The Defias Brotherhood is a group of assassins, thieves, and pirates that are hostile to the Alliance. They dwell in the rural areas of the Kingdom of Stormwind, mostly that of Elwynn and Westfall — both of these are areas not easily protected by the Stormwind Army.
The Defias today[]
Having long forsaken those noble virtues on which their brotherhood was founded, the mysterious Defias faction is now composed of thieves, bandits, and vicious mercenaries. This vle group is determined to wreak havoc upon, and ultimately destroy, the House of Nobles in Stormwind City. Convinced that the nobles are corrupt and villainous, the Defias Brotherhood has waged an underground war in a quest to rid the land of their hated enemies.
It is also known that groups of gnolls, kobolds, and even goblins each help the Defias Brotherhood in their own particular ways. For example, goblins built Harvest Golems at the behest of the Defias Brotherhood to scare off the local inhabitants of Westfall, allowing the Defias to run their smuggling operations with greater impunity. The Harvest Golems have done that job well — eliciting terror in anyone foolish enough to roam alone in the fallow fields of Westfall. Now, in Westfall, only The People's Militia stand in the way of Defias operations, which seemingly become more brazen by the day.
The Defias have taken over parts of Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, Westfall, and have recently caused significant problems in the Stormwind Stockade. They are a dangerous group, with infiltrators in the highest circles of Stormwind Nobles and a sinister single-mindedness in the execution of their illegal trading. Wiley the Black in Lakeshire speculates that the Defias have even begun work on a "weapon of mass destruction"...a hypothetical weapon of unknown origins and power; however, the existence or non-existence of such a weapon is not expected to affect any unilateral action that may be taken against the Defias by bands of adventurers. That weapon is probably a reference to the huge juggernaut battleship that is in construction in the Deadmines. After all, the entire Deadmines are a huge construction yard for the ship. It is also revealed in some lower mid-level quests, such as The Missing Diplomat quest chain, that the Defias have staged a worldwide plot related to the 10-year old king of Stormwind, Anduin Wrynn.
Known members[]
| Name | Location | |
|---|---|---|
  Bazil Thredd
|
Innermost cells | Stormwind Stockade |
| Benny Blaanco
|
Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch | Westfall |
 Captain Greenskin
|
Ironclad Cove, | The Deadmines |
 Cookie
|
Ironclad Cove, | The Deadmines |
  Dashel Stonefist
|
Old Town, | Stormwind City |
| Dead-Tooth Jack
|
Southeast of Ridgepoint Tower, | Elwynn Forest |
| Erefor Pelija
|
Westfall | |
| Edwin VanCleef
|
Ironclad Cove, | The Deadmines |
| Erlan Drudgemoor
|
Brackwell Pumpkin Patch, | Elwynn Forest |
| Garrick Padfoot
|
Northshire Vineyards, | Elwynn Forest |
| Gilnid
|
Goblin Foundry, | The Deadmines |
| Jitters
|
Raven Hill, | Duskwood |
| Klaven Mortwake
|
Dust Plains guard tower, | Westfall |
| Lord Gregor Lescovar
|
Royal Library, | Stormwind Keep |
 Marisa du'Paige
|
Mine system, | The Deadmines |
| Marzon the Silent Blade
|
Gardens, | Stormwind Keep |
| Miner Johnson
|
Mine system, | The Deadmines |
| Morgan the Collector
|
Brackwell Pumpkin Patch, | Elwynn Forest |
 Mr. Smite
|
Ironclad Cove, | The Deadmines |
| Private Hendel
|
Southwest of North Point Tower, | Dustwallow Marsh |
 Rhahk'Zor
|
Mine system, | The Deadmines |
| Sneed
|
Mast Room, | The Deadmines |
| Surena Caledon
|
Brackwell Pumpkin Patch, | Elwynn Forest |
| Wiley the Black
|
Upstairs in the inn, | Lakeshire |
| Garn Mathers
|
Dreadmurk Shore, | Dustwallow Marsh |
Notes[]
It is known that the Defias wear face masks. To a certain degree, the material of said face masks reveals a Defias member's rank within the Brotherhood. A popular item for rogues is the Red Defias Mask, a mask that can drop off of any Defias mob in Westfall, Duskwood, the Deadmines, or the Stockade. It is a bind-on-pickup item and can only be worn by rogues. Because it can be equipped by low level characters, before most other head-gear, many lower level Rogues actively seek this item for its look, despite the fact that it provides no armor or stats. Curiously, the highest drop-rate for the mask seems to be off of the grave robbers in Duskwood, the only mobs who drop the mask that are not masked themselves.
Allies and leadership[]
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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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Several clues exist in-game about other hostile factions in Azeroth that may be helping the Defias. The most obvious of these are of course the Riverpaw gnolls of Westfall and the kobolds of Elwynn Forest; according to the note sent by Wiley the Black to Gryan Stoutmantle, these groups are actively working for the Defias to help secure the mines they've captured.
While completing quests against the Bloodsail Buccaneers near Booty Bay, it is possible read a short message written by one pirate intended for his crew. The note references "our project in the Deadmines," suggesting that the Defias Pirates and Goblin Shipwrights responsible for building and crewing VanCleef's juggernaut ship might actually be Bloodsails who are cooperating in the endeavor for their own reasons. Oddly, however, the pirates on VanCleef's ship may occasionally drop Blackwater Cutlasses...
In addition, the quest chain The Missing Diplomat quest chain alludes to the Defias possibly having some kind of partnership with the Strashaz Naga near Dustwallow Swamp. One of the Defias operatives interrogated during the quest has documents that mention "our new allies" being of help in the plot. These allies might quite possible be the naga, since (until he was moved) the missing diplomat himself was guarded by naga on Alcaz Island...
As for the true leaders of the Defias, it is intriguing to note that the organization endures — and indeed, proceeds to some of its more dangerous plots — well after the death of VanCleef, who was supposed to be in charge. While it is possible some of his underlings might have merely stepped up to fill his role (such as Bazil Thredd), another possibility is that VanCleef was never totally in control even while alive, and that he was in fact being manipulated by a higher power. It is clear that the Defias, for all their hatred of the Stormwind House of Nobles, nonetheless have considerable ties to certain nobles (the operative example being Lord Gregor Lescovar). Perhaps someone with influence in the House of Nobles is directing the Defias...someone who already manipulates much of Stormwind on her own...
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