Paladin is a class in World of Warcraft that has been around since the game’s release. The Paladins are known for their ability to heal and protect allies, but there are other races in World of Warcraft that can also be Paladins. This article discusses some fan-made Paladin skins and lore for non-Paladin races.
The tauren paladin names is a fan-designed Paladin for the Warcraft universe. This Paladin is not affiliated with Blizzard and does not represent their lore or game design, but it is an interesting concept nonetheless.
Much of the discussion around Patch 9.1.5 has been on…well, everything, but there has been a lot of interest in the new customizations for a select races who might use them. Fans have been submitting their own suggestions, and now we’re highlighting a collaboration by Keyboardturn, an artist, and TheLostCodex, a lore Youtuber, who have given their suggestions a humorous twist.
Shadowlands offered a slew of new ethnic customization options, but what if we could apply the same idea to our classes?
Class skins and new class/race combinations are among their ideas, which have piqued the interest of many gamers. On Twitter and Reddit, they discussed their plans for Paladins.
The aim of these class skins would be to provide particular race-class combinations a chance to stand out while remaining true to the mythology. This may also allow for the creation of new race-class combinations, as well as the expansion of some of the older, unexplored class histories for others!
Tauren and Highmountain Tauren Paladins are Sunwalkers.
The Sunwalkers debate An’she and create lessons for their unified Highmountain Tauren friends after connecting and conversing with their shu’halo brothers.
The Sunwalkers were the first ‘radical notion’ for the Paladin class, extending the mythology beyond ‘Knight wielding Holy might’ (even the Blood Elves gave off evil-vibes of that concept in early BC), thus they’d be a great contender for a special Class skin, in my view.
The Sunwalker Class Skin is intended to be used by Tauren/Highmountain Paladins, Priests, and Balance Druids. Their spells would take on a more raw, fiery look, and their spell symbols would change somewhat to represent something more appropriate for an An’she devotee.
My concept (not shown) was that casting ‘Avenging Wrath’ (named Blaze of An’she) would result in a blazing, flaming totemic backpiece surrounding the Sunwalker in a blaze of holy-fire, rather than huge angel wings.
Nightblades and Moonblades: Paladins of the Night Elf
Elves of the Night. These warriors of the Moon, worshippers of Elune and inspired by the Night Warrior, herald a new era of justice for the Kaldorei.
The concept of a Night Elf Paladin drawing power straight from Elune is something we’ve seen in WoW a few times before, and it’s one of the most requested unavailable Paladin races (notably, Legion).
The goal was to give them a’standard Elune devotee’ class skin as well as a secondary choice that leaned more strongly towards the Night Warrior style that Tyrande uses.
Pandaren Paladins: Valewalkers and Crane Guards
The Valewalkers are combat-trained templars who use their powerful magics to protect their homeland of Pandaria and rid it of the Sha once and for all. Craneguards, dedicated Chi-Ji heroes, strive to offer hope to Azeroth’s war-torn regions.
The August Celestials have taken up a new role within their order in the aftermath of the Vale’s regeneration and the expulsion of the Black Empire in BFA, to guard and defend their country utilizing the Vale’s power.
The Order of the Crane extended its temple’s teachings with ‘Crane Guards,’ an armored Monk who uses Chi-ji, the Red Crane’s teachings and magic in the south of Pandaria.
The Crane Guard has a customized spell FX kit with additional red and orange colored abilities based around the Red Crane, whereas the Vale Walker uses the Holy Light like any other Paladin would.
These graphics, when coupled with martial art-inspired fighting animations, would result in a highly distinct and modern Paladin style. This spell-kit may be used by a number of Pandaren classes, including Priest, Mage, and even Monk.
Forsaken Paladins: Lightblades and Shadow Knights
Due to a lack of leadership, the Forsaken started to seek other ways. Calia Menethil and Alonsus Faol were assigned to study the Light, while the Cult of Forgotten Shadows tested new ideas by delving into the teachings of the Void.
The Forsaken Lightblade idea is basically a new-age order of Paladins inside Lordaeron, perhaps led by Leonid Barthalomew, and is probably the most desired (second to Night Elf Paladin) unavailable Paladin Race.
The Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, in contrast to the Lightblade, has developed a new guard within their Order that uses the Shadow in conjunction with the Light.
The goal here is to completely embrace the ancient history of the Cult and its ideals inside the light, rather than having the Forsaken wield Void power like a Paladin.
Both Lightblade and Shadow Knight are distinct names for the Forsaken, however the Lightblade uses standard Paladin spell FX, while the Shadow Knight has a spell kit that combines both dark magic and light (think Moira from Overwatch). Forsaken Priests would also have access to this spell set.
These two ideas, led by Calia Menethil and Alonsus Faol, would open up a widely desired class concept without completely undermining the ideals of Paladinhood and the Forsaken belief system.
Riftblades: Paladins of the Void Elf
With certain Blood Knights banished to M’uru for their study, it was realized that other Dark Naaru abilities might be used to their will as well. Some Emptiness Elves have started to try to cleanse their void using the teachings of the former High Elven paladins of the Silver Hand.
Why can’t Void Elves be Paladins like Blood Elves?
The concept here is based on the ancient Blood Knight lore. Blood Elves used to drain magic from the Naaru M’uru to gain power, which eventually led to the downfall of the Naaru M’uru and the emergence of a Dark Naaru. The aim was to take the ancient notion of utilizing Naaru energies to get Light-based capabilities and turn it on its head, draining those energy for Void-themed abilities. This, of course, may cause a schism among the Ren’dorei, with some leaning toward the light-side of the Naaru while others embrace its evil, twisted form completely.
The proposal on the left (above) would basically give Void Elves a base-Paladin skin (for all the High Elves out there) while also leaning into the Void motif with the notion of a ‘Void Paladin.’
To give them all a ‘Void theme,’ the Riftblade spell kit may simply be transferred to Void Elf Priests, Mages, and even Warlocks.
Kul’Tiran and Human Paladins are Tideguards and Embersworn, respectively.
The Order of Embers drew inspiration from their Stormwindian relatives in order to fully eradicate the Drust from Kul Tiras. Using the essence of Silver, Liquid Fire, and battle, Azeroth may have a chance to defeat the Drust menace.
Kul Tiras offered two new ideas that would be ideal for Paladins. The Tidesage Class idea was the earliest and most apparent (Tideguard).
Why not create a ‘Paladin Order’ from it, with the Kul Tiras people placing their trust mostly in the sea with Tidesages appearing in almost every part of their island culture? This spell kit would add water-themed spell effects, which would benefit Mages, Shaman, Priests, and even Monks!
The second idea here is witchhunters, which is based on Drustvar’s Order of Embers.
These old Templars have devoted their watch to battling against the Drust’s horrors, using steel, liquid fire, and silver. The goal is to take the Tauren Sunwalker kit and adapt it to an Alliance Class Skin without removing any of the sun-themed abilities.
These would be fire-holy Templars with a combination of classic Paladin FX and a modern era ‘Emberknight’ vibe to them.
Worgen Paladins Lightfangs and Lightguards
One of the few were the Lightguards and Lightfangs, both ancient and new to Gilneas troops. Despite the fact that there has always been some dedication to the Light, just a few chosen Gilnean warriors from the original Order of the Silver Hand have survived. They are now focused on reviving the Light’s Dawn.
Gilneas, like Lordaeron, worshipped the Light, and there have been a few Gilnean/Paladins described throughout the years. The goal is to simply offer a new Class-race combination without a lot of aesthetic flair.
They worship the same Holy Light as their Stormwind/Lordaeron relatives, but the names are different since we wanted to establish a visual idea for ‘Old Gilnean Templars’ and a ‘New Age Worgen Paladin.’
Blood Elf Paladins: Blood Knights and Sunblades
There has always been a schism in the Light’s teachings with Liadrin’s Blood Knights and Shattered Sunblades. Some think the Light should be controlled rather than called upon, based on the Mag’har’s Yrel stories and what was seen in the Vindicaar.
The concept should be simple: Blood Knights have been around for a long time, even though their narrative altered towards the end of BC.
The Sunblade concept’s goal is to keep the Blood Knights’ original purpose alive in the aftermath of the Sunwells’ purification, creating a schism between them and the Paladins who take up the mantle of Blood Knight. The goal was to add some flaming aspects to their powers without taking away too much from the Embersworn/Sunwalkers.
The new idea here is to take the Light’s more recent aggressions – Shadowlands, Xera, and AU Yrel – and bring them back. Blood Knights take a new pledge to keep the Light in control rather than suffer under it (without turning full evil as they did in BC), providing a counterpoint to any plan that Turalyon reintroduces as Regent of Stormwind.
Wildhammer and Dark Iron Dwarf Paladins are Flamekeepers.
The Dark Irons are a special kind of soldier that are devoted to the Elemental Fire. Though some are said to worship Ragnaros, the majority declare their allegiance to Smolderon, the new firelord.
So, within the same race, this notion is a bit of a double-concept.
Dark Irons would take the Sunwalkers’ flame spellkit (with a more fiery, darker tone) and adopt the concept of ‘worshippers of the Molten Core’ as their Faith. With the AR questline foreshadowing action in the Firelands, these Dark Irons have sworn a pledge to the Firelands’ primordial forces while still retaining their faith in the Light, resulting in a real Flame Paladin.
I wanted something more extreme for the Wildhammers.
Perhaps the explosion of Blackrock Mountain hundreds of years ago (and the exile from Grim Batol), the Dragons in the Second War with the Horde, the Cataclysm, and Deathwing have all contributed to the Wildhammer’s perception of fire as an adversary.
However, after witnessing their mountain cousins and fiery cousins wielding faith as a weapon (the latter using both faith and fire), the Wildhammers have adopted a new identity as wielders of the Sacred Flame; a more shamanistic, tribal feel to the Paladin class (sunwalkers for Alliance without the Sun? ), hence the less-plate Mog. I wanted something more extreme for the Wildhammers.
Perhaps the explosion of Blackrock Mountain hundreds of years ago (and the exile from Grim Batol), the Dragons in the Second War with the Horde, the Cataclysm, and Deathwing have all contributed to the Wildhammer’s perception of fire as an adversary.
However, after witnessing their mountain cousins and fiery cousins wielding faith as a weapon (the latter using both faith and fire), the Wildhammers have adopted a new identity as wielders of the Sacred Flame; a more shamanistic, tribal feel to the Paladin class (sunwalkers for Alliance without the Sun? ), hence the less-plate Mog.
Darkspear and Zandalari Troll Paladins are the Prelates.
The tribes share lessons and traditions after being inspired by the Zandalari and rekindling their relationship. To guard against the darkness, Darkspear Prelates of the reborn Loa, Vol’jin, impose slavery.
We saw the Zandalari Prelates in Battle for Azeroth, and there’s no reason they didn’t teach their Darkspear relatives how to wield the Loa’s Light!
The primary concept for the Prelates’ outfit would be holy light, with an emphasis on the Loa themselves. The notion here is that they draw upon the strength of many Loa rather than a single source, like the Prelates of Rezan did in the past.
Bonus idea: themed spell FX that fit the Zandalari race and let you to select your Buff’s Loa. If you worship Kimbul, ‘Fury of the Loa’ may transform into a visual representation of said Loa, such as a golden tiger roar FX, or a Deathmask and golden bones if you have the Bwonsamdi buff.
Lightforged Draenei and Draenei Paladins are vindicators.
The Draenei Vindicators are no strangers to the Light, and after millennia of teaching with dedication to the Naaru, they have been able to wield the strength that their knowledge deserves.
The goal here is to concentrate on the Naaru allied Paladins as the most ancient of the playable Paladin races, rather than straying too far in terms of Spell FX (maybe more blazing gold with crystalline motifs).
Mechagnome, Gnome, and Goblin Paladins: Mechaknights, Titanguards, and Junkblades
The Goblins and Gnomes collaborate on new methods to harness the Light, which the Titans are only aware of because of their rivalry. The newly formed Mechaknights, Titanguards, and Junkblades take use of newer technology.
I think it’s a bit odd that Gnomes may be priests but not Paladins. They can be warriors, Death Knights, and Paladins, so there’s no reason they couldn’t be both.
Gnome Paladins are basically Silverhand Paladins, but their Mech-cousins provide Paladins a fresh twist.
We wanted to do something new with the Mechagnomes by linking their Paladin powers to the Titans’ construction of the Mechagnomes. We took a few motifs from Mechagon, such as the Lightning/Shock spells, and added additional allusions to Mimiron, the Discs of Norgannon, and other things!
Titanguard/ Junkblade was a proposal that merged the Gnome Paladin with the Mechagnome concepts, allowing Goblins/Gnomes to use a kit comparable to the Mechagnomes thanks to stolen Titan Technology. The Titanguard utilizes the usual lightning-blue themes found on the Mechagnome as though she’s carrying the same technology as the Mechaknight, while the Junkblade uses Titan-defense technology (actually, there’s no difference in ideas here, just fun names that helped distinguish from Mechagnomes). We chose the Red motif because in Uldir/Ulduar, you see the brilliant red security lasers/protocols coming up all the time, and we wanted to represent that with ‘Paladin powers’ that were 100% tech-based without stating ‘Oh yeah, Goblins can be Paladins.’
The amount of thought and effort put into them by Keyboardturn and TheLostCodex is incredible. We’re excited to see what more comes out of this partnership.
Check out the Twitter and Reddit threads for additional information, opinions, and pictures.
The tauren paladin release is a fan-designed Paladin skin. It has been released for the non-Paladin races, such as the tauren and worgen.
Related Tags
- blood elf or zandalari paladin
- tauren sunwalker names
- tauren paladin expansion
- blood elf or human paladin shadowlands
- tauren paladin rp
