Curse of Flesh The Curse of Flesh is a curse suffered by some of the descendants of Azeroth ' s seed races , notably the dwarves and gnome s , who were mainly housed in Ulduar . As they migrated south to the areas that would become Uldum , Lordaeron , and Pandaria they spread the curse unknowingly to other titan creations . The curse changed the structure and appearance of these races from their original stony / metallic forms into mortal beings of flesh and sinew . The Curse of Flesh was created by the Old Gods early in Azeroth ' s history to " facilitate assimilation " . The titan s attempted to remove the curse ( and the Old Gods ) , but found that the Old God infestation had grown too severe to remove without completely destroying Azeroth . Instead they bound the Old Gods within Azeroth . Though the curse was meant to make it easier for the mortal races to fall under the sway of the Old Gods , it also gave them the greatest weapons they would have against their would - be conquerors : courage , hope , and the virtues that would bring together those mortal groups to overcome great obstacles . Direct mentions of the Curse of Flesh . Brann Bronzebeard . A dialogue triggered by Brann Bronzebeard in Ulduar gives most of the details of the curse and the connection to the Old Gods . Fizzcrank Fullthrottle . In the quest , a dialogue with Fizzcrank Fullthrottle details the removal of the curse from several gnomes by Gearmaster Mechazod which transformed the gnomes into " mechanical beings " . The dialogue mentions that all creations of the titans eventually fell victim to it . Sjonnir the Ironshaper . Sjonnir The Ironshaper mentions the curse when engaged . Indirect mentions of the Curse of Flesh . Discs of Norgannon . While the Lorekeeper ' s Knowledge in Uldaman doesn ' t mention the Curse of Flesh by name , it clearly refers to the same events that are later described by the Tribunal of Ages . Interestingly , this dialogue was written during the original " World of Warcraft " , indicating that either this plotline has been planned for many years or has been built out of existing lore . Jotun . Jotun ' s title suggests that he is cursed , or bears a curse to others ( which could be believed to be the Curse of Flesh ) . Archavon . In Archavon ' s Log ( before Patch 3 . 3 . 0 ) , for the Day 1051213 , Archavon wrote " Archavon wake up , notice face feel soft . Not important . Go back to sleep . " This could hint that he was , more or less , affected by the Curse of Flesh . General Bjarngrim . While General Bjarngrim in the Halls of Lightning does not directly utter the name of the curse , he does refer to it during the fight . His quotes imply that he compares himself with the player . Apparently , he also considers killing lifeforms affected by the curse to be the the solution of removing it . Lady Deathwhisper . In Icecrown Citadel , some of her dialogue states that the Curse of Flesh is a joke played by the Creators on their own creations . She also states that the sooner the cultists come to terms with the ' fact ' that the Curse is a defect , the sooner they will come into a position to transcend it . Il ' gynoth the Heart of Corruption . In Emerald Nightmare , Il ' gynoth mentions it when you fight him Afflicted races . Earthen / Dwarves . The Tribunal of Ages dialogue reveals that it was the curse that caused the transformation from stony earthen to fleshy dwarves while they were asleep in Uldaman . In the Warcraft Novel The Sundering by Richard A . Knaak , the altered timeline of The War of the Ancients descibes the dwarves as earthen . " His rough - hewn skin appeared to be a gray granite , his squinting eyes glittering diamonds . The beard was actually an intricate series of mineral growths that even made it looks as if the figure was graying with age . " This suggests that the Curse of Flesh took place over a longer period of time and was still occuring upto at least 10 , 000 years ago . Stone trogg s / Trogg s . The troggs too , were initially stone creatures . Like the Earthen , some were affected by the curse , turning them into fleshy troggs . Mechagnome s / Gnome s . If Gearmaster Mechazod is to be believed , prior to the curse , gnomes appeared as mechagnomes . Unaffected mechagnomes have been found in the Storm Peaks , maintaining the mechanical systems of the Titans . There is a quest chain located north of the Borean Tundra in Northrend about the curse . Vrykul / Humans . Sjonnir the Ironshaper appears as a vrykul with metallic skin . As such , it was thought possible by some players that the vrykul also had an original , more stony , appearance and also suffered from the curse . However , the ' iron ' races were constructed by Loken , after and separately from all other titan creations . Instead , based on the quests and , it was discovered that the birthing of human s was originally a severe side - effect of the curse on the vrykul . Aesir , the storm giants . The storm giant s of Northrend may be aesir who have succumbed to the curse . Aesir is the titan word meaning " storm giant " . Tol ' vir / Ramkahen . The tol ' vir of Uldum are a race of stone cat - centaur introduced in Cataclysm . The curse of flesh causes them to turn into the fleshy , wingless Ramkahen . The process can be reverted by powerful beings such as Siamat , and is some kind of a ' reward ' for swearing allegiance to Deathwing . Earth elemental s . The curse of flesh can effect the various earth elemental types within Deepholm . This causes them to turn into creatures akin to fungal giant s . Mogu . The Mogu were originally stone guardians of Pandaria ' s greatest secret : The Dark Heart of Y ' Sharrj , the old god . Some time before the age of the first Mogu empire , the Mogu ' s stone bodies became flesh , throwing the race into years of chaotic , clan - based warfare .