Know Your Rogue Lore: Veras Darkshadow

There isn't really a lot of official information regarding Veras Darkshadow the "rogue" member of the Illdari Council from Black Temple. However simple deduction does give us a bit of background and insight into this elusive character.

The Illdari Council is made up of four blood elf representatives from Kael'thas who have a dual purpose job. They are required to both watch Illidan, reporting back to Kael anything that may impact the blood elf interests and at the same time offer the Betrayer whatever support he may require in furthering their joint goals. The question arises as to whom their ultimate loyalty is with, Illidan, Kael'thas or someone else completely (such as their OWN personal interests).

Veras would have been one of the most talented Assassination rogues from the cream of the crop that Kael'thas took with him to Outland. However there is some speculation that in Veras we are also seeing a bit of the Demon hunter. Perhaps due to his close association with Illidan. The reason for this speculation is Veras' costume. He is actually sporting a recolored tier 6 Warlock skirt, the traditional demon hunter tattoos as well as a matching set of Fang of Vashj.  The daggers give a hint that Veras was a part of the Blood elves migration to Outland since it was Kael'thas initial deal with Lady Vashj that brought them in contact with Illidan in the first place. Like all rogues however he suffers from a version of the "vanish bug" in that a few seconds before he reappears he is both visible AND attackable to those close to him, he can even be marked.

Some consider Veras to be the most dangerous member of the Illdari Council as a direct result of his rogue abilities. His Envenom can cause 9to10k damage in a matter of seconds, easily causing a player to expire before a healer can react to save them. Yet when he is not in stealth he is stunable and has VERY low armor. (Not surprising when you consider he is running around half naked to show off his manly chest.) Yet he is  quite confident in his abilities to counter any comers as can be seen in his dying comments "You got lucky!"

Know Your Rogue Lore: Moroes

Ah Moroes, the second boss in Karazhan was once the bane of many guilds. Like every other rogue based boss he is not alone but has additional adds who accompany him. Who exactly is this individual and how did he come to be overseeing a ghostly party?

The vast majority of Moroes' history is documented in Jeff Grubb's novel "The Last Guardian" where the then young mage Khadgar is sent by the Kirin'Tor of Dalaran to be Medivh's apprentice just before the First War. Khadgar describes Moroes as a "whip-slender elderly man with a predominate nose". Yet it is not Moroes' nose that most catches Khadgar's attention rather his habit of wearing horse blinders at all times. It is those blinders that at first make Khadgar suspicious Medivh is actually using enchanted animals as his servants rather than mortal men. Moroes' clears up the issue slightly when questioned stating that he wears the blinders to keep out the visions often seen wandering the keep of Karazhan.

Like any good servant Moroes was dedicated to his job. Often putting up with many inconveniences to keep his master and his guests well cared for. The party he presently oversees is but a reflection of the types he would hold for the nobles of Darkshire, (then called Grand Hamlet) Karazhan's closest neighbor. If you take the time to look around at the guests you will discover that many of them share the surname of prominent NPC's from there. Most notable being Ebonlocke, who is not pleased to be wasting his time waiting for an audience with Medivh that seems less likely to happen with each passing day.

Moroes' human life did not end naturally, he was killed by his master Medivh shortly before that worthy died at the hands of his apprentice Khadgar. Khadgar buried Moroes next to his master knowing that it would please him. The only difficulty was that eternal rest was not to last.

When Prince Malchezaar arrived at Karazhan he attempted to raise Medivh's corpse to use as a puppet furthering the return of the Burning Legion. Instead he got Moroes. Moving on to the top most reaches of the keep, the prince abandoning him to oversee the other spirits now wandering the halls of Karazhan just as he had their living counterparts. For Moroes it is as if he never died. Even now he is behaving as if he is preparing for Medivh's return. While his present form is that of a Forsaken each day is spent locked in the eternal repetition of his life as a human. As he told the fleeing Khadgar just before his death, "where else do I have to go?"

Know Your Rogue Lore: Lana Stouthammer

I debated long and hard as to who I wanted to discuss as our last lore figure of the year. Finally I centered in on Lana Stouthammer. Lana is a confusing individual who came into existence in patch 3.1 because while she is an Alliance NPC her image for the Alliance is VERY different than it is for the Horde. Alliance players might not even be aware that she IS a rogue while Horde players are VERY aware of this. So lets take a look at her dual personality.

For Alliance players this was the Lana Stouthammer we were first introduced to as a Valiant quest giver for Ironforge. You will notice she is sporting Pally Tier 6. She is also a red head with a pony tail. This was later changed when the Argent Tournament Coliseum itself was opened with patch 3.2. (Though I think few people noticed as many of us had already gotten beyond the point of doing her quests.)

This is the Lana Stouthammer Alliance players will encounter today. Note she is NOW a double braided brunette sporting the rogue set of the Furious Gladiator Leather Armor from Arena Season 6 with two Aledar's Battlestar's and the all important Eye patch. (This is a different one than the classic Eye of Rend model and I haven't had any luck finding an exact match. Be sure once I do I will up date this as it looks sweet and I would love to get my hands on one.)

Again for Alliance Players Lana is the Champion for Ironforge and gives out Six Valiant quests for them.

A Valiant of Ironforge

A Valiant's Charge

A Blade Fit for a Champion

A Worthy Weapon

The Edge of Winter

The Valiant's Challenge

On a side note if you haven't managed to get to exalted reputation with Ironforge before this time it is always a good idea to just continue to do these quests until you almost reach it before you complete The Valiant's Challenge because once you become a Champion with Ironforge the other quests disappears as do their large reputation gaining benefits.

For Horde Players Lana is a frustrating joke, since as ALL players KNOW there ARE no Female Dwarf Rogues. So when they first encounter her in the Trial of the Champion they often mistake her for a hunter.

Lana will randomly appear as one of the three Alliance Champions during the Horde version of the Trial of the Champion five man dungeon. In this encounter she has several different abilities. The first phase is the joust phase in which she is mounted on her trusty Ram and can do charge, shield breaker and if a player is dis mounted, trample, stunning the player and causing them additional damage. It is the second phase for which she is most hated.

In phase two Lana shows two common rogue abilities plus an additional one that many rogues wish they had access to. The first is the classic Eviserate but unlike the rest of us she has no need to build up combo points. The second is Fan of Knives which she uses liberally. The final is a move called Poison Bottle which is an instant and has a 30 yard radius. It is this final move more than any others that has her so hated. She will fling this about and if you fail to move out of it the results can be disastrous especially for clothies.

Well that wraps us up for this year. I hope you all have enjoy this as much as I have researching and writing them. Again if any of you have specific rogues you would like me to cover please feel free to let me know!

Have a great and blessed New Year everyone!

Know Your Rogue Lore: Edwin VanCleef

The average player will first encounter Edwin VanCleef in Deadmines (at least if they are Alliance, Horde players may miss him all together.) His significance is easily lost as much of the detail of his lore is only touched on with in the game. What WOULD be known is that he is the leader of the Defias Brotherhood , a rag tag band of cut throats who are out to over throw Stromwind. It is his MOTIVATION for this that is frequently lost to players and it why VanCleef feels his cause is just that makes him SUCH an interesting figure.

Sources outside World of Warcraft the Video game will tell you that Edwin VanCleef started out his life the son of a Stonemason who learned every trick of the trade at this father's knee, but in addition to that Edwin had a gift with creating hidden rooms and mechanical devices as well as a childhood friendship with one Mathias Shaw. It was from Shaw that Edwin learned all there was to know about the rogue craft showing a natural aptitude for it. Deciding that a life of crime was more lucrative than a life of hard labor working for his father he used these gifts to become one of the most wanted Criminals in Stromwind. But then came the invasion of the Horde and the destruction of Stormwind.

When the call went out for Stonemasons and artisans after the Second War to help rebuild VanCleef was one of the FIRST to volunteer. He is credited with being the major architect behind the majority of the grander buildings in Stormwind, most notably Stormwind Cathedral.

Now while the rebuilding was taking place King Varian was away helping to round up the last of the Orcs from the Second War and place them in Interment camps. King Llane had been murdered during the war so Varian needed to meet with the other monarchs and strengthen ties, in addition to this he and his young wife had just had their first child, Anduin, named after the recently killed Sir Anduin Lothar another Father figure in Varian's life. (Now I know you are asking, what does Varian lore have to do with VanCleef? Bare with me, it had a BIG impact.)

With Varian off overseeing clean up efforts he left the rebuilding project in the hands of the Nobles of Stormwind. They were to make sure the project was handled in a speedy fashion but most importantly they were to see that the workers got PAID. Unfortunately through means both of the usual greedy kind as well as the more sinister work of a Lady Katrana Prestor while the work DID get done the PAYMENTS never materialized. Apparently while the King was away the Nobles decided to raise the taxes to "pay for the repairs" but then never bothered to pass the money along.

The King and his young family return to find Stormwind on the verge of a Riot. When he attempts to discover WHY the payments never took place and make things right, pandemonium breaks loose and in the confusion his young queen Tiffin is killed. Devastated at this final loss after so many Varian falls into a depression (fed by Lady Prestor) and basically is nothing more than a figure head for the next 10 years.

VanCleef and the REST of the Stonemasons, artisans and workers who the Nobles have cheated are tossed out, accused of killing the queen and disrupting the stability of the nation. With his means of making a legitimate living now removed, as well as being cheated out of what is rightfully his VanCleef swears revenge. Gathering up those others who will follow him he begins to lay a foundation of a completely different kind. The Defias Brotherhood is born.

VanCleef is an interesting character because he gets back to that idea of the "noble thief". He really feels he is "righting a wrong" a "Robin Hood" if you will. And it is really for this reason that I think he was chosen as the Alliance Rogue Armor set. The fact that his organization is all about "Over throwing the government" has lead a lot of people to really question this choice. But really he is all about "vengeance to settle the score" at least in his mind and in Lore. Even the quest givers who ultimately ask for his death are saddened that it has come to that point.

Couple of other interesting things of note with VanCleef. His Armor that he is wearing in Deadmines is the Madcap's set along with his classic Red Defias mask.