Introduction: The Tauren are huge, bestial creatures who live in the grassy, open barrens of central Kalimdor. They live to serve nature and maintain the balance between the wild things of the land and the restless spirit of the elements.

Despite their enormous size and brute strength, the remarkably peaceful Tauren cultivate a quiet, tribal society. However, when roused by conflict, Tauren are implacable enemies who will use every ounce of their strength to smash their enemies under hoof.

Under the leadership of their ancient chief, Cairne Bloodhoof, the Tauren allied themselves with the Orcs during the invasion of the Burning Legion. The two races have remained steadfast allies ever since. Like the Orcs, the Tauren struggle to retain their sense of tradition and noble identity.

Tauren Information:

Additional Intro: Always the Tauren strive to preserve the balance of nature and heed the will of their goddess, the Earth Mother. Recently attacked by the 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.
Affiliation: Horde
http://www.wowwiki.com/Horde

Leader: Cairne Bloodhoof
http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/05/31/know-your-lore-cairne-bloodhoof/
http://www.wowwiki.com/Cairne_Bloodhoof

Capitol: Thunder Bluff
http://www.wowwiki.com/Thunder_Bluff

Main Language: Taur-ahe
http://www.wowwiki.com/Taur-ahe

IC RP "Speak”: Spiritual/Nature wording, with Native American influence

Main Groups: Various Clans (see Tauren WoWwiki link for list)

Main faith/Philosophy: The Earth Mother (Shamanism, Druidism)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Earthmother
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shamanism_and_Nature_Worship

Allies: Orcs, Undead, Trolls, Blood Elves

Racial Enemy: Centaur, Burning Legion, anyone who disrupts/destroys the land
(Also shaky truce – enemies with Alliance forces)

Basic Height, Weight & Age:
Male Height: 7′2″-9′
Female Height: 6′10″-8′8″

Male Weight: 284-664 lb.
Female Weight: 254-634 lb.

Adulthood: 50 years.
Middle Age: 75 years.
Old: 95 years.
Venerable: 110 years.
Life Expectancy: 114-150 years.

OOC Influence: Native American Culture

The first cultural influence you'll probably think of when you see the tauren and walk around in their villages is "Native American." That's fine as far as it goes, but you should remember that they're mainly based on the stereotypical image of what Native Americans are rather than their actual reality. I'm hardly an expert on Native Americans, however, so rather than try and speak for these differences, I'm just going to put the whole issue aside and take tauren as tauren rather than parallels to any human culture. Besides, aside from certain aspects of architecture, music, clothing, and mythology, the tauren are really their own species. They are quite general enough to remind us of all kinds of different cultures around the world, many of whom cherish the earth, revere their ancestors, and try to live in harmony with the world.

Some people say that the tauren are the noblest and most peaceful of the races in World of Warcraft, but for most of their history, they have been at war with the vicious centaur -- though not by choice. The centaur have always been very hostile towards tauren, driving them out of their ancestral homelands, slaughtering them and even cannibalizing them whenever possible. In a way, the centaur seem like four-legged versions of the nastier trolls who never joined the Horde. When Thrall came to Kalimdor and encountered the tauren in the midst of their struggle against the centaur, it marked the beginning of one of the greatest changes in tauren history.

In the Beginning...

Tauren mythology contains some of the most interesting background lore in the entire Warcraft series, and evokes some powerful imagery. They say that, "before the Age of Memory," the Earthmother created the world by breathing upon "the golden mists of dawn," and transforming them into "endless fields of flowing wheat and barley." As she gazed lovingly upon her newly formed land, she opened her right eye to spread give it warmth and light, then opened her left eye, which "gave peace and sleep to the stirring creatures of the dawning." Wherever the arms of the Earthmother caressed their shadows over the land, there a people rose up out of the rich soil -- the tauren, who know themselves in their own language as the Shu'halo.

It is said that some of the ancient tauren lost their way as they "listened to dark whispers from deep beneath the world" (probably the "Old Gods"), and caused the Earthmother to tear out her eyes in grief, and "set them spinning across the endless starry skies" as the sun and the moon. But the Earthmother never abandoned her children. She taught them to hunt, and guided them while they learned the ancient ways of the druid (and, although druidic magic was gradually lost to the tauren of the past, they have begun relearning it in recent years). The Earthmother guided the tauren even while they suffered under the cruel oppression of the centaur and were driven from their native homeland, forced to "roam the endless plains as nomads forever after" until "one day hope would return -- and the scattered tribes of the Shu'halo would find a new home under the loving arms of the Earthmother."

And so it came to pass...

Growing up as a tauren, your character would have lived most of his or her childhood in the Barrens, scraping by on the meager living that could be made there. At that time the tauren tribes moved their tent cities all over the region as the seasons and weather changed, just trying to survive the harshness of the landscape and the centaur raids. All the tribes were suffering greatly; life was hard, and it seemed the centaur could wipe them out at any moment.

The arrival of the orcs and trolls of the Horde in Kalimdor changed everything for the tauren. Even from their first meetings, all three races could see that they shared common goals. The tauren had the deeply spiritual shamanistic culture that the orcs were trying to restore in the Horde, and the orcs had the power and will to assist the tauren in driving back their enemy and retaking their ancestral homelands.

Cairne Bloodhoof , chief of the Bloodhoof tribe, was the first to make contact with Thrall and the Horde, and also the primary commander of the tauren in the deciding battles against the centaur. Having retaken Mulgore and established a permanent home for his people after so many centuries wandering around in the Barrens, he welcomed all tauren tribes in the new mesa-city of Thunder Bluff, and naturally came to be leader of his entire race, as all the tribes gradually united under him and the new Horde.

And now...

But not all the tauren are happy with Cairne's leadership. The Grimtotem tribe, in particular, view all other races as enemies, and seek to overthrow Cairne's rule of the tauren. In many ways, they are tauren equivalent of a mafia: their Elder Crone Magatha Grimtotem maintains the facade of allegiance to Cairne and the Horde within the city of Thunder Bluff, but commands her tribesmen in other settlements to anyone who comes near. They sometimes attack even tauren who are known to associate themselves with other races. Oddly, the only race they do not seem to hate is the Forsaken, a few of which have even become part of the Grimtotem clan. It is because of this association that the forsaken were allowed a cave within Thunder Bluff to use for their own mysterious purposes, although no one knows what sort of betrayal the Forsaken and the Grimtotem have planned for their hosts. Most other tauren quite rightly treat both groups with deep suspicion.

Excepting the Grimtotems, of course, tauren generally view all other races amiably, and give them the benefit of the doubt. They are especially close to the orcs of course, due to their common vision of the world and mutual assistance in times of need. Some tauren even look past their mistrust of the Forsaken and hope to help them cure themselves of their undead condition. The blood elves, on the other hand, reek of arcane magic, and the tauren have a great deal of difficulty around this poisonous energy. Ironically, they generally have no enmity against the Alliance unless physically threatened, and even have a deep respect for the night elves, whom they associate with their ancient myths of the children of the moon -- the luminous left eye of the Earthmother herself.

...here you stand.

Your tauren character would have gained maturity around the age of 50, much like a gnome or a dwarf. Most tauren are considered middle-aged at about 75, elderly at 95, and venerably old at 110, though rare heroes have been known to live as long as 150. From the beginning, your character would have been taught the love of the hunt, and the balance and reciprocity all people must share with nature. Whatever you take from the world, you would strive to give back in whatever way you can.

This dual training makes the tauren at once serene and cultured, yet fearsomely implacable when drawn into conflict. The tauren themselves don't feel so enormous when amongst themselves, but when they encounter other races, they can't help but notice how thin and small they seem. Tauren even get stuck from time to time while trying to get around in the cramped areas that other races live in. Their hooves might also cause slight issues on hard or slippery surfaces other races seem to prefer to the tender soil of the earth itself. Yet on the battlefield, tauren stomp their hooves against the earth with such force that the smaller creatures are stunned for a moment while they regain their balance.

For further reading about the tauren, check out WoWWiki's encyclopedic information, as well as Dramatis-Personae's tauren quick-start page. Also, take a good look at tauren mythology, as this aspect of their history matters more to tauren than it does to other races.

Tauren Views

The Horde

Blood Elves: The blood elves pretty much fail every standard the tauren have. They’re a rapidly, frighteningly changing group. Tenacious? In a way, definitely, but the tauren aren’t exactly going to see casting aside those of your race who fail to hold that tenacity as ‘wretched’ in a good light. Wise? You’re joking. The blood elves have had a legendary history of pique, anger, folly and heartbreak. Strength? Definitely, but not ‘in wisdom’. Serenity? They were a pack of addicts!

So why is it that a blood elf is happily working amongst the tauren in Freewind Post?¹

Because right now, the blood elves have yet to actually do anything bad to the tauren. While there’s not a whole lot there to appeal to the tauren, they’re not ones to judge. For now, as a result, the tauren largely have a low view of the blood elves but try to be reasonable.

If, however, the blood elves betray the Horde in any way, expect them to never be forgiven.

"The elves of blood must have hidden depths. Blood is important to us as tauren too, but we hold in living blood, in our kin. Perhaps we too would be as they are had so much of that living blood died.”

Orcs: The orcs are a curious race to the tauren. If it were not for Thrall, it would not be likely that the alliance between the two races would have remained. While the tauren are deeply indebted to the strange green skinned warriors, they are such a hasty, violent creature that the more gentle tauren would surely have cut ties now.

But Thrall tips the balance in a big way. He is, to the tauren mind, practically everything they imagine a leader should be – He practically defines ‘strength in wisdom’. So much so that, in fact, the whole orcish race benefits; your average tauren is likely to have Thrall as the standard of what an orc is rather than the rank and file. The similar spirituality also helps. Your average tauren probably sees the average orc as well meaning if a little impetuous and hasty, perhaps in need of guidance.

"Wait. Stay your hammer, young warrior. Delay your vengeance a day and see if the need for vengeance remains. If not, then you will regret nothing. If so, then you will have had a day to think of better ways to gain it.”

Trolls: The trolls are an intriguing race to the tauren. They too see the trolls ancient practice of voodoo as repugnant; but they were never around to see it as it used to be. It’s now an intriguing side note rather than a major part of how the tauren see the trolls. And the trolls have a lot to offer as far as the tauren are concerned. They’re sort of a calmer, less driven version of the orcs, as far as the tauren see them. If ‘strength in wisdom’ is the cardinal virtue of the tauren, then the trolls may not be as strong as the orcs, but they apply their strength more wisely.

Plus, the trolls like drums and dancing. The tauren have a lot of time for drums and dancing. While this sounds flippant (and it is a little) the shared cultural touches should not be overlooked in how they can bring two peoples together.

"Blue skins come with green skins, the people join the green skins. So the people join the blue skins too. If an orc begins to feel the blood burn, appeal to the troll to try and restore the order of things.

Undead: And then there are the undead. Your average tauren hasn’t had much contact with your average forsaken. They’re a continent away, after all, and so you get more from hearsay than meeting them. Thus, what your tauren thinks about them depends entirely upon how swayed he has been by the Grimtotem Clan. The vast majority of the tauren view the Grimtotem as an embarrassment, and it’s worth noting that most Grimtotem are hostile to both Alliance and horde.

Now, they’re open advocates for the Forsaken. They even let some of them in.

How would you react? Unsurprisingly, most tauren don’t have time for the undead. They see them as an abrogation of the Earthmother’s world, they see them as scheming and unwise, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the damned Grimtotem like them!

"If you must speak with a forsaken, don’t. Let him speak, say nothing, and send him on his way.”

1The next question: Why is she STILL there now that the blood elves are cured, I can’t answer.

The Alliance

Before I begin, it’s worth noting: The tauren, unlike most horde races, has next to no history with the Alliance. Don’t believe me? The orcs have fought the humans for three wars now. The trolls were there for the last one. The undead were humans. The blood elves were high elves.

The tauren were dancing happy la-la songs until the orcs showed up. Well, OK, not true. Actually, they were being slaughtered by centaurs.

So, here’s the pop quiz: Which group do you think the tauren get enraged by fighting; the Alliance or the centaurs?

Right. This is why the tauren, as a general rule, don’t really have any problem with the Alliance. They have, at most, known about the night elves. They’re enemies of their friends, and that’s it. Your average tauren, if there’s no pressing need, is likely to let an Alliance civilian get away. The definition of ‘pressing need’ vary, of course.

Draenei: The draenei are a curious parallel to the tauren. Both are the largest members of their faction. Both are the calmest, least angry race within their faction. (Alright, this is debatable for the draenei, but the similarities are there.) In fact, were events slightly different, had the draenei allied with the Horde rather than the Alliance, it’s likely that the tauren would have found an awful lot to like about the draenei.

As it is, however, they’re a bunch of massive blue guys, the few people the tauren actually have to look eye to eye with rather than securely looking down. And they look like demons. They’re threatening and, as such, the tauren look at them with suspicion. Tauren are, as always, slow to judge, but being allied with the Horde means that the draenei are enemies by default, and the suspicion has more chance to increase than anything else.

"It’s foolish to judge a river by the surface; the depths run deep. These kind could be a treacherous river or a life-giving stream. For now, we can not know.”

Dwarves & Gnomes: Similarly, the tauren have had little to do historically with the dwarves and gnomes; some dwarves fought alongside Jaina Proudmore in the Third War, but otherwise, they have had no contact prior to the current age. In the absence of stronger ties, they react strongly to the most visual elements they find, and they see strange technologies, ferocious warriors, and rampant drunkenness. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the tauren don’t see the gnomes and dwarves as particularly dangerous or respected foes.

"A small race in every sense. Their ever-present need to build greater and greater things only shows that they themselves are not enough.”

Humans: The nominal leaders of the Alliance, the humans are probably the most talked about member of the Alliance within the horde. Certainly, the orcs will tell the most stories of them.

What do those stories tell of? Slavery. The camps. Sweat and trouble and brutality. The tauren don’t know that was a completely different kingdom, the tauren don’t know what the situation was. All they get are stories of hate and horror.

But… there’s Jaina Proudmore. Probably at this point the best recognised human to the Horde, courtesy of her attempts at outreach rather than battle. She is distinctly not horrific, nor hateful. As such, most tauren are probably confused by humanity, courtesy of really always dealing with them second hand.

"Hmph. Humans cross our lands. See if anyone here knows the colours of Proudmore. If those aren’t her colours, we’ll make sure they never leave alive.”

Night Elves: Finally, we have the night elves. Unlike the remaining races, the night elves actually are known to the tauren. They lived on the same continent, and while the Cenarion Circle didn’t officially welcome the tauren into their ranks until the end of the Third War, clearly they had some dealings with each other.

Yeah, they got along pretty well when they talked.

Kalimdor is big. And it’s mostly empty. The Eastern Kingdoms were where all the fighting used to occur precisely because until recently, that’s where everyone was.

So now the night elves and the tauren have to deal with each other. Again, rosy relationship, right?

Wrong.

Now every single little land issue has flared up. They have to deal with each other. Both have long and storied histories with the land, sacred spots, boundaries. Those boundaries are now being tested. The sacred spots are often at risk.

As such, the night elves are both the race the tauren are closest too (courtesy of their druidic links) and may just be the one they have the most anger towards.

"Ah, I miss the days when I never had to see those damn long-ears. I liked them more back then.”

Viewing the Classes

Death Knight: The immediate assumption any tauren is going to make about a tauren death knight is that surely, they’re a Grimtotem. If this is wrong, a tauren is likely to be shocked. No matter who they are, few tauren are going to trust a death knight; they simply don’t believe someone can change that quickly.
Druid: The druids are one of the hallowed orders of the tauren, but unlike the night elves they’re not held in that much awe amongst their people. Rather, being a druid is a privileged burden. Tauren see family as a huge, encompassing concept; in smaller camps literally everyone is considered ‘family’ in one way or another. Druids, in many ways, are tauren charged with seeing everything as family.
Hunter : By contrast, the hunter is a very highly regarded part of tauren society. Tauren put great reverence on the part of good hunters, ones who know how to shoot an animal and cleanly kill it, leaving the body so that every last piece of it can be used. Tauren, used to nomadic lifestyle, don’t waste much, and they still expect their hunters to be efficient and skilled.
Mages: Much like the orcs, the tauren just don’t see magic as natural. It’s a fearful and forbidden pursuit, as far as they’re concerned, but at the same time, they don’t see it as a crime. A troll mage won’t be feared as a person for practising magic; it’s purely the magic itself to be feared.
Paladin: There’s a certain strangeness to the idea of a paladin for a tauren. The Earthmother is a peaceful deity, a giver of life and sustenance. What fearful god must you worship to make war in his name?
Priest: By contrast, the priest is a role the tauren can understand. The main thing that would confuse a tauren about a priest is… aren’t we all priests? Don’t we all venerate our god? Why is the priest so special?
Rogue: (Tauren rogue joke ha ha ha. Let’s move on.) Seriously, the tauren don’t have a problem with the idea of the rogue. Actually, in many ways a rogue is preferable to a warrior. Think again of the hunter metaphor: a single clean arrow or gunshot killing a target. A tauren dislikes radical change; if a problem can be removed with one quick arrow, isn’t this preferable to a full scale war?
Shaman: Despite being seen as a slow and ponderous race (true) any who saw a tauren shaman would not believe how energetic one can be. Tauren adore dance, and a tauren shaman is the master of it. With tribal drums beating and ritual dance, a tauren shaman coaxes forth the elements and dances with them, often to do war. However, in peace, the tauren shaman is the primary counsellor of his people, the best manager of a tribe. There is a reason the chieftains of the tauren are shamans.
Warlocks: While the tauren don’t quite have as much venom toward the warlocks as the orcs do, the orcs are where the tauren get most of their information from regarding warlocks. As such, few tauren think they’re a good idea; and it’s unlikely that a warlock will be welcomed or even tolerated on their lands.
Warrior: Tauren warriors are a hardened lot, from years of fighting a losing war against the centaurs. It’s likely that tauren warriors may be the best bodyguards on Azeroth; surely no other species are as good at spotting threats and reacting appropriately.