Project Lore

The High Inquisitor is a new regular column at Project Lore that seeks answers to the greatest mysteries of Azeroth. Each week, the inquisitor will attack a previously unanswered question and attempt to explain the unknown. But she won't rest until all plausible explanations are explored. The best, most probable comment(s) will be highlighted with the next edition's inquisition.

They're the drunken, boorish, muscular, axe-wielding, long-bearded, mining, vertically-challenged characters of Azeroth. And did I mention that their accent suggests they're Scottish? Yup, I'm clearly talking about dwarves. And my question is simple - why? Just when did dwarves become such a type-casted caricature? Not just in World of Warcraft, but dwarves in a multitude of modern pop culture references seem to share a few key elements: beer, rocks and a hardy, bearded musculature. If you want to blame someone, let's go directly to the source - Norse mythology. The dvergar, as they were called, were significant nature spirits associated with rocks and the earth. Although they weren't described as short beings until much later, the dwarves even in this rendition are master crafters, especially in the sculpting of metals. Somewhat ironically, when exposed to sunlight, the Norse dwarves would turn to stone and die. The pop-culture version of the dwarf took a drastic turn thanks to JRR Tolkien and his iconic The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy. The stocky, touchy, easy to anger incarnation this time also explained dwarves as merrymen miners who loved a good drink and would willingly take on someone much larger than them in a fight. We see this version of the character commonly referenced in the modern fantasy genre, including in WoW (especially recently in Brewfest). And this certainly wouldn't be the last time that LOTR may have been used as inspiration for WoW. In the Warcraft lore, dwarves originated from the Earthen, who are guardians of living stone. After the implosion of the Well of Eternity, the shocked earthen went into a state of hibernation within the titan cities of Uldum, Uldaman and Ulduar. Nearly 8,000 years later, they awoke with softened skin and diminished powers over stone. Some migrated to Dun Morogh and built Ironforge. So, that's that. But there's still the remaining question of the Scottish accent. In the Lord of the Rings books, the dwarves were described as having a language that would more closely resemble African tongues. On the other hand, the LOTR movies adopted the Scottish convention, solidifying it into all of our minds as the proper language for dwarves. Perhaps one explanation for the accent could come from English folklore surrounding Duergar. These short, trouser- and hat-wearing tricksters would appear bearing torches at night to lead travelers astray into bogs. This story originated in Northern England, along the border with - ding ding - Scotland. Or, perhaps, someone just decided to portray a dwarf with a Scottish accent, and it stuck. So, perhaps it's the accent that's the biggest mystery of all. But WoW dwarves just wouldn't be the same if they didn't proclaim, while rolling those RRRs and charming the listener, "I don't have a drinking problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down. No problem!" So here's where you guys come in. What do you think of the accepted portrait of dwarves - does it work for you? Or would you rather see more originality instead of stereotyped characters? Oh, and don't forget to find me a good reason why dwarves are Scottish. The best answer(s) will be featured in the next edition. 3...2...1... GO!

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Mythology, folk lore, legends, all words to describe ancient stories.  These tall tales were created to explain the unexplainable, scare children, hail fallen heroes and even to just entertain.  Every civilization has them, from perhaps the best known - of the Western world - stories of Ancient Greece to the Samurai, onto the homegrown tales of Native Americans.  And to me, every single myth is captivating, no matter how similar they may be.

While much of the Warcraft lore is based on more recent, or original, stories, Wrath of the Lich King added an entire race dedicated to a civilization that has been plundered by the video game industry, Norse mythology.  Final Fantasy, Tales of Symphonia, Odin Sphere, Too Human, Viking: Battle for Asgard, and even earlier parts of WoW (World Tree as well) have lifted from stories of the long dead viking culture.  Players can see the Norse influence on WoW all over Northrend, from Howling Fjord, The Storm Peaks and the final zone of Icecrown.  No matter what soil you step on, there is a good chance that the Vrykul, or their Undead version, the Val'kyr, have made it their home. If you want more than mobs based on oversized vikings, then the Sons of Hodir/Thorim quest line is for you.  Without spoiling the experience, allow me to whet your appetite a bit.  The quest line is one of the longest currently in WoW and contains some of the best lore, that has its own twists on the ancient story.  For better or for worse, the lengthy chain is not required for anything too substantial, unlike the exhausting Onyxia chain, meaning many players may have dropped the line, or skipped over it entirely.  Not all of the 40+ quests are worth the time, but the culmination of the events your toon has taken part in are something that should not be missed.  Plus, it gives you a reason to tackle Halls of Lightning, other than helping out a guild mate. I am no Norse expert, but there are many obvious references to their deep tales.  Here is the basic, spoiler free, tip of the iceberg information for the adventure:

• Dun Niffelem - Niflheim is one of two places that existed before the known world.  It is intensely cold and likely the basis for Dun Niffelem's name.
• Thorim - Thorim, the protagonist of our long quest line, is based upon the God of Lightning, Thor.  Lending credence to these claims is that the name of Thorim's wife, Sif, is the same name as Thor's beloved.
• Loken - Loken is based on the tricky bastard known as Loki, and in this telling, happens to be Thorim's brother.  Constantly up to shenanigans in Norse mythology, Loken follows his basis well, upsetting Thorim so much as to send him into a deep depression.  His acts are the start of our quest.

Believe it or not, this is actually the third time I have touched upon this quest line.  I revisited it for my favorite area in all of Northrend, an area that was created by Thorim's butterfingers.  There is plenty more to the quest than what we touched on here, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't tackled the full line.  Anybody who hasn't finished the line should avoid visiting the comments section until they do so - but feel free to leave a comment if you have the willpower to skip reading everyone else's thoughts.  If you enjoy lore in general, then this is one quest chain you should not miss.  It has everything, love, betrayal, deceit and epic battles.  It makes me want to dig up some more books, anyone know a good Norse mythology collection?  Preferably one that isn't incredibly difficult to grasp.  I recently read the Divine Comedy, so I need a break for the difficult stuff!

Probably worth noting that Thorim is actually a Titan, while Loken is a Dark Titan serving the Old God Yogg-Saron.  Not exactly a spoiler, more of a setup for Ulduar.

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Solidsamm Working On His Sons of Hodir Rep

The Sons of Hodir is one of those factions that almost all end game players are in the process of grinding or have already tackled. If your goal in Wrath of the Lich King is to melt faces in end game raids, dominate heroics, or PvP your heart out at level 80, then your only option for a shoulder enchant is this faction of frost giants. Shoulder enchants are not the only reason to get moving on your Sons reputation though. Like other Wrath factions the group offers a wide range of purchasable items, including the multi-person Reins of the Grand Ice Mammoth. Oh, and for those of you struggling with your gold income, the daily quests offered by the Sons of Hodir will fill your coffers quickly and easily.

The faction has money, loot, lore and needed end game enchantments (the Honored version of the enchants are as good as the Exalted Aldor/Scryer enchants), so you may be wondering how to go about the task of grinding to exalted. First things first, you need to get to neutral with them before you can begin any dailies. To do this you must run a series of quest chains, a total of 26 quests, that ends with your character becoming neutral. The first chain starts at K3 in Storm Peaks with the quest They Took Our Men. If you are still leveling fear not, for the initial 16 quest chain is accessible to level 77 and higher.

After becoming fast friends with Lok'lira the Crone and her sisters at Brunnhildar Village, you will be tasked with finding yourself a mount to continue in the Hyldsmeet event. With harness in hand your are set to begin your second quest line. This series is half as long, only comprising of eight rather quick and easy goals and leads you to the mightily depressed Thorim. While performing your last task in the line for Thorim, Mending Fences, you will receive Slag Covered Metal. The shiny blue object will start your third and final chain, comprising of a pair of easy quests that will get you to Neutral with the Sons of Hodir (for all non-Humans).

Now you can begin your long, hard grind to Exalted. The rest of the way will mainly be completed through various daily quests that open up depending on your reputation level. Friendly offers us a total of five quests (although Wrath launched with four):

• Hodir's Tribute (recently added) – Something to do with all those Relics.
• Everfrost/Remember Everfrost! - These chips are hard to spot on the snowy grounds of Storm Peaks.
• Polishing the Helm – An easy collection quest.
• Blowing Hodir's Horn – An easy kill quest (party to make it even faster).
• Hot and Cold – Annoying collection quest due to the spawn rate of the hot metal and ability for other players to ninja loot it from you.

All of the above quests, with the exception of Everfrost turn-ins, net you 250 rep per completion. You need to first locate an Everfrost Chip before you can begin the quest, then the repeatable version opens up. Both quests reward you with some gold and 350 rep. Neither of the turn-ins are marked as daily, so you can turn them in as often as you please. After you work your way to Honored, two new dailies reveal themselves.

• Spy Hunter – A very easy kill quest.
• Thrusting Hodir's Spear – Vehicle-based quest that is quite awesome. Worth getting to Honored to partake in this daily.

Lucky for us, the reputation gains are bumped up on the Honored quests. You now receive 350 and 500 reputation respectively. We have one final quest added upon becoming Revered, Feeding Arngrim. Another collection quest, kinda, but a bit more interesting than Polishing the Helm. However, no rep bump here as it only rewards 350 rep. The good thing is that all of the quests are completable till Exalted, meaning by the time you hit Revered you can earn 2550 rep a day. That calculation assumes you only do the turn-ins once per day. Removing them from the equation, you can go from Revered to Exalted in 11 days.

This guide originally closed with a recap on the lore surrounding the Sons of Hodir and how you become friendly with them. I decided to remove it so I don't spoil anyone's fun. I will just say that the chains introduce you to a lot of Norse mythology, and that the plot continues after you open up the Sons of Hodir faction.

Personally, I think that Blizzard gave the Sons of Hodir the only shoulder enchants in the game for a reason.  The designers probably felt that a quest chain lasting some 40 quests (if you continue the story line) warrants a good amount of attention.  By giving the sought after enchants to them, they ensure that many players will go through more than half of the quests.  At that point I was very interested in where the plot was taking me lorewise and will continue on to its culmination.

How many of you have already completed the rep grind? Did you do it before or after the Relic quest was added. If before, how pissed were you over the extra time spent? Hopefully you didn't vendor all your Relics and made a killing by selling them off!

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