Shaman races

Arvos Jadestone, a dwarf shaman.

This article lists the races that are able to become shaman, along with the lore behind each.

Alliance

Kinivus, a draenei shaman.

Draenei

In recent years, the Broken Nobundo has been accepted among the draenei and began to teach all those who will listen the path of shamanism. However, for some draenei, these practices are considered as heretical and a blasphemy against the Light.

Dwarf

The Wildhammer clan already had shaman during the Second War. Nowadays, their shaman became a great asset to the Alliance in their efforts to prevent the further shattering of Azeroth, training their Ironforge kin in the ways of shamanism.

Kul Tiran

Despite them being a playable option, there are very few "traditional" Kul Tiran shaman, barring a handful of exceptions like Dorian Atwater, but she didn't even know what the word shaman meant. Instead, the closest cultural equivalent seems to be the Tidesages, who use wind and water magic, including making use of elementals. They are shown to occasionally use totems, and can also commune with and calm the souls of the departed, again like shamans. The most distinct difference Tidesages have from shamans is that they primarily wear cloth robes rather than mail armor.

Horde

Wazzuli Wildmender, a troll shaman.

Orc

Main article: Orc#Shamanism

As far back as orcish history has been recorded, shaman have been mentioned, and learning to speak with the elemental spirits of Draenor was a pivotal achievement in destiny for the orc clans. The first orcs to learn the ways of shamanism hailed from the Shadowmoon clan, but many clans claim the mythical "First Shaman" arose from their ranks, even though the truth is that no one is sure of his or her allegiance.

Orcs instinctively revere the rugged forces of the natural elements, and as such, shaman are held in high regard. They generally have a close relationship with the nature elements and angering them is considered a grave offense. Since Durotar is a barren place with little water or plant life, orcs are reliant on shaman to negotiate with the elementals to provide necessities such as drinking water from fallen rain or fire to warm their hearths. In orcish culture, any shaman that has been spoken to by the spirits is given equal respect and honor regardless of age or experience.

In Nagrand, the Mag'har orcs never abandoned the ways of shamanism, unlike the Old Horde, as they escaped the corruption of the Burning Legion. They were a result of isolation from the corrupted orcs due to being quarantined in Garadar, as a virulent plague known as the "red pox" spread among the orcish clans. In the same way, the Mag'har Clans from alternate Draenor never fell to the Legion's corruption, and instead became part of the Iron Horde until they travel to Azeroth during the Fourth War.

Troll

The trolls have always had a deep connection to the spirits, though they do not always call this shamanism. Some of them prefer the way of the witch doctor or the shadow hunters. Instead of the elements, these trolls communed with animalistic spirits or the Loa. Each of the troll deities has their own domains of strengh, but many of them are connected to the elements, such as Jan'alai the dragonhawk, Akunda the loa of storms, Gral loa of the sea or Tsul'Kalu the earth spirit, each of whom grants the power of the elements to their followers.

Zandalari can also become shaman, such as Ta'mil Nadu, who would tell the spirits what metals he needed and why he needed them, and they would bring what they could to the surface for him.

Tauren

Despite their enormous size, the tauren are a peaceful and honorable people who nonetheless are fierce fighters when roused. Hunting and shamanism are held in high regard in their culture, as is their worship of the Earth Mother and respect for the land and nature. The Earthen Ring was originally founded by tauren shaman some time before the War of the Three Hammers to lead their people with wisdom and maintain the harmony between the elemental spirits.

The elements are also an important part of Highmountain tauren culture. Three of the four Highmountain tribes have a direct association with one of the elements. The Rivermane are associated with water, the Bloodtotem earth, and the Skyhorn air. The Rivermane are a highly peaceful and diplomatic tribe led by a shaman, Jale Rivermane, whose members are focused on fishing, agriculture and shamanism. In exchange for protection and equipment, they provide the other tribes with food and healing.

Goblin

Goblin shaman follow the motto of "Controlling the Elements for Fun and Profit". They are an extension of their society's single-minded devotion to making profit; to a goblin shaman, elementals are potential customers with whom they can negotiate and enter contracts, as exemplified by the contract between Initiate Goldmine and Magmatooth. They tend to be a bit more forceful in their negotiations than the other shamanic races (especially the tauren) would like, though not as forceful as the taunka.

Goblins have found ways to imbue their mechanical devices with the energy of elemental spirits. Instead of lugging around large totems, they have keyrings with small totems they've tinkered to serve as conduits for the elementals they do business with. Some goblin shaman mechanically modify both their totems and their elemental minions. To shaman of other races, these methods can seem unorthodox or outrageously disrespectful to the elements.

Vulpera

Vulpera can be shaman, but there is no further information on this subject.

Neutral

Pandaren

While Tushui and Huojin pandaren shaman from the Wandering Isle have joined forces respectively with the Alliance and the Horde, little is known about their kin's affinity for the elements and spirits.

Earthen

The Freysworn were originally a group of earthen that answered Freya's call to restore the desolate landscape of Khaz Algar. They helped her shape the hills and guide the streams of the island and after she had departed, entrusted them with tending to the land. Additionally, there are shaman within the ranks of the Stormriders.

Other races

Razorfen Geomancer in Hearthstone.

Blood elf

Elementalist Starion is a blood elf known to have become an elementalist shaman as part of the Twilight's Hammer.

Centaur

Centaur females in Kalimdor tend to use a dark, perverted form of shamanism.

Gorloc

Gorlocs live in primitive, shamanistic societies. They are divided into tribes, led by chieftains who are usually powerful shamans.

Human

Before being accustomed to the divine Holy Light or the potency of the arcane, the human had primitive belief systems that incorporated simple nature magic, practicing crude forms of druidism and shamanism.

Highlord Demitrian, a human servant of Thunderaan, has a connection with the elements.

The Primalists' ranks are comprised of various races, including human shaman such as Primal Earthshapers, watercallers, and summoners.

Magnataur

Magnataur have little to no magical affinity, their casters are very rare, and tend to follow a shamanic route if they practice magic at all.

Taunka

The taunka have survived only by forcing the land and the elements to yield to their will. Their relationship with nature has been one of constant struggle and grim perseverance.

Furbolg

Shamanism is much more common among the free-willed furbolg tribes.

Quilboar

The quilboar in Kalimdor are known to practice geomancy, a crude form of shamanism. Powerful shaman often rules quilboar tribes.

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

A furbolg shaman in the Alliance Player's Guide.

Furbolg shaman

Furbolg society places great importance on shaman. Each furbolg tribe contains at least one shaman, and most of the time a shaman leads the tribe. Lesser furbolg shaman range out with the hunters to protect their territory. Furbolgs share a connection with nature as well; their shaman communicate with the spirits of nature and focus on divine magic that flows in furbolg blood. The iconic furbolg shaman is a peaceful being carrying a feather-topped spear who guides his tribe with benevolence. When his anger is aroused, however, he is a fearsome sight, using his magic to rouse himself and his warriors into a horrible frenzy.

Tauren

Tauren are perhaps the most spiritual people on Azeroth. They revere their ancestors, the spirits of the land, and the great and vague force they call the Earth Mother. They assisted the Horde in developing their forgotten shamanic roots. Tauren honor their shaman as they do few others, and their shaman in turn keep their communities in touch with nature and reinvigorate their warriors and hunters with spiritual vigor and purpose. The iconic tauren shaman is a calm individual. A meditative spirit holds in check their great size and strength - they are like a boulder in the tide, steadfast and immobile, watching the world as it changes around them. In battle, however, they are a terrible force, calling upon the spirits to annihilate their foes. The strong connection to the spirits of their ancestors also allows some tauren to become spirit walkers, which are similar to shaman.

Tuskarr shaman

Tuskarr shaman have the power to influence events such as weather, food, and illnesses. Shaman magic is often quite a production, even something like curing the sick: the shaman may speak with ghosts of the patient's relatives and even battle other spirits into submission before forcing them to help heal the patient.

Quilboar shaman

Quilboar shaman possess the abilities to combat or cause disease, to control nature, and to summon spirit boars. According to quilboar shaman, the existence of sickness is caused by the intrusion of other species on the rightful lands of the quilboar. They teach that until the invaders are driven out and the quilboar have returned to their promised lands, suffering can only be alleviated through a heroic death. The afterlife for quilboar martyrs is filled with wonders and pleasure beyond imagining, according to shamanistic teachings. Quilboar shaman teach that the law of the wild is the standard by which all tribal members must live - survival of the fittest. At least one quilboar every generation walks the path of the shaman. Quilboar never seek to become shaman, but a few are awarded the right to study with their elders when visited by dreams of former shaman now deceased. Shaman usually rise to positions of power and leadership within their tribes. Most often it is males that receive the dream-vision that sets them on the shaman's path, although female shaman are not uncommon. On occasion, a quilboar receives a dream-vision where the deceased shaman of the tribe counsel him to leave the pack. The vision may seem confusing to the quilboar, but tribal shaman take these visitations seriously.

Dark Iron dwarven shaman

The spellcasters of the Dark Iron dwarves are usually mages or shaman, as these deal closely with fire.

Wildhammer dwarven shaman

Shaman and priests of the Wildhammer dwarves entertain people on cold nights with myths of nature, and the Earth Mother. The Wildhammer dwarves lead much more spiritual lives than the Ironforge dwarves. They are dedicated to elemental earth and storm magic, drawing their power from the mountains. Magically, they are more powerful than their cousins; they have mastered the art of divine elemental magic and use this power to supplement their already mighty aerial fighting force.