Undermine

The Undermine
Type	City
Leader(s)	Trade princes
Government	Plutocracy
Race(s)	Goblin  Hobgoblin
Language(s)	Goblin
Affiliation(s)	Goblin cartels, Trade Coalition, Tinkers' Union
Location	Beneath Kezan
Status	Unknown

The Undermine, or just Undermine, is the subterranean capital city of the goblins, located in the bowels of Mount Kajaro on the Isle of Kezan in the South Seas. Weaving through the heart of Kezan in a dizzying network of tunnels, vaults, and lava tubes, Undermine epitomizes the goblins' complex, unpredictable mindset.^[1][2] The city has many sluicetowns such as Pyrix, and its air is stale and oily.^[3] Troll slaves work in the city.^[4] The city of Bilgewater Port, located on the surface of Kezan, linked to the underground metropolis.^[5]

History

The Zandalari trolls^[6] originally enslaved the goblins and forced them to mine kaja'mite ore from the bowels of Mount Kajaro. After the goblins' intelligence was heightened by the magical mineral and they revolted against the trolls to claim Kezan for themselves, the mines that had been their prison, their slave camp, and the base of their rebellion now became the city of Undermine.^[1][2][7] It was there that they built the foundations of an empire in which their inventions would help them rule the world, but as the supply and effects of kaja'mite dwindled and the goblins' intelligence waned, they ultimately turned to mercantilism instead.^[2][7]

After Deathwing caused Kajaro to erupt during the Cataclysm, the molten lava threatened to incinerate the island, and though the ultimate fate of Undermine remains unknown,^[5] the city was presumably heavily damaged, being as it was under Kajaro. Immediately after the disaster, some goblins believed all of Kezan to have been destroyed,^[8] though this later proved to be incorrect.

Mentions of the Undermine

World of Warcraft

•  [Undermine Clam Chowder].
• Wharfmaster Dizzywig of Ratchet states, "...you could tell him that I've got some things from Undermine for him..." at the opening of the quest  [14] The Missing Shipment.
• The ending of the quest  [10-30] Excelsior says, "Thanks to your help I'll have this order filled and sent off to Director Riddlevox on the next boat to Undermine."
• Gazlowe in Ratchet states that Pozzik "was one of the most respected tinkerers in Undermine before he retired to start working on the racers."
• When the quest  [16] Samophlange is turned in to Sputtervalve in Ratchet, he says, "This is... er... interesting... yes. I'll have it sent along to the Tinkers' Union headquarters in Undermine. I'm sure after some careful dissection and research, they'll be able to make some sense of it."
• When the quest Wenikee Boltbucket is received from Sputtervalve (after the above Samophlange quest), he says, "I think I might have broken that Samophlange. That's not good, because I already told some colleagues in Undermine about it and they were very intrigued."
• When the quest  [5-30] Miner's Fortune is turned into Wharfmaster Dizzywig in Ratchet, he says, "Look at the size of that thing! We're going to be rich! Let's see, according to the rates I've seen on gems going into Undermine, I should be able to figure out your cut--fifty percent, don't worry!"
• When you turn in the quest Southsea Freebooters to Gazlowe in Ratchet, he says, "I don't even want to think about the profits I've lost from pirate raiding, and now they set up camp on my doorstep? It's getting out of hand, Undermine's got to do something about it."
• In the Horde quest  [27] Further Instructions Sputtervalve says, "The matter of this gnome that has been hired by Venture Company has caused a bit of a stir in Undermine." It also mentions the trade princes, Director Riddlevox (the head of the Tinkers' Union), and Razdunk (the head of the Venture Company).
• In the shipment quests from Timothy Jones in Dalaran, a "wealthy shipping concern" from the Undermine request different collection of jewelry.^[9]
• After finishing the quest  [22] Gerenzo's Orders and bringing the  [Unidentified Ore] to Ziz Fizziks, he says, "I'm sure the engineers in Undermine will be most interested to look at this..."
• Al'tabim the All-Seeing mentions Undermine and how the trade princes took Kezan from the trolls.
• The Claims Adjuster on Kezan is from "Undermine Insurance Unlimited."
•  [Erorus' Ledger of Trade] allegedly contains "Absurdly detailed records of countless transactions between buyers and sellers in the Undermine". (Note: The flavor text is a nod to The Undermine Journal - a fan website which tracks items and transactions on auction houses for US and EU regions - that was created and is maintained by Erorus.)

Other mentions

New Year event

The New Year 2005 content on the official community site, which states: "The innovative and artistic engineers of Undermine have been slaving away since their display of pyrotechnics in July."

Midsummer Fire Festival Event

The Midsummer Fire Festival 2008 event on the official community site, which states: "The lengthy Midsummer Fire Festival traditionally ends with the sky itself being set alight. The goblins of Undermine have lent their considerable skill (and copious amounts of gunpowder) to the task, resulting in a tremendous fireworks show! Take up a festival mug and raise a toast to the season as the multicolored explosions dance across the sky above you!"

See also

• Engineers' Explosive Extravaganza

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Undermine is the nefarious capital of the goblin's trade empire, the Trade Coalition. Located beneath and within Kezan, Undermine is the center of goblin civilization. It is connected to the island via a series of volcanic tunnels which were created by Mount Kajaro's volcanic and tectonic activities.^[10][11][12]

The trade princes each control their own private armies and trade fleets. As a result, Undermine is a busy place, as the goblin city goes about its business.

There are some Horde and Alliance ambassadors present in the Undermine.^[13]

Description

The main centers of population in Undermine are in volcanic caverns beneath Kezan. Secondary island caverns exist farther away, and the goblins have constructed tunnels of thick glass that lead to these smaller areas. Passing through these tubes means walking along the ocean's floor and looking out to see the colorful fish and hungry sharks nearby.^[12] Bilgewater Port is linked directly to Undermine.^[11]

As the capital of goblin culture, Undermine teems with chaotic activity. Goblin alchemists and tinkers practice their crafts and set off explosions. Slave markets bustle in out-of-the-way places. Shops and businesses of all kinds are based here, and the headquarters of the Trade Coalition, the Venture Company and myriad other enterprises are within this city. In Undermine, you can find the extremes on both ends: reeking slave pens in one area, the trade princes' lavish palaces in another. Zovzik's shop is located in the city.

Of particular interest is the fact that, wandering around Undermine, is a strange breed of a creature called hobgoblins. They resemble goblins, but are much taller and have purple skin.^[14]

Notes and trivia

• Vinny Slapchop sold  [Undermine Remnant] after Deathwing attacked Kezan.
• It was originally stated that jungle trolls were responsible for enslaving the goblins of Kezan,^[1][2][7] but World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 later changed them to Zandalari trolls.^[6] Moreover, the game portrays them as forest trolls.
• The goblin creation screen description states that the trolls forced the goblins to mine kaja'mite out of the Undermine, but other sources state that the city was created from the camps in the mines after the goblins overthrew the trolls.^[1][2][7]
• Blizzard originally wanted to include Undermine in the original World of Warcraft along with goblins as a playable race, with Johnathan Staats describing it as "tinker town" and "crazy". However, as the team did not have a lot of goblin art assets, building the goblin homeland would have required "a ton" of work, leading to both Undermine and playable goblins being cut from classic WoW.^[15]
  • Note that the Undermine was already concepted in the early World of Warcraft beta not as a city on an island, but as a continent southeast of Kalimdor.
• There is an American server called Undermine and a Spanish server called Minahonda, which means Undermine (Minahonda is more precisely translated as Deepmine).
• During a build of the Battle for Azeroth alpha, the dungeon The MOTHERLODE!! was called "The Undermine".
  • Similarly, it was said that Mogul Razdunk and his Venture Company took control over the city and its Azerite to become a trade prince.

Gallery

• 
  Map of Kezan and the Undermine as seen on the World of Warcraft Behind the Scenes DVD.
• 
  Undermine on an early concept map.
• 
  Undermine on a 1999 concept map.
• 
  Undermine on an alpha map.
• 
  Undermine on a 1999 concept map.

References

v e Goblins Organizations Bilgewater Cartel (Kajaro Trading Company) Blackfuse Company B.O.O.M. Smokywood Pastures Steamwheedle Cartel (Blackwater Raiders) Tinkers' Union Trade Coalition Venture Company Venture Co. Mining Division Prominent goblins Siegecrafter Helix Blackfuse Boss Mida Chief Engineer Bilgewhizzle Rocket-Chief Fuselage Jastor Gallywix Trade Prince Monte Gazlowe Gurgthock Sassy Hardwrench Captain Krazz Marin Noggenfogger Mogul Razdunk Baron Revilgaz Railmaster Pauli Rocketspark Trade Baron Silversnap Trade Prince Steamwheedle Goblin cities and territories Neutral Area 52 Bilgewater Port Bogpaddle Booty Bay Cosmowrench Everlook Fuselight Gadgetzan K3 Mudsprocket Nozzlerust Post Pinchwhistle Gearworks Pinchwhistle Point Ratchet Sorrowmurk Undermine Horde Bilgewater Harbor Crapopolis Gallywix Pleasure Palace Goblin Slums Hardwrench Hideaway Krazzworks Nozzlepot's Outpost Town-In-A-Box Goblin technology All-In-1-Der Belt Army boots Army knife Blade barrel Bomb dispenser Clockwerk Goblin Explosive Sheep Harvest golem Junk golem Land mine Mine shoes Mortar Rocket Launcher Rocket Pack Rocketway Samophlange Shredder Super Reaper 6000 Town-In-A-Box Weather Machine Zeppelin Miscellaneous Cartel Goblin hierarchy Goblin language Trade prince Icon of Kezan Goblin category