Slavery

Lord Aedelas Blackmoore and his prized gladiator slave, Thrall, in Durnholde Keep.

Slavery is the forced servitude of another being.

Dark Iron slavery

After accidentally releasing Ragnaros, the Dark Iron clan ended up enslaved by the Firelord who valued them as nothing more than pawns. He notably made them work tirelessly to build the fortress of Blackrock Spire.

Influenced by the Firelord's corruption, the Dark Irons engaged in slavery themselves. Captives from the Alliance as well as gnolls were put to work in their mines and to supply the war machine,, and when this was not enough, even other Dark Iron would be used as slaves. This seemingly stopped with Ragnaros' banishment to the Firelands, Moira Thaurissan's rise to power, and the clan's entry into the Alliance.

Human slavery

Humans of the Alliance of Lordaeron were known to practice slavery on orcs and ogres after the events of the Second War. Aedelas Blackmoore himself enslaved Thrall, the future warchief of the Horde. The king of Lordaeron was aware of Blackmoore's gladiatorial games and allowed them personally, as long as the royal coffers would see the proper percentage of his earnings. The enslavement of orcs has been practiced among the internment camps, Lorin Remka keeping Greekik as her own personal slave while Lord Agrovane bought Rehgar and used him as his gladiator. After the events of the Third War, few cases of humans using slaves remain. In the fallen kingdom of Alterac, King Aiden Perenolde planned to take the orcs as slaves. Years later, as leader of the Syndicate, Prince Aliden believed in slavery and sought to place the orc race back into chains — to return, in fact, to the days of Alliance internment camps under Aedelas Blackmoore.

According to Thrall, he believed the Alliance and the kingdom of Stormwind may still practice slavery, as he mentioned that he would be paraded as a trophy and a slave in the capital after his capture. However, it is unknown if this is true or elicited by Thrall's past experiences with the orc internment camps that were run by humans.

The Kul Tiran house of Ashvane force their workers into exhaustion, and also employ child labor by snatching children off the streets of Boralus then deporting them to the Ashvane Foundry. It is said that Kul Tiran slavers would blush before the depravity of a mogu slaver by the name of Zheng. At Redrock Harbor in Vol'dun, the Ashvane Trading Company enslave vulpera to work in the Redrock Mines.

Mogu slavery

In many ways, the mogu are based on brutal strength and terrible cunning. Even with powerful magic at their disposal, the mogu often preferred to use slaves to build their massive monuments. They rule over a vast helot class of slaves from various races across the region, including pandaren, yaungol, hozen, and jinyu, and even used flesh-shaping magic to create more slave races such as grummles and saurok. This lasted until the Pandaren Revolution, where the enslaved people of Pandaria rose up against their masters and destroyed the mogu empire.

Enslaved humanoids were marked with branding irons. Forged of iron and imbued with spells of subjugation and pain, manacles with inward-facing spikes were forced onto the slave races of the mogu. The blood of many mogu slaves were shed with a bone whip fashioned from the spine of some large and ancient creature. An anatomical dummy of a pandaren was used to document torture techniques.

When the mogu had exhausted their options for enslaved mortal warriors, they turned their attention to creating armies of animated constructs to do their fighting for them. These terracotta warriors would sometimes sit dormant for centuries.

Naga slavery

The naga have enslaved many aquatic races such as murlocs, gilblins, makrura, sea giants and even the Vashj'ir ancient Nespirah. They also tend to enslave any land-dwelling species they can find, sometimes by using merciless ones to suppress their will.

In Outland, the naga who followed Illidan have captured and put to work broken, lobstrok and fungal giants to drain the waters of Zangarmarsh. The plan was to take control of all the waters of Outland, and through them, its people.

Nerubian slavery

The nerubians of Azjol-Nerub kept enslaved tol'vir known as obsidian destroyers. The Scourge claimed the nerubian empire's few remaining tol'vir slaves during the War of the Spider and threw them into the front lines of the Third War, but it's possible that more tol'vir still exist deep within Azjol-Nerub.

Night elf slavery

The night elves of the Kaldorei Empire subjugated some of the nascent humans to use them as slave labor.

Ogre slavery

Ogres have a long history of enslaving orcs, forcing their captives to fight each other in brutal arenas for entertainment. The tradition of gladiatorial slavery began during the early decades of the Age of Order, when a sly ogre chieftain decreed that disputes in his clan would be settled via proxy in one-on-one combat between slaves, leading to a plummet in the mortality rate amongst the ogres. The Gorian Empire captured many races of Draenor to labor in mines and fight in arenas. Some ogre clans like the Gordunni still practice slavery and arena fighting.

Examples of ogre arenas include the Highmaul Coliseum, the Stonemaul Arena, the Maul, the Ring of Trials, the Ring of Blood and the Circle of Blood. Rather than using clasps and locks, ogres bind their slaves using unbroken stone circlets. Their centuries of manipulating earth elements let them simply shrink the manacles tightly around the slave's ankles, wrists, or neck.

Orcish slavery

While in modern times the practice of slavery in orc society seems to occur less, the practice still continues among some orcs, though it is unclear how widespread it is. Despite Thrall's work to ensure that no orc would be cast into slavery ever again, a small number of orcs have been found enslaved by other orcs in the Horde, for example Bloodeye Redfist. It appears that some orcs are also willing to enslave members of other races, both Horde and Alliance. Many of these slaves were however once criminals who were brought to justice. It is unclear why the orcs still allow slavery, and to what extent, or why they choose to ignore it.

Okrilla at Dreadmaul Hold in the Blasted Lands, enslaved some of the ogres of the Dreadmaul tribe after recapturing the old orc city.

Troll slavery

Blood trolls

Blood troll society is very matriarchal; males follow the orders from females without question lest they get chained up and punished or outright sacrificed. Males are usually just said to be "drudges". The Amaki tribe keep their men as slaves while bloodsingers drain male "volunteers" for blood to use to turn Krag'wa's tadpoles into crawgs.

Jungle trolls

Zanzil, an infamous witch doctor exiled from the Gurubashi tribe was known for his mind-bending concoctions that when ingested, turned the imbiber into a mindslave. He didn't care about who or what drank his mind-altering potions as the mindslaves under his control range all the way from jungle trolls and dire trolls to naga and ghouls.

Zalazane, after going mad, enslaved many trolls of the Darkspear tribe by taking away their minds and making them do his bidding as Mindless Trolls.

During Zul's pledge to aid the Gurubashi back to greatness, Zanzil set out to attack both Hardwrench Hideaway and Explorers' League Digsite in the Cape of Stranglethorn, poisoning their food and turning goblins and dwarves into voodoo zombies.

Zandalari trolls

The Zandalari are above the use of slaves, they're strong and capable of seeing to themselves. Even the sight of slavery within their city is insulting to them. Additionally, they see it as a sign of weakness, and as such when they met the mogu–who built their empire with slaves–over 12,000 years ago, they saw themselves above the slavers.

Though for some reason, years after the Sundering over 10,000 years ago, a number of Zandalari came to Kezan and after some time ended up enslaving the goblins there. Why they did so and whether they were members of the Zandalari Empire is unknown, as it was against the Zandalari's beliefs.

Inconsistencies

Prior to the release of World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, the trolls responsible for the enslavement of the goblins on Kezan were in fact jungle trolls, which is still referenced by quests today, and in the character creation screen for goblins.

• It is possible the change from jungle trolls to Zandalari might have been an oversight based on the fact that Kezan was historically the territory of the Zandalari Empire, as the Zandalari's distaste for slavery had been established before the release of World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 and was reinforced after.

Vrykul slavery

In Northrend, the Ymirjar vrykul keep slaves from the Argent Crusade to mine Saronite for the Scourge. The Hyldnir meanwhile have a strict matriarchal society where the males, both Hyldnir and other races captured in raids, are used as slave labor.

By the time of the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Drekirjar, allies of the Thorignir for many ages, broke their ancient pact with the dragons and pledge themselves to God-King Skovald. In doing so they became the Felskorn, and effectively declared war on the Thorignir. Storm drakes soon found themselves being enslaved by the Drekirjar based from Hrydshal, acts which outraged their kin.

Other examples of slavery

Majordomo Executus lording over the Dark Iron slaves in the Blackrock Spire.

• Warlocks do enslave demons, binding them to their will.
• Goblin Trade Princes have enslaved trolls for mining.
• Elementals and their Elemental Lords were enslaved by the armies of the Black Empire.
• Demons have enslaved creatures by corrupting them such as orcs.
  • On Argus the Legion use Broken as slave labor.
• The undead of the Scourge can be seen as enslaved spirits. Furthermore, in the Pit of Saron, several slaves are forced to work on saronite.
• The blood elf tailors of Silvermoon use slave leper gnomes for work.
• The Forsaken captured the villagers of Emberstone and used them as slaves.
  • Gerard Abernathy made Theresa his mindslave by lobotomizing her brain.
• Twilight's Hammer cult had slaves.
• During the war on the alternate Draenor, the orcs of the Iron Horde and their ogre allies of the Gorian Empire enslaved draenei and arakkoa.
• The sethrak of Vol'dun are known to enslave vulpera and tortollans. In the Slithering Gulch, there are three slave markets that were burned by the Horde adventurer helping the Voldunai.
• During N'Zoth's Assaults, the Amathet tol'vir enslaved the Ramkahen tol'vir in Uldum.
• The Northsea Freebooters under "Mad" Jonah Sterling tried to sell the tuskarr as slaves when they die days after leaving the climate of Northrend, leading to disastrous results.
• Kobolds are frequently enslaved by gnolls, who force the rat-like humanoids into an existence of never-ending drudgery. Since their enslavement, the historically meek kobolds have grown bitter and aggressive toward any creature that meddles with their ceaseless labor. During the Alliance-Horde war, the Boulderslide kobolds of Stonetalon Mountains were subjugated by Horde forces to counter the Alliance-Grimtotem tribe partnership in the area.
  • Kobolds themselves are not against enslaving others, as the Tunnel Rats did to a large group of troggs in the Silver Stream Mine.

Slavers / slave masters and slavedrivers

Please add any available information to this section.

• Aedelas Blackmoore
• Lorin Remka
• Aliden Perenolde
• Rehgar Earthfury
• Lord Agrovane
• Slave Master
• Kritok
• Dark Iron Slaver
• Thurg the Slave Lord
• Ronag the Slave Driver
• Slave Master Blackheart
• Slave Watcher Crushto
• Slave Hunter Mol
• Slave Hunter Brol
• Slave Hunter Krag
• Shan'ze Slaver
• Coilfang Slavemaster
• Bloodscale Slavedriver
• Forsaken Slavedriver
• Twilight Slavedriver
• Shadowmoon Enslaver
• Shadowmoon Enslaver
• Zanzil the Outcast
• Gerard Abernathy
• Spiketooth
• Subjugator Devo
• Foreman Sharpsneer
• Tunnel Rat Geomancer

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Slavers are wealthy merchants who sell slaves. Goblin slavers, obviously, run Kezan's slave rings, or simply own several slaves of their own for personal use. Although the trade princes condone slave rings, the slavery trade is kept quiet. Goblins have no wish to offend potential customers who might object to this controversial but highly lucrative line of business.

Slaves

Please add any available information to this section.

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

• Mur'gul Slave
• Centaur Drudge

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

In a lot of cases, enslaved mobs will rebel against their masters once the nearby slavedriver/slavemaster is killed.

• Ravenclaw Slave - Silverpine Forest
• Elemental Slave - Alterac Mountains
• Sandfury Slave - Zul'Farrak
• Slave Worker - Searing Gorge
• Slave - Blackrock Depths
• Voodoo Slave - Zul'Gurub
• Wrekt Slave - Zangarmarsh
• Wastewalker Slave - Slave Pens
• Dreghood Slave - Steamvaults
• Slavering Slave - Blade's Edge Mountains
• Greengill Slave - Isle of Quel'Danas
• Saronite Mine Slave - Icecrown
• Skeletal Slave - Pit of Saron
• Alliance Slave - Pit of Saron
• Horde Slave - Pit of Saron
• Troll Slave - Kezan
• Bellows Slave - Blackrock Caverns
• Farmstead Slave - Kun-Lai Summit
• Troubled Slave Spirit - Krasarang Wilds
• Saurok Slave - Isle of Thunder
• Frostwolf Slave - Frostfire Ridge
• Enslaved Tol'vir - Uldum

Slave camps

Please add any available information to this section.

The Slave Pits on Lost Isles.

• Slag Pit - Searing Gorge
• Slave Pens - Zangarmarsh
• Pit of Saron - Icecrown
• Slave Pits - Lost Isles
• Bloodmaul Slag Mines - Frostfire Ridge
• Hatecoil Slave Pen - Azsuna
• Slave Enclave - Highmountain
• Deepsea Slave Pen - Nazjatar

Trivia

• In Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, slave is the "lowest" rank you can achieve. In Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, it still is for Horde players, as the lowest Alliance rank is servant instead.