Dun Morogh

Dun Morogh is the snow-covered valley region around the dwarven capital of Ironforge, and the starting zone for dwarf and gnome characters. It covers levels 1 to 10, with a few follow-up quests reaching into the low teens. Most Alliance players from the eastern races learned the basics of World of Warcraft here: a cold valley, a crowded inn at Kharanos, and the long road east toward Loch Modan.

Geography

Dun Morogh sits in the mountains of Khaz Modan, the dwarven homeland in the north of the Eastern Kingdoms. The zone is a broad valley ringed by high, impassable peaks. Snow covers nearly all of it, broken by pine forest, frozen lakes and small farms.

• Coldridge Valley, in the southwest, is the closed-off starting area. New characters arrive at Anvilmar, a dwarven hall built into the cliffs, and leave through a tunnel to the main valley.
• Kharanos is the zone's main town, sitting on the road between Coldridge and Ironforge. It has the Thunderbrew Distillery inn, trainers and a mailbox.
• Ironforge itself is carved into the mountain at the north of the zone, reached by a winding road up to its great gates.
• Gnomeregan, the ruined gnome capital, lies in the far west. Its outer works and the Gnomeregan dungeon entrance are reached through a snowy valley full of troggs and irradiated gnomes.
• Brewnall Village, Amberstill Ranch, Helm's Bed Lake and the Gol'Bolar Quarry dot the eastern half of the valley. The road east passes through tunnels to Loch Modan.
• Frostmane Hold, a cave complex in the west, is home to the Frostmane ice trolls.

History

Khaz Modan has been the home of the dwarves for thousands of years. The Bronzebeard clan rules from Ironforge, under King Magni Bronzebeard. The Frostmane trolls are old enemies; they held parts of the valley before the dwarves pushed them back into the western caves.

The gnomes are newcomers to the valley's troubles. Their high-tech city of Gnomeregan stood in the west of Dun Morogh until shortly before the game begins. A race of subterranean troglodytes, the troggs, rose up from below and overran it. To stop them, the gnome leadership flooded the city with radiation on the advice of Mekgineer Thermaplugg. The plan killed most of the gnome population and left the troggs in control. The survivors fled to Ironforge, where they live as refugees in Tinker Town. Thermaplugg stayed behind and now rules the ruins, a story the Gnomeregan dungeon tells in full.

Quests and notable NPCs

Dun Morogh's quests teach movement, combat and travel step by step, and they are grouped around Coldridge Valley, Kharanos and the farmsteads to the east.

Coldridge Valley

New characters begin with Sten Stoutarm at Anvilmar, whose quest Dwarven Outfitters sends them after wolves. A New Threat introduces the Rockjaw troggs who have broken into the valley, and The Troll Cave leads into the Frostmane cave at the north end. The valley ends with The Stolen Journal, in which players kill Grik'nir the Cold, the Frostmane troll leading the cave, and take back a stolen journal.

Kharanos and the valley

Once in Kharanos, the quests branch out:

• Senir Whitebeard sends players into Frostmane Hold with Frostmane Hold, one of the first quests that asks for a cave to be explored.
• The Barleybrew and Thunderbrew brewing families are feuding. In Bitter Rivals, players sneak into the Thunderbrew Distillery cellar to swap a barrel, which means slipping past its guard, Jarven Thunderbrew (Distracting Jarven). Out at Brewnall Village, Rejold Barleybrew wants shimmerweed for The Perfect Stout.
• Pilot Hammerfoot at Steelgrill's Depot starts The Lost Pilot, which leads to A Pilot's Revenge and a fight with Mangeclaw.
• Rudra Amberstill at the ram ranch asks for the fang of Vagash, an elite beast that has been stealing her rams, in Protecting the Herd. Vagash was one of the first named elites many players met.
• Tundra MacGrann sends players into the cave of Old Icebeard, who carried off his winter meat locker, in Tundra MacGrann's Stolen Stash.
• At the Gol'Bolar Quarry, Senator Mehr Stonehallow offers The Public Servant against the Rockjaw Bonesnappers.

Dungeons

Gnomeregan (Gnomeregan) is the zone's dungeon, a level 24 to 34 instance in the ruined gnome capital. Players usually return to it after they have outgrown Dun Morogh. Its final boss is Mekgineer Thermaplugg, the gnome who betrayed his people. Several Gnomeregan quests are given by gnome refugees in Dun Morogh and Ironforge, among them Save Techbot's Brain! and The Grand Betrayal.

Getting there

Dwarves and gnomes start in Coldridge Valley. Other Alliance players can reach Dun Morogh from Stormwind City by the Deeprun Tram, an underground train that arrives in Ironforge. Ironforge has a gryphon master, Gryth Thurden, who flies to the rest of the Alliance network. Travelers on foot can go east into Loch Modan and then north to the Wetlands and the harbor at Menethil.

The zone is far from Horde territory, so Horde visitors are rare outside of raids on Kharanos and the occasional attack on the Ironforge gates.

Sources

• Dun Morogh, Warcraft Wiki
• Gnomeregan, Warcraft Wiki
• Coldridge Valley, Warcraft Wiki