Horde Races

The green skinned orcs are one of the most prolific races of Azeroth. Born on the world of Draenor, the orcs were brought to Azeroth through the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal and waged war on the humans while under the influence of the Burning Legion.

The orcs once cultivated a noble, shamanistic society on Draenor. Tragically, the proud orc clans were corrupted by the Burning Legion and used as pawns in the Legion's invasion of Azeroth. The orcs managed to rebel, however, and they were ultimately able to help turn the tide against their demon masters. Led by the young Warchief Thrall, the orcs have reclaimed their strength and honor. The orcs moved from the Eastern Kingdoms to Kalimdor, and founded the nation of Durotar.

Now, the orcs stand ready to fight not for the sake of conquest, but for their very right of survival in their adopted world.

Trolls average seven feet in height and two hundred pounds in weight, save for two tribes, the Drakkari and the Zandalari, who tend to be somewhat larger than their kindred. As with other races, there are also scattered trolls who far exceed the normal size range. For further discussion of these outliers, consult the below section on these so-called "monstrous" trolls. There are several races of troll.

Many trolls have no loyalty except amongst their own tribes, with the exception of the Darkspear tribe and Revantusk tribe, the former being part of the Horde and the latter being allies of them. Darkspear are the playable trolls in World of Warcraft; statistically, they are the least played race in the game.  Although the Darkspears are the weakest and smallest of all the troll races, even amongst jungle trolls, they are the most cunning and intelligent.

Trolls are easily the most diverse sapient race in Azeroth, and can be found in every part of the world.

Tauren, or Shu'Halo (in their native tongue of Taurahe, are huge nomadic creatures who live on the grassy, open plains of Mulgore in central Kalimdor. Tauren are large, muscular humanoids and bovine in appearance, complete with hooves and horns. They stand anywhere from six and a half to nine feet tall, and weighing anywhere from 400 to 700 pounds. Their immense bodies are covered with fine, short fur that ranges in color from black to gray to white to red to brown to tan and any mottled combinations or variations thereof. After generations of nomadic existence the tauren have recently made permanent settlements in Mulgore and The Barrens.

Undead are once-living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces. The term undead refers to all creatures or entities that function normally despite having terminated life functions. Most commonly known as zombies or ghosts, undead beings are most typically mindless, bloodthirsty fiends hostile toward any living thing that comes across their path.

The undead have appeared all throughout Azeroth, most commonly in nature as Revenants or wraiths. They were used as a combat tool during the First War when the Necrolytes of the Horde learned to animate corpses as skelton warriors in their fight against the Alliance. Later, the studies of the Necrolytes developed into Necromancy, the form of magic used very heavily in the Third War when the Cult of the Damned spread the Plague of Undeath across Lordaeron.

In modern times, "undead" refers primarily to either the Scourage or the Forsaken, since nearly half of the human race have since become undead. However, Forsaken player characters and NPCs are for most intents and purposes considered to be "Humandoids" in World of Warcraft due to gameplay reasons and do not share all the characteristics of other undead. This is not the case according to the lore in other sources where Forsaken share all the characteristics of standard Undead.