Vladimir

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

Vladimir has a thick beard and an intense, “burning” gaze 2.

• Bald crown with sparse surrounding hair — described as a “Mediterranean haircut,” matching his later nickname 2 8 37.
• Visible exhaustion during prolonged travel — after nearly ten hours running toward Goldshire, his face turns pale and his legs tremble before he collapses 15.

Personality

Vladimir distrusts aristocratic promises well before the guild’s suppression. He attributes Stormwind’s inability to pay wages to military expenditure and challenges Felix when Felix pretends to trust the royal leadership. Felix regards his contempt for authority as an established trait, unlike VanCleef’s eventual rebellion after repeated betrayals 2 9.

His solidarity with the workers takes a confrontational form. When Joseph cannot afford his mother’s treatment, Vladimir proposes stealing from wealthy institutions and nobles rather than continuing to petition them. Later, he dismisses the guild’s promised “reorganization” as an attempt to replace an independent workers’ union with one obedient to the Council of Nobles 8 17.

Despite his militancy, Vladimir recognizes unfavorable odds. He rejects direct attacks on Westbrook Garrison and prioritizes escape over recriminations when SI:7 closes in. His concern extends to captured comrades: he insists that Joseph and Bazil cannot simply be abandoned in prison 38 40 45.

Abilities & Skills

Rogue and Stealth Skills

Vladimir operates as a Rogue, but remains part of a force he describes as novice Stealth Users 13 44.

• Participates in covert observation of the Wizard’s Sanctum with Felix and Joseph 12 13.
• Avoids patrols during the flight from SI:7 by dropping to the ground and remaining motionless until agents pass 40.
• Recognizes that the Brotherhood cannot rely on novice Stealth skills to evade professional SI:7 pursuers 44.

Strategic Judgment

Vladimir repeatedly identifies threats that the guild’s more hopeful members overlook.

• Financial pressure: connects unpaid wages to Stormwind’s spending on expansion toward Stranglethorn Vale and conflict with the Blackrock Orcs 2.
• Magical reinforcement: warns that the Wizards’ Guild can teleport outside forces into Stormwind, influencing Operation Spark’s sabotage plans 22.
• Prisoner security: argues that released adventurers could report the robbery before the Brotherhood reaches Westfall 37.
• Force assessment: rejects attacking Westbrook Garrison because unengaged defenders could use ranged weapons while reinforcements arrive 38.
• Pursuit management: warns against returning directly to Westfall while followed, which would expose the Brotherhood’s home 44.

Leadership During Retreat

Vladimir gives practical orders when the Brotherhood’s escape begins to unravel.

• Orders the group to stop assigning blame, pack its belongings, and retreat east 40.
• Directs the rebels to scatter and reconvene two hours later on a hill ten kilometers east, reducing the chance that all will be caught together 40.
• Is entrusted by Felix with leading the surviving brothers toward Jerod’s Landing 44.

Limitations

• Collapses before reaching Goldshire after an overnight run, leaving Felix to complete the warning mission alone 15.
• Becomes severely fatigued while transporting stolen coins; several hours pass without him delivering the requested report on the bridge guards 38.
• During the later escape, exhaustion and intrusive visions leave him vulnerable enough that Felix must find him and guide him to safety 40.

History

Unpaid Wages and the Robbery Proposal

Vladimir first appears as Felix’s fellow worker in the Stonemasons’ Guild. He notices Felix’s search for another livelihood and privately warns that Stormwind may not pay the workers in full. His explanation centers on the kingdom’s strained treasury rather than confidence in the promises of Varian and Katrana 2.

When Joseph remains eighty gold coins short of the amount needed to treat his mother, Vladimir proposes taking money from the Royal Bank, the Trade District accounting office, or wealthy nobles’ mansions. Felix supports him, while VanCleef fears the consequences and Baros Alexston calls the plan unsound 8.

Warning the Guild

Felix considers Vladimir trustworthy after observing his regular movements between his dormitory and the construction site and his consistent hostility toward the Council of Nobles. He subsequently chooses Vladimir and Joseph to help scout the Mage Quarter when Bolvar’s promises appear suspiciously favorable 9 12.

After they observe Andromath being summoned away, Vladimir urges an immediate warning to VanCleef. Felix instead assigns Joseph to protect the workers inside Stormwind while he and Vladimir race to Goldshire to help secure Vanessa. Vladimir reinforces the importance of Joseph’s mission, emphasizing that the guild’s future depends on how many workers survive 13.

Vladimir runs until he collapses, urging Felix to continue without him. After Felix persuades the Goldshire branch to withdraw with Vanessa, the two reunite and return to Stormwind 15 16.

Stormwind Uprising and Escape

Back in the city, Vladimir and Felix discover the guild’s disbandment and the sealed City Planning Office. Vladimir leads Felix into the sewers, where they meet Joseph but cannot locate VanCleef. The three later emerge near Cathedral Square and encounter the aftermath of the massacre 17 18.

During Operation Spark’s planning, Vladimir warns about magical reinforcements. He and Felix privately understand that holding Stormwind against Varian’s army and possible Alliance intervention is impossible; the uprising’s concealed purpose is to open an escape route to Westfall 22.

Vladimir is assigned to take control of the Valley of Heroes if its garrison is drawn into the city. During the retreat, he reports that the gate has been captured, enabling the guild to flee while VanCleef remains behind to cover its withdrawal 25 26.

Tax-Money Robbery and SI:7 Pursuit

After the Brotherhood captures adventurers guarding money wagons, Vladimir opposes releasing them because they could alert Stormwind. The majority nevertheless votes to free the prisoners 37.

The return journey is blocked by reinforced security at Westbrook Garrison. When SI:7 approaches, Vladimir helps organize an eastward retreat and orders the group to scatter after soldiers begin searching that route as well 38 39 40.

During his flight, Vladimir experiences conflicting visions: one shows the Brotherhood victorious and welcomed by crowds; another shows him and Bazil facing execution. He recognizes both as unreal, but they overwhelm him until Felix intervenes. At the rendezvous, he discovers that other brothers have experienced visions too. Felix later attributes these visions to the Old Gods 40 44.

News of Bazil’s probable capture makes Vladimir fear that the execution vision might come true. He nevertheless continues the escape, heads toward Jerod’s Landing under Felix’s orders, and returns by boat to Westfall with the survivors and stolen silver. During the journey, he argues that concealing the prisoners’ fate could provoke reckless retaliation from VanCleef and urges Felix to devise a rescue 44 45.

Relationships

• Felix Walkpatin — Trusted confidant and planning partner. Vladimir shares Felix’s skepticism toward noble promises and knows Operation Spark’s concealed escape objective. Felix later rescues him from his disoriented flight through the forest 9 22 40.
• Edwin VanCleef — Guildmaster and later Brotherhood leader. Vladimir challenges his faith in sympathetic nobles and worries that grief or incomplete information could drive him into a disastrous retaliation 8 45.
• Joseph — Fellow worker and rebel. Vladimir proposes robbery to fund his mother’s treatment, encourages his mission to shelter the guild, and later criticizes his willingness to release captured adventurers 8 13 37.
• Bazil Thredd — Fellow Brotherhood member. Bazil’s capture alarms Vladimir because he previously saw him facing execution in a vision; Vladimir insists that the prisoners must not be abandoned 40 44 45.
• Baros Alexston — Fellow guild member who opposes Vladimir’s robbery proposal. Vladimir later shares Felix’s concern that Baros may betray the rebels 8 22.
• Thuros Lightfinger — Guild foreman who, according to Felix, holds Vladimir in low regard, making Joseph a more credible messenger for warning the work crews 13.

Notable Quotes

“In my opinion, instead of asking them for it, we might as well take it ourselves.” 8

“It's our red union they're shutting down. I'm afraid that once they rebuild it, it'll be a yellow union that obeys the Council of Nobles' every command.” 17

“Enough. This isn't the time to assign blame. Let's pack up our things and retreat east.” 40