Hello again! Here I'm back with some suggestions and easters ideas for Chapter 04 of the Human campaign, one of the most forgettable missions in the overall campaign which covers of the most crucial parts in Warcraft's history, the death of Kel'thuzad.
1) Andorhal layout and status.
Though the overall design of the mission needs an overhaul in order to be less bland, there is one area I would suggest being extra careful with, and it's the town layout and its surroundings. It's one of the few locations whose layout was used as an inspiration for WoW, and more importantly, whose layout is used again in the Undead campaign during the Digging Up the Dead mission. So if you do decide to touch the map for whatever, just keep the town and it's surroundings layout in mind. To add up to this suggestion, as Andorhal is seen rebuilt later during the Undead campaign, it would be nice if after you defeat the undead base and you confront Kel'thuzad himself some villagers would appear and start "rebuilding" the town and the fires are put down.
2) Commander of the undead base.
One of the most memorable WoW characters is Araj the Summoner, the lich commander of the scourge forces in the Ruins of Andorhal, which used to be a very hard to clear zone in classic, and which finally met his end during Cataclysm. I would suggest making him appear as the commander of the undead base during this mission, even if he is defeated here, the nice thing about liches is that they can come back easily if their philactery is untouched, hence a nice excuse for his later appearance in WoW.
3) Sorrow Hill side quest.
Notoriously, this chapter doesn't have any side quest of note, one of the reasons most people decided to go the easy way and Divine Shield Arthas to rush the mission and go to the next, more enjoyable one. I suggest here adding at least one Side Quest here, one that involves our fellow characters from last mission. It is known in lore that Dargal, one of the dwarves that joined Arthas in Brill, died and is buried on Sorrow Hill, the big cemetery south of Andorhal, and High Priests Thel'danis tends to Uther's Tomb, also located in Sorrow Hill, during WoW, so why not use this as starting point for this quest. First, just before the first wave of Scourge forces arrives, show a brief cutscene with Dargal scouting the area ahead, then, suddenly he is surrounded by ghouls and killed by no other that Araj the Summoner. After the wave is dealt with, the side quest appears: "Optional Quest, Sorrow Hill. Dargal has fallen to the damned Scourge. High Priest Thel'danis suggests giving the brave dwarf a proper burial in the nearby graveyard, Sorrow Hill. Find the cemetery and clear the Scourge forces haunting it." After the quest is done (you could use the spot where the second gold mine is to be the graveyard to make it more rewarding) Thel'danis would turn into a neutral unit "leaving" the party as well and staying in Sorrow Hill, leaving a reward, an item called "Thel'danis' Memento" with the following description: "Thel'danis decided to stay in Sorrow Hill to ensure his fellow friend's rest is not disturbed. He gave Prince Arthas this token of appreciation before leaving.", the item would give some bonus mana regen + the Exorcise active spell.
4) Tichondrius + Scholomance.
One of the few parts notably different between this chapter and the undead campaign portrayal, is the little village south of the broken bridge in Andorhal. On the undead campaign mission this would be the place where Tichoundrius waits for Arthas until he finishes his task while "feasting on souls", literally. In the human chapter there is no little village or its inhabitants, in its place there is a goblin merchant. My propossal here is to "tease" Tichondrius later appearance this way. Make the little village, as it should be there in the first place, and replace the goblin merchant with a Marketplace called "Tichus' Market", with a red team colored villager named "Tichus" beside it, also the villager is classified as "Demon" and invulnerable. This would represent how Tichondrius, in disguise, is watching everything, unknowingly to the prince. To further add the tease, make the store have one odd "Vampiric Potion" in stock. Adding up to the idea one other item the store sells could be called "Ferry ticket to Caer Darrow". Upon being purchased a codex entry would be granted called "Scholomance" and add the description of the secret school of Necromancy in the area.
5) Redpath the Corrupted + Gahrron's Withering.
One recurring storyline in the western and eastern plaguelands during WoW was that of Joseph Redpath and Gahrron's Withering. In the storyline, Joseph Redpath dies by the Scourge hands and is risen in undeath, then arrives to a farm east of Andorhal by the name Gahrron's Quickening and kills the owner's family, who flees and becomes an Argent Dawn soldier, afterwards, Undead Redpath is put down by Alliance forces. My idea here would be to show how this event unfolds as a secret called "Gahrron's Withering". The farm is represented along with its owner Del Gahrron and his wife Gloria and daughter Andrea, when the player finds it the scene plays, a zombie footman called "Redpath the Corrupted" shows up with some ghouls and kills Gloria and Andrea while Del Gahrron manages to flee, then the player should kill Redpath which would give some reward. Del might later show up in Hearthglen in the next mission.
Well, this here are my suggestions. Please tell me what you think of them and discuss!
1) Andorhal layout and status.
Though the overall design of the mission needs an overhaul in order to be less bland, there is one area I would suggest being extra careful with, and it's the town layout and its surroundings. It's one of the few locations whose layout was used as an inspiration for WoW, and more importantly, whose layout is used again in the Undead campaign during the Digging Up the Dead mission. So if you do decide to touch the map for whatever, just keep the town and it's surroundings layout in mind. To add up to this suggestion, as Andorhal is seen rebuilt later during the Undead campaign, it would be nice if after you defeat the undead base and you confront Kel'thuzad himself some villagers would appear and start "rebuilding" the town and the fires are put down.
2) Commander of the undead base.
One of the most memorable WoW characters is Araj the Summoner, the lich commander of the scourge forces in the Ruins of Andorhal, which used to be a very hard to clear zone in classic, and which finally met his end during Cataclysm. I would suggest making him appear as the commander of the undead base during this mission, even if he is defeated here, the nice thing about liches is that they can come back easily if their philactery is untouched, hence a nice excuse for his later appearance in WoW.
3) Sorrow Hill side quest.
Notoriously, this chapter doesn't have any side quest of note, one of the reasons most people decided to go the easy way and Divine Shield Arthas to rush the mission and go to the next, more enjoyable one. I suggest here adding at least one Side Quest here, one that involves our fellow characters from last mission. It is known in lore that Dargal, one of the dwarves that joined Arthas in Brill, died and is buried on Sorrow Hill, the big cemetery south of Andorhal, and High Priests Thel'danis tends to Uther's Tomb, also located in Sorrow Hill, during WoW, so why not use this as starting point for this quest. First, just before the first wave of Scourge forces arrives, show a brief cutscene with Dargal scouting the area ahead, then, suddenly he is surrounded by ghouls and killed by no other that Araj the Summoner. After the wave is dealt with, the side quest appears: "Optional Quest, Sorrow Hill. Dargal has fallen to the damned Scourge. High Priest Thel'danis suggests giving the brave dwarf a proper burial in the nearby graveyard, Sorrow Hill. Find the cemetery and clear the Scourge forces haunting it." After the quest is done (you could use the spot where the second gold mine is to be the graveyard to make it more rewarding) Thel'danis would turn into a neutral unit "leaving" the party as well and staying in Sorrow Hill, leaving a reward, an item called "Thel'danis' Memento" with the following description: "Thel'danis decided to stay in Sorrow Hill to ensure his fellow friend's rest is not disturbed. He gave Prince Arthas this token of appreciation before leaving.", the item would give some bonus mana regen + the Exorcise active spell.
4) Tichondrius + Scholomance.
One of the few parts notably different between this chapter and the undead campaign portrayal, is the little village south of the broken bridge in Andorhal. On the undead campaign mission this would be the place where Tichoundrius waits for Arthas until he finishes his task while "feasting on souls", literally. In the human chapter there is no little village or its inhabitants, in its place there is a goblin merchant. My propossal here is to "tease" Tichondrius later appearance this way. Make the little village, as it should be there in the first place, and replace the goblin merchant with a Marketplace called "Tichus' Market", with a red team colored villager named "Tichus" beside it, also the villager is classified as "Demon" and invulnerable. This would represent how Tichondrius, in disguise, is watching everything, unknowingly to the prince. To further add the tease, make the store have one odd "Vampiric Potion" in stock. Adding up to the idea one other item the store sells could be called "Ferry ticket to Caer Darrow". Upon being purchased a codex entry would be granted called "Scholomance" and add the description of the secret school of Necromancy in the area.
5) Redpath the Corrupted + Gahrron's Withering.
One recurring storyline in the western and eastern plaguelands during WoW was that of Joseph Redpath and Gahrron's Withering. In the storyline, Joseph Redpath dies by the Scourge hands and is risen in undeath, then arrives to a farm east of Andorhal by the name Gahrron's Quickening and kills the owner's family, who flees and becomes an Argent Dawn soldier, afterwards, Undead Redpath is put down by Alliance forces. My idea here would be to show how this event unfolds as a secret called "Gahrron's Withering". The farm is represented along with its owner Del Gahrron and his wife Gloria and daughter Andrea, when the player finds it the scene plays, a zombie footman called "Redpath the Corrupted" shows up with some ghouls and kills Gloria and Andrea while Del Gahrron manages to flee, then the player should kill Redpath which would give some reward. Del might later show up in Hearthglen in the next mission.
Well, this here are my suggestions. Please tell me what you think of them and discuss!