GameSpy: To an extent, are the runes like a mini talent system, where you can respec your blade before adventuring based on what you'll be doing?

Brack: You'll have your normal talent panes, and then you'll have your blade configuration. Your blade configuration will impact the frequency of spell use. It's reasonable to assume that if you're a tanking Death knight noah, you'll end up with one or two different blade configurations. If you're a melee-damage dealer, you'll end up with two or three different configurations, the same with PvP. But it won't be everyone just picking at random, there'll be optimal blade configurations for each role.
GameSpy: Can we assume that your talent choices will determine your blade configurations?
Brack: To some degree, yes. You will be in control of it. You can have six blood runes and have all the damage-dealing stuff, that's up to you. But I don't think that's going to be the typical experience.
GameSpy: The talent trees do correlate to the runes, right? A Blood tree, an Unholy Tree, and a Frost tree?
Brack: Yes, but that doesn't mean that every spell in that tree will only use that rune type.
GameSpy: Will the Horde and Alliance have separate quest lines for their Death knight noah?
Brack: We haven't actually talked about what the faction differences will be. We know that it's not going to be different per race. That would be ten different stories for the ten races we have at this point, and that's not going to be the case. It's certainly going to be very similar for both factions.

GameSpy: When Arthas became a Death Knight, he became Undead...
Brack: He became a Scourge. He became not Undead like our Undead. Our Undead are freed of the Lich King's experience, but yeah.
GameSpy: So the question is, are these players Undead, and do they share any of their traits?
Brack: We're not going to let you have double racials. The way we'll handle that is with spells and abilities. Death Coil is a great example. Death Coil is a Death knight noah tability that either deals damage to an enemy, or heals a friend. Part of allowing all the races to be Death Knights is so that players can choose whatever racials make the most sense for them.
GameSpy: Do you find when making decisions like allowing all races to be a Death Knight, that you set aside the lore and realize that what's best for the players is strictly decided from a playability standpoint? Gnome Death knight noah may not "fit" within the lore, but if it's what the players want, you'll give it to them?
Brack: That's a good question. The lore is what makes Warcraft what it is, right? Some people were critical of the Draenei and how we introduced them. It's really on a case-by-case.