Goblin (playable)

The goblins of Azshara start at Bilgewater Port, within the Isle of Kezan. Eventually ending up at the Lost Isles, a level 5-12 zone.

Background
Originally the slaves of jungle trolls on the Isle of Kezan, the goblin race was forced to mine kaja'mite ore out of the volcanic bowels of Mount Kajaro.

The trolls used this potent mineral for their voodoo rituals, but it had an unexpected effect on the slaves who were in constant contact with it: kaja'mite generated a startling new cunning and intelligence in the goblins. Crafting their own powerful artifacts of engineering and alchemy in secret, the goblins soon overthrew their oppressors and claimed Kezan for their homeland. The mines that had been their prison, their slave camp, and the base of their rebellion now became the city of Undermine. Weaving through the heart of the island in a dizzying network of tunnels, vaults, and lava tubes, Undermine epitomizes the goblins' complex, unpredictable mindset.

The goblins' natural greed soon lifted them to prominence as masters of mercantilism. Trade princes arose during the First War as the cleverest goblins learned to take advantage of the strife. Great fortunes were amassed, and the Isle of Kezan became a hub for fleets of goblin trading ships. One of the trade princes agreed to lend his faction's services to the Horde in the Second War. Following the Horde's defeat, the goblins learned from their colleague's failed example, and soon they realized that their profits could double if they weren't stuck in such a restrictive relationship. By the end of the Third War, goblins were providing weaponry, vehicles, and devious services to both the Horde and the Alliance.

Joining the Horde
Bilgewater Port, one of the primary cities and home of the Bilgewater Cartel, continued to mine kaja'mite ore mainly for the production of Kaja'Cola, a beverage that gives goblins short bursts of ideas, but the kaja'mite supply continued to dwindle. Unfortunately for the goblins of Kezan, their time on the island was limited - a volcano long dormant on the island suddenly erupted and the goblins found themselves with nowhere to go. Despite the name of the city, there was only one real port to be found, and Trade Prince Gallywix - leader of the Bilgewater Cartel - owned it. Gallywix offered to let the survivors of the volcanic eruption ride his yacht to safety, for a price of course. Frantic goblins threw their entire life savings at Gallywix as the volcano rumbled and threatened to blow the island up for good, and as Gallywix sailed away, he revealed his real plan. Owning everyone's life savings was all well and good - but selling the now poverty stricken goblins into slavery was an even better option. If the yacht had made it safely to a port, this may very well have been the case.

However, fate conspired against Gallywix's plans. The yacht managed to sail right into the middle of a naval battle between an Alliance fleet and one Horde ship. The Alliance ships spotted the goblin vessel, and the captain of the fleet ordered the ship destroyed, despite the fact that it was a neutral vessel. Gallywix's ship was destroyed, and the goblin slaves washed up on the shores of a nearby island. In exploring the small island, these goblins encountered a few orc survivors who were obviously enemies of the Alliance that had attacked the goblin ship. Figuring that the enemy of an enemy could actually be an ally (an ally with possibly deep pockets), the goblins assisted the few orc survivors, and discovered why an entire Alliance fleet was after the single Horde ship - the ship was carrying Thrall, former Warchief of the Horde.

Gallywix wasn't done with his plans just yet. He began capturing the surviving goblins and using them as slaves. In a final confrontation, the freed goblins and their new orc allies fought against Gallywix and won with Thrall's help. Gallywix begged for mercy, promising the former Warchief that he would change his ways and reform the way the Bilgewater Cartel was run. After thinking for a moment, Thrall decided to keep the formerly nasty Trade Prince as the leader of the Cartel.

For now however, the goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel are happily working alongside the Horde and have transformed Azshara so that the land now resembles a giant Horde symbol - partially out of gratitude, partially out of greed. After all, the Horde is expanding its borders in a major way, and that kind of expansion requires construction, which requires workers, which means an exchange of gold. In the meantime, they're constantly seeking a substitute for their beloved kaja'mite, though their efforts remain futile at the moment.

Mounts
With the Bilgewater goblins now in the trenches with the bigger brutes of the Horde, a significant number of trampling deaths have been reported. Normally unconcerned with such matters, Trade Prince Gallywix was alarmed to learn that Garrosh’s Forsaken accountants refused to pay soldier death benefits if the soldiers never got to the actual battle, and accidental stomps caused by tauren maneuvers made it extremely difficult to calculate how many goblins had made it to the battlefield before they were rendered flat. Gallywix offered a substantial cash reward for an invention that could both lift goblins out of hoof traffic and speed them along at comparable velocities so that goblin soldiers could die in “a calculate-able and reimbursable fashion.” Hundreds of submissions were made. Most exploded upon delivery. In the end, the clear (and relatively undamaged) winner was the sturdy transport trike created by the remarkably aged Jibidiah Gragglefutz.

Your Character
When starting a Goblin character, the first five levels are played on the island of Kezan, where you go through the last days of the island before the Second Sundering. After escaping, the ship you are traveling on will sink, leaving you floating on a plank from the shipwreck to the Lost Isles. Near-death, a goblin sits next to you, not knowing you are the goblin that saved the goblins from death. Another goblin uses goblin jumper cables and ressurects you. Later on, you'll arive in Azshara and Orgrimmar.

Jokes
The following can be triggered with the /silly command.

Male Goblins

 * "Oooooh, I got it. What if we were to ORGANIZE crime."
 * "She told me to tie her up and do whatever I wanted to her. So I took her stereo."
 * "When in doubt, blow it up."
 * "I dabbled in gold farming, but I couldn't get the coins to sprout."
 * "Skip to step three: Profit!"
 * "One word: Plastics."

Female Goblins

 * "Out of the way you nub Goblin."
 * "Yes, I'm a gold digger. And copper, and silver."
 * "I'm a free spirit, I don't like to be tied down. Oh, you mean that literally. I'm totally into that."
 * "Skip to step three: Profit!"
 * "Listen babe, you gotta keep up, the world is changing. Everything these days is now, now, now; faster, faster, faster; me, me, me; murder, murder, murder."
 * "If at first you don't succeed, blow it up again."
 * "With the right bribes ANYTHING is street legal."
 * "I don't make jokes, I make money."

Trivia

 * Although goblins are one of the main engineering trainers throughout the game, they did not receive a racial bonus to engineering, likely because Gnomes already have this racial, though two of the goblin racial abilities (Rocket Jump and Rocket Barrage) still relate to engineering. Goblin engineering is still grounded in alchemy and chemistry (see: Goblin Rocket Fuel).
 * Despite Trade Prince Gallywix harboring a hatred for orcs, betraying the player, abandoning the player goblins to take over Azshara and attempting to kill Thrall and the player, Thrall still allows him to become racial leader once more. It has been speculated that this storyline may continue in the future.
 * The /silly joke "One word: Plastics." is a reference to the film The Graduate.
 * The /silly joke "Skip to step three: Profit!" is a reference to the South Park episode titled Underpants Gnomes. "Step one is steal Underpants; Step two is...; Step three is profit!"
 * The trait "Better Living Through Chemistry" is a reference to the DuPont advertising slogan of 1935-1982.
 * The Bilgewater goblins are sometimes believed to have all come from Gallywix's one ship. While this is the specific backstory of the player and other goblins like Sassy Hardwrench and Foreman Dampwick, an entire Bilgewater fleet is said to have escaped Kezan, only the ship with Gallywix and the player got stuck on the Lost Isles.
 * One of the ships in the Bilgewater fleet ended up getting shipwrecked in Tanaris with the survivors going crazy.

Videos
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