The novel's story is set during his youth, where he is depicted as a slave who was raised by an abusive human military officer, but eventually rebelled and escaped captivity.

Within series lore, Thrall is the son of Durotan, former chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, who refused to drink the Blood of Mannoroth and was killed by agents of the orc warlock Gul'dan.

[6] Thrall was trained to handle every weapon and learned battle tactics; he was even forced to compete in many gladiator tournaments that benefit Blackmoore financially following each victory.

[7] According to Metzen, Thrall's story arc is the "archetypal tale of adventure and discovery" which is directly inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell, in particular the hero's journey.

[7] Although Warcraft Adventures was eventually canceled, Metzen liked Thrall's origin story and wanted to see the concept utilized for another storytelling medium.

[8] Golden noted that as the overarching plot of Warcraft III requires that several of the races work together in order to stop an otherworldly invasion, the groundwork for it need to be developed in the novel for it to be plausible.

[8] On Thrall's relationship dynamics with the orcess Aggra, who would eventually become his wife, Golden commented that Thrall is used to dealing with human women such as Taretha and Jaina Proudmoore, and is initially unused to Aggra due to ingrained cultural differences, but gradually learns to value and appreciate her defining traits, namely "her bluntness, and her honesty, and her kind of in-your-face attitude", and in turn he teaches her to respect and value others even if they are not orc by culture or heritage.

[9] Golden noted that Garrosh developed into a darker character over time and believed that he has a weak personality at his core, as he was ashamed of his father Grom and needed external validation from Thrall.

[9] Golden said Thrall and Garrosh gravitated towards each other, not out of their differences or the notion that opposite attract, but that they were in fact kindred spirits who are fundamentally very similar characters, whose "hearts are wounded and guarded but not closed" in her words.

With his new power and knowledge provided by both Drek'Thar and Orgrim, Thrall raises an army by freeing his people from the prison encampments, rallying them under the goal of freedom and a return to the orcish life before the war.

Orgrim falls in a battle liberating one of the encampments, and in his final moments, names Thrall as the new Warchief of the Horde and bequeaths him his black armor and namesake war hammer.

Grateful, tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof pledges his clan to join the Horde, and shows Thrall the location of the Oracle that would help the orcs find their destiny.

In the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne expansion pack, Thrall and Jaina are depicted as attempting to preserve their alliance, though most of their people remain suspicious of each other.

During his tenure as Warchief, Thrall accepts the undead Forsaken led by Sylvanas Windrunner into the Horde's ranks and allows orc warlocks within the cities, as long as they use their talents against demons.

Jaina is able to teleport Varian and his forces back to Stormwind City before a battle could break out, but Thrall laments over the broken peace between the Horde and Alliance.

Having grown increasingly arrogant, Garrosh ignores Thrall's warnings and interrupts the meeting, leading to a brawl between him and Varian which is broken up by Kirin Tor leader Rhonin.

Thrall later attends the tournament held by Tirion Fording, now Supreme Commander of the Argent Crusade, to choose the best champions of the Alliance and Horde to lead a final assault against the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel.

Despite a rocky start between the two, mostly due to their different cultural upbringings, Aggra helps Thrall connect with Outland's elements and rediscover his own spirit.

Thrall decides to join the Earthen Ring in healing the rift between Azeroth and the Elemental Plane that had been damaged by Deathwing, and discards his black armor in favor of white shaman robes.

Thrall and the Earthen Ring join the Cenarion Circle and Dragon Aspects in Mount Hyjal to stop Ragnaros and the Twilight's Hammer from burning down Nodrassil.

In Tides of War, the prelude to World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Thrall is made leader of the Earthen Ring by his predecessor Muln Earthfury while Aggra gives birth to their son, Durak.

Later at the Maelstrom, Thrall and the Earthen Ring are informed by a messenger sent by Eitrigg that Garrosh had launched a mana bomb upon Theramore, completely destroying the city and killing its inhabitants.

Believing Jaina to be slain, an enraged Thrall is tempted to kill Garrosh and retake the Warchief position in retaliation, but decides that healing the damage done by Deathwing is a bigger priority.

Thrall discovers that Jaina survived the destruction, but driven mad by the effects of the bomb and seeking vengeance against the Horde, attempts to summon a tsunami water elementals to drown Orgrimmar in retaliation for Theremore.

During the Siege of Orgrimmar, Thrall ventures ahead of the Alliance forces and Horde rebels and confronts Garrosh directly in his throne room.

[15] Thrall has received a mostly positive reception from players and video game journalists, and is recognized as one of the most important, popular and well known characters in the Warcraft universe.

[21] CNet staff said they like the character and that despite his "brutal upbringing", Thrall is open to foreign people or cultures, and that the world of Azeroth seems to be relatively peaceful when he is in charge.

She observed that Thrall has evolved from his original design in Lord of the Clans as a simple "true hero" with a tragic past, serving as a beacon of honor and integrity in an otherwise savage and violent society, into a deep character who has "several intrinsic flaws" that players could explore as they progress into the overarching narrative of World of Warcraft.

[26] Ryan Gilliam from Polygon recalled that some World of Warcraft players began pejoratively referring to Thrall as "Green Jesus" in Cataclysm, where the character stepped down from the role of Warchief to focus his efforts on saving the planet from environmental calamity.

[14] Fahey enjoyed Jones' take on series lore for the 2016 Warcraft film, even where it diverged from what he was familiar with, and looked forward to a sequel where an adult Thrall would be featured as the main character .