Thanks for your reply, Krang! Replies inline. I probably should have mentioned that I'm trying to make all this happen without forcing a client MPQ install. Let me know if that changes things.
1. To configure the OpenPVP for certain areas you have to change the flags of the zones inside the AreaTable.DBC. (AREATABLE_FLAGS)
Do you happen to know what happens if someone has a patch installed and another person doesn't, and they both go into the FFA PVP area? Is the person with the patch allowed to attack the other, but the person without is not able to reciprocate?
2. Disabling or deleting a zeppelin may be handled via DBCs too.
Is it possible to affect something similar with a change in the DB versus a DBC edit? I basically just want to disable zeppelins traveling to Northrend, disable the zone transit event to Northrend at the end of the zeppelin path, disable the Northrend map outright, or some combination of those.
3. What portals are you talking about? If you are talking about the Game Objects, you can simply remove them or take a look at them into the database.
The Dark Portal to Outland in particular. I don't want to remove it from the game world but I do want to remove the script action to teleport people who pass through it to Outland.
4. For the Heirlooms, I think it's server-side related. I have no really no idea about that.
I've dug up all I can find on this and the data points at a DBC edit as well, but I was hoping someone out there had played with overriding the DBC files with DB attributes. I'll probably just have to experiment with that one myself.
Let me know if you have any further questions, would be glad to help.
Thanks again for indulging me.