Tauren

The shu'halo: great, gentle hunters of the plains who follow the Earth Mother and keep the balance of nature. Once nomads harried by the centaur, they joined the Horde out of gratitude to the orcs and settled in Mulgore under Cairne Bloodhoof.

Lore name: Shu'halo
Homeland: Mulgore and the plains of Kalimdor
Capital: Thunder Bluff
Leader: Cairne Bloodhoof (client)
Home faction: Thunder Bluff

What the client says

Tauren (Horde)

Lore name: Shu'halo. Languages: Orcish, Taurahe. Starts in Mulgore. Classes: Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior. Racials: Cultivation, Endurance, Plainsrunning, War Stomp.

The client's character-creation text: Always the tauren strive to preserve the balance of nature and heed the will of their goddess, the Earth Mother. Recently attacked by murderous centaur, the tauren would have been wiped out, save for a chance encounter with the orcs, who helped defeat the interlopers. To honor this blood-debt, the tauren joined the Horde, solidifying the two races' friendship.

Who they are

Tauren measure their lives by the land. They hunt what they need, honour the spirits of their ancestors and of the beasts, and look to the Earth Mother as the source of all life. Their druids and shaman are among the oldest traditions on Kalimdor. When the centaur nearly wiped them out, the newly arrived orcs came to their aid, and the tauren repaid that with their friendship.

Always the tauren strive to preserve the balance of nature and heed the will of their goddess, the Earth Mother.
From the game client: Tauren, the race description in the WoW Forever client

To honor this blood-debt, the tauren joined the Horde, solidifying the two races' friendship.
From the game client: Tauren, the race description in the WoW Forever client

Warcraft background: The tauren were scattered nomadic tribes until Cairne Bloodhoof united many of them and led them to Mulgore. They fought alongside the Horde and the night elves against the Burning Legion at Mount Hyjal. Tauren druids learned their craft from the demigod Cenarius alongside the night elves, which is why both belong to the Cenarion Circle. Other tribes, such as the Grimtotem, never accepted Cairne's leadership.

Homeland and capital

Mulgore is green plains ringed by mountains, the gentlest land the Horde has. Thunder Bluff stands on high mesas in its north, linked by rope bridges and reached by lifts. Tauren also live at Camp Taurajo in the Barrens, Freewind Post in Thousand Needles and Camp Mojache in Feralas. In Forever, the hidden valley of Shen'dralas lies just west of Mulgore.

Cairne Bloodhoof leads his people, the Proud Tauren, from this mighty Horde capital.
From the game client: Thunder Bluff, the faction description in the WoW Forever client

Allies and enemies

Allies: the orcs, to whom they owe a blood-debt; the Horde; the Cenarion Circle, shared with night elves; and in Forever the Earthen Ring, which the client makes a Horde circle of shaman and druids.
Enemies: the centaur of the Barrens and Desolace; the quilboar of the Razorfen; the Venture Company's miners in Mulgore; the Grimtotem.
Complicated: night elves, fellow druids on the other side of the war.

Language and names

Tauren speak Orcish and Taurahe. Tauren names are often nature words or deeds, and tribal family names (Bloodhoof, Runetotem, Thunderhorn) are the style: Forever's second name fits a tribe or family perfectly.

Notable figures

The client names Cairne Bloodhoof as the tauren's leader. Blizzard is working on returning Ahab Wheathoof and Kyle to Mulgore (our article).

Racial abilities as flavour

War Stomp shakes the ground under the tauren's hooves; Endurance is their sheer size; Cultivation is a gift of the Earth Mother. Forever's Plainsrunning builds speed across open ground: a people of the plains. See Races.

In WoW Forever

In WoW Forever: The tauren's classes are unchanged. Their part of the world grows: Shen'dralas, between Mulgore and Desolace, with Blizzard naming a long-hidden mystery tied to the centaur tribes, and the Earthen Ring and Guardians of Hyjal for tauren shaman and druids.

RP hooks and character ideas

A young hunter from Camp Narache on the Great Hunt, eager to prove themselves to the elders.
A druid of the Cenarion Circle who fought at Hyjal and returns to help it heal.
A shaman of the Earthen Ring sent to learn what the Windshaper Skyborne know about the spirits of the air.
A tauren who has never forgotten that the centaur killed their family, now scouting the passes into Shen'dralas.
A former Grimtotem who left their tribe to live under Cairne.
A gentle giant who works the Thunder Bluff lifts and hears every rumour in the city.