World of Warcraft: Expansion Ideas

Potential new player races for World of Warcraft

Great Sea Expansion Theme

Race #1: Coralites (Alliance)

Summary – Sometimes referred to as Mermen/maids or Sea Elves, the Coralites are descendents of the lower caste servants of the ancient Highborne. Realizing that their devotion to their masters’ cause had cursed them with unnatural deformity as well (although not as extremely as the Naga), the Coralites’ ancestors abandoned them, fleeing north to the frozen coast of Northrend. There, the Coralites made their home within the Crystal Caverns, a series of icy caves beneath the shoreline, and later began exploring the wreckage of sailing ships when the Humans and Elves began exploring the seas. Throughout much of history the Coralites have remained hidden from the world, constantly wary of Naga seeking to take their vengeance on their wayward servants. However, when the Naga began lashing out against the surface world, the Coralites realized that they had to either stand aside and watch the land burn, or do what they could to stop it. Choosing the latter, the Coralites contacted agents of the Alliance, offering to serve them as ocean guides for a counterattack against the Naga; the leaders of the Alliance agreed to this, and are making preparations to officially invite the Coralites into the fold.

Classes –

Warrior – Originally, the ancestors of the Coralites were lowly servants of the Highborne, who were dragged down into the depths with their masters. While they had never made war before, the downfall of Azshara inspired the Coralites to rebel. They have since become formidable warriors, combining their natural agility with the determined spirit gained from the Arctic conditions of their homeland near Northrend.

Hunter – Living next to the sea, the Coralites have long taken advantage of its resources. As such, they are experts in hunting the creatures of the sea, and have occasionally employed the same hunting strategies to trap creatures on the coastline as well.

Rogue – After being hunted by the Naga for their ‘rebellious tendencies’, the Coralites learned a thing or two about stealth tactics; Millennia later, Coralite Rogues are still out-manuevering the servents of Azshara, and are just as skilled as those employed by other races.

Priest – Despite looking as distant from the Night Elves as the Naga, the Coralites’ culture still bears some similarity to that of the Night Elves; the most prominent is their continued worship of the Goddess Elune. As it is the moon that controls the ebb and flow of the tides, the Coralites continue to revere her as their prominent deity.

Mage – In an attempt to win their freedom from the Naga, the Coralites risked their very lives to learn the secrets of Arcane magic, hiding from sight while their masters practiced. Armed with this new knowledge and power, the Coralites launched a revolution, and have no longer been slaves from that day on.

Shaman – Unlike their arcane-knowledgeable masters or their druid-oriented cousins, the Kaldorei servents who would later become the Coralites were very simple in the mystic arts; in fact, before the war of the ancients ever began, they relied on Shamanistic magic, which is still practiced today, even after 10,000 years.

Racial Capital – Crystal Caverns, Wreckage Reef

Racial Leader – Lord Alta’Mar

Racial Language – Coral-Tongue

Racial Mount – Storm Rider: A species of amphibious Basilisks native to the Wreckage Reef, the Storm Riders have been natural allies of the Coralites for millennia. Serving the Coralites as both mounts and companions, they possess the innate ability to sense the approach of bad weather, allowing the Storm Riders and their masters to avoid terrible beatings by Northrend’s fierce storms. Devoted to their masters and ferocious to their enemies, the connection between the Storm Riders and the Coralites is possibly as strong as the connection between Humans and Horses.

Racial Traits –

Ocean’s Grace (Passive)- While Swimming, the player’s legs transform into a large fish tail, increasing swimming speed by 25%.

Wrath of the Deep (Active)- Creates a ring of frost around the player, inflicting frost damage and slowing down enemies within 8 yards for 20 seconds. Slow down effect lasts up to 30 seconds.

Spit Shot (Active)- Shoots a jet of water in an enemy’s face, knocking them off balance for 5 seconds.

One with the Sea (Passive)- 10 point skill bonus to Fishing (note, this also raises the cap by 10 at each level of fishing).

General Goal of the Race: Act as guides for the rest of the Alliance in the battle against Azshara and her followers.

Reputation:

Stormwind (Friendly) – The first recorded encounters with the Coralites were in the form of old stories, brought back by the first ships to sail to the continent of Northrend; they told of Mermen/Mermaids who rescued sailors from drowning, bringing them back to their ship or the nearest inhabited port and disappearing back into the sea. Although there has never been substantial evidence to support these stories, the Coralites appear to be the source of the old stories. As such, many of the people of Stormwind already know of the goodness of these creatures, and are ready to open the doors of diplomacy to them.

Darnassus (Neutral) – While the populous of Darnassus are still debating on the issue regarding the Coralites, they are for the moment trying to be nice to them. While it pains them to think that they were once servants to the Naga, the fact they overthrew their masters all by themselves shows promise. In addition, the common lineage between their races means that by rejecting them, the Night Elves may be rejecting a piece of themselves. As such, while they have not rejected the Coralites, they have not accepted them yet either.

Ironforge (Neutral) – Being by nature creatures of the earth, the Dwarves of Ironforge are not as trusting of ‘fishermen’s tales’ as are Humans; as such, they aren’t as trusting of the Coralites. To be blunt, for most Dwarves, nothing good comes from the water. Murlocs live in water, Naga live in water, sea monsters live in water; to them, its all connected. Besides, these fish-faced characters are more than likely trying to pull a fast one on the Alliance; they may still be working for the Naga, and just say that they don’t!

Gnomeregan Exiles (Neutral) – As perhaps one of the most intellectual races of the Alliance, the Gnomes (who, by the way, are just about finished cleaning up Gnomeregan) try not to let simple prejudice cloud their judgement. To that end, the Gnomes are acting very unobjectionable about the issue, and are building their opinions based on careful observations and character studies. Until they have a definite feel for the Coralite people, they don’t plan on jumping to any conclusions any time soon.

Exodar (Friendly) – The Draenei have been battling against the forces of evil for millennia, and have become very skilled at recognizing ill intentions in people’s facial expressions; after all, even the most subtle of gestures could indicate some deeper meaning to them. In the Coralites, however, they do not see any signs of them being evil; while they may have been mutated from their original elven forms, they maintain as noble a spirit as any other. As a result, the Draenei offered their support to the Coralites’ cause.

Race #2: Gal'Zhaer Naga (Horde)

Summary – Recently, to the surprise of the entire Horde, a large number of Naga began sweeping out of the oceans and attacking their coastal settlements. What was even more surprising was that several hours later, another group of Naga arrived to help repel the invaders. At first, the Horde soldiers they had rescued were suspicious of their intentions, but eventually the Naga’s leader, General Salzavius Silithien, was able to gain an audience with the Warchief and his advisors, Eitrigg and Vol’jin. The general called his group the Gal’Zhaer (‘Traitors’ in the language of the Naga), a title earned when Silithien and his entire army were discovered as having been secretly practicing Druidic magic for centuries. Branded as traitors by Empress Azshara herself, the Gal’Zhaer Naga were forced to run from their brethren, taking refuge in their stronghold of Mala’Zar, an ancient sunken Kaldorei city, on an island off the coast of Tanaris. Initially prepared to simply wait out their evil brethren’s assaults, the Gal’Zhaer weren’t prepared to sit back and allow them to launch a massive genocidal attack against the surface world. Realizing that cooperation with the Alliance would be impossible (due to the presence of the Night Elves), General Silithien decided his best chance for fighting against Azshara’s loyalists was to ally with the Horde. Although Thrall had his suspicions about the Gal’Zhaer due to the recent attacks, he was persuaded that their knowledge of the Naga’s fighting techniques would be an excellent defense against further attacks. As a soldier in General Silithien’s rebel army, it falls on your shoulders to lead the charge against your misguided brethren, and finally dethrone the tyrant who rules over Nazjatar with an iron fist.

Classes –

Warrior – Like many races on Azeroth, the Gal’Zhaer Naga have their share of warriors; in their case, they were once soldiers to Azshara herself. They now use the same skills they once used to terrorize the denizens of the Great Sea to wage war against those still loyal to the Empress.

Hunter – Even underwater, the hunt must go on. Many Naga train in the use of bow and arrow in preparation of surface battles; the most notable are Azshara’s Sea Witches, who arm themselves with bows that create arrows of pure magic.

Rogue – Honor is not a word commonly found among the Naga. Many spend their lives lying, cheating and stealing in order to gain their Empress’ favor. Naturally, some are more ‘gifted’ than others in this respect.

Druid – When General Salzavius first discovered the city of Mala’Zar centuries, he was befriended by the spirit of the city’s patron demigod, Malorne. Through him, the Gal’Zhaer learned the way of the druid, and also learned that they could do more with their lives than just serve Azshara.

Mage – As descendents of the ancient Highborne, the Naga doggedly maintain their ancestors’ legacy of practicing arcane magic. While this trait is nowadays most common among female naga, its not uncommon for males to show talent in the mystic arts as well.

Shaman – Another form of magic practiced by the Naga, Shamanism isn’t as commonly practiced as arcane magic, as most Naga see it as a ‘primitive’ magic fit only for their non-intelligent minions; the Gal’Zhaer, however, are the exception to the rule.

Racial Capital – Mala’zar, Gal’Zhaer Reef

Racial Leader – General Salzavius Silithien

Racial Language – Nazja

Racial Mount – Snap Dragon: Originally native to a small island chain near Tanaris, Snap Dragons are a very ferocious breed of lizards who have adapted to become amphibious. Solitary hunters by nature, they are capable of secreting a poisonous compound from their mouth which they can use to weaken prospective prey, be they on land, in the air, or underwater. However, after the Naga began building their underwater empire, they forced large numbers of these creatures into submission, taming them to be used as guard animals and as mounts for Naga officers. Despite their separation from the rest of the Naga Empire, Silithien and his followers still maintain a large number of Snap Dragons to support his forces.

Racial Traits –

Dimorphism (Passive)- There is a marked distinction in attributes regarding Naga genders. Male Naga recieve a +1% bonus to their Strength and Stamina Attributes, and Female Naga recieve a +1% bonus to their Agility and Intelligence Attributes. Note: This only affects base attributes, and is not affected by benefits from magic or gear.

Fang Strike (Active)- The player attacks a melee opponent with a poisonous bite, inflicting both immediate physical damage and poison damage over time.

Slimy Scales (Passive)- There is a 1% chance that melee attackers will get their hands covered in slime, causing them to drop their main weapon.

Ancient Magic (Passive)- 10 point skill bonus to Inscription (note: this also raises the level cap for Inscription by 5).

General Goal of the Race: Join forces with the surface-dwelling races in an attempt to dethrone and destroy Empress Azshara.

Reputation:

Orgrimmar (Neutral) – Not long ago, an army of Naga on the warpath emerged from the sea and launched a direct attack on the city of Orgrimmar; now another group of Naga has appeared to help the Horde? While Thrall and his advisors are skeptical, the backings of the Darkspear Trolls, Undercity and Silvermoon is not something to outright overrule based on personal suspicions alone; as such, for now, the Orcs will tolerate them.

Darkspear Trolls (Friendly) – While the trolls of the Darkspear Tribe are loyal to Thrall, many have become somewhat anxious to avenge the attacks against their holdings, particularly Sen’Jin Village. If these Gal’Zhaer are so hot to kill off their cousins, the Darkspears don’t mind, just as long as they can do what they do best – Headhunting!

Undercity (Neutral) – While Thrall may be the Horde’s political and spiritual leader, Lady Sylvanas’ cold and ruthless intellect has always made her the brains behind many of the Horde’s recent amassed military campaigns. However, to best plan a defense against an enemy, one must have information; and who has better information about a Naga than another Naga?

Thunderbluff (Neutral) – Compared to the rest of the Horde, the Tauren feel that they are the least affected by the whole Gal’Zhaer controversy; after all, theirs was the only major Horde city not attacked, since it wasn’t built on a coastline. As such, they are willing to look unobjectionably on the Gal’Zhaer Naga, and allow time to reveal their true natures.

Silvermoon (Friendly) – Of all the Horde races, the Blood Elves seem to be the most keen to embrace the Gal’Zhaer. As they themselves are descended from the same Highborne ancestors as the Naga, many blood elves feel that, underneath that mass of scales and fins, the Naga are really much like them in nature. Besides, think of the forgotten arcane knowledge they may very well possess?

Author's Note: Okay, I'll be the first to admit it isnt perfect; for one thing, i've gotta figure out how to make tabs without those dashed-line boxes in the way, plus find the best way to get an racial attributes table in there. But then again, I'm new to this. If anybody has suggestions on how i can improve this stuff, click the discussion button and tell me what you think. Also, if enough people like my Great Sea theme races, then later i'll add some Emerald Dream theme races too.