Belmont Labs  /  Experiments  /  The Grudge
EXPERIMENT // 07  // BL-007
● ACTIVE / STABLE
A WoW 3.3.5a AddOn // Threat Detection Apparatus

THE
GRUDGE

The experiment began with a simple observation: certain individuals in Azeroth have a pattern. They find you. They kill you. They move on. They do not remember. But you do.

The Grudge remembers for you.

DOWNLOAD THE GRUDGE GITHUB ↗ SCREENSHOTS ↗

Field research has confirmed that the average player encounters the same hostile operator 3.7 times before taking preventative action — if they take it at all. The Lab finds this professionally unacceptable. The experiment was authorized on a Tuesday. By Thursday, the alert system was operational. By Friday, the researcher responsible had already received their first warning.

LAB-SERVER-07>$ // BL-007 // THE GRUDGE // FIELD REPORT
Researcher Notes // Field Observations

Experiment 07 — designated The Grudge — is a World of Warcraft AddOn engineered for the 3.3.5a client with a precise and unapologetic mission: maintain a persistent record of every player who has killed you, and ensure that the next time they enter your vicinity, you know about it immediately.

The apparatus integrates with the WhoDASH ecosystem and is fed by the SyncDAT data pipeline — a companion tool that keeps The Grudge's target database current across sessions and characters. Once a name is on the list, it stays on the list. The list is cross-referenced against nameplate detection, the combat log, group roster scans, mouseover targeting, channel chat, and live /who sweeps. The target does not need to do anything visible to be found. Presence is sufficient.

When a match is confirmed, a visual alert materializes in the corner of the screen — a dark, pulsing notification bearing the target's name, kill count, severity classification, and the details of the most recent incident on record. It fades after five seconds. It does not fade while your cursor rests on the target. It does not fade while you are repositioning it. The experiment was designed with PvP in mind. It does not forget that PvP is happening.

A severity system classifies each target by kill count: Caution for one to two kills, Warning for three to five, and Danger for six or more. The classification drives both the colour of the alert and the intensity of the accompanying sound. Built-in game sounds are used by default. Custom MP3s can replace them. The experiment does not presume to know what you want to hear when you spot the person who corpse-camped you for twenty minutes in Hillsbrad. That is a personal matter.

⚠ Chief Science Officer advisory: "The experiment does not encourage retribution. It merely ensures you are informed. What you do with that information is entirely between you and your conscience. The Lab has filed the appropriate disclaimers. The Lab is not worried about the disclaimers."
⚠ Compatibility Notice — Private Server Only

The Grudge is built exclusively for World of Warcraft 3.3.5a — the original client, as found on private servers such as Warmane, Dalaran, ChromieCraft, and others. It is not compatible with Wrath Classic, Retail, or any Blizzard-managed client. The server auto-detection system handles known private server quirks automatically. If your server is not recognized, manual override is available via /grudge server [name].

Designation The Grudge
Experiment No. BL-007
Status ACTIVE / STABLE
Type WoW AddOn / Threat Detection
Game World of Warcraft
Client Version 3.3.5a ONLY
Wrath Classic? INCOMPATIBLE
Ecosystem WhoDASH / SyncDAT
Hazard Rating ELEVATED (PVP)
Disposition VIGILANT
Containment NOMINAL
Observation Log
BL-007-1A Detection layer initialized. First alert fired. Researcher startled.
BL-007-3C Warmane combat log crash resolved. String flags. Of course it was string flags.
BL-007-6E Visual popup implemented. Ctrl-drag repositioning added. Position persists.
BL-007-9B Mouseover pin behavior confirmed. Alert holds while target is under cursor.
BL-007-12F Settings UI deployed. Sound system operational. Custom MP3 slots open.
BL-007-14A Chat broadcast added. Grudge list now broadcastable to party, raid, and guild.
01

What It Does
In Plain Language

The following is a simplified account for those who prefer their threat detection without the research apparatus jargon.

◈
Seven Detection Layers
Nameplates, combat log events, group roster, mouseover, target frame, chat channel mentions, and live /who sweeps — all running in parallel. If your target is nearby, one of these will find them.
◈
Severity Classification
Kill count drives everything. One to two kills: Caution (orange). Three to five: Warning (red-orange). Six or more: Danger (red). Color, sound, and alert intensity all scale accordingly.
◈
Visual Alert Popup
A dark, non-intrusive overlay appears in the corner of your screen with the target's name, kill count, last kill time, and most recent incident details. Click through during combat — Ctrl+drag to reposition. Stays visible while you mouse over the target.
◈
Cross-Character Memory
Grudge data is merged across all your characters. If Gankerface killed your warrior twice and your rogue once, your mage sees a kill count of three — regardless of which character collected which death.
◈
Alert Sound System
Built-in game sounds play by default, matched to severity. Drop your own MP3 files into the extras/ folder to override any tier. The settings window lets you preview sounds and toggle custom files without a reload.
◈
Broadcast to Chat
Share your grudge list directly to Say, Yell, Party, Raid, Guild, or Local Defense from the settings window. Useful for warning your group before a known ganker slips into proximity. The list sends clean plain text.
02

Installation
Protocol

Straightforward. Four steps. The experiment is operational before your next login.

01
Step One
Confirm Your Client
Verify you are on the 3.3.5a client. Private server — Warmane, Dalaran, ChromieCraft, and similar. If you are on a Blizzard-managed client of any kind, this AddOn is not for your environment. This is a specification, not a judgment.
02
Step Two
Download & Extract
Download the .zip archive above. Extract its contents into your Interface\AddOns\ directory. The result should be a folder named TheGrudge containing the AddOn files. If you see a folder inside a folder, extract again — the inner folder is the one that matters.
03
Step Three
Connect SyncDAT
The Grudge reads its target list from TheGrudgeDB.lua inside the addon folder. The SyncDAT companion tool writes this file automatically from your WhoDASH data. Without it, the grudge list will be empty. The addon will load — it will simply have no one to watch for. Yet.
04
Step Four
Enable & Configure
Enable the AddOn at the character select screen. Log in. Type /grudge ui to open the settings window. Use the Test Toast buttons to preview and position the alert popup. The experiment is now operational. Someone on your list is probably already nearby.
◈   Custom Sound Files

The Grudge ships with built-in game sounds mapped to each severity tier. These work immediately with no additional configuration. Most users will never need to change them.

For those who prefer something more personal: drop your own MP3 files into Interface\AddOns\TheGrudge\extras\ using the naming convention below, then enable Use custom sound files in the settings window. No reload required — the toggle takes effect immediately.

WAV files work too. Name them .mp3 regardless — WoW reads the audio data directly. Keep clips short: one to three seconds is ideal.

1.mp3 → CAUTION tier alert sound 1–2 KILLS
2.mp3 → WARNING tier alert sound 3–5 KILLS
3.mp3 → DANGER tier alert sound 6+ KILLS

Files must be present for custom sounds to play. If a file is missing for a tier, the built-in fallback sound plays instead. Partial overrides are fully supported — override only the tiers you want.

⚠   A Word About Compatibility

The Grudge was built for World of Warcraft 3.3.5a — the private server client. Warmane, Dalaran-WoW, ChromieCraft, TurtleWoW, Firestorm, and compatible forks are all supported. The addon includes a server auto-detection system that identifies your realm on login and applies the appropriate compatibility layer.

Private server builds vary in their combat log format. Warmane, in particular, delivers certain event parameters as strings rather than integers, and omits fields that other servers include. The Grudge handles this automatically. If detection is not working on your server, /grudge debug will tell you what it sees, and /grudge server [name] allows manual override.

Wrath Classic — the Blizzard-managed re-release — is architecturally incompatible. The API surface, event registration, frame handling, and SavedVariables infrastructure differ fundamentally from 3.3.5a. The addon will not crash. It will simply not function. The Lab does not consider silent non-function to be an acceptable outcome, but acknowledges it is at least better than a crash.

If you are a Wrath Classic player: the Lab sees you, respects your choices, and has nothing for you at this time. The work continues.

✓ 3.3.5a (Private Server)Fully supported
✗ Wrath Classic (Blizzard)Incompatible
✗ Retail WoWWrong universe
      BL-007 THE GRUDGE: STATUS NOMINAL  ⋮  DETECTION LAYERS: ALL SEVEN OPERATIONAL  ⋮  GRUDGE LIST: CROSS-CHARACTER MERGE ACTIVE  ⋮  VISUAL ALERT: POSITIONED. PULSING. WATCHING.  ⋮  WARMANE COMPAT LAYER: APPLIED  ⋮  SOUND SYSTEM: SEVERITY-MAPPED. CUSTOM SLOTS: OPEN.  ⋮  MOUSEOVER PIN: ACTIVE — ALERT HOLDS WHILE TARGET IS UNDER CURSOR  ⋮  SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION: CAUTION / WARNING / DANGER  ⋮  NOTE FROM LAB: WE DO NOT ENCOURAGE RETRIBUTION. WE MERELY ENSURE YOU ARE INFORMED.  ⋮