The green, verdant plains of Mulgore are
home to the noble tauren. Mulgore is nestled in the foothills of the Stonetalon
Mountains to the north, and protected by a natural wall of mountains on all
sides. The only pass through these mountains leads into the Southern Barrens to
the east.
A land of windswept mesas and grassy
plains, Mulgore is the tauren's ancestral homeland. Centaur often send raiding
parties into Mulgore, and the tauren, now with the help of their Horde allies,
beat them back. Tauren are naturally a nomadic people, and their tent cities
are scattered across the landscape and change with the seasons and the weather.
Now that they are members of the Horde, the tauren have constructed several
permanent settlements, including fortified Dalsh-Beran and their capital of
Thunder Bluff.
Mulgore provides bounty for the hunt, as a
diversity of wild beasts roam the rolling plains and climb the foothills of the
surrounding range. In the northern section of Mulgore, the mesas of Thunder
Bluff tower above the plains, casting long shadows. Bloodhoof Village is
centrally located and surrounded by the clear waters of Stonebull Lake, and
further south on the protected cliffs of Red Cloud Mesa, Camp Narache stands as
the principal training camp for all young tauren.
Despite the serene landscape and the
pine-scented breeze, Mulgore is fraught with trouble. Brambleblade Ravine and the
sacred Red Rocks are overrun by quilboars. The goblin-run Venture Company
infests the three sacred water wells of Mulgore as well as their Venture Co.
Mine in the eastern mountain face. The Windfury harpy tribe lay claim to the
extreme northern reaches of Mulgore and the southeast mountain face. A tribe of
gnolls known as the Palemane make their home at the cave called Palemane Rock,
as well in scattered camps along the southern mountains. Prior to the
Cataclysm, the Alliance made its presence known at the Bael'dun Digsite, where
dwarves scoured the mountains for traces of their shrouded ancestry.
History
This rich plain was once used by the night
elves as prime hunting grounds. When the Great Sundering shattered the world,
mountains pierced the earth and the night elves fled north. The mighty tauren
made their home upon the low valleys and high plateaus after the night elves
left. In time, the ash of upheaval disappeared and the once fertile grasslands
returned. The aggressive centaur claim the right to the grasslands and have
warred constantly against the tauren for supremacy of the land, but the
tauren's mesa strongholds have so far proved impregnable. Mulgore is a
landlocked region, with Desolace to the west, the Barrens to the east, the
Stonetalon Mountains to the north, and the Thousand Needles to the south.
Mulgore is the ancient homeland of the tauren, who live on the windswept mesas
and roam the grassy valleys. Below the mesa's ridgeline are the vast emerald
plains, which hold an abundance of life including prairie wolves, young kodo
beasts, and tallstriders.
The centaur forces mercilessly hound the
tauren throughout Mulgore. The tepee-like tents and crude hide huts that
comprise tauren towns stand in stark contrast to the turning windmills and
pulley structures that keep the tauren gristmills operating. Large, ornately
carved totems dot every street and stand above every major structure.
Toward the eastern border, quilboar
displaced from Durotar have started creating dens with thorned hedgerow barriers.
For now, it is a small concern for the tauren, but if the bristly "boar
men" encroach too far, there will be a price to pay. At present, the
tauren are far more interested in what the centaur are up to. Mulgore is filled
with a variety of antelopes, rabbits, and wild boar, making it the ideal place
for game hunting. A tauren pastime involves hunting these animals to improve
one's combat skills. The tauren rarely eat their prey, preferring to graze on
wheat and grass that grow wild in the valley.
Once nomadic, the tauren met with Thrall
and his orcs when they landed on Kalimdor. Looking to the orcs for protection,
they saw kindred spirits with honor and power. When Cairne led his people to
Mulgore, they came upon what is now called Thunder Bluff. They constructed
their capital upon the lofty mesas, and the city is now a center for trade and
commerce. Ruling over the tauren in his old age, Cairne looks one day to hand
the mantle of leadership down to his son Baine.
Every tauren vows to keep safe the golden
plains of Mulgore.
The quilboar activity has increased within
Red Cloud Mesa, and now beginning Tauren hopefuls battle an increasingly
powerful foe. The Grimtotem tribe has descended from the heights of Stonetalon
Mountain and threaten Thunder Bluff and the surrounding areas. As if this
weren't enough, the Alliance forces have pushed into the Southern Barrens,
destroying Camp Taurajo. In response, the Tauren have constructed the Great
Gate between Mulgore and that zone, barring what was once an open border.
Another Alliance area, Bael'dun, has fallen, however, the dwarves within either
chased away or killed by Agitated Earth Spirits.
Tragedy struck the great Tauren people with
the death of their leader, Cairne Bloodhoof. This was orchestrated by Magatha Grimtotem,
who poisoned Garrosh Hellscream's blade before the two leaders dueled. Cairne
fell from only a shallow wound, and the Grimtotem swept into Thunder Bluff to
take over the capital. The son of Cairne, Baine Bloodhoof, would never allow
this to stand. Mustering his forces, he forced the Grimtotem from Thunder Bluff
and Magatha from his father's throne. Magatha fled, and Baine now rules in his
father's place.
Geography
Mulgore is temperate with hills, plains
(grassland), and some rugged mountains.
Mulgore is a sheltered and pastoral valley
surrounded by mountains on all sides, and accessible only through a pass to the
southeast. Resembling a huge pasture, the area is covered with verdant green
grass and few trees. An oddity of the landscape, the tall cliffs of Thunder
Bluff tower over the fields in the center of the zone.
It is possible for non-tauren to explore
Red Cloud Mesa without actually running all the way up. By hugging the cliff
below, the area will appear on the map.
Mulgore contains no dungeons of any type
and no battlegrounds.
The quilboar activity has increased at Red
Cloud Mesa, so much that great portions of the normally fertile area has now
been transformed into giant mazes of brambles. In addition, the usual pass
between the Mesa and the remainder of Mulgore has collapsed. A new entry has
been laid directly from Camp Narache north to the rolling grasses near
Bloodhoof Village.
A path stretches down now from the hills
that border Stonetalon Mountains. The Grimtotem are attempting to strike from
this camp, but Baine Bloodhoof has other ideas. A new Tauren encampment has
also been erected northeast of this embattled path, Camp Sungraze.
Despite the loss of their beloved chief, it
seems the remainder of Mulgore has escaped the wrath of the Cataclysm.
Inhabitants
Boars
Carrion Birds
Cougars
Kodos
Tallstriders
Wolves
Centaurs
Gnolls
Goblins
Harpies
Quilboars
Notable
characters
Mulgore is home to several tauren of
status. From the base camp in Camp Narache, Chief Hawkwind sends promising
young tauren out into the world. In Bloodhoof Village, Mull Thunderhorn leads
the effort to cleanse the Mulgore water wells, and from his post on the road
east of the village, Morin Cloudstalker seeks to eradicate the foothold the
Venture Company has established in the land. Baine Bloodhoof, son of the great
Cairne, has been chosen as chief of the village named after his bloodline.
Quests
Since it is the starting zone for the
tauren, Mulgore quests range from level 1-10 in difficulty. Quests here often
deal with driving out invasive creatures and protecting the land. Particularly
important to young tauren is the Rites of the Earthmother quest chain, in which
they learn the ways of the land.
Government: Spiritual hierarchy
Ruler: Cairne Bloodhoof, Chieftain of the United
Tauren Tribes (former), Baine Bloodhoof, Chieftan of the United Tauren Tribes
(current)
Major settlements: Bloodhoof Village
(1,000)
Minor settlements: Camp Narache (500),
Bael'dun Digsite (450), Venture Company Mine (300), Dalsh-Beran
Affiliation: Horde
Location: West of The Barrens
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