Races and factions of Warcraft

Alliance

Humans

Humans were introduced in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Throughout the first two Warcraft games, the human race was depicted as the archetypical medieval European kingdom. In Warcraft and Warcraft II they were also depicted as the protagonists; the Humans fought for the side of Heaven against the Hellish Orcs, though this theme was abandoned in the third game.

Warcraft II introduced the human nation of Lordaeron, the nation which is depicted in Warcraft III as the main protagonists. The nation is exposed to a plague of undeath which turns those infected into undead monsters who serve the will of the Lich King. The prince of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil, also eventually succumbs to the will of the Lich King and is instrumental in bringing about the downfall of his kingdom and, eventually, the invasion of the Burning Legion. He is one of the main characters of the third game and its expansion.

The humans descended from an ancient nomadic tribe known as the Arathi, who conquered and united the other warring human tribes and founded the nation of Arathor and the great city of Strom, later renamed Stromgarde. The Arathi formed an alliance with the High Elves of the far north after they aided them in a war against the Amani Empire of Trolls.

Dwarves

The Dwarves are a short and strong race. The playable clan of dwarves, the Bronzebeards, reside in the Eastern Kingdoms, in the kingdom of Khaz Modan. Their skin colour can be from a dark gray to a human tan. Originally a race of miners, however due to a recent discovery that uncovered fragments of their ancient origin, they have changed their focus to archeology.

Dwarves were introduced as a supporting Alliance race in Warcraft II, and are a playable race in World of Warcraft.

The dwarves make an appearance in the World of Warcraft patch Secrets of Ulduar, in which their origin is further expanded on. The third Bronzebeard brother, Brann Bronzebeard, leads the expedition there to learn the dwarves history. He tells the story of what relevance Ulduar has to the origin of many of Azeroth's native races.

Draenei

Draenei are the last of the original Eredar, who fled their homeworld of Argus to escape the corruption of the Dark Titan Sargeras. The exiled Eredar traveled through the cosmos aboard the Naaru Dimensional Ship, Oshu'gun, and landed on a remote world, naming the planet Draenor or "Exile's Refuge". The Burning Legion pursued the Draenei to Draenor, having turned the Orcs against the Draenei, resulting in the destruction of much of the Draenei race. After a great cataclysm which saw the destruction of Draenor, the Draenei used a vessel of Naaru design, the Exodar, to abandon the world, eventually arriving on Azeroth and crashing to the west of the coastal region of Darkshore. They joined the Alliance, greatly respecting the Alliance's devout reverence for the Holy Light.

Draenei have skin ranging from purple to pale blue, and both genders are relatively tall compared to humans, have cloven, goat-like hooves, tails that resemble those of a lizard, and dark hair. Males often have tentacle-like appendages extending from their chin, and occasionally large, complex structures on their forehead, while females have two horns on their temples extending backwards and thinner versions of the male's appendages hanging from behind the back of the jaw.

The Draenei were introduced for World of Warcraft and made a playable race in the expansion pack The Burning Crusade. However, a non-playable race called the Draenei were also in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, although their appearance was different from the "World of Warcraft" version. The Warcraft III version was later clarified to be a mutated variety of Draenei called the "Lost Ones", which mutated hideously from the original species upon exposure to demon magic. The "Lost Ones" had blue skin, pure white eyes, short, variously colored, very short hair, and huge, open mouths, resembling zombies.

Gnomes

Gnomes are a short, intelligent, and inquisitive race with aptitudes in both the arcane and mechanical crafts. The Gnomes' previous home was called Gnomeregan. Gnomeregan, a city with amazing and advanced technology, was rendered uninhabitable due to the malfunction of defense machinery placed to ward off an encroaching Trogg population. Because of the malfunction, many Gnomes were subjected to doses of radiation and became 'leper gnomes.' These crazed, delusional, and violent Gnomes attack any non-leper gnome, non-Trogg outsiders.

Gnomes have a notorious rivalry with the Goblins, another mechanically-minded race.

Gnomes were first introduced in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness as a supporting Alliance race. Prior to World of Warcraft the gnomes were driven out of their home city by a primitive race known as Troggs. Refugees were taken in by the Dwarven capital of Ironforge, which the two playable races share in World of Warcraft.

Night Elves

Night Elves (or "Kal'dorei" meaning "Children of the Stars" in their native tongue) are one of the oldest humanoid races native to Azeroth. Thousands of years ago, a schism occurred between the ruling High Elf mages and the rest of the population. Following the intervention of some Elven heroes and a group of warriors transported from the future, the night elf forces succeeded in preventing the High Elves from allowing the Burning Legion to permanently enter Azeroth, though the planet was shattered in the process. The schism not only destroyed the magical Well of Eternity from which the elves drew their power but also most of the rest of the continent, resulting in a vast ocean separating the continents of Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend.

The remaining Night Elves in Kalimdor guarded a massive World Tree, Nordrassil, which was planted over a second Well of Eternity created by the exiled Elf hero Illidan Stormrage. The tree gave the night elves several new abilities, such as immortality. For the next ten thousand years, the survivors lived peacefully, until the second invasion of the Burning Legion. The races of Azeroth, both Horde and Alliance, together fought the Legion at the peak of Mount Hyjal, until the elves managed to unleash the primal fury of Nordrassil killing the demon lord Archimonde and defeating the Burning Legion. Since then, the night elves have lost many of their abilities, and have planted a new World Tree called Teldrassil to try and recover them.

Night elves are imposing in stature, males being on average 7 feet tall. Male night elves are very muscular, with broad chests and shoulders, indicative of the strength that lies within both their minds and bodies. Female night elves are lithe and curvaceous, yet still muscular and strong. The race's prominent eyebrows, long pointed ears and natural aspects imply a feral grace. Skin tones vary from purples or pinks to blues or a pale whitish-blue, their hair ranges in colour from bright white to woodland green to an electric purple, and their eyes vary from white to a bright yellow-green.

Night Elves were introduced for Warcraft III as one of the playable races and Night Elves are a playable race in World of Warcraft.

Worgen

First introduced in World of Warcraft, the worgen are wolf-like humanoids that were summoned to Azeroth from an unnamed world by the night elf Velinde Starsong to battle the demons in Felwood, and by the human archmage Arugal to battle the Scourge. Worgen who still serve Arugal can be found in Shadowfang Keep. Experiments by Arugal have created werewolf-like human / worgen hybrids which take the form of worgen under moonlight and the form of humans at other times, as well as a curse which turns humans into worgen. Early in the storyline of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, a civil war broke out in opposition to the isolation of Gilneas. During this time the worgen curse spread through the secluded nation and transformed nearly all of its inhabitants into feral worgen.

Worgen were announced as the Alliance's new playable race for the third expansion pack, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Years after the initial fall of Gilneas a partial cure is developed and administered to the worgen, allowing them to regain control. However as they begin the process of rebuilding the Forsaken send a major fleet to capture Gilneas and use it as a new Horde port. The Cataclysm destroys the fleet, saving the Worgen, but also shatters the Greymane Wall and destroys much of their land. With little choice left, the worgen form a new pact with the Alliance.

High Elves

The High Elves were introduced in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, but are not playable in World of Warcraft (although many were later renamed blood elves, who are playable). They were originally the remaining magic-users known as the Highborne, who fought against Azshara's forces and survived the Sundering. Despite the consequences of Azshara's actions they remained adamant in their use of magic and attempted to convince the rest of their kin to let them continue practicing it. They were banished by the druids led by Malfurion Stormrage after a particular group of Highborne created a powerful magical storm in defiance to the druids and their ways.

After being exiled from Kalimdor, the High Elves sailed to the east and settled in the northern part of the continent. Their peace was to be short-lived, however, as the Amani Troll tribe was not keen on having their lands settled by these newcomers. In order to defeat the trolls, the elves made a deal with the human Kingdom of Arathor; the elves would agree to teach magic to the humans in return for their aid. Upon victory, the High Elves solidified their dominion over the forests of Quel'thalas and founded a mighty capital, Silvermoon City.

During the Second War, the elves honored their treaty with the humans and assisted in the defeat of the Horde. Troll forces under Zul'jin razed large portions of their borderlands and some of their runestones were stolen to power the Horde's rituals, driving them to lend their full support to the Alliance. However, the massive losses they suffered and the lack of human support convinced the High Elves to reinforce their usual isolation. Most of their forces withdrew from the Alliance after the defeat of the Horde, though independent elves sought employ with the Kirin Tor and as priests and sorceresses' of the armies. However, their efforts to protect their people through isolation would be their downfall...

During the Third War, the undead Scourge cut a swathe of destruction through Quel'thalas in their mission to capture and corrupt the powers of the Sunwell. Fully ninety percent of the High Elf population was slaughtered during the war, most soon to be raised as banshees and ghouls. Most followed Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider and began calling themselves Sin'dorei (which in their tongue means "children of the blood" - more commonly referred to as "Blood Elves") in homage to their loss. Only ten percent of the survivors, some twenty-five thousand high elves, cling to their old name and beliefs and have since aligned themselves with the Alliance and Kirin Tor.

Horde

Orcs

Orcs serve as the main villains of the first two games, but end up becoming one of the hero factions during Warcraft III. Orcs are generally green skinned (although it can range from brown to almost black at times), muscular humanoids with large fangs protruding from the lower jaw of their mouths. Their hair colour can range anywhere from black, dark brown, to almost white, depending on the age of the orc. Valuing personal honour and the honour of their clan above all else, they enjoy the rush and excitement of battle. Their skin was originally brown, and, before their corruption, practiced a shamanistic culture. When the Burning Legion discovered that the Draenei were hiding on Draenor, they corrupted the Orcs and nearly wiped out the exiled race. The Orcs were then used as the Legion's primary war-machine in an attempt to invade and destroy Azeroth, through a device known as the Dark Portal. There, they were successful in their campaign against the Kingdom of Stormwind, but were eventually driven back through the Dark Portal to Draenor/Outland, and defeated.

Upon their defeat, the Orcs that remained on Azeroth were rounded up and put into internment camps. Separation from the Burning Legion eventually caused lethargy in the orcs and their bloodlust faded after a few years. It was at this time that a young orc named Thrall managed to escape his captivity at Durnholde Keep and free many of his captured brethren with the aid of Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan, who up until that time was able to avoid capture. The newly reformed Horde then fled the Eastern Kingdoms. They sailed West and eventually were forced to land on an island due to a storm where they befriended the Darkspear Trolls, before they continued on their trip to Kalimdor, where they met and befriended the Tauren.

The Orcs were eventually led into Night Elf territory and fought several skirmishes against them as they attempted to set up camps. Here, the Pit Lord Mannoroth returned and tempted Grom Hellscream into drinking from corrupted waters, placing the Warsong Clan back under the corruption of the Burning Legion. Grom then led his clan on a warpath through Night Elf lands and slaughtered the demi-god Cenarius. However, Grom was eventually freed and atoned for his deeds by aiding Thrall in defeating Mannoroth, sacrificing himself in the process and liberating the Orcs from their blood pact.

The liberated Orcs set aside their differences with the Night Elves and Humans to help defeat Archimonde at the Battle for Hyjal Summit. The Orcs then set out to carve a place for themselves on Azeroth in Kalimdor. They called their new homeland Durotar, after Thrall's father, Durotan. Their capital city was named Orgrimmar, after Orgrim Doomhammer, the former Warchief.

Forsaken

The Forsaken are a rebel group of Undead introduced in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Their founder and leader is Sylvanas Windrunner, a High Elven general who is killed and transformed into an undead banshee by the Scourge during the undead campaign in Warcraft III. During the undead campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the Lich King's (Arthas) power begins to wane because of Illidan Stormrage and his Naga and Blood Elf allies attacking the Frozen Throne in Northrend, and Arthas' control over his section of the Scourge began to fail. Sylvanas regains her sense of free will from Arthas and takes charge of similarly free-willed undead, taking the name Forsaken and conquering Lordaeron.

In World of Warcraft, the Forsaken have joined the Horde, though they are said to care little about their new allies. The Forsaken control the western parts of the former human Kingdom of Lordaeron, namely the Tirisfal Glades and Silverpine Forest. Much of these lands were tainted by the mark of undeath left behind by the plague and The Scourge, so the lands themselves are haunting, dark and deathly in appearance. Their ultimate goal is establishing a place for themselves in a world that hates them, and creating a plague capable of wiping out the undead Scourge; along with anyone who stands in their way. They harbor no allegiance to their former allies, the Humans of Lordaeron, and are in fact openly hunted by them as abominations.

Tauren

The Tauren (Shu'halo in the Tauren tongue) are one of the oldest races native to Azeroth, a proud and tenacious race with bull-like features and a culture that is very similar to an evolved Native American culture. They are druidic, shamanistic, peaceful, and powerful beings. They resemble minotaurs, having horned bulls heads, large hooves in place of feet, three fingered hands, and a towering body structure. The largest Tauren tribe, the Bloodhoof Tauren, reside on the top of a cluster of tall mesas known as Thunder Bluff, in the grasslands of Mulgore. They are led by the High Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof.

Introduced in Warcraft III, The Tauren allied themselves with the Horde after the Orcs intervened in their war with the centaur. Since then, the Tauren have expanded as members of the Horde and now reside in almost all Horde outposts and are firm members of the Horde, the Horde Expedition and other parts of the Horde. They are a playable race in World of Warcraft.

Trolls

The Trolls of the Warcraft Universe are one of the oldest races native to Azeroth. Long before the other modern races evolved they had constructed empires that controlled the majority of Azeroth and had even defeated the armies of C'thun. Their long history and scattered population has resulted in a vast and very diverse race; the four major troll ethnicities include Forest, Jungle, Ice, and Desert. They primarily worship animal spirits but voodoo and shamanism are also well-known among their race. The era of troll domination came to an end when the Night Elves discovered magic and used it to drive back the empires before the Sundering shattered them, resulting in a perpetual decline into darkness. Their defeat at elvish hands has spawned an intense racial hatred of all elves.

During the second war, the Forest Trolls of Lordaeron allied with the Horde to help combat their ancient enemies, the High Elves, who had aligned with the Alliance. This alliance dissipated when Orgrim Doomhammer failed to lend support to Zul'jin's attempts to purge Quel'thalas. The playable trolls in World of Warcraft, the Darkspear, are Jungle trolls who fled the Eastern Kingdoms to a series of jungle islands prior to Warcraft III. They joined the Horde when Thrall and his orc forces rescued the tribe from a sorceress and her murloc slaves. The Darkspear trolls do not have their own capital city, instead they share Orgrimmar with the orcs.

Blood Elves

The Blood Elves were introduced in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne when the undead Scourge destroyed the High Elf capital and the source of their power, the Sunwell, along with most of the High Elf population. The remaining High Elves split into two factions - approximately 10% kept their original heritage, but the rest follow Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider and began calling themselves Sin'dorei (which in their tongue means "children of the blood" - more commonly referred to as Blood Elves) in homage to their loss. With the leadership of their prince, the Blood Elves continue to defend their homeland from the Scourge, allying with the Naga in the process. Due to their alliance with the Naga, Lord Garithos, commander of the Alliance forces in Lordaeron and Kael'Thas' superior officer, charged Kael'Thas and his troops with treason and imprisons them in Dalaran. Kael'thas and his lieutenants are rescued by Lady Vashj and her Naga from their imprisonment in the underground jails of Dalaran (which contain anti-magic enchantments, once used for the Kirin-Tor's pets), and then using a re-opened portal to flee to Outland.

In World of Warcraft, the blood elves who remained in Eversong Woods have renounced their allegiance to Kael'Thas and are now led by Lor'themar Theron. The Alliance mistrusts the Blood Elves and their lust for a source of magic, so their race has aligned with the Horde for the mutual benefit of reaching Outland. Also, Sylvanas Windrunner as the former Ranger General of Quel'Thalas played a significant role in the admittance of the Blood Elves into the Horde. The capital city of the Blood Elves is the partially-ruined Silvermoon City.

Goblins

Introduced in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Goblins are diminutive, green-skinned humanoids native to Azeroth. Early in their history, goblins were an unintelligent race used as slave labor by a tribe of trolls on their home island of Kezan. Constant exposure to a rare ore caused them to develop into a hyper-intelligent race that soon overthrew their masters and created a new civilization. However the supplies of the ore were eventually exhausted and, facing a slow loss of their intelligence, the goblins took to trade and exploration in search of new deposits. During the Second War they aligned with the Horde, providing the technical services the dwarves and gnomes offered the Alliance. Following the Horde's defeat the naturally mercantile race took a neutral stance in world affairs. In Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, the various goblin business cartels based out of the city of Undermine now supply both factions. Several trade princes, however, have maintained closer ties with the Horde due to clashes with the Alliance.

Goblin Engineers are best known for their affinity for explosives, their signature explosives being the Goblin Sapper Charges, a portable explosive which upon detonation deals devastating damage to anyone in its wake. Rocket launchers, various experimental explosives, and dangerous "Dimensional Rippers" make up most their arsenal of flimsy, yet devastating equipment.

Goblins were announced as the Horde's new playable race for the third expansion pack, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. The Cataclysm causes a previously dormant volcano on their home island to erupt. Fearing for their lives, the Bilge Water Cartel fled the island only to be shipwrecked on the Lost Isles due to the crossfire of Horde and Alliance ships. The old racial ties between orc and goblin came to the front and, after rendering assistance to the remaining Horde forces, the goblins are invited as prospective members of the Horde.

Ogres

Ogres are a large, strong, pale-skinned, race of humanoids with limited intelligence; they are native to Draenor. Ogres can have one or two heads and one or two eyes per head; some ogres also have horns. Ogre-magi are magically transformed ogres with increased intelligence, the ability to use magic and blue skin. Notable Ogre-magi included Cho'gall, former leader of the Twilight's Hammer clan and Dentarg, bodyguard of the shaman Ner'zhul. Ogre society is clan-based, with ogre clans erecting mounds and generally avoiding contact with outsiders save for raids. Within the clans, the hierarchy is based on physical size and strength; the leader of an ogre clan is almost inevitably the largest and strongest ogre. Ogre-magi fall outside this norm and powerful magi often control the clan through the leader thanks to the rather large advantage in intelligence. If an outsider defeats the current leader of a clan, they are often deemed the new leader, partially out of fear of being killed as well.

Introduced in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Ogres are members of the Horde in Warcraft II; in Warcraft III they are encountered both as hostile critters and friendly mercenaries. Ogres are not a playable race in World of Warcraft, though some Ogres appear as monsters and non-player characters. Following the defeat of the original Horde, the various ogre clans scattered across Azeroth, claiming land and erecting ogre mounds. Most ogres hold allegiance only to the strongest ogre of their clan and are hostile to any outsider, though some also take up mercenary work. The Stonemauls are the only clan to maintain a friendly relationship with the Horde, though they no longer lend the orcs direct support.

In the expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, many ogres can be found in Outlands. Their presence has proved a serious issue for the Maghar and Kurenai, only exacerbated by the efforts of the Gronn. However, ogres in the Blades Edge Mountains have established an enlightened group who have transcended their brutish nature aided by the powerful influence of the Apexis Crystals, forming the group of Ogri'la. Players are neutral with this group initially but can become friendly after a series of quests that result in the player being named a King or Queen of the Ogres.

Other races and factions

Burning Legion

Introduced in Warcraft III, the Burning Legion have become the main villains of the series. Founded by the titan Sargeras, the Burning Legion includes many demonic races, the most prominent of which include the Man'ari Eredar (such as Archimonde and Kil'jaeden), Nathrezim (or Dreadlords, such as Tichondrius) and Annihilan (or Pitlords, such as Mannoroth). Member races are either subjugated and absorbed as slave races or enticed into joining with offers of demonic blood to empower them. In a few rare cases the races have joined of their own accord, such as with the Nathrezim who saw an opportunity to feed on more souls. It is uncertain how many races were truly evil to begin with, such as the Nathrezim, how many were corrupted with the offer of power, such as the Eredar and Fel Orcs, and how many are slave races.

The Burning Legion is notorious for its conquering and eventual destruction of entire worlds. Their task is to undo all the works of the Titans and to spread their taint to all corners of the universe. So far the Burning Legion has committed three major attacks on Azeroth: the first in antiquity (as described in World of Warcraft), the second, the invasion of the orcs during Warcraft and Warcraft II, and the third when the Undead Scourge summoned Archimonde in Warcraft III.

After the Third War the Legion has tried to destroy the Frozen Throne and kill Ner'zhul to eliminate the Scourge threat due to the Lich King's defection from the Legion. After the failure of Illidan Stormrage to defeat the Lich King in The Frozen Throne, Illidan returned to Outland and no longer serves the Legion. The Legion then turned its attentions to Kael'thas Sunstrider, who attempted to summon Kil'jaedan into Azeroth through the Sunwell but failed.

Scourge

First introduced in Warcraft III, the Scourge is an army of Undead created by the Lich King to destroy all life on Azeroth. It includes undead humans, elves, Nerubians and several other assorted races. The Scourge was created by the Burning Legion as a means of weakening the races of Azeroth, primarily the Human Alliance, to prepare for the invasion of the Legion itself. The Legion captured the spirit of the former Orc Shaman Ner'zhul and forced him to become the Lich King, the power and mind behind the Scourge. As Ner'zhul's power grew, he began to become powerful enough to corrupt paladins to join the Scourge as Death Knights, one of these being Arthas Menethil, heir to the human kingdom of Lordaeron. Ner'zhul began crafting a plan to break out of his imprisonment, and to break away from the Burning Legion. When Kil'Jaeden realized what he was up to, he sent Illidan to destroy the Frozen Throne and Ner'zhul to end his treacherous endeavour. However, Ner'zhul commanded Arthas, his new champion, to come to his aid. Arthas fought Illidan and defeated him, then went to Icecrown and shattered the Frozen Throne, putting on Ner'zhul's helm. Ner'zhul's soul merged with Arthas' mind and body, and they became one of the most powerful beings on Azeroth, as Ner'zhul had planned all along.

Naga

The Naga are mutated Highborne, an elite part of the ancient Night Elf culture. They have snakelike tails in place of legs, and have other serpentine features such as scales and fins. The Naga were created when the Well of Eternity imploded and sundered the land. Many of the Highborne went down with their city into the depths of the sea. Their queen named Azshara made a pact with the Old gods to save the remaining Highborne, thus the Old gods cursed them and twisted them into the Naga. The Naga capital lies underneath the Great Maelstrom. Males are large, with muscular arms and torso, and additionally have two dorsal fins starting near their tail and running up their back, short tentacles erupting from their chin, and are most often dark blue. Females are slimmer by comparison, have four arms, larger dorsal fins and are usually a pale green color. Their faces are much more humanoid compared to the males snake-like snouts.

In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the Naga are led by the Sea Witch Lady Vashj, who is under the servitude of Illidan "The Betrayer". They make multiple appearances throughout the first two campaigns, as enemies in the first campaign and allies in the second. In World of Warcraft the Naga appear primarily as enemies, being present in almost every region with a coastline and in certain dungeons.