The histories of sentient races

[Terant]

Night Elves evolved from Trolls as a result of the Well of Eternity, methinks. And the High Elves only evolved into their own race because they were separated from it.

Well of Eternity being magic, causing evolution or corruption/mutation, depending on your point of view. High Elves, you're probably right though.

One thing I forgot about is the three different kinds of Dwarves. Wildhammers, Bronzebeards, and Dark Irons are all pretty similar, but they all have slight physical differences.

[Hawk]

I'll just note that Night Elves evolving from Trolls from the Well of Eternity is just a theory. It's not been proven.

Most of the Trolls believe it, but most, if not all the Night Elves despise the idea. No surprise.

[Piroska]

The odd thing about those three clans is that they were all originally one group: the Ironforge dwarves. They split (officially) less than three hundred years ago, yet the wiki notes that there are pretty significant physical changes between the three. For example, members of the Wildhammer clan tend to be both taller and leaner than their cousins to the south.

Given the expected lifetime of the dwarves (450 by some sources, though usually over 250), that's not a considerable time to have such changes crop up. All I can imagine is that centuries (millennia?) of living in their designated areas prior to the split combined with breeding brought about such significant variation between the three clans.

Regarding the Troll/Night elf issue, as I stated earlier, most of it is conjecture that has been perpetuated by fans' speculations and Blizzard's hints. According to the official Blizzard troll compendium:

Little is known about the night elves' precise origins, for their race was formed so long ago that no hard evidence has surfaced to prove or invalidate this theory. All that is known for certain is that a tribe of nocturnal humanoids came to live on the shores of the first Well of Eternity, and the Well's cosmic energies changed them into the night elves we know today.

Certainly many trolls do believe that the humanoids who developed into the night elf race were trolls. The theory does have some credibility, for there is at least a superficial physical resemblance between trolls and night elves. Furthermore, the troll race dominated much of ancient Kalimdor--the only continent on Azeroth before the Great Sundering--long before the night elves came into power.

Nevertheless, many night elves find this theory preposterous and abhorrent. They are quick to point out that the first night elves began their rise to power by defeating a number of nearby troll tribes. As a consequence, the trolls came to fear and respect the might of their new rivals. The troll theory of night elf ancestry may have been a direct result of this early conflict. The trolls hated the night elves--a sentiment that persists to this day--and may have wished to marginalize the night elf race and its accomplishments. Also, attributing the night elf race with a troll heritage likely helped the trolls come to terms with their own shocking defeat.

Without additional data, there is little point in debating the merits of this controversial theory. No doubt it will remain a matter of contention for years to come.

I could probably find another source if needed.

[Maulbane]

I'll just note that the Orcs came from the Ogres, who are the offspring of the Gronns.

At least I would believe they are, their physiology is mostly the same, is it not?

This should help a lot

Spoiler:

[PiesOfNub]

If one looks at the different types of Trolls (Northrend/Forest/Island), one can easily see a difference between them all.

The Northrend ones are far more brutish in design, probably due to having to survive in the wastelands of Northrend. Forest Trolls and Island trolls, however, only differ by skin colour, leading me to believe that the Troll races originated in Kalimdor, some moving to the North. These "Northern Trolls" would've been broken off from the rest of civilization after the Great Sundering, which in effect launched the northern part of Old Kalimdor to the cold north, a la Northrend. The Trolls in Northrend had to compete with several other races for dominance in Northrend, using mostly brute strength augmented by voodoo.

tl;dr Yaytrolls.

[Bovel]

Trolls are the best race at adaptations in Wow. But they all descend from the same tribe. First to split off was the trolls who became drakkari and amani (ice and frost). Then came the jungle trolls that has not changed alot, even even just a little bit of colouring compared to the zandalari tribe. How the sand trolls came to be is unclear though.

That is a nice pic Maulbane but it has some flaws. Dragons for example were not created by titans. Proto-dragons lived on Azeroth before the titans decended and the biggest one of them (Galakrond?) was used to create the magical aspects which with their flights formed the dragons we know today.

[Arrillion]

Trols ae the best example of wow evolution, as they have become adapted to the envoriment they live in. For example Ice trolls have more fur, and the amani are alot bigger than their Darkspear cousins. And of course you have the monstrous and feral trolls.

[coreypotter585]

If you will look at some of the bigger humanoid creatures in outlands (the Gronns, or Giant Lords,) the idea of Orcs evolving from them does make sense, however, where they are simmilar they are also very different. The Ogre's anatomy has an obvious simmilar shape and setup of an Orc, however the fact they Ogres tend to be born with multiple body parts and seperate brains makes me think that there is something else in the equation.

And I think someone made a comment about the fact there was not enough time for the Dwarf races to adapt, well you have to understand the Dwarves that broke off from their Kin have all gone to the extreame opposite of what they are used to. For instance the Dark Irons are generally bigger and stronger then your average Dwarf, its about their new surroundings. The Burning steppes is a harsh hell hole filled with danger and magic around every corner of the land. Also take into account the vast amounts of old Kingdom magic and Information they have. The Wildhammers started training Gryphons... which I dont know about you, but I dont think i could man handle a full sized Gryphon around and I am pretty big. Adaptation, if you cant adapt you dont survive, so the swarves that adapted, survived.