The Skull of Gul ' dan < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude > The Skull of Gul ' dan was a powerful demonic artifact created from the skull of the orc warlock Gul ' dan . Used for a plethora of demonic activity , from opening portals to corrupting the northern forests of Ashenvale , its powers were finally consumed by Illidan Stormrage . Although already consumed by Illidan , the skull still holds power and is in Illidan ' s possession . History . After the insidious warlock Gul ' dan died , his skull was turned into a channeling totem for demonic energy . It was briefly held by a low - ranking Bonechewer officer . The skull was acquired by Ner ' zhul for use in opening portals to other worlds , which also required the Book of Medivh , the Eye of Dalaran , and the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras . It turned out that the skull wasn ' t really needed to rebuild the Dark Portal , but Ner ' zhul kept it as a trophy of his triumph over his apprentice . The skull appeared to hold some shard of Gul ' dan ' s soul within , enabling the dead warlock to communicate with Ner ' zhul . Deathwing later demanded it as payment for his services for purposes unknown . Additionally , it is implied several times that the Skull has corrupting properties on its wielder as the voice of Gul ' dan slowly tempts him over time . Khadgar , Alleria Windrunner , and Turalyon managed to steal the skull and the Book of Medivh from Ner ' zhul well into the Alliance Expedition ' s campaign . Khadgar used the skull and the Book of Medivh to close the Dark Portal , and sent both artifacts back to Azeroth via gryphon rider , but wasn ' t certain if they completed the transit . Reign of Chaos . Years later it would appear again on Azeroth , this time used by the Burning Legion to corrupt the forests of Felwood . The skull ' s powers were eventually consumed by Illidan Stormrage who , upon absorbing its power , became half night elf and half demon . With his newfound power , he struck a major blow to the Burning Legion by killing Tichondrius and his demonic forces . Illidan retained memories of the Tomb of Sargeras from Gul ' dan , which he used in tandem with his own knowledge of Suramar to find the Eye of Sargeras . " Exactly how the Legion regained the Skull is unknown . Beyond the Dark Portal establishes that Khadgar intended for it to return to Azeroth , but it is vague as to what happened . The fact that Gul ' dan ' s spirit lingered on within the Skull was long speculated by some , and this feature may explain some of Illidan ' s behavior . However , if it did come through to Azeroth , it is possible that Arthas and Kel ' Thuzad may have retrieved the skull during their siege of Dalaran , and that Tichondrius then used it in Felwood to spread the corruption . " The Burning Crusade . When Illidan " consumed " the skull , it was not destroyed . Illidan kept the skull in his possession to train new demon hunters . Of the five demon hunters he trained , three died , one went mad , whereas the final trainee , a blood elf named Varedis , managed to succeed . The opening cinematic of the Burning Crusade features him holding the skull in his claws , and he can be seen in - game doing the same thing . The skull is now part of Illidan ' s loot table . Powers . In Warcraft III : Reign of Chaos . Consuming The Skull of Gul ' dan doubled Illidan ' s base attack damage ( from 37 - 59 to 75 - 123 ) and allowed him to deal chaos damage , which was fully effective against all types of armor ( including the Divine Armor of Tichondrius ) . In addition , it metamorphosed Illidan into a powerful demon with ranged attack and increasing his attack speed rate . It also automatically made Illidan level 10 in his hero experience , thus increasing his strength , agility and intelligence which resulted in additional health points by 300 and mana points by 90 .