United Nations

No I am not referring to the international organization run out of New York but rather the guild achievement which has become a thorn in my side. Why do you ask? Because of a tiny little bug.

Originally the achievement was designed to look at every member in your guild who has earned revered reputation or "Veteran" rank. It would then take all their combined unique exalted reputations and count them towards the achievement. However at the moment it is only counting the the one member with the MOST exalted reputations.

Why is this a problem? Well the reward for this particular achievement is a non combat pet. The Dark Phoneix Hatchling. Personally I am not that much of a pet collector despite that fact that I have well over 100 of the little guys. HOWEVER, there are other members of my guild who are more, shall we say...dedicated? borderline obsessive? down right fanatical? when it comes to non combat pets. One of them just happens to be my fellow officer and mount farming partner.

With 85 different reputations in this game this achievement seems deceptively simple until you break it down into what ones you can actually obtain. First of all you have to subtract the ones that are only available to your faction.

That means if you are Alliance you have Stormwind, Ironforge, Gnomergan, Darnassus, Exodar, and Gilneas as your racial cities. These also affect your battle ground alliances in that with Warsong Gulch you fight for the Silverwing Sentinels of Darnassus, the League of Arathor in Arathi Basin, the Stormpike Guard in Alterac Valley and provide support to  Baradins' Wardens in Tol Barad. The Wintersaber Trainers trust only those special few alliance to aid them in the snows of Winterspring. While in Outland both Honor Hold and the Kurenai receive exclusively Alliance support. Then in Northrend we have the Alliance Vanguard  which is made up for four sub factions, the Explorers' League, the Frostborn, The Silver Covenant, and the Valiance Expedition. Even in Cataclysm our faction divides continue with the Wildhammer Clan fighting for land against a group of  orcs in the Twilight Highlands.

Don't fret Horde. You have an equal number of individuals you are just as dedicated to. Orgrimmar, Undercity, Silvermoon City, Thunder Bluff, the Darkspear Trolls and the Bridgewater Cartel are all your founding homes. There is a little village of Fosaken and Blood Elves in the Ghostlands called Tranquilien where you offer your assistance in cleansing those lands of the scourge. In battle the  Warsong Outriders',  The Defilers', the Frostwolf Clan and Hellscreams' Reach all cry "For the Horde!" Thrallmar and the Mag'har bring honor to a lost son and  former Warchief. In Northrend your new war chief got his first taste of battle while leading the combined forces of the Horde Expedition, specifically the Warsong Offensive, while working with the Hand of Vengeance, the Taunka and the Sunreavers.  This experience helped him to forge new alliances with the Dragonmaw Clan.

So that means that each faction has nineteen reputations specific to them. So scratch them out of your 85. From there you can further remove the Bloodsail Buccaneers, the Syndicate, as well as the Magram and Gelkis Centaur clans. Why? Because these four only reach honored or just over in their reputations. Meaning they can never count toward the exalted.

Then you have the factions where you have to chose sides. The Aldor or the Scryers? The Oracles or the Frenzyheart Tribe? Sure you can reach exalted rep with them both at separate times but all that counts is the reputations you happen to have AT THAT TIME. Two more off the list.

Well Dar that still has us at 60. That is STILL plenty of wiggle room. Right? Well not quite, you see some on that list are old. Like Zul' Gurub, which doesn't exist anymore. So you can also subtract the Zandalar Tribe unless you happened to have gotten that reputation before hand. The same goes for the Shen'dralar in Dire Maul. While the quest books still drop, some of the items needed to complete those quests like the Blood of Heroes are no longer in the game, leaving you rather stuck since they were all Bop items you can't buy on the auction house.

From there you have the reputations which can only be gained INSIDE raids. The Hydraxian Waterlords for example is a complete nightmare as once you get past a certain point you only get few hundred points of reputation for each boss kill. This means it will take MONTHS of FULL CLEARS of Molton Core to reach exalted.  Then there is the Brood of Nozdormu out of the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (AQ 40).  These guys you start out at Hated so it takes quite a while to do a complete reversal, again many full clears as killing trash will only get you to neutral, after that it takes boss kills and quests.

Thankfully by the time we went through the Dark Portal we were able to start earning reputation by killing just about anything in a raid. So the Ashtonque Deathsworn of Black Temple, The Scales of Sands of Mt Hyjal, The Violet Eye of Karazhan and the more recent Ashen Verdict of Ice Crown Citadel just required hours of time spent killing monsters along with bosses. If you aren't a raider however that means you could be missing six reputations, a hefty chunk.

There was a dark cloud to this as well. There are also some factions who you can only get reputations with INSIDE a dungeon. This was an idea that was played around with by the now basically defunct Argent Dawn. Lower City, the Keepers of Time, Cenarion Expedition and the Sha'tar in Outland all require you to crawl around in SPECIFIC dungeons if you wanted to build reputation with them.  In Northrend and now back in the old world they have loosed things so that if you just wear a tabard showing who you support while in dungeons of specific levels you can gain reputations with the faction of your choice. At this point both Ramkahem and the Guardians of Hyjal force you to do this to get to exalted with them.

Other factions believe in giving you a little more variety. For them you can choose to either do repetitive daily quests OR run around wearing their tabard while you dungeon crawl.  The Wrymrest Accord, Argent Crusade, Kirin Tor, Knights of the Ebon Blade, and Therazane all fall into this category.

This leaves us with the neutral factions who think we have nothing better to do than either grind for repeatable turn in quests or keep coming back day after day for tortuous daily quests.  Of the turn in variety we have the Cenarion Circle in Silithus,  the Timbermaw in Winterspring, and the Consortium in Outland.  Then you have the Sporeggar of Zangarmarsh who either have you kill the same mobs over and over again or do endless turn ins. Take your pick. The torturous daily quests were first introduced by the Sha'tari Skyguard and Ogri'la. It was perfected by the Shattered Sun Offensive, who then passed all their knowledge on to the Kalu'ak and the Sons of Hodir. That knowledge seems to only grow as the years go on.

This leaves us with just a few stragglers. The Thorium Brotherhood, who now have a slightly more pronounced presence this expansion but you can still only find the higher reputation items inside Molton Core or via mining the few Dark Iron nodes found outside.  Unless your a Rogue or manage to sweet talk one, your going to have a hard time getting past honored with Ravenholdt as it requires pick pocketed Locked Boxes.  Darkmoon Faire is only in select locations once a month and unless you are a Scribe getting the Darkmoon Faire Decks you need to gain favor with them will cost you a pretty penny.

Finally we have the Steamwheedle Cartle.  Now before Cataclysm there was a fairly easy way to gain reputation with these guys inside Dire Maul, as part of the tribute run. As they are still part of the Insane in the Membrane achievement I will assume you can still do it but I haven't been able to verify that yet. Booty Bay, Everlook, Gadgetzan, and Ratchet are all part of this goblin cartel (not to be confused with the group that joined with the Horde). Their reputations are unique even though they all work for the same trade prince. Think of it as getting in good with each separate store manager for the chain. The others might put in a good word for you but each of them would like to see for themselves what you have to offer. (Typical goblins.)

So where does that leave us? If you happen to have some of the old reputations like Argent Dawn, Zandalar Tribe and Shen'dralar as well as having the benefit of being a Rogue so you have Ravenholdt, you would have the nice amount of Fifty eight reputations available to you to do this achievement. That is right, fifty eight out of fifty five.  In other words if you DO NOT happen to have ANY of the old reputations, you will not be able to get this achievement until one of two things happens. Either Blizzard fixes the bug or they add additional factions. Either way, all you non combat fanatics are going to have to do the one thing you hate, which is wait.

Thankfully for my peace of mined I have all of them, I am actually sitting at fifty three exalted reputations at the moment with my guild anxiously awaiting me to get my last two.  The question is just what I will hit exalted with first.  I just pray I can get it done within the next day or two so I can have some peace. I have been slacking on my dungeon crawls to focus on some other things much to their great frustration.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Lilian Voss

As a newly arisen Forsaken you encounter a young woman by the name of Lilian Voss. Like you she has recently been resurrected into the life of the walking undead, however she is not adjusting well. The Forsaken have a fairly simple philosophy about the recently awakened, you either serve Sylvanas or you die permanently. They give you the illusion of choice but that is the sum of your options. They will grant you some time to come to grips with this if they feel there is potential for you to come around to their way of thinking. It is this "give her time" path that is left open for Lilian and leads to all sorts of interesting encounters.

Lilian Voss is no ordinary corpse. To be perfectly honest she doesn't really have a classification other than "undead" but there are a few things that lead me to place her in the "rogue" family, not the least of which being that when she first runs off you find her hiding out behind the rogue trainer or displaying our trade mark skill "stealth".  A Scarlet Crusader in life, her father is an area ranking priest who groomed her to be a weapon against the undead. Unfortunately with her recent transformation her usefulness to him has reached its end. Lilian finds herself torn between the life she once lead and one she now finds herself presented with.

The Scarlet Crusade is very aware of what Lilian is capable of. When Lilian attempts to contact her father, thinking he will protect her, she instead discovers that despite who she was in life,  the Scarlet Crusade holds true to its ideals. Her Father orders her execution at the hands of her one time friend. Declared a "witch" along with all the usual foul names they bestow upon the Forsaken, she escapes, bewildered and enraged.

It is when faced with second death that Lilian's true nature emerges. Lilian's education while living was very well rounded. Not only was she trained in the traditional assassin arts of stealth, weaponry, and martial arts but also sorcery.  When you first stumble across some of Lilian's handy work it is the evidence of this added element that grabs your attention. All of Lilian's kills glow with purple fire. The Forsaken generally prefer that corpses remain in one piece, (spare body parts or future Forsaken you understand) so this could be a problem. However Lilian demonstrates that while this is her preferred method of disposing of people, she can show profound creativity, as displayed with Captain Sanders, who she suspends by one foot at the outskirts of his camp.

When you encounter Lilian for the final time at Captain Sander's corpse she lets you know that she could easily dispose of you just as she has all the others but instead she is going to allow you to help her obtain her revenge. Her father High Priest Voss, is hiding surrounded by flunkies in his tower to the west of Scarlet Monastery. For creating a killer, rejecting her in her hour of need, then ordering her death, Voss must now reap the rewards. You need only to escort Lilian there. As a rogue this is of course incredibly easy, you can both stealth by every thing, however as any other class you will also find it rather simple as Lilian will quickly dispatch the Scarlet Guards in the area. (It reminded me a bit of the scene in Blind where the Rogue was entering Stormwind Keep, not quite that quick but impressive for a level 10.) Once you get to the tower don't let Lilian out of your sight because she quickly gets to the matter at hand, confronting her Father, if you blink, you will miss it.

After delivering her final embrace Lilian disappears, but her mark remains on those who have encountered her. As High Executor Derrington remarks "With power like hers, we could do incredible things." Lets explore that for a moment. The Deathstalkers are in shambles after Varimathras' betrayal of Sylvanas, many question their loyalty, constantly looking over their shoulders. Now lets say they manged to bring into their ranks a recruit like Lilian and adopted her methods? Sylvanas right now is fighting a war on two fronts not just literally with the Alliance but also within the Horde and their perceptions of  the Forsaken. At the moment she is winning the physical war as she bolsters her troop numbers from the deceased, making the Horde despite themselves dependent on her.  If Sylvanas can also rebuild her feared Assassins into something even MORE than they were before...the Hour of the Forsaken could indeed be at hand.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Captain Rupert

Quite a while ago I used this series to argue that someone many thought of as a Rogue really wasn't. This time I want to do the opposite. There is a hidden rogue in our midst that gets missed because he is so deceptive. His true nature has not been discussed until now.

Captain Rupert is a member of the Argent Crusade, first introduced as part of a series of quests in Zul'Drak. Dressed exactly like his colleagues, his only distinguishing feature is that Rupert is VERY fond of explosives. Players assist Rupert in securing his section of Zul'Drak by taking his bombs and blowing up Nerubian tunnels, burning the corpses of falling comrades or bulling fearful Argent Crusaders back into the fight. As a Forsaken Rupert knows better than anyone what it means to be under the control of the Lich King. His aversion to returning to that state fuels him on.

When we reach Icecrown Citadel and head towards the Frostwing, Captain Rupert, as well has his colleagues appear via the transporter. If you take the time to look you will notice they have all undergone a wardrobe change. These new looks give you a hint as to the classes they represent. Captain Brandon is a paladin, Captain Grondel a warrior, Captain Arnath a priest but what about Rupert? He just his throws bombs around and talks about explosives right? Take a look at his gear.

Rupert is wearing the Terrorblade set, they didn't even take the time to recolor it. Perhaps they thought that since he was a Forsaken we would miss the distinguishing marks. My friends, Rupert is an engineer loving Rogue.

When Rupert first arrives at Icecrown Citadel he remarks that he can feel the Lich King watching, his former service giving him an added awareness. As you make your way down the hallway towards Sister Svalna she will peg each of the Captains off with a lance. When Rupert falls he refers to having a worthy afterlife and asks you to burn his body just as he requested for the fallen soldiers in Zul'Drak there by preventing him from becoming a mindless pawn. When he is raised to serve the Lich King for a second time, Rupert is not pleased. For your failure in fulfilling his last wish Rupert treats you to an added taste of his explosive arsenal, proclaiming we will all burn. In the end however Rupert will fall, sadly this is finally the end for a worthy Rogue. So the next time you are in ICC take the time to get a closer look at Captain Rupert.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Deathstalker Visceri

Deathstalker Visceri is one of the Argent Grand Champions from Trial of the Champion. This individual is the essence of "divided loyalties".  For the Horde he represents the Undercity within the Sunreaver Pavilion.  Specifically he sends players off to get weapons from the various " Water Ladies" as well as starting and ending the Undercity Valliant quests.

Many fail to make note of his Title, it means more than just an identification of his class. Visceri is a DEATHSTALKER. You remember these guys?  The Deathstalker's were Varimathras' elite collection of assassins and spies who assisted in the work the Royal Apothecary was doing with the New Plague. Usually by keeping any information concerning it from getting out to the REST of the Horde. After the Battle for the Undercity there was much question as to WHO exactly these guys were loyal to, Sylvanas or someone else? Visceri ended up in Northrend working with the Argent Crusade and representing the Forsaken. The question then becomes, did he come of his own violation, looking for a fresh start or was he SENT for some OTHER purpose?

When the Argent Tournament was FIRST introduced Visceri was dressed in warrior plate garb. This changed when the actual Arena was finished and he is now appropriately dressed in Deadly Gladiator's Vestments. It is his WEAPONS that are the most intriguing. He is sporting a pair of Spinal Destroyers. These daggers can only be obtained by Horde, who may purchase them with Champion's Seals. Usually when you see a weapon there will be others using the same model but different colors. This is not the case for this particular dagger, it is unique. The bones along the upper edge seem fitting for an Undead who always has his spine poking out.

Visceri's fighting style is identical to his Alliance counterpart Lana Stouthammer. While in our present state of being over geared for encounters his Poison Bottle is not QUITE as deadly as it use to be, it can still be an annoyance. Many players still fail to avoid the deadly green goo which rapidly ticks away at their health. If you don't have a poison cleanser in your group it is best to just avoid them all together. His Fan of Knives was also not be as damaging as it once was, though he still favors this move.

Visceri still manages to hold on to his secrets and for the time seems pleased to be competing in the Tournament forcing players to joust despite how much they may hate it. What more could a Forsaken ask for?

Those Female Leaders in WoW

Let me just start out by saying I do not consider myself a feminist (mostly because modern feminist come across as male hating individuals more ASHAMED of their femininity and jealous of  those with the dangly body parts than anything else.) However, WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THE  FEMALE LEADERS OF WOW?!?!?

It all started with Jania Proudmore.

When we were FIRST introduced to her in the games and even in the books she was a STRONG character. Someone who put PRINCIPLE before sentimental considerations. Her intense desire to study coming about because she was pretty much ignored by her father and brother unless as a political tool. She overcomes that to become one of the most noted mages of the age, gaining attention and instruction from members of the KirinTor's Seven (not to mention a few love lorn others). This is a young woman who pretty much single handily saved the human race while others were denying that the world was falling apart around them.

I know players who when they first encounter her at Theramore were going "that's JANIA PROUDMORE!!!" Their voices filled with awe and reverence that she was standing before them STILL doing her duty. Even when she showed up in the Ulduar Cinematic her thoughts were all about trying to maintain a balance and find solutions.

Back when Jania had her more "innocent" model she was someone members of the Alliance looked up to....but what is she now? Give the girl some bedroom eyes and turn her into a weeping soggy hanky....she sets my teeth on edge. Lets watch the idiot go chasing after her first lover demanding to know the "truth". (Honey he is a lost cause and EVERYONE has been telling you that for a while.) Varian shows some compassion to an Orc (because he is a father too and can emphasize, besides we all know that Surafang can kick butt) and you start bawling.

What happened to her SPINE?!?! This is the SAME gal who told Rexxar "go ahead and kill my father, he is about to destroy our hard won peace." Jania worked with those responsible for the death of many of her people because it was the ONLY way to save them all. Head held high the entire time. Now she is bursting into tears every other minute? What did you guys GIVE her when you changed her model?!?! Can we PLEASE get the strong Jania back rather than this mush pile we have now?

Next we have Tyrande Whisperwind, de facto leader of the Night Elves. Here is a woman who when you are first introduced to her has NO desire to be a leader, but she stands by her convictions even to the point of betraying some of her own people to get done what SHE thinks is best for them all in the long run. She was a fighter, a healer but most importantly of all she knew what her job was and was committed to doing it to the best of her ability no matter what the personal consequences. Her devotion to her goddess was equal to her devotion to her lover.


So what do we have now? A woman who went from making difficult and controversial decisions to cheerleader. Someone so over committed to her man that she waits around bouncing while he takes a 10,000 year long nap. (Come on the guy can't take the time to MARRY her first?) The changes you see in Tyrande from Warcraft III to WoW, and even more when you see her in the books are striking. Most notable to me is they removed ANY hint of her abilities as a fighter in game. Of all the faction bosses she is the EASIEST to take down. What happened to her constant companion white tiger mount? Her weapons (when she has them) consist of a  TEENY TINY little bow that looks as crappy as a level 5 weapon and a VERY plain three point glave. There isn't a HINT of her age about her, she looks more like a love struck teenager than the centuries old leader of her people. Someone who has seen her home destroyed several times and been forced to rebuild again ALONE should have SOME hint of that about her.

Soon we are going to have good ole Malfurion back, the question is will Tyrande just be tamely stepping down or will Horde now have DUAL bosses when they go after the Darnassus leaders?  If you look at the book Stormrage, Malfurion is aware that he has no clue how to lead his people, not like Tyrande anyway, who has had WAY to much practice at it. In the end the hint is they will be co-rulers. One can hope, she has earned it after all these years wearing a Mooncloth robe.

The only female leader who has really come out ahead is Lady Sylvanas Windrunner aka The Banshee Queen, but even SHE is not immune.

In their quest to make her every teenage boy's fantasy she went through two complete model changes. Now I am not saying she didn't need an update. First of all she was suppose to be one of the greatest archers of all time yet before she held not a bow in her hand but a staff. There were always questions about the fact that her model was that of a Night Elf but she was a High Elf. When the Blood Elves were introduced, her getting a model change seemed a given, if nothing else to have her appear more as she aught and less like they were to lazy to create a specific model for her.

What problem could I possibly have with Sylvanas? I mean come on she kicks butt right? Thankfully they scrapped the second model they used for her which looked more like a prissy fashionista than a fighter. Yeah, at least they had her looking like a High Elf but it just didn't fit Sylvanas's "eat arrows" and "bend to my will" attitude. The third and final model is MUCH better, only complaint I have is that they really just used the same thing for her that they did for Alexstrasza just different helm and coloration.

The major issue I have with her is that she went from being a methodical planner to a vengeful obsessive who no longer takes the time to consider her actions. Sylvanas has ALWAYS been a planner. She ALWAYS thinks five steps ahead, plotting and planning even when she was a slave to the Lich King and had no control over her actions. Do you REALLY think she would so TOTALLY lose her head that she would go running after Arthas, abandoning all her assistance on the SLIM chance she could take him out alone? She couldn't even take him out by her self  BEFORE and she KNOWS he is going to be more powerful now than he was then.

Sylvanas has ALWAYS been intelligent, methodical and  focused. Sure she wants her revenge, so much so that the very fact that she would jeopardize it all on an enraged impulse just doesn't ring true for me.  This is the same reason I can't buy the whole "Sylvanas had NO IDEA what the Royal Apothecary was doing". Of COURSE she knew what they were doing, the whole "New Plague" was no surprise to her, she told them to create it. The only problem was they didn't use it when SHE wanted them to so now she will have to start all over again, dodging her keepers all the while. She is a banshee, she can manipulate with the best of them.

We have an expansion coming in which we know the dragons are going to play a central role. Of the five aspects, only the two female leaders, Alexstrasza and Ysera are still standing. At this point in time they are besieged but strong, based on what they have done so far with the other female leaders, please pardon the anxiety I have regarding their fate. I can only hope they allow them to remain pillars of strength and inspiration rather than turning them into fragments of their former glory like they did with Jania.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Drool The Griefer

I'm sure you all thought I had forgotten today. (No I hadn't but I was kinda busy demoing a wall in my bathroom so blog time got pushed back until REALLY late.)

Drool is another one of our favorite types of Rogue lore characters, a member of the Dalaran Player NPC gang. Yes, the Horde managed to have TWO rogue representatives, our protest is of course in the mail.

Drool has a uniquely colored Tier 6/Season 3 set which further sets him apart. (I personally like the look, but then black always DOES appeal to me on a rogue.) Of course he represents the classic rogue "pvp ganker" who spends the majority of his time doing nothing more than harassing others. However he is nothing but polite while wanders the streets of Dalaran checking out the various professions and banks before disappearing.

His name is derived from his lack of a lower jaw which causes him to drool at all times. Sadly he could not recall anything more from his former life, or if he does he chooses not to dwell on it, including his former name.

Rep: The Sunreavers

There as been a great deal of confusion regarding this last faction of the Horde Expedition. Specifically who they are and how they came to be there. The Sunreavers are a group of Blood Elves who petitioned the Kirin Tor for the acceptance of the New Horde. This is HUGE as the Old Horde was responsible for almost completely destroying the city of Dalaran during the Second War. While the Kirin Tor and Dalaran specifically have attempted to remain neutral during the various conflicts that have plagued Azeroth that does not mean that they have remained uninvolved observers.  This dual citizenship conflict is most recently played out in the form of Archmage Aethas Sunreaver.

Archmage Sunreaver is a member of the Council of Six, the ruling body of the Kirin Tor. He took the position Prince Kael'thas abandoned following the destruction of Silvermoon City. It has not been an easy transition and his presence has not been welcomed by everyone, most notably his cousin Vereesa Windrunner, who happens to be the spouse of the Kirin Tor's present leader Rhonin. However he has persevered and though his efforts managed to establish a sanctuary for the Horde within Dalarn itself.  His supporters have taken the name "Sunreavers" to honor him and his tireless efforts. Another thing of note, at the beginning of the expansion Aethas was not wearing a tabard but that was later changed, while he still is affiliated with the Kirin Tor he wears the Sunreaver tabard.

Like their Silverwing counterparts players were teased at the beginning of the Wrath expansion with a faction bar but no way to gain reputation. This was rectified with patch 3.1 and the introduction of the Argent Tournament, here the Sunreavers play host to the Horde forces. Originally the plan was for the Tournament to take place in Crystalsong Forest just under Dalaran, as a result small bases were constructed in the zone complete with flight paths. However Blizzard soon realized that with all the activity taking place overhead it created to much lag so they relocated it to Icecrown.

Horde players can now gain reputation with the Sunreavers in two ways. By doing the daily quests located at the Argent Tournament or by running level 80 dungeons while not wearing a reputation granting tabard. Once you have reached Champion with at least one of the home factions as well as exalted with the Sunreavers additional daily quests will become available to you. More importantly players will be able to purchase the flying mount, land mount, pet and tabard for their various collections.


Happy Grinding!

Know Your Rogue Lore: Deathstalker Zraedus and Infiltrator Marksen

Today's Know Your Rogue Lore is a Two for One because you just can't talk about Deathstalker Zraedus without bringing up Infiltrator Marksen. You may have noticed I am somewhat on a "foreshadowing" kick where I am looking at characters from our early questing days who had information that is impacting us directly now. There is another difference today, there is really no way you can look at Deatherstalker Zraedus as a "hero", this is a guy with a job to do and he doesn't care who gets hurt while he gets it done.

Deathstalker Zraedus is a Forsaken agent stationed at Beggar's Haunt, a lonely tower tucked up near the entrance to Deadwind Pass in Duskwood. Despite his rather out of the way location his job is a rather important one. He is to monitor Alliance activity in the area, keep an eye on the home of the Last Guardian Medivh, assist the Royal Apothecary Society members who come to him with whatever needs they have and most importantly keep the REST of the Horde from discovering his presence. Like all Deathstalkers his loyalty is to Varimathras first, even over the Forsaken as a whole. Unfortunately for Zraedus he has had a little bit of a problem with a certain scout by the name of Marksen.

Marksen is an Alliance agent who was given the task of monitoring the activities of the Horde in the Swamp of Sorrows. While doing that he stumbles across the Royal Apothecary Society working on the New Plague. Panicked by his discovery and what it could mean, he makes a break for Alliance lines only to stumble into a Orc patrol. Luckily for Zraedus Marksen's capture was preformed with the usual Orcish enthusiasm which means that he hasn't been in any condition to talk to ANYONE until recently. Zraedus can not be certain that Marksen will risk sharing his information with the Horde but he certainly is not going to allow failure to happen on HIS watch.

Zraedus comes up with a plan. He recruits a local horde player who happens to be passing though the area telling them that he is on a "Survey Mission" for Varimathras' and has noticed the local Orc's captured an Alliance spy. Since he can not leave HIS mission and he SO wants to help, would the player be SO kind as to speak with his colleague Royal Apothecary member Faustin?  He is CERTAIN with just a little help together we can whip up a "truth serum" for the Orc's "Guest".

I don't know how many Horde players I have talked to who reach the end of this quest chain and just scratch their heads bewildered....usually because they failed to read the text and listen to the comments made by the NPC's. As a result they had NO IDEA what was really going on.  I can only say if you have not done these quests yourself, (and it is an EASY one to miss) things do not go well for poor Marksen. He is only able to tell you that "the Forsaken are misleading the allies of the Horde" before he starts to feel dizzy. If you go back to Zraedus he has nothing more to say to you. You have served your purpose as far as he is concerned.

Rep: Taunka

The Taunka are an interesting addition to the Horde Expedition forces. Discovered by Garrosh Hellscream shortly after his arrival in Northrend he is able to convince these ancestral cousins of the Tauren to assist them in their fight against not only the scourge but the Alliance as well. This is an astounding feat as the Taunka are already engaged in the task of grim survival against the elements and over all seem to be losing. Unlike their Tauren brethren the Taunka view the elements as something to bend to their will rather than a cooperative partnership, perhaps this is why Garrosh deals so well with them. Horde players will encounter them shortly after their arrival in Northrend as quests for this faction are located both in Howling Fjord and the Borean Tundra.

The exact origin of the Taunka is lost. There is some speculation that the Taunka could in fact be the Icemist Tauren, a fact further reinforced by the name of their capital Icemist Village. The Icemist Tauren were introduced back in the World of Warcraft Roleplaying Game and the similarities between the two are certainly there. Physically they resemble Bison more than Cattle along with having significantly lighter coloration than the Tauren.

While technically the Taunka have six villages in Northrend players will quickly discover that the vast majority of them are being evacuated or abandoned as the Taunka are finding themselves overwhelmed. Icemist Village has been completely overrun and destroyed by Nerubians leaving the Taunka without their main home. Taunka'le Village is being evacuated in anticipation of a scourge attack. Camp Winterhoof is planning to evacuate. Camp Oneqwah, a place many Taunka are fleeing to as a  refuge is dealing with neighboring humans who are actually Worgen.  This leaves really only Westwind Refuge and Camp Tunka'lo as safe havens.

While Garrosh may have thought gaining the Taunka to his cause would be a way to strengthen his armies in actuality it in fact is bringing THEM more benefit and saving THEM as a people from extinction. It may not have been intentional but Garrosh has become a hero to this people by bringing the Horde to their aid and perhaps this will aid him as nothing else in his raise as leader by saving these cousins to the Tauren.

Before Patch 3.3 you would cap out at Honored with this faction after doing all of the 79 quests available for them. Since that patch you can now gain reputation with them as a Horde player by doing level 80 dungeons while not wearing a reputation granting tabard as well as by doing the Champion level quests for the Argent Tournament.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Agent Skully

I couldn't write about the Hand of Vengeance on Tuesday and NOT write about one of my favorite members of it today, Agent Skully. (Yes, obvious pop culture reference to Gillian Anderson's character Agent Dana Scully of the X-files.)

While Agent Skully appears human she is in actuality a Forsaken disguised to appear as a member of the Scarlet Onslaught due to the use of a Magic Mirror. Her mission is to discover the Scarlet Onslaught's strange immunity to the New Plague as well as any other plans they may have which could hinder the Hand of Vengeance in their goals. Her exact position is as the Onslaught's Cemetery Caretaker which allows her to hang out behind the chapel and closely examine any of the recently deceased.

For Horde players she has four quests which give you the opportunity to assist her in uncovering just what is going on with the Scarlet Onslaught and the strange new "blessing" they are being provided by their "Bishop". The first quest Without a Prayer sends you after the Bishop's prayer book. (What is interesting about this is for Rogues for the first time in a VERY long time you can actually Pick Pocket the item off the Bishop.) The Perfect Dissemblance allows you to also play with the mirror for a short time. (Druids have a hard time with this quest as they often forget to shift out of form first causing the mirror to fail.) A Fall from Grace tends to take players by surprise (I won't spoil the punch line for you) but I do like Skully's line when you report to her following it. The Truth Will Out is Skully's final quest for players. (Another X-files reference) Take the time to read the General's Diary if you would like a more complete understanding of what is going on.

Some of you might be wondering if Skully is at New Hearthglen, where is Molder? Well don't fret, her old partner is not far off. Deathguard Molder can be found at Venmonspite. What is truly scary is that they actually changed his model so he looks MORE like David Duchovny.

Rep: Hand of Vengence

Ah, the Hand of Vengeance, supposedly this is Lady Sylvanas contribution to the war effort in Northrend. On paper they are an equal part of the Horde Expedition working together towards the ultimate defeat of  their former master, Arthas, or The Lich King. However all is not as it seems amongst the Hand of Vengeance. The military members are in no way focused on assisting the rest of the Horde forces, rather their single task is to assist the Royal Apothecary Society members scattered about their various bases of operations in producing and distributing  The New Plague. The presence of the Deathstalkers further demonstrates this.

As a result of the Hand of Vengeance's single focus they are not very prevalent in Northrend. Specific quests for this faction can only be located in two places Howling Fjord and Dragonblight, (A total of only 53 in all.) Howling Fjord has the largest portion with its four quest hubs, Vengeance Landing, New Agamand, Ghostblade and The Apothecary Camp. In Dragonblight their focus is solely in Venomspite even though the final result will be seen at Kor'korn Vanguard, or more correctly at the Wrathgate just below it.

The discerning player will soon pick up on the undercurrents as quest after quest you assist in "perfecting" the New Plague and Royal Apothecary members work at adapting it to the Northrend environment. Failure is NOT an option for this faction as their policy of  no mercy for the captured clearly demonstrates.

Before patch 3.3 getting to exalted with this faction was an impossibility. There were NO repeatable quests available and few quests outside of the two aforementioned zones that offered spill over reputation for them. With patch 3.3 however Horde players can now earn reputation with the Hand of Vengeance both by running level 80 dungeons while not wearing a reputation granting tabard or by doing the daily quests offered at the Argent Tournament in Icecrown at Champion level. This simple change has made all the difference.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Galkara the Assassin

Wandering about the Underbelly of Dalaran is our Lore figure for today. Galkara the Assassin, is a member of the infamous Dalaran Player NPC's.  A rather extensive group representing every class for both the Horde and the Alliance on the streets of Dalaran.The idea behind these guys is that they dress and walk around in a similar manner of the average player.

An Orc Rogue, Galkara represents Arena when it first began. She is dressed in the easily obtainable Opportunist set but carries no weapons. (With her name one would expect daggers, though for the time she represents many used Maces). This was the gear many Rogues wore when they first ventured into the Arenas at level 70. However Galkara has an inside deal somewhere which has allowed her to also optain a matching pair of boots and belt which are not available to players.

She is most frequently spotted at the Alchemist Cinesra purchasing poisons before she heads down to the Arena of Wills to see the Vendors there, at that point she will head up towards Krasus' Landing then disappear as she is called into an arena battle. She can also be spotted coming from the inner room at the Cantrips and Crows Inn then making her way around the Arena of Wills before disappearing. Unlike the majority of the other Dalarn Player NPCs Galkara is never found above ground. Like the rogue she is her home is in the lower levels and the shadows as she works her way up the Arena rankings.

Many have been filled with curiosity about her but she doesn't have time to stop and chat. You can't even get information about who her partners are or in which brackets she is competing. Perhaps she is only just participating in practice ones. At this point we may never know as she again fades away.

Rep: Warsong Offensive

Last week we looked at the Alliance Expedition this week we are going to look at its Horde counter part the Warsong Offensive.  Lead by the controversial Garrosh Hellscream this branch of the Warsong Clans original objective was to gain a foothold and establish strongholds in Northrend in order for the Horde to advance their fight against the scourge. This would later change. This is a faction that is fighting tooth and nail every step of the way as it progresses across Northrend just to survive let alone achieve its objective.

When the Horde arrived in the Borean Tundra it was to find that the Alliance had already claimed the only harbor for their own. This forced them to locate their own fortress further down the coast. Warsong Hold, the main base of operations for the Warsong Offensive was plagued with difficulties from the onset not the least of which being their continued struggle with supplies. Garrosh is of the opinion that simply removing the Alliance will solve all the problems while his more experienced Co Commander High Overlord Varok Saurfang has made it quite clear he will remove GARROSH if the need arises rather than revisit the failures of the past. Tension within the command structure is common in this faction and players will quickly become aware of it as they journey along the quest hubs.

The Warsong Offensive also works closely with a second member of the Horde Expedition, The Taunka. I am not going to go into detail about these cousins to the Tauren at this time other than to say that it is the Warsong Offensive that is responsible for rediscovering them and Garrosh specifically for encouraging pursuing their recruitment into the Horde forces.

The tensions between the Horde and the Alliance are the least in Dragonblight, more due to their separation than true cooperation. With the Alliance focused more on Naxramas and the Horde on Azjol-Nerub the areas of conflict are minimal between the two factions. This of course completely dissolves after the events at Wrathgate. From that point on it is open warfare.

The leadership tensions are also at there most dramatic when Horde players head into Grizzly Hills shortly after and encounter the Sisters Krenna and Gorgonna. Here not only are you dealing with the conflict over the zone but a leader who cares not one wit about you as a trooper. Even going so far as ignoring vital information since it is not part of her personal agenda. The final showdown is one few players will want to miss.

From there players have a choice as to wither they will go into Icecrown or Stormpeaks. The play experience is very different as is the lore.

In Icecrown Horde players will find themselves chasing down the Zeplin Orgrim Hammer as they combat not only the scourge but the Alliance as well. A sharp contrast to the Argent Crusade's call for unity at the tournament close by. Some of the individuals you will find on the Orgrim Hammer like the Death Knight Kolitra Deathweaver of the Knights of the Ebon Blade are a good representation of both the internal conflict as well as the conflict of interest some players may have while questing. Those who have read the recent release World of Warcraft: Death Knight will be more aware of  Kolitra's close relationship with his Alliance counterpart Thassarian.

In Stormpeaks on the other hand Horde players are facing a completely different issue. This zone is almost all about history. Here Horde players encounter the intrepid Brann Bronzebeard for the first time along with the Horde version Xarantaur the Witness.  If you are a Lore nut don't skip the quests in this zone but as for reputation gaining quests there are really not that many of them at the two quest hubs located here.

One of the largest changes to effect this faction took place in patch 3.1. when this faction became the Command force for the Horde in the Stand of the Ancients Battleground. Another was in Patch 3.3 when players we able to begin gaining reputation with this faction by killing mobs and bosses in level 80 dungeons.

Over all this is a fairly easy faction to gain reputation with in that it has a total of 145 reputation granting quests over five zones and seven quest hubs. Of those 145, nine are repeatable daily pvp quests. Four in Grizzly Hills and Five in Icecrown.

Rep: Alliance Vanguard and Horde Expedition.

Well we did it, we completed all of the reputations from the Burning Crusade and now move on to those we are dealing with right now in Wrath of the Lich King and Northrend. Congratulations! You will soon discover that at least four of them work in conjunction with one another reputation wise.

For the Alliance this coalition is called the Alliance Vanguard. The Horde equivalent is called the Horde Expedition. Simply put they are the combined forces of either the Alliance or the Horde in Northrend, made up of "sub-factions" which all feed into them. Earning reputation with the SUB factions is what allows you to gather your reputation for the "head faction". In addition to this running any dungeon in Northrend while NOT wearing a faction tabard will grant you reputation with these faction based upon your affiliation. Before patch 3.3 the head factions were the ONLY one of the factions who you could gain reputation with in this way. However as of the patch it now also grants reputation with each of the SUB factions, though on a MUCH lower scale.

The four Sub Factions that make up the Alliance Vanguard are: The Dwarven run Explorer's League, with Brann Bronzebeard as their head. The Human controlled Valiance Expedition which make up the main armies of the Alliance. The Silver Covenant, who are the High Elves and provide security for Dalaran under Veressa Windrunner. Finally the native Frostborn, being lead by an individual they named Yorg Stormheart.

The Horde Sub Factions that make up the Horde Expedition are: The Warsong Offensive which contain the balk of the Horde forces under the command of the controversial Garrosh Hellscream. The Forsaken group Hand of Vengeance, who as their name implies have a very single minded focus. The Sunreavers, lead by Archmage Aethas Sunreaver protect the Horde presence in Dalaran.  Finally the native Taunka, relatives of the Tauren.

For engineers especially these two reputations are VERY important because in order to obtain the much desired  Mekgineer's Chopper or Mechano-hog Schematic you MUST reach exalted with them FIRST. Some Tanks also go after this reputation for the helm enchant.

For the next few weeks I will be going into more detail about each of the Sub-factions. Explaining their lore as well as how you can obtain reputation with each of them individually.

On to Northrend!

Know Your Rogue Lore: Ikfirus the Vile

Last week in Know Your Rogue Lore we discussed the Alliance Tier 10 vendor Yili. This week lets take a look at the Horde vendor Ikfirus the Vile.

You will find Ikfirus in the same place that Yili is located, at the end of the line of vendors on the right hand side platform as you enter Ice Crown Citadel. Like Yili he is dressed in Tier 10, however he is sporting a pair of Stygian Bladebreakers.

As with all of the members of the Ashen Verdict Ikfirus earned his spot by success at the trials in the Argent Tournament as well as being a gifted craftsman. For him this fight is more personal as he once suffered under the rule of the Lich King as a member of the Scourge. Now free as a member of the Forsaken he, like many others of his kind, desire vengeance.

As with all the tier pieces, the items he "sells" can be purchased with Emblems of Frost. Once you have gotten the first level of gear you can then "upgrade" it to the next level with a Tier token called the Mark of Sanctification AND the original piece of gear. This is more reminiscent of the "dungeon sets" from the Old World level 60 dungeons in which you needed to collect the pieces and then do quests to upgrade them. Thankfully, unlike then you can upgrade in which ever order you prefer providing you have both the Token and the gear.

Ikfirus is linked to another item of note. A chest piece that players will sometimes locate in the chest in the Gunship Armory called "Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder." With a name like that it is no accident that many players first mistake it for a bag. What makes this piece even MORE interesting is that it is a Bind on EQUIPPED item making it more likely that some lucky rogue or feral druid with cash to burn could pick it up on the auction house. The itemization on it has attracted a great deal of interest since so many of the new tier pieces lack both expertise and hit rating.

Rep: The Tranquillien

Well we are almost done with all of the factions from the Burning Crusade expansion. There is just one more left and I am covering them last because I was just not sure where else to fit them in. The Tranquillien is a Horde only faction made up of  both Blood Elves and Forsaken located in the small town of Tranquillien in the Ghostlands. No other starting zone has a faction like this and how you gain reputation with them is also slightly different.

Overlooking the Dread Scar on the western slope of Sungraze Peak, the story of Tranquillien is fairly straight forward from a lore perspective. During the 3rd War the town was abandoned in the face of the advancing Scourge, its residents fleeing to Silvermoon City for refuge. Now it has been reclaimed by a joint group of Forsaken and Blood Elves in the desperate attempt to retake the Ghostlands. It is really nothing more than an isolated outpost surrounded by hostiles but easy to located as it is split in two by the main road.

As a result of its isolating environment supplies are constantly in short supply. This is reflected in the fact that there is only one place to repair, with the Blacksmith Frances. The only other type of training offered in this town is by the Master Chef Mouldier. However it does have a faction quartermaster Provisioner Vredigar who (if you have the proper reputation) can be convinced to part with some of his goods for the right price.

In total this faction offers 46 quests that give reputation. Each of these quests will grant you around 1000 rep EACH making it one of the quickest to grind up with the largest pay out. While the majority of these quests are either grinding or fetch and deliver there are two repeatable ones as well, More Rotting Hearts and More Spinal Dust.

One quest is considered an almost MUST DO as it will get you to exalted no matter where you are on the faction reputation grind. The Traitor's Destruction.While this is a group quest the average level 20 CAN solo him if they are smart about how they pull and clear the area around him FIRST. The reward for this quest makes it quite worth the effort to someone leveling.

All in all the vast majority of players can easily hit exalted with this faction by level 20.
Happy Questing!

Know Your Rogue Lore: The Deathstalkers

No rogue faction has been more impacted by the lore of Wrath of the Lich King than the one we are going to discuss today. (Yes, I would say that the impact on them is even greater than the impact on SI:7 and the Stormwind Assassins with the return of their king.)

The Deathstalkers (also known as the Darkstalkers) are the assassin's guild for the Forsaken. However their primary function until after the Battle for the Undercity was to serve as elite guards for Varimathras, as well as performing a role similar to that of the Shattered Hand or SI:7 but with Varimathras directing their steps.

These Rogues are some of the most highly trained and dangerous in all of Azeroth. I truly believe that one of the reasons you see SO MANY of the fan based videos about rogues featuring the Forsaken is because of the very thing that makes this group rightfully considered the most deadly of ALL rogue assassin organizations. Not only are their skills unparalleled due to two lifetimes of experience, but because they are undead they have no need for such mundane considerations as eating, drinking, resting, or even to breath air. This allows them to pursue their goals without interruption. As former scourge who have won their freedom their individual willpower is almost unmatched.

Unlike the Shattered Hand, which is fairly unknown to all but rogues, the average Horde player WILL hear about the Deathstalkers. Like the Alliance with SI:7 non rogue players are able to obtain some quests which deal with this particular group at several different levels. Most notably the one that sends players into Shadowfang keep. However as the majority of these quests deal with entering dungeons or facing elites it is easy for others to miss them if they are not working on their Loremaster achievement.

A number of the quests dealing with this particular group are Forsaken Rogue ONLY as they deal specifically with JOINING the Deathstalkers and this is a undead only organization. If some how you missed doing this chain while leveling and decided to go back later (say to work on your Loremaster) there was one glaring issue. After the events of the Battle for the Undercity Varimathras is no longer there. So with the introduction of patch 3.3 Blizzard will be introducing a fix that will allow individuals to turn all of the old Varimathras quests into Bragor Bloodfist.

With Varimathras proven to be a traitor to the Forsaken and out of the picture, the fate of the Deathstalkers is left hanging. Many question where their ultimate loyalty lay as well. Do they support Sylvanas, the Horde or are they just biding their time with some other goal in mind? This line of thinking comes purely from speculation on the origination of the Deathstalkers themselves.

Some feel that the ORIGINAL Deathstalkers are the remnants of the thieves and assassins once lead by Blackthorn. If this is the case then they certainly would have no love for Sylvanas herself and their dedication to Varimathras would take on a whole new level of meaning. Again this is all purely speculation as no one knows for certain what became of Blackthorn after WarCraft 3 and he and his troops are not mentioned anywhere in the current game.

For now once players leave the old world they fall into the realm of legend. How they will be effected with the changes in the upcoming Cataclysm expansion will be very interesting to see.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Scout Nisstina

Last weeks lore figure was note worthy due to the speculation about her back story. The week before, the impact he directly has on how the over all game FEELS to an entire faction. This week we look at someone whose personal lore we know nothing about but it is her CLOTHING that has everyone talking.

Scout Nisstina is located deep in the Dalaran Underbelly, in the Black Market section. She famously is in stealth at all times but you can locate her via her pet worg pup. Many feel that in Nisstina there is a tribute to the Rogues of  "Vanilla Wow", the era before Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. The reason for this is three fold, one, what she has to say when you talk to her, two, the type of non combat pet she has with her, and three, the motley assortment of gear she is sporting.

If you talk to Nisstina she has three things she will say that when put together are rather insightful:

I don't be worryin' 'bout no Lich Kings.
Seen a lotta big-shots come and go,
dey always messin' somethin' up. It
ain't long aftah that when a posse rolls
on through and sends dem quick on dey
way to da history books. Dis one ain't
no different.

 In essence: I'm not going to worry about the Lich King, I've seen a lot of Raid Bosses come and go, each one supposedly is going to End the World as we know it. But then the raiders all get in there and soon enough are farming them until the NEXT one comes along.

If you wonder why the choice of non combat pet is something so many rogues find a tribute to them it has to do with the fact that (until patch 3.3 at least) the Worg pup was the ONLY dog type vanity pet in the game. And to get one you had to complete a quest in Lower Black Rock Spire. Many rogues would just stealth through and solo the quest. At that time if you had a rogue in your party who was in stealth it was often difficult to keep track of them visually so many would keep a non combat pet out as a way to assist their raid and party members. (This is actually how I got my first non combat pet. One of my guild mates was tired of losing me so gave me a Mechanical Squirrel.)

Finally, Nisstina's gear. To rogues who leveled and played during the Pre-BC years many pieces of Nisstina's wardrobe are extremely familiar to us as we ourselves sported most of them at one time or another, often for months, sometimes even YEARS. Unlike today in which full regears happen on a seemly three month basis, then you got A LOT of use out of a piece of gear and what she wears are by many considered the "hallmarks" of that era.

On her head she sports the Eye of Rend. This was a piece much coveted by role players as well as others just for the "coolness" factor of the look so to actually get one for USE was more difficult then.

The shoulders are the infamous Nightslayer Shoulders. Few rogues cared for the style of these, with some refusing to wear them altogether because they felt they spoiled the over all intimidating look of the REST of the Nightslayer set. The nick names we had for them were ALL negative.

Her belt is also a part of that same set, the Nighslayer Belt. For being a Bind on Equipt item that came off of trash from Molten Core the drop rate on this was HORRIBLE, less than 1% on most mobs. To actually manage to have it was an achievement in and of itself.

Her pants are the Devilsaur Leggings. These extremely unattractive pants are crafted and were considered some of the best you could get pre-raiding at the time. Even now they are quite good for leveling due to their itemization but harder to come by because few people take the time to farm the materials.

Her gloves are the Bloodfang Gloves. When these were first released rather than having a disarm duration reduction of 50% they actually made the wearer IMMUNE to disarm. This became an issue in PvP situations and that was changed. Still many rogues kept these gloves for a VERY long time to use for PvP.

Her weapons are also very interesting. In her main hand she appears to be holding Spineshatter. Now this was considered the BEST main hand mace for rogues until AQ20's introduction despite the fact that it had defense on it. The majority of the rogues who actually GOT this item was because either they stole it from TANKS (never a brilliant move but it did happen) or their tanks already had it or something better. Her off hand is the Core Hound Tooth. This was the BEST off hand dagger for rogues for a VERY long time however the drop for it was a little spotty so there was a TRICK to it. Since it came out of the Cache of the Firelord you didn't actually have to be PRESENT for the fight to be able to loot it. This led to a lot of character swapping and summoning as you had to work fast, you only had an hour before the chest despawned.

As to her cloak, Virvia on Wowhead suggested the Shifting Cloak. I personally lean more towards the Deathguard's Cloak. I know for myself getting a well itemized cloak at that time was a pain and the PvP one was common to see. (Though for Alliance it was the Cloak of the Honor Guard.) While the Shifting Cloak fits the LOOK, it wasn't one you often saw due to the materials involved in crafting it and most rogues who DID use it were mocked for it.

Due to her tabard it is difficult to determine what chest piece she might be wearing so I won't even hazard a guess on that one. All told Nisstina is a wonderful representative of how many of us who have played rogues for a while started out. A little piece of history immortalized in a quite corner of Dalaran's sewer. Perhaps for another class that might not make sense but for us? The shadows are our friends.

Know Your Rogue Lore: Gamon

Once before in this series we have covered an individual who was NOT actually a Rogue. In his case it was due to confusion as many people THOUGHT he was one (I still have people tell me I am wrong.) The individual we are going to look at today makes no pretense at claiming to BE a Rogue, his race can't even learn the trade but his presence greatly impacts Orc and Troll Rogues and from them the REST of the Horde as a whole.

Gamon is a level 7-12 Tauren warrior (his exact level changes each spawn time which is about every 5 minutes) who is part of the rogue quest The Shattered Hand. In order for rogues to be able to pick pocket an individual they must also be allowed to ATTACK them and this has lead to a rather interesting and unanticipated difficulty. Gamon is a drunkard who hangs out in the main Inn of Orgrimmar the BUSIEST city of the Horde. Since he is vulnerable to Mind Control and there is NO penalty for attacking and/or killing him the options open for mischief are endless. Rogues are often forced to both camp and plead with their follow players while attempting to complete their low level quest.

With the release of patch 3.0.2 Gamon received a unique ability called Pride Breaker. It is basically a knock back ability but priests especially liked it as while controlling Gamon  they could use it to knock fellow players off of mail boxes and mounts. (This control was later lost in patch 3.1.0)

It isn't often that a rogue quest objective reaches such legendary status but Gamon's presence has literally effected the over all feel and environment of the game for many Horde players.  Few can log on in Orgrimmar with out being greeted by the sounds of fighting and a dying Tauren as Gamon faces repeated execution by players. This has helped contribute to the lawless feel of this Horde Capital city. It was further driven home with the introduction of the Death Knights to the Game. While all other NPC's greet them as unfriendly when doing the quest "Warchief's Blessing" Gamon is actively hostile and will pursue the Death Knight swearing vengeance in the name of the Horde.

Like the Alliance's Hogger Gamon is frequently the victim of long kiting expeditions, lvl 1 raids, as well as claims for epic and legendary loot drops in trade chat. His death is often greeted with spammed emotes of /cry, /cheer, /dance, /mourn and /spit. Clemency for him is only pleaded by the few rogues desperate to complete their quest.

When Horde players complete the achievement Veteran of the Wrathgate and return to the phased Orgimmar which has been placed under martial law. Gamon is one of the NPC's they will find gathered at the bank. We can only hope that in the rumored upcoming destruction of Ogrimmar during the Cataclysm Gamon will survive.

Know Your Rogue Lore: The Shattered Hand

This Horde Rogue organization is unique in that its origins are actually an Orc Clan. The name is derived from the practice of self mutilation that is prevalent within the clan to remove one hand and replace it with a weapon. Players see this practice at its most exstream displayed by Kargath Bladefist, the Clan's Warchief. While the majority of the Clan was told to remain on Draenor during the invasion of Azeroth later some members were sent through the portal as reinforcements and later stranded. The Shattered Hand Clan would then reform to become a Fel Orc organization headquarter in Hellfire Citadel.

Those stranded clan members however would become the foundation of Thrall's Assassins in the New Horde making their main base of operations out of the Cleft of Shadows in Orgimmar . Maintaining the name of their former clan and putting their skills to new uses. Interestingly enough they would come to include other races in their order such as Trolls.

As with all Rogue organizations however their loyalty is always a question and even the quest givers themselves hint that things are a foot to remove Thrall from leadership. As there is no VISIBLE central leadership this adds a whole other dimension to this group. (It is fascinating that here these OLD quests could so foreshadow what we now know is awaiting us in the NEXT expansion.) How they will come to work with Garrosh is something we have yet to see, but we already know that all the Trolls will be removed from the main city which is sure to cause some tensions and perhaps hostilities.

For Horde players the Shattered Hand Organization is not as far reaching in scope as say it's Human counterpart SI:7, once you leave the Horde starting areas its influence pretty much disappears. In addition to that it's quests all deal with early, basic rogue skills such a poisons (which we now just purchase rather than craft ourselves), lock picking and pick pocketing. Most Alliance are completely unaware of it's existence which personally for a Rogue Organization is not a bad thing at all.