Venture Trading Company

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The Venture Trading Company, also known as the Venture Company and Venture Co., is the most notorious goblin organization, deforesting and plundering the world for its natural resources. Mogul Razdunk owns and runs the Venture Company.^{DF 116} It is an independent faction (although most of its members are hostile to everyone in-game for quest purposes. Mainly tauren and night elves are hostile to them in published lore) that operates in Undermine, Ratchet, Mulgore, The Barrens, Azuremyst Isle, and the Stonetalon Mountains regions of Kalimdor — as well as Stranglethorn Vale in the Eastern Kingdoms and Sholazar Basin, Grizzly Hills in Northrend. Largely run and managed by goblins, it employs a few gnomes in high engineering positions. It provides employment (and possibly shanghaing) to all of the sentient races of Azeroth as laborers, even (perhaps especially) the less intelligent ones such as ogres and gnolls.

Contents 1 Background 2 Projects in Central Kalimdor 3 Other projects 4 Wrath of the Lich King 5 Ranks 5.1 The Barrens 6 Known members 7 Relationship to Steamwheedle Cartel 8 References

Background

The Trade Coalition is huge, far-reaching and massively complicated. In addition, numerous other, smaller goblin companies, created and run by entrepreneurs called moguls (the hands of the trade princes,^{DF 116}) operate throughout Azeroth. Perhaps the most famous of these smaller businesses is the Venture Company, founded and ruled by Mogul Razdunk.^{LoM 75, 78} The corporate group is a collection of greedy entrepreneurs who keep both eyes on the bottom line at all times.^{WRPG 191}

The headquarters of the Venture Company is located in Undermine. Ratchet also serves as a base of operations for many members of the company.^{LOM 30} Though the city is governed from Undermine by the trade princes, Ratchet is (or was) run by members of the Venture Company^{WRPG 191WoWRPG 17}. The Venture Company is in competition with Gazlowe^[1] of the Steamwheedle Cartel who is the ruler and Overseer of the city.^{LoM 30} While the city operates under the watchful eyes of the trade princes, Gazlowe has considerable free rein.^{LoM 30} The Venture Company employs a complex device known as a Truth Detector in the City of Ratchet when they were making an important deal with a new supplier and wanted to ascertain whether or not the supplier is trustworthy.^{MM&M 191}

The Venture Company is known for spearheading the efforts to reestablish trade routes across eastern Azeroth, to connect isolated goblin trading posts. A growing number of shops in Azeroth have signs declaring that they are owned and operated by the “Venture Company,” which the proprietors claim is headquartered in a faraway city ruled by goblins.^{LoC 23, 29} The Venture Company sometimes hires heroes to build new trading posts in the wilderness — a job that could take them anywhere in the world.^{WoWRPG 362} The Venture Company is infamous for its massive numbers of goblin shredders.^{LoM 30}

The trade princes have recently caused problems for the Venture Company, and it is looking increasingly likely that the goblins will turn on each other soon.^{LoM 44} Ziz Fizziks, a goblin who works with the trade princes, works to retrieve plans that a disloyal goblin stole and sold to the Venture Company.^{LoM 45}

Projects in Central Kalimdor

The goblins of the Venture Company threaten to reduce the entire Central Kalimdor section into an uninhabitable wasteland.^{LoM 27}

Mulgore is rich with iron and tin, which has attracted the attention of the Venture Company. With the centaur gone, the Venture Company has taken advantage of the tauren’s peaceful nature and have set up mining operations throughout the region.^{LoM 41} The Venture Company’s presence here is for profit, plain and simple. Driven by profit, the Venture Company mines for the iron and tin in eastern Mulgore, depleting the land’s natural resources, and hording the region’s water supplies. They are disturbing the balance of nature in the region, and drawing the anger of the tauren.^{LoM 40} Although the tauren have tried to share their land, the continuous encroachment and lack of respect shown by the Venture Company has resulted in escalating conflict in the region.^{LoM 39} The Venture Company buys poached hides from Palemane gnolls near Palemane Rock.^{LoM 40} The goblins intended to capitalize on the peaceful nature of the tauren and steal the resources of their home, and that plan has begun to fall apart only recently. It is believed if the goblins are pressed hard enough, they will eventually get the picture and withdraw.^{LoM 39} Quests relating to the struggle between the two factions are found in and around Bloodhoof Village. Baine Bloodhoof, the son of Cairne, leads an investigation into Venture Company operations to the east of the village.^{Lom 40}

Agents of the goblin-run Venture Company have also been sighted Stonetalon Peak area, searching for potential tracts to deforest and streams of precious ore to plunder with their mining machines.^{WRPG 208} They have a significant presence in the Stonetalon Mountains, chopping down trees and burning huge stretches of forest in the Windshear Crag basin. The goblins of Stonetalon are among the finest engineers of their race, and their inventions have allowed them to remove massive chunks of the forest in a few short months. The Venture Company is gradually destroying the remaining trees and taking the remaining resources from the earth^{WoWRPG 44} There has been a near-complete annihilation of sections of the Stonetalon Mountains (the Charred Vale in particular) with lumber-cutting machine by the Venture Company.^{APG 100} The Venture Company’s expeditions and mining operations changed much of the landscape to dusty, barren canyons and desolate cliffs.^{LoM 45} If this process continues, Stonetalon could soon become as much a wasteland as Desolace in the south or the Barrens in the east. This endeavor draws ire from the night elves and tauren alike, who find the deforestation barbaric and dangerous. Many of the tauren still hold the unrealistic hope that the Venture Company can be reasoned with, and this belief prevents progress. While the majority of the night elves and tauren take defensive roles, the Grimtotem tribe strikes back against the goblins.^{LoM 44}

The Venture Company has an operation in the Sludge Fen, in the Barrens’ northern hills.^{LoM 29} They also can be seen in Boulder Lode Mine, close to the shores of the Southfury River (and the oft-overlooked western entrance to Orgrimmar).

Other projects

The Venture Company activities can also be discovered in Stranglethorn Vale, where it is involved in various mining operations.

Also, The Venture Trading Company is known to trade with various shady groups. The Defias Brotherhood is especially known for trading for a powerful poison Venture Co. "acquired" from Zanzil the Outcast, such as in the quest chain of Mathias and the Defias.

Elements of the Venture Company have also entered into the service of Kael'thas Sunstrider, via his agent Engineer "Spark" Overgrind, the emissary of the gnomish High Tinker who accompanied Admiral Odesyus. Kael, via Overgrind, hired the Venture Company to recover the crashed Exodar, a portion of Kael's citadel of Tempest Keep hijacked by the draenei to escape from Outland.

Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King.

The Venture Co. is present in the Grizzly Hills of Northrend as they try to deforest the land. ^[2] They also appear at a small site in the Sholazar Basin, mining the crystals at the base of the Suntouched Pillar.

Ranks

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The Barrens

These members of the Venture Co. are found in the northeast part of the Barrens, the Sludge Fen.

• Tinkerer Sniggles
• Venture Co. Drudger
• Venture Co. Peon

Known members

Name	Location
Mogul Razdunk	Undermine	Kezan
Boss Copperplug	Boulder Lode Mine	The Barrens
Tinkerer Sniggles	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Gerenzo Wrenchwhistle	Windshear Crag	Stonetalon Mountains
Engineer Whirleygig	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Foreman Cozzle	Lake Nazferiti	Stranglethorn Vale
Enforcer Emilgund	Wildmane Water Well	Mulgore
Supervisor Fizsprocket		Mulgore
Taskmaster Fizzule	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Grand Foreman Puzik Gallywix	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Geezle	Traitor's Cove	Azuremyst Isle
Overseer Glibby	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Foreman Grills	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Supervisor Lugwizzle	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Nizzik	Cragpool Lake	Stonetalon Mountains
Piznik	Windshear Mine	Stonetalon Mountains
Foreman Silixiz	Sludge Fen	The Barrens
Veenix	Windshear Crag	Stonetalon Mountains
Verifonix		Stranglethorn Vale
Taskmaster Whipfang	Windshear Crag	Stonetalon Mountains

Relationship to Steamwheedle Cartel

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!

Members of the Venture Trading Company are said "run Ratchet", and that one of their major operations is in the city.^{LoM 30} It is also said that the trade princes govern the city, and allow Gazlowe free reign to rule under their watchful eye. Thus Gazlowe is affiliated with the Steamwheedle Cartel, and the trade princes.^{LoM 30} It is also said that the trade princes have recently caused problems for the Venture Company, and that it looked increasingly likely that the goblins would turn on other.^{LoM 44} Thus it appears that the Venture Company is a powerful competitor in the city, but how they "run" the city is unclear, perhaps they have some control over the city as a mafia, manipulating the elected officials and Lawkeepers.

In addition as noted above the Venture Company is run by a mogul, the hand of a trade prince. This would imply that Razdunk and the venture company has either betrayed it's trade prince or one of the princes has betrayed the others.

References

1. ^ Lands of Mystery,
2. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/814/814776p1.html