Blizzard and Community References in WoW

By Wowhead Updated: 2021/07/29

The Culling of StratholmeGhostcrawlerSenior Historian EvelynaBreanniPerculia's Peculiar SignetWowhead Staff

Aryu's Puzzle Ring: This item is named after Aryu, a Wowhead developer! Aryu raided in Ensidia before starting at Wowhead in 2011. He handles all of the data for Wowhead, including datamining at 3 am, presenting Blizzard's data in more user-friendly ways, and adjusting the database to handle unannounced data changes on Blizzard's end so our tools keep working. The flavor text refers to the constant process of datamining and discovering data changes.

Ashelia's Adorned Waistguard: Ashelia became the site director for Wowhead in 2011! Under her guidance, the Transmog Sets database and Guides were launched, as well as user-favorite contests like the database scavenger hunts. She was also instrumental in growing our News section to cover more beta/PTR coverage and datamining changes. Ashelia also helped acquire LolKing--she spends most of her time there now, but you may catch her on Wowhead/Hearthhead setting up contests or helping with news!

Erorus' Ledger of Trade: This item is named after Erorus, who developed The Undermine Journal and Realm Pop before starting work at Wowhead in 2013. The flavor text on the item refers to The Undermine Journal, which tracks all auctions. Erorus is behind many features at Wowhead, including the Garrison Calculator, Battle Pet Team Calculator, Character Planner, Blue Tweet Tracker, and Sounds Database.

Jerek's Intractable Barrier: This item is named after Jerek, a Wowhead developer and designer! Jerek has been part of our battle pet and guides revamp, as well as developing Hearthhead Decks and the Deck Builder. The item is most likely a shield as his favorite character is a Warrior.

I received a BoE ring in Pandaria, Perculia's Peculiar Signet, as well as Kyu-Sy's Tarflame Doomcloak, which sounds like my last name, from Highmaul trash which is a nice counterpart to Gill's Glorious Windcloak.

The Alliance garrison follower Claire "the Fox" / Ariiya Sunblood is named after former Wowhead developer Poeticdragon--it's a play on her real name.

Noxiia's Shackles: Noxy is the former site artist for Wowhead! She created the adorable logos, contest art, and holiday graphics on the site, which you can browse here. She also creates name badges for every BlizzCon, drawing likenesses of WoW players and Blizzard staff. You can check out her 2014 badges here. Noxy also has the related Garrison followers Noxiia Atoh / Brother Zuo, Bryan Schnau / Zen'taki, and Sarah Schnau / Zen'tenbi.

Olivia currently works on Warcraft and eSports for Blizzard, but you may know her from her time at Wowhead assisting with news and co-hosting Wowhead Weekly. Previously she was WoW Insider's PvP and add-on columnist, as well as host Legendary at Gamebreaker TV. She has the Ordos item Olivia's Graceful Gaze with a PvP model, and she also has the amusing object I.O.U. Note, which references a running joke on twitter that Olivia would bake the devs one million cookies each if they implemented cross-realm arenas.

Loremaster Skosiris: Skosiris is the co-founder of Wowhead and as such runs the "organized and clearly labeled" library in Shattrath that makes "the grand libraries of Silvermoon City pale in comparison," according to his in-game dialogue. Each bookcase in the library serves as a different profession trainer.

Blizzard EmployeesAlex AckermanAlex AckermanAlexi HackercamAlex "Furor" Afrasiabi

Following the 2021 California Department of Fair Employment and Housing vs. Activision Blizzard Lawsuit which heavily involved Alex Afrasiabi, almost all references to him have been removed from World of Warcraft. Although most references have changed in-game, this section of the guide is being maintained for historical purposes alone.

The Ezra Grimm encounter in Stratholme is filled with references. The former quest The Great Ezra Grimm used to send players to explore the old cigar shop, which was revised in Cataclysm to be The Great Ezra Grimm. Players can open a mailbox near his shop with Fras Siabi's Postbox Key, read about his shop in Ezra Grimm's Advertisement, and kill him for Grimm's Premium Tobacco. A live version of him, Ezra Grimm, can be found in The Culling of Stratholme.

Players who wanted to obtain the original Quel'Serrar had to first get Nostro's Compendium of Dragon Slaying from Dire Maul.

Foror and Tigole as a pair are found in the Children's Week delicacy Tigule's Strawberry Ice Cream and the AV item Autographed Picture of Tigule. The original Zul'Gurub also had Lizardscale Eyepatch and Tigule's Harpoon as drops.

Field Marshal Stonebridge is a clear reference to his name, there are also NPCs referencing one of his characters, Kariel. Pathstalker Avokor is a Rogue trainer and Skeletal Remains of Telmius Dreamseeker is an old Dire Maul NPC that was the author of many librams like Libram of Constitution.

Denalea Meadowglaive / Vala Kaliraan is an Alliance night elf follower that can be recruited from the Garrison Inn.

Brazie Getz sells Fras Siabi's Barely Bigger Beer in limited supply, which increases the size of the player.

Lord Devrestrasz gives the daily quest Defending Wyrmrest Temple for Rapid Defense in Dragonblight, and appears in Dragon Soul for the rogue quests Proving Your Worth and A Hidden Message.

He can be found in several unobtainable items: Alex's Ring of Audacity and the removed flavor text in Peep's Whistle. His name is also on several PTR items like A Very Large Bag and Foror's Wipe Neutralizer.

Alexander "Xelnath" Brazie

In the Plants vs Zombies tribute game, Brazie the Botanist is the NPC who runs the event. Rewards include Brazie's Plant Light and the battle pet Brazie's Sunflower Seeds.

Alliance players in Icecrown Citadel come across the pervy vendor Brazie Getz who sells Brazie's Black Book of Secrets for . This contains Brazie's Dictionary of Devilish Draenei Damsels, Brazie's Document on Dwarven Dates in Dun Morogh, Brazie's Guide to Getting Good with Gnomish Girls, Brazie's Handbook to Handling Human Hunnies, Brazie's Notes on Naughty Night Elves. When talking to Brazie, he has interesting dialogue options hinting at creepy and non-legal wares he has to sell (possibly the unused item Brazie's Gnomish Pleasure Device?).

Quartermaster Brazie is the Alliance quartermaster for Tol Barad.

Ben Brode

Tome of the Lost may reference several songs in the flavor text, but "The Brode to Nowhere" also references Senior Game Designer for Hearthstone Ben Brode.

Benjamin Brode wanders around your Garrison sounding very excited and cheerful. He sells the Hearthstone-themed toys Hearthstone Board and Winning Hand. He wears a red checkered shirt similar to his Hearthstone Credits card and he tries to blend in with the Horde Garrison by wearing a cartoonish Orc mask—but he’s not fooling anyone.

Blizzard HistoriansCreative Development teamTimeless Isle

Senior Historian Evelyna represents Senior Historian Evelyn Fredericksen, who quizzes players on their lore knowledge in A Timeless Question.

Accompanying here are Historian Llore, named after Sean "Loreology" Copeland and Historian Ju'pa, after Justin Parker. Copeland also appears in Stormwind as Sean Copeland. Copeland's Clarity is a Draenor BoE named after him as well.

WoW Insider's interview with Sean CopelandBrian "Desvin" HolinkaBrian HolinkaArmsmaster HolinkaRoo Desvinforum nicknameBrian HolinkaChris KaleikiChris KaleikiKaleiki's Lost Training StaffForeman KaleikiMMO game design blogChris KaleikiBrian HolinkaChris Kowalski

Kowalski's Music Box, an Ashran item, sooths enemies so they are less likely to aggro you.

First Mate Kowalski is found on the boat between Theramore and Wetlands.

Chris Metzen

Chris Metzen, the Senior VP of Story and Development at Blizzard, is a Winter Veil reindeer you are required to save for On Metzen!.

Metzen is also a member of the Argent Dawn in Northrend: Avenger Metz, Dispatch Commander Metz

Community Management

Timbal's Focusing Crystal: Senior Community Rep Zarhym was originally known as Timbal on the WoW forums. Many players name their Ghostly Skull battle pet after Zarhym since it closely resembles his forum avatar, and Zarhym Altogether is the most recent tribute to him on the Timeless Isle.

Crygil's Discarded Plate Panel: Crygil was one of the forum Community Managers from Wrath. When asked about why he discarded the item, he responsed on the forums "Fel-Reavers can't read. I didn't discard it, it was stolen from me while I slept."

Drysc: Drysc, now known as Bashiok, is well-known to forum goers from his Diablo III and Warcraft posts. His NPC is a neophyte Shaman seeking instruction in the Exodar. He also got another NPC named after him, this time it's Bashiok who drops a dancing tree, the Spirit of Bashiok. The NPC resembles his forum avatar, which is a tree from Felwood.

Crithto: This perky pug is the Gamon of Stormwind--although he wears a variety of fashionable hats, he'll attack you. When killed, he drops Empty Puppy Collar. Crithto's avatar on the WoW forums is a Perky Pug, and CM Crithto is an avid pet-battler, writing the weekly Major Payne blog. The pugs with fashionable hats have also been seen in Crate of Kidnapped Puppies.

Eyonix: This Netherstorm innkeeper is named after longtime Community Manager Eyonix, who left Blizzard in 2010 for SEGA.

Everburning Candle: This trinket is named after Community Manager Nethaera, whose forum avatar is a burning candle. Another tribute is Sky Sergeant Vanderlip, who shares her real name. This NPC gives the tricky quest Bomb Them Again! needed for Blade's Edge Bomberman.

Nadina Stargem sells Flexible Tier 16 armor in between watching Hearthstone games! This NPC is named after Zeriyah, who is a Community Manager for Hearthstone. The "stargem" refers to her mana crystal avatar used on the Blizzard forums and Nadina references one of her WoW characters.

Flamelicked Cloak of Kaufebyrd: Rygarius, frequently nicknamed “coffee bird” on twitter, is responsible for writing all of the detailed patch notes and hot fixes. In Patch 6.2, Rygarius is now an elite hippogryph in Stormwind, flying next to a coffee mug.

Cory Stockton

Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton shows up as Innkeeper Coryth Stoktron, the Zangarmarsh innkeeper with an interesting sense of style (Stylin' Adventure Hat, Black Swashbuckler's Shirt, purple cape) and the unique beverage Cenarion Spirits with Strong Alcohol effect.

Relatives of Cory Stockton can be seen in Stormwind (Tyler Stockton and Nathan Stockton), Shrine of Seven Stars (Marsha Stockton and Ann Stockton), Undercity (Auctioneer Stockton), and Dalaran (Christi Stockton).

Christi Stockton's wine shop selling items like Cask of Aged Dalaran Red also fits in well with his interest in fine drinks, documented on Twitter.

Mumper is one of the NPCs fighting in Tanaan Jungle.

Kolrigg Stoktron is the bartender at the Spires of Arak Inn for the Alliance. You save him from being poisoned, and then he sends you on a quest which rewards Mystery Keg.

Customer Service in Culling of StratholmeThe Culling of Stratholme

Brock Thriss: Vrakthris is one of the original Customer Service posters. He also has the tribute NPC Skycaller Vrakthris.

Stephanie Sindree: Syndri is a former Customer Service rep who is now Lylirra, a Community Manager for Diablo III. She later had Lylirra's Shining Circlet named after her.

Mechanical Greeter RY7R: Named after former Customer Service rep Reythur, whose avatar was a robot quite similar to this NPC's model.

Olivia Zenith: Named after former Customer Service rep Zenylith, who is now a Latin Community Manager.

Michael Belfast: Named after former Customer Service rep Belfaire, who now writes at WoW Insider.

Additional NPCs include Edward Orrick for Auryk, Patricia O'Reilly for Orlyia, Mal Corricks for Malkorix, and Brandon Eiredeck for Aredek.

Dave "Fargo" Kosak

Gravy: One of the main characters in Flintlocke vs The Horde, currently serving as a bartender in Orgrimmar.

Fargo Flintlocke sends Alliance players to Twilight Highlands, which is an odd choice after he's nuked Stormwind in a previous installment of Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth.

Rok'tar sends Horde players to Twilight Highlands and is the main character of the follow-up series Flintlocke vs. The Horde.

Flintlocke has a number of items named after him, such as Flintlocke's Blasthammer which looks like a melee weapon and fits with Flintlocke's combat style.

Flintlocke's Woodchucker references his signature "Chuck-Shot" which was made with blasting powder and an angry woodchuck. This enchant makes your ranged weapon periodically spit out a critter.

Flintlocke's Chuckshooter: When looting corpses, Flintlocke also had to remember to pick up the Chuck-Shot dislodged in his enemies. It was quite dirty, leading to the flavor text "This weapon has clearly never been cleaned. Ever."

Flintlocke's Piloting Pants: References Flintlocke's debatable skills in flying a "diridgerdabler-able... diriger-jib-gibjer-lobbler... BLIMP" which eventually crashes.

Commander Lo Ping: This badge vendor is named after Lo Ping, who enjoyed hoarding tons of items.

"Doc" Schweitzer: This follower can be recruited as Alliance or Horde which is fitting with his guild allegiances.

Fargo Flintlocke / Brakk Shattershield

Bloodrose / Noel Harrison

Kathrena Winterwisp / Samantha Thornton

Lowping / Lawrence Sharp

Hester Blackember / Cheri

Colm Breakstorm / Gravy

Dilben Ironshot / Rok'tar

Dorothy TuDorothyDorothy "Two"Eric DoddsHand of Edward the OddWill of Edward the OddSignet of Edward the OddPauldrons of Edward the OddTreads of Edward the OddGreg "Ghostcrawler" Street

Ghostcrawler: Former Lead Systems Designer Ghostcrawler is a rare spawn in Vash'jir, a zone he liked due to his background in oceanography. This rare spawn has the infamous Nerfbat ability and looks like a spectral version of Ghostcrawler's crab forum avatar.

Ghostshell Crab is a matching translucent battle pet from the Darkmoon Faire.

I Was Promised a Pony: Pokes fun at players complaining Ghostcrawler didn't give them what they asked for.

To the Ground!: Back in 2008, Ghostcrawler mentioned that ret paladins could be nerfed to the ground.

Headhunting Team

Valmaun: Val Maun

Sergeant Wilson: Dave Wilson

Nassar: Mike Nassar

Kayvon Quinnstar

Blizzard CareersInternsVoraatios the Benedictive / Argonis SolheartJeffrey "Tigole" KaplanTigole's TrashbringerTigole's Boomstick (TEST)Tigule's HarpoonTigule's Strawberry Ice CreamAutographed Picture of TiguleJeremy FeaselJeremy FeaselDarkmoon EyeJeremy FeaselChristoph VonFeaselJoe RumseyJoe RumseyRumsey RumRumsey Rum Black LabelCaptain Rumsey's LagerRumsey Rum DarkRumsey Rum LightRecipe: Captain Rumsey's LagerJonathan LeCraftCrafty's PoleJonathan LeCraftOld CraftyCharles EtienneTomas RiogainTomas RiogainA Steamy Romance Novel: Savage PassionsKevin Kanai GriffithKanai GriffithA Guide to In-Game MemorialsKevin JordanSash of JordanElder Staff of JordanKieu LeDordra Talusfall / KieuKieutipieLake DumontBrandan VanderpoolBrian HornCasey FultonJake PattonJudah MehlerJonny ThroopLarissa BussellLucas MerinoMary Ann SkweresMatias VolkertRyan SlySom VanderpoolMonte KrolKrol BladeKrol CleaverKrol DecapitatorKrol ScimitarKrol the BladeMonte KrolNew Hearthglen

No Mercy for the Captured: This captured prisoners you need to kill are named after Blizzard Game Designers.

The followup quest, Torture the Torturer, refers to Torturer Alphonse after Jonathan LeCraft.

The Diary of High General Abbendis: Players on The Truth Will Out loot this book, which has many detailed pages talking about members of the Scarlet Crusade that overlap with Blizzard designers, like Bishop Street.

The Night WatchWatcher DoddsWatcher KellerWatcher PetrasOlivia Grace

Olivia's Graceful Gaze: Her Ordos item has a PvP model instead of an expected PvE one, due to her time as WoW Insider's PvP columnist.

She also has the amusing object I.O.U. Note, which references a running joke on twitter that Olivia would bake the devs one million cookies each if they implemented cross-realm arenas.

Pat Nagle

Nat Pagle was originally found in Dustwallow Marsh, offering the quest Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme to those with 225+ Fishing, which rewarded Nat's Lucky Fishing Pole.

Nat also sold Mudskunk Lure, which was used to lure Gahz'ranka in old Zul'Gurub. This had the themed loot Nat Pagle's Broken Reel and Nat Pagle's Guide to Extreme Anglin'

Nat is also the namesake for one of the STV rare fish rewards: Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots

Players can read the tantalizing end of a story involving Nat and the resting place of Ashbringer: Nat Pagle's Guide to Extreme Anglin', as well as a worn out copy: A Thoroughly Read Copy of "Nat Pagle's Guide to Extreme Anglin'."

In Mists of Pandaria, players can become Best Friends with Nat, in Learning from the Best, which rewards Nat's Fishing Chair. He also serves as The Angler's Quartermaster, selling Nat's Hat and Nat's Fishing Journal among other fishing-themed items.

Players of both factions can pick up Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000 from a Hinterland's quest.

A younger version of Nat shows up in Old Hillsbrad Foothills, where he has prophetic dreams about Azeroth's tragedies.

Nat Pagle returns as a follower in Warlords of Draenor—he can be acquired when completing a Level 3 Fishing Shack.

Quality Assurance ShipThe AssuranceCaptain Paul Carver

"We were all set to sail into Northrend, but we've noticed a severe number of pests aboard our ship."

"Before we can set sail to Northrend, we've got to eliminate our pest problem aboard the Assurance."

"The Assurance has somehow become inundated with bugs and we are unable to set sail to Northrend."

Assistant Lead QA Analysts: Edgar Flores, Kurtis Paddock, Rian Trost

QA Content Specialists: Justin Boehm, Michael Corpora, Meghan Dawson, Benjamin Elgueta, Dan Kramer, Paul Kubit, Serban Oprescu, Art Peshkov, Bob Richardson, Candace Thomas

Russel BrowerRussell BrowerWords and Music By...Russell BrowerSamwise DidlerSam the WiseSamwise DidlerScott KollerWarlords of DraenorSkollerSkollerSkoller's Bag of Squirrel TreatsScott "Daelo" MercerDaelo's Final WordsElder DaeloTerran GregoryTerran "Justice" GregoryJudy GregoryDavid GregoryDeva MarieTom "Kalgan" Chilton

Auctioneer Chilton: Lead Game Designer Tom Chilton shows up as an auctioneer. He also has the highest level and most expensive cheese: Chilton Stilton.

PvP vendor Doris Chiltonius and her series of capes (Dory's Pageantry, Dory's Finery, Dory's Embrace) may be related as well.

Kalgan is the elite Patrol NPC for the Horde in Ashran.

William Warnecke

Bile Warneck: This WoD flightmaster is named after Lead Software Engineer William Warnecke.

WoW CommunityDeath Knight

Devium's Eternally Cold Ring is named after Devium, a tank in <Premonition> which achieved many World/US firsts in Wrath. From Valithria Dreamwalker in Icecrown Citadel.

The Air Stands Still has quest rewards named after Wrath beta testers: Leiah's Footpads, Cobalt's Shoulderguards, Jayde's Reinforced Handguards, Sixen's Skullcap.

The Death Knights of Acherus: This series of books the Death Knight starting area humorously references many Wrath testers and their gruesome fates. Depending on your phased state you will see one of four different books at different points in their lives. The books cover Jayde, Sixen, Munch, Cobalt, Harmony, Melt, Milton, and Minitalis.

Davidian's All-Seeing Eyes: Tribute to the remarkable story of a blind player, Hexu, who raids with the help of a guildmate, Davidian, which is honored in the flavor text "Sharp enough to see for two men." Read more about this touching story on WoW Insider.

Katherine Joplin, the Alchemy Vendor in Stormshield, is one of the founding members of the #Acherus IRC channel for Death Knights.

Ordos Loot

Magdalena's Murderous Crown: Magdalena is the owner/moderator of the #Acherus IRC for Death Knights and blogs at Son of a Lich.

Druid

Toskk's Maximized Wristguards: Named after Toskk, a feral DPS theorycrafter in previous expansions. Drops from Deathbringer Saurfang.

Phaelia's Vestments of the Sprouting Seed: Phaelia was the author of Resto4Life, a popular Resto Druid blog. The "Sprouting Seed" part refers to her decision to retire when expecting a baby.

Martiean's Splitleaf Girdle: Martiean is a Youtuber who made a popular series of rare spawn videos, some of which can be seen on Wowhead.

Astrylian's Sutured Cinch, Astrylian's Cheerful Charm: Astrylian created Rawr, a theorycrafting tool. In Warlords, Starcaller Astrylian is fighting in Tanaan Jungle.

Kihra's Adrenaline Injector, Kihrawr's Scratching Post: A Druid at the time these items were created and now a Hunter, Kihra is the creator of WarcraftLogs the premiere combat logging site which features fight analysis and combat replays. Kihra / Kaluaka is also an Alliance follower that can be recruited from the Garrison Inn.

Fasc's Preserved Boots: Fasc was a notable Druid tank theorycrafter and author of BearCAD.

Ordos Loot

Hamlet's Wind-Whipped Leggings: Hamlet is a druid theorycrafter who maintains guides and spreadsheets for balance and resto druids, created an instructional series of Challenge Mode videos, and blogs about a variety of game topics. Originally this had a Monk Tier 16 model that I asked to be changed to a Druid one :)

Arielle's Ancient Legwraps: Arielle writes at The Inconspicuous Bear and is one of the Team Waffle Podcast hosts.

Pamela's Muuscat Wrap: Pamela Horton was Playboy's Miss October 2012 and a long-time WoW player that got Realm First Herbalist on her Tauren Druid in MoP.

Zoo-Per's Superior Chestguard: Vee, or Zoopercat, is one of the team members behind Ask. Mr Robot, a site for gear optimization.

Hunter

BRK-1000: Big Red Kitty was a popular hunter poster, with a Hunter column on WoW Insider. The flavor text refers to a long-running joke/obsession he had with raspberries.

Gerp's Perfect Arrow: Gerp, an Orc Hunter, is Scott Johnson's character--one of the co-hosts of The Instance podcast. This is a great trinket for twinks, as you only need to be 84 to equip it but the item level is 442.

Ro-Ger's Brown Diamond Seal: Rogerbrown is the raid leader of <Method>, which was ranked #1 in the world throughout MoP.

Dills' Primal Leggings: Dills is one of the co-hosts of The Instance podcast too.

Zeherah's Dragonskull Crown: Zeherah maintains the Hunter DPS analyzer tool Female Dwarf.

Recovered Cloak of Frostheim: Frostheim was a longtime author of the WoW Insider column Scattered Shots and founder of the Warcraft Hunter's Union.

Gedrah: Gedrah wrote a notable guide on how to play Hunters in classic WoW. He wears iconic classic items including Giantstalker Armor, Crown of Destruction, and Rhok'delar, Longbow of the Ancient Keepers.

Great Hunter Gonk: According to troll druid trainer Zen'tabra, Greater Hunter Gonk is a raptor loa responsible for teaching trolls how to serve nature spirits, leading to the rise of Troll Druids. Gonktarget is a Hunter and Elitist Jerks forum poster that harshly criticizes druids. He also has the snarky trash items Knog's Bow of Clumsiness and Knog's Bow of Ineptitude. Knog's Bow of Surrender has been added in WoD and Gnok the Inept is the name of the NPC who "sells" Mythic Foundry gear on the BMAH.

Ro-Ger's Brown Diamond Seal: Rogerbrown is a Hunter and Raid Leader of <Method>, which was ranked #1 in the world throughout MoP.

Mage

Kavan's Forsaken Treads: Kavan is a theorycrafter on Elitist Jerks, contributed to modeling SimC for arcane mages, and develops the mage module on Rawr.

Li Vera: Lhivera is a forum MVP, develops sims for mages, and maintains Lhivera's Library.

High Arcanist Savor, Signet of High Arcanist Savor: Savor was one of the original mages in the guild <Nurfed>. He wears classic elite caster items from vanilla, including Necro-Knight's Garb and Staff of the Shadow Flame.

Ordos Loot

Venruki's Venerable Sash: Venruki has gotten Gladiator numerous seasons and was on the winning Battle.net World Championship Team in 2012.

Damien's Ice-Vein Mask: Damien is one of the co-founders of Icy Veins featuring class and raid guides.

Monk

Tikari & K.A.Y.T.: This beverage is named after Tikari who blogs at Tikari's Tricks of the Trade and Kayt, who runs BlizzList and has a Monk named Kayt.

Callie's Charred Seal: Named after Calligraphy, a Windwalker monk theorycrafter and Wowhead guide writer.

Paladin

Theck's Emberseal: Theck is a protection paladin theorycrafter and blogger, who writes at Sacred Duty and Maintankadin.

Zoid is a game developer who has worked on Metroid Prime, QuakeWorld, L4D2, and Dota 2. If you watched Awesome Games Done Quick 2014, he provided commentary during the Metroid Prime speedrun. He has several items across expansions: Zoid's Firelit Greatsword, Zoid's Scorched Bracers, Zoid's Molten Gauntlets.

Absalom's Bloody Bulwark: Absalom is the main tank for Blood Legion, one of the top ranked guilds in the world, as well as the editor of the kill videos for their YouTube Channel. The “Bloody” reference in the shield most likely references the name of his guild.

Ordos Loot

Vanguard's Burly Bracers: Vanguard is a notable PvP who has achieved Gladiator and Rank 1 numerous times.

Aladya's Spiritfire Greathelm: Aladya is a holy paladin in <Method>, which was ranked #1 in the world throughout MoP.

Anafielle's Spiked Choker: Anafielle is a former host of Final Boss and blogger at Sacred Duty.

Priest

Althor's Abacus: Althor/Delmortis is a Priest theorycrafter--ironically this is a healing trinket although he focused on Shadow theorycrafting in Wrath.

Giorgio's Caduceus of Pure Moods: Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, who also performed on NiN's recent tour, came to CM Zarhym's attention when a picture was posted of him beating Infernal Diablo on tour. Also a heroic raider, Josh was honored with a weapon that pays tribute to his and his girlfriend's character names as well as the vineyard Caduceus Cellars, owned by musician Maynard James Keenan who performed in Puscifer along with Eustis.

Chelley is a podcaster on Video Game Outsiders. She has two BoEs named after her: Chelley's Sterilized Scalpel and Chelley's Staff of Dark Mending.

Fasani / Kenzi Solo is the guild master of Logic on Suramar.

Ordos Loot

Derevka's Gleaming Girdle: Derevka runs the blog Tales of a Priest and is one of the moderators at How to Priest.

Rogue

Aldriana's Gloves of Secrecy: Aldriana was a theorycrafter and the longtime maintainer of the Rogue spreadsheet on Elitist Jerks.

Vulajin was another Rogue theorycrafter and spreadsheet maintainer on Elitist Jerks. He has a series of items: Avool's Sword of Jin from Wrath, Avool's Incendiary Shanker in Cataclysm, and Vulajin's Vicious Breastplate in MoP. He later switched mains to a Mage, which explains why Avool's Ancestral Bracers is a cloth item in Siege of Orgrimmar.

Namlak's Supernumerary Sticker: Kalman was a Rogue theorycrafter in early WoW on Elitist Jerks. "Namlak" is Kalman's name spelled backwards. When the item first came out, all the stats were 32 which makes the numerology reference to 23 in "supernumerary" clearer.

Tikari & K.A.Y.T.: This beverage is named after Tikari who blogs at Tikari's Tricks of the Trade and Kristin, who runs BlizzList and has a Monk named Kayt.

Wodin the Troll-Servant is another Elitist Jerks poster and theorycrafter, who shows up at all the Ring of Blood events--Nagrand (TBC and Warlords), Zul'Drak, Twilight Highlands, and Kun-Lai Summit. There are several weapons named after him: Wodin's Mantid Shanker, Wodin's Lucky Necklace, and Wodin's Second-Best Shanker. In addition, Wodin has a pet cat Zena who also gets a special item, Zena's Ridiculously Rich Yarnball. In Warlords, he has a new item: Wodin's Weary Wristguards.

Perculia's Peculiar Signet: Item named after me during MoP's beta! I was very excited as early items named after players inspired me to do more in WoW--you can read more about my reaction on my personal blog here. A more subtle item was added in Warlords, Kyu-Sy's Tarflame Doomcloak, which sounds like my real name but is curiously itemized for intellect, not agility.

Ordos Loot

Stickney's Grey-Shade Hood: Anne Stickney is WoW Insider's resident lore expert and worked on the World of Warcraft Ultimate Visual Guide.

Shaman

Shield of Sonorous Resonation: Turpster is one of the co-hosts of The Instance podcast. This BoE shield is great for leveling, as it's ilvl 450 but requires level 85 to equip.

Hexu's Amplifying Helm: Tribute to the remarkable story of a blind player, Hexu, who raids with the help of a guildmate, Davidian, which is honored in the flavor text "A man with a friend is never without vision." Read more about this touching story on WoW Insider.

Gurgthock runs the Ring of Blood events, and Gurgthock's Garish Gorebat is a possible reward from the Twilight Highlands event. Gurg is the guild master of Elitist Jerks.

Tickle Totem: Tickle is an elemental shaman who founded Sentry Totem and currently works for Blizzard QA. Her item from the Horde Trading Post makes everyone in range laugh.

Conall Rainsinger / Rongar is named after Shamanrongar, a former host for the HearthPro Podcast.

Ordos Loot

Binkenstein's Burnished Belt: Binkenstein was the founder of Totemspot and an Elemental Shaman theorycrafter.

Moshne's Keen Kilt: Moshne is an elemental shaman theorycrafter who frequently posts on Elitist Jerks.

Warlock

Ritssyn has a series of caster items across expansions: Ritssyn's Lost Pendant, Ritssyn's Ring of Chaos, Ritssyn's Wand of Bad Mojo, Rittsyn's Ruinblasters, and Ritssyn's Ruminous Drape. Ritssyn is an anagram for Nisstyr, once the GM of Nurfed. His brother, Indalamar, was an active WoW beta tester and went on to work at Blizzard (covered below in the Warrior section). Rittsyn also shows up in the Green Fire questline for warlocks, as part of the Council of the Black Harvest. In Legacy of the Masters (Part 1), we learn that Rittsyn is an orc enchanter who saw Ragnaros vanquished and is assigned to explore Sulfuron Keep in the hopes of learning even more powerful secrets. Warlocks who have completed the questline get a special Rittsyn quote on their tooltip.

Zinnin is another member of the Council of the Black Harvest, who is based on a warlock in Blood Legion.

Nadagast's Exsanguinator: Nadagast has obtained Gladiator in numerous seasons. The 3D model on his item is notable as it shares the look with Season 14 PvP weapons even though it drops from a raid. Soulbrewer Nadagast is also one of the Horde Captains in Ashran.

Mia the Rose: Mia Rose is a former adult film star who was a long-time WoW player and now popular streamer. While she wears modified rogue gear, she has the ability Seduction.

Warrior

Satrina's Impeding Scarab: Satrina was a warrior theorycrafter and author of several popular addons, like Satrina Buff Frames.

Landsoul's Horned Greathelm: Landsoul is a Warrior theorycrafter who maintained the Warrior spreadsheet on Elitist Jerks back in Wrath.

Indalamar was an influential pre-release beta tester who later was hired by Blizzard. He has several original Naxxramas items named after him (Fate of Ramaladni, Ramaladni's Icy Grasp), as well as Ramaladni's Blade of Culling from Icecrown Citadel and the unused joke item Indalamar's New Holy Hand Grenade.

Sutiru's Brazen Bulwark: Sutiru was one of the maintainers of the EJ Warrior FAQ.

Blockade's Lost Shield: Blockade loves collecting shields--at the time of this item's creation, he had 46, which explains the flavor text referencing 47. This shield also has a unique model, making it a worthy transmog item.

High Warlord Uro: Uro was a Rank 14 Warrior in vanilla who contributed extensively to Warrior PvP discussions. His character in Dalaran is a High Warlord and is dressed in mismatching Fury Warrior gear, including pink Chromatic Boots and purple Gauntlets of Annihilation. His dialogue references the theorycrafting behind his outfit: "Only a fool would mock the appeance of my battle-garb! This raiment of well-worn steel is from an ancient place of learning!"

Jamus'Vaz: This badge vendor was named after JamesVZ, a vocal critic on Elitist Jerks of the badge catch-up system.

Xi, Friend to the Small: Former Death and Taxes member Xi is often abrupt and intolerant of new players on the Elitist Jerks forums, so "Friend of the Small" and a Monk wearing pink flowers is an ironic tribute.

Warlord Noktyn: Noktyn, an undead warrior in Nurfed, was the only person to loot Talisman of Binding Shard from Molten Core.

Ordos Loot

Hoodrych's Bloodied Chestplate: Hoodrych has achieved rank 1 and gladiator on his warrior an impressive number of times.

Omegal's Crushing Carapace: Omegal is one of the main developers on Deadly Boss Mods as well as a Tech Support MVP for the WoW forums.

Rossi's Rosin-Soaked Shoulderplates: Matthew Rossi is known for his warrior and lore columns at WoW Insider.

AshranCaptain's WhistleAlune WindmaneElliott Van RookAlliance:

John Swifty: SwiftyIRL, Warrior wearing Field Marshal's Battlegear, quotes include “B-b-b-b-bladestorm!” and “Macro power!”

Jackson Bajheera: BajheeraWoW, Warrior wearing Colossal Dragonplate Battlegear (Raid Finder Recolor), quotes include “Fury Bajheera has been unleashed!” and “Hit'em with the flex!” He also has the item Bajheric Bangle.

Alune Windmane: Hotted, Armored Moonkin permanently in Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, quotes include “The power of sun and moon flow through me with a deafening boom!”

Avenger Turley: AthleteFX5, Paladin wearing Vestments of Winged Triumph (Raid Finder Recolor), quotes include “Hmm, I never had this problem in Alterac Valley.” and “I hope you Horde scum enjoy a shield to the face!”

Hildie Hackerguard: Hildegard has worked for Arena Junkies and PVP Live as content editor. This NPC is a pink-pigtailed gnome in a flying machine.

Mathias Zunn: Zunniyaki, Priest wearing old-school cloth gear, quotes include “Fear not Alliance, for fear is now your ally.”

Taylor Dewland: Chuck Dewland, Shaman wearing The Elements.

Tosan Galaxyfist: TosanTribe (Jeremy Anderson): A hybrid Hunter/Monk, quotes include “Galactic Fist Strike!”

Brock the Crazed: CrazePvP

Chani Malflame: Chanimal

Horde:

Soulbrewer Nadagast: Nadagast, Warlock wearing , quotes include “Alright boys and girls, it's prime time!” and “Chopped and brewed.”

Necrolord Azael: AzaelWoW, Warlock wearing Voidheart Raiment, quotes include “Defeated? No! Charles, where were you?!” and “My power is surpassed only by my stature!”

Mindbender Talbadar: EGTalbadar (Rodney Pare), Shadow Priest wearing Malevolent Gladiator's Silk Armor and Tabard of the Defender, quotes include “Are you prepared to meet Azeroth's greatest champion?!”

Vanguard Samuelle: Vanguards, Paladin wearing Sunwell gear, quotes include “I must find a way to enhance my performance for next time.” and “You have been judged, unworthy.”

Elliott Van Rook: Venruki, Mage with the achievement Down Goes Van Rook referencing this video.

Elementalist Novo: Novoz (KyleMcKitrick), Shaman wearing .

Captain Hoodrych: Hoodrychx, Warrior with the quote “Ahahaha, major choppable!”

Jared V. Hellstrike: Jared "vhell" Coulston, popular shoutcaster and Blizzard employee.

Kaz Endsky: Tribute to actor Robert Kazinsky, who plays Ogrim Doomhammer in the Warcraft film. He wears Magma Plated Battlearmor (Normal Recolor) and his quotes are from Pacific Rim.

Lord Mes: Mes, Death Knight in Ulduar gear.

Mor'riz: Sodapoppin, Troll feral druid.

Razor Guerra: Rogue Rzn

Kimilyninvolvement in PvP herePets and Collectors

Breanni: Expert battle-pet site WarcraftPets founder Breanni runs the Dalaran pet shop, which features adorable pet cages and aquariums. Breanni sells a few unique pets as well, Albino Snake, Obsidian Hatchling, Cat Carrier (Calico Cat), and mails players achievement pets like Stinker. Carpnado is a later WoD tribute to the April Fool's Joke by WarcraftPets.

Gloria's Glorious Gliding Goodies: Lets grounded companion pets fly with you. Inspired by this comic by gloriaboboria.

Cymre Brightblade: Cymre is the author of Cymre Jones which specializes in transmog and novelty collections. Her 3D model resembles the armor in her blog banner.

Lio the Lioness is the Alliance Garrison Menagerie NPC. She is a tribute to @liopleurodonic, author of the popular Battle Pet Roundup blog.

Michelle De Rum: This NPC sells the special pet Winterspring Cub. Michelle (aka Drrum) has a lovely collection of pets, mounts, and armor, documented with great screenshots on her blog. Check out her reaction on her blog.

Eleanor: A reference to Eleanor Wroblewski whose twitter handle is @undeadgoat. The pet has a spectral model which references her avatar name. She runs a hearthstone fashion blog at hearthstonefashion.tumblr.com. Defeating this battle pet boss rewards you with Ghastly Kid.

Quintessence of Light: Content manager Quintessence of WarcraftPets has this challenging Garrison Menagerie elite named after her.

Artists, Crafts, Cosplay

Noxiia Atoh / Brother Zuo, Bryan Schnau / Zen'taki, Sarah Schnau / Zen'tenbi: Noxychu is the artist for Wowhead and Glaragorn is her husband. They are both Worgen--Glar's Twitter handle is "Business Worgen." Noxy also has the item Noxiia's Shackles.

Brittany's Ceremonial Spaulders: Brittany makes a variety of Blizzard-themed crafts like plush frostsabers which explains the flavor text, "This beautiful piece of ceremonial leather armor is skillfully woven and marked with its creator's symbol."

Kamui's Crystalline Staff of Wizardry: Svetlana Quindt, or Kamui, is a well-known cosplayer who makes amazing weapons. She was the Grand Prize winner of the 2013 BlizzCon Costume Contest, for which she created a Protoss Wizard costume. The weapon's model reflects the crystals of the Protoss while being usable by casters, the classes that are most similar to Diablo Wizards.

Lil' Leftovers, from Cooking. Reference to a comic by Cadistra Grasshoof. TheCrafticus tweeted a picture of this pet, which looks quite similar to the one in the comic and carries around a half-eaten drumstick. She also has the Horde follower Celadina / Cadi Grasshoof which resembles her Tauren character and Cadi's Grass Stained Slippers.

Maghia and Volde dressed up as the Eredar Twins for BlizzCon 2008 and Alexstraza and Sylvanas in BlizzCon 2009. They have Icecrown badge items named after them: Maghia's Misguided Quill and Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky.

Paululum's Doodled Wraps: Doodlegnome creates charming sketches of Blizzard life, coming to people's attention in the infamous Zarhym and Ghostcrawler baby thread.

Kage Satsuke / Tapa Swiftpaw: Kage Satsuki, best known for her Derpkitty series, frequently posts sketches about popular WoW news topics to her twitter.

General

Ilaniel Pine / Zen'tika: Ilaniel is a Content Editor at WoW Insider, the winner of the first Blizzard creative writing contest, and the author of the Blizzard short stories Quest for Pandaria, Heart of War, and In the Shadow of the Sun.

Bleached Bones: Bleached Bones is a PvP group that sent a team to BlizzCon in 2013. They are now part of ProGameX.

Dirkee: This rare spawn is a tribute to the GM of <Nurfed> in Wrath, a guild which received many player tributes in that expansion. Dirkee is a large gnome robot that can punt players and drops Dirkee's Superstructure.

Salty El: El from fishing resource El's Extreme Anglin' has finally joined the elite ranks of The Anglers. El can be found with the other Fish of the Day NPCs in Pandaria, wearing her trademark overalls and fishing hat with the expert Arcanite Fishing Pole.

Hestiah Ravenwood / Zen'kili is an Alliance follower you can recruit from the Inn, named after Hestiah on Twitter.

Illandria Belore: Named after Illandria, known as the “community mother” on twitter, is a reliquary blood elf NPC in Ashran.

Lessons in Lore: Watcher Megana and Warden Chadrik are based on Chad and Megan, a husband-wife team on Earthen Ring Horde who run Lessons of Lore, hold weekly events, "Lore-y Time," interactive events exploring Warcraft's lore, as well as musical lore shows at DragonCon. For more about Lessons in Lore, check out WoW Insider's article!

Robble: Robble/Incoherence was the Something Awful WoW subforum moderator and has two humorous trash items, Robble's Wobbly Staff and Robble's Stabilized Staff. Robble's Staff of Herding has been added in WoD.

Grimthorn Redbeard: Kevin Stallard, longtime WoW player, directs the MMORPG Fan Track at Dragon Con. His NPC sells Dragon P.I.E. which is a reference to the con's signature drink which he introduced to Sr. Game Designer Jonathan LeCraft in 2012. Darkmoon P.I.E. is another spinoff of the signature drink.

Wildhammer Fact Checker: The Wildhammer Fact Checker is an in-game reference to the notorious Red Shirt Guy, known for pointing out a lore discrepancy at BlizzCon 2010 during a Lore Q&A panel. He has since become a geek icon and his question has extended into the realm of meme, spawning an auto-tune remix of the conversation. The actual NPC sits alongside Falstad Wildhammer, the NPC for which the lore correction was made, in the throne room of Ironforge.

Kaydee Threesong: Named after the Wowpedia admin Kaydeethree.

Ulmaas' Robes of Crushing Magma: Ulmass is thanked in the Wrath of the Lich King credits. He also has the Wrath item Sightless Crown of Ulmaas.

Poxleitner's Leggings of Lights: Lights (born Valerie Poxleitner) is a Juno-award winning singer and huge WoW fan--she even has Twinblade of the Phoenix tattooed on her arm. Check out her interview with WoW Insider.

Film and YouTube

Circlet of the Panser: Panser, aka TradeChat, has a popular popular YouTube channel and creates weekly recaps for WoWInsider.

Greatbelt of the Crendor: Wowcrendor also has a popular YouTube channel featuring many funny WoW Machinimia.

Nairn: Actor Kristian Nairn, best known as Hodor in Game of Thrones, has a battle pet with abilities that reference his character's Northern heritage and fight against undead: Nairn!, Call of Winter, and Giant's Blood. Also on the battle pet team is his real-life friend Jake Stormoen and Summer the direwolf. In Warlords, you can recruit Kristian Nairn / Henry Wall to your Alliance Garrison via the Inn. Check out his interview with WoW Insider!

Olibith has made a series of popular machinimas including the Never Stay Tuned series, featuring a troll chef who likes to cook gnomes. This troll model shows up as the Horde cooking trainer in Dalaran, Awilo Lon'gomba. His assistant, Misensi, shows up as a troll singer in Never Stay Tuned 2.

Oxhorn creates World of Warcraft Machinima, such as ROFLMAO!
Lunk and Grand Executor Mortuus reference Mortuus is an l33t undead ninja with distinctive speech patterns. When he talks to you, he always inserts "nub" after your name.

Red Snapper: Reference to Red Snappah! which features the line "There IS no Red snapper in Azaroth!"

One of the capes towards the legendary questline, Oxhorn Bladebreaker, is named after Oxhorn.

Lunk the pacifist ogre references Thunk, who is a polite ogre who loves turkeys.

Mei CheleMichele MorrowLamplighter MuSamusAzraelKendall Covington / Mychele MorrowsongherehereAmulet of Quel'RiqQelricNika's Ink-Smudged Penning GlovesNikaHarperPatreon hereElitist Jerks

Kyb's Foolish Perseverance

Chyler's Charming Chestguard

J'kaey's Shining Spaulders

Matti's Magnificent Mace

Kymi's Stylish Slippers

Arentios' Amice of Alacrity

Puu'sey's Pantaloons

Chain Links of Pea'dexx

Rellwyn's Crimson Cowl

Evie's Quartz Loop

Unbreakable Band of Zoronos

Girthbinder of N'karas

Narrcho's Rifle of Unreadiness

Salubrious Signet of Snif'le

Osseric's Ossified Chained Orb

Everblooming Thorny Hibiscus

Iris Moondreamer

Portable Goon SquadToria's PerseveranceToria's Unseeing Eye

Comments

Comment by Twintop

Has Derevka gotten his belt yet?

/paging Celestalon!

Comment by Cerraspion

Just pointing out that Samwise Didier's last name is misspelled as "Didler" twice in this guide.

Comment by Xleon

Should probably note that Rogerbrown is also raidleader, hence the "An insignia of command" flavor text. Still a great guide though!

Comment by Aeliren85

Excellent list! Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!

I do have a few additions to suggest for Fargo's section:

"Doc" Schweitzer, the priest in the group from Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth, both makes a cameo in the Twilight Highlands and is available as a follower at your garrison, along with the entirety of the gang minus the unnamed shadow priest.
Schweitzer (Both Factions)
Flintlocke (Alliance)
Lowping (Alliance)
Bloodrose (Alliance)
Kathrena (Alliance)
Rok'tar (Horde)
Cheri (Horde)
Gravy (Horde)

Comment by LonelyOatmeal

Floyd Pinkus may be worth adding, as his name is derived from the band Pink Floyd.

Comment by Spindoolu

Cool guide.

Maybe you could add a little word about Michel Koiter ?

Comment by 993579

An addition: Maghia and Volde now make appearances in the Axefall Garrison Outpost in Spires of Arak.

Comment by 1453431

Amazing work!

Comment by 419287

How come Xarantaur isn't on this list?
Xarantaur
http://wow.gamepedia.com/Xarantaur

Comment by tooltip

Re: Brittany's Ceremonial Spaulders

Brittany does not believe it is a reference.
link

Comment by 783236

I think Necrolord Azael's quote is a reference to cdew If you want to add that.

Comment by Gosalyn

Nethaera now has a pet you can get in Dalaran too!

Comment by MelodicBlue

Lessons in Lore website is down--they now primarily use their Facebook page www.facebook.com/lessonsinlore and their Twitter, http://twitter.com/LessonsInLore.

Also, additional references in the form of Megana's Staff of Knowledge and Chadrik's Lost Axe were added for them as Garrison Invasion drops in Warlords of Draenor.

Grimthorn's Fearsome Halberd was also added in WOD as a Garrison Invasion drop for Kevin Stallard aka Grimthorn Redbeard.

Comment by coan

Missing an EJ member reference
Seal of Yen Ta

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/malganis/Yenta/simple

Comment by Morthred

Missing Michael Koiter and Ezra Chatterton (ePhoenix)

Koiter

Elder Ezra Wheathoof

Comment by Valdesca

Very nice, congrats! to those have a refence in game.
I have mine almost dreaming one, On Legion There is Valdemar Stormseeker <Valarjar Emissary>, and near in seasidde there is Vampirates,
Valdemar is a name i used to name many cities in diferent games, if we can name garrison i did put this name, as reference for mine Nick and sea=mar spanish, well i know valdemar is a real name for mens. nothig to do with me.
Guild names Sirenas y Piratas, Capricious Mermaids, Pirates and Mermaids, and several names similar i founded them all.. roles are Vampires for all Alts, Captain pirate: officers, Siren n Pirate: all members and new recruit: water mote. Queen Mermeid me.
I know Vampirates is for another reference about a books and so. but is my almost dream. Valdesca Queen Naga? is complete de dream, and nagas near this place also.
I still searching naga disguisse from archeologie. :D

Comment by moblinman

Don't forget Feasel the Muffin Thief in Eredeth, for Jeremy Feasel.

Comment by muru

Private Coyle Private Coyle Is named after the Coyle/Trance Twins. Another user also references it in the comments:

Named after the "Coyle Twins" or "Trance Twins" who were administrators for MLG WoW Arena, Arenajunkies, and Battlegroup9 communities.

Heavily involved in the early days of the WoW PvP community from 2005 on wards and former "sponsored" arena players.

They were the primary coverage for ArenaJunkies and World of Ming, then were part of MLG's WoW scene. One of the twins also worked for Blizzard. The NPC uncannily looks like that twin.

Comment by Nezzey

cool guide!
A lot of the item/quest links were updated in game now so a lot of the links in the guide were updated, it would be helpful for historical purposes if the old version was written out as well

Blizzard and Community References in WoW

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