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Revision as of 10:09, 25 October 2006
The tower of Karazhan is an abandoned ancient fortress in an area now known as Deadwind Pass. Its most famous occupant was the Guardian of Tirisfal, the sorcerer Medivh. After Medivh was defeated by the army of Azeroth during the First War, Karazhan has been abandoned...but who knows what secrets Medivh hid in its depths, and what sort of new dangers are hidden in its echoing halls?
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Karazhan- the Tower of Medivh
Inside the Tower
Karazhan Opera House -- Note the Curtains and Pipe Organ.
Summary
- Location: Deadwind Pass
- # of Players: 10
- Level: 70
- Final boss: Prince Malchazzar.
- 10 bosses.
- Nothing is what it seems, much of the tower twists into Netherspace.
- There is a gryphon/wind rider transportation hub at the top of the tower, so you don't have to ascend it every time.
- Opera house - pulling back curtains reveals a randomly chosen boss mob.
- "Bizarre" library which doesn't obey the laws of physics.
- Beneath Karazhan is another tower, a mirror of the one above.
- A very big, scripted instance - Tigole: "You could fit 20 Shadowfang [Keeps] inside of Karazhan =P"
- Can be (eventually) reached using the legendary caster staff Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian.
- A non-winged dungeon.
History
Karazhan is located in Deadwind Pass on the sub-continent of Azeroth. Existing long before Medivh inhabited it, it is unknown who originally built Karazhan or who now reside within its walls.
During the first war the tower was inhabited by Medivh, his cook and butler, and Khadgar. Garona was also known to stay there. Sargeras allowed Medivh to freely explore Karazhan. It is said many strange and disturbing sights roamed the tower, and the butler was known for wearing blinders to avoid seeing them.
Recently, despite Medivh's absence, a new power seems to have made its home in Karazhan. The Black Riders of Deadwind Pass, though rarely seen, have a connection to Karazhan. However, no one knows who their master is. One recent sighting is cause for concern - the Black Riders seek the Scythe of Elune, a powerful artifact with the ability to summon the vile Worgen into this world.
Some have speculated that these Black Riders are in fact the remnants of the original Death Knights created by Gul'dan, and that their master is the ambitious Teron Gorefiend. The fate of these Knights was unknown after the Second War.
Monsters of Karazhan
In the Opera House, you will meet Barnes the Stage Manager on the stage, addressing his ghostly audience. Barnes will then announce the night's presentation. One of three (currently) boss presentations will appear, each based off of famous stories or tales. "Tonight, things are not what they seem, for tonight, your eyes may not be trusted."
- Hood - Starring Attumen the Huntsman and the hungry Wolf himself.
- Oz - Starring Dorathee and her dog Toto, Tinhead, Strawman, the lion Roar, and the evil Crone that tries to stop them on their way home!
- Romulo and Julianne - A tale of forbidden love...
Development
By use of an external map viewer, it is possible to see that although the tower is empty inside, there is a smiley face painted on the ground.
A library within the tower, unknown if it's the Library.
First description from the New York Times:
- Back in the Karazhan design meeting, artists and developers were debating whether the horse heads' eyes should move to follow players exploring the area when Chris Metzen, Blizzard's vice president for creative development, poked his head in.
- For 10 years, Mr. Metzen, 31, has been creating the rich stories and plotlines that have girded Blizzard's success. In his silver-rimmed sunglasses, shorts and boots', he strode to the monitor as the others explained the concept of the horse heads.
- "Well, I'm not so sure it makes sense just because it's a carriage house," Mr. Metzen said. "But check it out: in Warcraft 1 it said that Lothar was part of the Brotherhood of the Horse, and I thought that was kind of lame then, but maybe a horse head will work because of that. Yeah, that's hot."
- Within a few minutes, Mr. Metzen determined that the history and culture of the tower's long-dead inhabitants decreed that the architectural animal motifs progress from horse heads at the tower's base to eagle heads a bit higher, culminating in lion heads at the grand opera house.
- "But don't put these heads all over the place," Mr. Metzen told an artist. "Just sprinkling them in here and there will really sell the history to the players who are paying attention."
Previews
Official Preview
From Karazhan on the Official World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade site:
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<imagelink>http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/new-hp/images/smallcaps/b.gif</imagelink>etween Duskwood and the Swamp of Sorrows lies the desolate region of Deadwind Pass, where jagged, brooding spires of granite loom over petrified, lifeless forests. As its name suggests, it is a land devoid of life. But it was not always so... Medivh, the Last Guardian, made his home in Deadwind, in the bright tower of Karazhan. Though he was the greatest wizard of his day (and humanity's intended custodian) Medivh was secretly possessed by the dark spirit of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. Through Medivh, Sargeras opened the Dark Portal and allowed the orcs to wage war upon the mortal kingdoms of Azeroth. As the war progressed, Medivh fought against Sargeras' control. The raging conflict within him finally drove the wizard irrevocably insane. His childhood friend and the king's lieutenant-at-arms, Anduin Lothar, suspected the mage of treachery. With the aid of Medivh's young apprentice, Khadgar, Lothar stormed Karazhan and killed his one-time comrade. Since that day, a terrible curse has pervaded both the tower and the lands around it - casting a dark pall over Deadwind Pass and the region that is now known as Duskwood In recent years, nobles of Darkshire ventured into Deadwind Pass to investigate the blight that had settled over the region. They entered the dark tower – but never emerged. In fact, witnesses maintain that the dread spirits of the nobles now reside within Karazhan's walls, cursed to revel in the tower's crumbling opera house for eternity. Yet far more perilous spirits reside within Medivh's macabre study, for it was there that demonic entities responded to the deranged wizard's summons. Despite the myriad terrors that lie within, adventurers are still drawn to Karazhan - tempted by rumors of unspeakable secrets that may be found within the tower's arcane libraries. It is said that the vast, magical halls house the powerful spellbooks of Medivh himself. Only one thing is certain when visiting the dreaded tower of Karazhan...you may never find your way out. The decrepit tower of Karazhan once housed one of the greatest powers Azeroth has ever known: the sorcerer Medivh. Within its halls and corridors, he summoned all manner of otherworldly beings, researching magics no other would dare touch. Karazhan now stands abandoned; with its master gone, the monstrous things and untamed powers have grown unchecked, waiting to pounce on whoever is brave or foolish enough to enter its halls. Forge a group of ten stalwart adventurers and journey to the wasted land between Duskwood and the Swamp of Sorrows known as Deadwind Pass, where the mystical tower lies. Only the strongest need apply: only those who have achieved level 70 are skilled enough to face what lies within. Prepare for:
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WoW Guru
- Preview at WoW Guru - not a preview of the tower section, but rather of the expansive crypts underneath. It is unknown whether these will appear in the expansion update - it is possible that they may become part of the instance. The "Upside-Down Sinners" is a particularily intriguing portion of it.
Gamespot
"You'll also be able to further explore the lore of Warcraft with dungeons like the haunted Karazahn Tower, the original home of the sage Medivh (who predicts the disastrous turn of events in the early part of Blizzard's strategy game Warcraft III). The lower levels of the tower are a stables, where ghostly pages groom skeletal horses, though as your party ascends higher and higher, you'll find crazier and crazier sights, like a dilapidated opera house where an audience of ghostly aristocrats awaits the appearance of a random boss monster based loosely on a character from a famous play beneath a Michelangelo-esque fresco ceiling painting of cherubic orcs in clouds." [1]
MMOsite
It is said that this instance contains content that your team would have to play chesses with boss. (there are 27 spells supporting this [2])
"That would be a very cool fight without any doubt, just imagine that you and your teammates playing chess with the boss in an instance, the battle is fierce and cruel while the complexion seems quite still. Sword? Spell? Maybe you will need depending on wisdom more than gears this time." [3]
Info from Tigole
Looking towards the sky.
Additional info posted by Tigole on the official forums:
Karazhan is slated to be a max level, 10 person raid instance in the expansion. Its absolutely massive. Its also non-linear although it does become linear at certain points. There are at least a dozen bosses in there so far. Using the raid saving tech, well be able to make a small raid dungeon (only 10 people) where players can save their progress if they cannot do the whole thing in one night. We're trying to implement ways for them to quickly get back to where they were if theyve already made progress in the dungeon. For example, after you kill certain bosses, you can open a door thats a shortcut from the entrance.
We're going to try to make that [flightpath half ways up the tower] work. There are some tech issues with it but we'll do our best.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-dungeons&t=485094&p=1&tmp=1#post485094