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A number of rather crudely made yet practical booklets appear throughout the various isles of the Doldrums archipelgo namely in settlements which are not considered hostile to the refugees who find themselves stranded. The booklets are left beside the noticeboards in such settlements and appear to have no cost, a simple sign in both common and (albeit very crude) orcish simply states: "Take freely and enlighten the world" If you are of the frame of mind that thinks of using the booklets for crafting materials, it would appear that they have been made from reused parchment of an extremely crude quality with the majority of any previous ink washed out from them. Telltale signs of their previous usage seem to have not fully bled out as small signs for 'goblin laser size enhancers' and 'The Doldrums circus' appear on the patchy corners The booklet seems to have the words inscribed upon it The Explorer's Digest Issue 1: The Temple of Tordala Opening the booklet you find the following inside Salutations budding explorer, and congratulations on picking up the first copy of the Explorer's Digest! Gnomish pictograph of the author in the Temple of Tordala My name is Grettick Gritbeard, MotEL, PoA, SA. Like many of you I am a refugee on the forsaken Doldrums archipelgo however this has not and will not stop me from exploring foreign lands to understand our past. In this first issue we'll be looking at the Temple of Tordala which is located on the unusual Isle of Menhirs, an island of mystery and magic. The temple is made of a few key parts labelled as follows: The Moonwell sanctuary The author collecting rubbings off the runes along the edge of the moonwell The moonwell sanctuary is a small part of the temple complex consisting of a pillar supported building, a pillar supported gateway, a shrine, a statue of unknown shape and form and, as the name suggests, a moonwell. This smaller 'sub-complex' is at the bottom of the cliff from the main temple and so for the purposes of this study it is given special attention. Initial interpretation of this moonwell is interesting, it is of a far less complex structure and design compared with those found in the Night Elf lands of Ashenvale, Darkshore and the like. The inscriptions and runic symbols on it suggest that it is part of the upper complex due to the contemporary nature of the designs. It is entirely possible that this is an earlier 'Proto-Moonwell' that precedes those that we see today. This indicates that the nearby buildings likely served as quarters for the Elven carers of the moonwell who looked after it and kept it in a suitable state of repair. Excavations around here may reveal items such as stonemasonry tools of an expert design for the carving of runes to contain the power of the wells. Images of the gateway, pillar supported building and the unidentified statue behind the gateway The curious part to the sanctuary is the nearby shrine which, although damaged and in a ruinous state, may not be part of the Moonwell sanctuary and could be later or even earlier. What is curious is when this author visited it there was a local flower left on the centremost shrine indicating it is still in use. In conclusion, we can summarise that the area known as the 'Moonwell' sanctuary is of extreme interest mainly due to the presence of a proto-moonwell, following the acquisition of willing volunteers and a knowledgeable excavation team, the archaeological investigation of this site could provide valueable information into the construction methods of moonwells over time in addition to information regarding their full function and operation. Image of the shrine with the recently laid flower in shot The Temple of Tordala Plaza The next area following a now-blocked pathwa.y* leads to the main area of the site denoted 'The Temple of Tordala', this is to be considered seperate to the temple as it contains multiple 'residential' areas in addition to a complex in the centre possibly acting as a gathering point for worshippers The Temple of Tordala Plaza consists of a large central 'plaza', a partial segment of a wall and two buildings considered 'residential' from external appearances. A rare segment of Elven masonry utilized for fortification processes The plaza area, showing the sheer size this would have been a prominent gathering area with possible ritual activity associated with it. Of particular note is the wall segment which suggests that some or all of the settlement was fortified to some degree making it a place of some note even without it's positioning on a prominent part of the landscape. There are few other examples of an Elven temple complex with fortifications surrounding it either partially or fully. Chances are that the remainder of the wall is either non-existant or has been annihilated during the sundering. Excavations around the settlement with trenches positioned in key spots will likely reveal the foundations of any other possible walls in the area. The two residential buildings appear to be the only ones in the settlement unless excavations reveal the foundations of others, one is larger than the other and appears not as ornate as the other smaller structure. Building designated 'small' residential building indicating possible high status usage. Has now been refurbished on the interior due to modern interference. The temple proper can be seen in the background beyond the plaza. Sadly it would appear that a faction of followers of the Horde referred to as the 'Talon' have taken up occupation of the ruins making internal investigation of these residential structures difficult pending negotiations. Given the author is a Dwarf this is likely to be a unfruitful. Building designated residential building 'large', likely once housed a small Elven household. Has been refurbished by nearby Horde forces. The larger central plaza likely held ceremonial meetings before proceeding to the inside of the temple or vice-versa, rubbings reveal it is more than likely to be of some ritualistic function however this cannot be fully ascertained until the site is fully investigated as this may reveal additional information such as alignments with Azeroth's moons. One interesting part of the plaza is the presence of a now destroyed statue... what remains of it suggests an Elven woman who once possessed a bow, possibly a military leader in these parts? The destroyed statue in question, the arm holding the bow can be found at the base of the structure The Temple of Tordala Very little sadly remains of the main Temple of Tordala, not even a statue as to suggest in who's name worship was enacted here. The building however is quite substantial or would have been in it's prime. Comparisons can be seen in Azshara with a multi-tiered structure with a single spiraling access-way to the top. Further exploration of the ruins is hampered by the large presence of Elven ghosts in the area some of which are passive but some are incredibly hostile going so far as to phase through walls and attack their target in a screaming sorrowful rage. It is because of this the author was unable to take any images of the ruins. Conclusion The Temple of Tordala represents an important site in the Doldrums in most part to the fact it is a multi-facted complex with aspects of military, residential and religious life all rolled into one single site. What remains is likely a fraction of the original temple-city considering it has endured not only the events of the Sundering but also the spirits of Legion demons nearby suggest that the place was sacked during one of the demonic invasions of Azeroth. Both of these disasters suggest that we will find far more buried beneath the ground which will reveal the foundations for further buildings and dare I say: the remains of a full city. The residing issue with the site is that members of the Horde faction known as the 'Talon' have set up base at this very important site and could (admittedly without realizing it) be damaging the site irreparably by living in it. I have attempted to make contact with the organization however their base is now unreachable due to a fortified gate halfway up the cliff pass with no-one manning it that often. Additional work Further archaeological work is required to gain an accurate record of these Elven ruins before they either fall from cliff erosion, conflict or magical anomalies. Of particular note is the temple itself which had a number of ghosts in and around the ruins making surveying extremely difficult. The author has established a basic contact with a research group on the coast consisting of Elven researchers from the fabeled city of Eldre'Thalas however any archaeological work -MUST- include these individuals as they likely possess a wealth of knowledge on the site that puts even my archaeological qualifications to shame! Those interesting in assisting them should seek out Comus Kir'Madune, leader of the expedition. To the eastern end of the isle appear some Elven statues however the presence of extremely hostile Elven spirits as well as what appear to be fel energies make this place extremely hazardous without an armed escort. Next time Catch the next copy of 'The Explorer's Digest' where i'll be taking a ferry to the isle known as Opej'Nor in search of ruins and archaeology and possibly undertaking a survey of the sand banks known as the 'Last Battlegrounds'! Contributors Enjoyed the read? Want to get involved? The Explorer's Digest is widely available on most islands of the Doldrums Archipelgo and is written in both Common and Orcish. If you are interested in putting an advert into the booklet then please contact the author by letter to the following address: Grettik Gritbeard The Silverscale Inn Bunk 5 Silver-Eye Island Payments for advertising contribute not only to additional research and archaeological excavations but also help fund the booklet by funding artists to make it far more aesthetically pleasing to others. Those interested in voluntary work for research projects please also contact the author at the above address citing any experience in fieldwork or with archaeological organisations such as the Explorer's League or the Reliquary. As a journal dedicated towards the thrill of adventure and exploration we are always on the lookout for contributions! If you've been on an exciting adventure as of late and wish to share it with the rest of the archipelgo's denizens then please drop us a letter and we may include your piece in our next issue! Are you a charitable soul with either silver or building resources available? The author of this booklet intends to open up a museum on Silver-Eye showcasing the weird and wonderful from around the archipelgo. If you have anything to donate (museum pieces are also appreciated!) then do please get in contact. And last but not least, the author's dissertation piece with the league specializes in finds identification of objects of titan creation and magical arcane items! If you have something interesting but you don't know what it is, give us a visit and we can identify items for a modest fee. ((For IC contact / letters left, please send a PM in a letter format via the forums or discord ('dascombe') and Grettik will get back to you))

Honestly, I always loved (hopefully decently written) custom sort of lore and modifying WoW's environment, so I'm hopeful this is as cool as it can be. I still remember one of the old phases, where Dustwallow marsh was a sandy wasteland. I also loved how the gnomes were these like, unwanted refugees stuck in camps by fascist dwarfs. Of course the downside is nobody played anything but like, human and elf.' So, hopefully, this custom stuff can survive with whatever population is present. Otherwise we're all going to just be loitering in random areas in the Hillsbrad Foothills again. Welcome to everyone and to me! This time, Rivet Voltscrank is actually fleshed out. Could be interesting.

Quick suggestion RE: the new gather check function For those that don't know, .rpg csheet when targeting a player will flash up a big green message telling you if a player is gathering, far more useful than the waiting around for the 2second long animation clip to cycle around. Only issue (and it's a minor one) is that it doesn't tell you -what- a person is gathering. EG: you are in a gathering zone where the local much needed ore supply is about to become decimated However the animal supply is completely untouched A person walks in and you see that they are starting to gather, they are -actually- gathering ore to try and get some rares at the cost of annihilating the supply but when confronted they innocently state they are just hunting for animals. In a normal situation, you would be able to spot what the individual is doing an act upon it, instead you are provided with the situation of having to believe them that they are hunting animals whilst swinging a pickaxe into the ground, a situation which sounds rather absurd. Would it be possible for this check system to also highlight what actual gathering profession they are performing?