List of pop culture references in Warcraft/WoW

==World of Warcraft==
===Comic and manga===
* — The Corrupter questchain eventually leaded to kill Jugkar Grim'rod. This character references Jugger Grimrod of the Alien Legion, an early title. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
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** Farmer Kent is a reference to either 'Clark Kent' or his adopted father, a farmer who found and raised .
** General Zog is a likely reference to , a recurring villain from the Superman continuity. Removed in patch 4.0.3a, but added it again in Warlords of Draenor as Warmaster Zog.
* — C'Thun will whisper the words "You... are... already... dead..." and "Your... heart... will... explode...". Kenshiro, the lead character of Fist of the North Star, is extremely famous for the initial line, and often through his fighting style would cause massive internal damage to his opponents, including making their heart explode in an extremely violent fashion.
* — Doomulus Prime is references a FoxTrot strip from January 29, 2006 in which Jason obtained the most powerful item in all of "World of Warquest". Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — Lieutenant Commander's Plate Shoulders bears a fair resemblence the armor worn by the comic character Judge Dredd, being gold, with flat armor on the left shoulder and a large eagle's head and wings on the right.
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** While fighting Bloodlord Mandokir, random players would get a message from him saying "Don't make me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry," which is a quote from Bruce Banner before he transforms into the . If the player decides to attack the Bloodlord after he has given this message, the Bloodlord will charge forward and beat the player to death. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** One of the voice emotes for orc males is "Orc smash!", a reference to the Hulk's catchphrase, "Hulk smash!"
** The Avenger's Battlegear, with its red and gold metallic look and helmet, bears some resemblance to 's armor during his time with the superhero team, the .
* — On many wanted posters in the game there is a man in a long trench coat that looks like the character Vash, from the popular anime/manga series.
===Gaming===
* Diablo
** Wirt's Third Leg was a reference to the character of Wirt the peg-legged boy from Diablo. Removed in patch 9.1.5.
** Cow King's Hide refers to the 'Cow King' from Diablo II, located on the Cow Level.
** Razorclaw the Butcher and Butcher's Cleaver are references to "The Butcher" in Diablo and the item he dropped.
** Shadowfang is a reference to the sword of the same name in Diablo II. There is also the Staff of Jordan which is a reference to a popular item in Diablo II called "Stone of Jordan".
** Dal'Rend's Arms (Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge and Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian) is a reference to the Diablo II set Bul-Kathos' Children (consisting of Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge and Bul'Kathos' Tribal Guardian). Removed in patch 6.0.2.
** Naglering is a possible reference to the "Nagelring" from Diablo II.
** One of the tips displayed as the player logs in to the game is, "'There is no cow level," a reference to a popular rumor about there being a secret cow level in Diablo.
** Maiden's Anguish is probably a reference to Andariel, the poison-spewing boss of the first act of Diablo II; her "nickname" is the Maiden of Anguish.
** When you talk to a Dwarf NPC, they might say "What can I do for ya?" This is the same line used by Griswold the Blacksmith in Diablo, who even had an accent similar to a dwarven one.
** Stone Cairn Lake is an obvious reference to the five Cairn Stones in Diablo II, with which you open the portal to old Tristram.
* — Gorillas sometimes drop Empty Barrel, a reference to Donkey Kong throwing barrels at Mario in the Nintendo arcade game.
* — Krusk is a reference to one of D&D 3rd edition's iconic characters, Krusk the half-orc barbarian.
* — Theresa is blindfolded and is a mind slave to Gerard Abernathy, an undead. This could be a vague reference to a blind seer of the same name in Fable.
* — Farmer Dalson, a ghoul, was part of the Locked Away quest chain. From Mrs. Dalson's Diary we learnt that his first name was Harold. Harold the Ghoul is a recurring character in the Fallout series. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — Angus and Shorty shout "Mortar Combat!" in precisely the same manner "Mortal Kombat!" is shouted in the soundtrack to the .
* — Fenthwick is possibly a reference to the elf Fenthick in Neverwinter Nights.
* StarCraft
** Across the gameworld are disabled shredders with a picture of Infested Kerrigan on the screen.
** The Silithid hives and the surrounded infested areas are strongly reminiscent of the Zerg hives and Creep.
** During the Dark Portal Opens event, there was a NPC named Lord Marshal Raynor, a reference to the Terran character Jim Raynor who is a marshal.
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** The troll male offensive spell cast animation is identical to that of a .
** Hadoken Swiftstrider is a reference to the special attack Hadōken, and his quest Alpha Strike (original)'s name is a combination of series and .
** Grells will sometimes perform Ken and Ryu's Dragon Punch motion when attacking.
** Female human paladins perform a Shoryuken animation when casting Hammer of Justice.
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** Muigin and Larion are reference to "Mario" and "Luigi". Also, they gave the quest where the player must hunt Bloodpetals, which look suspiciously like the Piranha Plants from the various Super Mario Bros. games.
** Red-Speckled Mushroom's image is supiciously similar to the Super Mushroom from the Super Mario games.
* — In Un'Goro Crater there was a character named Linken, who has a bit of amnesia. You will encounter Linken by finding a wrecked raft which begins It's a Secret to Everybody, named for a quote received in a dungeon in the original Legend of Zelda. This quest chain is chock full of Zelda references. All of them were removed in patch 4.0.3a, although Linken returned for The Protectors of Hyjal.
*** Throughout the quest line you will receive several items, including a Faded Photograph showing Linken with a female gnome who resembles Princess Zelda standing in Stormwind (or Hyrule Castle), a compass and map which are common items in all Zelda games, a Lion-Headed Key (a skeleton key found in the original Legend of Zelda game), and Linken's Training Sword.
*** The last of Linken's quests is called It's Dangerous to Go Alone, named after the line spoken by the old man in the beginning of the first Zelda game when he gives Link a sword. Completing the quest will reward you with Linken's Boomerang and Linken's Sword of Mastery, references to Link's trusty boomerang and the Master Sword.
*** There is an NPC named Miblon Snarltooth, a reference to the Moblin enemies from the original Zelda game. You must buy a piece of ham for Miblon, which opens a gate to an Evoroot. In The Legend of Zelda, you must give a piece of ham to a Moblin to access another part of a dungeon.
*** You have to bring Linken's Training Sword to Donova Snowden in Everlook, where she'll then tell you about how the spring near her has special properties that make items better when you throw them into the spring. This is a reference to A Link to the Past where if you threw your sword, boomerang, or arrows into the fairy spring, they would be upgraded.
*** Near Linken there is also a kodo named Dadanga, similar to the monster Dodongo from the Zelda series, and if you talk to its owner she will tell you that it "hates smoke", a reference to a hint given in the original Legend of Zelda that "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE."
* The Lost Vikings — In Uldaman there are three dwarves, Olaf, Eric "The Swift", and Baelog, who are the three Lost Vikings from Blizzard's sidescrolling game. Their combat abilities from the original game have been translated faithfully to the Warcraft universe. When killed, Baelog drops the sword Nordic Longshank, and Baelog's Shortbow; Olaf drops a shield, Olaf's All Purpose Shield, which allows the user to float for 10 seconds; and Eric "The Swift" drops Worn Running Boots, and a Horned Viking Helmet with the ability to charge the enemy, stunning it for 30 seconds and stunning you for a shorter period of time—these abilities are references to the characters' unique abilities in The Lost Vikings. There are also two items that Alliance players must retrieve in conjunction with the quest The Hidden Chamber: The Shaft of Tsol and the Gni'kiv Medallion. These two items contain the words "Lost Viking" backwards.
* — At the Darkmoon Faire, Sayge who will ask you morality questions that are almost directly pulled from the morality questions asked at the beginnings of Ultimas 4, 5, and 6.
* — Studies in Spirit Speaking, for Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff (quest), contains a series of Os (OOOoOoo), just as the dialogue of player ghosts appeared in Ultima Online. The Os in the book also represent ASCII text in binary that reads "Ultima Online Napa Valley Knights of Chaos", referring to a player guild on an Ultima Online server. The title of the book is a reference to the game's necromancer-related skill required to understand ghosts. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
===Literature===
* A cloak called drops from Emperor Thaurissan in Black Rock Depths. The cloak is unique in that it is completely invisible. This is a reference to the classic fairy tale .
* The Anarchist Cookbook
** A late level mage quest begins with a tome known as "The Arcanist's Cookbook". This is a reference to The Anarchist's Cookbook, a collection of articles on explosives, hacking, and other shady business.
* The Bible
** The Journeyman leather trainer in Stormwind is called Simon the Tanner, a reference to someone Paul the Apostle stayed with in the "Book of Acts".
** Outside the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj is an NPC named John the Revelator, a reference to the last book of the Bible (Revelations).
* The Camels are Coming
** An NPC named Bingles can be found east of the lake in Loch Modan. This is a reference to Major James Bigglesworth, known to all as "'Biggles'", is a fictional pilot and adventurer created by 'W. E. Johns'. The first collection of Biggles stories, 'The Camels are Coming', was published in 1932. Characters named "Biggles"--also a reference to the Johns character—were a running joke in a couple of 'Monty Python' sketches. The "Spanish Inquisition" sketch featured 'Terry Jones' as a "Cardinal Biggles" (complete with goggles), while the "Biggles" sketch featured 'Graham Chapman' in the titular role.
* Chronicles of Narnia
** There is a pair of boots called "Dawn Treaders," an obvious reference to "C. S. Lewis"' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
* Crime and Punishment
** There is an NPC in Stormwind City named Nikova Raskol, a play on the name Raskolnikov, the protagonist of 'Fyodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment.
** There is also a quest of the same name where a character must kill an NPC named Dextren Ward.
* Damon Knight
** An Exotic Cookbook found in some areas of the game through killing NPCs or pickpocketing them has the flavor text "How To Serve Man", a reference to Damon Knight's short story "To Serve Man", which was later made into a Twilight Zone episode and parodied in one "Treehouse of Horror" special on The Simpsons.
* The Divine Comedy
** A signpost on the western edge of Deadwind Pass bears the words "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here". In some translations of Dante's Inferno, these same words are written on the gates of Hell.
* Discworld
** In Dustwallow Marsh there is a Watchman called Captain Vimes, a direct reference to Captain Vimes of the Night Watch, one of Terry Pratchett's popular Discworld characters. Another reference to this character might be Commander Samaul.
** There is also a series of quests in Duskwood for a group of NPCs belonging to The Night Watch.
** Mayor of the Darkshire, Ebonlocke, might be a minor reference to Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Havelock Vetinari.
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** Hall of Thanes can easily be a reference to the Hall of the Thanes that was the throne room in Pax Tharkas. It also can be a reference to the Valley of the Thanes where the kings of Thorbardin are laid to rest.
** Iron Forge is similar to the family name of a Hero of the Lance, Flint Fireforge.
**A forsaken warrior trainer in Brill called Ratslin Maime is a play on words on the famous character .
**The Pig and Whistle tavern mentioned elsewhere as an easter egg is the name of an inn in Flotsam in Dragonlance.
* Dune
** Obviously, the mobs called "Sandworms" are a reference to the huge worms in Dune.
** The worm boss Ouro in AQ 40 has a 6% drop chance on an item called . The icon resembles a mysterious box. In the Dune book Muad'dib was tested with a box and a poisoned needle. The box was simply called 'the box,' but the needle was called . In the test you place your hand in the box and it will cause unimaginable pain until the test ends. However, if you take your hand out too early the one testing you will stab you with the needle and you will die instantly.
** As of patch 1.12, the desert of Silithus features a collectible item called "Silithyst" which appears in "blooms" throughout the desert just as Spice does in the novel. The catch phrase for this is "He who controls the Silithyst, controls the desert" which is a play on the novel's catch phrase "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe."
** A sleeping Druid named "Kerlonian Evershade" will occasionally say "The sleeper has awakened" when you blow a horn to wake him up. The quote was also used by the Druids in "Warcraft III."
**In Trisfal Glades along the Whispering Shore and the North Coast two rare Murlocs will spawn named Maud and Deeb. Together the names are a reference to Muad'dib from the novel.
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** The quest giver Hemet Nesingwary- an anagram of Ernest Hemingway- is the typical "great white hunter" found in many Hemingway stories. The quest The Green Hills of Stranglethorn (quest) is a reference to Hemingway's The Green Hills of Africa. Also, two NPCs in this camp also have names that are anagrams of authors' names, Sir S.J. Erlgadin (J.D. Salinger) and Ajeck Rouack (Jack Kerouac).
* Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
** The dagger may be a reference to Fafhrd, who always named his offhand dagger "Heartseeker".
* Farseer Trilogy
** The NPC Shado 'Fitz' Farstrider at Nesingwary's Expedition in Nagrand is a reference to the assassin Fitz Farseer from the Farseer Trilogy written by Robin Hobb.
* Five Deadly Venoms
** Within the city of Stormwind lies a poison shop called "The Five Deadly Venoms", which is a reference to the Kung-fu cult hit of the same name.
* Flowers for Algernon
** An undead man in the Apothecarium of the Undercity named Algernon stands holding a peacebloom, a reference to the aforementioned novel.
* Hades' Daughter
** There is an NPC in Teldrassil named Asterion who is trapped and must be set free. This is a reference to Sarah Douglass' character in the Troy Game series.
*Heart of Darkness
** In Stranglethorn Vale, near the northern edge of the map, there is a camp named Kurzen's Compound, with adds such as medicine men. This is a reference to the character Kurtz who befriended an African tribe deep in the jungle and eventually went mad.
* Harry Potter
** A quest from the Mor'Ladim series of quests in Darkshire is named "The Daughter Who Lived," a reference to "The Boy Who Lived," which Harry Potter is referred to in the series.
** A quest for the second Scourge Invasion is called Chamber of Secrets which quotes the title of a Harry Potter Book. To complete this quest, you have to kill Tenris Mirkblood, whose surname sounds similar to 'mudblood', which is an insult aimed at wizards/witches with no magical parents.
* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
** In Deeprun Tram, there is a Leper Gnome by the name of Haggle who walks around and says, "Forty-two... forty-two what? It could be anything..." This is a reference to the Douglas Adams classic where the answer to "The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything" is "'Forty-two'". Two popular Questions to the Answer of Forty-Two are "At what number on a certain street in New York City is the club known as Stavro Mueller Beta located at?" and "What do you get if you multiply six by seven?", as well as "How many roads must a man walk down?".
** Non-combat pets, or companion pets, have "42" health-points (hp). A possible reference to the answer to "The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything".
* Xaviera Hollander
** In Booty Bay, the fishing trainers shop is named The Happy Bobber, although the sign outside shows a fishhook. This is an allusion to 'The Happy Hooker', an autobiography published in 1971 and written by former Dutch madame and prostitute 'Xaviera Hollander'.
* The Island of Doctor Moreau
** The (so far inaccessible) Island of Doctor Lapidis is a reference to the science-fiction novel by H.G. Wells.
* How the Grinch Stole Christmas
** During the holidays in December, a series of quests are opened up and one involves a giant green yeti named "The Greench." He has stolen a delivery of gifts. The name of the quest is "You're a Mean One..." All from the book by Dr. Seuss.
* The Jungle Book
** In the last phase of the quest "Panther Mastery" for Sir S. J. Erlgadin of Nesingwary's Expedition, you are required to hunt and kill a black panther named Bag'thera whose name closely resembles the black panther 'Bagheera' from 'Rudyard Kipling'’s 'The Jungle Book'.
* Lolita
** A Torn Journal and The Legend of Stalvan are partially about a man infatuated with an adolescent girl named Tilloa, an anagram of Lolita, the titular character of Vladimir Nabokov's most famous novel.
* The Lorax
** Located in Winterspring patrolling a broken temple to the south east, The Lorax is a reference to a Dr. Seuss book of the same title.
* H.P. Lovecraft
** During the quest "The Star, the Hand and the Heart" in Dustwallow Marsh the god of murlocs is summoned. The god of these fish-men is called Dagun, which is an obvious reference to 'Dagon', one of the Great Old Ones. Dagon is featured in Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth. Similarly, the murlocs are, perhaps not only in the given context, a reference to the novel's frogfish-like worshippers of Dagon, the denizens of Y'ha-nthlei. A movie with the same name has also been made.
** In the quest Crime and Punishment, Councilman Millstipe of Darkshire wants you to bring him the hand of Dextren Ward. This is a reference to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
** C'Thun, the final boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj raid instance, bears a striking resemblance to Lovecraft's creation, 'Cthulhu', a horrible being, with a notable feature of tentacles.
** The progress text for the quest for the tier 2.5 set (requiring you to kill C'thun reads "At his dwelling at Ahn'Qiraj, dread C'thun awaits in slumber, similar to the "In his house at Rl'yeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming", the mantra of the Cthulhu cultists.
** Doctor Herbert Halsey, Artisan Alchemist (Undercity). This NPC is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's, Reanimator. Herbert Halsey is actually a mix of two characters from Lovecraft's story, Herbert West and Dr. Allen Halsey. Blizzard keeps to the Lovecraft theme by giving Dr. Herbert Halsey an Artisan Alchemist role residing in the Forsaken capital of the Undercity surrounded by dissection tables and body parts.
** A quest "Solution to Doom" requires you to retrieve Tablet of Ryun'eh from Uldaman. In Lovecraft's works, R'lyeh is the sunken city where Cthulhu is said to dwell in hibernation.
** The surname of a Warlock trainer Richard Kerwin in Undercity bears resemblance to Curwen, another reference to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, along with the surnames of Undercity rogue trainers being Charles, Dexter and Ward.
* Karl May
** The Shattered Hand Clan may or may not be an obscure reference to (though the names have completely different meanings)
* The Metamorphosis
** In Tarren Mill, there is an NPC named Deathguard Samsa, who asks you to collect human skulls - the protagonist of 'Kafka's novel was named Gregor Samsa.
* A Modest Proposal
** A Netherstorm quest that begins near the Etherium area, the title is a reference to Johnathan Swift's essay "".
* The Old Man and the Sea
** In Booty Bay, there is a fishing trainer named Old Man Heming, an allusion to 'Ernest Hemingway' and his novella. Also, there is a hunter in Stranglethorn Vale called Hemet Nesingwary — an anagram for the writer's name.
* The Right Stuff
** There is a warlock quest in Felwood called "The Wrong Stuff" which is likely a reference to "Tom Wolfes 1979 novel" which itself was later adapted into a film in 1983.
* Shakespeare
** In Undercity, the four bankers have the last name Montague. This is a reference to one of the feuding families in Romeo and Juliet. This is more certainly derived from Mercutio's line, when mortally wounded "A plague o' both your houses!", that plague, of course, being the one of undeath, in this case.While three of the Montagues are "alive"/corporeal, Ophelia is a ghost, surely a reference to the Ophelia in Hamlet who drowns herself.
** A butcher called Dirge Quikcleave in Tanaris says "Get thee to a cheesery!" when sending you on a quest to gather cheese and other cooking ingredients. This is a reference to "Get thee to a nunnery", a line from Hamlet to Ophelia.
** Some undead creatures drop a 'pound of flesh', a reference to 'The Merchant of Venice'.
** In Silverpine Forest there are two undead characters named Rane and Quinn Yorick. This is a reference to a famous scene in Hamlet, wherein Hamlet holds the skull of a dead childhood friend and mourns, "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio."
* A Song of Ice and Fire
** There is a gnome in the gardens of Castle Stormwind by the name of Tyrion, probably a reference to Tyrion Lannister, the Imp.
** It is possible that Duskwood's "The Night Watch" refers to the faction of the same name in the George R.R. Martin books, particularly since both battle the undead.
** There is also a wolf pup named "Lady", a reference to Sansa Stark's pet wolf, running around the Blacksmith in Arathi Basin.
** There is Jon Jon the Crow in Stranglethorn Vale, which may refer to Jon Snow, a member of the Night Watch, who are commonly referred to as "crows".
* A Tale of Two Cities
** In Booty Bay, there is a tailoring shop with a sign outside proclaiming the shop name to be "A Tailor to Cities", an obvious reference to the Charles Dickens novel.
* The Time Machine
** Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel "The Time Machine". It's possible that Murlocs are named for these creatures.
* J.R.R. Tolkien
** — An item in reference to 'The One Ring' of Lord of the Rings (LotR) fame. It gives +1 to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Spirit and Intellect. It's reportedly not as good as The 2 Ring. It can be obtained through fishing, a reference to how 'Gollum' finds the ring in a river.
** A quest obtained in Gnomeregan to return a ring to a gnome in Ironforge has the name 'Return of the Ring', a pun of the name of the last book in the LotR trilogy.
** One of the /silly emotes for a human male talks about an 'idea for a movie' (that movie being the story of LotR, replacing "ring" with "bracelet", and other thoughtful changes.)
** The /silly emote mentioned above seems to highlight many visual similarities to the art direction of the LotR films, such as Blackrock Mountain and the surrounding Burning Steppes bearing a striking resemblance to Mount Doom and the surrounding country of Mordor.
** A dwarven reimagining of the Argonath exists in southern Loch Modan.
** Beren's Peril, an area of Silverpine Forest, is possibly named for Beren, a man from the past of LotR. His story is more fully told in The Silmarillion.
** A dying Blood Elf in the Ghostlands gives a quest called Anok'suten. One of the rewards for killing this elite (a giant spider) is a one-handed sword called Stung. This is an obvious reference to Sting, which is Bilbo's sword in The Hobbit, used effectively against spiders in the book. He later gives it to Frodo in LotR.
** Mount Blackrock appears to be based on they both overshadow the areas surrounding them, , and Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes. They both contain giant magma chambers where certain items can only be forged e.g. In Mount Doom it would be ring whilst in BRD it would be Dark Iron.
** The mines of Moria is not just a mine, but also a small underground town where dwarves live. Blackrock Depths is similar, except being bigger. A stunningly close example between the two is the room with pillars in LotR when they enter, and in WoW the Lyceum room before the final boss. The Mines also guarded by the , and BRD is guarded by many fire elementals and giants similar to Balrog.
** The Burning Steppes and the Searing Gorge are very similar to Mordor, for starters Mordor, just like the two zones, is a burning hellhole overshadowed by a gigantic volcano. There is also evil orcs in both Mordor and Burning Steppes, who simply want to take things for themselves. Mordor is ruled by Sauron, whilst Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge are ruled in practice by Ragnaros, an elemental lord hellbent on destruction.
* Treasure Island
** Every time the chest in Stranglethorn Vale is placed in the arena someone named Short John Mithril announces it. Short John Mithril is a reference to the pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel.
* Walt Whitman
** In Duskwood, in a house near the alliance Gryphon there is an NPC named Whit Wantmal which is an anagram of 'Walt Whitman'
===Movies and television===
* — Finkle Einhorn could be found in Upper Blackrock Spire after skinning The Beast. This is a reference to the dual lives of Ace Ventura's antagonist, Ray Finkle/Lois Einhorn. Removed in patch 6.0.2. Also, there is mention about a "Captain Winky" and the term "shikaka".
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** One of the female human's /silly emotes says, "I can't wait till this quest is done and I can look for another Garibaldi artifact," a reference to the Rambaldi artifacts pursued by Sydney Bristow.
** In Stormwind, the thieves guild hall is named SI:7, assumed to be a play on both SD-6, which is the organization Sidney Bristow works for in the show, as well as the real life , which is best known in popular culture as the British intelligence agency that works for.
* — In the human barracks west of the town of Goldshire there are two NPCs named Quartermaster Hicks and Quartermaster Hudson, who are named after Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson from Aliens.
* — One of the male orc's /silly emotes is "Man, dawg, you know, it's like I'm feeling you, but I'm not feeling you, you know?", a reference to the phrases used by judge Randy Jackson.
* — The Slaughtered Lamb is a reference to the pub that two lost American hitchhikers stumbled upon before their unfortunate encounter with the local werewolf in this movie.
* — Colonel Kurzen, who went insane and raised an army from a small hidden compound, is a reference to Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. The two Colonels' backstories are very similar. It is, by extension, a reference to Kurtz from , the novel on whose story Apocalypse Now was based.
* — Oglethorpe Obnoticus is a reference to Oglethorpe, one of the unbelievably stupid Plutonian aliens, and their source of knowledge, the Orbnaticus, a giant mirrored disco ball that Oglethorpe insists is actually a supercomputer.
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** Around Coldridge Valley there are some dwarves doing target practice. If one waits there long enough eventually a dwarf will say, "This...is my BOOMSTICK!", a reference to Army of Darkness.
** The gunshop outside the Auction House in Orgrimmar is named Boomstick Imports.
** There are also several gun items in the game with the word "Boomstick" in them.
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** Part of the quest chain to open Ahn'Qiraj involves a gnome named Doctor Weavil, a reference to Dr. Evil, who sends a gorilla named Number Two to attack the player working on the quest when his ransom demand fails.
** Inside Naxxramas, there is a cat near the entrance named Mr. Bigglesworth which was the name of Dr. Evil's cat. Killing this cat will enrage Kel'Thuzad.
** One of the female human's /silly emotes says, "Sometimes, I have trouble controlling the volume OF MY VOICE!", which is a direct quote after Austin's reanimation from cryostasis.
** Both male and female gnomes' dancing resembles Mini-Me's dance in the second movie, The Spy Who Shagged Me.
* — is a reference to Doctor Bombay, who a witch or warlock would call by chanting, "Calling Dr. Bombay, calling Dr. Bombay. Please come right away" when they need help.
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** Six Demon Bag's tooltip text says "Blasts enemies with the power of wind, fire, that kind of thing!", quoting Egg Shen's description of the contents of his Six-Demon Bag in the movie.
** There is a hidden area under one of the lakes in Deadwind Pass where you can view floating corpses chained to the lake floor, a reference to the "hell of the upside-down sinners".
* — is a clear reference to Danny from this movie. If you talk to him you will see that he says, "Well, the world needs ditch diggers too." This is stated in Caddyshack when Danny asks the Judge about becoming a lawyer.
* — Benny Blaanco has a similar name as the character Benny Blanco in the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
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** When targeted, one of the random messages an NPC orc will say is "zug zug," a word used in this movie intended to mean "sex."
** One of the female orc /flirt lines is "You had me at zug zug," which is also a reference to one of the final lines of .
* / — Chasing A-Me 01 (original) (a reference to the movie's name), and tasks the player with finding and rescuing a mechanized female gorilla from a pack of wild apes, reminiscent of Congo.
* — One of Erich Lohan's phrases is "Head on over to the Blue Recluse. Where everybody knows your name!" "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is the Cheers theme song.
* — During the second boss encounter in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, Lt. General Andorov makes the same threat to Rajaxx that Arnold Schwarzenegger's character Matrix made to Sully: "Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied."
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** In the Badlands there is a crypt with the corpse of the warrior king sitting on a throne and propping up a sword, referencing a story in which Conan steals an undead king's sword.
** Saru Steelfury says (if you are qualified for Expert Blacksmithing and not Artisan) "No one, no one in the world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts ... this you can trust, Steel," which is a quote from the movie.
* — Quinn's name and clothing are a reference to Quinn Morgendorffer, Daria's younger sister.
* — In the description of Between a Rock and a Thistlefur, the quest-giver says, "<name>, we must not allow... an expansion path gap!" a reference to a line in the movie talking about a mine shaft gap.
* 
** "Auntie" Bernice Stonefield may be a reference to Bernice Summerfield, a companion of the Doctor.
** One of Suzanne's phrases is "If we reverse the Essence flows perhaps we can alter the polarity." This is similar to "Reverse the polarity", which was a phrase often used by the .
* — Officer Areyn resembles 's character, Aeryn Sun, from the television series.
* 
** In Undercity there are two NPCs named after the main characters, Tyler and Edward, that fight other NPCs. The undead around them also have names from the novel and movie, such as Marla and Chloe.
** There is also a mace in the game appropriately named the Fight Club.
* — If Guard Fengus is approached in conversation (if Fengus is left alive after the player becomes the new king), he will say "You da man now, dog", referencing a line in Finding Forrester spoken by Sean Connery.
* 
** Gubber Blump wass a parody of Bubba. During Fruit of the Sea, Gubber repetitively prattled about the many ways to cook crab meat, similar to Bubba's discussion of shrimp. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** Bernard Gump may be a reference to the character Forrest Gump. Bernard is a florist, and Florist Gump sounds almost like Forrest Gump.
* — Spraggle Frock is similarly named after the TV show .
* 
** Crystal Lake is named for a location in the movies.
** The guards of Brill will give you directions to the lake to the east in Lordaeron, but warns you to be careful because some guy in a mask killed a bunch of people near there, referencing Jason Voorhees, the killer in the movies.
** Jason Mathers stands on a small pier on the shores of Crystal Lake, and sometimes when a player asks a Stormwind Guard about the fishing trainer, they will tell that the fisherman once fished up a strange mask from Crystal Lake.
* — While doing Un'Goro Soil , Ghede in Thunder Bluff nearly quotes Sgt. Hartman, saying: "Be advised, Jackson - I am in no mood for any comment that you think is cute or funny. I am here to make sure that the Arch Druid's research proceeds as planned, and I will weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve my beloved Cenarion Circle." When turning in the quest, he encourages you not to make any effort to help him unload the soil, and that "if the Great Spirits had wanted it done they would have miracled it up there." Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — Ghamoo-Ra and Gammerita are clear references to Gamera.
* 
** Harold Raims is an anagram of Harold Ramis, co-creator (with Dan Aykroyd) of Ghostbusters.
** Suzanne, Janey Anship, and Lisan Pierce talk about "crossing the streams," and that it would be bad. This references the admonition not to "cross the streams" of the proton packs.
** Egan gavea you Egan's Blaster, that will release the souls trapped inside the ghostly and spectral citizens of Stratholme, and then can be used again on those souls to free them. A direct reference to Ghostbusters character Egon Spengler. The item and its quest was removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** Investigate the Blue Recluse and Investigate the Alchemist Shop involved the investigation of disturbances and the capturing of ghosts in Containment Coffers. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** One of the goblin engineers working at the race track in the Shimmering Flats quotes the movie, saying, "We have the tools, we have the talent!". Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — Gillijim's Isle (located far west of Stranglethorn Vale) is a reference to the 1960s TV series. The in-game zone hosted an island in the alpha stages of WoW. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — In Zul'Farrak, players can summon and fight a giant hydra named Gahz'rilla, an obvious reference to the giant behemoth of Japanese movie fame.
* 
** Remy "Two Times" states "I'll give you the best price in town...best price in town!". This is a reference to Jimmy "Two Times", who has a similar tendency to repeat himself in dialogue like, "I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."
** Brikk Keencraft says "You think I'm a clown here to amuse you. Is that what you think? That I'm a clown? Huh, is it? You think I'm a clown don't you!" which is one of Joe Pesci's more memorable lines from the movie.
* — was a reference to either Connor MacLeod or more likely the Clan MacLeod (which figured heavily in the television series) from Highlander. He is described as the "chief warrior" and carries a katana, the Highlander's weapon of choice in the film. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — After killing King Gordok, you receive a buff that says, "You're the king - it's good to be the king!" which is a reference to the famous line by King Louis XVI.
* 
** In Uldaman, you have to use an amulet which must be fitted onto a staff and placed so that light will pass through it to open a door; in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy performs a similar maneuver to find the hidden cave in which the Ark was stored.
** In Searing Gorge, there was a quest found on a wounded dwarf archaeologist named Dorius which concerns the Suntara Stones, a reference to the fictional Sankara Stones sought by Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** Matthew Hooper is likely named after "Matt Hooper", a marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss in Steven Spielberg's 1975 movie.
** Maws is named after the huge shark, Jaws. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — One of the ghostly citizens of Caer Darrow is called Joseph Dirte. He also makes a comment referencing to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.
* — Lefty, in Blackrock Depths, uses the ability Five Fat Finger Exploding Heart Technique which is a parody on the martial arts-move "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" seen in Kill Bill.
* 
** Inside Onyxia's Lair, there is a skeleton laying near the edge of the lava pool with its arm reaching into the lava towards a shuriken. This plays homage to the scene where Prince Colwyn had to retrieve the Glaive from a lava pool.
** The Beast also refered to the name given to the creature who controls the slayers from the Black Fortress. Removed in patch 6.0.2.
* — Haggle bears a distinct resemblance to Hoggle from the Henson movie.
* — Un'Goro Crater is a steep-walled valley filled with dinosaurs. Two NPCs here are Williden Marshal and Hol'anyee Marshal, direct references from its characters: Marshal, Will, and Holly. Also, there are crystal pylons which use red, green, blue, and yellow power crystals, visual references to the crystals used in the pylons from the movie.
* — Phantom Blade has an identical item mesh to the sword Jobe uses in the cyberspace sword fight at the end of the movie.
* 
** Gadgetzan, is obviously inspired by Bartertown from the third 'Mad Max' movie. The town has a large caged dome in the center where fighting between Horde and Alliance is permitted, which is the exact same concept as Bartertown's Thunderdome. This feature has been removed as of 1.11.
** Katrina Turner is a reference to and her role in the movie.
* — Winna's Kitten is a reference to .
* 
** Mission: Possible But Not Probable was an obvious reference to this franchise. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** In Covert Ops - Alpha and Covert Ops - Beta, the plans that Gaxim Rustfizzle gives you end by saying to destroy these pages, and mentions looking into a way to make them self-destruct after they're read. This is a parody of the opening of most episodes of the Mission: Impossible TV series where the taped instructions end with, "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** Terry Palin, who sometimes says, "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day." These are the lyrics to the chorus of Monty Python's Lumberjack Song, originally performed by Michael Palin. The song was composed by Michael Palin, Terry Jones (another member of Monty Python), and Fred Tomlinson. The NPC's name is a combination of Terry Jones and Michael Palin's names.
** Crunchy Frog is a reference to the unpalatable chocolates described in the sketch of the same name.
* — Justin often makes a reference to the Killer Bunny in the movie by saying, "And then the rabbit just bit his head off... I swear."
* — The Shoveler is a two-handed mace weapon named after the character played by William H. Macy.
* — Servo was a reference to the robot Tom Servo of this TV show. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — In Triage (Alliance), the injured soldiers occasionally say the line "...I...I think I see Blue.." This is a reference to a scene from Old School where Will Ferrell's character has been badly beaten and is slightly delirious. Once Ferrell's friend comes to help him, Ferrell says the lines "I'm so cold Mitch... I think I see Blue. He looks glorious," Blue being another character in the movie that had previously died.
* — In the Detention Block, several prisoners bear names and semblances to characters on the TV show Oz, e.g. is a reference to Tobias Beecher, a prisoner and protagonist in Oz.
* — Shady Rest Inn is named after the setting of the TV show Petticoat Junction.
* — Topper McNabb occasionally says, "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today," a frequent quote from the character Wimpy.
* — The undead innkeepers Norman and [[Innkeeper Bates|Bates] ]are named after the main character, hotel manager Norman Bates.
* — is a reference to Harvey Keitel's character Winston 'The Wolf' Wolfe.
* — Apprentice Kryten may be a reference to the the robot in this series.
* 
** In Orgrimmar one may visit Droffers and Son Salvage where Dran Droffers and his son Malton are proprietors. Their names are anagrams for Fred Sanford and Lamont, the titular characters in this show.
** Dran calls people "dummy", one of the show's catch phrases.
** Their quest Ripple Recovery is an obvious reference to Fred Sanford's wine of choice on the show. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — The male human dance resembles one of John Travolta's dances in the movie.
* 
** The dance moves of the ogres, as well as the moonkin, are the same as those made famous by during the 'Chippendales' sketch on Saturday Night Live.
** Happy Fun Rock is a reference to a skit commercial for a product named Happy Fun Ball.
** The Only Cure is More Green Glow is a reference to the popular skit about 'More Cowbell', which had the famous line: "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!". Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** The Only Prescription may be a reference to the same sketch. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — In the Eastern Plaguelands, Tirion Fordring lived in a small house in the wilderness. When a monster approaches him, he got out his hammer and said, "Say hello to my little friend." This is a quote from the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — The icon , used e.g. for Alterac Valley Mark of Honor and Talisman of Protection, is identical to Scooby Doo's collar. The initials "SD" are clearly visible.
* — "Swamp Eye" Jarl gives a quest called Jarl Needs a Blade, in which you must get him a Moonsteel Broadsword. He states while giving the quest, "Some people call it a moonsteel broadsword. I call it a swing blade." This is an obvious reference to Billy Bob Thornton's character in Sling Blade, Carl, who says almost the same thing about a kaiser blade.
* 
** One of the male dwarf's /silly emotes produces a phrase similar to the song "Heigh-Ho" from the Disney movie, although the character forgets the words.
** In Blackrock Depths, the player will fight against some ghost dwarves named The Seven. While most of them just have mean sounding names, one, Dope'rel (Dopey), confirms the reference.
* — In Stratholme there is a boss called Timmy the Cruel. He yells his name again and again, similarly to the South Park character of the same name.
* — Lurking off the northern shores of Desolace about a bit out into the sea, one can find a rare crab scuttling along the bottom of the reef by the name of Crusty. This little guy is a reference to this popular TV show as SpongeBob works in a restaurant called the "Krusty Krab".
* 
** Lieutenant Karter, Lieutenant Jackspring, Sergeant Major Clate, and Guard Hammon may be reference to , , ("Clate" being an anagram of "Teal'c"), and , respectively.
** Captain O'Neal is almost certainly a reference to . Jack O'Neill was the long-time main character of the popular Sci-Fi series Stargate SG-1. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** Scooty is clearly an homage to Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He operates the Transpolyporter 6000. Using the transporter takes you to Gnomeregan, where Sprok (Spock) waits on the other side, with his faction labeled as .
** In Gadgetzan, Jhordy Lapforge (Geordi LaForge) stands next to a similar Transporter which serves as the destination for the Ultrasafe Transporter available to engineers of the Gnomish persuasion.
** In Orgrimmar, Nogg is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reference to young engineer Nog, the first Ferengi in Starfleet. Also in Nogg's is Sovik, who might be a reference to the Vulcan 'Saavik' first introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
** In Stormwind in the Old Town district, Lenny "Fingers" McCoy is a reference to Leonard "Bones" McCoy from the original series.
* 
** InBlood of Morphaz (quest), Ogtinc told the player, "many druids died to bring us this information." This is a clear tip of the hat to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, where the Rebel leader tells the gathered Rebel Alliance of the second Death Star's fatal weakness, claiming that "many Bothans died to bring us this information." Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** In Spirit of Redemption buff, one can read "You have become more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine.", An obvious reference to the original Star Wars trilogy.
* — Above the Steam Pools in Feralas there is a Giant Roc's nest with a single egg that is reminiscent of the Roc's Nest that the sailor Sinbad and his crew encountered in the film.
* — In Shimmering Flats there are tire tracks that go up to a wall of rock. The tracks appear on the other side of the cliff, in Tanaris, along with the ill-fated vehicle that made the journey. This is a reference to Buckaroo Banzai's jet car, which could pass through solid matter.
* — Bone Collector, where you have to collect Kodo Bones from the Kodo Graveyard, may be a reference to its title.
* — Cannonball Runner may be a reference to this movie.
* — Daisy, who is wearing a tank top and "Daisy Dukes" (her shorts), is based on Daisy Duke from the TV show.
* — Father Lankester is named after the priest Lankester Merrin.
* — In In Dreams, upon seeing his son dead, Tirion Fordring said, "Look what they did to my boy," which is what Don Corleone says after Sonny is assassinated in the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — Defias juggernaught's location inside the Deadmines bears a resemblance to that of One Eyed Willie's ship.
* — The face on the front cone of the goblin racer in the Shimmering Flats bears a striking resemblance to the artwork on a couple of the vehicles operated by Professor Fate. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — One of the bosses in Naxxramas, Instructor Razuvious, instructs his students to "Sweep the leg," a line from the movie.
* — Zando'zan was a reference to the Assassins that go after Alex's Beta Unit back on Earth in the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — When pick pocketed, Naga can yield an item called a Shiny Dinglehopper, a reference to one of the items misclassified by Scuttle.
* 
** The guards in Ironforge sometimes say they wished they had taken the blue potion instead of the red potion when a player asks for the location of the Alchemist, referencing the red and blue pill that Morpheus offers Neo.
** Caretaker Alen occasionally says that he wished he had taken the translucent pill.
** Justin often says, "There is no spoon," a phrase from the movie.
** Bent Spoon is another reference to the spoon scene.
* — in Everlook gives out the quest Trouble in Winterspring! which borrows heavily from the lyrics of Meredith Willson's song "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man. In the musical, Professor Harold Hill sings of how playing pool requires "judgement, brains and maturity," and how he's developed "a cool head and a keen eye." Meggi uses these same phrases and other direct quotes from the song's lyrics when talking about her experiences in the wilderness of Winterspring. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** Rockbiter was named after a character in the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** The region Swamp of Sorrows is likely a reference to the Swamp of Sadness, where Atreyu loses his horse, Artax.
* 
** Wesley was likely a nod from the movie. The movie's main character, Wesley, has fair blond hair and wields a rapier just like the one the stable master was holding. The Wesley from The Princess Bride is also a stable boy, while World of Warcraft's Wesley was a stable master.
** Father Inigo Montoy was named after Inigo Montoya. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** The completion text for Blackhand's Command (quest) says, "Have fun storming the castle." This is a quote from Max the Miracle Worker in the movie The Princess Bride. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** Lord Victor Nefarian sometimes yelled "Inconceivable!" when members of the chromatic dragonflight were defeated in the arena event of Upper Blackrock Spire. Removed in patch 6.0.2.
* — was named after the antagonist of this influential British sci-fi programme, and a gorilla mask factored very heavily into the show's final episode. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — The Scrimshank Redemption was named as an obvious reference to the movie, although the content has little to do with the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** In Dire Maul North, there are a series of quests that involve the creation of a Gordok Ogre Suit; one of the components of the suit is an Ogre Tannin, which is found in a basket. When you obtain the Tannin, an ogre (Gordok Bushwacker) comes charging down the stairs screaming, "It puts the tannin in the basket or it gets the mallet again!!" This is a reference to the killer Buffalo Bill in the film (and novel), who instructed his victim, "It [the victim] rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again." Also, Buffalo Bill was making a suit out of human skin.
** Clarice Foster is a reference to the FBI agent in the film (Clarice Starling) and the actress who played her (Jodie Foster).
** Clarise Gnarltree is a reference to Clarice Starling. One of her dialogue possibilities pertains to the screaming of the lambs at night.
* 
** Jubjub shares a name with the pet iguana owned by Selma Bouvier, a minor character.
** In Dire Maul, after killing King Gordok and causing the ogres to become friendly, some ogres quote The Simpsons, such as, "I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!"
** Occasionally, one of the children fishing off the docks in Stormwind will yell out that he has caught a big, three-eyed fish just like Blinky from the series.
** Houndmaster Loksey yelled out, "Release the hounds!" when attacked in a voice very similar to that of Mr. Burns, the greedy owner of the Springfield nuclear power plant. The two characters also had similar hair styles. Removed in patch 5.0.4.
* — Servo often said, "We can make it better, stronger, faster. We have the technology. We have the magic." This is a reference to the opening sequence of the 1970s TV show. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** In Marvon Rivetseeker's workshop in Ratchet, there is a mechanical arm upright in an elongated jar on an end table. This is a reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where a microchip and mechanical arm were recovered by Cyberdyne Systems Corporation from the remains of the first terminator.
** There is a metal arm outside the lava in a small room behind bunch of crates in Lower Blackrock Spire which might have come from a terminator.
** Ossirian the Unscarred yells "You are terminated" when he kills a player, which is a quote from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
** The Felguard minion sometimes says "I'll be back" when being dismissed, a line which Arnold Schwarzeneggar popularized as the Terminator.
** The paladin Tier 2 raid set, often abbreviated as T2, is called Judgment Armor, a reference to the second movie, .
** The former Bestial Wrath description was, "the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear", which is a line taken out of Terminator: "Listen. And understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!". Removed in patch 5.0.4.
* — Toxic Revenger inflicts special damage to its target that makes it glow radioactive green, much like the hero of the Toxic Avenger movies.
* 
** The small inventory icon for several necklaces utilizes the ThunderCats logo.
** Sword of Omen shares a name with the weapon wielded by the main character. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
** The Ratchet'sSamophlange questchain was likely a reference to a moderately famous series of outtakes from the show, in which one of the voice actors asks, "What the f— is a samophlange?". Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — The Wing Commanders Ichman, Slidore, Vipore, Guse, Jeztor and Mulverick have similar name sto the pilots Iceman, Slider, Viper, Goose, Jester and Maverick, respectively, from Top Gun.
* — Topper McNabb quotes, "Spare some change for a poor blind man? …What do you mean I'm not blind? …I'M NOT BLIND! I CAN SEE!! It's a miracle!" This is a quote from the movie where Eddie Murphy's character is confronted by two policemen when trying to scam pedestrians in the park.
* — Grimlok, named after the leader of the Dinobots, may be found in Uldaman. Grimlok says, "Me Grimlok, king!", one of the original character's lines from the Transformers TV show.
* — At the opening event for the Dark Portal, one of the NPCs fighting the invading demons shouts out, "Brothers and sisters of the sword! I would rather fight alongside you than any army of thousands! We are lions! Do you know what's waiting through these demons and beyond that Dark Portal? Immortality! Take it!" Brad Pitt says almost the same thing in the 2003 movie Troy.
* — Stephen Ryback is a reference to the 1992 movie Under Siege starring Steven Seagal as Casey Ryback. The Stormwind guards also allude to this by saying, "From the way he handles a knife, I don't think he was always a chef." Furthermore, next to him, there is a cooking supplier named Erika Tate, also an actor/character combination from the same movie (Erika Eleniak as Jordan Tate).
* — In the Blue Scepter Shard section of the quest line that opened the doors to Ahn'Qiraj, the player must find and speak to the ghost of Azuregos. After a long dialog, the blue dragon spirit gives you a Magical Ledger. If you persist in talking to the spirit, he says, "I SAID GOOD DAY!", as Willy Wonka does near the end of the movie. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* — When is freed and led back to her armor and weapons, she will spin in place a few times and will suddenly appear to be wearing her armor. She then says "All I need now is a golden lasso." Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
* 
** The senior warrior trainer of the undead race is called , apparently named after either the actor Christopher Walken, or Christopher Walker aka .
* 
** At the Stormwind bank, the three banker NPCs are named , , and . Putting their first names together yields the name of singer/actress . The aforementioned Olivia Burnside touts the security of the bank by stating, "No one's ever stolen anything out of here. Not in the whole history of... the whole history!" Olivia Newton-John's character Kira makes an almost identical comment to Sonny when he tells her he's going to take her out of Mount Olympus.
* 
** Rohan the Assassin in Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands showed up a good couple of years before the movie, so the similarity between "Rohan" and "Zohan" is most likely just a coincidence.
===Music===
* ABC (band)
** A dwarf in Eastern Plaguelands gives a quest called "When Smokey Sings, I Get Violent", a reference to ABC's song When Smokey Sings which contains the line, "When Smokey sings, I hear violins."
* AC/DC
** While taking target practice up in Dun Morogh, Shorty of the Dwarven Mortar Team will say/sing '
** There is a Rogue talent called "Dirty Deeds".
* Alizée
** The female night elf dance styles are taken from the French pop singer.
* Bad News
** "Burning, looting, burning and a shooting." – Dwarven Mortar Team. Reference to the song "Warriors of Genghis Khan" by the parody band "Bad News" The original lyrics are "Burning, looting, raping and a shooting".
* Bob Dylan
** A quest in the Eastern Plaguelands that begins at Chillwind Post is called All Along the Watchtowers is named for the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower, made famous by "Jimi Hendrix".
* Bon Jovi
** There is a quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Bad Medicine" a number one song off the band's New Jersey album.
* Bauhaus
** [Royal Overseer Bauhaus] of the Undercity Census Bureau may be named for the seminal goth band. This could also be a reference to the German Staatliches 'Bauhaus' school of architecture and art which deeply influenced the modernist period.
* Barber of Seville and 'Marriage of Figaro'
** A human in Southshore is named Bartolo after a character in these operas (he gives the quest Bartolo's Yeti Fur Cloak).
* The Beatles
** Michelle Belle at the inn in Goldshire is very similar to the lyrics of the song 'Michelle' – "Michelle my belle, these are words that go together well." See also Ringo Starr, below.
** The Winter's Veil quest With A Little Helper From My Friends is a reference to the Beatles song "With A Little Help From My Friends."
* Beck
** The rare staff "Odo's Ley Staff" is a reference to the artist's Grammy winning 1996 album titled "Odelay."
* Blind Willie Johnson
** In Silithus, outside the gates of Ahn'Qiraj is a priest named Jonathan the Revelator, referencing the popular Johnson song "John the Revelator".
* Chaka Khan
** A quest in Desolace from the chief of the centaur is called simply "Khan Shaka".
* Depeche Mode
** In the Blasted Lands, there is a quest giver that wants to collect crystals which drop in the zone, and the name of the quest is "'Everything Counts' in Large Amounts".
**The Night Elf rogue pickpocket quest extensively references "The Bottom Line" from the album "Ultra". When you meet the rogue trainer in Dolanaar to start the quest chain, he is saying/singing a paraphrased version of the opening words from the song. His quest, which sends you to the Rogue Trainer in Darnassus, is "The Apple Falls", and her quest (to pickpocket a satyr) is called "Destiny Calls", which are lyrics from the song.
* Neil Diamond
** Players can obtain a buff called Songflower Serenade, an allusion to the song Longfellow Serenade by "Neil Diamond".
* The Doors
** Lord Serpentis, one of the bosses in the Wailing Caverns says "I am the Serpent King..I can do anything." This is a reference to 'Jim Morrison' of 'The Doors' whose alter ego was known as 'The Lizard King'. The line is taken verbatim (minus the substitution) from the song "Not To Touch The Earth", one of seven songs that make up a medley known as 'The Celebration of the Lizard'.
* The Electric Slide
** The current female tauren dance cycle is the electric slide.
* Emerson, Lake and Palmer
** The ogre Torkus in Ogri'la is a possible reference to the hit Emerson, Lake and Palmer album "Tarkus".
* Genesis
** The Western Plaguelands quest "Counting Out Time" is from the title of a song on their 1974 album 'The Lamb Lies down on Broadway'
* Grateful Dead
** There is a quest in Redridge which yields a "Bouquet of Scarlet Begonias", a Grateful Dead song.
** The bartender in the Lakeshire Inn quotes the lyrics from their song 'Brown-Eyed Woman' , "The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean."
** The bartender in Goldshire quotes, "If your cup is full, may it be again," from 'Ripple.'
** An achievement is titled, "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been," a famous lyric from 'Truckin''
* Gregory Charles
** There is a Rogue Trainer in Undercity named after the popular artist and imitator from Quebec, Canada
* Guns N' Roses
** There is a quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Welcome to the Jungle" a very obvious reference to the opening song of the Appetite for Destruction album.
* Hammerfall
** The Horde town in Arathi Highlands is named after the 'Power Metal' band of the same name. This can be attributed to the fact that Samwise, one of the lead Blizzard artists is not only a fan of the band, but creates their CD covers.
**A quest given by Danath Trollbane is called The Legion Reborn, which might be a reference to the HammerFall song, The Legend Reborn.
**A song from the HammerFall album "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken" is named Hammer of Justice, possibly as a nod to Blizzard and the Paladin ability Hammer of Justice.
* Harry Belafonte
** There is an item in the game called Tel'Abim Banana, which might be a reference to the Harry Belafonte song Banana Boat, with the lyric "Come mister tally man, tally me bananas".
* Jay-Z
** During the Halloween special event, a quest from a needy orphan requires you to perform emotes to NPCs to collect candy. The Tauren innkeeper in Thunder Bluff asks you to dance, and once you do she also dances and states "I may have ninety-nine problems, but dancin' ain't one of them!" This is a reference to 'Jay-Zs popular song, "99 Problems" in which he says "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". (This line is also directly lifted from an 'Ice-T' song of the same name, though it is unclear which song Blizzard is referring to).
* Jethro Tull
** The quest "Bungle in the Jungle" received in Gadgetzan is a reference to the song of the same name from the band's 1974 album War Child.
* Led Zeppelin
** A quest for the Instance Dungeon Stratholme called Houses of the Holy is an obvious reference to the band's 1973 album of the same name.
** A quest in Shadowmoon Valley is named "Crazed and Confused", similar to the band's song "Dazed and Confused", of their famous debut album.
* Macarena
** The human female dance style is the Macarena.
* MC Hammer
** The male orc dance style is the same as seen in the rapper's videos, most notably "'U Can't Touch This'".
* Metallica
**An NPC in Stratholme is named "The Unforgiven" a reference to one of their songs.
** There's a quest named Ride the Lightning in Blade's Edge Mountains, at Toshley's Station. This is after their second album, and Ride the Lightning is also the second song on that album.
** The Paladin spell Hammer of Justice could be a reference to the lyrics "Hammer of justice crushes you, overpower", from the Metallica song "...And Justice For All" featured on the album of the same name.
* 
** Caretaker Alen in Eastern Plaguelands says "I come from the land down under... where women plague and men sunder" every now and then as a reference to the "Men At Work" – Song "'Down Under'"
* Michael Jackson
** The male night elf dance moves are very similar to those of pop-singer Michael Jackson's.
* The Muppets
** If the "/silly" command is used as an Orc player, the character will sometimes state "It's not easy being green", a reference to a song of the same title performed by Jim Henson's most famous Muppet, "Kermit the Frog".
* Oingo Boingo
** The Undead quest Dead Man's Party refers to a song by Oingo Boingo and features NPCs named after band members Steve Bartek, Carl Graves, and Danny Elfman. Sam Phipps can also be found close by.
* Olivia Newton-John
** In 'Stormwind' the three bankers are named Olivia, Newton and John. This is a reference to the singer/actor from the 1980s.
* Peter Gabriel
** The quest The Family and the Fishing Pole in Darkshore references a song from the singer's song The Family And The Fishing Net.
* Peter Murphy
** The quest Deep Ocean, Vast Sea in Darkshore references a song from the "Bauhaus" singer's solo album, "Deep".
* Pink Floyd
** In 'Hammerfall', there's a First Aid-quest. While patching up dying soldiers, one of the will sing the song 'Goodbye Cruel World' by "Pink Floyd".
* Pomeroy
** In Stormwind City there is a guard named "Patroller Pomeroy" possibly a reference to the band Pomeroy.
* Queen
** In Hillsbrad Foothills there is a level 32 Horde quest to prove your ability to protect the Hammerfall outpost in Arathi by killing ogres. The quest shares the title with Queen's song "Hammer to Fall".
** A male Night Elf /silly emote states "Who wants to live forever?" which is also the title of a Queen song from the film "Highlander", which in turn is about immortals.
* Rammstein
** In the Stratholme instance, one of the final encounters before fighting 'Baron Rivendare' on the 'Baron run' or 'Undead side' of the instance is a powerful abomination called Ramstein. This may also, conceivably, be a reference to the German town called 'Ramstein-Miesenbach' or even the air-show disaster that took place at the nearby 'Ramstein Air Base', which inspired the name of the band, Rammstein.
* R.E.M.
** The two councilmen in the Town Hall of Darkshire are named "Berrybuck" and "Millstipe", a reference to the classic "R.E.M." lineup of "Bill Berry", '"Peter Buck", "Mike Mills", and "Michael Stipe".
* Ringo Starr
** A quest in Un'Goro Crater called "With a Little Help from My Friends" has the player rescue a Goblin named Ringo. The quest is named for the song sung by Ringo on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band".
* Run-D.M.C.
** At the Brewfest near Orgrimmar stands an NPC named Ram Master Ray, a reference to Run-D.M.C.-bandmember Jam Master Jay.
* Rush
** A quest in Un'Goro Crater called "Roll the Bones", the name of a song by the hit Canadian rock band, Rush.
* Siouxsie and the Banshees
** In the Dire Maul West instance there is a rare spawn called Tsu'zee and there are two Wailing Banshees right behind her.
* The Smashing Pumpkins
** During Hallow's End, you will find a pair of Human Commoners in Stormwind City, who offer the quest "Costumed Orphan Matron". Their gossip states, "When Hallow's End is over we'll smash all these pumpkins. That'll be the greatest day I've ever known!" This is a reference to both the band and a lyric from their 1994 hit "Today".
* The Toyes
** If the "/silly" command is used as a male Troll player, the character will sometimes recite, in a heavy Jamaican accent, "I kill two dwarves in the morning, I kill two dwarves at night. I kill two dwarves in the afternoon, and then I feel alright. I kill two dwarves in time of peace and two in time of war. I kill two dwarves before I kill two dwarves, and then I kill two more," a direct reference to 'the Toyes' song "Smoke Two Joints". The band 'Sublime' did a cover of the song; it's unknown which version Blizzard was making reference to. This was apparently removed as of Patch 1.11, for copyright reasons. 
* Sid Vicious
** An NPC on the shores of Lake Lorderon is named Nancy Vishas, possibly an allusion to 'Nancy Spungen', deceased girlfriend of former "Sex Pistols" bassist 'Sid Vicious".
** When Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain played outside Shattrath during BlizzCon 2007, the band lineup featured a Blood Elf guitarist named Sig Nicious.
* Warrant
** There is a merchant in Ironforge named Sraaz who quotes random lines from Warrant's song Cherry Pie, like "Cherry Pie, tastes so good it makes a grown gnome cry". He wanders around near the Gryphon master. Sraaz only has one item for sale, Homemade Cherry Pie.
===People===
* — Christopher Drakul is a reference to him, who played the role of several times.
* — Hanzo Sword may be a reference to this ninja, who was trained from childhood and first fought in combat at 16.
* — Rupert Boch is likely named after this writer, author of .
* — In the Undercity, there are two NPC guards named Sergeant Rutger and Sergeant Houser, in homage to the famous actor.
* — Woo Ping was named after this famed martial arts choreographer and director. Removed in patch 4.0.3a.
===Sports===
* Capoeira
** The male troll /dance emote actually consists of moves from 'Capoeira', an Afro-Brazilian martial art.
* Hockey
** Countless names given to NPCs are direct lifts of prominent NHL players.
* Karl Malone
** One of the NPCs in Stratholme goes by the name of Postmaster Malown, a reference to Karl "The Mailman" Malone of the Utah Jazz. He drops a rare mace named Malown's Slam.
* Lindsay Davenport
** Two vendors in Lakeshire in Redridge Mountains are named Lindsay Ashlock and Amy Davenport, an obvious reference to a tennis player Lindsay Davenport.
* San Francisco Giants
** In the Hillsbrad Foothills, there are two NPC's by the name of Ott and Bonds. Mel Ott and Barry Bonds are two sluggers who played for the Giants.
* World Wrestling Entertainment
** In Shattrath City, one of the NPCs is named The Rokk (Master of Cooking), a reference to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson . The Rock's most popular catch phrase was "Do you smell what the Rock is cookin'?".
===Real life holidays===
Some real life holidays and observances are reflected in the game. Events are sorted by date. Info is taken from Event.
* New year
** Celebrated on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with fireworks and free alcohol.
* Chinese New Year
** Known as Lunar Festival in the game, it is celebrated in early February. (Between January 27 to February 14 in 2006). Some events of interest:
::* On January 29th (the date of the actual lunar new year in 2006). Celebrations occur in Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Booty Bay and Moonglade.
::* On February 13th, one last firework show will be held in Moonglade. This parallels the Chinese 'Lantern Festival'; extra lanterns are spawned around Lake Elune'ara (the firework show occurs over the lake).
::* Red Lockboxes (Red packets) are given out from various NPCs (especially elderly).
::* A special boss named Omen only appears in this festival, inspired by the Chinese creature of myth, . It is actually named 'Nian' in the Chinese version.
* Valentine's Day
** Known as Love is in the Air in the game, it is celebrated between February 11 and 15. Candies and 'love tokens' are given out by guards.
* Easter
** Known as Noblegarden in the game, it is celebrated around Easter and symbolized by finding easter eggs.
* Independence Day
** Known as Engineer's Explosives Extravaganza in the game and marked by fireworks, it is celebrated on July 4 on all servers.
* Halloween
** Known as Hallow's End in the game, it is celebrated between October 18 and November 1. Players can go 'trick or treat' at the innkeepers around this time.
* Christmas
** Known as Feast of Winter Veil in the game, it is celebrated between December 15 and January 2. Denoted by 'Christmas Trees' and decorations in some cities, and the appearance of Greatfather Winter, an obvious reference to 'Santa Claus'.
===Other===
* 
** Female goblins sometimes greet players with a hearty "Whassuuup?!" as made popular in a Budweiser commercial.
* Alexander Calder
** Alexander Calder, a warlock trainer in 'Ironforge', is likely a reference to the artist of the same name known for his large, sheet metal mobiles.
* Abercrombie & Fitch
** Near 'Darkshire' an old man is named Abercrombie, as in the popular clothing company. He presents a series of quests, during the culmination of which he produces a hideous monster of his own creation named "Stitches" (resembling the Abomination creature in Warcraft 3). It's widely accepted that "Abercrombie and Stitches" is not an accidental near-homonym for the "'Abercrombie and Fitch'" brand.
** A Stormwind auctioneer is named "Fitch".
*
** Seems likely that 'Auberdine' is named after Aberdeen, a city in Scotland. Both the Dee and Don rivers in Scotland Aberdeen strike a high resemblance to the Cliff-spring River and Wildbend River in Darkshore, and the long sandy beach of both Aberdeen and Auberdine confirm that the warcraft area was modeled after a similar area in Scotland.
*Blackwater Raiders
** This band of turtle-riding goblin body guards hang around Booty Bay as an extra peace keeping force, which seem to be a reference to the real-life private military organization , formerly named Blackwater Worldwide when the game was released.
*Blizzard Employee*
** South of Dun Garok in Hillsbrad Foothills, east of Southshore, on the cliff overlooking the coastline, there is an epitaph to "Anthony Ray Stark (1961-2005)." It should be noted that Iron Man's real name is Anthony Edward Stark and his character was created in 1963. On July 7, 2006 it was confirmed to be an in game memorial to a friend of a developer and not a reference to Iron Man.
* Blood Elf Architecture
** The strange armillary sphere-like structures atop some Blood Elf structures closely resemble Disneyland's Astro Orbitor ride.
* C-4
** Engineers in the game can learn to craft "Seaforium", an explosive device that can open locked doors.
* Circus
** In Ironforge, the three bankers are named Barnum, Bailey, and Soleil. This is a reference to "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus" and "Cirque du Soleil".
* Golden Dawn
** The 'Argent Dawn' group may be a reference to the late 19th century metaphysical order of the Golden Dawn.
* Edwin Van Cleef
** Possible reference to the Dutch organized crime leader, George Van Kleef, strikingly similar in terms of name and profession. Even more extraordinary is it that George Van Kleef was assassinated in November 2005, grimly ironic as his namesake is constantly killed by players ingame as part of a quest series in The Deadmines.
** He could also be named after the well-known spaghetti-western star, Lee Van Cleef, who became famous for playing notoriously ice-cold villains.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001812
* 
** In Elwynn Forest are farms owned by two feuding families, the Stonefields and Maclures. This is a reference to the Hatfield-McCoy feud from American history.
* Haunted Mansion
** Players battle Thule Ravenclaw in Fenris Keep in Silverpine Forest, he is believed to be named after the famous voice actor who is the lead vocalist in the Disney attraction's theme song Grim Grinning Ghosts.
** Outside the instance Scholomance, a hearse is visible in a similar fashion as the one outside the Disneyland version of the ride.
* Hickory Farms
** There are goblin vendors in various places working for "Smokywood Pastures" that offer cheeses and sausages. They also set up sales wagons in the major cities during the Winter Holiday events.
* Hindenburg
** One of the zeppelin goblins near the 'Undercity' is named Hin Denburg, after the famous crashed German blimp.
* Homestar Runner
** At Thorium Point in Searing Gorge, there is an NPC named "Master Smith Burninate", a reference to Strong Bad's dragon, "Trogdor the Burninator" — the NPC appears in an area near a large dragon, and will commonly drop dragon skin if killed.
* Honeywell
** In Southshore there is an NPC named "Apprentice Honeywell". She also shows up in the Caverns of Time instance Old Hillsbrad. Interestingly, though visibly a female, Apprentice Honeywell has the gender male (as reported by the UnitSex API call).
* Immovable Object/Unstoppable Force
** Two of the items which can be obtained as PvP rewards in Alterac Valley are (a shield) and (a mace). These are references to a logical conundrum which goes, "What happens when an unstoppable force strikes an immovable object?". Since the release of the Burning Crusade, two grey (poor) quality items were included; a mace called "" and a shield called "".
* JATO Rocket Car
** In the Shimmering Flats one of the racer cars has crashed and embedded halfway up the cliff face, a reference to the Darwin Award urban legend of the 'JATO Rocket Car'.
* Jerky Boys
** There is an NPC in Ironforge named Talvash del Kissel. This is a reference to the infamous phone prank group The Jerky Boys. Two of the personas the Jerky Boys used while doing pranks were named "Kissel" and "Tarbash the Egyptian Magician". The latter name probably explains why the NPC hangs out in The Mystic Ward, the mage area of Ironforge.
* Jose Cuervo
** A Tanaris quest called Cuergo's Gold references this popular alcoholic beverage.
* Kym Wilde
** There is an NPC at Thunder Bluff named Kym Wildmane, which is possibly a reference to the actor Kym Wilde or the singer "Kim Wilde".
* Leroy Jenkins
** The Classic Dungeons and Raids Achievement "Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy" is based from the player video of Leroy Jenkins charging into a room full of rookery whelps during a raid, while screaming his name through the microphone. The title received from this quest, killing 50 rookery whelps in 15 seconds, is his last name, Jenkins (Appears as <Name> Jenkins).
* Morning Glory Dew
** A high level and expensive mana restore drink that players can find is called "". Blizzard employees have been quoted as saying they drink a lot of Mountain Dew so this item may reference the soda.
** It has also been suggested that the initials "MGD" stand for Miller Genuine Draft, an American brewed beer. Given that most employers frown upon drinking alcoholic beverages in the workplace, the connection is tenuous at best.
* Ngorongoro Crater
** It seems likely that 'Un'goro Crater' was named after 'Ngorongoro Crater', 'Tanzania', the largest perfect caldera in the world. The geography of Un'Goro also bears a striking resemblance to Ngoro Ngoro.
* O RLY?
** After the saying became popular among players, one of newly added Goblin Auctioneers in Booty Bay was named "O'Reely".
** There is also a white owl that flies around a hut near Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris named "O'Reilly".
** An Undead auctioneer by the name of "Yarly" has been added in the Undercity Auction House.
* Pirates vs. Ninjas
** Eating a will cause your character to turn into either a Pirate or a Ninja. The effect is purely cosmetic. The effect will read as "Arrrrr" for pirates or "Flip Out" for ninjas, the latter a reference to the phrase "The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people"
* Peanut Butter Jelly Time
** One of the Tauren Male's dance cycles is based on the famous 'Dancing Banana' that appears in the popular Internet Flash.
* Cristo Redentor
** In Booty Bay there is a statue of a goblin with its arms outstretched, very similar to the Cristo Redentor statue above Rio de Janeiro. The statue is on "Jainero's Point".
* — Stormwind's covert operations and military intelligence service is named SI:7, which is a reference to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6.
* Smith & Wesson
** In Ratchet a High Elf sailor will give you a mission to travel down the coast and kill the cannoneers Smythe and Whesson, an obvious reference to firearm company Smith & Wesson.
**The German names of these NPC, cannoneers Hecksler and Knoch refer to the German firearm company .
* Sweeney Todd
** There is a traveling salesman who wander around Elwynn Forest and Darkshire named Antonio Perelli, a reference to the traveling hair elixir salesman in the musical version of Sweeney Todd. Also, upstairs from the Stormwind barber shop are two gnome skeletons, referring to Todd being a barber and using his shop to murder people.
* Thomas Cook
** The cooking trainer in Goldshire, Thomas <Cook> could well be a reference to the Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, founder of the international travel agency of the same name.
* Tonka
** The Darkmoon Faire has several remote-controlled cars known as Tonks.
* Tortuga
** In the Tanaris desert, there is a quest to help a tortoise named "Tooga" to get back to his wife "Torta." "Tortuga" means "turtle" in Spanish.
** Tortuga is also the name of a famous pirate's haven in the Caribbean. The eastern shores of Tanaris are thick with pirates.
* Wickerman
** During the 2005 Halloween season, Blizzard introduced the festivities of Hallow's End, which includes the burning of an effigy of a man (named Wickerman) in front of 'Undercity'. This references the ancient pagan practice of sacrifing men inside giant burning wicker constructs, called Wicker Men, as well as the movie of the same name.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917 It is possibly also a reference to the annual 'Burning Man' festival held in Nevada.
* The Pig & Whistle
** In Stormwind there's a tavern called "The Pig & Whistle" in the Old Town district. This is a reference to a bar in Hollywood called "The Pig & Whistle Tavern". It is probably a more direct reference to the book series Dragonlance, where Raistlin performs magic acts.
* The Holocaust
** In the orc Internment camps, in the Caverns of Time dungeon Escape from Durnholde, The occasional guard will yell "I was just taking orders!", a reference to the common excuse used by Nazi labor camp guards, during the Nuremberg Trials.
* Where are the Cheetos?
** There's a quest in Bloodmyst Isle called "I Shoot Magic into the Darkness." Those who don't spend their entire lives on the internet might not catch this one, but it's referencing a comedy skit done by the Dead Alewives about Dungeons and Dragons roleplayers. "Why are you casting magic missile, there's nothing to attack here!" "I'm... attacking the darkness!"
==References==