Race ideas

Future race ideas/Intro

Arakkoa

Karokka — *"The Norwegian Blue prefers keepin' on it's back! Remarkable bird, id'nit, squire? Lovely plumage!"*

First seen in the Burning Crusade expansion

General

+ They have their own unique language.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

? Despite being avian, they do not possess the ability to fly. They are bipedal and otherwise completely humanoid, which provides few technical issues.

? Most arakkoa are hostile and xenophobic. They are, however, shown to be redeemable and trustworthy on an individual basis, which could presumably also go for a separate group.

? Arakkoa appear to have little inclination or preference towards either Alliance or Horde, as far as is known.

- Arakkoa appear to be strongly tied to Outland, which has already been featured in WoW's first expansion. Their lore is limited, however, and other unknown populations of them may yet exist.

Join the Alliance?

? The Skettis Exiles in Shattrath City now worship the Light in-game, which allows for class choices involving paladinism. The Light tends to be more common in the Alliance, as draenei, dwarves, and humans are all paladins. Arakkoa wouldn't have to "torture" a naaru to gain access to the Light like the blood elves. However, as stated by the upcoming 2.4 Patch Blood elves will now use the real light and no longer be torturing the Naaru.

? Probably friendly with the draenei at one time or another. The arakkoa and draenei shared the Horde as a common enemy.

Join the Horde?

? May have been friendly with the pre-Horde Orcs, and seeing their redemption might persuade the arakkoa to resume friendly relations.

Centaur

File:Male and female centaur.jpg

Mac-lovin'!

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Maraudon quest lines indicate race may be poised to undergo a reformation.

? Centaur already have their own unique structures present in-game, although, with the exception of entrance to mauradon, its limited to rather simplistic tents (most of it does not compare to level of architecture seen within the playable races). Few provide true crafts of their own. Their establishments tend toward crude mud-and-thatch huts, built to look more like stables than real homes.Template:Cite

? A night elf legend states that some centaur (other than the five clans fathered by Zaetar) were descendants of 'The Centaur', one of three children of Cenarius (the other two being 'the Keeper of the Grove' and 'the Dryad'). A potential source for playable characters?

? Centaur tribes have extremely limited numbers. A centaur tribe is only 26–195 individuals (6-45 are non-combatants), plus ten sergeants, five lieutenants, and one khan.Template:Cite This is far less of a population than even the gnomes or darkspear have. Is that enough to be a playable race in the MMO? Some interviews would imply not.

- Hostile and xenophobic.Template:Cite They eat sapient races, although so did trolls.

- Magram have recently started using necromancy and creating undead, but the source of their knowledge is unknown. There is no Scourge presence in the area, so it is believed to be related to the Burning Blade Clan presence in the area. It may be for the purpose of creating a "new" Scourge. This makes the Magram a potential danger to both the Alliance and Horde.Template:Cite

- As they have four legs it could introduce a technical difficulties in reworking the WoW code for the new animations, abilities and clothing. Also any idea for the mounts is hard to come by

Join the Alliance?

+ "Diplomacy" line of quests in Desolace shows Alliance as interested in friendship with the centaur.

+ Brann believes Magram and Gelkis are the most open to discussions with outsiders, and he believes that it may be possible to get one or both tribes to side with the Alliance, the only problem they blame each other for their troubles.Template:Cite

+ Brann believes the Gelkis are a better option for an alliance, due to fact that they don't side with the dead like the Magram.Template:Cite

? Closely related to the Children of Cenarius, the elf-allied forest spirits of Ashenvale. However, the five main tribes are also related to earth elementals and were responsible for their Cenarion forefather's death.

Join the Horde?

+ Rumors speak of one or two tribes, that have given up their evil natures in hopes of joining the Horde.Template:Cite

A centaur tribe is only 26–195 individuals (6-45 are non-combatants), plus ten sergeants, five lieutenants, and one khan.Template:Cite This is far less of a population than even the gnomes or darkspear have. Is that enough to be a playable race in the MMO?'

+ Because Magram side with the dead, this makes the Gelkis tribe a potential ally for the Horde.Template:Cite

+ The Gelkis tribe is shamanistic, but bloodthirsty, perhaps comparible to most troll species, Brann suspects it is possible that the Horde may convince them to give up their bloody sacrifices and join them, like the jungle trolls did, but he admits its pure speculation.Template:Cite

+ They are one of the races of the Horde Player's Guide, they are an independent race not allies to the Horde. But have qualities that are more common with the Horde.

? Traditional enemies of the tauren. Still, tauren can do quests to gain reputation with one of two tribes living in Desolace.

? The Magram could ally with the Forsaken, as Magram worship the undead (from a lore standpoint). However, the Magram may not like undead they can't control through their necromancy.

-"They are evil and sadistic creatures, and enemies of the Horde."Template:Cite An example is the Kolkar centaur who do not like the Horde, and vice-versa. Numerous Horde quests in the Barrens have you kill Kolkar centaur and their generals. Khan Dez'hepah in Desolace is also supposed to be killed by any Horde player.

-They are ancestral enemies of the tauren.Template:Cite

Cenarius' Favored Children

Keeper — *"My father was mounted over someone's fireplace."*

First seen in Warcraft 3.

Cenarius' Favored Children are: Keepers of the Grove (male), Dryad (female).

Probable expansion: Emerald Dream

General

+ Connection to the Emerald Dream (which may be added in an expansion).

- They are appear to merely be an extension of the night elf race.^{[citation needed]} They do not appear to have their own style, architecture or anything that was originally made by them ^{[citation needed]} (except for perhaps the trees of the "dryad shrines), also dryads have a connection to living and sapient structures such as Ancients of LoreTemplate:Cite and and Keepers are connected to the Altar of EldersTemplate:Cite. Both seem be found within or near tree-like structures, for example Raynewood Retreat.

Although it can be argued that similar to how gnomes and darkspear trolls were treated. In game they are treated more as extensions to the dwarves and orc races respectively, sharing the same starting areas, and same capital city. So the potential of having another race that begins in the same starting place and sharing the same capital of another race already has precedence in the game.

- As they have four legs it could introduce a technical difficulties in reworking the WoW code for the new animations, abilities and clothing.

- According to lore dryads are immune to magicTemplate:Cite. A player race that is immune to both heals and damage spells will have FAR too great of an advantage versus casters.

Join the Alliance?

+ Strong Alliance connection. Most are still part of the Alliance.Template:Cite

Join the Horde?

? Those belonging to the Cenarion Circle, have proven that it is possible for keepers to work well with the tauren. Albeit while the Cenarion Circle claims to be unaffiliated, it favors the Alliance more than the Horde, night elves and children of Cenarius make up most of its members.Template:Cite

- Would never side against their night elf brethren, especially since the orcs were responsible for Cenarius' death.

Drakonid

File:Lashlayer.jpg

"Sorry, I don't smoke."

First seen in World of Warcraft

General

Dragonspawn

First seen in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne

General

+ All Dragonflights (barring Black) have a strong enmity towards Deathwing and the Black Dragonflight and may be eager to aid the mortal races should Deathwing once again pose a threat.

+ Some dragons bred with gryphons (often used by the Alliance) to produce the wyverns (often used by the Horde)Template:Cite. Such links to the major factions could prove fruitful.

? The various dragonflights in World of Warcraft tend to either be entirely hostile, or neutral with both factions, offering the same quests to both.

? They are a "Dragonkin"-type creature in game, not Humanoid. However, this can be changed in the same way as Forsaken are not Undead.

? Possible starting area for dragonspawn of the Red Dragonflight in the unused space east of Grim Batol in the Wetlands, which is already surrounded by red dragons.

- Dragonspawn society is limited in scope and is currently known to comprise of the [Flametongue], scalebane, and wyrmkin classesTemplate:Cite, individual castes... even distinctive species. These are little more than military units and segregations.Template:Cite Culturally all are warriors - with surprisingly few having developed magical abilities - and depending on caste they have only a few mages and rogues. Limited class variety lore wise.

Blue dragonspawn apparently have more class variety than the other flight's dragonspawn due to their flight's increased knowledge, including warriors, rogues, hunters, and magesTemplate:Cite, however the blue dragonflight is apparently turning on everyone in Wrath of the Lich King.

- Do not currently possess their own style of architecture/buildings.

- As they have four legs it could introduce a technical difficulties in reworking the WoW code for the new animations, abilities and clothing.

Join the Alliance?

? It is believed that they may have evolved from humans.

? Early Warcraft lore states that Alexstrasza gave an oath of non-aggression to all of the current races of the Alliance (excluding gnomes) as long as she was in power over the Red Dragonflight, and she has a deep hatred for Orcs. This suggests a reason for the Red Dragonflight to join the Alliance.

Whilst the Red Dragonflight's distrust towards the Horde, and their gratitude towards the Alliance has existed into recent timesTemplate:Cite, they are apparently choosing a neutral path in order to aid both sides in Wrath of the Lich King.

Join the Horde?

? In the Sunwell trilogy, Krasus and several blue dragons helped the blood elves.

Blue dragons are apparently turning on the mortal races in Wrath of the Lich King. How would this influence previous contact?

? The Horde has previously had strong connections with dragons, but these have been because of dark deals or use of force. It unlikely that any of Alexstrasza's red dragon brood (with the exception of Korialstrasz, who was a good friend of Broxigar) will ever forgive the Orcs for their enslavement in the Second Great War, but members of the other broods have no grudges against the Horde.

Ethereal

Dealer Digriz — (Bandaged)*"Damn moths."*

File:UBE.jpg

(Unbound) "You know what burns my ass? A flame about this high."

First seen in Burning Crusade expansion.

General

+ Like goblins, ethereals have a fragmented society already shown to comprise several factions, some of these neutral or friendly to players and some outright hostile. Any playable ethereals could easily be a new faction, or a new form of the current friendly faction.

+ Ethereals already have their own unique architecture present in-game.

+ Ethereals have an outstanding conflict with the forces of the Void, which have links the Burning Legion. This conflict might give them reason to seek aid from the Alliance or Horde in a future war.

+ Already classed as Humanoids in game.

+ Already shown to wear most armor types over a base layer of mummy-like bandages. Including, head, shoulders, wrists, gloves, chest, legs and feet equipment[1].

They maintain a humanoid shape only when wearing mummy-like cloth bandages, and are affected by spells that affect other humanoids. Also, the cloth acts as base layer of "underwear" upon which armor is placed. Though some players would prefer not to appear constantly concealed beneath bandages, fortunately the true appearance of ethereals would not have to be entirely concealed due to some clever alpha texturing when it comes to the problem of equipping armor.

? Some people may dislike the idea of "intergalactic mummies", having seen the reaction to the alien draenei.

? Ethereals seem to be tied to the current events in Outland, which would have made the current expansion a good fit for them. Clearly, they were not chosen. Nevertheless, their nomadic nature and ability to travel between worlds using the Nether means they could always show up in a future expansion.

Ethereals are seen in Karazhan for unknown reasons, for instance.

? Their best bet for acquiring a city and starting zones in Azeroth would be a plot device like the draenei crash landing. Clearly, this idea has already been used, though alternatives may be found (a portal?).

? Females of this race do not currently exist in-game.

- Ethereals are largely indifferent towards the conflicts of mortals, and favor no race or faction above another. They currently have no incentive to join the Alliance or the Horde.

- Supposedly possess the ability to change shape or become unconfined masses of pure energy. This would seem to give them an unfair advantage over other races.

- An ethereal's true form is not likely to be playable as it is elemental rather than humanoid. In their true forms they are an insubstantial beings of pure energy, so lack distinguishing features and cannot wear armor (technical difficulty).

- They are liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to pursue their mysterious aims. The ethereals have no care at all for the Burning Crusade. They would even play both sides of the conflict against each other if doing so would serve to further their own goals.Template:Cite

- Ethereals have multi-dimensional abilities. They move oddly through the air as if only part there, sometimes having the ability to blink, resist damage, or call strange weapons to their aid to help them in combat.Template:Cite

Join the Alliance?

? A powerful "technological" race like the draenei or gnomes, which might suggest an affinity. At the same time, however, this similarity might make their coexistence within the same faction seem repetitive and unnecessary. Many draenei would also take issue with the Ethereals' amoral attitude regarding the exploitation of draenei and naaru holy sites in Nagrand and Netherstorm.

Join the Horde?

? Ethereals in Netherstorm hold a tenuous friendship with the blood elves in that area. Of course, those blood elves are mostly minions of Kael'thas and do not really represent the Horde.

Furbolg

Stillpine the Younger — *"Any gummy humans?"*

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

Gnoll

File:Gnollwest.jpg

Beware of the HOGGER!

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Sayge, a Gnoll working for the Darkmoon Faire, shows some spirituality and even amiability to player characters, like Miblon Snarltooth.

? Gnolls have been seen employed by various organizations, with pirates such as the Bloodsail Buccaneers, and evil corporations such as the Venture Co.

? Undead gnolls (an example of which is the Rothide tribe) could have broken their bonds with the Scourge and have Forsaken-type lore. However, the idea would probably make them more of an extension to the Forsaken race...

? Females of this race do not currently exist in-game.

- Little evidence of civilization.

- Mostly known as ruthless, cutthroat mercenaries.

- Do not currently possess their own style of architecture/buildings, but did in Warcraft III.

- Many Alliance and Horde quests include killing gnolls.

Join the Alliance?

- The Defias Brotherhood are currently at war with the Alliance. They have employed the Riverpaw gnoll tribe to fight for them.

Join the Horde?

+ "More often than not...they join the Horde".Template:Cite

- The tauren hate the gnolls, as the Palemane tribe disrespected all attempts of tauren communication in Mulgore (Quest:Sharing the Land), and they declare war or the Woodpaw, as they are a threat to Camp Mojache (Quest:War on the Woodpaw).

Goblin

Fima Five-Fingers — *"That guy's nuts! Grab 'em!"*

First seen in Warcraft 2

General

+ Already have graphical support for utilizing equipment, armor and weapons.

+ Recent added support for helmets.

+ Goblins are highly intelligent.

+ They have their own unique language.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

+ Like ethereals, goblins have a fragmented society already shown to comprise several factions, some of these neutral to players and some outright hostile. Any playable goblins could easily be a new faction, and remain neutral to the cities of the Steamwheedle Cartel.

+ Graphics for goblin females already exist in-game.

? Steamwheedle cartel Goblins, like the ethereals of the Twisting Nether, are totally indifferent towards the conflicts of other mortals, and do not wish to ever see an end to the Alliance/Horde feud, as that would bring an end to their profitable war-time sales. For this reason, the Steamwheedle Cartel goblins favor neither side (Besides giving Horde exclusive privileges to zeppelins) and no race. There are many goblins who are not neutral found in the service of the Horde among many other factions.

- Goblins have a similar culture and likely similar class choices to gnomes. They also share gnomes' eccentric personalities and penchant for technology, inventions and explosives. For these reasons, goblins could be seen as too similar to this existing playable race to ever be playable themselves (especially as part of the Alliance).

- The majority of the race went neutral before the Third War, acting as mercenaries to both Horde and Alliance, they continue to be Independent and neutral in World of Warcraft, having neutral cities in various lands of both Azeroth and Outland. They are independent in the RPG and TCG as well. Due to the majority of the race having iconic independent and neutral status, working between both factions, they are not likely to become playable any time soon.

However, they could still introduce a subrace or new faction of goblins.

Join the Alliance?

+ Although many in the Alliance consider goblins to be mercenaries and war profiteers, they are not above using them. If they have no tinkers, or their tinkers have died in previous battles, they sometimes have to go to goblins for repairs or supplies. And the goblins are always ready to help a customer, for the right price.Template:Cite

? Some goblins have joined SI:7 in Stormwind.

? Intense rivalry with the gnomes, though they have been seen working together on occasions.

? The goblin mindset fits well with the Alliance, which is known over the Horde for its greed and riches.

Join the Horde?

+ Goblins fought with the Horde in the Second War, but broke off when they realized that it's more profitable to work both sides. However, many goblins remember the fun of the Horde and are willing to lower mercenary prices to Thrall and his people. Goblins offer almost exclusive transport services for the Horde, whether in their steamboats or zeppelins. It is more likely that a team of goblin sappers, who take great pleasure in the chaos the Horde creates, will be found meshed into Horde forces, rather than those of the Alliance.Template:Cite They have a deep history with the Horde going back to as early as the First War, and were in greater numbers during the Second. They were one of the Horde races in Warcraft II, building many of the technological devices for the Horde.

+ Metzen listed them as a Horde race in this art piece [2].

+ Many goblins can still be seen in Orgrimmar, Ashenvale and Camp Mojache. Goblins helped build Orgrimmar and many never left, although lore-wise currently considered Independent, and not actually members of the Horde, though they may favor the Horde.Template:Cite

+ Would make a good engineering/technological race for the Horde who seem to be lacking in such specialists.

The "Kalimdor Horde" being nature-reliant and the "Lordaeron Horde" structured more around the arcane arts.

? Gazlowe was an ally of Thrall or at least was hired by Thrall to build Orgrimmar in Frozen Throne. He gave a quest to Rexxar.

? Goblins do not exactly have a good rapport with tauren, especially the Venture Company goblins. Goblins also fought against the high elves in the Second War, although it is likely that now goblins are independent that the newly formed blood elves won't care anymore.

Kobolds

First seen in Warcraft 3

+ Whilst kobolds are perceived to be unintelligent, some kobolds possess greater than average intelligence.

+ With little to no lore, there could be a creative way to add kobolds into either side.

? Rare are the exceptional kobolds that leave their tunnels behind, striking out on a life of adventure. Most of these have a wanderlust they cannot otherwise sate; others feel the pull of riches more keenly than their brethren, and realize that adventure may be the best way to get what they need.Template:Cite

? Females of this race do not currently exist in-game.

- Cowardly and pathetic by nature, and considered by most adventurers to be more of a nuisance than a threat.

Join the Alliance?

+Friendly kobolds are possibly raised by night elves or some other race. Though ruled by fear, heroic kobolds emerge from time to time.Template:Cite

- Kobolds have conflicts with the humans of Stormwind. They've infested the Fargodeep and Jasperlode mines in Elwynn Forest, and some kobolds are with the Defias Brotherhood as evidenced in quests.

Join the Horde?

+ Kobolds have a number of allies within races in league with the Horde.^{[citation needed]}

- The tauren would be particularly tetchy about letting kobolds into their fold. Note that they tried to protest against Bael Modan dwarves mining in their lands, but were slaughtered in the end for that. Kobolds take a liking to mining, which the tauren would find unacceptable.

Mo'arg

File:Taragaman.jpg

Gigantic, muscular and spikey. And that's only the females.

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Felguard have been seen to be both intelligent and tactically sound, and often a good deal more sane than some other demonic types.

+ Out of all other demons they have the least technical difficulties, being perfectly humanoid.

? Possible Forsaken-type lore - as the downtrodden cannon fodder of the Burning Legion, what if a few felguards or other mo'arg variants threw in their lot with the mortals? Also, new lore in the Burning Crusade expansion pack shows that some demons are already leaving the Legion to join Illidan, mo'arg among them.

? Alternatively, mo'arg could be revealed to have a history similar to that of the draenei - namely, that they were once a non-demonic race and only a large portion of them joined the Legion. The draenei, after all, are little more than non-demonic eredar; perhaps there are non-demonic Mo'arg out there somewhere.

? Females of this race do not currently exist in-game.

? They are a "Demon"-type creature in game, not Humanoid (with Taragaman the Hungerer being the only exception). However, this can be changed in the same way as Forsaken are not Undead.

? Do not currently possess their own style of architecture/buildings. Then again, neither do any other demons - nor should they - being only troops within a military force of other-worldly species.

- The felguard are currently functioning as a Warlock pet. This may not neccessarily be a barrier to becoming a new race, however.

- They are demons, and thus almost every mortal on Azeroth hates them. Also, unlike the Forsaken, they joined the Legion of their own free will.

Or did they?

Join the Alliance?

- The draenei would be particularly tetchy about a group of demons joining the Alliance, 'friendly' or not. Note that they are still hostile to the orcs. The night elves would share a similar view, as they have suffered immensely in the past at the hands of demons.

Join the Horde?

? As a race that has had a similar experience in the past, the orcs may consider accepting repentant or uncorrupted mo'arg(if they exist) into the Horde. In any case, the blood elves and the Forsaken would not be as heavily opposed to this as many other mortal races would be.

Murloc

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Are in great need of help, since the mur'guls are running rampant through their habitat. They might just share some of their ancient secrets in exchange for help.

+ Murlocs are sapient.[3]

The demo Orc campaign in The Frozen Throne provides precedent for murlocs being sapient; those who worshipped the Sea Witch were quite clearly intelligent and even had dialogue.

+ They speak murloc nerglish.

? References to Barrens chat have been made before by Blizzard (the tee shirt and High Overlord Saurfang are evidence). Mudkips are a thing people like as much as Chuck Norris, and murlocs are the closest thing to them. So, what can stop Blizzard from making Mudkip-like people?

? Apothecary Renzithen in the Ghostlands states that "murlocs...like us...retained free will in undeath". This suggests that murlocs are indeed sapient since capacity for judgement is generally considered a prerequisite for free will.

? Trade seems to be important for murlocs. Several people of the Alliance and the Horde have learned to trade with them; using shells as a form of currency.

? Murlocs can breathe underwater indefinitely.Template:Cite Underwater breathing could give murlocs an unfair advantage over other races unless Blizzard gave a water breathing race to both factions; though the undead do have an extended underwater breathing ability.

- Females of this race may already exist in game, but it would be difficult to tell as females don't look much different than the males (Only the length and shape of the head-fin and back-fin indicate gender.)Template:Cite).

- They hate living above the waves and hate dealing with land people.Template:Cite As of yet unerringly hostile to all sapient beings they encounter.

- Though murlocs can breathe air, they cannot remain out of water for long. Their skin is scaled like a fish and requires moisture to stay supple. Without daily immersion it dries and cracks, causing intense pain. This is why their villages are built along the shore — every murloc spends part of the day underwater, as much for survival as for enjoyment. Murlocs must immerse themselves in water for at least an hour per day. A murloc who spends a day without immersing herself in water becomes dehydrated.Template:Cite Murlocs dry out if they remain out of water for extended periods of time, they can die if out of water for a week. They must be periodically doused with at least a gallon of water every few hours to prevent damage, or submerge and rest to heal damage received from drying out. The race is not known for stealth, infiltration, or traveling far from shore. The difficulty with dry land requires some effort to circumvent, particularly if the murloc must travel a large distance through desert or dry plains.Template:Cite

-Murlocs don’t wear much. They do wear armlets and bracers and necklaces and belts, all ornamented with shells and teeth and bits of stone or metal.Template:Cite A murloc’s webbed hands and feet make it impossible for them to wear rings, gloves or bootsTemplate:Cite Only a few with rank, wear cloths draped across a shoulder or wrapped around their neck (below the gills). Headdresses are common — they have no hair to get in the way and often arrange spines and spikes and shells and rocks about their heads, held in place by seaweed or twine or leather straps or even metal wire. The few who trade with people sometimes wear loincloths and shawls as a concession to human modesty.Template:Cite

- Metzen says "not soon" ^[1]

Join the Alliance?

+ The White Shark tribe in Northrend has done trade with the Alliance town of Valgarde, and as such appear to be the murloc tribe which has carried out the most trade with surface dwellers.Template:Cite

Join the Horde?

? The Tuskarr of Kaskala have a pact with the Horde. As they are fishermen it remains to be seen what they think of these fish.

- In recent times, the murlocs became unwittingly responsible for the shaping of the present-day Horde. Murloc attacks caused the Darkspear trolls and the Horde to unite and drive them off, and formed the core of the modern-day Horde, in which tauren, Forsaken, blood elves, and tuskarr would later join.

Naga

First seen in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne

General

+ Naga are highly intelligent.

+ They have their own unique language.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

+ In a concept art of Booty Bay, numerous buildings were marked with the word "Naga Entrances".Template:Cite

+ Naga already have graphical support for utilizing equipment, most upper and lower body armor (although this doesn't appear to be implemented very well) and weapons (minus helmets).

? Possible Forsaken-type lore. The invention of a new naga tribe against Aszhara and the Old Gods is always possible, as Blizzard has made lore adjustments in the past, and we've seen what Metzen can do.

? Being able to breathe underwater for long periods of time would not necessarily be an unfair advantage, especially as the Forsaken already have a similar ability.

? Possible starting area in the unoccupied coastal area of Gilneas, leading into Silverpine Forest once players reach maturity.

- Associated with the Old Gods and Illidan, notorious enemies of both the Alliance and Horde.

-Naga are dark creatures, evil and cunning. A naga might join forces with a being of another race in order to serve her own ends, however, much as Lady Vashj did with Illidan and his forces. Naga are selfish creatures, though, and think only of their own (and their race’s) dominance. Their minds have little room for charity or kindness. A naga that renounced his or her evil ways would be a unique individual indeed.Template:Cite.

- Neither the Alliance nor the Horde will welcome them. Neither the Alliance nor the Horde is willing to grant the naga shelter or succor — not that the accursed aquatic elves would seek such boons.Template:Cite

- So far all playable races have been bipedal, as naga have no legs, rather a snake-like limb, it could introduce a technical difficulties in reworking the WoW code for the new animations, abilities and clothing.

Join the Alliance?

+ They would sooner accept the night elves as masters than join the Horde.Template:Cite

? The naga were all night elves before their transformation at the Sundering.

- The Alliance elicits nothing but rage in the minds of the naga. Their former brethren, the night elves, still thrive on the continent, and have not forgotten their grudges with the naga. Their blatant hatred of the night elves is only rivaled by the night elves’ feelings for them. Tyrande Whisperwind is highly respected within the Alliance, her hatred and distrust of the naga has spread to the other races.Template:Cite

- Blood elves and naga, both cursed descendents of the night elves and both users of arcane magic, are not welcome in Alliance lands.Template:Cite

- Though the Alliance's opinion of the naga was originally entirely shaped by night elf sentiments (hatred mainly, due to the nagas' betrayal of the Kaldorei in the War of the Ancients), aggressive naga behaviour towards the Alliance and subsequent retaliation (as shown in the quest Stormwind Ho!) has certainly solidified a negative opinion within the Alliance.

It is also interesting to note that Brann Bronzebeard has considered the formation of an alliance with the makrura against the naga.Template:Cite

Join the Horde?

+ The naga mindset and background meshes well with the blood elf/forsaken part of the Horde. They also share the same views on the arcane as their fellow Highborne exiles, the blood elves. Blood elves get along well with the naga — with whom they share Highborne ancestry.Template:Cite They were former allies with blood elves not long after the Third War. ^[2]

? They have changed much physically, like the Forsaken, and are also viewed as evil by their former brethren.

? Kael's blood elves are currently allied to Vashj's naga. It would therefore not be too difficult to imagine the blood elves of Azeroth taking a similar course of action, though it may require an amount of retconning or new lore to fit, due the contrasting beliefs of the two blood elven factions.

- Naga frequently attack the tuskarr of Kaskala, who have formed a pact with the Horde.

-The races of the Horde are met with derisiveness from the naga; they would have no part of the Horde even if invited to join. They find the spiritual natures of these races worthy of disrespect. The naga consider the Horde to be nothing more than barbaric, weak-minded fools. They would sooner accept the night elves as masters than join the Horde.Template:Cite

Though this doesn't mean a possible rebel tribe couldn't possess a different opinion on the Horde.

Nathrezim

Varimathras — *"Don't worry about the fine print. The soul consumption clause is never exercised."*

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

? Known to be powerful shapeshifters, and manipulators, meaning that joining the Alliance or Horde will certainly not be out of their grasp if they desire it to be so. Shapeshifting or possesion is out of the question, there is no point in playing a race that looks exactly like an already playable race.

? Possible Forsaken-type lore - some have decided to make their own way after the fall of Archimonde and Tichondrius, loosening their binds to the Legion and now have their own agenda, as we can see from Balnazzar and the Scarlet Crusade; his brother Varimathras and his Forsaken allegiance and the presence of numerous nathrezim in Illidan's forces.

? They are a "Demon"-type creature in game, not Humanoid. However, this can be changed in the same way as Forsaken are not Undead.

? Could uncorrupted Nathrezim exist?

? Females of this race (NOT succubi!) do not currently exist in-game.

? Do not currently possess their own style of architecture/buildings. Then again, neither do any other demons - nor should they - being only troops within a military force of other-worldly species.

- They are good flyers.Template:CiteTemplate:Cite The creature is very agile in the air (like a housefly or a hummingbird), but cannot change direction as readily as those with perfect maneuverability.Template:Cite Infact they are better at flying than harpies who are average flyers.Template:CiteTemplate:Cite

However, Nathrezim have not been shown to fly very high in-game, only glideing along the ground, but has occasionally happened in lore, for example with Ganthrifal. Like harpies its not likely Blizzard would implement a race that can fly under their own power as a playable race.

- The nathrezim are forbidden from killing another of their race.

The undead Forsaken cannot get the quest involving Quest:Compendium of the Fallen, whereas the other Horde races can. Thus quests involving the killing of nathrezim do not neccessarily present an obstacle, though there would be numerous complications if playable nathrezim were unable to kill major instance bosses such as Balnazzar.

- They are always lawful evil.Template:Cite They are known as evil demonic soul vampires, and are thus hated by most mortal races on Azeroth.

Join the Alliance?

? Known to be present in human lands, and have often chosen to appear as humans when disguised.

? The draenei and night elves have a particular emnity with nathrezim and would protest should they join the Alliance, as the majority of their current problems stem from the actions of the Burning Legion. Nevertheless, every mortal has a price; and as Lady Onyxia has shown, infiltrating the Royal Court of Stormwind was only too easy...

Join the Horde?

+ A nathrezim, Varimathras, already has a well established position in the Horde as second-in-command of the Forsaken undead.

? It could be argued that the majority of the nathrezim would bear the Forsaken a grudge, Sylvanas having turned Varimathras to her own allegiance, then murdered Detheroc and defeated Balnazzar.

? The orcs do not have a particularly good rapport with the nathrezim, as they failed the Burning Legion twice in the past. Then again, any nathrezim joining the Horde would likely not be part of the Legion and so would care little about the orcs' shortcomings. And after all, as a a matter of pride, the orcs were never part of nathrezim operations - the Pit Lords being the unsuccessful puppet masters on both occasions.

Nerubian

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Nerubians are highly intelligent.

+ They have their own unique language.

+ They have their own unique architectural style (upon which the Scourge based their own style).

+ Fanatic hatred of the Scourge.

? Biologically connected to the Silithid, which are hostile to all races.

? At BlizzCon they were said to worship the Old Gods.

Could reclaiming their city and defeating the Scourge be more important to them?

? Do not currently exist in World of Warcraft (Crypt Fiends are undead nerubians).

- Unlikely to appear even as a non-playable race in any expansion after Wrath of the Lich King.

- As they have six legs it could introduce a technical difficulties in reworking the WoW code for the new animations, abilities and clothing. However the Nerubian vizers are bipedal.

Join the Alliance?

+ Brann Bronzebeard has recently discovered a document that allows him neutrality with any nerubian city. He was able to use it to 'befriend' nerubians of the Sundered Monolith. He believes that the Alliance and nerubians could unite against their mutual enemy: the Scourge. That will only be possible through the use of Brann's document.Template:Cite.

? Even though they had the opportunity to cooperate with Baelgun's dwarves and possibly defeat the weakened King Arthas (and thus the Scourge) when he entered the nerubian Old Kingdom, instead the nerubians decided to take on all the trespassers into their territory, earning the enmity of the dwarven expedition as well as contributing to Arthas' success. Granted Baelgun's dwarves do not have any document that would allow the Nerubians to trust them, as Brann does.

Join the Horde?

? Would fit in well with the Forsaken.

? It is unlikely that nerubians would get along with the Forsaken due to their undead nature. However, they both share a fanatical hatred of the Scourge as they were both heavily affected by the Lich King's machinations.

- The tuskarr war with the nerubians. As the tuskarr are allies of the Horde, this could cause problems should nerubians decide to join the Horde.

Ogre

First seen in Warcraft 1

General

Pandaren

File:Twopandaren.jpg

"I bring Panda-monium!"

First seen in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne

General

Quilboar

First seen in Warcraft 3

General

+ Quilboar are highly intelligent.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

+ The quilboar are willing to aid other races if given an incentive, one such example being Mangletooth.

+ The (demi)god of the quilboar, Agamaggan, aided the other demigods and the mortal races against the Burning Legion in ancient times.

- Almost from birth, young quilboar are indoctrinated with teachings of hatred for other sapient species.Template:Cite

- The race is usually lawful evil, and does not get along with good-aligned races.Template:Cite

Join the Alliance?

? As a race quilboar hate all other sapient racesTemplate:Cite, and the quillboar could pose a threat to the Alliance, especially at Bael Modan, though are currently more occupied with their skirmishes with the HordeTemplate:Cite. This could lead to a possible explanation (that doesn't involve retconning) for quillboar to join the Alliance, as a chunk of quillboar's ancestral land was taken from them by the Horde, although the same is said for the Alliance as well (Bael Modan as an example). On the other hand there are quests that lead the Alliance to the Razorfens, and they are hostile to the Alliance as well as the Horde.

Lore states that quilboar are hostile to all other sapient races, denying the speculation that their hostility to the Alliance is a mere gameplay mechanic. In game there are quests that lead the Alliance into battle in the Razorfens as further evidence that it's more than a mechanic.

- Quilboar are only found in low-level Horde zones (levels 1-20) in Central Kalimdor, and following the game's mechanics its not likely that Blizzard would create a starting area for the Alliance within Horde controlled territory and starting areas. There is no lore or evidence of quilboar living in Northern Kalimdor near the Alliance controlled areas, on the contrary the lore states that Quilboar live only in Central Kalimdor mostly in the Barrens, with some living in Durotar or Mulgore.Template:CiteTemplate:CiteTemplate:Cite

Join the Horde?

? Mangletooth is captured quillboar in Camp Taurajo and not actually a Horde member according to the quest lore, however he able to work with players to get revenge on the ones that betrayed him. He is flagged as a Horde PvP NPC for some reason, although he is not technically a member of the Horde.

- Distinct hatred of the Horde, especially the tauren and the orcs whom they believe to be trespassing on their ancestral lands.

Satyr

First seen in Warcraft 3

Probable expansion: War of the Ancients Probable expansion: The Great Sea

General

+ Satyr are highly intelligent.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

? When you complete Zenn Foulhoof's quest, he says "Who would have ever guessed that I, Zenn Foulhoof, would have a night elf to do my bidding? Certainly not me! But so it goes... this beloved world of ours is full of surprises." An ironic hint by Blizzard?

? Many satyrs are not in the employ of the Burning Legion, instead making their own way in the world. Due to their lack of backup and resources, they would certainly need help were they to ever intend to make any impact on the world, or to carry out an important quest - for example, visiting Xavius at the bottom of the Great Sea in an attempt to find a way to reverse their condition...

? Many satyrs are allied with Illidan, and are currently found in Outland's Black Temple instance.

? Females of this race do not currently exist in-game.

? They are a "Demon"-type creature in game, not Humanoid. However, this can be changed in the same way as Forsaken are not Undead.

- Usually chaotic evil. Satyrs are evil, though occasionally they work with other races to further their own goals — notably, a few satyrs employ adventurers (both Horde and Alliance) on missions to undermine their enemies’ societies. (Understandably, neither the Horde nor the Alliance look favorably on adventurers who deal with such dark forces.) As satyrs are twisted and corrupted, violence and depravity are inseparable parts of their nature.Template:Cite

- They appear to be pure evil, demonic creatures.

Of course, satyr as a playable race might not be the satyrs we know now, who turned into demons willingly, but instead night elves corrupted by force, magic, persuasion or trickery. Either that, or redeemed...

Join the Alliance?

? The satyr Zenn Foulhoof lives in Teldrassil, and is friendly towards Alliance players. Although he is up to no good, the night elves only employ a minor punishment when he causes trouble. This shows that whilst the elves may find him distasteful, they are willing to tolerate his presence. However, this is an isolated incident, and all other satyrs are hostile.

? Hated by night elves. (But, as with the Forsaken, they might be accepted by other Alliance races that had little to do with them so far).

Join the Horde?

? As a race they have no conflict with the Horde, indeed their history may even lead some members of the Horde to sypathise with the more penitent satyr. Nevertheless, 'penitent' satyr are a rarity if they even exist at all...

Tuskarr

First seen in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne

General

+ Tuskarr are highly intelligent

+ They have their own unique language.

+ They have their own unique architectural style.

- They are are a race of fishermen without an organised society or community figureheads, simply operating out of small villages (the largest being Kaskala).

- Unlikely to appear in any expansion after Wrath of the Lich King.

Join the Alliance?

? The tuskarr of Kaskala are on good terms with Brann Bronzebeard, and good neighbors to the Alliance.Template:Cite

- at least before Wrath of the Lich King.

Join the Horde?

+ The Tuskarr of Kaskala have struck a pact with the Horde forces of Warsong Hold due to their similar outlook.^[3]

The nature of the pact as of yet is unclear. Its unknown if they have become full members or are just aligned towards the horde (as a rep faction) but not members, similar to Revantusk tribe. The official site says they are neutral.

Worgen

First seen in World of Warcraft

General

References

Notes and other idea pages

Previous suppositions about the Alliance new race for the Burning Crusade expansion can be found here.
Expansion ideas
In-depth race ideas:
- Drakonids ideas
- Furbolg argument
- Mok'Nathal ideas
- Murloc/Worgen ideas by Gigawolf1
- Ogre ideas
- Pandaren ideas
- Worgen ideas
- Gnoll ideas by Charred But Alive.
- Lon-ami's Races Ideas by Lon-ami.
- Azj'Aqir history idea by Lon-ami.
- Fancy mockup of a Townhall page: Nathrezim ideas

[1] ttp://dccomics.com/media/podcasts/DCComics_2007-07-28_Wow_Its_World_of_WarCraft_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2007.mp3

[2] ttp://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/encyclopedia/487.xml

[3] ttp://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/northrend/borean-tundra.xml

[1]

[2]

[3]

Wowpedia

Race ideas

Contents

Arakkoa

Centaur

Cenarius' Favored Children

Drakonid

Dragonspawn

Ethereal

Furbolg

Gnoll

Goblin

Kobolds

Mo'arg

Murloc

Naga

Nathrezim

Nerubian

Ogre

Pandaren

Quilboar

Satyr

Tuskarr

Worgen

References

Notes and other idea pages

Fan Feed