Trappers

The trappersLocal SupportClose the DealAn Exercise in DiplomacyA Swift ResponseMy Enemy's FriendTactical Clemency are a population of humans who inhabit various outposts in the Grizzly Hills in Northrend. They did not arrive with the Alliance Vanguard and have apparently lived in Northrend since long before the war against the Lich King; Alliance forces refer to them as "locals"Escape from SilverbrookA Tentative Pact and as a distinct people.Preying Upon the Weak During the war against the Lich King, many of them were were absorbed into the Wolfcult, a Scourge organization which transformed its members into worgen.
==History==
During the war against the Lich King, Trapper Jethan traveled south to Fort Wildervar in the Howling Fjord to trade meat and fur with the Alliance Vanguard forces there. Jethan also recommended Alliance adventurers to visit his people's outpost in the Grizzly Hills when they headed north.
At some point before the war, the deceased Gilnean archmage Arugal was resurrected by the Scourge and sent to Solstice Village,Out of Body Experience where he created a Wolfcult to convert the trappers into worgen. According to Anatoly, the trappers joined the cult because they believed that everyone would inevitably come to serve the Lich King and that it was better to do so as a worgen than by becoming an undead.Anatoly#Quotes The inhabitants of the town of Silverbrook were initially reluctant to embrace the cult, but sympathizers gradually sprung up among the residents. The trapper Mikhail was unsettled by this and sent his daughters Sasha and Anya away from town while he attempted to reason with the other villagers,Descent into Darkness but the cultists responded by killing him. The miners at Hollowstone Mine also refused to join the cult. In response, Arugal made an example out of them by transforming them into undead.A Name from the Past Another trapper, Hugh Glass,Softening the Blow managed to escape from the worgen to the Redwood Trading Post but seemingly lost his mind in the process.
Shortly after arriving in the hills, the Alliance troops at Amberpine Lodge reached a deadlock with the Horde forces from Conquest Hold. Over several weeks, the Alliance tried to negotiate a pact with the trappers in the hopes that they would provide logistical support and agree to serve as scouts for the king's army. Envoy Ducal was sent to Silverbrook as part of the negotiations. The Horde sent forces to attack the trappers with the intent of killing them before they could join the Alliance,Sergeant Nazgrim quotes including by launching an attack on Silverbrook.Attack on Silverbrook The trappers eventually agreed to give the Alliance the combat edge they needed if they returned a relic stolen by the Horde. Adventurers successfully delivered the relic and traveled to Silverbrook, where they helped defend the town from the Horde's marauders.Northern Hospitality However, thanks to Mikhail's daughter Sasha and a captured Alliance scout, the adventurers discovered Silverbrook's allegiance to the Wolfcult, thereby starting off a conflict between the Alliance and the worgen. Ultimately, the Wolfcult was defeated when adventurers joined forces with Sasha and defeated the Shade of Arugal atop Bloodmoon Isle.Hour of the WorgExploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 36
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, years later, Sasha joined the Unseen Path on the Broken Isles.
Following the war against the Jailer, the Bronzebeard brothers visited the Grizzly Hills and reported that Silverbrook is still active and populated by trappers. Muradin Bronzebeard wrote that he did not care if the Horde wiped the village out, harboring disdain for their previous betrayal against the Alliance.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 30 When the Bronzebeards stopped by Solstice Village, the village's trappers gave them a "sharply unfriendly greeting", signaling that they retained their old isolationist personality. Muradin speculated that the village may come into conflict with the taunka of Camp Oneqwah at some point, a conflict he'd place money on the taunka winning.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 34 Arugal's Wolfcult still lingers in the Grizzly Hills, but it's unknown if the trappers at large still hold loyalty to it.
==Culture==
The trappers are a hardy people closely familiar with the lay of the land. Muradin Bronzebeard characterized them as "isolationists and cranks". It is apparently common for trappers to make trophies of their kills, including the offspring of the killed animal.We Call Him Steelfeather They keep horsesAnatoly Will Talk and according to Katja, they also engage in farming (though no crops are actually seen in-game).Wolfsbane Root Trappers speak a variant of Common.
Their culture seems to revolve entirely around hunting, and their settlements use a unique construction style with large amounts of wood and fur. Many trapper buildings are decorated with snowshoes, bear hides, and skulls from yetis and other creatures. Graveyards found throughout Grizzly Hills feature grave markers adorned with bear traps.
According to Sergei, an inhabitant of Silverbrook is not considered a real hunter unless they prove their courage by wearing their prey's skin.Test of Mettle However, according to Sasha, this test is actually an initiation rite for the Wolfcult.Words of Warning
After the trappers of Silverbrook were revealed to actually be worgen, Lieutenant Dumont referred to them derisively as "savages".
==Members==
:For a full list of trappers who joined the Wolfcult, see Wolfcult#Members.
;Non-Wolfcult
* and his lost friends, Limpy Joe and Flannel McGee
* and his daughters:
**
**
*
*
*s, including Anton and DimitriPetrov#Quotes
;Wolfcult
*
*
*
*
*
*
==Settlements==
;Active
*Ashwood Post
*Aspen Grove Post
*Forest's Edge Post
*Silverbrook
*Solstice Village
;Former
*Evergreen Trading Post — Overtaken by Horde forces from Conquest Hold.
*Heartwood Trading Post — Uninhabited save for Emily and her pet rabbit.
*Hollowstone Mine — The miners refused to join the Wolfcult and were cursed with undeath by Arugal.
*Redwood Trading Post — Uninhabited save for Hugh Glass and his pet bear.
*Unnamed post near Granite Springs — On fire and filled with trapper corpses.
*White Pine Trading Post — A post near Solstice Village. Sasha killed all of the inhabitants in her search for her sister.
==Notes==
*The trappers are not the only native human population in Northrend. The first victims of the Plague of Undeath were the inhabitants of a human village in the Dragonblight.Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Undead History, Icecrown and the Frozen ThroneIcecrown and the Frozen ThroneThe Undead Plague During the Third War, Alexandros Mograine mentioned that "Whole cities have gone missing" and that "Northrend is lost".Old Hillsbrad Ashbringer event The Carrion Fields in the Dragonblight was formerly a human village whose inhabitants sided with the Alliance Vanguard when they arrived in the Dragonblight, only to be destroyed by Naxxramas.A Righteous SermonExploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg 87 It is not known if these belonged to the same society as the trappers or a separate group.
**The fortune teller Ruuna the Blind is presumably another Grizzly Hills native.
*Alliance-affiliated hunters, trappers, and woodsmen (represented in-game by Woodsman Drake, Amberpine Woodsmen, and Amberpine Hunters) lived in the Grizzly Hills prior to the war against the Lich King and were notably responsible for building Amberpine Lodge.Lieutenant Dumont#Quotes These woodsmen are presumably distinct from the trappers, since the latter were and are independent from the Alliance.
*Unlike other human cultures, most trappers' names are of Russian origin.
*Many trappers are noticeably taller than regular humans.
*The trappers are internally referred to as "race" of choppers by Blizzard's level designers. The term "race" here may have been used in the context of the unique set of art assets used for their buildings.
*The Wrath of the Lich King flash site and art book describe trappers encroaching upon the hunting grounds of the Grizzly Hills' furbolgs,The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, pg. 94: “Although plagued by trappers and the deforestation efforts of the goblin Venture Company, the furbolgs' most imminent threat comes from the north [...]” but this conflict is not touched on in-game.
*Northrend trappers are mentioned in the non-canon RPG books, and were implied to be from Valgarde.Lands of Mystery, pg. 102, 105 This timeframe is still possible in canon, as Valgarde was founded by soldiers who came with Arthas Menethil to Northrend during the Third War and subsequently survived the prince's betrayal.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 18
==Speculation==
The Warcraft III manual, the History of Warcraft entry Icecrown and the Frozen Throne, and the online article The Undead Plague all state that the Lich King used the Plague of Undeath to subjugate every human inhabitant of Northrend prior to the Third War. This may mean that the trappers only arrived to the Grizzly Hills after this point. Alternatively, since this detail is only mentioned in sources that predate Wrath of the Lich King, it may have been retconned to have only been most or some Northrend humans.
==References==
Category:Trappers
Category:Grizzly Hills