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Hello Community! I’m sure you have all noticed a shift in the server as of late. This is a brief update to let you all know that the entire staff team is currently working on various issues across the server which include: Gathering feedback from players and creating a plan to address recurring points is being put in place. Organisation of storylines, lore and Keepers and looking at ideas to make things more immersive using tools such as the Dmkit. Balancing of the RPG system. We have a new island in the works courtesy of Bonkle which we are all excited for. While this will be a fun and interesting addition in the new future, we don’t want players to feel like any progress they make will be hindered or disregarded, so please continue to roleplay as you would. Some more information and screenshots will be released regarding this soon! The dev server is currently up and a patch is being worked on to be released in the next couple of weeks. This will address some issues already raised by the community. It will include: Experience gain overhaul. Training - A new command to gain XP rather than buying it directly. Mentoring - The chance for new players to be “mentored” and gain experience. Progression overhaul - Attributes will be capped and you gain a point to spend for an attribute at specific XP thresholds. Professions - Profession recipes will give exponentially more XP for high prod recipes. Gathering nodes now show which materials they will yield rather than a rarity. Above is a snippet of the full notes which will be released along with the patch. If you have any feedback, suggestions or need any help with anything on the server feel free to contact staff, through PMs or Discord. Please make sure you also check the forums for updates and information.

Unknown Shores v3.10 A lot has been changed to the RPG system as detailed below, the goal was to bring up newer players strength while giving veterans a ceiling that still makes them feel powerful. A more thorough skill patch will come in a few weeks as well as fixes to any issues that occur. Experience Overhaul One of the largest issues players who had left the server aired was that they felt they were left behind, we have tried to rectify this by making experience at lower ranges quicker while those at higher are slowed down. Currently, 10,000xp is the soft cap, with nothing available after then but we do intend to add in customisation options, such as feats akin to D&D. Training: Gaining XP is done by the training command rather than buying XP directly. Training with cost 4 productivity every 5 minutes spent while training is active. The XP gained is multiplied based on your current xp bracket (see table below). Killing an npc of bracket-appropriate CR will immediately spend 12 productivity towards training. Mentoring: A character with 2,500 more XP than you can mentor you to gain experience. To do so they select you and in their RPG handbook > More Options will be a mentor option. You must type .rpg mentor (as the recipient) to gain the training from the mentor. Both MENTOR and MENTORED will spend 30 productivity, while the mentor gains 10 experience, the mentored will gain 60 * their current brackets multiplier XP. XP Bracket multipliers: 0-2999 : *3 3000-6999 : *2 7000-9999 : *1 10000+ : *0.5 Training CR Brackets: 0-1999 : * 2000-3999 : >10 4000-5999: >15 6000-7999: >20 8000-9999: >25 10000+: >30 Attributes: Attributes have been given an overhaul, every player begins with 2 in every attribute (strength, dexterity, constitution, perception, willpower and ingenuity) and have 10 points to spend. Between 0 and 10,000 XP you gain a further 15 points (to a total of 25). To buy attributes, you follow the same method as currently, through the RPG Handbook > More Options > Spend Attributes. The more attribute points (AP) you spend in a single stat, the more expensive the cost as outlined below. Attribute Points are gained at: 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 10000. Attributes cost: 2-6: 1 point 7+: 2 points Items: We have added a lot of backend changes, including an elemental system which is baked into abilities, elemental stones can also be made by weaponsmiths to enchant a weapon with such elements; outfitters and armoursmiths can now make undershirts and patches to add elemental resistance to armour. We have also added support for stat rings (we will most likely get these out after the new year). We have changed up the dodge calculation to reign in dodge somewhat in order to hopefully make it a bit less wild in the protection it provides. Last but not least, we have added extra rare and epic weapons and armour which you can see further down the patch notes! Professions: Weaponsmith: We have added elemental stones, you can buy the recipes from the trainers in silver-eye. Armoursmith: We have added armor undershirts, you can buy the recipes from the trainers in silver-eye. Outfitter: We have added armor linings, you can buy the recipes from the trainers in silver-eye. You may combine armor upgrades after crafting them. Here's a link providing all the effects of armor upgrades, as well as weapon stones. Mystic: We have added spell scrolls that are able to hold non-class spells that anyone can use for their base energy cost! These scrolls use the stats of the person who scribed the scroll, and have a clamp on the maximum cost based on the rarity of the scroll (6 for uncommon(lesser blank spell scroll), 8 for rare (blank spell scroll) and 10 for epic (Greater spell scroll). These scrolls may also be found out in the wild or events! Architect: Added a local rotation option when placing objects. No more headaches! Profession recipes now give exponentially more XP for higher productivity cost recipes. Gathering nodes now show which materials they yield rather than a rarity. Recipes in recipe books/tables are now ordered by level requirement. Miscellaneous NPC's will no longer give you grave wounds when they incapacitate and execute you. You may still get other kinds of wounds however! Campfire fatigue recovery now speeds up with each consecutive camping tick. Added the .barber command to set your hair anywhere, just fabulous! Changed some boat trips. Fixes: Fixes a bug with fatigue gained when you receive grave wounds. Fixed a few bugs with scrapping, you should be able to scrap more things now. Fixes some language-translations. Fixed a bug involving chest use. Staff: Added .npc set standstate - Gotta get them Hozen dancing! Added .treasure give <id> Weapons One-Handed Axes Cleaver: Increased scaling from 5.0 to 7.0 Rager's Axe: Increased Minimum and Maximum damage from -45 to -30. Ripper's Chopper: Increased scaling from 5.0 to 8.0 Two-Handed Axes Great Axe: Increased minimum damage from 0 to 10 and increased maximum damage from 60 to 70. Battleaxe: Increased scaling from 7.0 to 9.0 Edgelord's Cleaver: Reduced the increased incoming damage taken from 15% to 10% and increased scaling from 10.0 to 15.0 Horrific Executioner's Axe: Increased Incoming damage changed from 75% -> 25% Daggers Heartseeker's Dagger: Increased the weapons critical strike change from 16% to 18% Midnight Blade: Increased Minimum and Maximum damage from -45 to -30. Fists Slashing Claws: Increased maximum damage from 65 to 85 Heavy Glove: Decreased secondary stat scaling from 5.0 to 4.0 Barbaric Fist: Increased outgoing physical damage from 5% to 7% and increased scaling from 2.5 to 5.0 One-Handed Maces Morning Star: Increased scaling from 5.0 to 6.0 Two-Handed Maces Maul: Reduced maximum damage from 100 to 80 and reduced scaling from 12.0 to 10.0 Nature's Fist: Increased dodge rating from 2 to 6. Divine Great Hammer: Increased secondary scaling from 2.0 to 3.0 Polearms Lance: Increased critical strike chance from 0% to 4% Bloody Voulge: Reduced the increased incoming damage taken from 30% to 10% Staffs Beast-Kin Staff: Added a secondary scaling of Strength 2.0 One-Handed Swords Sorcerous Sabre: Increased secondary scaling from 3.0 to 4.0 Gambler's Sword: Increased scaling from 4.0 to 6.0, increases starting energy by 2. Two-Handed Swords Claymore: Increased scaling from 5.0 to 6.5 Estoc: Increased minimum damage from 10 to 20 and increased maximum damage from 30 to 40. Greatsword: Reduced the increased incoming damage taken from 20% to 10% Bows Shortbow: Increased the minimum damage from 5 to 25 and increased the maximum damage from 20 to 40. Longbow: Reduced the secondary scaling from 6.0 to 5.0 Composite Bow: Increased scaling from 4.0 to 7.0 Slayer's Bow: Increased the minimum and maximum damage from -25 to -10 Crossbows Crossbow: Increased scaling from 2.0 to 3.5 Hunter's Cranequin: Increased maximum damage from 25 to 45 Arbalest: Increased minimum damage from 20 to 40. Deadaim Crossbow: Increased minimum damage from 0 to 35 and increased maximum damage from 5 to 55. Rifles Old Rifle: Increased maximum damage from 30 to 50 Cartridge Rifle: Increased minimum damage from 15 to 25, increased maximum damage from 30 to 40 and increased scaling from 5.0 to 6.0 Gunslinger's Long Pistol: Increased minimum damage from 10 to 15 and increased maximum damage from 20 to 25. Sniper's Rifle: Increased minimum damage from 0 to 20 and increased maximum damage from 10 to 55. The Cannon: Increased maximum damage from 80 to 120 and reduced the increased incoming damage taken from 40% to 15% Wands Old Wand: Increased scaling from 3.0 to 5.0 Magic Wand: Added scaling of 3.0 willpower Inventor's Focal Wand: Added scaling of 6.0 willpower Jr Mage's Wand: Increased scaling from 3.0 to 5.0 and increased the outgoing magical damage from -25% to 8%. New Weapons Epic - Lightning's Crack (One-Handed Axe): 10-60, 8.0 strength, 3.0 willpower, 6% critical strike, deals Electric damage. Epic - Earthmother's Hand (One-Handed Mace): 5-55, 10.0 strength, 0% critical strike, reduces incoming magical damage by 8%, reduces dodge rating by 4. Epic - Truestrike (Bow): 10-15, 5.0 dexterity, 100% critical strike, increases incoming damage by 15% Epic - Bloodletter (Dagger): 10-20, 4.0 dexterity, 3.0 perception, 2% critical strike, this weapon deals Chaos damage. Epic - Ballistae (Crossbow): 10-25, 15.0 Dexterity, 7.0 Strength, 0% critical strike, reduces hit rating by 8. Epic - Shredding Talon (Fist): -15-45, 7.0 Strength, 5.0 Dexterity, 0% critical strike, increases outgoing physical damage by 8%, increases incoming physical damage by 8%, increases dodge rating by 2. Epic - Keeper's Gavel (Two-Handed Mace): 40-40, 15.0 Strength scale, 0% critical strike, this weapon deals Crushing damage, reduces initiative by 10. Epic - Runic Glaive (Polearm): 15-35, 12.0 Dexterity scale, 0% critical strike, increases magical damage dealt by 12% Rare - Lazy Fist (Fist): 0-0, 18.0 Dexterity, -10.0 Ingenuity, 0% critical strike Rare - Stone Fist (One-Handed Mace): 15-15, 12.0 strength, -2.0 dexterity, 0% critical strike. Armour Changes Most armours have had their stat requirements changed as listed below. Cloth Wizard’s Mantle: Changed requirements to 3 willpower Merchant’s Armour: Changed requirements to 3 ingenuity Hierophant’s Robes: Changed requirements to 4 willpower Brawler’s Harness: Changed requirements to 5 strength, increases outgoing physical damage by 8% Mana-Enriched Attire: Changed requirements to 3 strength Robes of the Scholar: Changed requirements to 3 strength and 4 willpower Leather Nature’s Awakening: Changed requirements to 3 dexterity. Wanderer’s Armour: Changed requirements to 3 strength and 3 ingenuity Magic Eater’s Garb: Changed requirements to 5 willpower, now increases Frost, Arcane, Fire, Nature and Lightning resistance by 15% Assassin’s Armour: Changed requirements to 3 strength and 3 ingenuity Garb of the Bloodthirsty: Changed requirements to 3 strength. Mail Ranger’s Guile: Changed requirements to 3 dexterity and 3 willpower Bladed Mail: Changed requirements to 4 strength Flamescarred Scales: Changed requirements to 3 strength and 3 willpower Plate Knight’s Armour: Changed requirements to 6 strength. Runic Plate Armour: Changed requirements to 4 strength and 3 willpower New Armours Epic - Phoenix Robes (Cloth): Requires 3 strength and 4 willpower, increases physical resistance by 5%, increases magical resistance by 5%, reduces dodge rating by 4, increased outgoing healing by 15%, reduced outgoing damage by 10%, increased fire resistance by 75%, reduced frost resistance by 50%. Epic - Malorne’s Armour (Leather): Requires 3 dexterity and 4 willpower, increased physical resistance by 10%, increased magical resistance by 5%, increases dodge rating by 2, increases outgoing magical damage and healing by 6%, increases starting energy by 4, increases maximum energy by 2. Epic - Windrunner’s Garb (Mail): Requires 6 dexterity and 4 willpower, increases physical resistance by 5%, increases magical resistance by 5%, increases dodge rating by 2, Increases energy regeneration by 1, reduces maximum hit points by 200, increases initiative by 4. Epic - Lightbringer’s Breastplate (Plate): Requires 7 strength and 7 willpower, increases physical resistance by 35%, increases magical resistance by 10%, reduces dodge rating by 8, increases outgoing healing by 12%, reduces outgoing damage by 15%, increases holy resistance by 50%, increases shadow resistance by 25%. Ability Changes Charge: Reduced energy cost from 18 to 15, reduced weapon damage from 105% to 50%, removed self debuff. Cannot be used while engaged OR using guard. Evade: Giving a 6 round cooldown, now lasts for 3 rounds. Crippling Shot: 2 round cooldown Kill Shot: 6 round cooldown, increases damage before a critical strike to 300. Demoralizing Shout: 5 round cooldown, increased debuff from Melee Action Check * 1.0 to *1.1 Bolster: 2 round cooldown. Revenge: 5 round cooldown, increases self missing health % from 20 to 30, increases damage before a critical strike from 250 to 300. Shield Slam: 3 round cooldown, removed the essence cost. Obliterate: 4 round cooldown. Disengage: 4 round cooldown, reduced essence cost from 2 to 1, requires a ranged weapon. Burgeoning Rage: 8 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Magic Action Mark of the Bulwark: 2 Round Cooldown Mark of the Rager: 2 Round Cooldown Mark of the Master: 2 Round Cooldown Mark of the Mender: 2 Round Cooldown Arcane Salvo:3 Round Cooldown, removed Essence cost, reduced amount of energy restored from 3 to 2. Lightning Rod:3 Round Cooldown Overwhelming Blast:4 Round Cooldown, Essence cost reduced to 1 Dark Vestiges: 6 Round Cooldown, Increased Target’s Missing Health from 21% to 30%, increased damage before critical strike from 200 to 300 Clutch of Winter: No longer applies the immunity to movement impairing effect. Terrify: 3 Round Cooldown, no longer applies the immunity to movement impairing effect. Mark of the Scorned: 2 Round Cooldown Proselytize: 3 Round Cooldown Meditation: 8 Round Cooldown, Essence cost reduced to 2 Improvised Action Purge: 2 Round Cooldown Dive: 2 Round Cooldown Distracting Flourish: 5 Round Cooldown, removed Essence cost Scream: 12 Round Cooldown, Essence cost reduced to 1 Focus Energy:6 Round Cooldown, removed Essence cost Parry:8 Round Cooldown, removed Essence cost Appeal: 5 Round Cooldown Both Eyes Open: 5 Round Cooldown, removed Essence cost Classes Warrior Mortal Strike: 4 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Enraged Regeneration: 8 round cooldown, increases energy cost from 14 to 15, reduced essence cost from 2 to 1. Paladin Crusader Strike: 2 round cooldown. Judgement: 4 round cooldown. Blessing of Sanctuary: 2 round cooldown. Hunter Beastial Wrath: 6 round cooldown, reduced essence cost from 2 to 1. Aimed Shot: 4 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Frost Trap: 2 round cooldown, no longer applies the immunity to movement impairing effect. Aspect of the Dragonhawk: Changed wording from Dodge Chance to Dodge Rating cause we wanted to raise hopes and dash them. Shaman Lava Burst: 3 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Windfury weapon: 1 round cooldown, reduced energy cost from 12 to 8. Druid Barkskin: 6 round cooldown, duration increased from 2 to 3 rounds, removed essence cost. Rogue Killing Spree: 5 round cooldown, reduced essence cost from 2 to 1, Mainhand and offhand attacks increased from 37.5% to 45%. Hemorrhage: Reworked to apply a debuff with 4 stacks that increases damage received by 15 and removing 1 stack. Shadowstep: 4 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Vanish: 12 round cooldown, reduced essence cost from 4 to 2, removed energy cost. Priest Power Word: Fortitude: 4 round cooldown, increased energy cost from 12 to 14, increased constitution from 1 to 2. Mage Pyroblast: 4 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Ice Block: 4 round cooldown, reduced essence cost from 2 to 1. Warlock Curse of Exhaustion: 2 round cooldown, no longer applies the immunity to movement impairing effect. Chaos Bolt: 4 round cooldown, removed essence cost. Death Knight Hysteria: 3 Round Cooldown, Increased Outgoing Damage increase from 25% to 30% Lichborne: 4 Round Cooldown, Reduced essence cost from 2 to 1 Plague Strike: 2 Round Cooldown

Introduction "We invite you, brave adventurers, to explore lands uncharted and locked away, cut off from Stormwind and Orgrimmar, from your friends and families. Will you conquer the Doldrums or will you become another lost soul?" Unknown Shores is a World of Warcraft roleplay server, built over Legion 7.1.5, with a plethora of custom crafted game mechanics centered on giving you, the player, the tools to bring the change you want in the world of the Doldrums! Grom’Thar. A player guild base with a mix of world-editing and player-spawned objects through the architect profession. Interactive World For anyone unfamiliar, private servers benefit from the ability to create anything that you can imagine, we have taken this a step further than most servers and given our players unprecedented abilities to interact with and roleplay within the Warcraft setting. Using a tool we call the DMkit we can create custom encounters in the world which can be anything from ambushes to puzzles. D&D Inspired RPG System Our professions are tied into a custom built RPG which replaces the World of Warcraft combat mechanics and professions. This means turn-based combat where you can truly build your character in a manner similar to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. This extends to player professions, which are split between gathering and crafting.The former allows you to gather fish, meat, leather, timber, scrap metal, stone and more whilst the latter can help you make food, armour, weapons, enchantments, bandages and beer or building your own base. Architect One of our professions is the ‘architecture’ which allows players to craft and place in-game objects. This can be anything from the construction of fortifications to simply adding a bit of clutter to a personal dwelling. This particular profession is an incredible tool that gives players the ability to directly edit and modify the world in building camps, forts or whatever they fancy, though be wary not to build your home-from-home somewhere hostile! Fort Drustgarde / Port Sabella / Egtown / Flotsam / The Port of a Thousand Names. A 100% player-made settlement using the architect profession. Custom Lore and Maps Unknown Shores takes place on a set of islands in an area known as the Doldrums, a strange place which is largely unknown in the wider world of Azeroth. Similar to the Bermuda triangle, it is a place which draws in those unfortunate enough to come to close and through mystical means prevents those trapped there from leaving. Using the map making tool noggit, our editors have built a set of islands for you to explore and exploit, with more islands in the works featuring new secrets, encounters and biomes previously not seen on the Unknown Shores. Whilst indeed many of the characters and locations will seem unfamiliar, organisations and banners will crop up on occasion, be it the golden anchor of Kul’Tiras upon the isle of Sotoras or the Zandalari of Bluegill Arch. Dedicated Staff Unknown Shores has a dedicated staff team focused on various aspects of managing a roleplay server with our focus being on creating a friendly environment that reacts to your character's actions. Actions have consequences! Create Your Own Adventure Beyond the tools described above, we offer anyone who wishes to the ability to become a Dungeon Master with the powers and support of the staff team to create their own storylines within our setting. Do you want to take the adventurers on a expedition into the jungles of Opej, or perhaps craft a dungeon for them to discover? Anything is possible and we’ll be here to help you in every way we can.

"There aren't many left from that time. Back when we lived in more squalid conditions then we do now. When the fear of troll raids." The gruff, dirty human male looked around his fellow refugees around the fire. The moon was high in the sky as he regaled them with heroics of men and women long dead or gone. "The first was when the Daggerfin Pirates owned this and it was simply a bar with a camp. The Ironbound did that. Aye. Them. Heroes, villains, greedy sods. Whatever ye' wanna call them. But, they were the first to stand against the Razorbranch from Kolai. I wasn't here for that one... But.." Trailing off, the man fell silent. The fire cracking to cover the silence. A mild commotion could be heard on the other side of the Port, this wasn't terribly unusual, so the man finally finished his tale. "My brother and I were here for the second. When a large force of those blood-thirsty, beasts came back. In far larger numbers, shortly after Drustgarde purchased the Port and Caveat moved their men out. Oh, by the Light, was it a force to take the Port. They surrounded it. Defenses quickly organized. Luckily we 'ad a hour or two before they finally came ashore and started the siege. They were met with a daring attack. A few o' Lady Springfield's soldiers protected us in the bar while the majority of Drustgarde and its allies started the attack. And I never thought I'd say this, but the bloody orcs came to help aswell. Landed off a ferry, sounded the horn and rushed into the fight. A few of us were taken, my brother included. But, the trolls were almost routed, most of their boats destroyed. Since then, the trolls have not dared to return." About half an hour after the man finished his story, news spread like wildfire. Like the pages of a story, the timing was incredible it seemed. The Razorbranch had returned. They butchered another camp of trolls on the old site of Drustgarde's base. A few hours later, a badly injured and near-death refugee brought even worse news. Halfpoint Haven had been besieged by a small force of trolls aswell they only had enough supplies to hold out for a week... It seems Sal'do the Clever has decided to finally make another move on the board... OOC: So, this is the start of a low-mid xp quest chain designed for groups and possibly some soloing at high xp. Currently, there are two quests to do. [The Butchered Camp] and [Haven's Siege]. [The Butchered Camp] Can be handled without a DM present. But, it is asked you may a ticket afterwards about any special items you find and/or upon clearing the camp. Player's have a week to deal with this before the NPCs will progress. [Haven's Siege] requires some minor DM presence, so for that one you will have to make a ticket and schedule a time with me. Player's have a week to effect the outcome of this quest. The purpose of this quest chain is to both test out a way for us to give players something to atleast be minorly engaged in, hopefully have a blast with, that doesn't require a DM being present due to timezone differences and absences caused by RL. And secondly, try out this formula. There are multiple stages to this, that will be revealed as each milestone is reached, either in time, or by players pushing for a conclusion one way or another. After this first stage, I will open a feedback thread to get people's thoughts. Good hunting.~

Occasionally noticed pop up around the Doldrums. An enigmatic and odd old paladin of some power posts 'Quests' around the Doldrums offering rewards, opportunities for glory and occasionally his own expertise to those who complete these honorable quests for the betterment of the Doldrums. Below is a complied list of ones currently available and those completed. A Muggy Arrival: Arriving in the Doldrums after a shipwreck on the island of Opej'Nor, the old veteran was mugged by a group of crazies oddly led by a sane man. Some of his possessions were stolen. He offered a silver reward to those that greeted him when he managed to arrive in the Port of Drustgarde. Resolution: Drustgarde managed to acquire the items of the Captain and put down a bandit ring. He offered a modest sum of silver in exchange and also aided the paladin Ulriech overcome corruption from the void. Status: COMPLETED Help! A Raptor stole my mind! After moving to a new outpost called 'Halfpoint Haven' the Captain ended up holding off a raptor pack, led by an incredibly intelligent raptor. However, not even a mighty paladin of the Light can protect everyone by himself. A few refugees have died in these attacks. The Captain has offered anyone who can show him proof of the leader's demise a reward of a Thousand Silver. Progress: The hunter, Timothy has approached the Captain and said to take up the offer. He has been looking for a few experienced hunters to aid him. However, a man of honor, the Captain may not be very patient if another attack happens and hand the reward to whoever completes the task first. Status: ONGOING... OOC: This is merely a list of quests that would be posted around various notice boards, a public record of those completed and a general summary of what happened IC and rewards given, without giving out much information. The purpose of this is to give players an easy resource to access and see and also allow me to be a tad lazy and not find every noticeboard to post the quests to. I will update and pretty this up over time. If you wish to speak to the Captain either PM me on the forums or make a ticket on the server's official discord!

The Clinic and the Book Rumors of the old Silver-Eye Clinic being haunted, abound throughout the Doldrums. It seems the Captain has taken interest in it and gone to Silver-Eye to Investigate.(Make a ticket to speak with him and start the quest. Recommend party size: 2.) Progress: The Captain is outside the Clinic. Complete: Isabelle and Zoe completed this quest. Gaining basic rewards and also being granted a question to ask the captain about himself each. The artifact causing the haunting was kept by a player.

Retirement?! Bah! I'm too old for that! Posts have appeared on noticeboards across the Doldrums, the Captain is looking for a trained armorsmith and weaponsmith! He speaks of payment to those trained enough to aid him! (Must be able to make Uncommon atleast.) Progress: The Captain has already been approached by someone offering to make atleast the required armor. However, depending on if anyone else approaches him with a better deal or not will determine if he gives the bid over to the current craftsman. Completed: A dwarven armoursmith filled the Captain's order!

Grettik Gritbeard Race: Dwarf Age: 185 Class: Archaeologist / Explorer Alleigance: The Explorer's League, Ironforge Languages: Dwarvern (Fluent), Common (Fluent), Gnomish (Passable) Additional Languages (X denotes useage of scriptures for translation): Titanic Script (conversational), Thalassian (passable, X), Highbourne (passable, X), Zandalari (poor, X), The Trio Grettik Gritbeard was born to a rather modest family within the thriving city of ironforge a good seventy three years following the War of the Three Hammers, a now distant memory in the minds of many Dwarves. As far back as the Gritbeards remember there has always been at least one sibling entering the Ironforge Army as a soldier and another joining the mountaineers... both prestigious positions that usually went to the eldest and most favorable of the siblings. Young Grettik however had two elder brothers: Dalofic and Gadmuk. The latter became a soldier at a young age clad in steel due to his skill with axe and shield whilst the former, ever skilled with firearms, donned his cloak and maille to become a mountaineer taking the fight to the trolls of Dun'Morogh, this left the young Grettik as the runt of the litter with little-to-no aspiration in life. Years would pass, almost destined to be a tedious hammer-striker at the Great Forge, his calling was answered as the formation of an organization known as the 'Explorer's League became known throughout the city of Ironforge following the discovery of a number of ancient ruins believed to hold the key to the secrets of their kin's heritage... no sooner had Grettik heard the rumour he ran straight to the newly renamed 'Hall of the Explorers' where he was one of the first twenty to sign up... to this day Grettik still keeps his membership card #19 on his person at all times as a sign of pride. The Explorer At War Years would pass, Grettik gained notoriety within the league for his unconventional excavation methods in addition to having sheer rampant good luck with finding fascinating ruins to explore... admittedly this didn't go as well as planned as many of his theories, many rather outlandish and extreme, rubbed many academics the wrong way who attempted to relinquish his membership by sending him on many more increasingly suicidal excavation projects to work on. He survived each one of them. Despite his almost divine level of good luck, such luck didn't seem to run in the family. His brother Gadmuk went missing presumed dead with the rest of the exploration league into outland whilst his other brother Dalofic went on a scouting mission into the depths of the cursed fortress 'Grim Batol' only to have their mangled remains found weeks later by a rescue team sent in to find them. Despite his parent's grieving, Grettik was still shunned seemingly as some sort of runt despite having achieved the rank of 'senior archaeologist' within the Explorer's League at such a young age and it was from this point on he cut all ties with his family and went off in search of adventure, choosing to be an archaeologist in the field exploring strange and wonderful places rather than sat in an armchair within Ironforge simply -talking- about it. As the Orcish menace ran rampant across the lands, it became increasingly apparent for a need to appoint individuals from the league to form a 'special' branch in charge of protecting potential sites of archaeological importance from being crushed by either Orcish boots or Human sabatons amidst the numerous wars stretching across the lands. Grettik was the member of the league appointed to oversee this task however a few budding archaeologists now taking up the profession in Stormwind expressed a desire to help. The long-lasting alliance between Dwarves and Humans was argueably never more apparent between Grettik Gritbeard and his human counterpart 'Wilson Wheeler', despite having severed his connection with family he found a friend in the human as the two made their way across Azeroth surveying the land as one supplied the ale around the campfire whilst the other sang and played upon his guitar. A Forgotten Land To Be Explored "Would you search through the lonely earth for me? Climb through the briar and bramble?" After Grettik and Wilson travelled across the land surveying ruins from Uldaman and Ahn'Quiraj to Eldre'Thalas and Azshara word began to spread of an ancient artefact resurfacing to allow the legion to reopen the dreaded 'Dark Portal' With the first, second and third wars behind everyone, it became increasingly apparent that a team representing the league would need to head through the portal to ensure a proper and accurate recording of artefacts relating to the ancient Orcish homeworld... rumours began to circle amongst senior academics in the league of a 'Horde' counterpart to their organisation being formed... seeing no time to waste both Wilson and Grettik volunteered to lead a small team into the shattered realm to record what they can... though deep down what Grettik sought was some sort of closure on what happened to his brother Gadmuk who supposedly died all those years ago. Barely two days into entering Outland, the duo came across the 'Sons of Lothar' from the expeditionary force, those who Grettik queried all informed him that his brother survived the destruction of the portal like many of them but rather than remain in Honor Hold he ventured north to Kirin'Var village with a scouting party to maintain communications with the village of magi. Weeks would pass before Grettik and Wilson would arrive there with their team but alas the village was all but destroyed by the forces of Kael'Thas Sunstrider with no sign of his kin or the scouting party sent from Honor Hold. The Roof Of The World "I'll be your treasure" Appointed 'Professor of Archaeology', the now seasoned Grettik and his equally experienced friend Wilson travelled north with the rest of the Horde and Alliance's forces into the Lich King's domain... only to find out that there were far worse creatures than demi-gods lying within the permafrost. The duo and their excavation team were instructed to rendezvous with Brann Bronzebeard himself. Despite numerous setbacks and encounters with the horrific forces that lay deep within Ulduar itself, they arrived to the forward base camp just outside the titan city's gates in the Storm Peaks. The human and the dwarf had come so far together over land and sea to explore the depths of the world and learn secrets of the gods themselves, the duo were determined for this discovery to be their biggest yet and to make their names resound throughout time as world-famous explorers. But as Wilson plucked the strings on his guitar in the base camp and began to sing... it would turn out not to be... Wilson's last song before he would perish in Ulduar The Imprisoned Horrors "I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind" Where once Grettik was a level headed, studious yet fun academic, after the events of Ulduar he was no longer that same Dwarf. Forever looking over his shoulder and possessing an ever-present twitch, part of the Dwarf died that day in Ulduar. As Brann's forced loaded up their equipment, the base camp disassmbled and engineers made the finishing touches on the siege engines that would break down the main gates into the hostile facility. Grettik remained atop one of the siege tanks as a spotter whilst Wilson manned the gun, the men and women of the league laid a path of destruction through the Iron armies of Ulduar but despite this they were met with horrors both mechanical and ... something else All through their venture they felt something scratching at the back of their minds, tearing at the fabric of their memory as a thorn on a plant rips open flesh, some were more susceptible to this than others yet their soldiered on with Brann leading the expedition despite their numbers falling. "I'm waiting for you" It wasn't until they encountered a strange organic being a couple of stories tall where even glancing at it granted one a headache of immeasureable proportions, some of the weaked willed of the league proceeded to attack other members of the group and they had to be subdued or, in one case, killed in self-defence... the league were sorely mistaken when they thought they could banish such a monster who held their will in the 'palm' of its tentacled limbs, several were slain instantly and Brann ordered an immediate retreat but to no avail, many were lost in the rout and by the time they had ran through several corridors there remained only Brann, Wilson and Grettik... two un-named explorers as far as the younger of the Bronzebeard's was concerned... although they thought they were ahead of such a large beast it charged at a relentless and unnatural speed up the corridors, smashing stained glass windows depicting the stories of the titans as it did, but such a charge was short lived and the moment the trio thought they were in the clear a sound ripped through the air as though tearing through reality itself. "I'm with the ghosts of the men who can never sing again, there's a place follow me" Wilson dropped dead in an instant, the sharpened 'bolt' of void energies had gone straight through his neck and severed the top of his spine, killing him before he had a chance to blink. Grettik could only stand and stare for but a brief moment when he heard Brann screaming elsewhere. His eyes darted around and he realized he was lost in a maze... corridors leading down into access routes and open spaces filled with decorative urns or strange ancient consoles overgrown with dust and cobwebs... and deep inside the facility something reached out to him... not the creature from before but something much bigger... something which had entered his mind in his brief lapse of panic, something which assured him that it was his friend... he denied the voice, screaming for it to shut up as his only real friend lay dead in some forgotten corridor of a hellish prison. The Return of the Expedition The League's official report was that Grettik spent no more than a week within Ulduar whilst Brann fled to inform the leaders of the Horde and the Alliance of what he had found, though in his distraught mental state it likely felt like months as he scavenged through the facility's grounds for food and avoiding patrols of automated drones or Iron Dwarves... but in reality the true test was upon the Dwarf's mind which was shattered, torn and tossed around. Something was in here... something which manipulated him without the Dwarf realizing it. He would insist in later reports that he found food to survive as 'Wilson' had shown him where he stashed it, or that he had escaped a squad of Iron Dwarves through an access grate for mechagnomes which 'Wilson' had unscrewed for him. Grettik was eventually found shivering in an access chute close to Hodir's domain suffering the early onset of hypothermia, it would be almost four months later that he would finally be set on a wagon bound for Dalaran... but upon his return it would seem he had been gathering small nuggets of ore found in the deepest recesses of Ulduar, when he turned up to Dalaran he took this material to the forge and began to work it into a rather crude blade shape which ended up becoming his new shovel for archaeological excavation. Sadly many would see him speaking to it and calling it 'Wilson' constantly... many assumed this was some sort of post-traumatic stress... They were wrong. The last reported sighting of Grettik Gritbeard was him entering the portal to Ironforge from Dalaran... the Explorer's League have since confirmed to the Kirin Tor that the seasoned explorer never arrived. It is a shame they were looking in the wrong place...