Let's say all of the race in the two playable factions are actually just different human cultures. Yes, you read right. Everyone is a human, but with different cultures!

Now that looks are out of the way and no longer a factor that could influence your choice, which faction would you join if you were a human living in Azeroth?

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Either Stormwind or Silvermoon.

Ah screw it, definitely Silvermoon.

You'd have to live with all those weirdos as your allies.

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Jamaicans are weirdos?! Darkspear parties must be fun as hell.

If they used to be cannibals just a few years ago, sure.

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Dwarves.

Comfy underground homes that are safe from bombardment. Lots of artillery. Strong martial culture ensuring everyone can handle their own. Makes the best armor and weapons. Strong engineering industry.

Military powerhouse.

Voted Alliance. My stance stands firm.

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Save the Nightborne!

It would be funny if the Alliance are the majority even though they think there is a conspiracy against them

Well, this time it has less to do with gameplay and quest lines and more with the political systems and cultures that are more agreeable to us. I was somewhat surprised that you voted Horde.

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Dwarves or pandaren. Good drink, curvy wimminz, and a good attitude. Not as stuffy as humans, not as prissy as elves, and not as randomly aggressive as orcs. Nice architecture, too.

Blood Elves and she thinks Orc people will save her.

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Tauren. I like hiking.

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Yeah, but the other side fights for freedom and justice. Besides, she'd be a human with the blood elves' culture.

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She'll still be a blood elf.

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At first I was leaning on Alliance because comfort and security, but then I figured I got that stuff now and it kinda sucks.
So I picked orc, a short and merry life might be for the best, you live too long and you start asking big questions... and then you're in trouble. Besides, the notion of a society that solves all its issues with violence becomes tempting after dealing with internet intellectuals for so long.


Though I think in such a setup, two other questions are pertinent.

1) If you didn't have to live in such an Azeroth, would your preferences still be the same? I.e. how much of a role do racial looks play for you? And how much of it is story appeal?

2) If you had imagine each race as human, how do figure they'd look ethnically?

I think that question deserves it's own thread. One based just on aesthetics.

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Pandaren - East Asian.

Humans - Western/Northern European.

Dwarves - Western/Northern European.

Gnomes - Central/Eastern European.

Night Elves - Southern European.

Draenei - Persian.

Orcs - European/Mongolic. (Dark-haired Finnish, most likely.)

Trolls - Subsaharan African.

Tauren - Native American.

Undead - Western/Northern European.

Blood Elves - Persian/Northern European.

Goblins - Semitic.

If I were to live in Azeroth, I'd like to live like the tauren. Or the tuskarr. They're cool too. Or the gnomes... I voted Horde anyhow.

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Alliance, I like the luxury and aesthetics more.

This man has the right idea.

Granted, I'd also think living in a Gilnean culture would be up my alley as well. Only downside to that would be the awful smell of Silverpine right next door, because of the neighbors.

Horde. Again, I have to emphasize the sheer possibilities of blood elf/troll parties. Plus, I'm really not feeling the human and dwarven feudal systems, the draenei naarucracy or the night elf no-one-knows-how-exactly-we-work.



As for who looks how?

Human - as if this was a game made by american producers, with central european white characters, mid-dark black people and, if anyone remembers, some far easterners.
Dwarves - short russians for the bronzebeard, short scottish for the wildhammer
Gnomes - west-european midgets
Night elves - oceanians
Draenei - people from those countries between russia and the middle east that everyone always forgets about.
Worgen - british

Orcs - Mongolians
Tauren - native americans from the north american plains
Jungle trolls - native americans from the middle american rainforest
Goblins - Italians
forsaken - ... they really don't translate well.
Blood elves - clean-shaven arabians

Pandaren - chinese

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I'm somewhat surprised that so many people chose Horde even under these circumstances.

I'd thought that the Alliance would be leading by much more.

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The Horde is more diverse. That means we won't get bored.

Alliance. I don't do huts, teepees, crumbling undead ruins, and troll huts very well. Give me a nice place to live in Ironforge please.

This is what I think about ethnicities:

Blood elf - nordic, but scrawny looking due to their magic ordeal
Orc - like the Dorthraki
Troll - tall, lean black people
Forsaken - very pale, unlike anything on Earth, could be a bit weary looking if some plague analogue exists or existed.
Goblin - Iberian
Tauren - Indians obv.

Dwarf - stocky Northern European (mostly Scottish/Swedish)
Gnome - Pigmies (you have to be really crafty to surivive where they have for millennia)
Human and worgen - some kind of European, nothing specific. Worgen could have some sort of blood disease to set them apart.
Night elves - South Asian (Inidia)
Draenai - Greek

Pandaren - East Asian (kinda no brainer there).

Aren't Night Elves a mix of Feudal Japan, Korea and Celtic mythology?