Interesting Lore Discussion Thread

[Sabindeus]

But Zombies aren't people, so genocide wouldn't apply.

Forsaken aren't Zombies, so it would.

And even the mindless Scourge minions used to be people at one point, and with luck and skill, may be reawakened to sentience once again. So killing them for sport is akin to committing mass euthanasia; not necessarily a crime, but a morally controversial act regardless.

But they're still not people!

[Passionario]

But they're still not people!

Most neutral NPCs treat Forsaken characters as people.

Are you a better judge of character than A'dal and Tirion Fordring?
Are you better at telling people from non-living things than Alexstrasza and Avatar of Freya?

And no, simple conviction that "blondes/gnomes/women/mages/Forsaken/Canadians/<insert any other group here> aren't people, they are just people-shaped objects made of meat that make funny noises and can mimic the appearance of pain really well" doesn't count as objective proof.

[Sabindeus]

But they're still not people!

Most neutral NPCs treat Forsaken characters as people.

Are you a better judge of character than A'dal and Tirion Fordring?
Are you better at telling people from non-living things than Alexstrasza and Avatar of Freya?

Yes.

[Darielle]

Most neutral NPCs treat Forsaken characters as people.

Are you a better judge of character than A'dal and Tirion Fordring?
Are you better at telling people from non-living things than Alexstrasza and Avatar of Freya?

That treads dangerous territory regarding game implement vs. lore.

[Fridmarr]

But Zombies aren't people, so genocide wouldn't apply.

Forsaken are people, so it would.

(Some would argue that even the mindless Scourge minions used to be people at one point, and with luck and skill, may be reawakened to sentience once again. So killing them for sport is akin to committing mass euthanasia; not necessarily a crime, but a morally controversial act regardless)

Forsaken are at best humanoid, they are certainly not people. I can split hairs with you on this semi ridiculous tract all day. It's the cost of attempting to apply real world ethics to a fantasy world.

[Passionario]

Forsaken are at best humanoid, they are certainly not people. I can split hairs with you on this semi ridiculous tract all day. It's the cost of attempting to apply real world ethics to a fantasy world.

Real world ethics are a thorny issue, so it may, in fact, be preferable to discuss them via allegories of fantasy worlds.

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

[halabar]

But Zombies aren't people, so genocide wouldn't apply.

Forsaken aren't Zombies, so it would.

And even the mindless Scourge minions used to be people at one point, and with luck and skill, may be reawakened to sentience once again. So killing them for sport is akin to committing mass euthanasia; not necessarily a crime, but a morally controversial act regardless.

But they're still not people!

Forsaken are at best humanoid, they are certainly not people. I can split hairs with you on this semi ridiculous tract all day. It's the cost of attempting to apply real world ethics to a fantasy world.

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

They are... dead people. The ideal is to help help return to death. The fact that they actively recruit with plague-spreaders doesn't give them much of a leg to stand on (it's likely half-rotten anyway). They don't breath, they eat carrion to survive, and their bodies are rotting.

They were people, now they are corrupted reanimated corpses who have had some vestige of their former sentience returned to them.

The larger question is do they have any real memory of the past, or is it distorted and perverted by the plague and Sylvanas.

[bldavis]

if you are claiming Forsaken are a people, what do you call Naga?
Naga are just Highborne that got transformed.

and wat about worgen? sure they are human...but they are also more then human

honestly i feel forsaken are a people, but they are not human anymore
they may have been at one point, just like Arthas, but they are undead now
the only difference between teh forsaken and the scourge is the forsaken serve Sylvanis and know they are doing it, where as the scourge mindlessly serve the LK (currently bolvar)

[Flex]

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

Created through supernatural means.

[Digren]

Moral relativism is an intrinsically short-sighted, illogical position.

Oh, I'm all in favor of universal moral absolutes.

It's just that one of said absolutes happens to be "genocide is a bad, BAD thing". Yes, even if the subjects of said genocide are already undead.

I don't see many people rising up to protest the genocide of smallpox. I think there would be even fewer people complaining about it if, after death, smallpox victims rose up and tried to spread the virus through cranial contact.

[fafhrd]

Gnomes aren't people, wtf.

[Zalaria]

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

Created through supernatural means.

Ever heard of the Curse of Flesh? "Supernatural Means" applies to every flesh-based race on Azeroth.

[Sabindeus]

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

Their reproduction involves applying necromancy to the corpses of a completely separate race, whom they then, despite any ties to their former living selves, coerce into joining their nefarious causes by giving them the illusion of choice when in reality they have none.

[Gerunna]

Anyway, please enlighten me. In what ways are Forsaken 'not people'?

Created through supernatural means.

Ever heard of the Curse of Flesh? "Supernatural Means" applies to every flesh-based race on Azeroth.

If you aren't an orc, you aren't people

[sahiel]

But they're still not people!

You keep using that word, I do not think it means, what you think it means.

peo·ple
noun (plural) /ˈpēpəl/ 
people, plural; peoples, plural

The citizens of a country, esp. when considered in relation to those who govern them
Those without special rank or position in society; the populace
The men, women, and children of a particular nation, community, or ethnic group

All definitions the Forsaken meet.