Bael Modan

Template:Cataclysm/Update

Bael Modan
Type	Excavation site
Race(s)	Ironforge dwarf
Affiliation(s)	Ironforge
Location	Southern Barrens

Bael modan is dwarven base in the southern barrens. It contains a fortress with a giant cannon and a excavation site for digging.

Bael Modan digsite and the nearby mighty Bael'dun Keep are led by General Twinbraid, Heggin Stonewhisker, Prospector Khazgorm, Malgin Barleybrew, Captain Gerogg Hammertoe, and Lord Cyrik Blackforge.

A number of dwarves from Bael Modan traveled west, to Mulgore and set up another digsite there.

Conflict with the Tauren

Bael'dun keep was once next to the village of the Stonespire tauren, but in conflicts between the dwarves and tauren (caused by the dwarves using explosives for excavating in land the Stonespire tauren consider holy) most of the Stonespire tribe were killed or driven off of their ancestral lands. Their old village is now torn apart by dwarven digging machines. Gann Stonespire, a tauren who frequently wanders the roads nearby, attempted to reach a diplomatic resolution but failed; he now seeks revenge by sending Horde adventurers to fight the dwarves.

They also sent Wildhammer mercenaries to firebomb Camp Taurajo.

Flying machines

Bael Modan possess several flying machines. One of the most skilled pilots in all Azeroth, Lord Cyrik Blackforge, is in charge of one of them. Gann Stonespire later requests brave Horde adventurers to destroy it with explosives.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

In the lastest World of Warcraft: The Magazine Interview, When Game Designer, David Kosak, was asked what quest was he most proud of making, He stated without giving too much away, that he was most proud of doing the South Barrens, especially Bael Modan. 'A lot of epic things are going to happen there that I am immensely proud of. some beautiful, beautiful things.'

According to quest text, the dwarves there firebombed Camp Taurajo. In the initial Horde counter-attack, Gann Stonespire leads an angry mob of Horde civilians to raid the dwarven digsites in Bael Modan. Gann is wounded in this attack by Marley Twinbraid. With help from a dying Gann Stonespire and a goblin rogue called Weezil Slipshadow, Horde players sabotage a dwarven artillery shell for the giant cannon erected around Bael'dun Keep causing the whole place to blow up.

Marley Twinbraid, the son of General Twinbraid is killed when the explosion causes his plane to crash. .

Something bad is beneath the Barrens

In the Cataclysm Beta a Bael'dun Excavator standing before the cave can be interacted with by Alliance players and he says something interesting:

Turn away, <class>.

Before the cataclysm hit, we found something.
We dug something up that should've stayed buried.

Pray to whatever you believe in that the landslide was enough to keep it down...

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.

Before Cataclysm, there were quests involving an item called the  [Tear of the Moons]. It was dug up by the dwarves in the area. The stone had made a dwarf named Feegly the Exiled go insane. He gave the quest Quest:The Tear of the Moons that asked Horde players to retrieve the  [Tear of the Moons]. When Feegly got his hands on the stone, a curse was placed on him, turning him into a trogg. Alliance players in Cataclysm kill Feegly in the quest Quest:Feegly the Exiled. The location of the artifact is unknown, but the Alliance quest mentions that Feegly was "sniffing around the dig site again".

NPCs at Bael Modan

See also: Bael'dun

• Prospector Khazgorm <Explorers' League>
•  Bael'dun Excavator
• Bael'dun Foreman
• Malgin Barleybrew <Bael'dun Morale Officer>
• Heggin Stonewhisker <Bael'dun Chief Engineer>
• Captain Gerogg Hammertoe <Bael'dun Captain of the Guard>
• Bael'dun Soldier
• Bael'dun Rifleman
• Bael'dun Officer
• General Twinbraid
• Lord Cyrik Blackforge

Bael Modan Digsite

Bael Modan is a dwarf archaeology dig site.

Warcraft Rpg

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Bael Modan^[47, 84] is heralded by some as the new home of the dwarves and gnomes on Kalimdor. Bael Modan (the red mountain in Dwarven) is the name the Ironforge dwarves have given to the settlement. With a population of 800, it is the largest Alliance stronghold in the Barrens. It is marked by the sturdy stone walls and guard towers blocking the mouth of a cavern into the mountain. An encampment just inside the wall offers shelter to Alliance caravans and travelers crossing the Barrens. The stores of food and supplies at Bael Modan are a tempting target to centaur warbands and quilboar raiders, but thus far the dwarves' trusty rifles and mortars have proven more than able to withstand such attacks.

Those who visit discover that the dwarves have not forgotten their traditional weapons since the invention of gunpowder. The dwarves of Bael Modan have established a midwinter tournament, with the highest prizes - elaborate bronze helms - given to those most skilled with the axe and the hammer.

When the Ironforge dwarves learned of their old friends, the gnomes, arrival in Theramore, the Ironforge dwarves invited the gnomes to settle in their new home, Bael Modan, and take up their inventing and tinkering where they left off. The gnomes found Theramore too crowded and politically charged, and gladly took the dwarves up on their invitation. For a while most gnomes on Kalimdor remained secluded in Bael Modan (still reeling from the loss of their city Gnomeregan), having yet declared their presence on the continent. So for a while a traveling gnome on Kalimdor was a rare sight to see. The few gnomes living in Bael Modan were loosely organized much like most of gnome society living back in Ironforge.

The gnome ace Gaeval Thunderblast also spends his time in Bael Modan working on his ship, the Greased Lightning, while teaching new aces the art of aerial combat.

Titan Ruins

Over 100,000 years ago, beings known as titans built great laboratories throughout Azeroth. Bael Modan was one such site. The titans encrypted their research on banded platinum disks in a runic language now forgotten to mortal races. The site at Bael Modan served the titans as a storage facility for these discs before they packed up most of their gear and left. Khaz'goroth was the facility overseer and ran the facility nearly 100,000 years ago when the titans ceased the facility operations A few guardians remained to protect the site for eternity and the titans sealed off the main entrance. One such guardian was Acheras the Custodian who was left in charge of the facility's maintenance and awaits his master's return.

The facility was once a multi-level complex above and below ground surrounded by a fortress wall. Geological forces and instability slowly sunk the facility into the ground. Over the millenia titan ruins sunk deeper and deeper under the mountain. Earthquakes and shifting ground broke the ruins into several large areas and separated them, sometimes hundreds of feet apart and at many different elevations in the mountain. Natural tunnels and caves developed around the ruins as erosion and time took their toll. The area is now a great wilderness inhabited by fierce creatures, including the mighty Kolkar centaur tribe.

The House of the Makers can be found in Bael Modan.

Conflicts with the Tauren & Centaur

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Bael Modan has seen conflict with other races which share the Barrens. Each day that passed saw Bael Modan grow stronger as the inhabitants built up defenses and new dwarves and some other Alliance members came to settle.

The dwarves and gnomes suffer constant attacks from the Horde, especially nearby tauren from Mulgore.

Centaur

Native dangers have not stopped the Ironforge dwarves from establishing the stronghold near the titan excavation site of Bael Modan. The centaur have made forays against it, but were repelled decisively each time. Scouts claimed that the centaur were amassing other tribes to launch a major attack, but the dwarves were unconcerned.

Notes

One of the quests for blowing up the Bael'dun keep is called "Dwarf Fortress" after the popular text game starring dwarves.