Murloc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The murloc are a fictional race of amphibious humanoids in the Warcraft Universe, created by Blizzard Entertainment. They are generally a coastal species, and live in large communities. They are very quick, both on land and in the water and tend to rely on surprise and ambush when attacking other creatures.
They are not a playable race, but are one of various independent, hostile species players of the Warcraft games encounter in the fictional world. They strongly resemble the Deep Ones from H. P. Lovecraft's stories, and appear to be one of numerous references to his work found throughout the game (including the malevolent Old God, C'Thun).
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[edit] Appearance
Murlocs are distinguished by their bulbous bodies, large mouths lined with sharp fangs, and slime-coated skin. Murlocs range in coloration from turquoise to darkish gray, and in height from 3-1/2 feet to 5 feet. They vocalize using distinctive nasal sounding grunts, gargles and warbles.
[edit] Society
Murloc culture is tribal in nature, and religion is generally shamanistic. Habitations are generally crude huts with peaked roofs, huddled on beaches around a body of water. They reside along coastlines, lake shores and riverbeds, as well as in underwater ruins and in the vicinity of shipwrecks. Though murlocs sustain themselves as hunter gatherers, lacking any technology more advanced than hut-building, spears and fire, they have been seen taming crabs and other similar creatures as hunting companions.
[edit] Behavior
Murloc behavior toward other intelligent races is extremely hostile; they are highly territorial and attack just about anyone who approaches them or anyone who they encounter on their patrols, one known exception being the Darkspear Tribe, until the Murlocs began following the commands of a Sea Witch. Attacking a murloc village is generally complicated by the fact that their numbers are difficult to estimate. For every murloc seen on shore in the village, there's generally at least one more murloc submerged beneath the water, often difficult to spot. Murlocs make themselves a nuisance to Alliance and Horde alike, but they are not considered to be great threats due to their disorganized nature. The task of dealing with murlocs is left to the local authorities and garrisons as part of their normal operations. Murloc communities do however kill quite a number of hapless travelers and citizens of both major factions.
Local authorities keep the murloc populations at bay by regularly putting out bounties on murloc tribes that establish villages within their domain, usually asking for heads, fins, other body parts, or possessions as proof, and offering gold or other monetary rewards as compensation. With a few exceptions, individual murlocs are small, weak, and unintelligent; as such, they are typically mediocre fighters. However, their tendencies to move in packs and to stay close to their villages make it very difficult to single out any one of them. And by using the advantage in numbers, they can be very dangerous to bounty hunters who travel alone.
[edit] Known murloc territories/villages
The murlocs have spread to various regions of the World of Azeroth. On the western continent of Kalimdor, the murlocs are found with increasing frequency. In dusky Darkshore, the Greymist tribe makes their homes along the shore and among the wrecks in the shallow seas. The Saltspittle tribe lives in and around Lake Falathim in western Ashenvale. A small number have migrated east to Azshara and Dustwallow Marsh. These are even more annoying than their westerly counterparts, being somewhat larger and still more eager to harass passing swimmers.
In the plagued lands of Lordaeron, many murloc tribes have managed to avoid the ravages of the undead plague. In the dying Tirisfal Glades, the Vile Fin murlocs remain entrenched along the north coast, doggedly resisting the Rot Hide gnolls and persistent Forsaken. To the south in Silverpine Forest, the Vile Fins build huts and villages along the shore and upon the islands of Lordamere Lake. Southeast of Silverpine are the Hillsbrad Foothills which is home to the Torn Fin tribe; these lonely murlocs eke out an existence on the southern shores of the region.
The Wetlands is the only region in Khaz Modan that is entirely hospitable to the murlocs' aquatic nature. The vast fens and sticky marshes are home to the Bluegill tribe who are constantly hunted by the adventurers issuing out of Menethil Harbor.
Further to the south in Azeroth proper, the murlocs are found in their greatest numbers. The tranquil Elwynn Forest is disturbed by an unnamed tribe of murlocs stalking the Crystal and Stone Cairn Lakes. To the east in the rugged beauty of the Redridge Mountains, these same murlocs plague the waters of Lake Everstill. In golden Westfall, the murlocs terrorize the Longshore. In Stranglethorn Vale, an especially vicious breed of murlocs known as the Saltscale tribe inhabit the Vile Reef. Lastly, in the Swamp of Sorrows, the Marsh murloc tribes live to the south and east of the ancient temple that lies in the fens.
[edit] Notable Murlocs
- Cookie: Cookie, original tribe unknown, is the ship's cook aboard Edwin VanCleef's Defias vessel in the Deadmines. Known to wield a fierce rolling pin and a mighty stirring rod, he is believed to love no soul save for his dear Siamese kitten. However, the fact that he is (presumably) on friendly terms with the Defias Brotherhood could indicate that contact between murlocs and humans has been established.
- Gelihast: Gelihast, the Guardian of the Pearl, stands fast in a pool sanctuary far below the surfaces of Blackfathom Deeps. What this protector lacks in magical strength, he compensates in sheer physical rage. The path to his salty altar is thick with lesser murloc disciples.
- Gobbler: Gobbler is a member of the Bluegill tribe, and lives in the huts closest to Menethil Harbor in the Bluegill Marshes in The Wetlands. He and his fellow Murlocs often attack merchants travelling along the main road of The Wetlands.
- Gobi: Gobi is the name of the plush Murloc invented by Bamatick, who freely shares the pattern. This pattern was used to make a costume version that was worn at E3, as well as numerous fan creations.
- Mmmrrrggglll: Serving as the Grimscale Chieftain, Mmmrrrggglll roams the shores of the Eversong wood. Primarily concerned with the collection of lost elven cargo, this vocal murloc has in his possession a magical ring with which young adventurers often find themselves enthralled.
- Murkdeep: Murkdeep is a member of the Greymist tribe and is wanted for the murder of a Night Elf Sentinel. He lives in a small village on the beach south of Auberdine in Darkshore, and only appears after all the other murlocs in the village have been destroyed.
- Murky: Murky is the Murloc pet given to gamers who attended the first BlizzCon Convention in Anaheim, California October 28-29 2005. Attendees were given a gift card with an authorization code to enter into a specially setup website. After doing so they were instructed to meet an in-game character who gave them their Murloc pet. Besides the trademark Murloc "Grrrrmalrrrrgrrahhhh" Murky has at least one other talent, which is dancing. In this, and in his appearance, he resembles Michigan J. Frog. There is also a pink version of Murky called Gurky.
- Lurky: Lurky is the Murloc pet given gamers who purchased the European collectors edition as "compensation for the inconvenience and delay"[1]
- Mutanus: Mutanus the Devourer is a gigantic, mutated murloc residing in the bowels of the Wailing Caverns in the barrens of Kalimdor.
- Old Murk-Eye: Old Murk-Eye is the leader of the murlocs infesting Longshore in Westfall. He is responsible for leading the two murloc raids on the Longshore lighthouse, the second of which resulted in the deaths of the lighthouse keepers. He can be seen patrolling the stretch of beach near the lighthouse.
- Scargil: Scargil keeps watch over the coasts of southern Hillsbrad, near Southshore. A defiant thorn in the side of the local Naga population, Scargil was once wounded and now bears the mark of war.
[edit] New Lore
Murloc origins are shrouded in mystery. This is due not only to the fact that these creatures appeared on Azeroth's shores fairly recently (as far as world history goes, anyway) but also because murlocs shun mortals and rarely, if ever, speak anything but their own garbled language.
What's been known up until now about the fish-men is the following: they are not the most intelligent creatures. They congregate on shorelines in tribes and villages. They have been known, in certain instances to worship enigmatic sea-deities (sometimes including naga). And they seem to care little for the mortal races.
However, recent accounts by select individuals who managed to gather information— either by spying, torturing or surreptitiously gaining the murlocs' trust, have brought some interesting details to light…
First, murlocs may not be as dumb as everyone thinks they are. Several clues point to the fact that their steady infiltration of the world's land masses may be a coordinated effort. Whether or not this enterprise has been undertaken strictly of their own accord is not yet known.
Also, the murloc race may be far older than most believe. Several accounts and clues seem to substantiate this. In fact, it is now believed that murlocs (or, more appropriately, their ancestors) may even predate trolls. Of course these ancient murlocs lived in the oceans' depths and therefore were never known to the world's early land-dwelling races.
In the last few years, the vile naga have begun reemerging from their watery abodes, causing historians to speculate that their migration may have triggered the murlocs' slow encroachment onto land. Some also guessed that the murlocs might be working in concert with the sinister amphibians.
But perhaps the most startling revelation to come from recent intelligence-gathering efforts was this: the naga may not be the only nightmarish horrors lurking in the seemingly bottomless oceans of the world.
Several indicators from the murlocs themselves point to the possibility that the fish-men are but worshipers or underlings of perhaps several deep-sea monstrosities that currently lie sleeping, or at least waiting, in the murky fathoms – and even more disturbing, that the murlocs' emergence is an indication of their incipient awakening.
If that is the case, the mysterious and somewhat underestimated murlocs may be the world's first glimpse at something far more terrifying. Much of the new Lore seems to be inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft.
This new Lore was added to the main Blizzard site on the 22nd day of Feb, 2006.
[edit] Mur'gul
Mur'guls are a barely-humanoid race of fish-like creatures from the Warcraft series of computer games.
They are likely a primitive sub-species of Murlocs which had been corrupted by the explosion of the Well of Eternity, much like the creation of the Naga. While their uncorrupted breathren are often evil enough, Mur'gul are far more so.
Prior to the events of the Frozen Throne, Murlocs had less pronounced fins. This was presumably caused by the explosion of the Well of Eternity, as that was the cause of the Mur'gul's creation.
Mur'guls wear skull like helms and wield shield with a skull theme. They fight with the same weapons as murlocs. In Warcraft 3 they tend to be higher level creeps than murlocs.
[edit] Other Media
Murloc RPG[2], a fangame created using Adobe Flash, was featured on World of Warcraft's site as a Community Spotlight item.[3] The player assumes the role of a murloc named Murk who finds himself ultimately responsible for avenging an attack on his village by adventurers. A sequel, Murloc RPG: Stranglethorn Fever has been released, but did not achieve Community Spotlight status.
[edit] References
- ^ Blizzard (2007-01-15). Collector's Edition: Netherwhelp Pet Help. Blizzard. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
- ^ Gamer Disclaimer (2006-03-15). Murloc RPG. Newgrounds. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
- ^ Community Spotlight Archive. Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
[edit] External links
- The Murlocs, World of Warcraft Lore
- Murloc, Warcraft III Strategy Guide
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