The Ghost of Ironforge

[InterWill]

Back when the world was young and dwarfs were not so ugly, the city of Ironforge had not yet been built. During the construction of Ironforge the dwarfs worked tireless hours to create the wonderful city that they believed should be their capital.

Unfortunately, every great construction feat has its losses, and many a dwarf died in the cunstruction of Ironforge. This tale is about one of them, the saddest of them all.

He was a sturdy dwarf, having lived his life on a farm working from sun up untill sundown. His name was Grontish, and when he heard the call for workers to help the dwarf king build a grand city, he gladly signed up. He would make his father proud!

Durring the construction, the dwarfs had to widen an already existing tunnel in the side of the mountain before they could begin to raise buildings. After the cavern was hollowed out, and the area in the center prepared for the Ironforge, the chief engineer had a thought. He said, "We should also put a chasm through the central area of our great city. It will help us to defend against attacks, for when they rush in, their computers will lag and when they regain control they will be in this chasm."

Grontish was against this idea however, and he voiced his concerns to the chief engineer, stating that such a chasm would be a safety risk to all denizens of Ironforge. The chief engineer agreed that it would be a safety hazard, but would not get rid of his idea, he insisted that he could make it safe.

Now, in order to keep this chasm safe for the ordinary lagging citizens of Ironforge, the chief engineer had a metal lattice placed within this chasm to prevent death from falling.

Our young dwarf, Grontish, was one of the workers putting this lattice in; while he was working on it not all of the chasm safe, and one day he slipped, falling into the chasm.

Unfortunately Grontish died on that fateful day, causing much grief to his friends, and especially to his family.

Grontish, put out by the fact that he had been against the chasm all along, having said that it would be a safety hazard, did not go into the greath beyond as he should have. Instead, his ghost remained in Ironforge, hopeing to prove that the chasm is not safe for innocent bankers and bidders.

Grontish now sits in front of the bank observing all who pass; when he sees someone begin to lag, he posseses their body and runs it into the chasm, trying to finally prove his point.

Every day Grontish sits there, running thousands of poor innocent people into the chasm, all because their computer's were a little too slow, and because none of the various chief engineers over the years have decided to fix the grevious wound in Ironforge's face.

To this day Grontish has kept his vigil. Who knows how long he shall keep it? Most likely he shall remain until his message is heeded.

And that may never happen.

So for all of you weary Ironforge bankers and bidders, beware Grontish and his nefarious scheme. For much as you may think you are special, you too will lag, and you too will find yourself in the chasm.

Good luck to you in all your travels, and may you help Grontish in his quest by suggesting to the chief engineer of Ironforge that maybe the pit really is a dangerous amenity to the city.


Good day to you traveler and may your travells be good and the sun shine on your path.

source: post on the general forums

[FranticDwarf]

so thats why i always end up in the dam hole / stuupid dwarf!

[gore]

Question, was at any point in alpha/beta this chasm actually a way to die? It seems to be there only for flavor, but the system lock as you approach the bank/ah makes it a real pain in the butt to deal with - I can only imagine how annoying it would be if falling in there actually killed you.

[Qulidos]

You've got to understand, level designers are ARTISTS, thus fuctionality isn't even a concern to them. They figured, "wouldn't it be neat if we had a big system of vents from the 'core' of the city", at this point someone said "well that might be neat, but what if people fall into the pit?". This is when they added the lattice.

[Ringo]

Question, was at any point in alpha/beta this chasm actually a way to die? It seems to be there only for flavor, but the system lock as you approach the bank/ah makes it a real pain in the butt to deal with - I can only imagine how annoying it would be if falling in there actually killed you.

As I recall, no. Ironforge had a different floor plan for a while (it had three rings of streets, not two), and the elevator down to Tinkertown could kill you (it had a bad habit of moving out of sync with your character). I don't recall the pit ever being a real problem.

Having said that, before there was a death penalty at all, people used to jump into the Great Forge to return to their bind point. The accumulation of bodies under the lava (back when even hidden bodies would be drawn for your system) caused massive lag and people used to lag and fall into the forge themselves. (The forge was also more dangerous back then, with smithing areas as small islands one had to travel down to.)