Scholomance

Preparation checklist

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Confirm the outer-gate opener; distinguish the Skeleton Key from the internal Viewing Room Key.
Agree on optional bosses, remains and Barov deeds before choosing shortcuts.
If following Eva’s chain, speak through her story outside and accept the Butcher quest before the first clear.

At a glance

Plan a five-player WoW: Forever party. Location: the crypt beneath Caer Darrow in Western Plaguelands. Alliance approaches from Chillwind Camp; Horde from the Bulwark through the Plaguelands. The inherited entrance route crosses to the island, enters the ruined keep and descends to the dungeon gate.

A first group around 58-60 should allow 90 minutes or more for a broad clear. In the inherited access plan, one Skeleton Key holder opens the outer gate for the party, while the Viewing Room Key is a separate internal key from Rattlegore. Confirm Forever's current gate rules before relying on lockpicking or another alternative.

This is provisional high-level Forever planning, using Classic evidence for the quest chains and encounters below. Forever access, class quests, event rules and rewards still need confirmation. All verification is from public sources, not an in-game clear.

Quests to pick up first

The Key to Scholomance: Alliance starts with Commander Ashlam Valorfist and Alchemist Arbington at Chillwind Camp; Horde with High Executor Derrington and Apothecary Dithers at the Bulwark. Follow the skeletal-fragment chain, pay Krinkle Goodsteel in Gadgetzan 15 gold, and bring 2 Thorium Bars to the liquid lava atop Fire Plume Ridge in Un'Goro for Fire Plume Forged. Return to your faction alchemist, kill Araj the Summoner with help and inspect his Phylactery for Araj's Scarab. Finish the alchemist's dialogue and final hand-in for the Skeleton Key.
Barov Family Fortune: Weldon Barov at Chillwind Camp for Alliance or Alexi Barov at the Bulwark for Horde wants four deeds. Collect Southshore in the Reliquary, Tarren Mill on the route before the Ossuary, Brill in Ras Frostwhisper's laboratory, and Caer Darrow by Lord Alexei Barov. All four are clickable objects, not random boss drops.
Plagued Hatchlings: Betina Bigglezink at Light's Hope Chapel wants 20 hatchling kills in the Great Ossuary. After turning it in, later hatchlings can drop a Healthy Dragon Scale for a repeatable follow-up; do not expect that follow-up before completing the first quest.
Doctor Theolen Krastinov, the Butcher: speak through Eva Sarkhoff's story outside the entrance to reveal the quest. Kill Krastinov and destroy both Eva's and Lucien's remains in his room. The kill alone is incomplete.
Eva's later Krastinov's Bag of Horrors sends you to Jandice. Return the bag to Eva, then accept her Kirtonos the Herald quest and take its supplied Blood of Innocents for the brazier summon. After that quest, equip its Spectral Essence reward to see Magistrate Marduke outside. His Ras chain visits Stromgarde and Stratholme before the final Scholomance conversion, so plan repeat visits.
Dawn's Gambit: advance Tinkee Steamboil's Burning Steppes dragon research chain and Betina's later steps, including its other-dungeon objectives, before bringing the device into the Viewing Room. The device is not found on an ordinary Scholomance trash pack.

Decide whether the group wants Kirtonos, Jandice, Ras, quest remains or only Gandling before using a shortcut. A full Barov deed run includes Ras's laboratory even though Ras is not one of the six Gandling unlock bosses.

Level-60 class objectives

Judgment and Redemption, Paladin mount chain: complete Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker's earlier steps in Stormwind and bring the Divination Scryer and Blessed Arcanite Barding. This adds a separate spirit-wave event and Death Knight Darkreaver in Rattlegore's cleared basement. After the kill, loot Charger's Lost Soul, use it on Darkreaver's Fallen Charger, and finish the charger's quest dialogue before leaving.
The Darkreaver Menace, Shaman: advance Sagorne Creststrider's Material Assistance in Orgrimmar and bring its Divination Scryer. The same basement event supplies Darkreaver's Head, which goes back to Sagorne.
Imp Delivery, Warlock mount chain: bring Gorzeeki Wildeyes's Imp in a Jar from Burning Steppes to the alchemy lab in Ras Frostwhisper's room. Clear the lab, use the jar, wait for parchment creation, then return it to Gorzeeki. A Gandling kill does not complete this objective.

For either Darkreaver quest, clear Rattlegore and every enemy in the lower Ossuary before using the scryer. Arrange the extra event when recruiting and recover between spirit groups. On Classic, Paladins judge Seal of Wisdom on Banal spirits, Justice on Malicious, Righteousness on Corrupted and Light on Shadowed to trigger the event's powerful area damage and stun. Killing an Aspect starts the next group, so recover first. During Darkreaver, stop damage on any mind-controlled ally. These are Classic class-chain requirements; check their availability before arranging a Forever class-event trip.

The run

Recognise the two different trash-immunity cases: Risen Aberrations take physical or Holy damage, while Scholomance Occultists can become Dark Shades immune to physical attacks. Save usable spell damage for a transformed Occultist; melee can switch to another tanked target instead of spending attacks into immunity. Agree which players finish each creature type before pulling.

Entry, optional side bosses and the Viewing Room Key

Reliquary: pull humanoid casters and patrols back to cleared stairs. Interrupt or control Dark Summoners before skeletons build up, stop fears where possible and collect the Southshore deed. Blood Steward of Kirtonos is a named enemy here; remove her poison/curse effects as available and inspect Blood of Innocents drops for the optional summon.
Kirtonos the Herald, optional balcony: use Blood of Innocents on the Brazier of the Herald when everyone is ready. Clear the balcony first and tank with solid ground or a wall behind you for knockback. Finish his form changes without letting the healer be knocked out of range. This summon is not needed for the Viewing Room Key.
Chamber of Summoning and junction: clear the route through, gather the Tarren Mill deed and choose the catacomb detour now if wanted. Keep casters pulled into the group's cleared room rather than chasing them between neighbouring packs.
Jandice Barov, optional Sunken Catacombs: take the side stairs down and work along a cleared edge. Move off Diseased Ghoul death clouds. During Jandice's illusion phase, identify and focus the real boss while the tank gathers dangerous copies. Use the nearby torch switch to open the bonus chest gate.
Great Ossuary: kill the hatchling packs with the tank holding their handlers and protect the healer from loose whelps. Clear the lower constructs before engaging Rattlegore.
Rattlegore: control any linked construct if possible, put the tank's back toward safe ground and be ready to re-establish threat after knockback. Loot the Viewing Room Key and use it on the locked door back along the junction route. The key is not the outer Skeleton Key.
Viewing Room: the students start neutral. Do not use area damage or attack instructors casually. If the group brought Dawn's Gambit, gather first, use it as directed and kill the transformed students, then Vectus and Marduk Blackpool. Interrupt Vectus's fire casts and keep Marduk's heavy melee off the healer. Without the device, fighting the room is a deliberate dangerous pull, not a normal progression requirement.

Ras Frostwhisper's laboratory

Take the laboratory branch from the Viewing Room if anyone needs Ras, the Brill deed or the alchemy lab. Clear the laboratory packs and leave safe room for fear and knockback.

Ras Frostwhisper deals heavy Frost spell damage and can disrupt the tank's position. Keep the party spread and in healer line of sight, interrupt what can be interrupted, and have the tank regain control after displacement. Do not leave live casters behind the group. Loot the Deed to Brill before returning to the final six rooms. On the final The Lich, Ras Frostwhisper stage, use the prepared Soulbound Keepsake to make him human before killing him and looting his human head. Protect the quest holder during that channel; fear or knockback can interrupt the conversion. The earlier The Human, Ras Frostwhisper starts the outside chain and is not this kill stage.

The six chambers and Gandling

Clear every room's trash before its boss, even if you can pull a boss alone. Gandling later teleports players into these chambers; leaving elites alive turns an isolated-player mechanic into a lethal pull.

The Ravenian: tank against safe terrain for Knock Away, keep melee behind him and heal the tank through strong physical hits.
Lord Alexei Barov: control one undead guard with Shackle if available, tank the other and kill or control the guards before finishing Alexei. Keep ranged out of Unholy Aura and remove the tank's healing-reduction curse promptly. Collect the Caer Darrow deed.
Lady Illucia Barov: keep the healer away from close-range Silence, remove damaging curses and stop attacking a mind-controlled ally. Have backup healing ready if the healer loses control.
Instructor Malicia: control her companion, interrupt heals and damaging casts, and remove harmful magic or curses as your party can. Do not leave her freely healing while damage is split across the room.
Doctor Theolen Krastinov: keep the tank topped up, regain control after knockback and save a defensive for his heavier damage. Quest holders destroy the two remains after the kill.
Lorekeeper Polkelt: clear the room's slow zombies carefully, cure diseases and keep the group off dangerous effects around dead enemies. Do not stand in the previous pack's remains while beginning the boss.

Killing all six makes Darkmaster Gandling appear in the central room. Start with full mana. He periodically sends a player to a locked side chamber; that player kills the weak summoned guards to reopen the door and returns immediately. The remaining group covers missing healing or damage, keeps the boss under control and removes Curse of the Darkmaster, which reduces Strength and Stamina. Clear rooms before this fight so the teleported player faces only the intended adds.

Loot worth staying for

Inherited examples for planning a future Forever run; verify the current item and boss table before farming:

Kirtonos: Frightalon, Loomguard Armbraces and Boots of Valor.
Jandice: Dreadmist Mantle and other catacomb drops.
Rattlegore: Shadowcraft Boots.
Ras Frostwhisper: Magister's Mantle and Boneclenched Gauntlets, plus an important alchemy-lab location for Classic crafting.
Final chamber bosses: shared dungeon-set pieces such as Deathbone, Cadaverous, Bloodmail and Necropile, alongside boss-specific drops. Inspect each corpse rather than assuming every boss has an identical pool.
Darkmaster Gandling: class dungeon-set helms and Headmaster's Charge. The class of the players present does not choose the dropped helm; a run can drop a piece nobody can use.

Tips

Bring curse removal, disease removal, interrupts and suitable crowd control if available. Shackle Undead is useful, but one particular class lineup is not an attunement requirement.
Keep the four-deed list visible and check it before leaving each wing. Three deeds plus a Gandling kill do not complete Barov Family Fortune.
Start Eva's chain before your first planned clear if you want its later rewards. Remember the two remains after Krastinov and the outside turn-in before the next stage.
Only use an entrance-bridge drop after confirming the landing room is cleared and the Viewing Room route is open. Dismiss pets before the shortcut.