Westfall

Westfall is a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Stormwind, and once its breadbasket. Ravaged by the Horde during the Second War, this rich lands of rolling pastures and farms were once beautiful and green, but they are now afflicted by drought and the mistreatment once inflicted by the Defias Brotherhood. The grass is yellowed, the fields are infested with ravenous carrion birds and mechanical harvest watchers who gone rogue, and years of neglect and conflict have not improved the situation.

Stormwind claims the land as its own and has been working hard to secure and renovate the region. The Westfall Brigade, formerly known as the People's Militia, has erected a last bastion of military power in the region at Sentinel Hill from where they issue commands to anyone willing to aid the cause, and thus succeeded in defeating the Defias. Although most of the area's farms have fallen to disrepair, there are still farmers who bravely cling to their holdings, and some even attempt a tithe to Stormwind every year, but most only grow enough to feed themselves.

Following the Cataclysm, discontent roared, as many people living in Westfall became homeless and bankrupt. Westfall is now inhabited by transients, homeless citizens, and drifters. The Defias Brotherhood made a resurgence and attempted to rally the discontented masses in Moonbrook, but they were again defeated. At the time of the end of the Fourth War, the Kingdom's armies continue to protect Westfall from any threat, while its inhabitants persevere in living and working in the region.

History
Centuries ago, throughout the Eastern Kingdoms, the disparate human nations flourished, among them the smallest and most isolated of the kingdoms was Stormwind. Over the years, it found prosperity through the farmsteads that dotted the surrounding fertile region, and as its population grew, small towns sprang up in the nearby regions, notably Westfall, which became the breadbasket of the kingdom.

During the reign of King Barathen Wrynn, the gnolls began launching brazen attacks on Stormwind City, but it quickly became clear that these assaults were merely distractions. While soldiers defended the city against a large number of enemies, they could only send a few troops to protect the agricultural lands, and Westfall farmsteads were burned during what was called the Gnoll War. At the end of the war, the gnolls were wiped out following the death of their leader, and the kingdom regained control of its lands which were rebuilt.

Years later, a Gurubashi trolls raiding party slipped through Stormwind's patrol lines and cut a path of destruction through Westfall, burning three towns to the ground. Stormwind's soldiers eventually caught and slew the raiders, but it was too late for dozens of humans, and their deaths were gruesome. This sparked talks among the Stormwind leadership, which then led to the Gurubashi War.

Eventually, during the First War, the Warchief Blackhand ordered raiding parties to cut deep into Stormwind's lands, as he wanted to drive the human populace to panic. Entire villages in Westfall fell to the Old Horde's control, their inhabitants either killed or forced to flee. Following the Second War, the areas of Stormwind were reclaimed by the Alliance of Lordaeron and Stormwindians, with the help of Turalyon who oversaw the efforts to repatriate the kingdom's citizens and secure Varian Wrynn's place as the next king. When Stormwind City was rebuilt by the Stonemasons Guild, the House of Nobles refused to pay which led to riots in the city, which caused the death of Queen Tiffin. The grief-stricken King Varian vowed to punish the stonemasons and fell hard on them, forcing them to flee from the capital, and they hid in the rural areas of Westfall until the situation settled down. Most of them had to stay in hiding to avoid Varian's anger. Led by Edwin VanCleef, the stonemasons would unite into the Defias Brotherhood with their base of operation becoming the Deadmines complex under Moonbrook.

Because of Lady Katrana Prestor's political machinations in the kingdom, Westfall started to grow fallow after years of conflict and neglect had diminished its harvests. Crops could eventually no longer be cultivated in the fields, and the once-abundant mines were ultimately deserted. Even the former defenders from Stormwind pulled stake and abandoned the lonely realm when the cost of upkeep became too great.

World of Warcraft
Due to this lack of military protection, Westfall was all but destroyed by the rebel Defias Brotherhood and its minions; who could easily take control of the poorly defended farmlands and burn their fields and salt the earth. The Brotherhood, composed mainly of thieves and bandits, drove off many of the good farm folk and made Westfall their new refuge. Employing everything from local superstitions to sabotaging mechanical harvest watchers, the Brotherhood stopped at nothing to scare away trespassers and protect their stolen treasures. Only the People's Militia, a volunteer military organization, has risen to stand in their way, recruiting young heroes of the Alliance to strike back and regain what has been stolen. Under Gryan Stoutmantle's command, heroes of the Alliance struck down the leaders of the Defias in the Deadmines, effectively subduing the Brotherhood. With the People's Militia renaming themselves the Westfall Brigade and moving their troops into Grizzly Hills, it was suggested that the Defias Brotherhood threat died down.

Bloodsail Buccaneer
James Blackridge, Liam, and Bram Woodring went fishing in Westfall. When they had no luck, they moved to Westfall Lighthouse, where they discovered the Bloodsail Buccaneers led by Jerias Bloodvein. The Bloodsails abducted them and trained them to be pirates. When they returned to Westfall, they marched to Moonbrooke and invaded the Deadmines in hopes to enact vengeance on the Defias as well as rescue prisoners there. James faced the pirate captain that had captured them, and the young man was certain that with Bloodvein dead, the Bloodsails would not return to Westfall. The rescued prisoners were then escorted to Sentinel Hill.

Dark Riders
The mage Karlain and the priest Revil Kost teamed up in a camp of the People's Militia, and together they traveled to Gold Coast Quarry to find Tannos. A group of the Defias Brotherhood was patrolling the area, and soon they ambushed Tannos and the others. The presence of Tannos' artifact had drawn the attention of the Dark Riders into Westwall as well, so when the Defias were defeated, the Dark Riders suddenly appeared, killed Tannos, and took the Hand of Azora. Revil proceeded to track them to Duskwood.

Cataclysm
After the War against the Lich King, many people living in Westfall became homeless and bankrupt. Those who weren't in a military occupation faced especially hard times. Westfall is now inhabited by transients, homeless Stormwind citizens, and drifters. The farmlands, still reeling from years of neglect and desolation, are still as barren as ever. The Westfall Brigade, having returned from the war in Northrend, now seeks to secure the region and restore it to its former glory; but the resurgence of an old and familiar enemy hinder their efforts.

The Cataclysm created a large sinkhole named the Raging Chasm, located in the western part of Westfall, between the Molsen Farm and the Alexston Farmstead who was partially devoured.

Many farmers under Thurman Grant left Westfall in order to try and resettle the newly cleansed lands in the Western Plaguelands.

Legion invasion and the Fourth War
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Legion targeted Westfall as one of their invasion points, ravaging the region with their armies of demons, while some nathrezim enslaved its inhabitants.

Westfall was successfully defended by the Stormwind Army with the help of the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde, and the Illidari, the latters having temporarily installed one of their camps before leaving once the assaults and demons repelled. Among the defenders, some farmhands acted like militias, they took up weapons to defend themselves and repel demons, thus indicating that farmers are still present to work in Westfall.

At this time, all members of the Defias Brotherhood had left the region, and the Deadmines fell silent.

After the Fourth War, somewhere west of Saldean's farm, a homeless man named Jago living in a barn caused it to explode. King Anduin and Spymaster Shaw were galloping across Westfall and heard the explosion, so they went to check up on it. At this time, the Raging Chasm is still present and active in the region.

The transients who arrived here after the Cataclysm continue to come and go, this time unsettled by a massive war, not a world's breaking. However, Mathias Shaw noted that they provide a rich source of rumors for 7 to investigate.

The Westfall Brigade works with SI:7 to maintain order in the region, stop troublemakers, and keep at bay the packs of disordered gnolls since Hogger's death. Mathias Shaw noted that Sentinel Hill was being rebuilt and fortified.

Geography
Once a proud land of farmers and herders, Westfall now lies fallow for the most part because of the thieves who have usurped it. Weeds and seedling trees mark the rich land, and the wind cries over the fields. The Defias Brotherhood were the biggest problems here, but after their departure, it is mainly the gnolls and the slouching harvest golems that threaten the farmers.

There is one instanced dungeon - the Deadmines, that can be found in Westfall. No other dungeons or battlegrounds can be found here.

Maps and subregions


Topographic map of Westfall

Flight paths from Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch

 * Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
 * Sentinel Hill, Westfall

Flight paths from Sentinel Hill

 * Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
 * Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch, Westfall
 * Moonbrook, Westfall
 * Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains
 * Darkshire, Duskwood
 * Raven Hill, Duskwood
 * Rebel Camp, Northern Stranglethorn
 * Booty Bay, Cape of Stranglethorn

Flight path from Moonbrook

 * Sentinel Hill, Westfall

Notable characters


Westfall is home to several humans of note, both living and dead. At Sentinel Hill, the paladin of the Silver Hand Gryan Stoutmantle leads the Westfall Brigade and sends promising adventurers if the Alliance to rid the land of any threat. He is assisted in his efforts by Captain Danuvin, who also seeks to rid Westfall of the vile Riverpaw gnolls.

In the Deadmines, there was once the headquarters of the Defias Brotherhood and at their head Edwin VanCleef, once the Stonemason Guildmaster of Stormwind. He was killed at the hands of adventurers sent by Gryan Stoutmantle, and years later, was replaced by his daughter Vanessa VanCleef who was also defeated, but managed to escape by pretending to be dead.

At the Westfall Lighthouse, the ghostly Captain Grayson recruits adventurers to make Longshore a safer place to venture.

Resources
Dropped items in this area and their purpose:
 * Oil: Used for the Lighthouse quest just offshore from the southwest tip of Westfall;
 * Hops: Used for a brewing quest available south of Moonbrook in the Dagger Hills;
 * Goretusk Snout, Murloc Eye, Stringy Vulture Meat: Used for Westfall Stew recipe at Saldean's Farm.
 * Okra: Needed for Westfall Stew quest, but not an actual ingredient in Westfall Stew.

Other resources:
 * Cloth
 * Linen Cloth
 * Wool Cloth
 * Herbs
 * Peacebloom
 * Silverleaf
 * Earthroot
 * Mageroyal
 * Swiftthistle
 * Briarthorn
 * Stranglekelp
 * Bruiseweed
 * Leather
 * Ruined Leather Scraps
 * Light Leather
 * Ore
 * Copper Vein

Battle pets

 * Westfall Chicken - CLUCK! quest
 * Small Frog
 * Prairie Dog
 * Snake
 * Shore Crab
 * Tiny Harvester
 * Chicken
 * Teensy
 * Clucks
 * Foe Reaper 800

Wild creatures

 * Boars
 * Fleshrippers
 * Coyotes
 * Crabs
 * Dust Devils
 * Ghouls
 * Gnolls
 * Harvest Watchers
 * Kobolds
 * Murlocs
 * Sharks

Items

 * Chausses of Westfall
 * Staff of Westfall
 * Tunic of Westfall
 * Westfall Mud Pie
 * Westfall Saber
 * Westfall Stew

In the RPG
The peaceful inhabitants of Westfall find it a frightening place to live after recent events. While the Defias Brotherhood hatches its schemes to hurt Stormwind, the Alliance and all beholden to it, Westfall's simple folk just try to live from day to day with thieves, bandits, and gnolls threatening them. The thieves and bandits find it a large area in which they can plan their attacks without much bother. Little fun and celebration occur among Westfall's inhabitants, as they have poor community support and hardly any aid from Stormwind. The garrison at Sentinel Hill is nothing more than a Stormwind figurehead.

The thieves of the Brotherhood, on the other hand, apparently live a fine life. Only a few Brotherhood members live in Moonbrook, presumably acting as sentries. The bulk of the population occupies the Dead Mines, which the Brotherhood has converted into an underground fortress.

All other Azeroth territories taken out of Alliance control had the Horde, the undead, or the demons behind them. Westfall fell to bitter humans soon after the Second War. The Defias Brotherhood, led by Edwin VanCleef, attempted to take Elwynn Forest but failed. Its members chose Westfall as their new home, and the farmers, still shaken from the Horde attacks, put up little resistance. The Brotherhood found that the time to steal land from their own accepted ruler was when he was too concerned with orcs, undead and demons to realize that a good chunk of the continent was gone. The rulers at Stormwind, even with knowledge of the Brotherhood's actions, considered other threats to be higher priorities and figured they'd get to Westfall eventually. They do not know the true threat Westfall presents — or even how much the city would miss the agricultural tributes the farmers made.

Film universe


Westfall is depicted close to its World of Warcraft incarnation. Many of its citizens are captured by the. Harvest golems can be seen there.

Notes and trivia

 * Westfall Stew has been a staple dish for the people of Westfall and has been made in many different ways to adapt to the availability of ingredients.
 * The area was originally called "Westwood" in early World of Warcraft maps and development. The majority of Westfall's environment textures folder is still named "Westwood".
 * While designing World of Warcraft, Westfall was the zone where developers tested many of the games boss encounters. Before finishing the design of an instance, Blizzard staff would spawn bosses outside of Sentinel Tower in order to play through the encounters, as per the game's original 3D level designer, John Staats.