Borean Tundra

The Borean Tundra (pronounced BOHR-ian, not boh-REHH-an) is located in the far southwestern edge of Northrend, and is the home of the tuskarr and blue dragons. The Undead Scourge and the naga also inhabit the region. Important landmarks include the tuskarr capital of Kaskala and the Riplash Ruins. Coldarra is an island just off the western coast. Kaskala is currently under siege and the tuskarr have moved to Unu'pe.

The Borean Tundra contains bases of both the Alliance and the Horde, and does not have an emphasis for a specific faction. Warsong Hold has a zeppelin tower connecting it to Durotar, and Valiance Keep has a dock connecting it to Stormwind City. There is also a port between the Tundra and Howling Fjord that uses a giant turtle with a deck on its back as a quick means to travel between the two starting regions of the continent. There is a murloc town that may be used after some quests for D.E.H.T.A.. The murlocs can actually talk and repair your equipment. They also have quests against an infected camp across the cove.

History
During the war against the Lich King, the Horde established the settlement of Warsong Hold under the command of the Mag'hari son of Grom, Garrosh Hellscream. The Horde has created a pact with the local and culturally similar tuskarr, who are under siege from naga based at the Riplash Ruins. These naga intend to use their generators to melt the surrounding ice caps, though these plans have been thrown off course by their defeat by the Kvaldir, a clan of Vrykul which are also raiding the tuskarr. Garrosh and his forces have also discovered the enigmatic taunka, an ancient offshoot of the tauren race thought to be lost forever.

Geography
The Borean Tundra is wide, flat, and cold. The landscape varies greatly. Hard but farmable soil in the south lead to nourishing steam pools in the middle. Along the west edge, nasty cliffs rise up and then shear off into the Westrift. The north is home to grasslands and an area of steep hills. The east is snow-covered and the most brutal this area has to offer. A river separates the Borean Tundra from the Dragonblight.

To the northwest, one can see the high plateau island of Coldarra. It is high enough to be blanketed in snow year round. Lately, rumblings have shaken the earth around the lone island. Geologists are concerned with the appearance of rifts in the crust and worry that a massive earthquake could tear Coldarra apart. This would have massive repercussions on the stability of Borean Tundra and possibly Northrend itself.

Travel hubs



 * Flight paths from Fizzcrank Airstrip
 * Star's Rest, Dragonblight
 * Valiance Keep, Borean Tundra
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * Nesingwary Base Camp, Sholazar Basin
 * River's Heart, Sholazar Basin
 * Unu'pe, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths and boats from Valiance Keep
 * Fizzcrank Airstrip, Borean Tundra
 * Stars' Rest, Dragonblight
 * Stormwind City, Elwynn Forest (steam boat)
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * Transitus Shield, Borean Tundra
 * Unu'pe, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths from Bor'gorok Outpost
 * Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * Nesingwary Base Camp, Sholazar Basin
 * River's Heart, Sholazar Basin


 * Flight paths from Taunka'le Village
 * Agmar's Hammer, Dragonblight
 * Bor'gorok Outpost, Borean Tundra
 * Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * Unu'pe, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths and zeppelins from Warsong Hold
 * Agmar's Hammer, Dragonblight
 * Bor'gorok Outpost, Borean Tundra
 * Orgrimmar, Durotar(zeppelin)
 * Taunka'le Village, Borean Tundra
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * Transitus Shield, Borean Tundra
 * Unu'pe, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths from Amber Ledge
 * Fizzcrank Airstrip, Borean Tundra
 * Valiance Keep, Borean Tundra
 * Bor'gorok Outpost, Borean Tundra
 * Taunka'le Village, Borean Tundra
 * Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra
 * Transitus Shield, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths from Transitus Shield
 * Valiance Keep, Borean Tundra
 * Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra
 * Amber Ledge, Borean Tundra
 * You must discover Amber Ledge before Transitus Shield connects to either Valiance Keep or Warsong Hold.


 * Flight paths and boats from Unu'pe
 * Fizzcrank Airstrip, Borean Tundra
 * Valiance Keep, Borean Tundra
 * Taunka'le Village, Borean Tundra
 * Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra
 * Moa'ki Harbor, Dragonblight (turtle boat)

Horde

 * Garrosh Hellscream - Warsong Hold
 * Varok Saurfang - Warsong Hold

Alliance

 * Thassarian - The Wailing Ziggurat
 * General Arlos - Valiance Keep

Quests


The major questlines explore a variety of conflicts across the zone. The native tuskarr and taunka are being uprooted from their villages by the Kvaldir. Multiple sinkholes are disgorging crypt fiends around the recently established fortifications of Warsong Hold and Valiance Keep. Territorial aggression is being observed in the Magmothran magnataur. The Fizzcrank gnomes have awakened a flesh-hating terror, fused from abandoned Titan technology.

In the course of battling these threats, Warcraft's player heroes will also uncover a handful of political plots. The first sparks of the wolvar/Oracle conflict are evident as these groups also have their opponents in the Winterfin tribe of murlocs. An organization known as the Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals are conscripting everyone they can, to bring Nesingwary's poachers to justice. The wizards of Dalaran are investigating the kidnapping of magical talent from the areas surrounding the Amber Ledge.

Finally, after these many trials, the player will come to confront the subversive figure known as Prince Valanar, atop the floating necropolis of Naxxanar.

Resources

 * Cloth
 * Frostweave Cloth
 * Herbalism
 * Goldclover
 * Deadnettle
 * Fire Leaf
 * Tiger Lily
 * Skinning
 * Borean Leather
 * Nerubian Chitin
 * Arctic Fur
 * Mining
 * Cobalt Ore

Wild creatures

 * Blue dragonkin
 * Arcane wyrms
 * Rhinos
 * Snobolds
 * Mammoths
 * Magnataurs
 * Gorlocs
 * Makrura
 * Orcas
 * Caribou
 * Hawks
 * Condors
 * Saber Worgs
 * Jormungars
 * Mechano-tanks
 * Crowd pummelers
 * Mechagnomes
 * Alarm-o-bots
 * Skeletons
 * Skeletal warriors
 * Ghouls
 * Abominations
 * Gargoyles
 * Liches
 * Nerubians
 * Nerubian flyers
 * Nerubian spiders
 * Nerubian spiderlord
 * Kvaldir
 * Kvaldir

Rare Elite NPCs associated with the achievement.
 * Fumblub Gearwind
 * Icehorn
 * Old Crystalbark

In the RPG
The Borean Tundra is the longest region in Northrend, running from its southwestern tip up to Lake Wintergrasp. It has a lot of snow and the ground here is more dirt than rock. Small trees and scrub dot the landscape, but everything is still frozen solid. Somehow the tundra avoids most of Northrend's problems. The Scourge rarely comes here, the Drakkari are only a minor nuisance, and even the ice storms are less severe. Perhaps the Borean Tundra owes its fortune to its isolation.

Despite its empty landscape, the Tundra provides opportunities for adventure. It has ruins to explore, a city to approach, hunters to avoid, and a strangely warm basin to examine. Although most of the tundra is empty ice it has several Drakkari camps but none big enough to have names. Nerubians wander about as well, though it seems only small packs of them. Same with the Scourge.

History
Judging by the ruins in the region, nerubians were the first to inhabit it. Some think the Borean Tundra is just a part of Azjol-Nerub that got thrust up from underground unless it was an experiment to see if they could be comfortable living above ground. If the later is the case it must have failed, since it is a ruin. The tuskarr were next and Kaskala's oldest village is at least several centuries old while the rest grew up around it as family members split off to start their own smaller families. The Drakkari are more recent additions to this area and have no fixed settlement. The Scourge rarely appears, and its agents never stay longer than it takes to patrol and look for potential dangers or new recruits.

The Drakkari wander the Tundra in small hunting parties based out of isolated camps. Not long ago a Drakkari warrior named Han'jin allied his camp with three others and they are currently building a more permanent base while inviting other camps to join them. If he keeps the hunters united, Han'jin will become the ruler of a small town, and the Drakkari will become a major threat to the tuskarr and anyone else roaming the Borean Tundra.

People and culture
Tuskarr are the dominant presence in the Borean Tundra although since they keep near their villages, you can go days without seeing another living creature. They are good neighbors and mostly care about fishing, whaling and protecting their villages. Some have seen tuskarr fending off hungry Drakkari, and even fighting a few wayward nerubians, so they are formidable foes; but no one has ever seen them attack anyone without good reason.

Drakkari wander the tundra, but not in any significant numbers, though if all of them got together in one place they would be a problem. Luckily most are content to roam alone or in small packs. They have seen several camps throughout the region. It seems they wandered over from Zul'Drak, through the Dragonblight, and came to the Tundra to hunt. They harass the tuskarr from time to time, but every time the tuskarr gather their forces they send the Drakkari away. An individual Drakkari is probably tougher than a tuskarr, but the tundra has a lot more of the walrus-men.

The Borean Tundra has naga as well, though only near the southern end, in the Riplash Ruins. Sometimes you can see blue dragons who come from the nearby Coldarra, where they live, and fly overhead from time to time. Breathtaking creatures, and surprisingly cordial. There are a few Scourge creatures, but mostly lone scouts straggling over from the lake area.

The Tundra is not an important part of Northrend, at least according to both humans and the Scourge, since it is too isolated and too barren to be desirable and has too much shoreline to be defensible. Tuskarr like it because of that expansive shore, and the Riplash Ruins give the naga a perfect view of anyone approaching across the ocean from the south. Drakkari hunt here because they can and because the tundra provides little cover for wildlife. Most others stay well away, preferring the forested areas to the east.

Geography
The Borean Tundra is wide, flat and cold. A solid sheet of ice covers it, and beneath that is soil frozen rock-hard. Along the western edge the ice rises up into some nasty cliffs, which then shear off into the Westrift. To the north the ice smooths out into one glittering sheet that is glass-slick and leads right to Lake Wintergrasp. The northwest corner, up by the Sholazar Basin, has no ice and only a little snow — a few hardy souls have even set up farms there. The east is also gentler, still snow-covered but less treacherous where it leads down to the ocean.

At its north edge the tundra runs into Lake Wintergrasp, a vast frozen lake that effectively shields it from the Dragonblight and Icecrown Glacier. The only way to reach these areas overland is across the mountains bordering the Dragonblight or through the Sholazar Basin, neither of which are easy for even a seasoned traveler. An army would be suicidal to attempt either.

Not many plants can survive up here. Without any cover the wind is fierce enough to tear flesh, and you can barely hear yourself when you shout. A few trees manage to hang on, evergreens, but the small twisted kind rather than the tall proud ones out east. There some animals roaming the region, mostly wolves, rabbits and foxes or even bears. Most of the life is in the water, though. The tuskarr can point out every kind of whale imaginable and they hunt all of them. They also know about at least twenty different types of fish in the area. If you are handy with a spear and a net you can feed yourself pretty easily along the shore.