Undercity

The Undercity, now known as the Ruins of Undercity, was the capital city of the Forsaken undead of the Horde. Its ruins are located right under the Ruins of Lordaeron in Tirisfal Glades, at the northwestern edge of the continent of Lordaeron.

Far beneath the ruined Capital City of the kingdom of Lordaeron, its royal crypts were turned into a bastion of evil and undeath. Originally intended by Prince Arthas to be the Scourge's seat of power, the budding "Undercity" was abandoned when Arthas was recalled to aid the Lich King in the distant Northrend. In Arthas's absence, the Dark Lady, Sylvanas Windrunner, led the rebel Forsaken to the Undercity, and claimed it for her own. Since taking up residence, the Forsaken worked to complete the Undercity's construction by dredging the twisted maze of catacombs, tombs, and dungeons that Arthas began. The Undercity is much more defensible than the city above it.

It was plagued during the Battle for Lordaeron.

History
The Undercity was so named many years before the Forsaken claimed it as their own. Far beneath the palace of Lordaeron, the Undercity held the ancient crypts and catacombs of Lordaeron's royalty, as well as the city's dungeons and sewers. Although the Undercity was only intended for prisoners and the dead, the poorest of the Lordaeron people lived within. Now and then the guards would go down and make a sweep of the place in a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to clean it out. When the Alliance of Lordaeron captured Orgrim Doomhammer, they sent him to the Undercity; sometime later he managed to escape and wandered for many years afterwards.

Legacy of the Damned
Lordaeron's Capital City stood for centuries, a monument to humanity's might. In the Third War, Prince Arthas slew his father, King Terenas, in Lordaeron's throne room and ransacked the city.

During the Third War, the once-glorious capital of Lordaeron, Capital City, was decimated by a Scourge army under the command of Prince Arthas Menethil. When the undead continued their campaign against the living throughout the continent, only a small contingent of Arthas’ forces were left behind to carve out a new “Undercity” beneath the ruined capital.

After the Burning Legion's defeat at the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Arthas Menethil returned to his ruined kingdom of Lordaeron to rule over his undead subjects, annihilate the last pockets of human resistance, and oust the remaining dreadlords who were unaware of the Burning Legion's defeat. However, the Lich King's powers began to wane and demanded Arthas travel to Icecrown Citadel to defend it from Illidan Stormrage's Forces. With the Lich King's control over the undead faltering, one group of undead broke away from the Scourge and freed themselves of the Lich King's domination. Among them was Sylvanas Windrunner who plotted with the Dreadlord Insurgents to destroy Arthas. Sylvanas rallied the free-willed undead and lured Arthas into a trap, but Arthas was rescued by Kel'Thuzad. Arthas fled to Northrend to defend the Frozen Throne and eventually ascend as the Lich King, leaving the Dreadlord Insurgents, Sylvanas' Forces and the Alliance resistance to vie for the lands of Lordaeron in a Plaguelands civil war. Ultimately Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) emerged victorious and claimed the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Constructing their own bastion, far beneath the wrecked city, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land. Over time the Forsaken began to fight a constant battle not only to retain their freedom from the Scourge, but also to exterminate those who would hunt them as monsters.

World of Warcraft
Far beneath the ruined capital city of Lordaeron, the royal crypts have been turned into a bastion of evil and undeath. Arthas originally intended the Undercity to be the Scourge's seat of power, but the budding city was abandoned when he was recalled to aid the Lich King in distant Northrend. In Arthas' absence, the Dark Lady, Sylvanas Windrunner, led the rebel Forsaken to the Undercity and claimed it for her own. Since taking up residence, the Forsaken have worked to complete the Undercity's construction by dredging out the twisted maze of catacombs, tombs, and dungeons that Arthas began.

Wrath of the Lich King
While the forces of the Horde and the Alliance were concentrated on a joint effort at Angrathar the Wrathgate, an uprising broke out within the Undercity. Demons of the Burning Legion and Forsaken rebels led by the dreadlord Varimathras and Grand Apothecary Putress managed to take control of the Undercity, killing several Forsaken and nearly killing the Dark Lady as well. In response the Horde led by Sylvanas Windrunner and Warchief Thrall attacked from the front entrance to reclaim the city. While the Alliance led by Varian and Jaina attacked from the Sewers to restore Lordaeron to the Alliance. The ensuing battle ultimately killed both Varimathras and Putress, along with their fellow demons and Forsaken rebels.

With Patch 3.3.0, Thrall sent a legion of Kor'kron Guard led by captain Bragor Bloodfist, who replaced Varimathras, with Kor'kron Overseers replacing the Undercity Guardians, in order to ensure that the events of the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate never occur again.

Some guardians still remain in the Sewers; it's unknown if this is an error or not.

Stormrage
After the death of Arthas, Undercity was attacked by the Emerald Nightmare's mists and shadowy warriors of nightmares. Sylvanas, half of the Forsaken and all Horde representatives were having nightmares. Sharlindra and some Forsaken witnessed Sylvanas' murmur and moments later, shadowy figures attacked Sharlindra and her followers - thus the whole Undercity was enveloped by the Nightmare.

Cataclysm
As the Cataclysm was about to begin, the Undercity felt massive quakes. The upper levels of Lordaeron Keep have been re-designed to accommodate flying.

Warlords of Draenor
All the Kor'kron guards left, making only Bragor, now with the title of Hand of Warchief, being there. Under odd circumstances, the body of Overseer Kraggosh is now found in a cage.

Legion
During the Legion's third invasion, the Undercity's Apothecarium was infiltrated by the Ebon Blade who rescued the captive Koltira.

Before the Storm
After the Argus Campaign, the Desolate Council governed the city in Sylvanas Windrunner's absence. The Desolate Council hosted a remembrance cermony in the Undercity to honor the Forsaken that died during the third invasion of the Burning Legion.

Battle for Azeroth
Prior to the Battle for Lordaeron, Undercity's civilians were evacuated to Orgrimmar while the Gallywix's Boys's Bilgewater Blastmasters loaded the streets with Blight barrels and explosives as they were tasked. In the meantime, the city was infiltrated by the druids of the claw and 7 agents though they were quickly dispatched.

Instead of losing the battle, Sylvanas ordered the explosives to be activated flooding the upper and lower cities with plague, which kills both the living and the dead, making the capital uninhabitable.

The Forsaken civilians that fled to Orgrimmar established camps on top of the Gates of Orgrimmar and inside Orgrimmar's streets.

Geography
The Undercity is an extension of the crypts and dungeons originally beneath Lordaeron's capital city. The Forsaken dredged out complex catacombs and caverns below the Ruins of Lordaeron. The place is dark, smells of corpses and has an evil feel. Spiders, oozes and other subterranean creatures occupy the distant passages. Rivers of poisonous sludge flow through all avenues of the vast Undercity. The toxic fumes and fetid odors permeating every corner of the stronghold have made it a place almost unbearable for the living members of the Horde. Yet for Sylvanas and her cursed followers, the Undercity has become a much-needed refuge in a world where her kind is still feared and hunted. It is drastically different from any of the other capital cities for the Horde. Unlike Thunder Bluff and Orgrimmar, which are at the surface and often the sites of multiple festivals, the Undercity is dark, dreary, and cold. The Forsaken, however, are known for holding two festivals, Hallow's End and Pilgrim's Bounty. The Forsaken chose to manly live below ground, with limited Forsaken activity in the ruins above.

The Undercity has many secret routes used by the Banshee Queen to move about the city in secret. Nathanos Blightcaller suspects that there are a few such passageways kept hidden even from him.

Map and quarters
The city is made up of roughly symmetrical quarters arranged around a circular center.
 * Ruins of Lordaeron - Outdoors area beyond and including the entry area.
 * The Trade Quarter - The city center at the bottom elevator exits.
 * The Magic Quarter - Northeast from the Trade Quarter.
 * The Rogues' Quarter - Southeast from the Trade Quarter.
 * The Apothecarium - Southwest from the Trade Quarter.
 * The War Quarter - Northwest from the Trade Quarter.
 * The Royal Quarter - South from the Apothecarium entrance.
 * The Sewers - Through a tunnel west of city.
 * The Canals - Interspace between the different quarters.

Points of interest

 * The Bank in the very heart of the city, in the middle of the Trade Quarter.
 * The Bat Handler stands in the southwestern part of the Trade Quarter.
 * The City Hall in the northeastern edge of the Trade Quarter.
 * The Auction House is located in the circular area that leads between the Trade Quarter and the rest of the city.
 * The mailbox is located on the north side of the upper rim of the Trade Quarter. Mailboxes are now also located near the auctioneers.

Orb of Translocation
Since the release of The Burning Crusade, players with the expansion are able to access an Orb of Translocation to the Silvermoon City palace, making it easy for anyone to travel between the two cities without having to go through the Plaguelands. The translocator works both ways. The Undercity orb is located in a newly opened city section west off the main part of the Ruins of Lordaeron. The translocator teleports you to the Inner Sanctum of the Sunfury Spire within Silvermoon City.

It cannot be used by the Alliance.

King Terenas' tomb
Although the memorial to King Terenas appears to be a stone tomb, it was shown in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos that after his death, Terenas was. Furthermore, the urn containing his ashes was used to resurrect the Lich Kel'Thuzad. It is unknown what happened to the King's remains after this point. The memorial was crafted by the Alliance humans who once inhabited the old city, who risked everything to ensure that the memory of Lordaeron's last true king would not be forgotten.

The throne room
When you stand in the throne room, at least in the center of the circle on the floor, with the ambient sound turned all the way up, in the background noises you can hear small clips of Arthas, Medivh, and King Terenas. For those who wish to hear this without venturing into the Undercity, the ambient sound file is located at (WoW Directory)\Data\Sound\Ambience\WMOAmbience\UnderCityThorneRoom.wav.

If you look closely on the floor of the throne room, near the foot of the throne, you can see a small trail of blood that was left by the crown as it rolled onto the floor.

By the same token, in the outer hall leading into the throne room, one can hear the celebration of Arthas' return by Lordaeron's citizens. The floor is littered with dead rose petals, the same ones seen showering Arthas during the cutscene in Warcraft III.

When standing by the bell outside of the throne room you can hear it ringing.

Notable characters
From her throne in the Royal Quarter, the banshee queen Lady Sylvanas Windrunner rules with the support of Bragor Bloodfist and the banshee Sharlindra. Other luminaries include Bethor Iceshard, who is a powerful wizard that heads the joint warlock and mage guilds in the Undercity, and Master Apothecary Faranell of the Royal Apothecary Society.

Flight

 * The Sepulcher, Silverpine Forest
 * Forsaken High Command, Silverpine Forest
 * Brill, Tirisfal Glades
 * The Bulwark, Tirisfal Glades
 * Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills
 * Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands
 * Revantusk Village, Hinterlands
 * New Kargath, Badlands
 * Sandy Beach, Shimmering Expanse
 * Light's Hope Chapel

Zeppelin

 * Orgrimmar, Durotar
 * Grom'gol Base Camp, Northern Stranglethorn
 * Vengeance Landing, Howling Fjord

Teleport

 * Silvermoon City, Eversong Woods (Orb of Translocation from the Ruins of Lordaeron)
 * The Dark Portal, Blasted Lands (from the Magic Quarter)

In the RPG
To the southeastern Tirisfal Glades you will find the Forsaken's capital of Undercity. This maze was originally the crypts and dungeons beneath Lordaeron's capital, but the Forsaken have added to their city with tunnels, caverns, structures and the like.

The city is protected by 13 mysterious black iron golems, metal juggernauts of unknown origin.

History
Lordaeron's capital city stood for centuries, a monument to humanity's might. In the Third War, Prince Arthas slew his father King Terenas in Lordaeron's throne room and ransacked the city. He planned to use Lordaeron as his capital on this continent and ordered his minions to expand the catacombs beneath the city. Then the Lich King summoned Arthas to Northrend and the work was left uncompleted.

During Arthas' exodus, Sylvanas Windrunner broke free of the Lich King's control and took many banshees and other undead with her. With Varimathras' assistance she defeated the dreadlords that controlled the city and set her newly dubbed Forsaken to finish Arthas' job in the dungeons. The Forsaken carved Undercity and now rule the surrounding countryside.

Warchief Thrall and Cairne Bloodhoof sent Ambassador Galavosh, a mighty shaman, to Undercity to keep an eye on the Forsaken and make sure they are honest about their intention to dismiss their evil tendencies. He is investigating the the Royal Apothecary Society who are based in the Apothecarium. They mess around with potions, venoms, diseases and other alchemy. Their leader, Master Apothecary Faranell, sends many Forsaken out on missions to gather strange objects that must be ingredients for something.

Sylvanas Windrunner, once the elven ranger captain of Quel'Thalas, claims to drive the Forsaken to defeat the Scourge and establish their own place on Azeroth, but what that place may be, and whether or not it includes living beings is not known. Varimathras serves as Sylvanas' lieutenant and closest advisor. Formerly one of Sylvanas' greatest enemies, Varimathras betrayed the Scourge and the Burning Legion and defected to Sylvanas' side. He is in charge of Undercity's defense, and his forces range across Tirisfal, eliminating all those they see as a threat. The dreadlord is tasked with eradicating the Scarlet Crusade, a fanatical group of humans who seek to destroy all undead.

Geography
Undercity is an extension of the crypts and dungeons originally beneath Lordaeron's capital city. The Forsaken dredged out complex catacombs and caverns. The place is dark, smells like dead people and has an evil feel. Spiders, oozes and other subterranean creatures occupy the distant passages. You could wander for weeks in Undercity and never see everything.

Notes and trivia

 * The Undercity was infiltrated by 7 - Renzik "The Shiv" who then provided sketches of the city and the Royal Quarter to his organization; as well as their leader Mathias Shaw who entered through the throne room.
 * A tentacule monster lived in the Undercity moat, fed by the Forsaken to defend it.
 * Clayton Backston had a garden in the Undercity.
 * There are two zeppelin towers within fairly short walking distance of the Ruins of Lordaeron, one offers flights to Orgrimmar, Durotar and Grom'Gol Base Camp in Northern Stranglethorn, the other to Vengeance Landing in the Howling Fjord in Northrend.
 * Do not worry about falling into the green liquid; it is harmless, and you may get out of it by finding a sewer pipe exit (exterior of the Undercity) or a small stairway (interior of the Undercity). You can even fish on it, but you won't catch anything magnificent...
 * The Undercity doesn't have a fruit vendor.
 * Using Detect Invisibility or a similar ability within the Ruins of Lordaeron (within the walls but before entering the throne room), it is possible to see low-level undead mobs (each named "Lordaeron Citizen"), similar to the Unseen in Duskwood.
 * Though from the outside players see many towers and rooftops, they were originally, in fact, nothing more than an illusion. The former Lordaeron capital was sparsely decorated in-game with only the courtyard, translocater room and tomb being an actual part of the former structure. The game designers did not intend for anyone to see Lordaeron from above, or get to other parts, just to walk through it. This was changed in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and the ruins of Lordaeron are now fully built.
 * Balconies above the inner circle parts of the War Quarter, Mage Quarter, Rogues' Quarter, and Apothecarium can be seen while flying in and out of the city by taxi. These empty balconies, aside from a single food crate, are on the same level as the Trade Quarter and are connected by footbridges that span above the corridors leading to and from the Trade Quarter and the outer quarters. These balconies and their connecting bridges can actually be seen on the map of Undercity. They cannot be reached on foot, but a mage can use Slow Fall (ability), a priest can use Levitate, and an Engineer can use a Parachute Cloak to reach these balconies. From the top of the sewer tunnel where vampire bats pass, a player can activate either any one of these, mount up, run and jump, aiming to the left of the tunnel, to land on the balconies above the War Quarter. Video of how to reach them.
 * There are portions of the Undercity where effects from Warcraft III were deliberately inserted into the game as ambient sounds. These areas are the throne room, the hallway directly outside of it, and even the bell tower located just at its entrance. Near the bell, you will hear the churchbells ringing when Arthas returns to Lordaeron before he becomes a death knight.
 * In the hall before the throne room, there are still scattered rose petals on the cobblestones from Arthas' return. In the throne room itself, a slight trail of blood &mdash; from when Terenas' crown rolled on the floor after Arthas murdered him &mdash; can be seen near the throne. What is most chilling is that the room echoes with Arthas' own voice saying the words, "Succeeding you, father," his words before he murdered his own father.
 * On the in-game map of the Undercity, the emblem of the Scourge is used instead of the regular Forsaken emblem.
 * Sylvanas Windrunner seems to find the Undercity appealing to the eye, in spite of its rotting guards, necromantic constructs and mysterious green fluids. When she, Thrall and the player invaded the Undercity during the struggle to retake it, she exclaimed, "What have they done to my beautiful city?"
 * At one time there was a glitch in the game, so that a character running towards the opposing wall of a descending elevator would fall through the world, into Stonetalon Mountains, and then the Alterac Mountains. This may suggest that Blizzard used a vertical system for zone placement in addition to the existing horizontal one, creating another reason for not allowing flying mounts in classic content.
 * Guards spawned from civilians are only level 65.
 * A tauren riding on a kodo mount has to dismount to enter the elevators through the throne room.
 * Report from the Frontlines: Undercity, a book found in Acherus: The Ebon Hold, reveals that the Undercity at one point had Scourge infiltrators within the city walls.
 * The orcish guards who temporarily replaced most of the Forsaken guards and Abominations inside Undercity also had their own flavor of text responses when players interacted with them when finding out something like class or profession trainers. They had distinct reservations about Undercity, from its inn to its cooking, and sometimes had hostile responses, particularly for players wishing to find the warlock trainer.
 * The Undercity was originally called "Necropolis" in early concept maps for World of Warcraft. The quest Delivery to Silverpine Forest mentions a Necropolis while talking about Undercity, which may be a remnant of the alpha stage considering the ID of the quest. Before the Storm refers to the Undercity as a "subterranean necropolis".
 * The city's layout may be a remnant of this, as its circular design with four distinct quadrants is very reminiscent of the necropoli Naxxramas and Acherus.
 * It took several months for Jose Aello Jr. and Dana Jan to create the Undercity during the development of WoW. According to John Staats, Chris Metzen wanted the Undercity to just be a disheveled, wrecked, and ugly-looking city where everything was split up, while the artists wanted more of a habitable hub as opposed to a randomized maze (partially because many of the artists had nightmares from a city in the Diablo universe where the player had to run everywhere to get to all of the NPCs they needed to talk to). Eventually, the level designers won out on that argument.