Difference between revisions of "Harrogath"

Revision as of 09:03, 28 July 2011

Harrogath is a city in the frozen north, situated on the slopes of Mount Arreat. The city is the last bastion of Order against the Lord of Destruction. Harrogath can only be entered by players who install the Diablo II expansion pack, Lord of Destruction, and it is accessed through a red portal opened by Tyrael, after a character defeats Diablo in Act IV. It's the town level of Act V.

Background

Overlay of Harrogath.

Shenk the Overseer.

Qual-Kehk.

Anya.

Baal in combat.

Harrogath is one of many Barbarian fortifications around and on Mount Arreat. The town as well as the people is there to guard and keep the Worldstone safe from everyone.

Sieged

Being the Children of Bul-Kathos, and never even trusted any outsider from even entering the mountainous region without pain of death, the Barbarians of Harrogath are naturally quite reluctant to trust the new heroes. Only Malah, the fort's healer believes the heroes can be of use. The last surviving Elder of the Council of Elders, Nihlathak, is especially mistrusting.

However, after going out on the battlefield of the siege against Harrogath and defeating one of Baal's generals, Shenk the Overseer, in combat and lifting the siege of Harrogath, opinions start to sway in favour of the heroes. Larzuk the Blacksmith offers to socket one of the player's items as a reward, an honour that is not otherwise given to anyone.

Qual-Kehk hardly becomes completely swayed by this, and sends out the heroes to rescue Barbarians held captive on the battle field. Defeating obstacles and hordes of demons, the heroes manage to free many of the stout warriors, and Qual-Kehk makes many of them available to hire to aid the players in their quest.

Betrayal

Malah requests the player to aid her in finding the disappeared daughter of the Head of the Council of Elders, Anya. She suspects Nihlathak is responsible for her disappearance. Using the clues provided by Malah, the players find Anya in the Crystalline Passage, trapped in a prison of ice.

When she is rescued, Nihlathak mysteriously goes missing.

It turns out, Nihlathak was willing to doom Sanctuary in order to save Harrogath. He would give the Relic of the Ancients to Baal, allowing him access to the Worldstone without a challenge by the Ancients.

Lord of Destruction

The heroes try to catch up with Baal to defeat him, and the town can only sit and wait.

News arrive that they defeated the Ancients in combat, gained entrance to the Worldstone Keep, fought their way through hordes of Hell's utmost elite and finally defeated Baal in the Worldstone Chamber.

When the heroes arrived to Harrogath, they informed the villagers about Tyrael's plan to destroy the Worldstone, which they are obviously distraught by.

The Destruction

It's pretty clear what happened. Tyrael used ancient mystical incantations on his Azureblade and hurled it at the Worldstone. It started shattering and it all ended in a massive explosion. The massive Mount Arreat became Arreat Crater.

The question is what happened to Harrogath, considering it was located on the slopes of the mountain. Either they stayed for a valiant death in the explosion, or they travelled elsewhere when warned by Tyrael.

Exactly what happened, and what the barbarians have been up to for the last 20 years is something we hopefully will know, soon.

Notable Characters

The famous Bunny Roaster of Harrogath.

Harrogath is full of a variety of NPCs that contribute with varying levels of helpfulness.

Bunny Roaster: All he does all day: Roastt bunnies.
Deckard Cain: Identifier and quest helper.
Larzuk: Blacksmith, merchant.
Malah: Healer, merchant.
Nihlathak: Gambling/villain.
Qual-Kehk: Mercenaries, quest giver.
Barbarian NPCs: Wounded men.
Not in town:
- Ancients: Barbarian forebearers nephalem.
- Bunnies: They procreate like... bunnies!
- Tyrael: Our favourite Archangel.

Waypoint

Waypoint in the Worldstone Keep.

All towns contain a Waypoint for quick access to other areas with an activated node. The Waypoint of Harrogath is located just east of the dead centre of town.

Waypoint Destinations:

Quests

These are the six quests in Harrogath:

@@ Line 98: / Line 98: @@
 # [[Prison of Ice]]
 # [[Betrayal of Harrogath]]
-# [[Rite of Passage]]
+# [[Rite of Passage (quest)|Rite of Passage]]
 # [[Eve of Destruction]]