The Redridge Mountains (also known as the
Red Ridge Mountains or Redridge Range and simply Redridge) are located east of
Elwynn Forest, northeast of Duskwood, and south of the Burning Steppes.
Although it may be considered contested, Horde characters have no settlements
or NPCs and it is thus a place they use mostly for passing through to reach
Flame Crest or Stonard.
An idyllic region of rushing rivers,
towering elms and rising elevations, the Redridge Mountains are under
Stormwind's protection, and remain one of the last peaceful regions in Azeroth.
Their inhabitants supply Stormwind with timber, fish, and crops. A force of
Blackrock orcs from the Burning Steppes has secured Stonewatch Keep, but so far
the orcs keep to themselves. In comparison with Westfall, Redridge is still
relatively stable.
On the northern bank of Lake Everstill is
the Alliance town of Lakeshire, the central hub for this faction's adventurers,
offering many services and quests, as well as flight paths? As the town is
under constant siege by gnolls and Blackrock orcs, its people are often victim
of kidnappings or even killings and can be seen protesting at the Town Hall.
Adventurers should use extreme caution around this town.
The enemy-held Stonewatch Keep and Tower of
Ilgalar are connected with quests, but are also very dangerous and require a
party to handle properly.
The crossroads known as the Three Corners,
located in the southwest corner of the zone, connects the town of Lakeshire
with Elwynn, Duskwood and, via the Lakeridge Highway, Stonewatch Keep. The
highway itself is quite a dangerous place occupied by gnolls, murlocs, and wild
animals. There are also a few camps located in Redridge — an orc camp in Render's
Valley, Shadow Hide gnoll camps near the Tower of Ilgalar, and murloc camps
near the lake. While the lake's surface appears peaceful enough, murlocs reside
beneath the waves, and rumours of sightings of a sea monster persist. There are
raptor nests in the Mountains.
It's recommended that one wears a helmet
when in the Redridge Mountains, as buzzards view humanoid hair as excellent
nesting material.
History
Geographically, the Redridge Mountains form
the spine of the continent of Azeroth, although its many limbs and valleys have
come to be known by separate, often ominous names such as 'Deadwind Pass' and
the 'Burning Steppes'. After the War of the Ancients, the dangerous and
destructive Dragon Soul created by Deathwing was hidden beneath the Redridge
Mountains. Protected by magical wards and Orastrasz, it would remain hidden for
ten thousand years before Deathwing led the Dragonmaw clan there in dreams and
visions.
Although claimed by the humans, the dwarven
Dark Iron clan founded its own kingdom in the northern reaches, fleeing defeat
in the War of the Three Hammers. Summoning the Firelord Ragnaros to aid them,
their leader Thaurissan inadvertently caused the eruption of a new, immense
volcano; Blackrock Mountain. This not only destroyed his clan's new city, but
utterly devastated the ecology of northern Redridge, forever leaving it an
ash-choked wasteland.
The humans of Stormwind remained dominant
in the unblemished southern ranges. Now a much smaller region, the Redridge
Mountains were eventually conquered by the Orcish Horde in the First War, in
which the southern kingdom was forced into exile. The humans eventually
returned triumphant and began rebuilding their former holdings. Yet the orcs of
the Blackrock and Black Tooth Grin clans would also return, this new "Dark
Horde" plaguing the town of Lakeshire from their former stronghold of
Blackrock Mountain.
Eventually, the orcs allied with the wicked
human warlock Morganth and his Shadowhide gnoll lackeys, and seized the eastern
half of Redridge, capturing the human castle of Stonewatch Keep before the events
of World of Warcraft. Weakened by political turmoil in Stormwind, Lakeshire was
left with little military aid to fend off the encroaching orcs until the return
of Reginald Windsor.
The region remains heavily contested.
Desperate, the people of Redridge seek help from outside sources, recruiting
passing adventurers to help in the defense of Lakeshire and the liberation of
Stonewatch.
With the guidance of the dragon Darkblaze,
the Dark Horde have also begun invading Redridge sometime after the Cataclysm.
An Alliance adventurer deputized by the Stormwind Army travels to Redridge to
aid the beleaguered Stormwind guards and reform Bravo Company to combat the
threat. During their war with the Blackrock orcs, Render's Valley was blown up
but the Dark Horde has been driven back to the Burning Steppes. Stonewatch Keep
has also been reclaimed.
Stormwind also increased Redridge's
security by constructing Tower Watch on the Three Corners and stationing a
garrison of Redridge Watchmen there.
Geography
The Redridge Mountains contain no dungeons,
raid dungeons, or battlegrounds. The micro dungeon Stonewatch can be found in
this zone. The Redridge Range stretches from the zone of the Redridge Mountains
to the zone of Deadwind Pass.
Redridge Range
The Redridge Range is a mountain range in
the southern sub-continent of Azeroth that stretches from the zone of the
Redridge Mountains to the zone of Deadwind Pass. The range once extended much
farther north, but three hundred years before the opening of the Dark Portal
the range was shattered by the summoning of Ragnaros and the creation of
Blackrock Mountain.
Notable
characters
The Redridge Mountains are home to several
humans of note, the great bulk of which reside in Lakeshire. At the fallen
bridge Marshal Marris sends promising young humans to eradicate the clusters of
Shadowhide gnolls and Blackrock orcs who have taken a chokehold on the land. He
is assisted in his efforts by Verner Osgood, who also seeks to rid Redridge of
the vile Redridge gnolls. And at the Lakeshire Town Hall, the aging Magistrate
Solomon recruits adventurers to seek help from Stormwind's other bastions of
civilization like Stormwind City, Sentinel Hill, and Darkshire. Stormwind City
seems to have abandoned Lakeshire to fend for itself like it did to Darkshire
and Sentinel Hill. Both these towns say they cannot help Lakeshire due to their
own overwhelming problems.
Wild
creatures
Boars
Carrion Birds
Dragon Whelps
Gnolls
Murlocs
Orcs
Tarantulas
Threshadons
Giants (only one though, the rare mob
Boulderheart)
Freshwater Eels
Film
universe
The Redridge Mountains are depicted close
to their World of Warcraft incarnation. Stonewatch Keep is shown falling to the
Horde.
Notes
& trivia
Redridge has one of the game's highest
level-gaps between zones at its border with the Burning Steppes, which is a 30
level jump from 20 to 50. Players are instead directed to Duskwood (to the
southwest) after completing all the quests here.
Capital: Lakeshire
Affiliation: Kingdom of Stormwind,
Blackrock clan, Redridge pack
Former affiliation(s): Bravo Company
Location: Eastern Azeroth
PvP status: Contested territory
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