- This article is about Vanessa's character biography. For the character's appearance and fight strategies in the Deadmines instance, see Vanessa VanCleef (tactics).
| Vanessa VanCleef | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Female |
| Race | Human (Humanoid) |
| Class | Rogue |
| Affiliation(s) | Defias Brotherhood |
| Occupation | Defias Brotherhood Kingpin |
| Location |
Westfall Ironclad Cove, The Deadmines |
| Status | Killable |
| Relative(s) | Edwin (father), Farmer Saldean (foster father), Salma Saldean (foster mother), |
- "Hope is a cruel joke, played upon us by a harsh and uncaring world. There is no Hope, there is only Vanessa."
- —Vanessa VanCleef
Vanessa VanCleef is the daughter of Edwin VanCleef and his successor as head of the Defias Brotherhood.
It is revealed in a flashback that Vanessa was present when Edwin VanCleef was killed and decapitated by forces of the Alliance onboard his juggernaught in the Deadmines. After her father's death, Vanessa was adopted by the Saldeans, who were unaware of her identity. They named her Hope and parented her while they watched her grow up over the years. Her identity as Hope Saldean worked to her advantage as she secretly became her father's successor as the leader of the Defias Brotherhood.
Unlike her father, she is not especially skilled in close combat. However, she has very impressive skills in making poisons, especially ones that cause hallucinations or insanity.
Biography
Little is known about Vanessa VanCleef's early childhood except that she was the daughter of Edwin VanCleef, leader of the Defias Brotherhood and ruler of the Deadmines. Approximately five years prior to Deathwing's return, she watched from the shadows as her father was defeated by a group of adventurers on the orders of Gryan Stoutmantle.[1] According to Salma Saldean, "in the dead of night, a little girl walked right into our farmhouse and collapsed on the floor. Nobody had a clue as to her identity. The poor thing had no recollection of who she was or where she came from - truly a lost soul." The Saldeans adopted her and named her Hope due to the hard times that had fallen on them. At some point Hope started caring for the poor and destitute and ended up at Sentinel Hill.[2]
However, she secretly began plotting the resurrection of the Brotherhood. Soliciting the help of such unsavory characters as the ogre Glubtok[3] and the goblin Helix Gearbreaker, she used gnoll attacks to distract the forces of Sentinel Hill so the Defias could rescue the worgen Admiral Ripsnarl from his imprisonment there. When the gnolls proved ineffective, she resorted to anti-Stormwind propaganda, targeting the homeless masses in Westfall.[4] Vanessa personally delivered a rousing speech to the masses in Moonbrook, denouncing king Varian Wrynn among others and the toll the war in Northrend had taken on the people of Westfall.[5]
Revelation
Vanessa, along with Glubtok, Ripsnarl and Helix, watches Sentinel Hill burn.
The investigations of Lieutenant Horatio Laine into a murder at Furlbrow's Pumpkin Farm led to incremental revelations about Vanessa VanCleef's dealings, disguised as a "Shadowy Figure".[6] Once her forces were sufficiently bolstered, she revealed herself to Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle as the newly reconstituted Defias Brotherhood mounted a surprise attack on Sentinel Hill. Stoutmantle, Laine and the other leaders were tied up and forced to watch as the Defias burned Sentinel Hill virtually to the ground.[7]
VanCleef currently resides in the Deadmines where her father once was. The forces of Stormwind have amassed at the entrance of the mines in preparation for one final battle.
Quotes
As "Shadowy Figure" during The Dawning of a New Day:
- Gather, brothers and sisters! Come, all, and listen!
- Brothers. Sisters. We are ABANDONED - the orphaned children of Stormwind.
- Our "king" sits atop his throne made of gold and shurgs at our plight!
- Meanwhile, our children die of starvation on these very streets!
- HIS war, not ours, cost us our livelihood. WE paid for the Alliance's victories with our blood and the blood of our loved ones!
- The time has come, brothers and sisters, to stop this injustice!
- The government of Stormwind, of the ALLIANCE, must be made accountable for what it has done to us!
- Today, we are reborn! Today we take a stand as men and women, not nameless, faceless numbers!
Revelation in Rise of the Brotherhood:
- Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle says: I don't like this, <name>. Stay alert!
- Hope walks out from the tower to Gryan
- Hope Saldean says: You bastards will burn for what you did.
- Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle says: Hope! Wha..
- Hope Saldean says: Hope? Is that what I was supposed to feel when I saw my father decapitated by your henchmen?
- Hope Saldean says: Hope is a cruel joke, played upon us by a harsh and uncaring world. There is no Hope, there is only Vanessa. Vanessa VanCleef.
- Hope sheds her disguise, revealing herself as Vanessa VanCleef!
- Vanessa VanCleef yells: RISE UP BROTHERHOOD! THE DAWNING DAY IS UPON US!
- A large number of blackguards spawn around the friendlies; all the NPCs are sapped.
- Vanessa VanCleef says: Tie them up.
- Vanessa walks up to Ripsnarl, freeing him from the stock.
- Vanessa VanCleef says: Admiral, your hat.
- Ripsnarl gains his human form.
- Admiral Ripsnarl says: Thank you, my dear.
- Vanessa VanCleef says: And you, <name>. I will spare your life. You have done much to help our cause, albeit unwittingly, but the next time we meet it will be as enemies.
- Lieutenant Horatio Laine says: Just tell me one thing, Vanessa.
- Lieutenant Horatio Laine says: Why'd you have the Furlbrows killed?
- Vanessa VanCleef says: I had no choice, lieutenant. They recognized me. The only people in the world who even knew I existed, recognized my face from when I was an infant.
- Vanessa VanCleef says: I took no pleasure in their deaths.
- Vanessa VanCleef yells: Leave nothing but ashes in your wake, brothers! Burn Sentinel Hill to the ground!
- The blackguards throw flares, setting Sentinel Tower alight. Vanessa and her minions leave shortly thereafter.
- Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle says: <name>, get to Stormwind. Tell King Wrynn everything. EVERYTHING! GO NOW!
Gallery
Vanessa witnesses her father's murder
As Hope Saldean
Meeting with Glubtok
Meeting with Helix Gearbreaker
Speaking to the poor
Freeing Ripsnarl
References
- ^ [15] A Vision of the Past
- ^ [13] Hope for the People
- ^ [11] Livin' the Life
- ^ [14] Secrets of the Tower
- ^ [15] The Dawning of a New Day
- ^ [11] Murder Was The Case That They Gave Me and the rest of the Westfall storyline
- ^ [15] Rise of the Brotherhood
[15] 
External links
| Preceded by: Edwin Vancleef |
Position: Defias Brotherhood Kingpin |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |