Mighty Morphin' Dalaran Fountain
Up until yesterday I had been unaware of the change towards Dalaran's center fountain which while occur when the Lich King is defeated. If you are also unaware (and I secretly hope that I wasn't alone), the middle fountain in Dalaran changes into a large stone sculpture/fountain displaying a victorious Tirion Fordring surrounded by various Human and Orc warriors. Also on the new fountain rests the shattered hilt of Frostmourne (or representation of) and two signs that when clicked will open an in-game cinematic that shows the result of the Lich King's defeat.
Considering the knowledge and treatment of defeated bosses has been discussed, here are a couple questions I would like to bring up for discussion:
- How will the knowledge of the Lich King's defeat effect your character?
- Will you let this in-game change to Dalaran's scenery and the knowledge it brings effect your character?
- Will you not claim the Lich King defeated until he has been beaten by your own two hands?
- Has the method in how you deal with defeating bosses and raid encounters in-character change in any way?
- With the third, arguably largest lore-effecting, chapter coming to an end, what is next for you?
As for me, I tend to focus on the interactions inside an instance rather than the final outcome of an instance and don't usually consider an encounter finished until Blizzard deems it so, but a memorial dedicated to the demise of the Lich King and those who gave their lives to that end is awfully encounter-finishing, isn't it?
Sources:
http://www.mmo-champion.com/general-discussions-22/fountain-change-in-dalaran/
For me and the rest of The
For me and the rest of The Ghost Scions (my 10 man all RPer raid group) we mostly ignore it when a boss is killed by other people. Sure, someone will beat us to the Lich King, but in our bubble, we're gonna be the ones to kill Arthas. After all, it's not just for loot, it's for RP.
I might answer the rest of the questions later...TO CLASS WITH ME
____________________________________________
Let me die without fear as I have lived without it.
I think it may be phased
I think it may be phased for those who have participated in the defeat, since one of the caveats, as I understand it, is that Tirion and the heroes are not to speak of the details of the end result. Or, it's as temporary as the result of defeating Algalon and the light show that occurs then. So far, in game cinematics (mainly Wrathgate) have not been available to those who haven't done the event yet; afterwards, you can go back and rewatch it, once you've done the encounter.
Given how open end game raid content has been made, and the mechanic being added to eventually make normal mode ICC simpler with a buff for those who choose to use it, the Fall of the Lich King will likely be seen by more than 2% of the population, as opposed to Classic endgame, or even BC.
For me, I usually won't consider the story "finished" until the next expac actually starts up. I'll RP the end result with my friends when we finally do manage to take down Arthas, but I'm not likely to claim sole kill credit on the Lich King, though Icecrown is a major factor in some storylines my character is involved in currently. I know for some people, they didn't consider Illidan defeated until they did it themselves, after Wrath had started, tying up loose ends left in BC they hadn't finished themselves.
With the Elementium Knights group we have going Aside, even after the Lich King is over, we have some plot and charcater connections to go into Cataclysm with, so my characters aren't entirely left hanging there, either.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
If you read the WoW forum
If you read the WoW forum post, it does indeed change when ANY guild on the server downs Arthas.
Anyway, No Chicks Allowed on Crushridge killed the Lich King on 10 man last night and the fountain was replaced with the one in the picture. Our guild, we have gotten him down to 50% on 10 man and will start attempts on him on 25 tonight or tomorrow for the first time (Sindragosa was a pain after 30%)
I was hoping it would be phased, too. It would have been really nice if they phased it to your character.
____________________
Just call me Artie, dear.
Just call me Artie, dear.
I was also hoping that the
I was also hoping that the fountain-swap would be localized to those who had beaten the Lich King. The fact that it wont be made me curious to see if folks were going to do their own mental-phasing of the event.
For Tavlo, she will
For Tavlo, she will ignore the fountain change until her arrows have peirced Arthas' heart. Because all my characters sort of exist on the same timeline, they'll do the same, even if they never step into ICC. When Tavlo helps down Arthas, then Artie will notice he's dead, etc. Unless of course Artie (or Ineesa) ends up going to ICC herself someday, somehow.
This is one of those instances where Blizz forces you to either obey their timeline or fanagle your own. It's sort of like starting a draenei now. You can either play through leveling up saying, "It's two years ago and I just crashed and I'm slowly proceeding through the history." or you can figure something out about being in a coma for two years or fishing for two years or coming back through the portal or something. If Tavlo helps down the Lich King then I could rewind for Artie as if it never happened, even though everyone else might think it has. This is very much a case for RP BUBBLES.
Eventually within the next few months though, it's going to become common knowledge that Arthas is down, then we'll all just be hanging about preparing for Cata. At least that's what my characters will be doing. Well, Artie has her research to complete (which does not bode well for Azeroth), Tavlo will be figuring out what to do after what happens in ICC (which won't be the revenge she was seeking) and well, Ineesa is already preparing for *something* with Shar.
____________________
Just call me Artie, dear.
Just call me Artie, dear.
(( I was unaware of this..
((
I was unaware of this.. until your post.
Is this a spoiler?
))
------------------------------------------
"It's only gonna be about a matter of time before you get loose and start loose your mind..." - Mary J Blige -
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou -
I think we can rest
I think we can rest assured the Lich King is going down sometime, somehow.
HOWEVER.
If you're trying to avoid spoilers, DO NOT WATCH THE CINEMATIC or read any of the threads about stuff. >.>
____________________
Just call me Artie, dear.
Just call me Artie, dear.
(( I try to avoid
((
I try to avoid spoilers. There were no spoiler warnings here at all. :(
))
------------------------------------------
"It's only gonna be about a matter of time before you get loose and start loose your mind..." - Mary J Blige -
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou -
Spoiler tag added, sorry it
Spoiler tag added, sorry it was too late.
I do believe that Blizzard
I do believe that Blizzard had previously announced that the Lich King would be defeat-able with this current patch. If I've spoiled the result of that defeat through mentioning this fountain without warning, I apologize.
For me, once Arthas has
For me, once Arthas has been downed by a death knight within our little rp circle it's probably safe to say that all the death knights were there, since that is the singular purpose they've been working towards. Something that is understood, and simply not talked about. Little nods of understanding between fellow Knights.
I will promptly ignore any
I will promptly ignore any claim of the Lich King's defeat until I myself or Pox has downed the big man himself, and when that comes to pass anybody else who has defeated the Lich King I will rp as if both my bubble and player X's bubble where both present during the defeat. If I don't manage to get him down, then when the next expansion comes out I'll rp it out that he was defeated.
Example (completely hypothetical)
Dragulos: "I was there when the Lich King fell."
Tess: Politely skirt around statement/tell Drag I will ignore that and explain why.
-After I kill the Lich KIng-
Dragulos: "I was there when the Lich King fell."
Tess: "I was there too with the Horde, obviously I did not see you mixed in with the other Alliance warriors."
-Proceed to have tea and crumpets-
"To sing of finger bones and purple flowers."
Some spoilers if you don't know what happens...
How will the knowledge of the Lich King's defeat effect your character? Will you let this in-game change to Dalaran's scenery and the knowledge it brings effect your character? Will you not claim the Lich King defeated until he has been beaten by your own two hands? Has the method in how you deal with defeating bosses and raid encounters in-character change in any way? With the third, arguably largest lore-effecting, chapter coming to an end, what is next for you? For Shrilinda, if I actually hear anyone talking about the Lich King's defeat, I'll treat it as a unconfirmed rumor. OOC if you consider the cinematic... there will always be a Lich King, so an argument could be made that once defeated, another takes his place. Also, given the nature of the LK's armor, you wouldn't really know who was inside until you removed the helmet. The change to the fountain was noticed by Shrilinda, and my thoughts were, "Oh look, new fountain." and I went about my business. I actually didn't know that the new fountain meant a LK kill. Still wouldn't phase Shrilinda now that I, the player, know. As above, any mention of a dead LK to Shrilinda's ears will be registered as rumor. Once Shrilinda is there to see it... if ever... then the LK is un-live as ever. Has how Shrilinda changed now that someone else has killed LK? Nope. In fact, it'd be safe to say that Shrilinda hasn't even heard as she is 'semi-retired' only popping on for a daily and a random for frost badges. So easy for her to be completely out of the loop... like always. Whats next? I've been on levelling a alt and so Shril is semi-retired right now. Lacking the ability to consistently raid and missing out on 99% of RP due to RL schedule, I've gotten Shrilinda as far as I can and feel like my wheels are spinning if I just continue chaining heroics. If nothing changes, then Shril will remain mostly dormant till Cataclysm while I work on other alts to get them as fleshed out as I can and ready to go once the Cataclysm hits. In a way, now that I think about it... a expansion has meant a change of character for me. In Vanilla, my main was a Warlock till my RL changed and with the change, main shifted to a Hunter. When TBC hit, Warlock was put on back burner and Hunter was my main, till she was 'finished' and thats when Shrilinda came to be. When Wrath hit I tried to bring back my Hunter but just couldn't stomach the changes and Shrilinda took over the roll of Main. Now that Im finished with Shril... I've taken a Paladin to 80 and nearly finished out her gear, and am now on a Mage. The Cataclysm might be interesting for me as it might herald the end of Shril being my main... who knows.I think I'm going to try
I think I'm going to try running with the idea that "rumors of his demise have been greatly exagerated." Then if/after I kill him I'll go spread rumors of my own. =P
No matter how I handle it though, I'm not gonna go out and tell anyone that they -weren't- there.
..I seem to be the only one
..I seem to be the only one who would accept that he died regardless who did it =P
But that is because I know I'll probably never get to it anyway since I don't have a steady group to ruin around with. Ah well. I might consider it a rumor since that's what everyone else doing, but I wouldn't mind accepting it either way.
I'm going to ignore the
I'm going to ignore the change before and after. Accept that the lich king has been defeated, eh, that depends if it's someone who is RPing it with me or if it's just "some guild on the server did it." But I will be ignoring the official storyline as much as possible because the whole "there must always be a lich king" idea seems pretty stupid to me. No, there must not. There wasn't a lich king before, and the scourge is not some unstoppable force more powerful than other forces which have been conquered already. To say that without a lich king, who apparently was holding them back not empowering them, it would have destroyed all life on Azeroth... well, it certainly cheapens the efforts of PC and NPC heroes alike in holding back and driving back the scourge on various fronts throughout the history of this world we're playing in. This meta-story offends my sensibilities, much as they were offended when I heard that "officially," Varian Wrynn defeated onyxia, not PCs. If forced to converse IC about the subject, the in-game facts will probably be admitted, but the name "lich king" being applied to the one who ends up in control of the scourge will be debated.
"With the third, arguably largest lore-effecting, chapter coming to an end, what is next for you?"
That already happened, in my opinion. Yogg-Saron and Algalon the Observer being defeated were far more important to the fate of azeroth than the Lich King. At least, they seem better set up for that role, in my opinion.
What's next is what's always next: the next challenge. As long as I'm interested in playing the game, Flame will have the will to keep fighting whatever enemy looms on the horizon.
"There wasn't a lich king
"There wasn't a lich king before..."
Yes, there was. The Burning Legion created the Scourge as a precursor to invasion, and used Ner'zhul as the controller. Ner'zhul always wanted freedom, though, and got it finally. When he was weakened, Sylvanas was able to break free with the Forsaken (and given so many of their leveling quests plus Wrathgate, I dunno...). Then he and Arthas bonded and spent several years in that dreamlike stasis or whatever until this recent storyline.
I think it does make sense within the storyline they built, even if it is a newer revelation/writing decision. Because so far, the Scourge always have had a control element directing them. The Lich King is apparently directly influencing the minds of the Scourge (or at least his more powerful servants, such as the Death Knights, as we've seen in lore and gameplay, both Warcraft and WoW), and always has from the time Ner'zhul and the demons were creating it.
And it lets them do something with the characters who have been central to this storyarc; anyone who could understand Draconic (same race and class as the recent Scarab Lord, in our case, Gnome Rogues) knew there were plans in this direction since the beginning of the expansion, if not the details until now. So this has been in the works awhile, and I think it has been built towards. Maybe not the -best- choice, but it still feels like a bit more forethought and foreshadowing than some other story decisions.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
No, there wasn't, because
No, there wasn't, because there has not always been a scourge. As you yourself said, the Burning Legion created them (Mal'ganis, specifically). No, it does not make sense. It makes so little dramatic sense that I refuse to accept it. They are asking me to accept that I and my comrades can defeat the Old Gods and weapons of the Titans themselves, but we and our heroes can't stomp out a plague (and the undead creations thereof) created by beings greatly lesser in potency.
I don't like it. I feel that it cheapens the efforts of heroes and is inconsistent with the scale of events as established. It's not something I want to deal with in my RP, and so I will avoid it as much as I can. If forced to deal with it and acknowledge it, I might do so. But I would rather just let it lie.
This'll likely end up being
This'll likely end up being an 'agree to disagree" matter, as I still think it does. All the various planned and unplanned factors of the Scourge's genesis made them more widespread and less controlled than was planned for. They've always had a control on them in some form though, rather than rampant zombie invasion all the time.
According to the Lore given this go around, the Titans couldn't just kill the Old Gods because doing so would destroy Azeroth. So there's a part of me that thinks the whole "go in and beat up C'Thun and Yogg-Saron til they die" part is what makes less sense; if the setting's Gods couldn't solve this problem without destroying the world, then WTF are we, the "heroes" doing, exactly?
Just because the Plague and Scourge aren't on the same scale as the Titans (who are opposed by an equal running the Legion now, as Sargeras was one who turned) and Old Gods, that doesn't make the problem necessarily easier to deal with by walking up and punching it in the face, and I think it's refreshing to have that acknowledged in the storyline somehow, that not everything can just be hit until it stops moving and no more problem.
That's how I'm seeing it, anyway, and how I'm thinking the writers seem to be approaching the idea to continue playablility while introducing a new aspect to the lore. So my characters will probably eventually acknowledge and lament the change whenever they learn of it, but still hold out some hope for the future anyway (as several of them are optimistic like that).
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
I don't agree to disagree,
I don't agree to disagree, but I do agree to stop arguing about it. I am almost inexpressibly unhappy with this story choice, and if I were playing the game for its story rather than for the friends I've made in it and enjoying the game mechanics, I would quit. I used to enjoy the story, but with this and other examples of poor writing building up, I find myself not able to anymore.
I think what Blizz is
I think what Blizz is doing with the Scourge and the Plague is insisting on it being a very pervasive, lasting magic that is now woven into Azeroth. Part of what Artie is going to be writing about in her next paper is the absolute change of the Nether in the Plaguelands, how it has in fact changed the material of the world itself there. Things don't grow like they used to. There has been no reclaimation despite best efforts for years. The dead keep popping up again and again and again.
Now we take their mind away - destroy the Lich King - and what do we have? A billion mindless corpses that can only be destroyed by burning or pulverizing, and even then their spirits are still enthralled. And it seems like a good deal of the land of Azeroth is "plagued", meaning that if something dies on it it's gonna come back as Scourge. Azeroth has become *diseased* and *altered* by Ner'zhul and the Lich King. There's now a gray area between life and death and the alternative of UNDEATH that wasn't there before. Let's also not forget the thousands of Cult of the Damned members who would probably do their best to bring a new Lich King to power - one of their own choosing - as well. And even though it wasn't there before, like you say, it's like a cancer, and therefore needs something to fight against it because all the shamans and druids and dragons and all haven't been able to do anything but keep it in check for years. The creator and controller of the Scourge can be dealt with but the Scourge itself remains, and something has to be done beyond the individual efforts mortals have been putting forth for years now (without hardly making a change in it).
Now granted, maybe Elune could come down and shine super-bright and cleanse the world. Maybe one of the titans could revisit Azeroth, swing a hammer and slam the Scourge off the planet. But Blizz isn't going to do *that* when they can further promote their central storyline figures and the powers of the mortals that we all are. So they entrust one of us (more or less) with the job. It does make sense to me, though it's immensely frustrating to my characters. I think Blizz was going for the drama of that as well - the Cataclysm trailer, as I remember, mentions something about "leaving part of oneself in Icecrown." I think it's *supposed* to be disappointing!
As far as comparing tackling the Lich King to defeating the Old Gods, I don't think we've "killed" any Old Gods, really. Maybe physical manifestations of them, weakening them enough to put them back to sleep, but certainly not "killed". They can be controlled, but I don't think they can be destroyed. (There is nothing on WoWwiki or WoWhead that I found about "killing" the Old Gods - just "vanquished" and "defeated".) And because they are controled and restrained, with a smaller area of influence, they're actually in some ways less of a problem then the Scourge.
Also, just imagine, you've got Old Gods thinking manaical thoughts under the world (even discounting Yoggy and C'thun, there's still 2 or 3 others out there). You cut off the head of the Scourge leaving a billion mindless, violent undead. How easily could an Old God bend them to its will? Then we have a BIG problem! I much prefer the path Blizz has chosen, though I'm very curious how it will manifest itself in Cataclysm, or just be swept under the rug of Northrend and ignored.
____________________
Just call me Artie, dear.
Just call me Artie, dear.
Depending on how canon the
Depending on how canon the comic series are now (with Varian's storyarc playing out there particularly) there are numerous references to C'Thun being dead in the New Guardian storyarc. Now, if that's "dead" in the Cthulhu sense where it just means defeated for now or not, I don't know, but I know it bothered myself and Rabbly given the newer Wrath lore in the Ulduar-based 5man instances (Tribunal, for instance), as well as other storyline considerations. I'm hesitant to consider a problem the Titans couldn't safely exterminate as being defeated definitively by mortals.
I do think you're right in that "supposed to be disappointing" aspect. We win, and yet we don't. It's a bittersweet resolution (there's a particular term I want to use here that's escaping me at the moment...). This also conveniently allows for Scourge to remain in some character storylines even after Wrath is wrapped up and Catacylsm hits Azeroth. I know of several players still involved with BC content, or even Classic, on some level, so for RP, the Scourge remaining in some state or another has interesting ramifications for some current or future characters.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
I can see what Flame is
I can see what Flame is getting at here though... some parts of it just don't quite add up.
I mean, logically, wouldn't a lack of the Lich King's controlling influence just mean that the forsaken ranks just increased by a factor of a billion or so? Aren't they, specifically, what happens when the Lich King is no longer able to control undead? This point has been bugging me a bit.
Unless that mass exodus
Unless that mass exodus orchestrated by Sylvanas was a one time thing due to those circumstances with Ner'zhul. It also depends on how exactly one goes about saying a new Forsaken toon comes into play. They seem entombed for a time and tested to see if they're still under control or not--whether recently or from the time the rest broke free is vague, from my recollection as it's been awhile since I checked out a Forsaken start. Also, Classic's still back in the original time frame for the most part (hence the changes coming in Cataclysm, which could also affect things like Forsaken, Draenei, etc intros, I'd think...).
I understand where Flame's coming from too, and have had these debates before with others. The bottom line, though, is this is the Lore we're given to work with. Much like the changes to Draenei/Eredar and Blood/High Elves, this is the direction Blizzard has gone, and can affect characters very directly depending on the circumstances. There's a bit of wiggle room, but it's the storyline currently, and rather in-the-face, so my reaction is to find ways to justify it within the setting as it stands now (cuz we know it'll all just change again later) and roll with it.
I'm pretty sure they know already they're not going to make everyone happy with this. There's no way to, with millions of subscribers.
I do like Arthas' specific part, though, from what I've seen in the spoilers.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
Personally, it's a buzzkill
Personally, it's a buzzkill for me. I have to admit that reading about what happens when Arthas is defeated - the effects or perhaps lack thereof on the state of Azeroth - along with some of the discussion on the end game lore, has had the effect of making me very much want to quit WoW.
Ditto =\ Cool as deathwing
Ditto =\
Cool as deathwing and cata is probably has the ability to be, I can't help but really feel jyped at the whole set up. To me the whole feel of the ICC storyline felt thrown out and rushed and in a nutshell I can't help but see possible branches of story that could have happened and didn't. Personally Bolvar struck me as just being thrown in last minute.
Doesn't matter that we watch him get lolstomped by Putris at the Wrathgate, suddenly you make your way into ICC and HO GAWD HE'S STILL ALIVE WE GOTTA SAVE EM.
Just felt off to me, I dunno.
The big thing that really bugged me about the whole play of things is how shifted the entire ICC story is to the alliance side. They got the cool characters, Bolvar comes back and Saurfang doesn't, and all things considered it just sits with me as a let down end to a story that's what? Five years running?
Also might be a touch bias on one end. I was 'really' wanting to see Windrunner make a run for Frostmorne somehow and have her be the next major bossman in a future expac. She seemed really grabby for it in the whole FoS/PoS/HoR quest chain and I really thought it would have been wicked to have her backstab both factions and become one hell of a hated villian. Blizzard kinda puts her on a pedistal and even as of late made her more of a fan service than anything with the new character model, I personally would have loved to have seen it played out that way.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We but half express ourselves and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents... But God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-
We but half express ourselves and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents... But God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-
Saurfang Jr does come back
Saurfang Jr does come back and is a boss encounter. At the end, there's a really nice scene with Saurfang Sr. For Alliance, our NPCs are involved, I dunno about the Horde version, but they aren't totally forgotten about story-wise, either.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
Dranosh Saurfang does
Dranosh Saurfang does return and infact upon landing the horde ship he and his father have this big long scene where they talk before the fight starts. At the end of the fight Saurfang mourns his sons corpse and takes it away for a proper burial back home. It is hardly biased in favor of the alliance unless you meen because alot of the main characters are human, such as Fordring.
Remember, race does not necessarily meen faction. Tirion is completely against Horde and Alliance, and is for Azeroth as a whole.
Sylvanas is a great character. The entire idea is that shes a conflicted, but mostly good, character. Up until her death she fought tooth and nail and once she was freed shes been largely okay or good.
I think she was less 'Frostmourne must be mine' and more of a 'oh my god the lich kings weapon, if we disarm him now we got this easy'.
While she may be a villain at some point I think I'm rather happy they didn't keep hammering the 'lulz forsaken keep betraying you' hammer because at some point you have to lay off and assume that the mostly good ones are left. Otherwise you might as well remove the entire race as a PC race from the game.
I think part of some of the
I think part of some of the disappointment being expressed here is the result of WotLK putting to rest much of what many players discovered upon picking up the Warcraft series with WC3. As neat as the story may have been, pre-WC3's world is a very different one than a lot of players first encountered. As world-altering as Arthas' fate is, there's still much more going on in the series' universe beyond him; the Lich King is something of a divergence from the otherall thrust of its story. Putting Arthas to rest never could have brought peace to Azeroth. I think the notion that now there must always be a Lich King is an interesting way of both concluding the plot set in motion by WC3 and nodding in the playerbase's direction by continuing a story that defined the series for so many.
-------------------------------------------------
So come on honey cut yourself to pieces
Come on honey give yourself completely
And do it all though you can't believe it
Youth knows no pain
- Lykke Li, "Youth Knows No Pain"
It has happened.
It has happened.
Looking at it, all I really
Looking at it, all I really want is for the plaque to not auto-send people to the cinematic. An option would be nice for those who want to wait for whatever reason.
That surprise!cinematic is kinda annoying, even if one can escape out of it.
---------------
Alt chars: Daevra, Alynore, Lormar, Aerella
------
Avatar by Luneaus
With all the stuff thrown
With all the stuff thrown around all I think of is this.
I prefer when a PC is not one of the hands that does the killing of major lore points. We can only have so many there for the killing of Arthas' and everyone will want to be the one. This is perhaps why so many RP cliques form and it is difficult to really mesh them together. You all did the same thing, how could that be?
I think its better when, say, nameless heroes or lore characters do the killing and the PC is the character that fought up to that end point. The only time I think it /could/ work where your PC is the one that kills it is something in the caverns of time where many will do the events or in a huge epic open world battle where its not limited space and the foe is gigantic enough where a whole army will assault it at once.
Otherwise I always think that, IC, when a character was the part of killing a major boss they were 'on the front lines' and perhaps saw it happen, but were really holding off the armies and NPC's that fought for the other sideas opposed to doing it themselves for sake of keeping RP open and not closing myself off to other groups and characters.
As for the fountain and if it should be phased or not, etcetera, I think its fine. I remember these kinds of arguments having come up in Vanilla when Onyxia was defeated. Just kinda ignore it if your not ready for the storyline, the idea of the lich king being dead and no longer a threat, to be done away with.