Scholomance (Classic)

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Classic The subject of this article was removed in patch 5.0.4 but remains in World of Warcraft: Classic.
  • This includes items and quests that can no longer be obtained or are now deprecated.
For the lore of the zone and its status after Mists of Pandaria, see Scholomance. For the retail version of this dungeon, see Legacy of Scholomance.
Scholomance
Scholo
Scholomance old loading screen.jpg
Scholomance loading graphic
Location Caer Darrow, Western Plaguelands
Race(s) CultistCultist Cultist
ScourgeScourgeScourgeScourge Scourge
End boss  Darkmaster Gandling
Level 55-60
Player limit 5
Scholomance bosses
The entrance to Scholomance
The banner of Scholomance

The Scholomance (SKOH-loh-mance), a vile academy for prospective necromancers of the Scourge, is located in the ruins of the palatial House of Barov, on a rise overlooking the abandoned city of Caer Darrow. The enemy level range is 57-62.

History

The Scholomance was founded by the rogue wizard Kel'Thuzad. His Cult of the Damned renovated the ancient crypts beneath Caer Darrow (an old Arathorian fortress) and turned them into a school for necromancy. The Cult used this place to train its mortal agents and prepare to unleash the Plague of Undeath upon Lordaeron. It has been brewing with young talented wizards and adepts all this time. No one in Lordaeron knew. Originally, the Barov family owned the land and gave it to the Cult in exchange for the Lich King's blessing of immortality. Now the Barovs remain as undead monsters. One of Kel'Thuzad's mightiest agents, the Ravenian, also lives within the recesses of the school — ever ready to devour those students who show any sign of weakness. The lich Ras Frostwhisper rules over the site and guards it for the Scourge, but the mortal necromancer, Darkmaster Gandling, serves as headmaster of the school, succeeding Araj the Summoner[1] who was headmaster after Kel'Thuzad.

From the World Dungeons page on the official World of Warcraft Community Site:

The Scholomance is housed within a series of crypts that lie beneath the ruined keep of Caer Darrow. Once owned by the noble Barov family, Caer Darrow fell into ruin following the Second War. As the wizard Kel'thuzad enlisted followers for his Cult of the Damned, he would often promise immortality in exchange for serving the Lich King. The Barov family fell to Kel'thuzad's charismatic influence and donated the keep and its crypts to the Scourge. The cultists then killed the Barovs and turned the ancient crypts into a school for necromancy known as the Scholomance. Though Kel'thuzad no longer resides in the crypts, devoted cultists and instructors still remain. The powerful lich, Ras Frostwhisper, rules over the site and guards it in the Scourge's name — while the mortal necromancer, Darkmaster Gandling, serves as the school's insidious headmaster.

Geography

Maps

  • The Reliquary

    The Reliquary

  • Chamber of Summoning

    Chamber of Summoning

  • The Headmaster's Study

    The Headmaster's Study

  • Barov Family Vault

    Barov Family Vault

Sub-regions

Quests

Denizens

Mobs

The Students
Plagued dragons
  • IconSmall WhelpPlague.gif Plagued Hatchlings cast: Diseased Spit (Nature damage and reduces stamina for 30 sec. Stacks)
Mindless Undead
Undead

Bosses and mini-bosses

Loot

Main article: Scholomance loot (Classic)

Achievements

Fast path

Inside the dungeon, immediately jump off the platform (don't kill the Risen Guards!) down to what would be the Lilian Voss encounter in the modern instance.

The Viewing Room Door is locked, so exit west to the unnamed central room and enter the Great Ossuary room to the south. Immediately turn left and jump down the hole to face Rattlegore downstairs and loot the  [Viewing Room Key] from it's corpse. Run back upstairs, run through the unnamed central room, then Voss's room to the east. Use the Viewing Room Key to open the Viewing Room Door.

Inside the Viewing Room, take an immediate left heading east and open the gate to head downstairs to the north to the Headmaster's Study. Enter each of the three rooms on both levels and kill all six minibosses and all their trash mobs to summon Darkmaster Gandling. Note that Doctor Theolen Krastinov has a good chance of dropping the  [Blood of Innocents], which will be necessary for later. Once all six rooms are clear, take Gandling out then return to the Viewing Room.

Check for the Blood of Innocents, and if none of the bosses have dropped it, take the southern exit down to the Laboratory where Ras Frostwhisper awaits. Also defeat Vectus and Marduk Blackpool in the Viewing Room on the way back.

Return through the Viewing Room, Voss's room, and the unnamed central room, then exit that room to the northeast to enter the Chamber of Summoning to the north. Interact with the Brazier of the Herald to summon Kirtonos the Herald. Stay put in the brazier room until Kirtonos flies in, as the gate to the Chamber of Summoning will close just before Kirtonos becomes attackable. Defeat him for the other half of the Leaders of Scholomance achievement, then go east out of the Chamber of Summoning to the Reliquary, and take the steps up on the right side to return to the instance line, defeating the two initial Risen Guards on the way.

Scholomance Faculty

Questionmark-medium.png
This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Difficulty

At release, Scholomance was an extremely challenging dungeon. Though ostensibly tuned for 5-players, it was typically raided in 10-man parties, with a difficulty similar to Upper Blackrock Spire. Subsequent patches in the summer of 2006 changed Scholomance drastically. Mobs were weakened slightly, and a great many were removed. However, Scholomance could no longer be run with more than 5 party members. At the time, this "Scholo Nerf" was a common topic for party chat among long-time players. Loot in Scholomance has changed gradually over time. Originally, each boss dropped some relatively weak loot. The dungeon waned in popularity as players saw little point in running it after they had completed their quests and acquired their Dungeon Set 1 hat. Blizzard again patched the dungeon. At this point, Scholomance drops a moderate amount of fairly useful items, including a very small chance at the epic [Headmaster's Charge] and [Alanna's Embrace]. The rewards available from the Argent Dawn have also broadened through patches. Scholomance is a staple source of Argent Dawn reputation and Scourgestones. Players seeking Argent Dawn tradeskill recipes, resistance enchantments or Armaments of the Dawn often spend a great deal of time in Scholomance or Stratholme.

Notes

  • According to Romanian legend, a real Scholomance exists by an unnamed lake in the mountains south of the city of Hermannstadt (called Sibiu in Romanian) in Transylvania. This school of black magic is said to be run by the Devil, and would accept only ten students at a time. The tenth would remain to serve the Devil as payment for his teachings. The Scholomance in WoW is placed in the middle of the lake, much like its legendary namesake. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Count Dracula is said to have spent several years training under the Devil in the Scholomance. It is referenced in both Stoker's novel and an article titled "Transylvanian Superstitions" on page 136 of The Nineteenth Century by Emily Gerard.
  • It is difficult for a warrior to completely solo this instance without having any special items that inflict non-physical damage. To make Darkmaster Gandling appear, the six rooms around him must be fully cleared. However, the Scholomance Occultists turn into Dark Shades, which are immune to physical damage. Unless a warrior has special items (like  [Stratholme Holy Water]), or Engineering explosives, they will have to be very careful to 1-shot the Occultists otherwise they will not be able to kill these mobs and summon Darkmaster Gandling.
    • If a Dark Shade does appear, there's a way to force it to reset. Go to the Ravenian's room (on the lower level), kill the Ravenian, and jump in the water behind one of the tombs. The shade will be unable to reach you, and will reset (turning back into an Occultist, at its starting location). You don't actually have to one-shot the occultist; if you kill it quickly enough, it won't turn into a shade.
  • Mages looking to solo Scholomance should beware of Risen Aberrations since they are immune to all magic except holy. They can be avoided with careful movement, or the mage can cast [Invisibility] to get out of combat in case he/she accidentally aggros one. Otherwise, it is a good idea to bring along a wand that can do holy damage, such as [Nurturing Touch]. For the same reason, warlocks should have a pet other their imp out, preferably their voidwalker or felguard.
  • Trivia, according to early blue posts: Scholomance was originally thought of as an outdoor non-instanced area, much smaller, where Uther's Tomb is now. The designers made it so visually stunning that it was turned into an instance, so that it could be moved and enlarged.[citation needed] 
  • In Lands of Conflict, Scholomance is said to be below Andorhal, while the narrator was not able to explore Caer Darrow.
  • Non-Boss high elves in the instance still use the old model based off of Night elven models rather then the ones based on Blood elven models.
  • Near Ras Frostwhisper is one of two Alchemy Labs known to exist in Azeroth, the other is in Blackwing Lair. However, for The Burning Crusade players, there are Alchemy Labs in Shattrath City and Sun's Reach.
  • Scholomance was probably the single most efficient pre-TBC instance for farming, with trash runs up to the Great Ossuary taking about 45 minutes for a fast player, and potentially yielding 100-200 gold, depending on which blue items drop. The instance had a very rich loot table for the level range, and individual mobs tended to drop good amounts of both coins and  [Runecloth] as well, which would sell well on the Auction House. In addition, necromancers and dark summoners (as well as a few of the bosses) dropped the prized Dark Runes, which were useful for raiders and could command prices of 15-20 gold each on the Auction House. It was not uncommon for 3-4 to drop during a single run, adding potentially another 80 gold to the instance's yield.
  • In the Mists of Pandaria beta, most bosses received Adventure Guide icons. However, due to the dungeon's overhaul, they were never used.

Patch changes

  • Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Redesigned. Now has a heroic mode for level 90 players.
  • Cataclysm Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Level reduced from 55-60 to 40-43.
  • WoW Icon update.png Patch 1.10.0 (2006-03-28): Capped at five players.
  • WoW Icon update.png Patch 1.6.0 (2005-07-12): Several spawns removed from Scholomance. This should make for a more enjoyable 5 player experience.
  • WoW Icon update.png Patch 1.4.0 (2005-04-19):
    • 20 new Rare items have been added to Scholomance.
    • Several Uncommon items have been upgraded to Rare quality.
    • There is a new load screen for Scholomance.
  • WoW Icon update.png Patch 1.3.0 (2005-03-07):
    • Capped at ten players.
    • Lengthened the respawn time of many of the creatures in Scholomance.
    • Characters dying in the instanced portions of Scholomance will now correctly receive a corpse marker in the minimap and see the message letting them know that they need to enter the instance before they will be able to resurrect.
  • Test-inline.png Patch 0.12 (2004-10-11): Added.

References

 
  1. ^ B [60G] Araj's Scarab

External links

Western Plaguelands is a contested territory
Map of the Western Plaguelands - Cataclysm
Map of the Western Plaguelands - Classic
WoW Icon update.png World of Warcraft dungeons and raids
Eastern Kingdoms
Kalimdor
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