Baron Rivendare Baron Rivendare is a powerful death knight in the service of the Lich King . Originally ruling over the city of Stratholme for the Scourge , he now leads the Four Horsemen of Naxxramas in place of Highlord Mograine . Biography . Once a wealthy human landowner , the plague corrupted Rivendare and he pledged himself as a death knight . Rivendare ’ s duty is to round up and murder any human survivors he can find , and he and his patrols do just that . He coordinates the efforts of the Lich King in the Plaguelands . He currently battles with agents of the Argent Dawn sent to Stratholme to kill him . Once , Baron Rivendare was a wealthy Lordaeron landowner and a friend of Kel ' Thuzad . He fell under the necromancer ’ s sway and helped build and structure the Cult of the Damned . Rivendare then achieved the title and powers of a death knight . Now , Rivendare has his base in Stratholme . He serves Kel ' Thuzad eagerly and exults in his power . One of his greatest joys is to instill corruption in others , especially paladins , and most especially members of the Argent Dawn . This knight is a regal figure — his face is pale but aristocratic , and white hair hangs to his shoulders , while a scarf covers his face . He crouches over a horned , skeletal steed , and purple runes glitter across his black armor , cloak , and runeblade . Baron Rivendare excels at melee combat ( especially mounted warfare ) and he knows it . At the earliest possible moment , he charges , whether afoot or mounted on his skeletal horse , Deathcharger . Then the baron unleashes the dreadful power of his runeblade . He prefers to fight with created undead to support him , and he uses death pact on these to recover hit points . Rivendare enjoys testing his mettle against fellow close combat specialists , but strikes at arcanists and healers if they prove bothersome . In World of Warcraft . In " World of Warcraft " , he drops a very rare epic mount , the Deathcharger . He also drops all the Dungeon Set 1 leg items — one per kill . Furthermore , he is involved in the Dungeon Set 2 quests that came with patch 1 . 10 . He also appears in the instanced version of next to Highlord Darion Mograine . While passing the death knight quest line the Baron changes his location and can be found in the Crypt of Remembrance . He gives the quest . He also appears in the 10 and 25 - man versions of Naxxramas , replacing Alexandros Mograine as the leader of the Four Horsemen . As he was killed and beheaded by players at the behest of the Argent Dawn in the quest , it is unclear how . . . although the Lich King ' s powers of reanimation are legendary . Strategy . The Baron Rivendare fight presents two major challenges . First , his damage aura , which applies shadow damage to everyone in range . Second , he periodically spawns waves of skeletons from the bone piles scattered around his room . If these skeletons survive long enough , he casts Death Pact on them , killing them but healing himself . To deal with the shadow aura , have your tank position the Baron against one wall of the chamber . Have your healers and ranged damage dealers stand on the opposite wall . This will allow them to stay out of range of the aura , avoiding the damage and casting interruptions . The tank and melee damage dealers will have to absorb the aura ' s damage . A priest can buff the group with Shadow Protection , or a paladin can use the Shadow Resistance Aura to mitigate that damage . If the tank has any kind of shadow resistance gear , it ' s not a bad idea to equip it , although not absolutely required to defeat Baron . The skeletons will almost always immediately aggro your healer . One of the easiest ways to deal with this is to have a class with high AoE damage , like a mage or a warlock in the group , and position them right next to the healer . They can then AoE the skeletons , which have moderate damage but very low hit points , as they rush towards the healer . If you don ' t have a mage or a warlock in the group , there are other ways to deal with the skeletons . A priest with the Holy Nova talent can kill the skeletons and keep the ranged party members healed at the same time , but this is very mana intensive , and he might need that mana to heal through the Baron ' s damage . A paladin can use Holy Wrath as well , which will normally kill all the skeletons and hurt the Baron somewhat . You can also try having members of your party use the that can be gathered throughout the instance . One bottle is generally enough for each wave of skeletons . At the beginning of the Stratholme Undead side instance , there is an NPC you can talk to . If you have the Medallion of Faith , obtainable in the Stratholme Live side , you can give this to the NPC and he will assist you once you attack the Baron . This quest is repeatable . Owners of pet s must note to have their pets in passive mode as they enter the chamber , as their response to the shadow aura damage will likely trigger the encounter before the party is ready . Quotes . In the Scarlet Enclave . " Crusaders . . . " " < Rivendare shakes his head . > " " I am convinced that they are a unique lot amongst the humans . My theory is that they lack higher brain function , unable to logically assess a situation and calculate an outcome . One has only to make mention of the Light to get them frothing and battle ready - at which point they will rush headlong into any engagement with complete disregard for their own well being . "