Around Azeroth: A wicked deed in Andorhal
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Apr 9th 2008 at 10:00AM
One of the great shames of the Burning Crusade is that new levelers tend to miss out or skip the Plaguelands. They may be more steeped in lore than any other zone in the game, and with the upcoming release (one hopes) of Wrath of the Lich King, they're certainly the most relevant.
Arhianrod from <Solace> on Ysera sends us this skeletal picture from the Ruins of Andorhal, one of the most painful sites in the game to quest in vanilla WoW. Arhianrod suggests that the adult poisoned the child and then killed herself with a knife to spare them both from the encroaching plague or undead attacks.
Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. Sunshine go away today!
Filed under: Screenshots, Around Azeroth, Galleries
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Todd Apr 9th 2008 10:58AM
I only have been playing for a few months but I recently got to 58 on my first toon a Druid. I went to the outlands to get the fishing training book and oh lordy did I get ganked. Lots of 70's there! I'm going to keep leveling in Azeroth. I haven't even touched Silithus or the plaguelands and only a few quests in Winterspring. I wonder how high I can level only doing the quests in Azeroth. Whats so bad about the plaguelands by the way? Silithus is the area I'm not really looking forward to.
One thing I like is that since everyone seems to be in the Outlands usually these high level places in Azeroth are empty. I wonder if the outlands will become nice and empty once wotlk hits.
Oldbear Apr 9th 2008 11:55AM
I got one character to lvl 67 before I felt the urge to go back to the Outlands (I leaved from 60 to 62 in Outlands). But this was on a PVP server a week after TBC release... old high lvl areas were ghost towns.
Zewt Apr 9th 2008 11:07AM
That is creepy! It's amazing what people notice! I had been playing the game since xmas 2005 and never noticed until fairly recently that there are offering dishes at the base of signposts at crossroads in Ashenvale. Very in keeping with the night elves pagan lunar religion.
Oldbear Apr 9th 2008 11:57AM
Those aren't offering plates - we Horde are just trying to return what bits of Allies we find in our equipment at the end of the day.
Tryst Apr 9th 2008 12:18PM
Now I'm depressed.
Theadrick Apr 9th 2008 12:28PM
Looks like mom was trying to do her kid a favor. Death by poison rather than being torn to pieces by the Scourge. Funny that they themselves weren't raised as undead (mother and child).
s256 Apr 9th 2008 12:29PM
I love the Plaguelands. The towns are just so atmospheric and the quests add such depth. I make it a point to take every toon I level through there.
Makes me wish I was playing while it was top-level material. :(
Sothe Apr 9th 2008 12:36PM
Yes I too also make a point to go there with every char I wver get to that point. I won't touch Outland until I am 60 (Or in my mage's case 61).
The Plaguelands are my favorite zones by far and I does make me sad that so many people skip out on them so they can get to Outland. The undead lore and the chance to see inside Naxx (What is sure to be my favorite raid) Has made me more excited for WOTLK then BC
robotrock Apr 9th 2008 12:51PM
I hated that area but I also don't care about lore. Everything was so brown and bleak. And being a rogue, I hate diseases that prevent me from stealthing!
Ametrine Apr 9th 2008 2:56PM
Creepy as it may be, I love seeing subtle little details like this - it really gives you an idea about how hard the developers worked to make the flavor and lore show up in the game itself.
Xova Apr 11th 2008 5:26PM
I loved questing in the Plaguelands, especially in Eastern Plaguelands. Doing the questline for Pamela the ghost-child was one of my favorite. I loved the little side quests you could pick up from some of the homes and such - like the one for the outhouse key, and finding the letter from the infected troll begging for mercy. It was also cool to run around and suddenly discover I had my very own poltergeist following me around. Definitely my favorite zone for questing. I stayed there until lvl60 before finally heading to Outland to quest a bit.
Phern Apr 9th 2008 7:20PM
I just brought my lvl 59 druid to Western Plaguelands. I was excited to return to this zone after enjoying going through it with my main almost a year ago. I had forgotten a lot of the content, but I remember the overall feel of the story and the connection to the people who used to live here. It's one of my favorite places in Azeroth...I just wish it weren't so orangish-yellowish-brown.
And what's with the fishing level requirement of 330 in Eastern Plaguelands? :)
And to add, I'm in absolutely no hurry to go to Outland. I think I OD'd on all the content...love the gear and the food, but eh, kinda over it.