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HordeGunther Arcanus
Image of Gunther Arcanus
Gender Male
Race(s) Forsaken lich[1][2][3] (Humanoid)
Level 1-30
Class Mage,[4] Necromancer[2]
Reaction Alliance Horde
Affiliation(s) Undercity, Horde
Former affiliation(s) Scourge, Kirin Tor, Magocracy of Dalaran
Location Gunther's Retreat, Tirisfal Glades[68.2, 41.92]VZ-Tirisfal GladesBlip
Status Active

Gunther Arcanus is a powerful Forsaken lich[1][2][3] located at Gunther's Retreat in the Tirisfal Glades.

Biography[]

In life, Gunther was a student of the Kirin Tor of Dalaran, and a friend of Bethor Iceshard and Thule Ravenclaw.[5] The three of them wove their apprentice wands together into a single wand as a symbol of their friendship.[4] Gunther was a skilled necromancer[2] (even though necromancy is illegal among the Kirin Tor).[6]

During the Third War, Gunther and Bethor were killed and raised by the Plague of Undeath[5] while Thule willingly sided with the Scourge.[7] Gunther later broke free of the Lich King's Domination on his own. He believed that he was the only undead with free will and that all others were Scourge slaves, and therefore isolated himself at Gunther's Retreat and had his zombie minions attack anyone who approached him.[2][8]

The Forsaken, unaware of Gunther's identity, wished to recruit the lich for his skill in necromancy. Bethor, now a Forsaken, sent an adventurer to steal the lich's spellbook in order to discern who he was.[2] Realizing that the lich was none other than his old friend from Dalaran, Bethor put an enchantment on the book to show that he, too, was a free-willed undead, then sent the adventurer to give the book back to Gunther.[5] Gunther asked the adventurer to defeat the Scourge agent Lillith Nefara to prove that they were also an enemy of the Lich King.[8] After they did so, he agreed to join the Forsaken and asked the adventurer to deliver a Nether Gem to Bethor so that he could communicate with his old friend.[3]

Quests[]

WoW Icon update The subject of this section was removed from World of Warcraft in patch 4.0.3a but is present in Classic Era.
Removed from game The subject of this section did not make it out of the beta stages of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Notes[]

  • Most liches use their phylacteries to generate a new body that looks completely unlike their mortal body.[9] Gunther is an exception in that he has the appearance of a normal Forsaken.
  • Gunther is mentioned alongside his friends Bethor Iceshard and Thule Ravenclaw in the Dalaran book "Losses of the Third War". The book mentions that Gunther was last in possession of the author's favorite pipe.
  • Despite not being involved in any storyline since his original questline in Classic, Gunther remains standing on his island, unaffected by both Cataclysm and the Battle for Lordaeron. A Cataclysm questline (see above) would've served as an updated version of his original questline, this time with the main obstacle being that Gunther did not want to serve Sylvanas, but the questline did not make it out of the beta.

See also[]

References[]

 
  1. ^ a b H [8] The Prodigal Lich
  2. ^ a b c d e f H [8] The Lich's Identity
  3. ^ a b c H [12] The Prodigal Lich Returns
  4. ^ a b H [18] Wand to Bethor
  5. ^ a b c H [8] Return the Book
  6. ^ The Schools of Arcane Magic - Necromancy
  7. ^ H [16] Thule Ravenclaw
  8. ^ a b H [12] Proving Allegiance
  9. ^ Nyorloth on the official forums (2012-02-09). Archived from the original on 2012-03-10.​ “The primary exception to this rule are liches, as liches bind their souls to a phylactery and then use the phylactery to generate a physical form; this process is why lich bodies look nothing like their mortal bodies, and also why you have to destroy a lich’s phylactery to truly kill them.”

External links[]

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