Episode #67: The Island of Doctor Lapidis and Gillijim’s Isle are two forgotten subzones that never made it past the early alpha-testing of World of Warcraft.  Found in the fatigue waters off the southwestern Stranglethorn Vale coast, the Island of Doctor Lapidis may have been an early attempt for Troll-specific leveling (originally marked for levels 10-22).  Appearing on a few official game maps, Doctor Lapidis island shared the standard STV landscape and environmental textures.  Although never activated with quests, the NPCs found on the island included Forest Trolls, Jungle Trolls, Ice Trolls, Humans, and Naga.  The Island of Doctor Lapidis was removed from the official release of WoW, yet until patch 4.0.1a, it was possible to travel to the open-water location and have the island’s subzone title appear… even though the island was nowhere to be found!


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Warcraft Less Traveled #67 – Island of Doctor Lapidis

Dedicated to exploration and discovery within WoW (World of Warcraft). Detailed topics for Warcraft lovers who crave the hidden, secret, and less traveled areas in Azeroth.  Learn and share the Warcraft stories, facts, tricks, and fun of traveling WoW.

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Episode #83: Everyone loves a good ghost story… especially in Azeroth.  Our journey brings us to the ancient halls of Blackrock Mountain and into Forgewright’s Tomb subzone @(20.6,28.8).  All explorers have the opportunity to visit a hidden NPC ghost, Franclorn Forgewright.  This forgotten, level 60 Dark Iron dwarf once played an important role as a quest giver related to the Blackrock Depths instance.  However, with the Cataclysm expansion, Franclorn Forgewright no longer provides ‘The Dark Iron Legacy’ quest.  What makes Forgewright special is that he remains one of the few game NPCs that can only be seen by players if they are also dead.  Once the visiting adventurer is in ghost form, the shadowy image of this legendary dwarf can be found standing atop his stone tomb.  Although his quest is now obsolete, Forgewright’s crafting legacy lives on in the still-obtainable one-handed mace ‘Ironfoe’.  This ancient mace grants its wielder two strikes per swing and the special ability to speak dwarvish for a short time.  The ghost of Franclorn Forgewright – and learning the legacy of his architecture, crafting, and the existence of weapons attributed to him – is something worth revisiting.

NPC Ghost: Franclorn Forgewright
Quest: The Dark Iron Legacy [Obsolete]
Forgewrite’s Legacy Hammer #1: Ironfel
Forgewrite’s Legacy Hammer #2: Ironfoe



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Warcraft Less Traveled #83 – Ghost of Franclorn Forgewright

Episode #82: Daring adventurers have traveled through the Dark Portal, explored the entirety of Draenor, and constructed a personal garrison… Yet have you pondered the meaning behind the mysterious grave in Shadowmoon Valley?  Located in the subzone of Lunarfall at coordinates @(40.3, 69.7), a solitary gray-colored stone can be found.  Resting at the base of the grave, a small helm and sword decorate the memorial.  A shovel is nearby – indicating that the darkened ground here was the result of a recent burial. Etched on the gravestone is the name: “Ray D. Tear”.  All lost adventurers are invited to pause at this mysterious grave and discover the secret behind this raid-inspired, Warlords of Draenor “loss”.


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Warcraft Less Traveled #82 – The Grave of Ray D. Tear

Episode #81: While exploring the northern coastlines of the Kun-Lai Summit zone, explorers should look skyward to catch sight of a wandering NPC named Lon’li Guju.  This level 88, flying giant sea tortoise is friendly to both factions.  The angelic-winged Lon’li Guju is a special in-game memorial to Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies of tortoise.  Although Lonesome George died on June 24, 2012; he now lives on forever in Pandaria.  All players who befriend Lon’li Guju by issuing a affectionate emote (/love /wave /hug) will trigger a secret event to occur… because of the player’s show of kindness, this solitary tortoise will follow the player throughout Pandaria for a short while.  A memorial like Lon’li Guju not only brings a warm smile to any lost adventurer, but he also stands as a noble reminder of the wise quote: “the way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost”.


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Warcraft Less Traveled #81 – Lon’li Guju

Episode #80: Nested high in one of the isolated mountain regions of Pandaria, explorers can discover a noteworthy subzone called The Secret Aerie.  Although accessible with a flying mount, game designers created a way for lost adventurers to make the beautiful journey into this hidden area entirely by foot.  The Secret Aerie is home to various Pandaran Hawktrainer NPCs, each titled as ‘People of the Sky’.  Various named NPCs have appeared in recent patches, however no known quests of achievements are associated with them.  All hunters should take note of the lesser known, tamable Training Hawk (birds of prey) that are being trained by the People of the Sky.  A highlight for explorers to this region is the interaction with Hawkmaster Liu, an interesting NPC who has unique voice acting & will respond to characters differently based on their questing experience with the Shado-Pan in Townlong.


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Warcraft Less Traveled #80 – The Secret Aerie

Episode #79: Inside the Shado-Pan Monastery 5-man instance, a mysterious graveyard conceals the location of 2 invisible NPCs, a stone shrine, and a hidden spell buff.  Found on a southwestern-central mountain cliff at coordinates (46,65), the instanced Shado-Pan Monastery hides an ornately-decorated Pandaran graveyard.  Explorers to this far-removed area can discover two “Shado-Pan Assassin” NPCs, named Hakka and Jae Kuen.  In addition, visitors will find a solitary shrine with a bizarre, swirling light called “Unseen Force”.  By clicking on the Unseen Force Shrine, players will be given a hidden buff (Unerring Blades) that grants +90% to Hit.  As the Mists of Pandaria expansion ends, most players in game today will never know that these unique features can be found here… making your opportunity to see it for yourself truly ‘less traveled’, indeed.

 The Unseen Force
 Unerring Blades, Spell Buff
 Hakka, Shado-Pan Assassin
 Jae Kuen, Shado-Pan Assassin
 Photo: View of the graveyard, surrounded by tiger statues



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Warcraft Less Traveled #67 – Island of Doctor Lapidis

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