that he has no connection with Titans and they made him look like that because it looks cool or Blizz is trolling us with it .

[Migol 425]

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

[Bobbis 208]

5 hours ago, Migol said:

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

From what I've read, I understand your comment however it mostly points to Arthas using the Nerubians architecture as his own, and copying them to some extent. Given what ICC was, as an Anchor to the Shadowlands, this part can make sense without being a retcon. One building (albeit a major and big one). 

[Jettafae 8]

Leoric...get back to your game, my dude. Go on. Shoo.

[Kratom 0]

11 hours ago, Migol said:

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

There are no retcons. 

[Plaguestorm 43]

13 hours ago, Migol said:

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

adding morte to old lore does not equal retcon.

[Marick 11]

20 hours ago, Migol said:

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

Well Icecrown Citadel was made by Scourge and Dreadlords.Dreadlords also being the ones forging LK's armor and Frostmourne in Shadowlands.So no retcon

[Amateurpeeweeeeh 37]

The jailer is the void-infested titansoul slayed by Sargeras on his crusade and is manifested in shadowlands now. Yes?

[Varrick 15]

haha... wow...  I knew it had relevance to the Lich King. God Blizzard you are so ironic. Who're we going to bring back next expansion? Deathwing?

[Halock 156]

On 11/28/2019 at 4:05 AM, Migol said:

The Jailor's tower="Source of Icecrown Citadel's Architecture"

...the lore is crying, please stop with the retcon hammer ?

The idea's slowly growing on me.

It always seemed weird to me that the Scourge went so all-in on the old nerubian architecture. But Shadowlands seems to be suggesting that the Scourge were copying the Nerubians who were copying something much more primaeval in Maldraxxus. Which gives a good reason for it to be appealing to the Scourge too.

Or alternatively that the Scourge were just summoning the same damn tombs from Maldraxxus that the nerubians were, but floating them in the air instead of burying them. And chucking loads of green goop out the side. And I'm okay with that idea too. 

... Also it would finally answer just where all that green goop came from. 

And it seemed even weirder to me that there was such a divide between the old style of Scourge architecture and the new. Acherus and Malykriss look completely different. So do ICC and Naxxramas. It's like Arthas one day, after a decade or so of just copying stuff, did a u-turn on the entire architecture of the Scourge. Found his own style. 

But that makes more sense if he was imitating not just a realm of the Shadowlands, but the utter darkness at its centre. Kind of cool even. Suggests that however bad people like Kel'thuzad were, the Lich King was on another level.

In fact, of all the things that I'm bracing for from Shadowlands, I think this is one of the things I'm least worried about!

 

[VoxTenebrae 0]

On 11/28/2019 at 9:03 AM, Stan said:

Based on the description, the Forge of Domination is located in the Tower of the Damned, a place where the Lich King's helm was originally forged. Do you think the Jailer could be the very first Lich King?

Everyone's going on about how the architecture of Icecrown Citadel being inspired by the Jailer's Tower is a retcon (I don't think it is, seeing as ICC looks nothing like Ner'zhul's copy-paste Nerubian architecture), but no one's mentioned this glaring disregard for the lore? Granted, it's just speculation, but still. The Lich King was created by Kil'jaeden binding Ner'zhul's soul to demon-crafted armor, armor made for this express purpose. Ner'zhul was the very first Lich King

[Guest]

On 11/27/2019 at 6:27 PM, Foxie12 said:

That guy is an *filtered*. 

I find him incredibly annoying

[Arcling 877]

We don't know if his design from this concept art is final, so he might not look like this. Likely no connection with Titans, since Titans apparently didn't know much about Shadowlands. He might be just a very old being, but they could always change it. Also, it is a retcon from narrative perspective, as originally Scourge has been created by Burning Legion and Nathrezim forged an armor and weapon for the Lich King, their buildings based on Nerubian style. It just doesn't match with anything written before, but by this point most of us have gotten used it. They feel the need to constantly introduce stronger enemies, so some of old villains have been downgraded (I would prefer to making them their own thing). But now apparently both Nerubians and Scourge (and Burning Legion, when including involvement of Nathrezim) just copied things from Shadowlands. Just like Old Gods received a "downgrade", when Void Lords were introduced, reduced to simply being their creations and powerful servants, but not some beings being in charge of themselves, without known beginning. Another thing is that Val'kyr used to be a converted Vrykul, spirit healers were like a good version of them, but now they are Kyrian, and Kyrian can be made from any sentient race.

[ChaosDecides 30]

Did Blizz hire JJ Abrams to take over story writing?

[Migol 425]

On 11/28/2019 at 10:32 PM, Halock said:

The idea's slowly growing on me.

It always seemed weird to me that the Scourge went so all-in on the old nerubian architecture. But Shadowlands seems to be suggesting that the Scourge were copying the Nerubians who were copying something much more primaeval in Maldraxxus. Which gives a good reason for it to be appealing to the Scourge too.

Or alternatively that the Scourge were just summoning the same damn tombs from Maldraxxus that the nerubians were, but floating them in the air instead of burying them. And chucking loads of green goop out the side. And I'm okay with that idea too. 

... Also it would finally answer just where all that green goop came from. 

And it seemed even weirder to me that there was such a divide between the old style of Scourge architecture and the new. Acherus and Malykriss look completely different. So do ICC and Naxxramas. It's like Arthas one day, after a decade or so of just copying stuff, did a u-turn on the entire architecture of the Scourge. Found his own style. 

But that makes more sense if he was imitating not just a realm of the Shadowlands, but the utter darkness at its centre. Kind of cool even. Suggests that however bad people like Kel'thuzad were, the Lich King was on another level.

In fact, of all the things that I'm bracing for from Shadowlands, I think this is one of the things I'm least worried about!

 

It's not just that the "nerubian style" that's lore breaking.   The undead lore is just getting mangled to hell.

Originally, the Burning Legion constructed the Helm, using their (felfire based) magic power to entrap the soul of the shaman Ner'Zul in it (an inhabitant of Draenor).    This was placed in the Frozen Throne (also a Legion magic product).    Arthas eventually shattered this, took the helm, and "became one" with Nerzul (they separated later for irreconcilable differences).

Icecrown Citadel was built around the original spire that the Frozen Throne was on top of.   It's primarily made of Saronite, which is an Old God product ("the blood of Yogg Saron") and has many special properties.    This was after Arthas took over the scourge.

Now on the other hand, the Jailor's Tower has been around _a lot longer_.    That's the first point that the plot breaks down, that somehow between Arthas ascending to the Lich King position and before attacking us, he or his servants had access to the Jailor and/or the Maw in order to see it.  

Again, Icecrown wasn't some pre-constructed thing the scourge moved into, it's a legion magic location used to imprison an orc shaman which has had old god infused magic architecture build around it in the nerubian style, but...also is apparently ground zero for the shadowlands fracture?    There is wayyy too many magic varieties mixed in here already.     

Here's where things get really messy too, you have Legion Magic supposedly somehow sealing away the Shadowlands (for, reasons?) with the Helm?   Was the jailor about to break out and attack, but Kil'Jaeden decided to do us a solid and keep him held back while also focusing on his plan to shove an orc's soul into the thing to command an army of plague-created scourge that the Jailor could conceivably talk to after death (apparently?)?   Note that the Legion's main enemy is the Void Lords, and they _hate_ Sylvanas and the undeath she represents.

I'd like to say I have faith in Blizzard giving us a cohesive explanation that makes everything right, but...BFA.   Jaina, she killed too many.    "Sylvannas killed us in a surprise attack, wiped out our towns and burned our City/Tree with our families and children Screaming, therefore we will Join Sylvannas because Elune and Tyrande couldn't save us from Sylvannas!"    "The Sword is tearing into Azeroth, she's dying!    We must gather the azerite and help her!"   (this is apparently not going to happen, the sword is there to stay but I guess she's not dying because the expansion plot is over and Azerite is suddenly not as important now).

Final note, I didn't even touch it with all the other nonsense going on, but the "Lightforged Undead" concept is the cherry on top of this nonsense

Edited December 1, 2019 by Migol

[Demenzel 29]

  

17 hours ago, Migol said:

It's not just that the "nerubian style" that's lore breaking.   The undead lore is just getting mangled to hell.

Originally, the Burning Legion constructed the Helm, using their (felfire based) magic power to entrap the soul of the shaman Ner'Zul in it (an inhabitant of Draenor).    This was placed in the Frozen Throne (also a Legion magic product).    Arthas eventually shattered this, took the helm, and "became one" with Nerzul (they separated later for irreconcilable differences).

Icecrown Citadel was built around the original spire that the Frozen Throne was on top of.   It's primarily made of Saronite, which is an Old God product ("the blood of Yogg Saron") and has many special properties.    This was after Arthas took over the scourge.

Now on the other hand, the Jailor's Tower has been around _a lot longer_.    That's the first point that the plot breaks down, that somehow between Arthas ascending to the Lich King position and before attacking us, he or his servants had access to the Jailor and/or the Maw in order to see it.  

Again, Icecrown wasn't some pre-constructed thing the scourge moved into, it's a legion magic location used to imprison an orc shaman which has had old god infused magic architecture build around it in the nerubian style, but...also is apparently ground zero for the shadowlands fracture?    There is wayyy too many magic varieties mixed in here already.     

Here's where things get really messy too, you have Legion Magic supposedly somehow sealing away the Shadowlands (for, reasons?) with the Helm?   Was the jailor about to break out and attack, but Kil'Jaeden decided to do us a solid and keep him held back while also focusing on his plan to shove an orc's soul into the thing to command an army of plague-created scourge that the Jailor could conceivably talk to after death (apparently?)?   Note that the Legion's main enemy is the Void Lords, and they _hate_ Sylvanas and the undeath she represents.

I'd like to say I have faith in Blizzard giving us a cohesive explanation that makes everything right, but...BFA.   Jaina, she killed too many.    "Sylvannas killed us in a surprise attack, wiped out our towns and burned our City/Tree with our families and children Screaming, therefore we will Join Sylvannas because Elune and Tyrande couldn't save us from Sylvannas!"    "The Sword is tearing into Azeroth, she's dying!    We must gather the azerite and help her!"   (this is apparently not going to happen, the sword is there to stay but I guess she's not dying because the expansion plot is over and Azerite is suddenly not as important now).

Final note, I didn't even touch it with all the other nonsense going on, but the "Lightforged Undead" concept is the cherry on top of this nonsense

Inspiration can come from many things... they may be connected to the shadowlands, even if they didn't know. (and, maybe that reference in the leak just meant that ICC is the artist's inspiration to build that "dungeon").

IMO, ICC is in a place where the 2 planes are close, not a "door", just close. There ay be a place like that in all planets (why not). But, as I said, not a door. When the litch king was created, he started to draind power from the shadowlands to produce and control the scourge, and that made the division between the 2 realities weaker and weaker, until that the only thing that kep that apart was the helm of domination. In some point after Arthas became the litch king, (maybe was in the saeme point when they started to use more and more of shadowlands power) the Jailer did "something" and now all souls go direct to de maws, making him more powerfull (somehow that's how it works ¿?). So (again, IMO) it's not that KillJaden close the connection, they use that place to inprove the scourge power and control, but they didn't know where that power came from. And, as another point, KillJaden didn't care about the Void Lords, the Burning Legion only wanted to, well, burn all planet... they didn't know/care about the real reason (wich

[Halock 156]

Going to echo a lot of what Demenzel said, but --

My impression from the previews of the Shadowland zones is that there are many, many parallels between them and the undead in Azeroth. My assumption is that most of these are from unconscious or semi-conscious imitation, not active copying.

However, I'm interested to see exactly how they deal with the issue. For example, what exactly would an undead character remember, if anything, from their time spent in the Shadowlands? Death knights literally step into and travel through the Shadowlands. What do they see, when they do that? 

However, since the Helm was forged in the Maw, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if the Jailor's been chatting away with the various Lich Kings all this time. That's probably why they could stand to sit on that throne for so long. Inside that helm they were really just have a nice cup of tea and a long talk with that nice old guy who has the beard. 

It is also my definite impression that the Legion was not sealing away the Shadowlands with the helm, but, obviously, that its shattering was enough to unseal it. 

I am very interested to find out how the Legion came into possession of the helm, which they're definitely going to have to explain. Considering the prominence of dreadlords around that period, my bet is that they made a bargain to access the forge. That'd work, and be pretty fitting, right? The dreadlords get to be all political and dreadlordy, which is cool, and the Jailor's motivations get to be smoothly shoehorned into WC3 lore. Smooth enough I like it, anyway. 

Exactly what they could offer the Jailor I don't know. Obviously it worked out in the long term, but I doubt the Legion envisioned things turning out the way they did. 

On 12/1/2019 at 12:21 AM, Migol said:

Final note, I didn't even touch it with all the other nonsense going on, but the "Lightforged Undead" concept is the cherry on top of this nonsense

I am strongly considering making and roleplaying one. 

A common misconception is that Light always harms an undead. That's not so. An old AskCDev laid out pretty clearly that Light (if so intended) will heal an undead, it will just feel intensely painful.  It went further and said undead can indeed wield the Light themselves -- but it slowly brings their soul back into closer attachment to their body. So not only is it intensely painfu, it gradually makes them feel their own rotting skin. Smell the mould growing in their own skull.

That is an amazing idea. The idea of a Forsaken priest going through all that because he refuses to give up on the idea of the Light and go to the Shadow like everyone else is epic. 

Raising them is problematic, but not without prior example. Worgen should also be impossible to raise because they're literal embodiment of a Wild God. But -- and I think this was AskCDev again -- it's been laid down that the Lich King was able to do it, even if nobody else could. 

So you have this idea of a Lightforged Draenei raised by the apparently simply overwhelming power of the Lich King, and then forced (or having to chose, we don't know yet) to continue despite Light infusing his entire body, constantly torturing him, constantly threatening to rip the fragile necromantic link between his soul and body apart...

And that's not even getting into the philisophical implications for the poor dude. I think that's really fun. And I think it fits the Lightforged exactly. 

So yeah! It's not unprecedented, and the idea is cool.

[TheBeardedFetus 0]

The very first Lich King was Ner'zhul, this has already been established.