Mag'har orc

This article is about the lore of the Mag'har orcs. For information about the playable Mag'har allied race, see Mag'har orc (playable). For other uses, see Mag'har (disambiguation).

Mag'har orcs
Grommash Hellscream, a Mag'har orc
Faction/Affiliation	Horde, Warsong Offensive, The Mag'har, Mag'har Clans (Blackrock clan, Bleeding Hollow clan, Burning Blade clan, Frostwolf clan, Laughing Skull clan, Shadowmoon clan, Shattered Hand clan, Thunderlord clan, Warsong clan), Lower City, True Horde, Iron Horde
Character classes	Hunter, Mage, Monk, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior Beastmaster, Berserker, Blademaster, Bonecrusher, Dark shaman, Far seer, Gladiator, Grunt, Peon, Raider, Scout
Racial capital	Garadar (Outland) Orgrimmar Hellsreach Citadel (Draenor)
Racial leader(s)	Geyah  Jorin Deadeye Alternate Draenor:  Geya'rah  Grommash Hellscream †
Racial mount	Wolf Rylak Clefthoof Talbuk
Homeworld	Draenor, alternate Draenor
Area(s)	Outland, Azeroth, alternate Draenor
Language(s)	Orcish
Organization(s)	Clans

“Do you know who we are, stranger? We are Mag'har - brown orcs, as I have heard your kind call us. The Mag'har are survivors: Survivors of a fallen dynasty; Survivors of the Red Pox; Survivors of a shattered world...”

— Jorin Deadeye

The Mag'har orcs ("uncorrupted" in Orcish), also known as "brown orcs", are the orcs that escaped the corruption of the Burning Legion and thereby retained their natural brown or gray skin color. On Draenor, they were a result of isolation from the Horde due to being quarantined in Garadar. They have a noble shamanistic tradition cultivating a mighty tribal society that was centered around survival, regulating themselves through ritualized combat and personal honor. On the alternate Draenor, the orcs did not take up the fel because of the intervention of Garrosh Hellscream, causing them to remain uncorrupted.

History

Outland Mag'har

Years prior to the Blood Pact with Mannoroth, a virulent plague known as the "red pox" spread among the orcish clans, and Geyah established a quarantine village in Nagrand, naming it Garadar after Garad. Those that were quarantined managed to avoid the corruption that plagued even their parents and the rest of the world. The orcs, and Nagrand, came to be referred to as "Mag'har" — which in Orcish means "uncorrupted".

The Burning Crusade

This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

The current leader of the Mag'har, the venerable Greatmother Geyah, is an old and wise orc, yet she recently fell extremely ill. Garrosh Hellscream, the son of Grommash Hellscream, served as the Mag'har's military chief, aided by Jorin Deadeye, son of the venerable chieftain of the Bleeding Hollow clan Kilrogg Deadeye. Garrosh was to succeed Geyah as chieftain of the Mag'har should she pass. Warchief Thrall of the New Horde met with the Mag'har and reconnected with the old traditions. The Mag'har joined the Horde, and taught the orcs about their past and the old ways.

Several Mag'har orcs also traveled to Shattrath City, allying with Lower City.

Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

Garrosh was the first Mag'har to set foot in Orgrimmar. A number of Mag'har joined the Horde's war effort, notably during the campaign against the Lich King and the Alliance, Deathwing and in the Pandaren Campaign. Mag'har orcs in the Horde became a more common sight once Garrosh became its Warchief.

Among the Mag'har who joined Garrosh on Azeroth are Dranosh Saurfang, Cromush, Grebo, Glubgok, Lucretia, Saurboz, Gash'nul, Rok'nah, Dalgan, and Ishi. Even children like Namond and Gogu ventured beyond the Portal. Korgol Crushskull can be found at the Darkmoon Faire. Mag'har war drummers also participate in the assault on the Seething Shore.

Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content related to Mists of Pandaria.

While many members of the Horde rebelled against Garrosh's reign as Warchief, many loyal Mag'har sided with him and could be found in Orgrimmar and the Underhold as part of the True Horde.

Alternate Draenor Mag'har

Main article: Iron Horde#History

For untold generations, the orc clans of Draenor battled one another in endless war. But when Gul'dan offered them the blood of his demonic masters, the disparate tribes of Mag'har—the orcish word for "uncorrupted"—refused the dark bargain and banded together to drive out the Burning Legion. United under the leadership of Grommash Hellscream, the Mag'har pledged to one day repay Azeroth's heroes for aiding their cause. As war against the Alliance intensifies, the Horde must call upon the might of the Mag'har to seize victory.

Legion

This section concerns content related to Legion.

Several Mag'har orcs were captured on the Broken Shore during the Burning Legion's third invasion.

Battle for Azeroth

This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

A lot of Mag'har from the alternate Draenor, enough to field a significant force, have joined the Horde through efforts of Eitrigg.

Notable

Mag'har of Outland

Name	Role	Condition	Location	Allegiance
Aggralan	Member of the Earthen Ring and wife to Thrall	Alive	Various	Horde, Frostwolf clan, The Mag'har, Earthen Ring
Geyah	Mother of Durotan. Spiritual leader of the Mag'har	Alive	Garadar, Nagrand	The Mag'har, formerly Frostwolf clan
Kashur	Previous elder shaman of the Frostwolf clan and Drek'Thar's mentor	Ghost	Spirit Fields, Nagrand	The Mag'har, Frostwolf clan
Garrosh Hellscream	Son of Grom Hellscream, former warchief of the Horde, mastermind behind the Iron Horde on alternate Draenor	Deceased	Various	Iron Horde formerly The Mag'har, Warsong Offensive, Horde
Garm Wolfbrother	Last Chieftain of the Thunderlord clan	Deceased	Thunderlord Stronghold, Blade's Edge Mountains	The Mag'har, Thunderlord clan
Dranosh Saurfang	Son of Varok Saurfang, killed at the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate, Soul claimed by Frostmourne and raised as a death knight, Slain by adventurers	Deceased	Buried in the Ancestral Grounds, Nagrand	The Scourge, formerly Horde, Warsong Offensive
Jorin Deadeye	Son of Kilrogg Deadeye and Warchief of the Bleeding Hollow clan	Alive	Garadar, Nagrand	Bleeding Hollow clan, The Mag'har
Ishi	Blademaster and champion of Warchief Garrosh Hellscream	Deceased	Garrosh'ar Advance, Kun-Lai Summit	Horde
Cromush	Warlord of the Horde	Alive	Hillsbrad Foothills	Horde

Mag'har of alternate Draenor

Name	Role	Condition	Location	Allegiance
Durotan	Chieftain of the Frostwolf clan	Deceased	Various	Frostwolf orcs, Horde
Grommash Hellscream	Warchief of the Mag'har, former warchief of the Iron Horde	Unknown	Various	Mag'har, Warsong clan, formerly Iron Horde
Geya'rah	Overlord of the Mag'har	Alive		Mag'har, Frostwolf clan, Horde
Draka	Durotan's mate and mother of Geya'rah	Alive	Various	Frostwolf orcs, Horde

Architecture

The architecture of the Mag'har seems to be inspired from the orcish buildings from Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. This suggests that during the First War, orcs used similar building types to those back at home on Draenor. However, over time, their buildings become more and more "warlike" and less nomadic. Those back on Draenor/Outland never changed their building style.

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  Town hall

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  Lumber mill

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  Farm

Notes and trivia

• Geyah once called the land of Nagrand itself "mag'har", uncorrupted. As such, the term does not apply only to orcs.
• The adjective derived from "Mag'har" is "Mag'hari".
• Representatives of the alternate universe Mag'har orcs appeared in Orgrimmar with the 8.0 pre-patch, before they were supposed to show up and be made available, due to an unintentional phasing error. They were removed shortly after.
• A large number of skins for orc characters in Heroes of the Storm make them look like Mag'har, such as Mag'har Shadow Council Gul'dan, Warsong Hellblade Samuro, and Mag'har Johanna.
• Mag'har, being a type of Orc, are also largely based upon Balkan, West Asian (particularly Turkish), with other varied and specific elements from other cultures.
  • For general Orc cultural inspiration, see Orcs#Notes and trivia
  • Mag'har is pronounced similar to the name Hungarians have for themselves, "magyar".
  • The seven clans of the Iron Horde resemble the seven clans of the Magyar tribes, as well as the dynamic between the clan chieftain and farseer shaman resembles the balance between the magyar gyula, which means warchief, and kende, which means sacred prince and oversaw spiritual matters.
  • The unification of the Iron Horde's seven clans through a blood oath resembles the Hungarian blood oath unifying the seven magyar tribes.
  • The Shadowmoon clan's lunar basis may be based upon the lunar calendar used by Mongolians, Turkic peoples traditionally, and others.
  • Likewise the "moonwillow" in the area whose roots extend into the Shadowmoon Burial Grounds may be based upon the recurring death-related myths and practices involving willow trees.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Since mok'nathal and Mag'har orcs largely look the same, the ethnicity of characters like Orhan Ogreblade, Uda the Beast, and Lucretia is unclear.

Gallery

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  Original male Mag'har orc NPC model.

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  Original female Mag'har orc NPC model.

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  Male Mag'har orc NPC model from 6.0.

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  Female Mag'har orc NPC model from 6.0.

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  Non-brown skin colors were added from 6.0.

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  NPC pale white Mag'har orc model.

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  Models from 8.0. including the upright male model.

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  Mag'har dire orc.

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  Mag'har orc male child.

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  Mag'har orc female child.

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  Mag'har standard in Nagrand.

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  Mag'har orc crest in the Orgrimmar Embassy.

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  Garrosh Hellscream unique model from Cataclysm.

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  Garrosh Hellscream unique model from patch 5.4.

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  Grommash Hellscream (alternate universe)

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  Blackhand (alternate universe)

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  Kargath Bladefist (alternate universe)

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  Ner'zhul (alternate universe)

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  Kilrogg Deadeye (alternate universe)

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  Durotan (alternate universe)

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  Hans'gar and Franzok in Blackrock Foundry.

Art

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  Blackhand and the Iron Horde.

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  From a Savage World comic

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  Mag'har against Dark Iron dwarf.

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  Mag'har icon.

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  Orc icon as seen in archaeology in Draenor.

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  Orc icon as seen in archaeology in Draenor.

Movie

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  Blackhand

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  Durotan and Orgrim

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  Draka

Heroes of the Storm

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  Mag'har Thrall skin

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  Warsong Samuro skin

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  Shattered Hand Samuro skin

Fan art

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  Fan concept of the Shattered hand skin to the male orc player model.

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  Fan concept of the Shattered hand skin to the female orc player model.

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  Mag'har orc by Anatoly Zelensky.