Sure; though I despise Nightborne Haircuts (Well, not male ones) myself. It’s why I don’t roll a NB and am getting rid of the one I have. They just look so gross to me (again personal opinion).
100% this. I’m the polar opposite on being ‘against sharing styles’. We should be able to have our character the way we want them to look. I don’t really care about those whining about “BUT MAH FANTASY” toss it away. Leave me with that nonsense. Share cosmetic options, the more the merrier. 100%.
In my opinion, I think there should be a focus on situating the Horde to have all of its current members represented in some faction in the playable race department in some fashion (within reason) while adding a few current races that would add a lot to the faction. The same could be made for Alliance, though since I’m more of a Horde player, I do not feel qualified to make a bunch of suggestions for them.
This isn’t to say new races we meet should never become playable, but it needs to be within reason. Having the four covenants (again in my opinion) become playable races doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, and there is something wrong to me with just making things like Lightforged Undead, which would come out of nowhere while other races within the faction get no representation. Often times, these races just fit a short-term narrative as opposed to adding to the long-term feeling of what it should be to be Horde. They would then just get forgotten for the most part, outside of the odd NPC quest giver or so.
Now, if it were up to me, here is what I would focus on in terms of playability for new Horde races (note that I’m sure things can be debatable, it’s just what I would personally do):
First, for races part of the Horde but not currently playable, I’d add the following:
Ogres- A race that has been part of the Horde since the old Warcraft 1 days. The Horde already has the Stonemaul Clan, Dunemaul Clan, and some Gorian Ogres from Draenor as part of the Horde. Also fits the big, dumb, and strong niche, which I personally find a lot of fun playing.
Hozen- Technically one of the very first allied races. They can bring in a lot of potential humor in the form of quests or dialogue, but seeing as one became part of the Kor’kron, I can see some interesting battle tactics made by these guys. They don’t need to be the hero of the story (though the idea of a Hozen as the Horde champion really amuses me), but I can see a lot of fun ideas and such with them becoming playable.
Taunka- One of the first allied races I can think of for the Horde. We haven’t really heard what they’ve been up to, and I’m surprised we haven’t see them in any capacity. I don’t think they even have any emissaries in Orgrimmar, as far as I’m aware. Still, they officially joined the Horde, and whether they join up as a separate race or a customization option, I feel like they need some representation in the playable department.
Forest Trolls- Revantusk and/or writing the Amani back in. Referring to the previous Warcraft RTS games, as the Amani use to be members of that Horde. Would make a great throwback to that, and could either work as a customization race or be different enough as their own race.
A few misc tribes as customization options (Gimtotem Taurens, Dragonmaw Orcs, etc), which would open up roleplaying possibilities.
Now for races not part of the Horde, here is what I would add:
Gilblins- With nowhere to go and Azshara on the loose, I see no reason why the Horde wouldn’t let them in. Not to mention as aquatic units, they would be extremely useful in many situations.
San’layn- The potential for great storylines, characters, and scenarios is pretty big for them. Not to mention they were former Blood Elves and also were offered a place in the Horde. Also, a vampire race in the living world would add some flavor to what the Horde has.
Saurok- A former slave race fighting to survive that fills the fantasy lizardman niche? Yes, please! There is a lot of lore and storyline potential with them, would fit very well among the Horde, and would make great allies.
I’m sure arguments could be made for other races, which would be icing on the cake, and I could go into more detail for each race, but I’d likely have several more paragraphs to type. All of these races have a chance to be memorable and would work well as marketing material. They also work well long-term, offer a lot of flavor as NPC’s, chances of neat quests depending on the location, and looking at them gives that Horde feeling. They would be a constant presence as well, having opportunities in future expansions as opposed to just fitting a short-term narrative, not fit especially well, and not really be utilized much afterwards.
Not to mention the marketing possibilities. Take for example that new board game coming out. Imagine if they made things like that, but among the Horde they had things like San’layn or Saurok on the promotional artwork. People might see it and go “whoa, they added a lizardman/vampire race? I should check out the main game again!” The brand would start to see some long-term benefits, in my opinion.
Anyway, that’s just how I would do it. To me, they add would fit thematically and add a lot to the game long-term. Not to mention they all would give that Horde feeling of banding together for survival. It’s one of the reasons why I support so many races being playable.
Just my opinion, of course, flawed as it could be at times.
The swept back one is actually a good match for a typical vampire haircut.
Yeah.
I don’t think it’s realistic that every style would be available to everyone but they can certainly share a lot of haircuts.
Especially within factions.
Maybe have a very few specific ones for each race but anyone can style hair.
They also need to share gender options more. Which they are doing but they should keep it up.
Would Forest/Ice Trolls make sense as a skin for Zandalari?
They don’t have a hunch but they are beefier then Darkspear. New faces and such can be made.
Zurogrusel would be the better person to ask, since they’re the main champion for Forest Trolls. My own opinion is that they would work fine as customization options for Darkspear Trolls. If anything, they could add the beefy model you can switch between so it could be used for any of the Troll Tribes that join the Horde. I imagine it could work like the different male Orc models, and have different customization options as a result of what you selected.
Anyone who cares about lore should also be doing the same facial expression.
She should be neutral, like Valeera.
But apparently, both joined the Horde.
I would also be crying at such a condemnation.
Do the BE’s have access to the hairstyle you are using? I think the hair you are using on your character is one of the sleekest / very modern chic, for both San’layn and just in general as a possible BE hairstyle.
If I recall correctly, it’s a modified version of a Blood Elf hairstyle that they got from Night Elves.
I agree, it would look great on BE/San’layn.
Well we can have a true undead leader perhaps with the San’layn, of course 
Here’s to hoping. I know everyone’s talking about Kael’thas, and that I have a gorgeous piece I commissioned of the concept on the top of my thread, however I do still think one of the missing blood princes (or both?) could make sense as Blood King(s?).
I just hope we do actually see them again at one point! I’d love some character expansion for those mysterious fellows that I talk about so much.
They might be leading to him becoming the new leader of Barovia, I mean Revendreth.
But I really hope they tie him in with San’layn somehow. Even if it’s just a mention.
One popped up in BFA out of nowhere and they have the ability to disguise themselves as anyone. So one could popup at anytime.
There could even be one in plain sight…
This scenario would be super interesting, I didn’t even think about that. A group hiding among the Horde, right under their noses. Surprisingly that’s a big guild theme of mine. Super fun.
They can just pick a random character and say he was a San’layn the entire time.
Looking at you Topper McNabb!
Speaking of shape shifting, I can’t help but think of San’layn with this song from the video game, “Persona 5” with some of the lyrics:
I can only imagine San’layn looking out in the rainy distance, contemplating their newfound freedom and what to do in order to survive as I listen to this song. 
My sub expired earlier and it’ll be a few days till it’s back up and I can post again so I’ll drop my support for the thread again while I still can for the time being.
Some of these guys were surprisingly cute tbh
Also that’s a fruit bat not a vampire bat sue me
So I found out I can edit posts but not make new ones while off sub. Quoting you to get your attention here, new thread about ogres:
And I can already see people getting some things wrong about them (at least, probably, judging by some people I saw in midst of writing a reply), so I’ll send you in to clear things up. Or at least, wil lask politely for you to do so.
Not sure if quoting like this will even notify you tbh lol.
Responding to all the comments about Calia… we will have to wait what happens in the new book and prepatch.
In my opinion I disliked Calia at first but I’m growing fond of her over time. We will have to wait to see what she does in the story to win the hearts of her people and most importantly horde players.
I have suspicions that we may get customization tied to her. She seems to have an appearance similar to the Kyrians. Angelic and titan stone figures. So I like those themes. The angelic things would be a nice contrast to the zombie forsaken and the duality in the culture would be interesting to play out.
I have a feeling she may help get us the undead paladins we have asked for in many years. Tyrande may lead to night elf paladins, as we explore the new afterlife and see how different worlds of magic interact with us in shadowlands, previous notions of undead wielding light magic could be put to rest. For example the Val’kyr have that duality in there spellkit and appearances.
I am interested in seeing her. I have to wonder if we will get human customization options now for undead. All major undead lore figures tend to look like the human model that is living so if the players get something similar I would find that interesting. Now is the perfect time to add all sorts of undead customization to the races. My personal plea would be getting the death knight hair colors to all the races (there is a shade of white that blood elf dks have that is so unique and good that I would like to have on my rogue with the new customization.)
If this expansion focuses on customization options throughout the expansion similar to allied races I have to wonder if we will get Night-warrior unlock scenarios down the line. Someone mentioned Lightforged customization, I doubt they would do that but I would welcome more customization regardless of what it is. I like the forsaken, but I do find the weird wonky bodies to be annoying sometimes. I wouldn’t mind some undead with good postures like the deathknights in other races.
Also I would like to point out in screenshots it shows different colors for the names when you see there names. Calia is still shown to be yellow which ingame is considered Neutral. Storywise I wouldn’t mind getting the dk and forces related to him on the side of the horde, Alliance already have the army of light and now powerful void users. It seems the horde has way more connections to death/undeath and I would like to see how that plays out in Shadowlands. (Let’s face it most of the time that someone dies it’s a horde hero too xD it’d be funny to have death as our powerful forces). Just thinking because we are entering the realm of exploring the cosmic forces. The alliance have light and void in lightforged and void elves. There horde have fel and undeath with blood elves/orcs and forsaken. We are all forces of nature and the living which is also a powerful force.
Flying foxes (the bat) are amazing, frugivores or not!
I’ll flat out say I have no interest in Calia, her story, or that customization idea. Again if that’s what we are handed with no sign of San’layn then I really will give a farewell and thank the community here. I want actual dark themes, depth, and the ability to use darker magic while still being antihero. Not some cop out “look now I’m perfect because of the light”. I don’t trust Blizzard to write an intricate story where there’s nuance after what they pulled for BfA. I feel they will just emphasize the “if you don’t give into the light, you’re evil” narrative.
So yeah. Plain and simple, I only support actual undead themes being added at least prior to any of that…other stuff. If Lightforged stuff is added at the same time or after then I’d deal with it.
Shadowlands shows us that undead means alot of things. I do hope we get San’layn but it opens up doors for other things to exist! I remember back a before BFA started they wanted to kill of all the forsaken. They were going to be extinct. But now it seems they have opened many avenues for undead of many types to be relevant in the story. (they were just going to kill us off)…
So we will see especially if they plan to make more allied races. The night fae faun are tagged as allied races via there new npc system for better customization. The same was done for the Vulpera which is now playable so I would think they are open to letting many types of undead be playable down the line.
The forsaken also have the issue of not being able to reproduce… again after finishing of all they Val’kyr. I think we need some dks/ san’layn to help remedy that.
Also I am suspecting Calia will be connected the forsaken heritage armor… I am wondering if they will get a Lordaeron inspired set or one of the purple forsaken blight callers.
Calia is what happens when we do not follow the boundaries that define the identity of something.
I stand by what I said here. We have lightforged this, we have lightforged that, and where it makes sense. The Lightforged Draenei work thematically because in their spirituality, they worship the Naaru. It’s all fine and dandy, some of the Naaru can work in favor of Azerothians, and some of them (Xera) can work against them in terms of free will. That’s fine.
Paladins and priests also make sense for the light. Thematically, obviously, it fits.
I’m going to be bold and say I do not think the way to forsaken paladins is through this lightforging nonsense. I don’t.
The forsaken can already use the light, and they have to actually have substance and be noble to use it. Lightforging would literally be a cop-out. I know this via a direct answer from a WoW def. My source? This link.
"Can you please explain how “light” works? The lore states that undead are physically incapable of using the light, much like the Broken, but then we have Forsaken players casting healing spells, and Sir Zeliek in Naxxramas using pseudo-paladin abilities.
Without spoiling too much, we can tell you that wielding the Light is a matter of having willpower or faith in one’s own ability to do it. That’s why there are evil paladins (for example, the Scarlet Crusade and Arthas before he took up Frostmourne). For the undead (and Forsaken), this requires such a great deal of willpower that it is exceedingly rare, especially since it is self-destructive. When undead channel the Light, it feels (to them) as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light (whether the healer is Forsaken or not) are effectively cauterized by the effect: sure, the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower; Forsaken (and death knight) tanks suffer nobly when they have priest and paladin healers in the group; and Sir Zeliek REALLY hates himself."
Boom, right there. Undead can use the light already, it’s just extremely painful and you need to really believe you can use it, along with having a willpower to resist this drawback.
Lightforged undead would not only bypass this, but also give you the unholy strength and benefits that come with being undead. At that point you might as well be alive. There’s no point, it goes completely against the concept of undead. No substance whatsoever.
As someone passionate about Death Knights & San’layn, again I say I want to see undead themes added as customization or Allied Races that we’ve seen since Wrath first or at the same time as the light-nonsense, as I said in my other post. This is one of those times where I will stick to my guns. Just like how I said it would be ridiculous if the Alliance got Night Elf dark rangers first with no sign of Horde getting anything like that, I will say we need undead themes that we’ve actually seen and have fallen in love with since the beginning of the game prior to any ‘novel concept’ that again most undead fans (yeah, I said it) clearly seem to reject.
I have 0 interest in any of this light saturation nonsense. I do play some paladins and a priest, but it fits them. And I’m all for creativity as well, but sometimes things go so far off into the realm of ‘this neither is interesting nor does it make sense, and it’ll be ABHORRENT if it replaces the themes we grew to love’.
I hate…hate…hate the fact that people are pushing “In order to do good, you need to accept/embrace the light.” People still argue that Illidan’s decision NOT to give up his free will to be a puppet of the light was entirely horrible and wrong. (Don’t try to argue that point with me people, I sincerely will never agree with you there. Nothing should come at the cost of free will, so miss me with that.)
We can have intricate stories and characters without lightwashing everything and calling it a day.
Yea you have good points. I don’t think it’s as bad as you make it out to be if they make customization options for forsaken via night warrior questline. But as we see the customization shows them going for the classic forsaken zombie look.
I am curious to see how all the members of forsaken society respond to Calia. Especially the plague users and the classic comedic sadists. I am betting to wager a shadow government forms that still supports the dark lady and having an internal war within themselves. I for one would like it to eventually lead to a society with a light lady and dark lady. And breaking stereotypes with the lore figures. Calia doing something considered evil for example, the dark lady just trying to prevent something bad from happening.
Also I think what they did to Calia was unique, I don’t think many players will have access to her looks. An example would be Magni, he turned into a diamond form to talk to Azeroth, that customization is not available to dwarf players.
I have to wonder how Calia will deal with managing the forsaken? Will she try to change them to be better? Will she try to work with how they are? She is an inexperienced leader ruling simply by blood right. There is plenty of room for things to go wrong somewhere. Will it make the Lich King favor the horde more having Arthas’ sister as a leading figure to the forsaken? Will she be more of a lich Queen then Slyvannas was? I am curious to see all this happen.
As for the lightforged term, I like to think of her reincarnation as Lightborne. The first time we see the Light use necromancy. It was when forces of light and shadow worked together to make her.
The forsaken are more shadowborne using pure shadow magic which may explain why light hurts them more.
P.S. Just not in Ardenweald we will explore how life and death magic are connected and beings are reborn. Necromancy is skipping all that with shadow magic. Calia is the first known case where we see undeath with light magic (Alonsus being borne of shadow may have made it possible). We saw elements of Rebirth with the Legion demons with fel magic. So I find it interesting to explore and explain all these past magic interactions. In revendreth the Light also burns the vampires there much like the forsaken in our world. Death magic is obviously more complicated then we previously thought. I would like blizzard to give them a chance to explain there vision with Shadowlands.
Apparently Christie Golden invented San’layn.
Unless she’s talking about something outside of WoW.