Priest races

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

Alliance
The majority of the Alliance priests follow the The Holy Light, with the exception of night elves, who follow their own unique religion.



Human priests


While the draenei were the first known physical race to be associated with the forces of "The Light", humans were the first to discover The Holy Light on Azeroth, and were responsible for passing on the religion to other races, most notably the high elves and dwarves. Humans build mighty churches and cathedrals as places of worship and teaching of the Light. The religion teaches its followers to be virtuous in life, and while the religion is more philosophical than theistic, its practitioners do believe their devotion connects them to a greater and mysterious force in the universe. There is mention in older lore that divine beings known as "hope" guide The Light's worshipers with an unseen hand. The holy warriors known as paladins are empowered by this religion. The Clerics of Northshire were human priests that served on the battlefield as healers during the First War.



Draenei priests


Draenei priests, like the natives of Azeroth, practice The Holy Light; however the draenei were introduced to the religion by the enigmatic naaru, who with their Light-given powers, allowed the draenei to traverse The Great Dark in search of a safe refuge from The Burning Legion. The Legion's leaders, the eredar, sought to destroy the draenei as they viewed them as traitors, and the naaru are eternal enemies of the Legion. Draenei priests are deeply pious, as draenei owe their race's survival to "The Light".

Draenei priests became a character option in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.



Dwarf Priests


The dwarves of Ironforge adopted The Holy Light from their human comrades, and most dwarven priests are members of the Church of the Light. In the wake of the discovery of evidence linking dwarves to the titans, many dwarven priests are also scholars and historians.

While a temptation to worship their potential creators might exist for some Dwarves (see Mystery of the Makers), it appears Dwarves wish to keep religious beliefs separate from historical studies, and maintain The Holy Light as the major religion amongst their society.



Night elf priests


The night elven priesthood is the only major priesthood in the Alliance to not follow the Light, as the night elves have been practicing their own religion since long before their contact with the races of the Eastern Kingdoms. Until recently, like the Sentinels, the priesthood was a strictly female order, who worshiped the moon goddess Elune. The night elves believe that she is the protector of all living things and helps living things grow and avoid conflict, and has helped their race thrive, grow and survive.

Though the Sisters of Elune are still the highest religious order, male priests are now trained. In both genders, the priesthood (including player characters) appears to worship Elune exclusively.

Some night elves revere one or all of the five Dragon Aspects, and are known as the Sect of the Dragons.



Gnome priests


With the arrival of Cataclysm, Gnome healers are finally playable. Gnome priest NPCs (such as the Holdout Medics in Gnomeregan and the North Fleet Medics in the Howling Fjord) have existed in Azeroth for some time, but the destruction brought on by Deathwing will most likely inspire many more Gnomes to turn to their allies and adopt devotion to The Light.

Notably, following the examples prior to Cataclysm, gnome priests seem to focus heavily on the divine's ability of healing, though more with the intention of practicing medicine rather than sorcery. Their usage of it is actually very similar to first aid, and gnome priests refer to themselves as doctors and surgeons. As a result, although not confirmed, it is likely that they pay less attention to a priest's capability to control darker powers.

Horde
Horde priests follow various spiritualities, with the trolls following the Loa, the Forsaken following the shadow as members of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, and the blood elves calling upon different energies - even demonic ones.



Troll priests


Most Priests throughout the various troll societies of Azeroth, including the Darkspear trolls of the Horde, follow an ancient tribal religion known as Voodoo, which worships and invokes powerful spirits which the trolls refer to as Loa. After a battle, the priests often decapitate foes and shrink their heads, so that the spirit of the foe will not escape. They practice voodoo magic and are highly feared for their shadowy tricks. Some trolls are followers of the Blood God Hakkar the Soulflayer, a tradition that has existed for generations, born in the ancient Gurubashi Empire. Troll priests are often selected to be the spiritual adviser (or witch doctor) of their local tribe, due to their ability to communicate with spirits and their respect for the old ways.



Blood elf priests


Blood elves follow, or at least did when they were high elves, the Holy Light just like humans and dwarves. Unlike the two others however, who derive their power from faith alone, high elf and blood elf priests seem to derive theirs from other sources. The first of these was the Sunwell, brought to end by the Scourge during the Third War when it was used to resurrect the Kel'thuzad. The remaining elves (most of them now calling themselves blood elves), addicted to magic, desperately sought a new source of of their hunger. They found it in demonic magic, which implies that the blood elves' actions have not been true to the virtues of The Light, and that their behaviors and attitudes contradict its teachings.

The blood elves found yet another source when their leader Kael'thas kidnapped M'uru, a naaru found in Outland. The being was shipped back to Silvermoon City where its Light-powers was siphoned by the elves, creating the Blood Knights. As such, blood elf priests were "directly" defying The Light, "taking" it instead of being granted to wield its powers. M'uru was however later kidnapped again, and the Sunwell has been restored. Blood elf priests are thus likely once more deriving their powers from their original source.

Blood elf priests became a character option in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.



Undead priests


After awakening from the Lich King's control, The Forsaken chose to abandon many of the morals and beliefs they held during their natural lives. However, those who were priests during their lives have not abandoned religion or become agnostic. Because of their changes, the Forsaken have embraced a twisted version of their former religion, the antithesis of The Holy Light, known simply as Forgotten Shadow. Dark priests are like the religion's archbishops, ruling over wide territories.



Tauren priests


With the arrival of Cataclysm, the Tauren have the ability to become priests. It is possible that they use the light of the Sun in their spells just like Tauren paladins do, as opposed to the Holy Light. If this is the case, it would similar to how the Night Elf priests use the power of the Moon, their goddess Elune, instead of the Holy Light. Tahu Sagewind became a priest trainer for the tauren. It is possible that he founded the group of tauren priests due to his conversation with Aponi Brightmane, the first Tauren paladin, before Cataclysm.



Goblin priests


Perhaps they are influenced by voodoo priests or the new church of the sun or they discovered an ancient goblin religion. It could also be possible that they are using "The Light" as a way to make money, as seen in a quest in Azshara.

High elf priests
The high elves, like the dwarves, adopted the religion from their allies the humans, and the high elven priests have devoutly contributed to the Church of the Light. The elves displayed a strong mastery of divine Light magic throughout the ages and during the Third War, the high elf priests joined the Alliance alongside high elven mages and these priests served bravely as healers to their human and dwarven allies. The priests also fought alongside their brethren when trying to fend off Arthas and his undead forces as he attacked their capital Silvermoon in Quel'Thalas.

The Holy Light has many devotees among elvenkind. They spread a message of comfort and protection to the displaced, the hope of unity among elves, half-elves, and men - and revenge against the Scourge. Clad in robes but protected by a chain shirt, priests of the Holy Light appear tailored to look like the bastion of their faith. They wear holy symbols around their neck and they bow their heads to say a brief prayer (or in silent, reverent, contemplation). As a priest of the Holy Light dedicated to the aspect of protection, these acolytes prefer not to wade into battle, but to serve in the middle ranks of a group of allies and support them with petitions, prayers and spells. His staff is reserved for use only when a gap in his protection is breached.

After the tragedies of the Third War, the high elven population is very small and few high elf priests remain, as most of those that are surviving now call themselves blood elves.

Ogre priests
Spell casters of any sort are rare among ogres, and priest are rarer still, yet they do exist. It is unlikely they follow the holy light, but not impossible. The two known objects of ogre worship are the gronn, who are worshiped by the gronn priest, and Nath, the ogre war god. No known priest worship Nath, whose followers are predominatly melee fighters.