I may be on a RP break, but in the meantime I've been digging up some of Aegrid's old stuff. This is an IC Field Guide that she wrote back during Cataclysm, I had it as a GHI book with a bunch of custom formatting on the title page. I'm looking forward to having the time to recreate it now that GHI has new and updated tools for item creation!
Tombs, Traps & Other Troubles
A Field Guide to Practical Archeology and the dangers faced by the Modern Explorer.
Introduction
Wearing the badge of an Explorer's League Prospector isnāt an act that is usually taken up by people who enjoy any sort of consistency in life. A Prospector's job requires that they be alert at all times, skilled in a variety of tasks, immune to the throes of common sense, and in possession of an uncanny ability to avoid being eaten, crushed, drowned, burnt, cursed, or otherwise killed in a most horrible and permanent fashion.
As my mentor, Makers rest him, used to say, āProspecting is the second-best way to secure yourself an interesting eulogy - right behind Goblin engineered munitions.ā
With so much new blood in the Prospecting field these days I figure the priests must be up to their stuffy shirt collars in damned interesting eulogies. If these wet-behind-the-ears greenhorns donāt take heed of this book I figure Iāll have a good enough retirement as a coffin maker sooner than you can say Harrison Jones.
Assuming we can find the pieces.
--A.S.
Chapter One: Tombs
Though many greenhorns go out into the field hoping, or even expecting, to stumble across some precious relic every other step Iām here to tell you that theyāre more likely to win a kiss from an Ogre than they are to find Archeology an easy job. Thereās a reason the craft was created and perfected by the dwarves - the rest of the namby-pamby races would sooner mess their britches than find a way to make even more work for themselves. Also, thereās rather a lot of digging involved.
Now, if thereās one thing that any dwarf knows from the time theyāre but a wee beardling itās how to dig a hole thatās not going to collapse faster than a goblin charity. We know the earth proper-like, but the rest of you lot are fair well screwed unless you pay attention.
Rock slides, cave ins, and collapsed embankments are real dangers to any Prospector out in the field and donāt you think otherwise! These are best avoided by not being a blithering idiot and taking proper precautions when digging something you plan to stand inside. Even a small hole can collapse in on unwary Prospectors and crush or suffocate them like my Great-Aunt Gurtenceās bosomy hugs.
Digging Tips!
Use plenty of bracing to keep walls of earth in place.
Never, never, never excavate UNDER A BOLDER.
Mind your soil moisture content - earth thatās too wet or too dry likes to shift suddenly.
Fill in what you dig - if I fall in your diggings youāll be sorry.
Now, many folk might disregard the above advice when they find themselves kicking about in some bloody ruins with walls and pillars and great mucking statues. āWhy theyāre safe as houses,ā I can hear you greenhorns wailing already. Safe as houses full of ideas on how to KILL YOU, says I. We call them ruins for a reason, lads, and donāt ye forget it. Any rules that apply to digging holes goes equally for exploring holes someone else dug, probably double - see chapter two for more details.
The last thing youāve gotta look out for, and the easiest to miss, is bad air. Thereās half a hundred reasons air can go bad underground - mineral dust, leaking gasses, flat-out lack of air, ancient buried Trogg farts. Point is, theyāll addle your brain or kill you outright, some just by breathing and others by being more explosive than an Winter Veil toy tonk. Best thing you can do is avoid them all together, thereās lots of ways to do it but the best way is to buy an all purpose air analyzer. You can buy them mail order from a form in the back of this book.
Chapter Two: Traps
A big problem with ruins, or any dig really, is the fact that thereās bound to be traps just laying around waiting to find someoneās arse they can be a pain in. You do not want that arse to be yours. If the thought of a hole having it in for you made you piss yourself in fear you may want to put this book down now and find a safer career, like knitting, smithing, or assembling bombs.
Pit traps are a perennial favorite of every tomb designer this side of Outlands (and probably that side too). The premise is simple, dig a hole, put something icky at the bottom, and wait for some wit-addled greenhorn to step in it. Avoid these by testing the ground in front of you with a stout stick, roping yourself to your companions (put the hefty ones in back then), and employing feather fall or other levitation enchantments.
Similar in popularity to pit traps are what Old Welgrin used to call āSharp, pointy bits thatād like to poke you in the squashy places and make you leak.ā Thereās all manner of different flavors to these, spikes in floors or walls, razor edged blades swinging out of the darkness, darts or arrows shot out of hidden nooks. The best way to get around having your liver perforated by a grumpy troll corpse is to not be at the front of the line - or to have very good reflexes.
If you manage to avoid falling to your doom or getting opened up like a can full of beans you run the risk of getting so turned around you canāt find your way back out. Thereās nothing more embrassing than having to die of hunger because you canāt stop to ask for directions, except possibly having to dance in public. A good piece of chalk will save you this terrible fate and merciless posthumous teasing. Simply mark your passage on any available surface, but remember to make them clear and easy to read if youāve got to run for your life later on.
This last kind of trap makes all those other ones look like frisky kittens that want to frolic about in the sunshine and daisies in comparison. Iām talking about curses, hexes, spells, or any other mystic booby trap. Thereās no common denominator with these, and theyāre as nasty as they come. Trolls are particularly fond of them, but some Highborne ruins are near as bad. Best preparation for this is to get the blessings of a holy man and to make sure youāve got a few sturdy talismans to ward off evil magics. If you think youāve been cursed be prepared to pay through the nose for an exorcism or other cleansing ritual. If those donāt work for you then Iām afraid youāre more screwed than a pregnant gnoll. Good luck.
Chapter Three: Troubles
The previous chapters cover dangers that are specific to Prospectors that have gone out and found themselves a place to scrounge around in. That doesnāt mean youāre in the clear just because youāre stuck surveying like a first year Prospector on the ass end of the totem pole. No, it means youāve got a whole set of other problems to worry about, many of them as nasty as the incidents in the previous two chapters, and all of them equally as annoying.
Natives are the most troublesome sort to figure out. On rare, rare occasion they prove helpful, and a if you can hire one as a guide without blowing your budget Iād recommend doing so straight away. Generally you wonāt have to worry about that because you'll be too busy running for your life. In my experience the best way to deal with hostile natives is to find more hostile natives. I know this sounds as mad as a knocked over beehive but thereās sound logic to it; namely, the natives generally hate each other way more than they hate you. Iāve made many an escape while the trolls on my heels were busy chucking axes at their neighbors.
Before you even get to worry about the natives youāve got to worry about the terrain. Azerothās a big place full of jungles, deserts, tundras, fjords, mountains, and swamps. All of which will gladly eat you before breakfast. This issue is best handled by having the proper equipment on hand and by spending half an hour in one of the Royal Libraries. Only an addle-brained jackhole sets out on an adventure without doing a little research first. If thatās you, well, you probably deserve whatās coming to you.
I would talk about weather, but itās pretty much the same deal as terrain. Do your research, take the proper equipment, donāt be a jackhole. Simple.
Critters and beasties are a whole other kettle of fish, or rats, or venomous snakes from the very pit of creation. No matter where you are or what kind of excavation youāre leading there will be at least some critters and beasties to deal with. Now, no offense to the idiots over at D.H.E.T.A. but your best bet here is to kill the little suckers stone dead before they decide to get the jump on you. These arenāt some cute little buggers to take home, these are things capable of wrecking more face than a goblin shredder in a barber shop - and donāt you forget it! Sometimes plans fall into this category too, the same goes for them, maybe doubly so. You donāt want that interesting eulogy to involve you having your arse kicked by an overeager eggplant. Thatās just plain embarrassing to the profession.
Last of all you should be on the look out for your fellow Archeologists. Like natives they can occasionally be helpful, and teaming up to tackle a large scale expedition can be right handy. Thatās assuming the ones you run into are the sane, capable sort. With so many other greenhorns running around youāre bound to find a few wee, incompetant lambs out there just waiting for the slaughter. Whatever you do, donāt team up with them! Theyāll drag you down into a pit trap infested with snakes faster than you can say āBugger me sideways!ā. Instead carry around a few extra copies of Tombs, Traps & Other Troubles so you can hand them one and then run as fast as possible in the other direction.
As for the crazy sorts, well, best just to run away and hope they donāt follow you.
Occasionally youāll run into Prospectors, mostly members of that newfangled Reliquary Society, that donāt much care for you honing in on their territory. Be extra careful around these guys, and whatever you do, donāt eat their food. Very bad dates indeed.
Conclusion
Over the course of your career thereās no way youāll manage to avoid all of these problems, but hopefully this tome will keep you from having to get your limbs reattached too often. But I donāt guarantee it.
So in the spirit of adventure, go forth brave greenhorns and remember, in Titan Ironaya is spelled with an āJā.
Some screenshots of Dathilde, complete with her tattoos.Ā
Right now sheās in her Armored set for leveling and general mayhem, and Iām collecting pieces for the other two. Itās a good thing I enjoy running Ulduar, and a better thing that E doesnāt mind running it with me! <3 Iāve gotta start Argent Tournament dailies though, and wonāt that be a hoot. Itāll be worth it. I love that set.
As for her casual gear, Iām chronically checking the AH for this stuff, so if anyone has some they want to unload Iāll pay reasonable in game prices for it - or swap art for it.Ā
Chest - Broodmother Carapace or Wranglerās Wraps (mm armbands)
Legs - Peerless Leggings
Wrists - Ranger Wristguards
Feet - Wranglerās Boots
Waist - Hillmanās Belt
I was just looking through your alliance blog that I wasnāt even following (shame on me!), and man, Iāve been working on Aishaās background and trying to completely decide on her Clan, and Dathildeās awesome Wildhammer tattoos make me very tempted to go in that direction <.< She looks great!
Originally, Aisha was supposed to be Wildhammer, but I went a bit away from it because Wildhammer fits so well for Lark, and I wanted to make Aisha a different character. But sheās already developing in a very different direction than Lark, so it might not be a problem for me after allā¦
They really need to add tattoos to the CC with WoD. I donāt think they will, but maybe in the futureā¦
Ahh, they totally do need to add tattoos, just as I need to use this blog more. Edit: Augh! It ate the rest of my post. Email me a reminder about dwarf stuff would ya?
So I inked and colored a ballpoint pen sketch of Dathilde that I did over my lunch break a couple weeks ago. Sheās coming along pretty nicely I think! Iām starting to get a better handle on her as a character. As usual I will probably never draw her tattoos the same way twice. I love these though.
Iāve had these Wildhammer/Dwarf headcanons floating around in my brain for a while, but a bunch of them solidified today so I thought Iād post them here in case anyone wants to read my weird ramblings. As a note, Iāve not played the game really dedicatedly in a couple years so I may have missed some lore updates. If something seems off please let me know! Iād be really interested to update/alter my theories.
As a note - As much as Iām speculating pretty deeply into the history and creation of the dwarves Iām pretty OK with leaving these as big mysterious gaps in my RP. My main drive here is to make my Wildhammerās worship of the Earthmother and Skyfather make sense to me in a way thatās fulfilling. Like anytime I bring headcanons into RP anything used from here will be proposed as the beliefs of one particular clan, and not force-fed on anyone else.
Iām trying something somewhat different with Dath. Iāve gotten into the habit of playing middle aged ladies with grumpy attitudes and a tendency to dwell on depressing backstories. Iām keeping the middle aged bit because middle aged ladies are badass and the world needs more of them, but Iām giving a more upbeat and genuinely nice character a go. Iāll be playing around a lot with the Good is not Dumb trope. (I should do a tropes sheet for her too.)
Dathilde lives on the Earthen Ring (US) server and Iād love to take her out roleplaying so if you want my battlenet ID Iāve recently updated it to dvergagal#1269 so feel free to add me!
Some screenshots of Dathilde, complete with her tattoos.Ā
Right now sheās in her Armored set for leveling and general mayhem, and Iām collecting pieces for the other two. Itās a good thing I enjoy running Ulduar, and a better thing that E doesnāt mind running it with me! <3 Iāve gotta start Argent Tournament dailies though, and wonāt that be a hoot. Itāll be worth it. I love that set.
As for her casual gear, Iām chronically checking the AH for this stuff, so if anyone has some they want to unload Iāll pay reasonable in game prices for it - or swap art for it.Ā
Chest - Broodmother Carapace or Wranglerās Wraps (mm armbands)
Legs - Peerless Leggings
Wrists - Ranger Wristguards
Feet - Wranglerās Boots
Waist - Hillmanās Belt
I like making odd profession choices for my characters ā cartographers, bards, blacksmiths, acolytes, librarians, scientists, masons, bakers, etc. But I find it difficult to do that in an MMO because leveling basically turns your character into a soldier for hire. Very distracting and counter-immersive!
I definitely agree itās counter-immersive! It can also be pretty funny, so Iām trying to keep an upbeat attitude about it. I just have so many ideas for characters that arenāt defined by their class choice!
Dathilde in WoW will hopefully find a balance between smashing skulls and surveying rocks. (Maybe she can use smashed skulls as mile markers?) I quite enjoy playing her and using that attitude to be more observant of the gameās landscape. Especially in Pandaria!
Aaahhhhhh! They turned out so great! Thank you again! Their poses are so full of energy and you really nailed their expressions. Perfect!
This commission experience was really laid back and nice on my end, I would totally commission Linn again. If youāre thinking about getting one I strongly recommend going for it.
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