Richard A. Knaak

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Picture from
Faces of BlizzCon 2007

Richard A. Knaak is the author of several Warcraft books and. He has also written for Blizzard's other franchises, Diablo and StarCraft.

Involvement

Knaak was approached by Blizzard because of his work for Dragonlance. Some of the heads of Blizzard had grown up on his Dragonlance works and asked him to write for both Warcraft and Diablo. Knaak accepted because it allowed him to write for both of the kinds of fantasy that he liked: Lord of the Rings-type fantasy (Warcraft) and dark fantasy (Diablo) He familiarized himself with Warcraft by playing Warcraft II quite a bit. He also played World of Warcraft a little bit, but used a lot of background material and screen shots for inspiration. Knaak communicates regularly with Blizzard's lore department to make sure that the facts presented in his works are consistent.[1]

Knaak was heavily involved in the draconic mythos. The characters of Ysera, Nozdormu, and Malygos, the remaining dragon Aspects (both Alexstrasza and Deathwing were in the mythos previously), were introduced in Day of the Dragon, which set the stage for many of the new developments in Warcraft III. The characters remain vital to lore today.

Until recently, most characters introduced in Knaak's books were not physically present in games. The minor character of Soridormi was introduced with the Caverns of Time, and Tyrygosa and Jorad Mace were introduced with The Burning Crusade. Anveena and Kalec were added in Patch 2.4.0, and Ysera and Nozdormu will make small cameos in Wrath of the Lich King. Vereesa, Rhonin and Krasus will act as quest-givers in Wrath, in a storyline centered around Malygos.

Warcraft Bibliography

• Day of the Dragon (2001)
• War of the Ancients Trilogy
  • The Well of Eternity (2004)
  • The Demon Soul (2004)
  • The Sundering (2004)
• The Sunwell Trilogy
  • Dragon Hunt (2005)
  • Shadows of Ice (2006)
  • Ghostlands (2007)
• Warcraft: Legends
  • Fallen (2008)
  • Fear (2008)
• Night of the Dragon (2008)
• Dragons of Outland (2009)
• Stormrage (TBA)

Controversy

There is currently a hot debate in regards to Knaak's writing styles and talents among the Warcraft player community. This debate is fueled by individuals who argue that Knaak's "pet characters" such as Rhonin and Krasus, are given far too much attention (as well as in-story power) by comparison to characters who dwell in the games, such as Tyrande and Malfurion in the War of the Ancients Trilogy, while others argue that, since the books are considered canon to the lore, it makes no difference how Knaak treats the characters provided that the story is good (Which, in itself, is an entirely different debate.)

Trivia

Knaak's favourite classes are Mages, Paladins and Warlocks. His favourite races are humans, tauren and night elves.[2]

External Links

Official website of Richard A. Knaak