The content of this article is not part of official Warcraft lore, but has nevertheless become part of the World of Warcraft culture or community.
Kralnor is the name of an orc warlock player character in the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. His fame began when he posted a thread called "Warlock staff users" in the Warlock Forums of the Blizzard website May 16, 2005. The post asked readers to post information about the two-handed staff they preferred to use in the game. This idea was nothing new, however the manner in which Kralnor asked the readers to post was original.
Similar posts include Alamo for druids, Mellin for paladins, and Halbrium for shamans.
The original post
The original post was fraught with grammar and spelling errors. It was also extremely vague and alluded to Kralnor getting in trouble somehow by being reported. It lacked any information about his own staff, yet did contain a comment about proofreading. The original post is as follows:
I dont like to stress the fact that the warlock rocks, but he jus does,So, for all you staff users out there, feel free to come in and post, my staff is a good one, but here is how it goes
1. post message in the room
2. LOOK IT OVER
3. dont report anything, i might get in trouble :)
and 4. Have fun!!!
This simple post spawned a long thread of replies. At first, readers didn’t know how to respond to this post. Several posted their staff and simply moved on. Many flamed Kralnor for his spelling and the post’s lack of meaning or sense.
Kralnor later responded to all the questions with:
ok, guys, how simple can you be? ITS A !&$%ING TOPIC ABOUT STAFF USERS, if your not a staff user, GET YOUR ASS OUT!!!!!!!! Jesus!!!!
The thread generated over 100 pages of posts. Once the thread hit 46 pages, many readers were unable to view any following pages due to a bug in the forum. This did not prevent users from posting or simply "bumping" the thread to the main page of the forum. Warlocks composed songs and poems, speculated about the poster, made websites and even T-shirts. Kralnor never posted to the thread again after his initial "GET... OUT" reply. When the thread was finally deleted from the forum, it had been responded to well over 1,200 times. Warlocks have adopted the cause of petitioning Blizzard to add an extremely powerful staff that references Kralnor in the title.
Official references
There are 5 known Blizzard responses to this cultural phenomenon.
- The sneak peek preview of the arenas. In the picture (right), Kralnor is shown in full Tier 4 Voidheart Raiment with a staff of indistinct design.
- The blood elf race page on Blizzard.com. There are three direct references to Kralnor in the alternate texts of the banner image here. Hover your cursor over the Ghoul, Female, or Male Bloodelves.
- On the 2007 April Fool's Day jokepage about a new [Tinfoil Hat], a short poem (from the "Book of Kralnor") can be seen when highlighted on the left side of the webpage, under where the webpage's navigation is halfway down the page. It displays:
In addition, the class ID of the <div> code where the above appears is "ronlark", which is Kralnor spelled backward.To staff of warlock none compare
Leaves its enemies seeing double
To defy its power none would dare
Don't report anything, I might get in trouble - Kralnor is featured in his own card (TDP #220) in the first World of Warcraft Trading Card Game expansion, Through the Dark Portal. The card rules read:
The flavor text at the bottom of the card reads: "My staff is a good one."When Kralnor enters play, you may search your deck for a Staff card and let everyone LOOK IT OVER. If you do, shuffle your deck and put that card on top.
- Kralnor is also featured on the armory, he is listed under an explanation of how to use the profile pin feature. The two items featured below are both staves.
See also
External links
The Book of Kralnor - Original by havoq, resurrected by StaticXCC.(no longer works)Warlock Staff Users Preservation Project - Thanks to Lacylia.(no longer works)Original Post - How it all started, in its original format.(no longer works)- Still active "Kralnor has Returned" thread - with interesting speculations about Kralnor's current staff.
- A Morrowind Tribute to Kralnor - A Morrowind mod that adds Kralnor and his legendary staff to the game.
- Kralnor's Armory profile
- Warlock threads page.