History

The Scourge

The Scourge is the undead army of the Lich King, created to wipe out life in Azeroth ahead of the Burning Legion. It destroyed the human kingdom of Lordaeron in the Third War, and in Classic it still holds the Plaguelands, Stratholme, Scholomance and the floating necropolis of Naxxramas. Fighting the Scourge is the main storyline of Classic's level 50 to 60 content in the Eastern Kingdoms, and the subject of the game's last raid.

The Scourge assembled © Blizzard Entertainment

Type	Undead army
Master	The Lich King (Ner'zhul)
Commanders	Kel'Thuzad, Arthas Menethil
Classic strongholds	Stratholme, Scholomance, Naxxramas
Enemies	Argent Dawn, Scarlet Crusade, The Forsaken

Origins

After Ner'zhul failed the Burning Legion on Draenor, the demon lord Kil'jaeden tore his spirit from his body and sealed it in a block of ice, the Frozen Throne, atop Icecrown Glacier in Northrend. Ner'zhul became the Lich King, a being with telepathic command over the undead he raised. His first conquest was the spider kingdom of Azjol-Nerub in Northrend, whose nerubians became part of his army.

To reach Lordaeron, the Lich King recruited Kel'Thuzad, an archmage of Dalaran. Kel'Thuzad founded the Cult of the Damned, which spread a plague through tainted grain. Anyone who died of the plague rose as a mindless undead servant of the Scourge.

The Scourge in the Third War

The plague swept across northern Lordaeron. Prince Arthas Menethil, hunting the source, took up the cursed runeblade Frostmourne in Northrend and became the Lich King's champion. He killed his father, turned the capital into a Scourge base and raised Kel'Thuzad again as a lich. The Scourge then destroyed Quel'Thalas and helped the demon Archimonde sack Dalaran.

After Archimonde fell at Mount Hyjal, the Lich King's power weakened. Many undead regained their free will, and Sylvanas Windrunner led them away as The Forsaken. Arthas returned to Northrend to defend the Frozen Throne, and in The Frozen Throne (2003) he merged with Ner'zhul to become the new Lich King. Kel'Thuzad was left in charge of the Scourge in Lordaeron.

The Scourge in Classic

Tirisfal Glades

Undead player characters begin as former Scourge. In Rude Awakening, they wake in the crypts of Deathknell, freed from the Lich King's control, and the Forsaken teach them to fight the Scourge that still roams Tirisfal Glades.

The Plaguelands

The Western Plaguelands and Eastern Plaguelands are Scourge territory. Key places and quests:

The plague cauldrons. In The Scourge Cauldrons, Shadow Priestess Vandis explains that eight cauldrons "spew poisons into the air, propagating the plague throughout the land." Players visit sites like the Felstone Field and Dalson's Tears.
Andorhal. The Alliance and Horde both try to retake the ruined town (Ruins of Andorhal) from the Scourge in quests like Clear the Way.
Light's Hope Chapel. The Argent Dawn base at Light's Hope Chapel is the center of the anti-Scourge campaign. Its leaders, including Lord Maxwell Tyrosus, buy Scourgestones such as the [Minion's Scourgestone], [Invader's Scourgestone] and [Corruptor's Scourgestone] in exchange for the Argent Dawn's favor.
Plaguewood. The cursed forest of Plaguewood surrounds the approach to Stratholme.

The Naxxramas loading screen © Blizzard Entertainment

Dungeons

Three Classic dungeons belong to the Scourge:

Razorfen Downs in The Barrens. The lich Amnennar the Coldbringer has turned the quilboar to the Scourge. In Bring the End, players learn that he has "a direct telepathic link to Ner'zhul."
Scholomance, under the island of Caer Darrow in Western Plaguelands, is the Cult of the Damned's school of necromancy, run by Darkmaster Gandling. Ras Frostwhisper is the target of a long chain that runs through The Dying, Ras Frostwhisper and ends with The Lich, Ras Frostwhisper.
Stratholme is split between the Scarlet Crusade and the Scourge. The Scourge side is led by Baron Rivendare (Baron Rivendare), with lieutenants such as Nerub'enkan, a nerubian, and Ramstein the Gorger.

Naxxramas and the Scourge Invasion

Patch 1.11, released in June 2006, brought the Scourge to its peak in Classic. Naxxramas, Kel'Thuzad's flying necropolis, appeared over the Eastern Plaguelands as a 40-player raid. Its bosses include [[forever:npc:16028]], [[forever:npc:15956]] and the death knight [[forever:npc:16062]], the risen form of Alexandros Mograine. [[forever:npc:15990]] waits in the final chamber. In [[forever:quest:9033]], the Argent Dawn notes it has been "five years since the last war" and the Lich King "stirs once more."

The same patch added the Scourge Invasion world event. [[forever:npc:16401]] floated over zones across both continents, and players fought undead around them for [[forever:item:22484]], which the Argent Dawn traded for gear. Attunement to the raid itself came through [[forever:quest:9121]] at Light's Hope Chapel.

A necropolis during the Scourge Invasion © Blizzard Entertainment

Later history and retcons

Wrath of the Lich King (2008) took players to Northrend to fight the Lich King at Icecrown Citadel. Naxxramas was moved to Northrend and reworked as a 10- and 25-player raid.
After Arthas's death, Bolvar Fordragon took the Lich King's crown to keep the Scourge under control.
Shadowlands (2020) revealed that the Lich King's helm was made in the afterlife by the Jailer, recasting the origins of the Scourge.

For Classic players, the Scourge remains Kel'Thuzad's army in Lordaeron, and Naxxramas is its last stronghold.