 Nathanos Blightcaller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title |
Blightcaller, Champion of the Banshee Queen, Hunter Trainer, Ranger Lord[1] |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Forsaken |
| Class | Ranger, Hunter, Dark ranger |
| Reaction | Alliance Horde |
| Affiliation(s) | Forsaken, Horde |
| Former affiliation(s) | Farstriders (Quel'Thalas), Alliance of Lordaeron |
| Occupation | Champion of the Banshee Queen, Ranger Lord of the Forsaken, former Ranger Lord of the Farstriders |
| Location | Various Locations |
| Status | Undead |
| Mentor(s) | Sylvanas Windrunner |
- "Amidst our ranks, there are few with more dedication or vigor."
- – Lady Sylvanas Windrunner[2]
Nathanos Blightcaller (born Nathanos Marris) is a level 62 elite located in the War Quarter in the Undercity. He is the champion of the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, and a teacher of new Forsaken hunters.
Biography
World of Warcraft
Nathanos at The Marris Stead.
Nathanos Blightcaller as a hunter trainer in Undercity.
In life, Nathanos Marris was trained by the high elves in the ways of war, and was admitted to the elven Farstriders. Nathanos' accomplishments were unprecedented. He was a tactical genius, responsible for Alliance victories spanning a decade of conflict.[3] Nathanos Marris was the first and only human ranger lord, the highest rank in the Farstriders' hierarchy below ranger-general, appointed as such by Ranger General Sylvanas Windrunner. His inclusion in the ranks of the ranger lords was not without its conflicts. Kael'thas Sunstrider opposed the appointment, but Sylvanas did it anyway, impressed with Nathanos' ability. Though trained by high elves, Nathanos appears to have spent much of his time south of Quel'Thalas at his home, the Marris Stead.
His heroics were not to last. After the fall of Stratholme, the Scourge swept over the once-great nation. Despite his training, Nathanos Marris fell as well at his house, murdered by the abomination Ramstein the Gorger.[4] Eventually, he became undead, and joined the Forsaken. Somehow, he knew that Sylvanas would come for him.[4] Sylvanas appointed Nathanos as her champion - the Champion of the Banshee Queen. He even took a new name: Nathanos Blightcaller.
Nathanos appears to care very little for his former life, even sending Horde adventurers to retrieve the 
[Quel'Thalas Registry] that contained his file. He makes sure to inform adventurers that the registry is not to be read. He resided at the Marris Stead in the Eastern Plaguelands with his pet blighthounds. There he recruited Horde soldiers to fight against corrupted animals (such as plaguebats), the Scourge, and the Scarlet Crusaders of Tyr's Hand.
Nathanos Marris was, after all, a hero of the Alliance - and his death did not go unnoticed, nor did the fact that a body had never been found. Master Mathias Shaw, head of SI:7 - the Stormwind intelligence agency - received some disturbing reports of unusual Forsaken activity in the Eastern Plaguelands, and sent five agents to investigate. Only one of those agents returned, babbling incoherently about "Nathanos" and the word "Blightcaller." He died in his sleep just days after his return, and Alliance adventurers are asked to go investigate their disappearance.[5] The only thing SI:7 had to go on was that Nathanos Marris may have been slain by this "Blightcaller," but the truth was far less pleasant. After investigating the grounds around the Marris Stead, adventurers uncover the ugly reality - Nathanos is the Blightcaller, now a champion of the Banshee Queen.
Once it was determined that Nathanos was the Blightcaller, King Varian Wrynn and Bolvar Fordragon enlisted Alliance adventurers to gather an army and destroy him. Nathanos, however, managed to survive this through faking death.
Cataclysm
After surviving the Alliance assassination attempt on his life, Nathanos has decided to reside in the War Quarter of the Undercity and trains new Forsaken hunters in their trade. The quests he gave are now given by other NPCs.
Nathanos and Sylvanas were training a new generation of Forsaken rangers, representing both their past and their future.[6]
Legion
The Banshee Queen's champion returns in World of Warcraft: Legion, issuing summons to the Horde champion on behalf of Sylvanas - the new Warchief of the Horde - and leading them to the Forsaken fleet approaching Stormheim. Predictably, Nathanos has retained his dry humor and low regard for most of the figures he crosses paths with (particularly the worgen, whom he writes off as "beasts"), save of course for Sylvanas. He is accompanied by his pet bat, Bloodwing.
When the Alliance led by Genn Greymane and Sky Admiral Rogers take the chance to bombard the Forsaken fleet, Nathanos makes his queen's safety his first priority, but is ordered to take the fleet on the offensive. He leads the Forsaken forces in a counterattack against the 7th Legion and worgen troops, flying from ship to deal with the Alliance soldiers. The Blightcaller and his men board the Skyfire and cause havoc in the hull, planting vials of blight to take it apart from within. Nathanos battles Greymane on the ship's deck, unimpressed with his opponent until goading Genn into assuming his worgen form. The battle ends with the destruction of the Skyfire, which plummets down into Stormheim, but both Nathanos and Greymane survive - although Nathanos' face is now apparently "even uglier" than it was before.[1]
Nathanos takes command of the Forsaken stragglers, and leads his rangers in a ruthless hunt across the region to locate the missing Sylvanas.[7] He is certain that the queen is alive and out there; and for their arrogance in striking the Banshee Queen, Nathanos goes out of his way to take bloody revenge on the Alliance forces remaining in the area.[8] With the help of the champion, Nathanos is able to discover that Sylvanas safely escaped, but did not wish to be pursued.[9] Her whereabouts remained unknown.
Locations
| Notable appearances | ||
|---|---|---|
| Location | Level range | Health range |
| Western Plaguelands | 62 | 38,850 |
| Undercity | 62 | 46,830 |
Quests
Horde
Nathanos was involved in the following quests:
Quest:To Kill With Purpose (old)- Quest:Un-Life's Little Annoyances
- Quest:The Ranger Lord's Behest
- Quest:Duskwing, Oh How I Hate Thee... (old)
- Quest:The Corpulent One
- Quest:The Champion of the Banshee Queen
Alliance
His death was the objective of the quest Quest:Order Must Be Restored.
One strategy was to take Nathanos down as fast as possible, whilst reducing the aggro on weaker party members. This enabled the group to at least complete the quest, or gain honor under the Honor system for the kill, while all the party were (still) alive.
You needed at least 8 people in a raid group at lower levels, with a main and off-tank.
Focus on Nathanos himself and take him down as fast as possible. He can be taken down in a minute or so, at which point no more skeletons will be added. The Blighthounds will not do any serious damage until he is down. Deal with them second, and the skeletons third.
Avoid healing as 2-4 skeletons are attracted to the healer. This includes direct heals, heal over time spells, Warlock's drain spells, bandages, potions, pet heals, and life stealing enchants. Rather than heal, run; stop fighting to reduce threat (trinkets etc with Spirit bonuses are useful here) and heal normally; or let your tanks do the healing to attract aggro back.
It was easy to solo him at level 80, especially if you are a tank.
Quotes
Order Must Be Restored.
Battle
- I can smell your fear, <race>.
- Prepare for a severe beating.
- I shall wear your entrails as a necklace.
- How dare you!
- If you run now, you may live.
- You merely prolong the inevitable. Succumb. She will free your misguided soul.
Trivia
A younger version of Nathanos Marris seen in Old Hillsbrad Foothills.
- Nathanos appears to be a dark ranger; his in-game abilities (the summoning of skeletons, the usage of a special black arrow, etc) being identical to the dark rangers' attack methods. Furthermore, both he and Sylvanas (his mentor and the most prominent dark ranger in existence) are classified as such in the TCG.
- Despite his extremely poor treatment of the player, often referring to him or her as "imbecile" and numerous variations thereof, Nathanos has become a popular character in the franchise, and his return to the Undercity has been largely met with affection. This is perhaps due to fond memories of vanilla Warcraft, where Nathanos was a force to be reckoned with and Horde players would often defend the powerful Blightcaller from the Alliance.
- When talked to in-game, Nathanos says he survived the attempts on his life by playing possum.
- In the Leaders of Azeroth short story for Lor'themar Theron, Renthar Hawkspear and Aurora Skycaller make the inference that Nathanos "never became Scourge," and that Sylvanas must have "called him to her service" before Arthas could exert a proper dominion over him. This is curious, as their version of events is in direct contradiction to Nathanos' own, in which the banshee queen's champion reiterates his time spent as a mindless thrall of the Lich King before Sylvanas freed him. Of course, they would reasonably not have access to this information; the player only learns because Nathanos himself lets them know.
- Nathanos Marris can be seen in the Old Hillsbrad instance in Southshore's Town Hall speaking with Bilger the Straight-laced.
Speculation
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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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- Nathanos seems to hold something of a close kinship with Lady Sylvanas. While ferocious loyalty to their Queen is not uncommon within the Forsaken, the bond between Nathanos and Sylvanas predates their undeath. During Nathanos' time as one of her disciples, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider grew frustrated with the notion of a human gaining the knowledge of the elven rangers, and had on at least one occasion demanded Sylvanas banish him from the order. She denied her Prince's request.
- Nathanos appears to be rather protective of this aspect of his past, and gladly had his one time allies killed to keep it hidden. Prior to gaining his freedom from the Scourge, Nathanos admits to having "somehow known" that "she" would come for him. To this day, the Banshee Queen and her champion speak highly (and arguably, affectionately) of one another, though whether this is respect in both life and death for close allies, or perhaps something more like her two sisters pursued, will likely never be known. Regardless, the relationship between Sylvanas and Nathanos has become a fan-favourite, due in part to their tragic circumstances.
- The relationship between Nathanos and Sylvanas has been noted by a number of characters, notably those who were part of their ranger corps. Lor'themar Theron and Renthar Hawkspear, who were part of Sylvanas and Nathanos' company, both make reference to a close relationship between the two. Halduron Brightwing also mentions that Sylvanas and Nathanos had a certain connection, and that she was always "championing" him.[10]
- He may be related to Marshal Marris.
Patch changes
- Template:Patch 7.0.1
- Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Moved from the Marris Stead to the Undercity. Now a hunter trainer.
- Patch 1.5.0 (2005-06-07): Added.
References
- ^ a b Quest:The Ranger Lord
- ^ TCG Scourgewar, 186.
- ^ Quest:Order Must Be Restored
- ^ a b Quest:Ramstein
- ^ Quest:Honor the Dead
- ^ Quest:Making the Rounds (Horde)
- ^ Quest:The Windrunner's Fate
- ^ Quest:Wrath of the Blightcaller
- ^ Quest:A Grim Trophy
- ^ In the Shadow of the Sun
