Ironforge is the cavernous home of the Dwarves and Gnomes of the Alliance, hidden deeply and safely within a rock shielding to rival our own real life Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Continuing the article series looking at potential quality RP places within the major cities of WoW, Ironforge is indeed on par with Stormwind, as I predicted in the last article. In fact, if you care to RP your Alliance character(s) as having a solid home to retire to after a hard days’ adventuring, look no further than Ironforge.
I find Ironforge to be the easiest of all the major cities to navigate around in. Since the city is laid out in two circles, one smaller inside one larger, there really is no way to get yourself lost I believe. Yes, the inner circle by the Great Forge can be a bit noisy at times, but it’s nothing to hamper a character returning tired and battle-weary to their home from being able to get as much rest as needed. The circular layout of the city also means you never have to walk too far to get home, either from the flight master or from The Deeprun Tram.
I’ve marked on the map to the left all the potential RP places I found within Ironforge. The green triangles note locations of ’empty homes’, prime real estate just waiting for someone to move in and set up camp – fourteen total. If you remember, by my count, Stormwind only had thirteen potential RP locations, and only one of those (Ol’ Emma’s Place) would I consider applicable to being used as an RP home for characters. So, if you’re in need of a place to hang your helm at the end of the day, Ironforge seems the obvious choice.
For the most part, these homes are the same: two-story, with a bedroom and main room, and including a couple of tables and some chairs. All are empty of any stationary or roaming NPC’s, and all provide enough room for an intimate gathering of close RP friends. One thing I wish I could add is an address for each home to better identify a character’s RP home to friends. The Commons section of Ironforge is the most traveled part of the city, and no home is very far from the bank and auction house found here. Yet, within each house, relative peace and quiet can be found, though be on the lookout for wandering PC’s!
With the renowned Dwarf penchant for beer, ale and lager (brilliant!), one would think there would be more than two pubs in Ironforge. That is not the case. The red X’s mark the spot on the above map for these two; Bruuk’s Corner in The Military Ward, and The Stonefire Tavern in The Commons. Both house NPC’s ready to sell mugs of various drinks, yet are still spacious enough for some rowdy partying or more tempered RP social gatherings.
The four moon icons mark the locations of empty shops, places where RP business could be conducted if so inclined. Starting from the moon icon at the two-o’clock position and moving clockwise, they appear to be a chef shop (with Cooking NPC’s and working stoves), a dining hall, an armor shop, and a work shop that looks to me to be suited for one skilled in the mining or jewelcrafting professions.
Finally, the yellow star in The Commons section next to The Stonefire Tavern is the location of Barim’s Reagents. Normally, I wouldn’t point you to an already named shop currently in NPC use, but this place is I think large enough to be used by a PC for his or her own Herbalism business if so desired. What’s more, with the abundance of herbs to be found strewn around Dun Morogh, it makes sense, and may even make a tidy profit.
One RP idea I envision is seeing a character living in Ironforge, with its abundant housing, and working, or plying their trade, in Stormwind, with its abundance of shop locations and traffic. The Deeprun Tram connecting the two cities makes for an easy morning (cue a popular ’80s Sheena Easton song) and evening transmute for characters going about their daily routines, and is relatively safe from Horde entanglements. However, the RP possibilities abound for those with imagination!
