Hearthpwn

 
"The sins that corrupted my soul haunt these forgotten halls, adventurer. I've payed my mistakes with my own flesh, and still the chains that bind my spirit to this place didn't shattered. Immortality is my sentence: locked within these walls by guilt, wrapped by the flame of anger, I'm just a silent shadow struggling in the darkness.
But please - forgive my manners - let me introduce myself: I am Magna Medivh, the last Guardian of the Tirisfalen." 

Magna Medivh was once the ruler of Karazhan: as a Guardian of the Tirisfalen, he was a powerful archmage able to contain the Burning Legion threat; subdued by the will of the fallen Titan Sargeras, Medivh failed to comply his role and opened the Dark Portal - aided by an orc warlock called Gul'dan. 
His treachery was ended by his most promising student, Khadgar, who pierced his hearth with his sword, destroying the spirit of Sargeras possessing him; Medivh's spirit, instead, survived, wandering on Azeroth aimlessly for years.
But now, the Guardian has reached his home once again, leaded by dark energies that surrounds the Ivory Tower of Karazhan.

THE IVORY TOWER OF KARAZHAN - A HEARTHSTONE ADVENTURE

The whole WoW dungeon (TBC version) contains 12 bosses, and it was the first 10-man raid implemented in The Burning Crusade expansion. It had some of the most entertaining fights back in the days (like Opera Event and Chess Event), and I remember I used to run the dungeon even if it couldn't drop anymore something useful to me, just for the sake of fun. There are four wings in this concept, and each wing contains 3 bosses. The Adventure is divided into:

1. The Servant Quarter (infested by Attumen the Huntsman, the Servant Quarter's Beast and Moroes);
2. The Guest Quarter (inhabited by the Maiden of Virtue, the Curator and hosting the Opera Event);
3. The Guardian's Library (keepers of the Guardian's secrets are Terestian Illhoof, the Shade of Aran and Netherspite);
4. The Master's Terrace (after the Chess Event, Nightbane and Prince Malchezaar are spreading the corruption through the zone).

Without further linger, let's head to the first wing!

The Servant Quarter

Attumen the Huntsman - Normal Mode

The voice of Medivh echoes across the blackness of the stables:

"Attumen was once a fellow liveryman, the only one who managed to tame the fastest steed in my stables, Midnight. When the shadows enveloped Karazhan his heart embraced the darkness, and his spirit heard the whispers of a greater power - the same whispers I knew aswell. These rooms must become silent once again, the grooms have worked so much...they must be...so tired..."

Midnight/Attumen the Huntsman Deck

Specific Normal encounter cards:

The first boss in the entire adventure is Attumen the Huntsman, who will come in defense of his steed Midnight if attacked. In World of Warcraft Attumen the Huntsman is the easiest encounter of the whole raid; also, he is optional, and back in the days he was considered more or less a warm-up for the fresh group (I cannot remember a single time I wiped this boss). Another reason he was often engaged was that Attumen had a (infinitesimal) chance to drop the rare mount Midnight's Reins, who was really unlikely to see outside Karazhan. 
During the first phase of the fight the raid had to face the only Midnight; when it reached 95% of health, second phase started and Attumen the Huntsman spawned to fight alongside his beloved horse; in the last phase, when Midnight reached 30% of health, Attumen the Huntsman mounted Midnight and started to cleave the tank. And at this point, the fight was pretty over.
To make things more fluid and dinamic, I thought about skipping phase two - the one in which Attumen the Huntsman and Midnight fighted separated.

Phase One

Starting Dialogue: **Neigh**
When trying to emote with Boss: **Neigh**          

During Phase One Attumen the Huntsman is hiding in the dark, and the player must hurt his tender steed to make him show himself. This stage of the game consist in rushing Midnight to 25 (in Normal mode) as fast as you can, because during this phase the boss will hit like a truck: inspired by hunter's playstyle, Midnight will stomp everything (but preferably you) with its Hero Power, and will flood the board with annoying low Mana-cost minions. To avoid adventurers to abuse this phase to setup the board for the next one, Midnight's deck is filled with Deathcharger and Skeletal Horse, which won't make phase one last much. 
Midnight will not use Warrior cards or Wieldy Sword, as Attumen the Huntsman won't use Hunter cards, Deathchargers, Haunted Creepers, Call of the Herd or Skeletal Horse.
When Midnight reaches 25 Health, Attumen the Huntsman will come to face you.

Phase Two

Starting Dialogue: Who dares attack my steed? You will pay for your insolence!
After the change portrait: Come, Midnight, let's trample this pesky rat!  
When trying to emote with Boss: You cannot distract me from the haunt!
After the defeat: So, at last...the hunter became...the haunted.

At the start of phase two Attumen the Huntsman hold his Wieldy Sword; he will basically always have a weapon equipped, considering the one from the start plus the three copies in the deck. After he mounts his steed, the flavor of the game suddenly changes: Attumen the Huntsman will try to rush you down just using his own hands - this means, no more minions except from the ones already in play (he's going to play minions only if forced: i.e. when going for fatigue, but I'm pretty sure it shouldn't possible to reach the bottom of the decks). The damage output will be lower than phase one, while the burst damage will be a little higher; also, Attumen the Huntsman's Hero Power will force adventurers to make efficient deck choices, considering he's going to attack each turn, no matter what (Evil Heckler , I'm looking at you). Last but not least, Attumen the Huntsman's got a few removals (Execute and Brawl over all), that really could screw up your game.

After his defeat, Medivh shows up once again:

"May you and Midnight ride forever, in the quiet of true death." 

The Servant Quarter's Beasts - Normal Mode

Deeper, beneath the cellars of it's mansion, Medivh shows up once again:

"Where once the racket of my servants filled the rooms, now there is only silence. You should fear the stillness: the shadows conceal the beasts that overrun these undergrounds. Don't let the quiet lure you, adventurer, we're not alone. Something is waiting."

The Servant Quarter's Beasts' Deck

Specific Normal encounter cards

Phase One

Starting Dialogue: Ikssssshh!
When trying to emote with Boss: Ksshkshhh!
After the defeat: **Whining**

The Servant Quarter's Beasts are a bunch of tiny, evil critter that awaits you before your ascent to the top of Karazhan; and you have to face them all! In World of Warcraft your raid have to fight just one of them, spawned at random, and I've never considered them as a raid bosses - even if they had a pretty decent amount of HP for that time. This said, the first boss who blocks your way is Hyakiss the Lurker: in the MMROPG its main ability was similar to Maexxna's one: they both transform one raid member into a cocoon, stunning the poor player for even ten seconds!
Also, I wanted this fight to be challenging in a different way: every phase reduce the effectiveness of a particular ability, as the specific cards may suggest. Also, every boss will likely play its own cards - so i tried to balance the fight curve considering this.
During phase one Divine Shield (but also Armor) will not put you on a safe spot. Corrosive Spider can become a threat combined with Hyakiss the Lurker's Hero Power; it can also fill the board with spiders, slowly lowering you to death if you cannot react quickly.
Phase two will start as soon as Hyakiss the Lurker reaches 30 HP; no matter if you damage it for more, the second boss will have 30 HP anyway (consider this as a overkill); also the Hero Power prevents the OTK combo Priest.

Phase Two

Starting Dialogue: **Roaarr!**
When trying to emote with Boss: **Growl**
After the defeat: **Muttering**

Rokad is a ferocious bloodhound, haunting everything is moving around him; honestly this is not true in World of Warcraft, where this fight is a simple tank'n spank, but nevermind. During this phase the boss will hit you hard (and I mean hard): his Hero Power is a time bomb, and you need to rush him down to 15 HP fast. Taunt will help you survive his claws, but during this phase Deathrattle aren't going to come in handy (Piloted Shredder nerf). Nothing more to say, to be honest I think this is the phase where the fight resolves, either into a bad or into a good finale. When Rokad goes down to (at least) 15 HP, the last phase will start. 

Phase Three

Starting dialogue, when trying to emote and after the defeat: **Screech**

The third phase isn't going to be cake: if Rokad the Ravager injured you badly, there is few chance you can survive Shakidith the Gilder. He can combo Ruthless Predators with Savage Roar to instantly vanish all your defensive effort, or he can burst you with Eviscerate.  15 Health, anyway, shouldn't be an issue at this stage of the fight, so if your board is set you can easily take him down in one turn or two.

After Shakidith the Gilder's death, you can see the shadow of a smile over Medivh's face:

"Even in the darkest depths, the smaller light can bring hope. But there are challenges you cannot even image, up to those stairs; don't be overconfident, but don't let the doubt slow your sword or confuse your mind.
Come, adventurer, there is a friend I didn't see for a long time, and I'm sure he's waiting for us."

Moroes - Normal Mode

The shadowy figure of Medivh appears beside you:

"Even when I killed him, his eyes were wide and open, but his face was calm and confident. His voice wasn't trembling, nor his breath was quivering. Neither the death seemed to surprise my old friend Moroes; nothing could discompose the castellan".

Moroes' Deck

Specific Normal encounter cards

Starting Dialogue: "Unnanounced guests? Hm, preparations must be made..."
When trying to emote with Boss: "You rang?"
When Moroes gains Stealth: "Now, where was I? Oh, yes..."
After the defeat: "Ceremonies...must not...be stopped"                         

Moroes was the master of ceremonies in Karahzan. He was killed by Medivh during his final stage of madness, even if he seemed to be surprised of that: he was suddendly buried near the tower, where he rested until new, dark forces brought him to life to fill, once again, the banquet halls.
In WoW Moroes is surrounded by his guests, a few nobles of Darkshire, while having dinner served by his servant; the encounter itself was pretty funny: the entire party had to CC some of those noblemans to achieve success. While the adds were bringed down, Moroes from times to times Vanished and Garrote one random player, dealing ton of bleeding damage over time (that need to be healed pretty much constantly in order to prevent the player's death).
Without further linger, let's take a look at Moroes HS' mechanics!  
First, his guests made into Hearthstone too, making the banquet's halls much more animated; let me introduce you la crème de la crème of Darkshire:

 Only 4 of those 6 minions will take place into the fight, chosen randomly. Moroes will not have any cards in his deck, except for the ones in his starting hand (being 4 Emerald Ripper). The four guests will be into the battlefield at the start of the game. Most of them are pretty simple to understand; however, some words need to be spent about Baroness Dorothea Millstipe and Lady Catriona Von'Indi.

Those two minions will cast one random spell at the start of Moroes' turn. Baroness Dorothea Millstipe will cast a shadow spell (see the spoiler above), choosing smartly the target: this said, she will always target random but appropriate enemy minions (she won't cast SW:D on a <5 Attack minion, for example, and she won't target friendly minions); if there are no minions on your side of the battlefield she will just cast Mind Blast for face damage.
Lady Catriona Von'Indi, instead, will constantly support her own allies with her spells, and sometimes will cast also Thoughsteal to add more flavor to this fight.*

Now, let's have a look at the Deathrattle: all guests will break Moroes' Stealth when killed, but what's that? A stealthed Hero?
Indeed, Moroes will cast every turn his Hero Power; first of all, he will cast Vanish, gaining Stealth; while stealthed Moroes cannot be attacked and cannot be targeted by spells and Hero Powers (like any other stealthed minion). After that, his Hero Power will be replaced with Garrote, that will be casted the turn after if Moroes is still stealthed, dealing direct damage to your Hero. To prevent the damage, you have to kill one of his guests; doing this, Moroes won't cast Garrote on the next turn, and will also become also targetable, allowing you to harm him.
When Moroes loses Stealth, his Hero Power will turn back into Vanish, making you buy another turn.
Emerald Ripper is another pretty straightforward card: when stealthed Moroes will deal more damage, while he won't the turn after you break his Stealth. For this, is important to clarify the order of Moroes' action during his Stealth:

Turn 1: Moroes casts Vanish - Moroes' servants will attack if able.
Turn 2: Moroes casts Garrote - Moroes' servants will attack if able - Moroes attacks (losing his Stealth after dealing damage) - Moroes casts Vanish.  
Turn 3: like Turn 2.

If you break his Stealth:

Turn 1: Moroes casts Vanish - Moroes' servants will attack if able.
Your turn: You kill one of Moroes' servants and he loses Stealth.
Turn 2: Moroes' servant attack if able - Moroes attacks (dealing 1 damage instead of 3) - Moroes casts Vanish.

The goal of this fight is to rush the boss down before it's obviously too late; you will have to think about the exact moment in which kill one of the guests, to maximize your damage output, or what guest kill first to prevent a bad fight outcome. Also, pretty much all classes got early removals that can easily deal with (at least) one of the legendary minion on the board. There are also lot of spells/mechanics that can deal damage to your opponent without targeting it directly (Hellfire, Mind Blast, Flamewaker, Explosive Trap, Consecration...) You can also try to kill Moroes using draw mechanics (like in the Patchwerk encounter in Naxxramas), Beneath the Grounds, or big Taunt minions.
NB:Flare won't break Moroes' Stealth.

After Moroes' defeat, Medivh will break the shadows once again:

"Once betrayed, then bent and enslaved...what a pitiful destiny was yours, my fellow castellan. I promise your services won't be forgotten, nor your loyalty won't be buried into the misery of these halls. Back to us Hero, there are dangers ahead that need to be fought; I can sense a strange power awaiting in the dark, a power ancient as old as the world itself. Wait...Titans? How could it be?"

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I really hope so! Btw I started this concept on Nov 2015 (after TGT), then recently I realized I had to finish the adventure (found a folder with some concepts inside about Karahzan), at least just for fun!

Quote from Woomod >>

The big problem is things like "Your cards cost 3 more" is stuff for the heroic modes, infact a lot of these feel like slightly weaker heroic modes.

Normal modes need to focus on being a fun mechanic, ask yourself "Could someone with nothing but basic cards beat this deck" for each of the normal modes, after all for someone the adventure is going to be their first purchase.

Like the beast's is a great example of flawed execution immediately opening with something straight better than maexxna opponent wise and over 30 health, with it's final phase slowly dragging your minions into just eating space on the board, for the second boss.