Plugger Spazzring

Plugger Spazzring is the leper gnome barkeep who owns the Grim Guzzler, the tavern in the middle of Blackrock Depths. He is a merchant first: he sells ale, roast boar and a few rare recipes, and he holds the key to the tavern's back door. He is also a warlock, and if anyone steals from him or picks his pocket, he turns the whole bar against them.

Background

The game's later Adventure Guide says Plugger came to Blackrock Depths looking for a new life after the fall of Gnomeregan, when the gnomes poisoned by the radiation in their city became the outcast leper gnomes. He had dabbled in dark magic as a warlock, but in the depths he found his calling behind a bar. He takes pride in keeping his patrons' mugs full, and the Guide jokes that at the Grim Guzzler everyone knows your name.

His barmaid, Mistress Nagmara, is his succubus minion, and she seems happy in the job; she says Plugger has done very well for himself. His bouncer is the golem Phalanx. The tavern's regulars include the drunk soldier Private Rocknot, the brew thief Hurley Blackbreath and the goblin fugitive Ribbly Screwspigot.

Abilities

Plugger fights as a warlock:

• Shadow Bolt: 128 to 172 shadow damage.
• Immolate: fire damage, then more fire damage over 21 seconds.
• Demon Armor: raises his armor and health regeneration.
• Curse of Tongues: slows a player's spellcasting by 50% for 15 seconds.
• Banish: removes one player from the fight for up to 15 seconds.

He also carries the [Grim Guzzler Key]. If a player picks his pocket, he notices moments later, yells "Hey, my pockets were picked!" and stops serving, and every patron in the Grim Guzzler turns hostile. Taking an ale mug or a plate of boar from the tables has the same effect.

Strategy

Most groups never fight Plugger on purpose. Those who do usually want his loot or his key, and the problem is his customers: attacking him turns the whole tavern hostile at once. The approach players developed was to thin out the patrons first. Buy several Dark Iron Ale Mugs from him, stand in the small storage room next to the bar, and throw a mug onto the floor. A patron wanders over to drink it and passes out for a few seconds, long enough to be killed alone. Once the patrons around the bar are gone, Plugger can be fought by himself.

He is immune to stuns and interrupts, so Kick and Gouge do nothing; casters should expect Curse of Tongues and decurse it if they can. At level 60, a rogue and druid pair could kill him easily, and a well-geared rogue could solo him with shadow and fire resistance and potions.

Loot

From our database (patch 1.12):

The [Barman Shanker] is a dagger that makes its target bleed. The [Schematic: Goblin Jumper Cables XL], added in patch 1.4, teaches engineers to make jumper cables that can bring a dead player back to life. His shop also sells the [Dark Iron Ale Mug], the [Grim Guzzler Boar], the [Recipe: Transmute Fire to Earth] for alchemists and the [Pattern: Black Dragonscale Breastplate] for leatherworkers.

Quests

• Rocknot's Ale: the ale he sells is what players give Private Rocknot to set off the fight with Phalanx and open the back door the safe way.
• The Love Potion: his barmaid Mistress Nagmara asks for help with a love potion for Rocknot.

Sources

• Plugger Spazzring - Warcraft Wiki
• Grim Guzzler - Warcraft Wiki