Lorewise, Can I join any faction regardless of race?

[Candy Cough]

Can an Orc join the alliance or a human join the horde or are warcraft factions just extremely racist and xenophobic

I guess the races has a reason to hate each other but surely not everyone share the same views?

With Calia ruling Lordaeron can undead rejoin the alliance?

[Ghostile]

Can an Orc join the alliance or a human join the horde or are warcraft factions just extremely racist and xenophobic

Trying to wipe eachother from existence tends to cause some trust issues.

[Schattenlied]

you'd have a real hard time convincing them you weren't a spy...

You be infinitely better off joining one of the many neutral factions.

[sam86]

No idea about current state, but early wow days, no u can't
Thrall was clear he is against any hostile action against alliance races in Orgrimmar, in fact they exist as traders and merchants, but overall u can't be an adventurer as a human in Orgrimmar, and there is no way in egypt that a forsaken even set foot in any alliance settlement in first place, don't even dream about it
While u 'can' be loyal to orcs while still being human, do not expect orcs to welcome u ever, u'll always be regarded as potential spy for rightful reasons, which most likely they are right

Races that dance on factions like high/blood elf are another story, but they are the extreme (maybe only?) exception

[Schattenlied]

Valeera Sanguinar, a blood elf, is part of the Alliance due to her loyalty to House Wrynn so it's possible although very rare.

Indeed, but for those reading this who may be unaware of her lore, she's a very special case... She was never a member of the Horde, has no family ties to it (they were all killed by bandits long before the Blood Elves joined the Horde), and was formerly a gladiatorial slave to an Orc (who later sold her to a Grimtotem Tauren)... That's where she met Varian and Broll Bearmantle, who were slaves as well, as part of a 3 person gladiator team, they (and Anduin), are the only people she considers family, and they consider her to be part of theirs.

[Aresk]

There have been several instances of individual members working with both factions (Ariok, Khadgar, Nat Pagle, Valeera). It's difficult to find examples of people who betrayed their old faction to join the new, though such examples do exist (Ashvane, several members of the Desolate Council).

[tankbug]

No reason why it would be impossible. The pandaren can even choose. I can understand that Anduin would be skeptical towards a bunch of Kor'kron wanting to defect and join his royal guard, but that's just the extreme example. Why wouldn't any faction want more peasants producing crops, skilled craftsmen and engineers, miners and other civilians just looking for a roof over their heads and food on the table? Any neutral faction often has all kinds of races, and seem to work together without major issues, so...

[Aucald]

Lorewise, the answer would be "yes" with any number of asterisks attached. There are a handful of cases where Horde races have joined the Alliance and vice-versa, but it's a rare scenario and as others have mentioned above a difficult life where the individuals in question will be suspected and doubted pretty much constantly.

[Varodoc]

Valeera Sanguinar, a blood elf, is part of the Alliance due to her loyalty to House Wrynn so it's possible although very rare.

I imagine Baine could be allowed in as well

During MoP Varian was negotiating terms of acceptence into the Alliance for Blood Elves.

I think there's also a Goblin in the SI7 though I'm unsure if that's a Horde or Neutral Goblin.

I think based on that, that the Alliance is more accepting of the opposite faction's races but not by much and it's unlikely that your character would be able to enlist.

The Ren'dorei are also former Blood elves who joined the Alliance. Despite having green eyes before the transformation, they were never loyal to the Horde and always sought to bring Silvermoon back into the Alliance.

In Telogrus Rift you can also find many Silvermoon citizens who left their home to travel to Telogrus in search of knowledge.

[Varodoc]

Sure, they had nowhere else to go, and Alleria who is part of the Alliance sorta took them under her wing or something.

I wonder if had it been void orcs, the Alliance would have been equally willing.

It's more than just that, it wasn't merely an alliance of convenience, they genuinely believe in the Alliance's ideals, as Umbric himself says.

They probably would accept Void orcs, actually. The Alliance is not opposed to the idea of working with orcs; they worked with the Shadowmoon rebels against Ner'zhul in WoD, and they worked with Saurfang in BfA.

[TheramoreIsTheBomb]

I'd say the Undead can't join any faction except Horde while everyone else is A-Ok.

[gurutikka]

Valeera Sanguinar, a blood elf, is part of the Alliance due to her loyalty to House Wrynn so it's possible although very rare.

I imagine Baine could be allowed in as well

During MoP Varian was negotiating terms of acceptence into the Alliance for Blood Elves.

I think there's also a Goblin in the SI7 though I'm unsure if that's a Horde or Neutral Goblin.

I think based on that, that the Alliance is more accepting of the opposite faction's races but not by much and it's unlikely that your character would be able to enlist.

Valeera isn't part of the Alliance bro, she's only loyal to Wrynn. If the Alliance told her to do something against the Horde, she will show them the middle finger.

[gurutikka]

There have been several instances of individual members working with both factions (Ariok, Khadgar, Nat Pagle, Valeera). It's difficult to find examples of people who betrayed their old faction to join the new, though such examples do exist (Ashvane, several members of the Desolate Council).

Valeera is kinda tricky though, she claims that she doesn't belong to Horde yet she dresses up like one of theirs in their traditional red colors and rubs it in the face of the Alliance lol. I don't know about others, but seeing a character who dresses up as a Horde character in Alliance territory is kind of insulting.

- - - Updated - - -

If person A is loyal to person B and person B is one of the main figureheads of a faction, I consider person A part of that faction.

She is literally Anduin's personal spy, an asset to Anduin and acts in the interest of the Alliance by doing what he tells her, formal introduction or not.

You can consider what you want but she clearly says from her own mouth that she's not part of the Alliance.

She protects Anduin, that's about it, she doesn't take part in Alliance war effort. She never has.

[gurutikka]

Who gives a shit about what she says. What matters is her actions.

And her actions prove that she's not part of that faction. She has never taken part in the Alliance war effort. Not to mention, she is actively involved on the Horde side too, she is present in Zulzadar giving quests to Horde players. Pretty sure if the Horde is letting her walk around in their cities, she's not Alliance.

[jellmoo]

I mean, for races like Pandaren and Goblins it would be super easy, barely an inconvenience. Other races may have more difficulty, as they would be more obviously out of place.

[Darththeo]

If person A is loyal to person B and person B is one of the main figureheads of a faction, I consider person A part of that faction.

She is literally Anduin's personal spy, an asset to Anduin and acts in the interest of the Alliance by doing what he tells her, formal introduction or not.

Let's say Anduin was removed from the position of High King and Genn or Tyrande takes over ... Valeera would go with Anduin, not stay.

She isn't really Alliance because if the Wrynn line is either extinguished or removed from power, she may or may not continue to work with the Alliance.

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On topic, in theory, any race could join either fraction, but it is unlikely they do in any large number to be meaningful. And the honest answer, the current Horde and maybe Thrall lead Horde would permit any race to join it ... the Alliance is less likely to let an orc walk in and declare himself a member of the Horde, but it is still in the realm of possibility.

[Julian Rayne]

There's a Goblin in a pretty high position in an Alliance organization. So I would guess it's possible in some cases.

[gurutikka]

Her actions absolutely prove that she's part of that faction. She is the personal spy of one of the most prominent members within it. Doesn't matter that she hasn't fought the Horde. She has pledged herself to serve House Wrynn. House Wrynn is a part of the Alliance.

That the Horde allows her in their cities is irrelevant, it's due to it being pretty well known that she's Anduin's spy.

That she on occasion is shown to be giving quests to Horde players is irrelevant she has still pledged herself to House Wrynn.

If she were part of the Alliance, she would be actively taking part in the war effort which she is not. She only serves Wrynn and Wrynn only to the extent of making sure he is not killed. The Wrynn's are a noble family that rule over Stormwind. The Alliance is a gathering of several nations in a pact. The Wrynn's can rule even if they were to separate themselves from the Alliance. If the Wrynn's were to officially disconnect themselves from the Alliance, then what will your excuse be? Valeera only serves the noble family, that's it, nobody else. She doesn't take part in the Alliance wars.

If she is a well known spy of Anduin, that should give the Horde more a reason to prevent her from entering their territory. No Alliance character would sit around in a Horde city and give quests to Horde players.

No it's not irrelevant, it's meant to tell you that she plays on both sides of the fence and doesn't fight for either factions.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Valeera_Sanguinar
"I am neither Horde nor Alliance. What has either faction ever done for me?"

or you know, World of Warcraft Comic: Stranger in a Strange Land:

"She culturally identifies as a blood elf, taking pride in her people's traditions and defending their tribulations and loyalties. However, she herself acts independently of the Thalassian government, and has formally joined neither the Horde nor the Alliance since her introduction but is fiercely loyal to Varian and his son."

Let me give you a real world example. Remember the Shah of Iran? Yeah, he had bodyguards that he hired from different countries, they swore no loyalty to Iran, but only to the Shah. After the Shah died, they left the country. Their duty was only to protect the Shah. So just because you got a bodyguard who is protecting a King, that in no way means they are also fighting for that faction.

[Ardenaso]

The actual answer is no, "an orc" cant join alliance
However if you are buddy buddy with one of the leaders of the alliance (or horde), you can join in regardless of your race.
Like reallife lore

By the looks of it, Lightbound Orcs will join the Alliance soon

[Rozz]

Honestly the Alliance and Horde are more inclusive than ever. These days it's more about what you can bring to the table.