This is a nice perspective on it, but it's simply not what we've been shown. The prospect of moral temptation and degradation of sanity emerging from the inability to distinguish ones own thoughts and assumptions from an external malefactor is definitely one which could induce insanity and lead one right into the hands of the Void, but this isn't what we've been given. What we've been given are whispers, at a fairly sensible volume and rate, which effectively boil down to "haha we're manipulating you. Manipulation works best when we tell you we're manipulating you." The only case in which I think the "whispers" approach has been correctly-executed thus far has been with Y'Shaarj, where you do see some elements of the kind of thing you're imagining, with extreme and visceral depictions of the future and a legitimate degree of horror and uncertainty underlying them. It is possible to imagine Y'Shaarj successfully inducing a change of spiritual allegiance, if not outright inducing insanity, through his efforts. Without a strong framework to realign oneself, it is sensible to imagine someone turning to him on account of his statements. However, I have not been able to perceive this in any of his kin, especially N'Zoth. C'Thun comes closest, but his own whispers sound most precisely analogous to intrusive thoughts, and not exceptionally terrible ones at that, and they typically come in a fairly slow rate that would realistically make recovery from the thought very easy. N'Zoth is outright terrible about this, and I have been entirely incapable of taking him seriously as a villain after hearing the following quote:
Originally Posted by Sondrelk
See AlsoIncline - The Lord of the Rings Online - Legacy of Morgoth expansion announced; Before the Shadow expansion is free for everyoneDelves Guide: Locations, Rewards, Tiers, & More - World of Warcraft The War Within - Warcraft TavernHow to unlock Earthen in World of WarcraftEnhancement Shaman Raid GuideSounds like an issue of a lacking imagination. Imagine not being able to sleep from nightmares. Not being able to know for sure if what you are thinking is your own thoughts or some attempt at manipulation.
Combine this with the WoW version of the void, which includes seeming constant visions of the future, likely or otherwise, and it's no wonder people go insane.Beyond that there is also the clear tradeoff thing of succumbing further to madness by giving in to the voices. Gaining massive power, but losing even more of your sanity in return.
Imagine someone like Neltharion. Centuries of whispers telling him what he wants to hear. Promising him the greatness he believes he deserves, the horror of failure, and boundless power to enforce his vision of the future. Even more so when you consider the Void preying on his weaknesses. In his case the belief that he is capable of harnessing the void rather than falling to it."With a whisper, the Earth Warder bent to my will. Who are you to resist me?"
N'Zoth gleefully explaining how he's such a super-good manipulator he manipulated this other guy effortlessly does not give me confidence in his capacity to fundamentally change people, because he's outwardly explaining that's what he's doing, and leaving no question that his manipulations are not for your own benefit. If I were to put myself in the shoes of anybody hearing that, I would think "wowie! You'd sure have to be really stupid to trust this guy or do what he wants! Now you know he's trying to manipulate you actively, so you'll just have to learn how to dismiss his manipulations to the best of your ability." Anybody should realistically just undertake after becoming aware of this to monitor their behavior and dismiss the whispers entirely. How is one supposed to take prophecy from a being that is self-admittedly trying to undermine you and drive you insane seriously? How should one be easily tempted if they know for absolute certain that N'Zoth only has the worst intentions in mind? And keep in mind this is the kind of content that emanates from him in his own realm. Imagine being so much more separate from N'Zoth; what kind of influence should something like that have, then?
As I said, this strikes me most as an especially dedicated nag. Theoretically, I could see N'Zoth and his buddies being played as devil-figures if they were to wave people's own desires in front of them, but that requires inducing a state of being that suggests that one is greater than their better nature, and that following them will legitimately be rewarding in some capacity or another, not plainly and directly telling someone you're manipulating them. They'd have better luck encouraging people's worst facets, and that's precisely why I think Y'Shaarj is the only such cases of the whispers working on any kind of meta level, and I'm of the mind it's doomed to fail if you have the Black Empire's proxies and leadership frequently espousing their limitless influence and announcing their means of operation. This could be so easily fixed from a slight shift away from endlessly reusing the word "whispers" until it no longer sounds like a word, such as in the case following:
"(W)e will journey to the shores of dragon lands, to the blessed isle where the Worldbreaker first embraced the truth."
Alternatives could include:
"(W)e will journey to the shores of dragon lands, to the blessed isle where the Worldbreaker first embraced self-determination."
or
"(W)e will journey to the shores of dragon lands, to the blessed isle where the Worldbreaker first rejected the sick structure of the Titans' creation."
Wouldn't these be the kinds of people who sincerely want to see the Black Empire renascent? Why wouldn't they spin their falling to temptation as a good thing? Why wouldn't they do as wicked sorts are most inclined to and present their willing fall from grace as some kind of reassertion of themselves over something they believe only constrains them? This portrayal simply doesn't work for me.
To sort of summarize my problem with the portrayal of the Void, these are the two approaches that are generally suggested:
(1) The angle of moral temptation.
(2) The angle of Cosmic Horror.These two are, in actuality, opposite angles. Moral degradation emerges, typically, from self-delusion; a pathetic belief that one is somehow beyond morality, or that morality is entirely designed to constrain one. This angle of things was represented well with Y'Shaarj, but it is executed poorly elsewhere, such as in the very quote that started me on this train of thought/impotent rant. Though I typically enjoy villains representing temptation, since we all are subject to it, much more work must be done to rectify the portrayal of the Black Empire's self-destructive rationalizations, because although temptation is not a fault of oneself, falling into it is always a deliberate choice to some degree or another. The other angle, the approach taken in Cosmic Horror can come in two forms: either it emerges from some kind of revelation, or at least a revelation that seems sensible and typically isn't just based on what one wants to believe, or it comes from exposure to something which simply is not compatible with our modes of thought, which potentially also comes with a sanity-rending revelation that drives the subject after they have been rendered insane, or at least are no longer capable of perceiving things as those who have not been exposed to the horror do. The reveries that emerge from either of these are often delusional, but the initial revelation is typically true: that mankind can grow beyond its ken, that there is something far beyond our placid isle of ignorance, the crushing irrelevance of our transient civilization. Of course, I do think the nature of these revelations must be very different in WarCraft, and I'm unsure if exposure to Cosmic Horror elements would be sufficient to drive one insane in that kind of setting. In fact, the Lovecraftian breed of Cosmic Horror does only work on its own when you read it from the perspective of the kind of person so utterly repulsed by anything alien that he called penguins "grotesque", so I'm definitely inclined to suggest the latter breed of the Cosmic Horror approach. This is also where the Cosmic Forces system would be most compatible with the kind of things the Void could expose one to. The example I typically lean towards is that the purely-gradient modes of thought (wholly rejecting is/isn't dichotomies) employed by Void beings is simply incompatible with our anthropoform modes of thought, which are typically very binary in nature. In this case, the revelation accompanying the sanity-rending experience is that the entire perspective one has had on the universe—that it exists in truths and falsehoods exclusively—is not all-encompassing, and puts the entire framework one may have into question.
However, I could also see the "sanity-rending revelations" side of things manifesting in the more traditional sense; since we've irrevocably trapped ourselves in the structure of the Cosmic Forces, the implications of this idea—which I personally distaste—could be employed by the Void to threaten the sanity of those it communicates with.
As an addendum, I could also see another approach to your suggestion, which would be to play up the nature of the Black Empire's proxies as cultists by taking inspiration from how real-world cults brainwash their victims. This would be closest to what you envision, and I think I may have overlooked that this was your initial suggestion, or at least a variant thereof. Sleep-deprivation, isolation, starvation etc. could be employed, though I am not sure if that would be the method most suitable for the objects of a cult rather than a cult in itself.
Originally Posted by Sondrelk