I thought I'd make a guide for these lovable hunks of blue junk. If I've made any mistakes, I'll edit the article accordingly, so let's get to business!
Well, first of all, the Draenei, lets go back in time to see why they're called Space Goats in the first place!
The Draenei used to be called Eredar. Draenei, in the Draenei's tounge, means 'Exiled ones'. They used to live on a planet called Argus, hence the Space Goat. Roughly 21,000 years ago, Sargeras went up to the Eredar saying how he liked them etc. He approached the 3 leaders of the Eredar: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde and Velen, and offered them great power in exchange for their loyalty to Sageras. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde were all for it, however Velen wasn't. He had a vision about the Burning Legion and the desutrction they would bring, and that Sargeras was merely using them as pawns of the Legion. Velen tried to warn Archimonde and Kil'jaedan, but wouldn't listen, nor did they care. They wanted true power, and it seemed nothing was going to stop them, if their wisest leader couldn't convince them. They accepted the offer, and many willing Eredar were transformed into warlocks and such.
Those who followed Velen were the ones who were uncorrupted, and they renamed themselves Draenei. When Velen nearly lost all hope, he heard a voice in his head, and not the insane kind. It was the voice of one of the Naaru, who approached him. They explained they were bent on destroying the Legion, and they offered to take Velen and his Draenei to safetly. With no other option, the Draenei managed to escape from Argus in the Naaru ship called Oshu'gun. Meanwhile, Kil'jaeden was pretty pissed. He felt Velen betrayed him, and he vowed to hunt down Velen and his Draenei, even until the end of the cosmos. The Draenei went to dozens of other planets but everytime they did, the Legion would soon find them, and they had to keep fleeing.
Meanwhile, Naaru blessed the draenei with knowledge about the Light, and gave them some nifty powers such as Gift of the Naaru. Basically, any Draenei paladin who wields the Light was esentially given to them by the Naaru or they were taught by a Draenei who was given power by the Naaru. The Naaru explained that there were other forces in the cosmos that would stand against the Burning Legion. One day the naaru would forge them into a single unstoppable army of the Light. Deeply affected by the naaru's words, the draenei vowed to honor the Light and uphold the naaru's altruistic ideals.
Eventually, after having every home they found tore apart, they found Draenor, which in their tounge means "Exile's Refuge". There they found and befriended the Orcs before they were corrupted. They weren't exactly the best buds who'd come out and see each other everyday. Though aside from trading and whatnot, they respected each other, but mostly kept to themselves. However, the Draenei couldn't remain hidden, and were found by Kil'jaeden yet again. Although Kil'jaeden, in his quest to find more minions for the Legion, stumbled across the Orcs, realizing they were the perfect warrior race for the Legion's vast army. He corrupted the Orcs through Gul'dan, and thus the Orc's corruption began. The Orcs were convinced the Draenei were the enemy, and being in a state of blind rage and bloodlust, the Orcs attacked the Draenei without warning. This war went on for around 8 years, and 80% of the entire Draenei race was exterminated. Those who fought the Horde became affected by the Fel energies, and they mutated into a subspecies, who would be called "The Broken." You see all those really old looking Draenei hanging around in Outlands? Yep, that's them.
Whilst Kil'jaeden thought that all of the Draenei were killed and that his revenge was complete, little did he know he was actually wrong. Velen and a mere handful of Draenei who weren't transformed fled to Zangarmarsh. Meanwhile, when the Draenei first arrived on Draenor, the Blood Elves had discovered The Tempest Keep, and then gained control of it. So the Draenei could escape, they came out of hiding and fought the Blood Elves for control of one of the wings, known as The Exodar. Before they could get away, the Blood Elves managed to sabotage their 'engine'. When they attempted to planeshift, the engine asploded, and thus they crashed onto Azeroth. Soon after they were found out by the Night Elves of Darkshore.
At first, the Draenei were captured and being inspected to see if they were demons or something else hostile. Upon discovering they were no such thing, the Draenei eventually joined The Alliance.
Draenei culture is based around the Holy Light, magic, and little of Shamanism, which I'll be talking about later. The Holy Light and magic are the result of their relationship with the Naaru, so a lot of them tend to become more of the religious professions like priests and paladins, or magical professions, like mages. Though obviously there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a warrior or hunter. In either case, most, if not all Draenei have devoted themselves to prepare for the day when they will join the Army of the Light, to fight back the Burning Legion and atone for the sins of the Eredar, as promised by the Naaru. If your character isn't devoted to that in some way, shape or form, then... it'd just be considered taboo in Draenei society, and you might just get shunned, maybe even banished. Obviously you don't need to go spreading around you're devoted to the Army of the Light and such, but it should still be in your characters thoughts.
Courtesy of Hogral, some points about Draenei lifestyles!
Shamanism and the Draenei
This'll be pretty brief. When the Draenei were fleeing, their settlements being destroyed and the Orcs were reaching Shattrath, Vindicators and even civillians volunteered to stay behind so they could give the fleeing Draenei some time. Farseer Nobundo was one of them. They intended to trick Kil'jaeden into believeing the Draenei were eradicated. However during the fight there was an odd explosion, and a red mist began to fill the air, which affected the Draenei's use of the Light. The tower Nobundo was standing on toppled over and he was trapped under the debris. Hours afterwards he awoke to see the Lower City used as dumping grounds for the corpses, and Nobundo managed to crawl out into Terrokar forest, where he passed out and was awoken in Zangarmarsh. Sadly, Nobundo, and other Broken, were banished because of their transformations. Nobundo prayed to get his powers of the Light back, but no matter how many times he tried, his attempts would fail. However, eventually, his prayers were answered by the Wind of all things, who taught Nobundo shamanism. Nobundo went to the Draenei to tell them, and the only one who would listen was Velen, and thus Shamanism was brought to the Draenei.
These are all what Draenei views NORMALLY are, not mandatory! I'm fully aware how much you guys like crossfaction RP. But these will be how all Draenei NPCs will be played. Horde members will be killed in Draenei territory.
Orcs - The majority of Draenei despise Orcs greatly. With good reason. Seeing as they wiped out nearly all of their population in 8 years, it's not surprising that they're still pissed. Some Draenei may be more forgiving as they were corrupted, but these people are a minority. With 80% of their population gone, it is rare for one to simply dismiss the thought.
Tauren/Trolls - The only reason that I know of for disliking Taurens or Trolls is due to their association with Orcs, though Tauren are probably liked more. Trolls are likely to be seen as very strange and a little creepy. Hate could be a strong word, but despite their little knowledge on them, they still quality as "the enemy".
Forsaken - They are abominations of life and, because of their inability to call upon The Light, the Forsaken tend to greatly offend the Draenei. They wish to keep their distance from the former Scourge.
Sin'dorei - Most of the Draenei dislike the Sin'dorei due to them having given themselves over to The Legion and they sabotaged their hope for survival. One Blood Elf, Kael'thas, even tried to summon Kil'jaeden himself. Though, tensions may be eased now that the Blood Elves have taken a more faithful turn instead of remaining as magic addicts. But old scars don't heal easy.
Night Elves - I'm actually not sure on any of the views of the Alliance races, they only joined the Alliance because of the Orcs and Sin'dorei being with the Horde. Though I'm sure Night Elves are probably liked the most out of the Alliance, considering a few are helping them out in places like Ashenvale.
Gnomes - I'd be surprised if Draenei didn't like them, as the Draenei have delved deep into engineering, so there is always the chance for them to bond with a Gnome over their mutual desire to tinker. Gnomes also make very good Mages, and they are common amongst Draenei.
Dwarves - Again, same for Gnomes. Dwarves like engineering too. If a Draenei has become a sucker for wild parties and beards, then Dwarves will be great company. The Dwarves are also fervent believers of The Light, something they can relate to.
Humans - Again, their belief in The Light (even though the Draenei believe it as a real thing and NOT a philosophy) and a few other things have allowed Humans to enter the Draenei's "good books". The greatest Paladins of Azeroth have been Humans, after all. The Humans also have waged war against the Orcs for years, and if your Draenei hates Orcs, then they'd like Humans even more.
A note that any high ranking Draenei, or one that had been in contact with Orcs a lot, would probably know Orcish.
Draenei = Exiled Ones.
Draenor = Exiles Refuge.
Eredar = It has lost its original meaning to the Draenei, the word now has a "disgusting" meaning to them.
Krokul = Broken
Kurenai = Redeemed
Man'ari = It does not have a direct translation, but refers to something that is hideously and fundamentally wrong. May at one time meant "gifted". The Draenei use this term to describe demonic Eredar, corrupted orcs and other minions of the Burning Legion; similar to the use of Orcish word dae'mon. "Demon" is probably an appropriate transliteration.
Sayaad = Succubus and Incubus
Sha'tar = Born of Light.
Shattrath = Dwelling of Light
Draen means Exile - used in Draenei and Draenor.
Ei means One - used in Draenei.
-i seems to carry no semantic meaning, but is used to form an adjective from a noun. Used in Sha'naari Wastes and Sha'tari Base Camp.
Kure means Redeem - Used in Kurenai.
-nai seems to carry no semantic meaning, but is used to form past tense of a verb. Used in Auchenai, Kurenai and Omenai.
Or means Refuge - used in Draenor, Karabor, Orebor and Telredor.
Sha means Light - used in Shattrath, Sha'tar, and Sha'naar.
Tar means Born - used in Sha'tar.
Ttrath means Dwelling - used in Shattrath.
Draenei age isn't that hard at all.
21,000+: You were around to toy with magic for a while before you forced to board Oshu'gun and get the hell out of here. Anything below 21,000 would have meant you were born on a different planet whilst you had to keep moving due to the Legion.
It is possible for your Draenei to have been born on Draenor in light of the change on ages.
So yeah, hope this helps. Any questions or errors on my part, feel free to say them.
EDIT: Added age.
EDIT2: Added more on the culture area.
EDIT3: As Draenei can now be adults at 18, they can be born on Draenor now.
The Beginning - Life on Argus
Well, first of all, the Draenei, lets go back in time to see why they're called Space Goats in the first place!
The Draenei used to be called Eredar. Draenei, in the Draenei's tounge, means 'Exiled ones'. They used to live on a planet called Argus, hence the Space Goat. Roughly 21,000 years ago, Sargeras went up to the Eredar saying how he liked them etc. He approached the 3 leaders of the Eredar: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde and Velen, and offered them great power in exchange for their loyalty to Sageras. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde were all for it, however Velen wasn't. He had a vision about the Burning Legion and the desutrction they would bring, and that Sargeras was merely using them as pawns of the Legion. Velen tried to warn Archimonde and Kil'jaedan, but wouldn't listen, nor did they care. They wanted true power, and it seemed nothing was going to stop them, if their wisest leader couldn't convince them. They accepted the offer, and many willing Eredar were transformed into warlocks and such.
Those who followed Velen were the ones who were uncorrupted, and they renamed themselves Draenei. When Velen nearly lost all hope, he heard a voice in his head, and not the insane kind. It was the voice of one of the Naaru, who approached him. They explained they were bent on destroying the Legion, and they offered to take Velen and his Draenei to safetly. With no other option, the Draenei managed to escape from Argus in the Naaru ship called Oshu'gun. Meanwhile, Kil'jaeden was pretty pissed. He felt Velen betrayed him, and he vowed to hunt down Velen and his Draenei, even until the end of the cosmos. The Draenei went to dozens of other planets but everytime they did, the Legion would soon find them, and they had to keep fleeing.
Meanwhile, Naaru blessed the draenei with knowledge about the Light, and gave them some nifty powers such as Gift of the Naaru. Basically, any Draenei paladin who wields the Light was esentially given to them by the Naaru or they were taught by a Draenei who was given power by the Naaru. The Naaru explained that there were other forces in the cosmos that would stand against the Burning Legion. One day the naaru would forge them into a single unstoppable army of the Light. Deeply affected by the naaru's words, the draenei vowed to honor the Light and uphold the naaru's altruistic ideals.
Arrival on Draenor
Eventually, after having every home they found tore apart, they found Draenor, which in their tounge means "Exile's Refuge". There they found and befriended the Orcs before they were corrupted. They weren't exactly the best buds who'd come out and see each other everyday. Though aside from trading and whatnot, they respected each other, but mostly kept to themselves. However, the Draenei couldn't remain hidden, and were found by Kil'jaeden yet again. Although Kil'jaeden, in his quest to find more minions for the Legion, stumbled across the Orcs, realizing they were the perfect warrior race for the Legion's vast army. He corrupted the Orcs through Gul'dan, and thus the Orc's corruption began. The Orcs were convinced the Draenei were the enemy, and being in a state of blind rage and bloodlust, the Orcs attacked the Draenei without warning. This war went on for around 8 years, and 80% of the entire Draenei race was exterminated. Those who fought the Horde became affected by the Fel energies, and they mutated into a subspecies, who would be called "The Broken." You see all those really old looking Draenei hanging around in Outlands? Yep, that's them.
A New Beginning! - Escape from Draenor and arrival on Azeroth
Whilst Kil'jaeden thought that all of the Draenei were killed and that his revenge was complete, little did he know he was actually wrong. Velen and a mere handful of Draenei who weren't transformed fled to Zangarmarsh. Meanwhile, when the Draenei first arrived on Draenor, the Blood Elves had discovered The Tempest Keep, and then gained control of it. So the Draenei could escape, they came out of hiding and fought the Blood Elves for control of one of the wings, known as The Exodar. Before they could get away, the Blood Elves managed to sabotage their 'engine'. When they attempted to planeshift, the engine asploded, and thus they crashed onto Azeroth. Soon after they were found out by the Night Elves of Darkshore.
At first, the Draenei were captured and being inspected to see if they were demons or something else hostile. Upon discovering they were no such thing, the Draenei eventually joined The Alliance.
Draenei culture and other stuff
Draenei culture is based around the Holy Light, magic, and little of Shamanism, which I'll be talking about later. The Holy Light and magic are the result of their relationship with the Naaru, so a lot of them tend to become more of the religious professions like priests and paladins, or magical professions, like mages. Though obviously there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a warrior or hunter. In either case, most, if not all Draenei have devoted themselves to prepare for the day when they will join the Army of the Light, to fight back the Burning Legion and atone for the sins of the Eredar, as promised by the Naaru. If your character isn't devoted to that in some way, shape or form, then... it'd just be considered taboo in Draenei society, and you might just get shunned, maybe even banished. Obviously you don't need to go spreading around you're devoted to the Army of the Light and such, but it should still be in your characters thoughts.
Courtesy of Hogral, some points about Draenei lifestyles!
Hogral Wrote:1.) Draenei do fall in love in the usual way, though there is no evidence of marriage.
2.) Draenei do not have last names, but they do seem to value family. (Many of their greetings and farewells and well-wishes address the individual's family as well as the individual, and I'm assuming they haven't come up with these greetings since crashing on Azeroth.)
3.) The Light is not a theory to them. They have been literally touched by it. It's deeply personal and tangible, they totaly differiate with humans who've been teaching it as an academic "philosophy" for generations.
4.) Men and women are perfectly equal in Draenei society. Both men and women serve as guards and trainers in approximately equal numbers.
5.) They are extremely interested in other cultures and very patient with people who don't get theirs.
6.) Birth is a rare event among the draenei. As such, it is highly celebrated. It is likely that the Prophet himself would preside over such an occasion.
7.) Death is also a rare event. The death of a draenei is a very somber occasion and the Prophet Velen presides over many, if not all, funerals. Burial is customary for the dead. On Draenor, the draenei kept a necropolis called Auchindoun. A typical custom is to put their dead in crypts.
8.) Meditation is a common practice before going to bed. The draenei also bathe before meals and after battles as a sign of purification and cleansing.
9.) Draenei highly value hospitality. Guests are treated with unending patience and respect and are given the finest treatment the draenei can offer for the duration of the visit. Draenei are open and honest in the extreme. Ask, and they will answer if they can or give as they are able.
Shamanism and the Draenei
This'll be pretty brief. When the Draenei were fleeing, their settlements being destroyed and the Orcs were reaching Shattrath, Vindicators and even civillians volunteered to stay behind so they could give the fleeing Draenei some time. Farseer Nobundo was one of them. They intended to trick Kil'jaeden into believeing the Draenei were eradicated. However during the fight there was an odd explosion, and a red mist began to fill the air, which affected the Draenei's use of the Light. The tower Nobundo was standing on toppled over and he was trapped under the debris. Hours afterwards he awoke to see the Lower City used as dumping grounds for the corpses, and Nobundo managed to crawl out into Terrokar forest, where he passed out and was awoken in Zangarmarsh. Sadly, Nobundo, and other Broken, were banished because of their transformations. Nobundo prayed to get his powers of the Light back, but no matter how many times he tried, his attempts would fail. However, eventually, his prayers were answered by the Wind of all things, who taught Nobundo shamanism. Nobundo went to the Draenei to tell them, and the only one who would listen was Velen, and thus Shamanism was brought to the Draenei.
Views on other races
These are all what Draenei views NORMALLY are, not mandatory! I'm fully aware how much you guys like crossfaction RP. But these will be how all Draenei NPCs will be played. Horde members will be killed in Draenei territory.
Orcs - The majority of Draenei despise Orcs greatly. With good reason. Seeing as they wiped out nearly all of their population in 8 years, it's not surprising that they're still pissed. Some Draenei may be more forgiving as they were corrupted, but these people are a minority. With 80% of their population gone, it is rare for one to simply dismiss the thought.
Tauren/Trolls - The only reason that I know of for disliking Taurens or Trolls is due to their association with Orcs, though Tauren are probably liked more. Trolls are likely to be seen as very strange and a little creepy. Hate could be a strong word, but despite their little knowledge on them, they still quality as "the enemy".
Forsaken - They are abominations of life and, because of their inability to call upon The Light, the Forsaken tend to greatly offend the Draenei. They wish to keep their distance from the former Scourge.
Sin'dorei - Most of the Draenei dislike the Sin'dorei due to them having given themselves over to The Legion and they sabotaged their hope for survival. One Blood Elf, Kael'thas, even tried to summon Kil'jaeden himself. Though, tensions may be eased now that the Blood Elves have taken a more faithful turn instead of remaining as magic addicts. But old scars don't heal easy.
Night Elves - I'm actually not sure on any of the views of the Alliance races, they only joined the Alliance because of the Orcs and Sin'dorei being with the Horde. Though I'm sure Night Elves are probably liked the most out of the Alliance, considering a few are helping them out in places like Ashenvale.
Gnomes - I'd be surprised if Draenei didn't like them, as the Draenei have delved deep into engineering, so there is always the chance for them to bond with a Gnome over their mutual desire to tinker. Gnomes also make very good Mages, and they are common amongst Draenei.
Dwarves - Again, same for Gnomes. Dwarves like engineering too. If a Draenei has become a sucker for wild parties and beards, then Dwarves will be great company. The Dwarves are also fervent believers of The Light, something they can relate to.
Humans - Again, their belief in The Light (even though the Draenei believe it as a real thing and NOT a philosophy) and a few other things have allowed Humans to enter the Draenei's "good books". The greatest Paladins of Azeroth have been Humans, after all. The Humans also have waged war against the Orcs for years, and if your Draenei hates Orcs, then they'd like Humans even more.
Lastly, language.
A note that any high ranking Draenei, or one that had been in contact with Orcs a lot, would probably know Orcish.
Draenei = Exiled Ones.
Draenor = Exiles Refuge.
Eredar = It has lost its original meaning to the Draenei, the word now has a "disgusting" meaning to them.
Krokul = Broken
Kurenai = Redeemed
Man'ari = It does not have a direct translation, but refers to something that is hideously and fundamentally wrong. May at one time meant "gifted". The Draenei use this term to describe demonic Eredar, corrupted orcs and other minions of the Burning Legion; similar to the use of Orcish word dae'mon. "Demon" is probably an appropriate transliteration.
Sayaad = Succubus and Incubus
Sha'tar = Born of Light.
Shattrath = Dwelling of Light
Draen means Exile - used in Draenei and Draenor.
Ei means One - used in Draenei.
-i seems to carry no semantic meaning, but is used to form an adjective from a noun. Used in Sha'naari Wastes and Sha'tari Base Camp.
Kure means Redeem - Used in Kurenai.
-nai seems to carry no semantic meaning, but is used to form past tense of a verb. Used in Auchenai, Kurenai and Omenai.
Or means Refuge - used in Draenor, Karabor, Orebor and Telredor.
Sha means Light - used in Shattrath, Sha'tar, and Sha'naar.
Tar means Born - used in Sha'tar.
Ttrath means Dwelling - used in Shattrath.
Ages
Draenei age isn't that hard at all.
21,000+: You were around to toy with magic for a while before you forced to board Oshu'gun and get the hell out of here. Anything below 21,000 would have meant you were born on a different planet whilst you had to keep moving due to the Legion.
It is possible for your Draenei to have been born on Draenor in light of the change on ages.
So yeah, hope this helps. Any questions or errors on my part, feel free to say them.
EDIT: Added age.
EDIT2: Added more on the culture area.
EDIT3: As Draenei can now be adults at 18, they can be born on Draenor now.
"I am more afraid of one hundred sheep led by a lion than one hundred lions led by a sheep."
. Thank you for that!
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