The Tauren are a fictional race of bipeds, one of the major races of the Warcraft universe. They are religious, but are better known for their strength, courage, and endurance as warriors. A nomadic race as old as the Night Elves, the Tauren are attuned to the earth and its spirits, and have a largely shamanistic culture that stresses ancestor worship and the honored path of the hunter. Their capital of Thunder Bluff sits in the central Kalimdor territory of Mulgore, and they are aligned with the Horde in the present conflict (as depicted in World of Warcraft). Notably, the Tauren are the only race besides the Night elves that can become Druids.

Furbolgs are ursine humanoids. They reside in tribes, and were peaceful allies of the Night Elves until the coming of the Burning Legion, when many were affected by the corruption they brought and turned evil. The Timbermaw tribe were supposedly the only tribe to escape the corruption. Their tribe now has been forced into hostility due to an increasing show of violence towards them, as many assume they are also corrupted. Around 10,000 years before Warcraft: Orcs and Humans the Furbolg race fought the Burning Legion alongside the Night Elves, Tauren and Earthen. The Ursa Warriors are the Furbolg elites.

Other tribes than the Timbermaw include the Blackwood tribe, Stillpine tribe, and Deadwood tribe. These names were probably made after the Furbolgs in the tribes became corrupted.

The natural enemies of the Tauren, the centaur are a race of brutal, barbaric raiders indigenous to Kalimdor. In appearance they have the body of a horse and the torso of a human where the neck and head should be. Legends say they are the bastard offspring of Cenarius, a Night Elf demigod who also fathered the Keepers of the Grove and dryads. Whether or not this is true, it is certain that they are a vicious and war-like people, constantly raiding and terrorizing the settlements of the Barrens and attacking any travellers foolish enough to cross their path. The centaur have a savage and bloodthirsty nature and are wary of any person that is not a centaur; they especially hate the Tauren, and by extension, the Orcs.

These horse-men hail from Desolace in western-central Kalimdor, but tribes of them are spread throughout much of central Kalimdor, including the Barrens, Thousand Needles and Durotar. In the past they have ceaselessly terrorized the villages of the indigenous peoples, and have now extended their hatred to include the Orcs and Trolls of the Horde. The Tauren claim that the centaur have always existed to scourge the land. Legend holds that Zaetar, immortal son of Cenarius and the earth elemental princess, Theradras, sired the misbegotten centaur race. It is said that upon their emergence, the barbaric centaur turned on their father and killed him. Some believe that Theradras, in her grief, trapped Zaetar’s spirit within the winding caverns of Maraudon – using its energies for some malign purpose. The subterranean tunnels are populated by the vicious, long-dead ghosts of the Centaur Khans, as well as Theradras’ own raging, elemental minions.

The Red Dragons were devastated by Neltharion’s betrayal. Deathwing led an orc to the Demon Soul, because he couldn’t use it himself when the other Aspects cast a spell on him. The Orcs used it to trap the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza the Life-Giver and steal her eggs to give a new force to the Horde. The Red Dragons refuse to forgive the Horde for this, not even the redeemed Horde. The Red Dragons can breath fire.

Eonar, the Titan patron of all life, gave a portion of her power to the red leviathan, Alexstrasza. Ever after, Alexstrasza would be known as the Life-Binder, and she would work to safeguard all living creatures within the world. Due to her supreme wisdom and limitless compassion for all living things, Alexstrasza was crowned the Dragonqueen and given dominion over her kind. Some speculate that Alexstrasza is the “Earth Mother” that the Tauren speak of.

The current virtual world consists of two planets; Azeroth and Draenor (a.k.a Outlands). Azeroth consists of two main continents, Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles which are located northwest of Kalimdor, and Teldrassil which is also located to the northwest of Kalimdor.

Kalimdor contains the starting areas for Horde races of the Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren. The Alliance Night Elves and Draenei both begin in areas off the coast of Kalimdor (Darnassus and Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles respectively), but move to the mainland fairly early. The Eastern Kingdoms contains the beginning areas for the Horde races of the Undead and Blood Elves as well as the Alliance races of the Humans, Dwarves, and Gnomes.

Draenor, added with the release of The Burning Crusade, is only accessible to those who have purchased and activated the expansion pack. It is reached through the Dark Portal in the south of Eastern Kingdoms or through in-game teleportation such as Hearthstones, mage teleports, or engineering devices. Draenor was the original home of the Draenei.

The Wrath of the Lich King expansion will add the continent of Northrend in the northern region of Azeroth and will be available exclusively to those players who purchase and activate that expansion pack.[15]