User:Shaka-Zhan/Pandaren

The enigmatic Pandaren are one of the most elusive races of Azeroth. They are humanoid pandas with a great love of nature and strong ales.

Introduction and History
The enigmatic Pandaren are one of the most elusive races of Azeroth. They are humanoid pandas with a great love of nature and strong ales.

Hailing from their own secret island empire (Pandaren Empire of Pandaria), the Pandaren are a race of humanoids resembling pandas. This appearance leads some to underestimate these noble creatures, thinking them harmless and "cute." They may be cute, but they are not harmless. Pandaren have a long tradition of mystic warfare and are exceedingly strong and agile. The traditional pandaren fighting style focuses upon mobility, speed and precision, as well as stunning acrobatic tricks. Many pandaren are skilled at fighting bare-handed.

Only the pandaren know the intricacies of their society, but alcohol is a central feature. Pandaren in general are connoisseurs of ale and stronger drink, leading to a unique kinship with Ironforge dwarves. A caste of wandering pandaren warriors called Brewmasters is highly respected in their culture. A few Brewmasters have been spotted in Kalimdor, searching for new beverages to sample and ingredients to add to their own brews.

Pandaren are affable and noble, trained in battle but always seeking peace. Pandaren philosophy centers on a harmony of opposites - male and female, calm and chaos, existence and non-existence. Pandaren feel a strong link to the natural world and seek to maintain a peace between all races and nature. Much like the Chinese religion Daoism.

Very few Pandaren ever leave their hidden island homeland of Pandaria, although rumors tell of a Pandaren settlement within the Stonetalon Mountains, but those that do have proved themselves to be strong warriors specializing in Drunken Brawling with great command of the elements. The most famous of these warriors is Chen Stormstout, who assisted the half-orc Rexxar and the Horde after the fall of the Burning Legion.

No one knows what became of him afterwards, but several of his empty kegs have been found scattered around the Barrens.

Racial Traits

 * Nature Resistance : Increase Nature Resistance by 10.


 * All Fours : Click to increase speed by 60%. 30 Second cooldown, lasts 50 seconds. Requires empty weapon slots.
 * You drop down onto all fours, greatly increasing your speed.


 * Elusive : 15% bonus to faction point gain.


 * Heavy Sword Specialization : Increase Two-Handed Sword skill by 5.
 * This makes your skill as though you were one level higher than you are.

Languages

Common, Orcish, Pandara

Starting Area

 * Pandaria

Factions and Clans

 * Pandaren Empire; the Empire which all Pandaren originate from.
 * Overseas League; a small faction of Pandaren who explore both Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms for exotic ingredients for their ales.
 * Pandaren Expedition; small clan of Pandaren. They have many camps in Northrend, but their Headquarters is in Pandaria.
 * Empire Exiles; a hostile Pandaren faction.
 * Iron Honor Clan; a neutral Pandaren clan, devoted to the protection and secrecy of Pandaria.

Characteristics
Pandaren resemble a cross between panda bears and humans ; they are not dissimilar in appearance to furbolgs, though they are less feral. Pandaren average 5 1/2 feet in height, and make assured and precise movements. Pandaren smile often. The humanoid looks vaguely similar to a bear, with a stocky build and blunt ursine face. Its short-furred pelt is white with black markings around its eyes. It wears a loose, embroidered silk robe.

Lifestyle
Pandaren society has changed from its origins. Where once the pandaren were a mighty empire, standing proud beside their night elf allies, now they are a simple people who want only peace and a safe home. Yet the world is a dangerous place, and only through an acceptance of the violence that comes with life can the pandaren continue to prosper.

Pandaren society is, in many ways, compartmentalized. At their core, the pandaren treasure peace and creativity. Most pandaren are poets and singers, and the craftsmen of their culture are truly revered. The danger of their lives, however, has necessitated the evolution of a class of warriors to defend those ideals - it is these warriors, from the simplest pikeman to the great shodopans, who ensure that pandaren culture survives.

What may surprise those who encounter the pandaren most, however, is their unabashed love for beer. Most religious and meditative people on Kalimdor consider alcohol a drink for the masses, a drink whose properties cloud the mind and block contemplation of the gods. The Pandaren laugh at this notion. The ideal day for a Pandaren begins with meditation and ends with a good drink with a better friend. They love encountering folk who live life to the fullest; they enjoy adventuring; and they are happiest in a tavern swapping stories and buying rounds for the house. Those lucky enough to meet a Pandaren and share in his ale will undoubtedly find it to be the best beer they have ever tasted. The down side to this, of course, is that they will no longer enjoy Kalimdor-brewed beer as much.

Shamanistic
Like the furbolgs, tauren and Wildhammer dwarves, the Pandaren follow a shamanistic faith, worshipping the Earth Mother and giving passage to their dead. They are true geomancers, drawing their holy power directly from the Earth Mother. They also follow a new philosophy (new to the other residents of Kalimdor, of course); they are a society that reacts, instead of acting first. They claim to be the water that flows around a rock: The water does not push the rock out of the way, it merely goes around it. They use this uncomplicated way of thinking in their everyday life. If they set their minds to a task, and they fail, then they believe they went about it the wrong way and try again. They do not mourn for failures, believing that they simply have mapped out improper ways to do things and they will know better next time. This philosophy seems simple, but the pandaren apply it to every aspect of their lives, from brewing beer to adventuring. They are calm, affable types who will extend the hand of friendship to a stranger on the road - but if the stranger is hostile, the hand of friendship can quickly turn into an excruciating joint lock.

Warfare
Even the lowliest pandaren is capable of defending himself, using the fangs and stubby but needle-like claws that are a natural part of his body. All pandaren can use these natural weapons to fight and hunt, as pandaren grow up playing rough and tumble games meant to hone their abilities while learning the admonishments of their elders that such things are a last resort. In general, pandaren prefer to use the weapons they craft, feeling that their natural weapons hearken back to a primal time.

Pandaren are bipedal creatures, but their pseudo-ursine forms allow them to move at tremendous speed on four limbs. When a pandaren drops down to all fours, his speed increases greatly. He must have nothing in his hands to use quadrupedal movement.

The Pandaren are the smallest of the bestial races and seem positively tiny next to the hulking bulk of the Furbolgs. However, they seem much less like beasts than their apparent cousins. They value honor, discipline and friendship above all else. Gain the companionship and trust of a Pandaren, they say, and you have a friend and protector for life