Saurfang and Dranosh: father and son of the Horde

October 22, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

Dranosh Saurfang is the son of Varok Saurfang: he died at the Lich King's hands at the Wrathgate, came back as Deathbringer Saurfang in Icecrown Citadel, and had his body recovered by his own father after the fight. It is the saddest story in WotLK on the Horde side, and it runs through the whole expansion.

The focus here is the relationship between father and son. The battle of the Wrathgate has its own post and only appears here in summary.

Who are Varok and Dranosh Saurfang?

Varok Saurfang is one of the oldest and most respected orcs in the Horde. In WotLK he is High Overlord Saurfang, advisor to Garrosh Hellscream at Warsong Hold and commander of the Kor'kron in Northrend.

Dranosh Saurfang is his son with Remda. In the game, players know him as Saurfang the Younger. His name means "Heart of Draenor" in Orcish.

Who's who

| Character | Who they are | Role in the arc | | --- | --- | --- | | Varok Saurfang | The father, a Blackrock clan veteran | Gives his armor to his son and later recovers his body | | Dranosh Saurfang | The son, a Mag'har from Nagrand | Commander of the Kor'kron Vanguard, killed at the Wrathgate | | Remda | Dranosh's mother | Died in Nagrand before the Horde crossed the Portal | | Broxigar | Dranosh's uncle, Varok's brother | The hero Varok compares his son to | | Bolvar Fordragon | Alliance commander | Dranosh's ally in Dragonblight | | Garrosh Hellscream | Overlord of the Warsong Offensive | The leader Varok did not trust | | Arthas, the Lich King | Master of the Scourge | Kills Dranosh and raises him as the Deathbringer |

Varok Saurfang before his son

Varok was born on Draenor, in the Blackrock clan, the younger brother of Broxigar. Under Blackhand, he became one of the Horde's lieutenants, alongside Eitrigg and Orgrim Doomhammer.

He freely drank the blood of Mannoroth, together with Grommash Hellscream. Later, he led the sacking of Shattrath, where the Blood Curse drove his warriors to kill many draenei, children included. He never got it out of his head. The wiki says Varok stopped eating pork, because the sound of slaughtered pigs reminded him of the screams of the draenei children.

To understand how the orcs got to that point, read the story of the orcs before Azeroth.

Later, Varok was Doomhammer's second-in-command in the Second War, fought at Mount Hyjal in the Third War and helped veterans cope with the atrocities of the Blood Curse. In Thrall's Horde, he stayed in Orgrimmar.

Dranosh: the son hidden in Nagrand

Varok's mate, Remda, died before the Horde went through the Dark Portal. Varok had promised her that their son would stay safe and away from the corruption, on Draenor.

Before leaving, Varok asked the elders of Garadar, in Nagrand, to hide the boy from the orcish warlocks. That is why Dranosh grew up as a Mag'har, an orc who never drank the demon blood.

Dranosh in Nagrand (The Burning Crusade)

Horde players meet Dranosh as a teenager, at the Mag'hari Procession in Nagrand. After a raid by the Broken of the Murkblood tribe, he joined a war party from Garadar to get revenge. The party attacked Sunspring Post. Almost all of them died, and he survived badly wounded.

Even so, he asked adventurers for help to finish off the Murkbloods and chose not to go back to Garadar. Farseer Corhuk summed it up: "The son is the father... May the spirits have mercy on those that stand in his way."

Father and son in Northrend

Dranosh reunited with Varok in Azeroth, and both joined the Warsong Offensive against the Scourge. The father gave his son his own battle armor and axe. Dranosh was given command of the Kor'kron Vanguard, the Horde's vanguard, and was sent to Angrathar, the southern entrance to Icecrown Citadel.

There was a reason for that. The offensive's overlord was Garrosh Hellscream, and Varok feared Garrosh was pulling the Horde back toward its "dark roots". He hoped the soldiers would follow Dranosh's example instead. According to the wiki, even Thrall saw Dranosh as an ideal successor, but ended up choosing Garrosh.

The feud between Varok and Garrosh at Warsong Hold is in Borean Tundra: the zone's story.

Dranosh and Bolvar

In Dragonblight, Dranosh and Bolvar Fordragon coordinated their campaigns and built a mutual respect. Dranosh also led an attack on the nerubians of Azjol-Nerub, blocking their tunnels into Dragonblight. The Alliance commander's life is in Bolvar Fordragon: from regent to Lich King.

How did Dranosh die at the Wrathgate?

Dranosh led the Kor'kron to the front line with the cry "Lok-tar ogar!" and fought beside Bolvar until the Lich King came out of the gate. Then he charged Arthas. A single blow from Frostmourne shattered Varok's axe and took Dranosh's soul.

Right after came Putress's plague and the red dragons' fire. The whole battle, with the Forsaken betrayal, is in Wrathgate: what happened at Angrathar.

What matters here is what was left on the field: Dranosh's shattered armor. His body, the Scourge took into the Citadel.

The armor goes back to the father

After the battle, Alexstrasza asks Horde adventurers to gather Saurfang's armor and bring it to Varok at Warsong Hold. The quest text opens like this: "A father has lost a child today."

When he receives the armor, Varok feels his heart and strength failing. He says his son died a hero, like Broxigar. The armor goes to the pyre, at the Ancestral Grounds in Nagrand. And then he goes back to work: the Horde has more pressing matters.

Deathbringer Saurfang: the son in the Lich King's service

The Lich King raised Dranosh as his most powerful death knight, Deathbringer Saurfang, and set him to guard the upper part of the Citadel, at Deathbringer's Rise.

In Ulduar, a vision in Yogg-Saron's brain already showed this: Dranosh, as the Turned Champion, watches the Lich King torture Bolvar.

In the raid, Varok arrives at the Citadel in command of the gunship Orgrim's Hammer. The ships and the Icecrown quests are in Icecrown: the story of the quests before the raid. The Deathbringer is the fourth boss, right after the Gunship Battle.

The encounter on the Horde side

Varok goes to Deathbringer's Rise to recover his son's body. The Deathbringer tries to persuade his father to join the Scourge. Varok refuses: to him, his son had already died at the Wrathgate.

After the heroes win, Varok goes to his son's body. He says Dranosh has earned his warrior's death, "yet once again, I am denied it". He promises a proper ceremony in Nagrand. And he leaves the adventurers some advice: "Honor, young heroes. No matter how dire the battle, never forsake it."

The encounter on the Alliance side

In the Alliance version, the one who faces the Deathbringer is Muradin Bronzebeard. After the fight, Varok arrives by zeppelin to take the body. Muradin wants to stop him, but King Varian Wrynn has the final word and lets the old orc pass.

The funeral in Nagrand and what came after

Varok dressed Dranosh's body in simple garments from Garadar and cremated him on a pyre in Nagrand, near the graves of Remda and the Saurfang family. From then on, he wore his son's necklace.

What comes next is content from other expansions, outside 3.3.5a:

Cataclysm: the Dranosh'ar Blockade, outside Orgrimmar, is named in Dranosh's honor.
Battle for Azeroth: before the Battle for Lordaeron, Varok considers dying alone. Zekhan gives him back Dranosh's necklace and convinces him to live. At the end of the Fourth War, Varok challenges Sylvanas to a mak'gora and dies. See the Fourth War in brief.
Shadowlands and beyond: the wiki records that Varok's soul finds peace and reunites with his family.

Where to see it in WotLK

In 3.3.5a, the whole father-and-son arc is in the game:

Kor'kron Vanguard, Dragonblight (40.6, 18.0): Saurfang the Younger is the NPC here. The Horde chain goes through "The Kor'kron Vanguard!", "Audience With The Dragon Queen" and "Return To Angrathar", which plays the Wrathgate cinematic. Dragonblight is a level 71–75 zone.
"Darkness Stirs": Alexstrasza sends you to gather Saurfang's Battle Armor (38.2, 18.7) and deliver it to High Overlord Saurfang at Warsong Hold, in Borean Tundra. The next quest is "Herald of War". This chain was removed in Cataclysm, but it exists in WotLK.
Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra: Varok stays beside Garrosh during the expansion.
Ulduar: the Lich King vision in Yogg-Saron's brain shows the Turned Champion.
Icecrown Citadel (patch 3.3.0): Deathbringer Saurfang is the fourth boss. The main mechanics are Blood Power, Mark of the Fallen Champion, Blood Beasts, Boiling Blood, Rune of Blood and Frenzy at 30% health. Varok's lines play before and after the fight.
Nagrand (The Burning Crusade): Saurfang the Younger gives "The Missing War Party", "Once Were Warriors" and "He Will Walk The Earth...".

To get there fast, use the guide to reaching level 80 faster.

Who is Dranosh Saurfang?

He is the son of Varok Saurfang, a Mag'har orc raised in Nagrand. In WotLK, he commands the Kor'kron Vanguard in Dragonblight and dies at the Wrathgate.

Who killed Dranosh Saurfang?

The Lich King, with a single blow from Frostmourne, at the Wrathgate. Afterwards, Arthas raised his body as Deathbringer Saurfang.

Is Deathbringer Saurfang Varok's son?

Yes. The Deathbringer in Icecrown Citadel is Dranosh, turned into a death knight. That is why Varok shows up at the end of the fight to take the body.

What does Varok say after the Deathbringer fight?

He says his son has earned a warrior's death, and that once again that death is denied to him. Then he promises a ceremony in Nagrand.

Does Varok Saurfang die in WotLK?

No. He survives the expansion. Varok only dies in Battle for Azeroth, in the mak'gora against Sylvanas.