WoW: Playable Races Pt. 1 (Alliance)

The first thing a player does before they start their journey is create their character. They can select their character's class, gender, and race. The player races have minor impact to the gameplay, but is the most significant choice for character aesthetics and fantasy. 

I find one's selection in race, gender, and class within the game to be quite interesting. These customization choices reflect their fantasies and desires. Unlike real-life, players have full control over their character appearance. Some imagine themselves as their avatar, while others treat them like as a tool or plaything. Although I'm not a committed roleplayer, I enjoyed making my character's appearance and playstyle match the aesthetics of their race and class. I'll discuss the main races that compose the Alliance, and how they player personalities match with them. 

The Alliance

1. Humans are the typical, self-insert race for players to choose. I find players that choose Humans to be rather unimaginative considering the more fantastical choices available. But since they looked the best, they were the most played race in the Alliance. They are the effective leaders of the Alliance, which is strange considering how young their species are. The Night Elves and Draenei societies had existed for thousands of years before them, yet choose to follow an 18-year old boy-king?
• The Warcraft Humans descended from the Vyrkuls: giant humanoids towering at 11'0" tall. The Titans used the Forge of Wills to create lifeforms to populate the early Azeroth: Iron Vyrkul, Earthen, and Mechagnomes. These lifeforms were immortal, with bodies constructed from metal and stone. The Old God Yogg-Saron inflicted the Curse of Flesh against these titanic creations, which slowly transformed their stone into mortal flesh. Over time, they shrank from the giant Vyrkul into the more intelligent Humans.
• I created the Shadow Priest Atramentous to partner with a friend's Affliction Warlock. There was the fantasy of the two humans exiled for studying forbidden Shadow magic.
• Players have vastly different desires when it comes to their player character. Some want a character that somewhat resembles their real-life appearance, while others want to play the most outlandish, strange creatures. Players have the right to choose! 
  
  
2. Night Elves were Warcraft's first playable Elf race. They were unconventional to the Tolkien Elves, since they were more savage, muscular, and purple. They originate as Dark Trolls, who had evolved from the Arcane magic of the Well of Eternity. They're the 2nd most common race in the Alliance; primarily from Female Night Elves. The colorful hairs and faces made them infamously popular with teenagers and anime fans.
• My very first character was a Night Elf Rogue Xiji; I definitely fit into the aforementioned demographic of Elf fans. My brother's first characters were also Night Elves (Warrior & Hunter), so I wanted to fit in. 
• I think the Night Elves had joined the Alliance purely for gameplay balance. They were powerful enough to form their own faction, and had no kinship with the other Titan-forged races. They had clashed and allied with both factions in Warcraft III. Their 10,000 years of conflict with the Burning Legion would make their interactions with the Alliance & Horde seem insignificant. They had no real quarrel with the Horde races. The Night Elves have a stronger bond with the Tauren than with any other Alliance race, because they both connected to Nature and Druidism. Given their bad history with the Arcane, they should've been hesitant to ally with the Humans and Gnomes that openly practice it.
• Hypothetically, the Night Elves could've joined the Horde! They were all located in Kalimdor, which would consolidate power within the continent. The Night Elves share a primal connection with nature like the Tauren and Trolls (which could've introduced Night Elf Shamans!). The Night Elves even revere an Orc Warrior named Broxigar. During the War of the Ancients, Broxigar sacrificed himself to stop demons from invading Kalimdor, thus saving countless lives. It would've been an interesting alternate reality! 
  
  
3. Dwarves are derived heavily from the Tolkien Dwarves, with an affinity for blacksmithing and brawling. The Dwarves aren't as popular since they had a more particular fantasy. They're bold and brash, but not in the monstrous way the Orcs or Trolls are. I would presume more mature or laid-back players prefer them. Their stout, scruffy appearance makes them almost exclusively Males; Female Dwarves just don't have the same appeal.
• Dwarves descended from the Earthen: immortal humanoids made of pure stone. The Earthen were created by the Titans to protect Azeroth against the Old God's Black Empire. After their were afflicted with the Curse of Flesh, the Earthen retreated into the titan's cities (Uldaman, Uldum, Ulduar) to hibernate until a cure could be found. After thousands of years, they awoke from their stasis soft and fleshy. The Earthen in Uldaman had emerged from the underground vault and claimed the surface, where they founded their city of Ironforge. The memory of their creators had faded, and they renamed themselves as Dwarves.
• I had actually never created a Dwarf character! With their beefy frames and gruff nature, I'd would definitely create one as a Warrior.
  
  
  
  
4. Gnomes are the smallest playable races, but bring a lot of character. They're the ingenious engineers responsible for many inventions that allowed the Alliance to exist. Despite their size, they pose a threat with their massive brainpower. Gnome players don't take themselves too seriously, and have fun with the fantasy of a small Gnome in a big world. 
• Like the Humans and Dwarves, the Gnomes' ancestors were created by the Titans. The shared origins between the Humans, Dwarves, and Gnomes may explain their inherent trust and cooperation with each other. These Mechagnomes were not intended for combat, but for more sophisticated tasks. They serviced the Titan's cities, analyzed enemies, and accessed their databases. The Mechagnomes watched over the Earthen while they were in stasis after they were afflicted with the Curse of Flesh. 
• After they transformed into Gnomes, they received aid from the Dwarves to build their city of Gnomeregan. The Troggs (failed Titan creations) had breached Gnomeregan their underground tunnels from Uldaman. The Gnomes tried to flood the city with poisonous gas to kill the Troggs, but eventually decided to abandon the city. They took refuge in Ironforge with their Dwarven cousins.
• Gnomes added some humor and levity to Warcraft. Unfortunately, they rarely have any significance in lore or cinematics. They symbolize the irrelevance of size in the world. Despite their size, they are respected for their knowledge and skills.
• I had a Gnome Mage Hawkus, but never quite got him to max level. I believe Gnomes are best suited for casters or Rogues, since I find Gnome Warriors quite silly. However, I suppose the difference between 3ft to 6ft is negligible when tanking a 50ft dragon. 
  
  
5. Draenei added some more variety to the Alliance as strange, blue space-goats. They represented an interesting duality: a portion of their race were corrupted to become the most powerful demonic sorcerers, while the other portion became devout followers of the Holy Light. Despite their demonic appearance (horns, hooves, tails), the Draenei were the most benevolent race. They also added more diversity and size to the Alliance, who were mostly humans and smaller-looking humans. The Draenei were 7 ft tall like the Night Elves, but twice as wide. Like Night Elves, the Females are far more common than the Males for aesthetic reasons. 
   
• Archimonde, Kil'Jaedan, and Velen were leaders of the Eredar and things were going alright until the titan Sargeras visited their planet of Argus. Sargeras offered them demonic power and command of the Burning Legion, which Archimonde and Kil'Jaedan accepted. Those who accepted the offer transformed into true demons: tainted their skin red and had green Fel-energy seeping from their eyes and veins. They were referred to as the Man'ari, or the "Unnatural Beings". Velen and his followers worshiped the Naaru, who were beings of pure Holy light. From their worship they could see that demonic power would corrupt them. Velen refused the offer and escaped with his followers in a spaceship. These followers become the playable Draenei characters. 
• To match their benign nature, I created the Protection Paladin Korseke. These gentle giants that used their power to protect their allies. The fantasy of a righteous guardian journeying the world was a good fit. 
  
  
6. Worgen have aggressive snarls and bestial appearance more akin to the Horde, so their addition in the Alliance is refreshing. The Worgen were cursed Gilnean Humans, so technically they were  just another Human race, except they'd mostly be in their werewolf form anyways. I'm assuming most players that play Worgen were animal-lovers (and/or furries), but they'd also be popular with a younger demographic who wants a cool-looking monster. 
• I stopped playing Alliance during Cataclysm, so I never had a Worgen either. I'd probably make one as a Fury Warrior or Rogue; their bestial nature fits well with the more savage melee classes.
  
  
7. As for the Pandaren and Allied races, I'll get to them in a separate post