So a little belated, but I wanted to make an anniversary post since this megathread recently hit the 3 year mark.
I actually haven’t been here since the beginning. After disliking WoD and with Legion leaving a sour taste in my mouth, I had taken a hiatus from the game. It wasn’t until BfA was announced with allied races that I was interested in coming back.
At the time, I remember coming to the official WoW forums to see the discussions and speculation after the BfA reveal trailer. I think it was implied that we would get more playable races as BfA went on (which we did), and I wanted to see what people were talking about. That’s where I came across the concept of race megathreads, with the San’layn megathread being one of the first I’ve seen.
Before coming here, I didn’t know a lot about them, but as I looked into them more, I got interested. I saw a potential for a cool playable Horde race, an interesting background, and several possibilities for future roles in storylines. My excitement increased when there was the appearance of San’layn in the Alliance was campaign, thinking we’d see and work with them in the Horde side…which sadly, nothing came to be from that appearance. Despite that, my interest in playable Horde San’layn continued to increase over time and remains pretty strong nowadays.
Since coming to this megathread, I did some various sharing of ideas and also wrote up some sample scenarios to show off what could be done with San’layn. Previously, I used Blood Prince Dreven at the time as the San’layn leader. This was well before Shadowlands, and at the time it seemed like he could get revived somehow (death always seems like a minor setback in Azeroth, doesn’t it?) and get involved in BfA again, and it seemed like the most likely possibility at the time. Since then, I’ve backed away from him since we moved in another direction and it seemed less likely that we’d see him come back again, though I still keep his personality I had for him in mind. My hope from what I type on here is to help show what could be done with playable Horde San’layn and potentially inspire ideas that could be applied to them should they become playable.
One of the things I enjoy from the different race request megathreads is the passion behind those who are a fan of a particular race. I am of the opinion that having a wide variety of races playable is great as those passionate players who get to make their dream character just adds so much to the world. Characters are the most important part of a MMORPG, in my opinion. They’re the link of attachment to a game, whether it is an identity or just part of someone’s creativity with backstory, designs, and so on. It’s something I like to see continuously added, whether it’s new races, classes, or customization options.
Wtih San’layn, there is quite a bit of passion shown, and I see it as something growing. Not only is this one of the biggest race request megathreads, but I’ve seen San’layn popularity grow as time went on. I do recall one of Blizzard’s twitch streams had people chanting for San’layn in the Twitch chat. There was also a lot of speculation of them as an allied race during the BfA days, which I think also helped things. I’d say their popularity has grown in general over time. I don’t say that just because I particularly want San’layn, but it has been an observation I’ve seen. Seeing people cheer on for playable Horde San’layn is something I’m always happy to see.
I’m thankful that this megathread exists. I support it because I honestly want to see playable Horde San’layn become a reality someday. I have a couple of character slots reserved for potential San’layn characters, who I hope get to see the…well, I’d say light of day, but I suppose the darkness of night is better fitting. I also don’t put them on my “Horde Triforce of Hope!™” I tout on these forums for nothing. I really do want to see playable Horde San’layn as a reality someday.
I also am thankful for the inspiration and courage I’ve gained from here and other race request megathreads. This megathread was one that inspired me to find my creative side, to get into supporting playable Horde Ogres, make my own Saurok megathread, and eventually make my Stonemaul Ogre megathread. It had been a pleasure to be part of this megathread and other race request megathreads in general.
I always take the stance that whatever is done on here is not a guarantee to see our requests come true. At the same time, there is a bit of hope that continues to grow. Moreso with Blizzard seemingly taking fan feedback in general. I would hope that they would look at San’layn with an open mind and see the potential they have as a playable Horde race. If given some love and creativity, there is quite a bit you can do with San’layn, and I hope they get both of those as opposed to being stuck as an evil mook NPC race brought in to act as quest jobbers or loot piñatas.
Regardless of what happens, I still plan to continue contributing to this megathread. I still have ideas, writings, and such that I want to do more of when I get the time and when creativity strikes. As I said, Horde San’layn are one of my most wanted races, and I want to support them as best as I can.
We’ve been going for 3 years and still going strong. Let’s hope that it won’t take several more years before we see playable Horde San’layn someday! 
