what starts with a “T” and says “moo”?

PvE Rogues suggested this week’s Blog Azeroth shared topic:

What is your favourite race in wow?

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s spent much time around here that my favorite race is the Tauren.

I like the way Tauren look, I like the way they move, I like the way they dance. I like that the Tauren dances aren’t sexualized, the way the other races’ dances are. BTH likes Tauren best because, in his opinion, the shape of a Tauren woman (if you ignore the funny head and legs) is the most realistic. At the same time, he’ll probably be scandalized a) to learn that I think that Tauren tails are sexy and b) that I’m admitting it publicly. Draenei tails? Not so much. And Worgen would be more attractive if they did have tails than they are in their current tail-less state.

Although there are certain sorts of clothing that don’t really hang well on a Tauren, I like a Tauren model precisely because they are so big — the fine details of the clothing often show up better on a large Tauren frame than on a small, slender Blood Elf.

The first Druid I ever rolled was a Night Elf. She didn’t make it past level 19. When I later rolled a Tauren Druid, the Tauren philosophy of Druidism seemed to be more humble than the Night Elf philosophy, and I liked that. In time, I decided that the Tauren shapeshifts are the most handsome of all the races’ shapeshift forms.

I love the Tauren “home territory” zones — Mulgore, the Barrens, Stonetalon Mountains, Thousand Needles — because they remind me of some of my favorite parts of the real world. I enjoyed questing in these zones — the pre-Shattering versions, that is, given that I haven’t yet explored them in the Shattered world.

The racial personality of the Tauren as the gentle giants of the Horde, normally mild-mannered and difficult to anger, but capable of intense fury when roused, appeals to me. I like the things that Tauren NPCs say to you, always warm, welcoming, and generous.

Syrco and Glorwynn talk more specifically about some aspects of the Tauren that I didn’t think to mention here but which definitely contribute to my love for the race.

Most of all, I love Thunder Bluff. Once I learned my way around the bridges, it became my favorite city. I like it because it is pretty, and I like it because it is quiet. I began playing on a computer that didn’t have a gaming quality graphics card, and the graphics were awful even at the lowest settings. Shattrath City overwhelmed my poor computer; I avoided it as much as possible. Thunder Bluff was a much more pleasant place to be. I like the feeling of being out in the fresh open air on the mountain top, and I love the peaceful, calming music.

But I sometimes wonder, if I had rolled Kamalia as, say, a Troll, would I now have a server full of Trolls, rather than a server full of Tauren?