NPC Spotlight: Mr. Jones and me, tell each other fairytales...

After a tiresome but successful quest, you return to Dalaran and search for a place to rest. Deciding upon the Legerdemain, you pay for a room and slowly begin climbing the stairs. On your way up, you spot a small orange cat laying on a ledge, his bright green eyes half-closed as he drifts in and out of sleep. His collar is just peeking out from his thick mane of fur, and you make out the name Jones on the tag.

You pet Jones.
Jones purrs contentedly.

Thinking a little company might be nice, you shift into your cat form and curl up next to Jones, exhausted, falling fast asleep.

NPC Spotlight: :(

Today's spotlight will be late canceled, because AMAGAWD SCHOOLWORK.

NPC Spotlight: Aspen Grove Post

These two traders don't look all that interesting, do they? Probably because they're not.

But what they sell is!

At the Aspen Grove Post in Grizzly Hills, the trader and supplier have an interesting array of items, of which the flavour text clues the player into what's really going on in the zone: worgen.

It's easy to miss these vendors, since they aren't involved in any quests directly. However, they are linked to the worgen quest chain in the zone, and once the quest "Escape from Silverpine" is complete, these NPCs will become hostile to you.

Here are the items up for sale that suggest the hidden savagery:

• Punctured Pelt - "It seems the punctures were caused by fangs."
• Shredded Cloth - [no flavour text]
  
• Grizzleberries - "Fresh from the bush."
• Grizzleberry Juice - "Filled with pulp."
• Raw Tallhorn Chunk - "An unappealing, ragged chunk of meat."
• Fresh Eagle Meat - "There are still some feathers on the meat."
  

NPC Spotlight: Sorely Twitchblade

I love gnomes. They're always so cheery and fun; even when they're being serious and evil, they've got this charm to them that always makes me smile.

Pulling off evil and cute? I think that's a winning combination. And a dangerous one.

So today in the NPC spotlight is Sorely Twitchblade!

Sorely can be found dancing on the bar of the Valgarde inn (in Howling Fjord). This poison vendor doesn't do much for the plot of Wrath or offer any quests, but he's memorable all the same.

If you spend a few moments hanging around, he'll start talking to the bar tender, Coot:

• You're shayin' you wan... you wan... *hic* you wan' me to dansh on dis bar? *hic*
• Maeshtro! Cue da mushic! (begins dancing)
  
• That hit the shpot! Gimmie anudder one, Coot! *hic*

This actually gives me an idea for a silly gnome feature... there are lots of others like Sorely around Azeroth. :) Keep your eyes open for it.

~Have an interesting NPC on your mind that you'd like to see featured in NPC Spotlight? Leave a comment below!~

NPC Spotlight: Captain Arnath

The first NPC to enter the spotlight is... Captain Arnath of the Ashen Verdict!

"Even dying here beats spending another day collecting reagents for that madman, Finklestein."

Captain Arnath first appears in Zul'Drak as the captain of an Argent Crusade post, which, unfortunately for Arnath, is where the Crusade's best alchemist, Finklestein, chooses to set up his lab to create a truth serum. Arnath begrudgingly ends up organizing the collection of reagents for the lab, a job he deems below him, and so hires you, the player, to help him collect various ingredients.

Throughout the quests that Arnath offers, he's constantly mentioning how he would rather be on the front line making a more direct impact on the Crusade's efforts like he used to, instead of hanging around collecting reagents. And with the Ashen Verdict's breakthrough into Icecrown Citadel, he gets his wish.

Arnath and the other Pa'Troll-involved captains, as well as Crok Scourgebane, lead the way into the Frostwing Halls of Icecrown to battle Sister Svalna, a val'kyr lieutenant of the Lich King. Depending on the performance of your raid, Arnath may or may not meet his end here.

But what is it that makes Arnath such an interesting character?

If Arnath dies, he is risen by Svalna to be used against your raid... and you can hear such contempt and the need for revenge in his voice as he fights you. You can see how he became consumed by his bitterness at working for Finklestein, and how easily the Lich King's forces can corrupt what was once your ally. (If he kills a player, he explains, "That was for bringing me spoiled spider ichor.")

And even after his second death, after he has turned on your raid, you can still feel sorry for him, hearing his desperation to continue avoiding the alchemist. "Don't let Finklestein use me ... for his potions ..."

Arnath's whole scenario is meant to be comical of course, especially shown through, "You miserable fools never did manage to select a decent bat wing."

One thing I really love is that players can relate to Arnath. As he dies, he laments, "Never ... could reach ... the top shelf ..." a feeling that I'm sure many Pa'Trollers will understand. :)

NPC Spotlight!

During my guild's raid tonight, we decided to try Valithria for a while after taking out the Blood Princes, since we were short a few raiders to do the end-of-wing bosses. This meant getting to visit a super-cool NPC... Captain Arnath!

Not many people actually remembered who he was, which made me think, "I wish there were a way for these memorable characters to get the recognition they deserve."

Introducing... NPC Spotlight! Every Friday Saturday I'll write a little something about an interesting non-major NPC. Then hopefully everyone will be able to enjoy these gems of characters as much as I do. :)

I find that little memorable things like these are what make WoW so continuously fun to play.