Ghoul lords: Lord Malathrom

Normally ghouls are among the lowest of the undead, basic troops fit only to savage enemies with their filthy claws. Normally rarespawns have one thing that distinguishes them from the large hordes of "vanilla" mobs in the game. Some rarespawns, however, have a bit better luck and are "blessed" with unique abilities, unique drops and a cool-sounding name to boot. That such a mob would happen to be a ghoul only adds to the unique situation.

This post is about Lord Malathrom.



Finding Lord Malathrom

Lord Malathrom is a rare mob ghoul found in Duskwood in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Lord Malathrom can be found in the Dawning Woods cemetery in the north-western corner of Duskwood. He will always be found underground, in the extensive catacombs honeycombing the area. He can be /target through the ground if you do not have a track undead ability, which may make the search easier. Lord Malathrom does not wander, just meanders around in the spot he spawns. However, the widespread nature of the catacombs mean that you may find yourself searching for him in vain until you are familiar with the layout.



Fighting Lord Malathrom

The Dawning Woods catacombs are filled with ghouls of different types (likely all serving the corrupt sorcerer Morbent Fel), but Lord Malathrom is quite special if engaged in combat.



Malathrom melees for average damage, and casts a Shadow Word: Pain spell. However, his special ability is to summon two small minions with the models of bog beasts. These two minions are named Sloth and Sludge, and will apply a debuff that slows the opponent down. Despite their plant elemental looks, they are classified as undead (something very rare for the elemental models and shared only with creatures like Loatheb). If the battle continues, Malathrom will keep summoning new minions with no limit. While they can be quickly killed, doing so regularily is important so as to avoid being swamped in adds.

(I apologize for not having any pictures of Malathrom's adds here. All screenshots I tried to take of them were very messy, since he only summons them in combat. Consult wowwiki for more information)

Looting Lord Malathrom

When defeated, Malathrom has two unique drops. As usual, he will only drop one of them per kill (at least as far as I know). One drop is a rather terrible caster cloak, but the other is quite interesting. It is an item called the Spiked Collar, a consumable which summons a felhunter to protect you for one hour! This creature has no special abilities and is constantly aggressive towards mobs, so take great care. However, for roleplaying it can be a fun effect, and well worth finding the item for (Keep in mind the item is Unique, and you can thus only carry one at a time).



Now, there is some evidence in the lore for "ghoul lords", more powerful ghouls which may have spellcasting ability and retain shreds of their former personality. One such creature was Horgus the Ravager, a very powerful ghoul which served the Lich King in his annihilation of the small town of Darrowshire. I do not know if Malathrom became a "lord" after his death, or if he was a nobleman interred in the cemetery before being raised as a ghoul. I would tend to believe the latter is true, and that the hapless Malathrom was a Darkshire resident before his death, possibly even a warlock or shadow priest given his drops and abilities. It seems likely that he serves Morbent Fel as a lieutenant of the undead of the area now, regardless.



With a combination of interesting abilities and a very cool drop, Malathrom is a very neat low-level rare. He is well worth seeking out!

Until next time, don't let the Scourge control you.

~Dragonshade

Micro-lore: Varo'then's ghost

One of the coolest forms of rarespawn is the one connected to lore. These are the creatures you can find legends about, get unique items from and which tie in with the Warcraft Universe as a whole. Sometimes it is a big story, sometimes it's a small one. Sometimes it is a reference that you will not get until you look beyond the game itself. In this article, we explore the lore of such a rarespawn.

This post is about Varo'then's Ghost.



The basics

Varo'then's ghost is a rare mob ghost found in Azshara on Kalimdor.



This undead spirit is found around the Shadowsong Shrine in the very western-most part of Azshara. He can be found in a few different locations, sometimes up on the ruined temple on the small hill, sometimes down among the fallen masonry. The area is very easy to reach from either the horde or the alliance flight point, and once there Varo'then's Ghost can be recognized from a distance as the only blue/clear colored ghost among the many green ones. He patrols quite a distance, so some quick searching may be required.



In combat, Varo'then's Ghost is pitiful. He casts a feeble curse of weakness and simply wades in to attack, being easily dispatched by any class. He also provides no specific drop, nor does he have any quotes. Indeed, to find the truth about him we must turn to the world of books...

What's his story?

As many of you may be aware, Azshara was once a central area of Old Kalimdor, one of the prime seats of the Highborne kaldorei. Before the land was shattered by the Sundering, this was the site of many ancient cities and strongholds, which is why the land is now pocked by ruins and haunted by highborne spirits.



One of the most faithful servants of Queen Azshara, ruler of the Highborne, was none other than captain Varo'then. He had risen to power after the fall of Xavius to become captain of the royal guard and personal envoy of the queen. Together with Illidan Stormrage he participated in the mission to retrieve the legendary Demon Soul, returning it to Azshara.



In the final battles between the queen's forces and the kaldorei rebelling against her mad schemes, Varo'then stood by his queen, leading her elite forces. Loyal to the end, he perished in the battle, as did most of his soldiers. In truth, he secretly loved Azshara, and was willing to sacrifice anything for her, even his life. These events are chronicled in the War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard A Knaak.



Despite the controversy surrounding Knaak's Warcraft fiction, quite a few of his creations have managed to enter World of Warcraft itself. Varo'then is one of them. Alas for the loyal captain, wheras his queen and his contemporary Illidan have gone on to become creatures of terrifying power in the game, Varo'then is almost nothing. Reduced to a ragged spirit, wandering the ruins of the world he knew, there is no solace for him for his betrayal. Not even in death.



With the Cataclysm coming to reshape the world once again, and Azshara being changed fundamentally, it seems that Varo'then may vanish from the game as well. He will leave behind little but a name, and a memory. Seek him out while you still can.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

We hunger for flesh! : Rot Hide Bruiser

Gnolls are another of those minor sentient races of the Warcraft setting that just never seem to get their own storyline or a big feature. When the biggest claim to fame for your entire race is a rather vicious level 11 quest mob who is famous for killing newbies... you just don't have too much to brag about. Gnolls are almost entirely lifted from Dungeons & Dragons, being hyena-like savage scavenger humanoids and that is about it. With no real history and no large context to place them in, gnolls are just kind of "there", monsters to menace the more peaceful races and harass new adventurers.

Today's entry is about one such low-level opponent, the Rot Hide Bruiser.



Undead gnolls in the woods

The Rot Hide Bruiser is a rare mob undead gnoll found on Fenris Isle in Silverpine Forest, in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Found inside Fenris Keep, the Bruiser dwells with a large number of other rot hide gnolls, and can be quite tricky to track down. He can spawn in a number of different locations, seemingly always indoors. However, given the huge number of possible nooks and crannies within the buildings inside the keep, finding him can be a chore. Using /target or some sort of tracking is almost required.



Annoyingly, several times when I located him he was parked facing a wall inside the ruined smithy inside the keep, with a number of other gnolls around him. Since he does not wander, it turned out to be impossible to turn him around for good shots. Fortunately persistence won in the end, and I found him standing in a much better spot inside one of the other buildings. Returning to hunt down a rarespawn twice or even more times just to get good pictures to post is actually something I do a lot, which is why you will sometimes see both night and day pictures within the same post.

The Bruiser's tale

Now, most rarespawns in World of Warcraft have a name. They are almost always named mobs, whether it is a given name or a title. Some unfortunate rare mobs don't have names, though, only being referred to by a rough description.



As such, the Bruiser is just that. An undead gnoll bruiser. The rot hide gnolls succumbed to the plague when the Scourge swept through Lordaeron during the Third War. Afterwards, the sorcerer Thule Ravenclaw, who had sworn his soul to the Lich King, became their ruler in undeath. Betraying all former bonds of friendship and loyalty, this hateful magus now rules Fenris Isle from the keep, guarded by a large number of rot hide guards. In all likelyhood, the Bruiser was just an unusually brawny gnoll who was thus reanimated as a warrior thrall of Ravenclaw.



While a rather unremarkable rare mob, the Bruiser does have a few things that make it stand out. First off, it is about six levels stronger than the rest of the mobs on the island. While not an elite, this makes him a rather frightening prospect for characters around level 16 visiting the island for quests. Secondly, he has not one but two unique BoE drops, a club and a belt. The club is not the same model as the bruiser wields (he goes with the more traditional board with a nail in it) but it is at least close enough.



Finally, as there is not much to say about the mob itself, a few words of opinion. The gnoll model is, quite frankly, terrible. While it looks very much like the Warcraft III rendition of gnolls, compared to the smoother and more detailed graphics of WoW it looks angular, undetailed and unappealing. The blocky feet and legs, the lack of detail on arms and hands... I believe this is the reason that gnolls have never been featured much except in starter zones and as odd NPC's. If any race desperately needs a model overhaul, gnolls would be my first pick.

Until next time, don't let the undead gnolls bite.
~Dragonshade

In the ruins: Lady Moongazer

By the light of the sun
Failing children of the blood
They are breaking through
O' children of the blood

- Lament of the Highborne

From the journal of Melisandra of Ashenvale:

Once upon a time, in ages long past, Azeroth was dominated by one giant continent. Old Kalimdor was a vast land, covered in primal forests and stunning plains, where the ancient Kaldorei built their civilization. But due to the arrogance and madness of Queen Azshara and the ruling nobles (who dubbed themselves the "highborne" to show their self-proclaimed superiority), that world ended with the Sundering. Yet many traces of the Highborne still linger in today's world. And sometimes the ghosts of the past still haunt the land.

This entry concerns Lady Moongazer.



The haunted land

Lady Moongazer can be found in Darkshore, in Kalimdor.



This ghostly woman can be found wandering the ruined town of Ameth'Aran. She will often be found at the back of the ruins, away from the road, among the many highborne ghosts of the area. Unlike the other spirits of the ruins, Lady Moongazer and Anaya Dawnrunner appear mostly as they did in life, albeit translucent and ghostly.



Although the two often wander close together, you can easily tell Lady Moongazer from Anaya even at a glance. Moongazer is hostile, whereas Anaya is neutral and will not attack unless attacked first. Moongazer has a long-sleeved dress with large black fields, whereas Anaya has a sleeveless dress with orange fields. Anaya is also barefoot.

The Lay of Ameth'Aran

When the world was torn asunder, the town of Ameth'Aran was one of the casualties. Many of its inhabintants perished and now haunt the ruins, even ten thousand years later. Lady Moongazer is most likely such a Highborne spirit, still restless after all these years. The fact that she carries the title "lady" (as I said earlier, many of the races spawned of the Highborne have a fondness for noble titles) seems to further corroborate this.



In life, I believe Moongazer was a huntress either for sport or for a living. Why? Well, her spirit does not simply rush into melee as many of the other spirits in the area do. Instead she nets you to the ground and proceeds to pepper you with arrows from afar. If you are not ready for this take care, especially if pursuit will result in more restless ghosts joining the fight.



Likely Lady Moongazer perished like most of the people of Ameth'Aran when their city was cast into ruins. Was she a supporter of Azshara, or did she oppose the schemes of the queen? We'll probably never know. I would believe that Moongazer had an unusually strong will, or something that anchors her to the world, only to explain why she hasn't lost her identity the way most of the undead of the area have.



Did she know Anaya? Were they friends, enemies? So many lives, so many stories wiped out at once. We know only her name, and that she haunts the place where she once lived. Not even her possessions give us any clues, as they are just generic items of little value.

Should you visit Ameth'Aran during your travels, take a moment to remember the Highborne, not as the vengeful spirits of terrible villains of legend... but as people. People who once, like us, lived, and laughed and cried. Now they are nothing but names.

Names and shadows.

Melisandra

((OOC ramble: This entry is me trying something different. As I was writing this I realized I was slipping into a more in-character type entry at several points. Now, some of you have suggested I try to put a little fiction into this journal, and this is my attempt at providing you with an entry that is both informative and a bit fictionalized. Did I succeed? I don't know, you tell me.

Not every entry will be like this, probably not even that many of them. It's an experiment, and we'll see if it pans out.

Until next time.
~Dragonshade ))