It’s not really headcanon in this sense, but there are obviously worgen who openly embrace their curse. Some of them simply accept that they can’t change it, while others are in it for the power. The raw strength and resilience that the worgen body offers is addicting, given that it can turn a 90lb nerd into an orc-mauling monster. The ability to shrug off mortal wounds, to eat raw or rotten meat without fear of disease, the resistance to toxins, being able to track down prey by scent or sound… all of this means that worgen assassins and the like are some of the most prized.
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Like all Zandalari trolls, Zandalari monks do take part in Loa Worship. However, rather than any of the Loa of Zandalar, these monks choose instead to revere the Loa of Pandaria - aka the August Celestials. They believe that it is through the blessings of these “Loa” that the pandaren were able to defeat the Zandalari Empire long ago.
The Celestials, graceful as ever, don’t mind that some of their troll students refer to them as “Loa,” choosing to take it as a compliment. What’s important is that they learn the lessons they have to teach - strength, compassion, hope, and courage.
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This legit makes me want to make a Zandalari monk. Nice xD
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To be fair, it makes a lot of sense.
Trolls respect power, especially power that they can share in in some form or fashion.
The August Celestials elevated Pandaren, soft, gentle former slaves of the only other empire the ancient Zandalari considered their equals, into forces like the Shado-Pan, small in number but able to thrash not only the lesser Tribes, but even an elite force of Zandalari and were able to coerce the Horde and Alliance to take a break from their latest race-war to go push the Thunder King off his throne.
The defeat might sting, but considering it was Zul’s band of desperates who abandoned Zandalar and all the people and loa there to save themselves, and in doing so made an unwise pact with the Mogu that threatens the Empire to this day, the Zandalari who remain in their homeland and who now side with the Horde probably don’t consider themselves to have anything to do with ‘those’ Zandalari and are probably a bit miffed that the Shado-Pan is probably breathing down their neck every other second the Trolls are in Pandaria.
I like to think that the Mag’har orcs from the different tribes all bring two things to Azeroth;
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A deeply entrenched hatred/distrust for the Draenei which doesn’t exactly help with peace talks.
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Skills that their clans had been focused on during the time of Garrosh and the Iron Horde. For example; the Blackrock orcs brought highly skilled smiths and engineers whose talents rivaled master goblins and gnomes, but whose focus is almost completely on the making of weapons, armor, and war machines.
Because of this influx of more specialized cultures that all share the same negative views on one of the Alliance’s primary races, subsections of the Horde’s cultures are having their anti-Alliance biases stoked unintentionally by these new arrivals.
This has also led to a growing distrust in the Light which has been shown to be a pervasive and corrupting power ‘for the right reasons’ and a rise in traditional shamanic values.
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Well, upside is that those shoes wouldn’t do her much good anyway
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Oh boy guess i need to finally grind out the zanda rep
A few random ones that popped into my head:
-There is a ‘code of the air’ vaguely similar to the informal honor codes held by some pilots during the World Wars. I assume it would apply more to mechanical flyers like gyrocopter pilots and the like. Air-to-air kills are considered more honorable or noteworthy than ground kills, and there exists a status similar to ‘Ace’ that varies depending on the army and flyer type. Additionally, it’s considered extremely bad form to shoot a pilot who’s parachuting to safety or to shoot up an aircraft that’s obviously going down anyway.
-Zandalari speech sounds the way it sounds because Zandali lacks a ‘th’ sound, so when speaking other languages they just drop or replace it.
-There is an obscure dating system used in some official Zandalari documents similar to the Mayan Long Count. No one’s sure how accurate it actually is, and it’s just sort of tradition by now, but if anyone were to do the research they’d find it corresponds almost exactly to the Titans’ arrival on Azeroth.
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I believe that since the same stigma towards DHs that Nelves have isn’t as strong in Belf society, Blood Elf Illidari have overall been more willing to enter themselves into the war.
This is a combination of them both wanting to better reconnect with their people and the fact a large portion of them are still probably highly resentful of the humans for Garithos and the high elves (now Void Elves) who sided with him. Then combine that with the fact they have access to records of the Purge of Dalaran and have been even more disconnected from the loop than most, they probably regard it as safe to assume the humans are out to get their people out of malice. This also not mentioning that they more or less spent years imprisoned stewing. This probably results in a large portion of Human and Void Elf casualties coming by the wrath of Blood Elf Illidari who no longer have to focus their attention on destroying the Legion.
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Being descendants of The Grand Architect Mimiron, and thus ‘their’ titan being Norgannon, Keeper of Lore, Gnomish Priests are, moreso than most, teachers. Knowledge is sacred and passing it onward is as much a Priest’s duty as healing the wounded and easing the tormented.
To pass along the blessings of Norgannon, many Gnomish priests have opened schools in Alliance territories to help the less fortunate receive the divine gift of learning. Because of this inclination, Gnomish Professor-Priests are globally renowned for their seemingly endless patience and their uncanny ability to teach just about anyone.
With this in mind, Gnomish places of worship are not grand cathedrals or towering temples, but schools and forums, lacking pews and pedestals in favour of desks and chalkboards. The act of sharing knowledge is just as sacred, and perhaps just as potent, as any blessing a priest of the light, loa or otherwise could give.
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The Dranei Freeze
Draenei can both be incredibly affectionate but cold and distant. Losing their home world, fleeing from planet to planet and enduring constant terrible events has made it difficult for individuals to want to have connection with ‘outsiders’ and the worlds they visit. Yet they also value in the moment happiness and sometimes it can come off pretty extreme, having a quiet meal with a friend is actually A PRETTY BIG DEAL because there’s that lingering fear this could be their last meal with that friend. So Draenei can be a whole slew of emotions ranging from intense happiness to haughty and aloof.
Draenei are doomsday preppers
Draenei are both hoarders and minimalist, some sway more extreme than others yet it’s become heavily rooted in modern Draenei culture. You either must constantly stock pile food and resources in case the Legion find us!! Yet only keep what is necessary and purge excess material goods because we can only take so much when we flee.
Draenei don’t like sharing
Despite the friendly and charitable disposition Draenei are known for they are fiercely protective of their technology and resources. Much of what they have cannot be recreated either, once it is lost it is lost forever.
While relations with the Alliance have gone well, they are still incredibly cautious and careful only sharing what they feel is safe. If the scattered primitive orc tribes of Draenor could be twisted by the Legion into a devastating force against them, what could possibly happen if the same were to be done with the Alliance?
This is also my way to sorta explains the gap in technology level between the different cultures in the Alliance. Why doesn’t all of the Alliance now use crystal pewpew lazer artillery? The Draenei could have just given some to the Night Elves and maybe Teldrassil would have been A-OK.
Which actually leads to an interesting IC discussion, if the Draenei act now they could effectively stop the war happening in BfA with things like the Vindicaar. Yet they choose not to because the Vindicaar is their last resort should they need to flee. It’s an interesting take and adds a fun layer to the culture. The constant fear of needing to be prepared but the fear to act leads to this self fulfilling prophecy. Anyway that’s too deep and nuanced for Blizz to write lmao.
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Ever since the Battle of Uldir, many Zandalari have become curious about titan artifacts. Some Zandalari scholars even believe that the troll race, the Zandalari in particular, have a secret connection to the titans. These scholars say that it is more than coincidence that such a large titan facility is located in Zandalar, and the theory has only gained more ground with the revelation that the Great Seal, the very pyramid in which the royal family resides, was also built by the titans to help keep G’huun contained.
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Now that the Kul Tirans hold the most powerful Navy in Azeroth, there is a sizable faction within the nation (mainly merchants) who want the war to end.
Given that Kul Tiras sits in between Zandalar, Suramar, the Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor and Pandaria, this group realizes the massive potential for raking in cash as Azeroth’s trading center thanks to their location.
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Ok, this one I only recently saw in an RP play out, but I believe it is a valid one.
Blackrocks are overall considerably better nation builders and managers than the other clans. Even if one just looks at Goregrond in WoD, it’s pretty clear the Blackrocks made clear paths to move their soldiers around to respond to threats where as Warsong, Bleedinghollow, Thunderlord and Shadowmoon did not. By this logic, it’s also probably safe to assume the Blackrocks were able to manage logistics since they had to balance both their military and having people working their foundries while ensuring all their soldiers were armed and fed.
It may also help explain why Thrall was successful in establishing Orgrimmar and ensuring that things such as defense were readily attended to by the Horde; Orgrim Doomhammer was his mentor afterall and both Eitrigg and Saurfang helped him after Orgrim’s death.
In turn, Thrall was also held back by his desire to keep peace and not entirely dominate everything. Garrosh ultimately was the one who, with Blackrock city building ideals, turned Orgrimmar from a city of stone to a city of steel because he had no qualms about attacking Ashenvale for lumber or having Shamans outright dominate the elements.
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I can’t believe I only just thought of this one.
Forsaken, when offered food, often reply “No thanks, I’m on a diet. So big a diet I had to cut out the T. Now I’m just on a die.”
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Clever Pandaren merchants in Orgrimmar have insistently sold Orcs shishkabobs with peppers and other vegetables on them.
The Orcs were initially very opposed to eating plants alongside meat, but the masterful grilling eventually won them over.
Now Orcs are more open to trying vegetable-based dishes.
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In the years since the blood elves joined the Horde, orcish taste in aesthetics have caught on among the sin’dorei youth. Many a blood elf noble have been horrified to discover their children sporting tattoos and nose rings and BY THE SUNWELL WHY DO YOUR CLOTHES HAVE SO MANY SPIKES GO TO YOUR ROOM YOUNG LADY.
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I have been wanting to contribute to this thread, so here I go!
Before the remnants of the Highborne rejoined Kaldorei society, there was actually a bit of a cultural shift in regards to magic. With the Kaldorei joining the Alliance, and the Alliance using magic, the majority of the Kaldorei people saw that there were noble races that could use magic responsibly. Because of this the idea of magic being used wasn’t totally taboo in the Kaldorei society, however, it wasn’t practiced, until the Highborne showed up again, and while there was still major distrust between kin, I propose that they wouldn’t have been willing to accept the Highborne back if it weren’t for the Alliance showing that magic can be used for good and isn’t always super corrupting.
There, hopefully that made any sense to whoever is going to read it, but it’s just this idea that I’ve been playing around with for a while.
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Upon ascending the throne, one of the first things Queen Talanji does is send some diplomatic envoys to Pandaria. Her long-term goal is to break the Zandalari’s long isolation from the rest of the world, and part of that is mending fences. Beginning with the pandaren, who have suffered almost as much by Zul’s hand as Talanji’s own people.
Results have been…mixed. While the general pandaren populace seems open to the idea of reconciliation (particularly over drinks. Many of the Zandalari diplomats cited their hangovers as evidence that talks are going well), the Shado-Pan have been far icier in their reception. They have allowed the diplomats to do their work, but are watching them like hawks. Talanji hopes that one day, relations will reach the point where such precautions won’t be necessary.
Most races spell words like “honor” or “color”.
Elven races spell these words like “honour” and “colour”.
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