The D&D World of Warcraft book is now available in early access, and I've done a quick look through it. I've of course been cheating a bit using various YouTubers' previews of the subclasses, but now we can get into the nitty and the gritty.
While I'd strongly encourage you to approach the Alliance/Horde conflict however you prefer at your table (I'd be down for something of a Cold War vibe where a party can have members of both factions, and forge genuine friendships, even if there's that lingering fear and distrust - maybe only some of the party is welcome in Thunder Bluff) the Red vs Blue conflict is a foundational one to the setting as a whole.
But since the introduction of the Pandaren as a playable race in 2012, WoW has inducted a number of cultures and populations that find themselves in the Alliance and the Horde. In some cases, this reflects a stark philosophical difference between the ones who go one way or another, and in some it's just a general understanding that both factions can be good allies, and a carefully-maintained neutrality might be wise.
I'll also point out that while, in the MMO, if you play a Goblin, you're automatically a member of the Horde and affiliated with the Bilgewater Cartel, there are plenty of Goblins who happily work for the Alliance, and even one example of a Goblin who was a high-ranking and respected member of Stormwind's SI7 (their intelligence agency - a riff on the UK's MI6).
Still, there are a ton of playable species in this book, so I couldn't put them all in a single post. And given that, let's finish this preamble and get moving!
Dracthyr:
The Dracthyr are a bit like dragonborn, but the backstory is that they were specifically created by Neltharion, the Black Dragon aspect (who would eventually go insane and try to destroy the world, renaming himself Deathwing) to serve as humanoid-like super-soldiers. When he lost control of the magical artifact that kept them permanently mind-controlled, he panicked and locked them away in deep vaults, where they remained in stasis for thousands of years, eventually reawakening along with the rest of the Dragon Isles.
First off, you actually have the dragon creature type, which is a first for 5E (one could imagine a world where various PHB species have other creature types, like Goliaths as Giants, Dragonborn as Dragon, Aasimar as Celestials, and Tieflings as Fiends, but here we are).
Darkvision: You get darkvision out to 60 feet.
Gliding WIngs: When you are in your natural form and are not incapactiated, when you fall, you subtract 100 feet from the distance fallen when calculating the fall's damage, and can move up to 2 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you descend.
This is actually, weirdly, similar to the Hadozee feature from Spelljammer, which does do a weird thing by letting you potentially get a ton of lateral movement if you can drop from high up enough. While I think this would make more sense if we could just not take fall damage, the fact that this doesn't require a reaction, and that 100 feet is pretty generous, I think this is fine.
Natural Weaponry: While you're in your natural form, your wings and tails can be used as a bonus action to make an unarmed strike to shove a creature.
Bonus action shove - obviously a lot better on a class that doesn't need its bonus action a lot. Nothing huge, but an unlimited enhancement here.
Visage: As a magic action, you can shape-shift into a humanoid form called your visage. You choose your visage's appearance when you select this species, which remains consistent. Changing shape doesn't change your game statistics, clothing, or equipment.
Well, doesn't change your game statistics except for these other traits. But this basically takes the idea of dragons taking on humanoid forms and lets you do it too. WoW Dragons of all stripes do this all the time (makes you wonder why there aren't any half-dragons wandering around Azeroth... I think Jaina Proudmoore even dated a dragon for a while).
Draconic Flight: When you reach level 5, you can use your natural form to fly short distances. As a bonus action, you leap into the air and gain a fly speed equal to your speed that lasts 10 minutes. You can use this once per long rest.
This is identical to the Dragonborn feature, fittingly enough.
While I am not a big fan of Dracthyr in the MMO (largely because in their true form, you don't actually get to see most of the gear you're wearing, for some reason - I'd be much happier with them if they just fixed that) I think this is fine, and gives us the kind of vaguely-dragonborn equivalent for Azeroth.
Earthen:
The Earthen are the ancestors of the dwarves - Titanforged constructs built to excavate the deep places of Azeroth. But some Earthen remained unaffected by the curse of flesh, and are no longer bound to the Titan Edicts that forced them to do as they were programmed to do, they're now free to adventure and learn about the world.
Despite what I just said, Earthen are actually counted as humanoid.
Azerite Surge: When you take the attack action, you can replace one of your attacks with a blast of Azerite energy in a 15-foot cone. Each creature of your choice in the cone regains 1d10 HP, and each other creatuer makes a Dex save (dc based on your Con) or takes 1d10 radiant damage on a failure or half as much on a success. Both the damage and healing increase by 1d10 at levels 5, 11, and 17. You can use this PB times per long rest.
This is light a Dragonborn's Breath Weapon but strictly better. It avoids friendly fire and even heals friends in the cone. And the Breath Weapon got a big boost in 5.5, so this is awesome.
Darkvision: You have darkvision out to 120 feet.
Standard for subterranean peoples.
Earthen Resilience: You have resistance to poison damage. You also have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the poisoned condition.
Just like a dwarf, appropriately enough, as these are basically "stone dwarves."
Ingest Minerals: You don't gain exhaustion levels from malnutrition.
Which is a very technical way of saying you don't have to eat.
Quiet Contemplation: When you spend Hit Dice when you finish a short rest, you regain 1 additional HP per Hit Die expended.
So, we don't get the Dwarven Resilience, but this kind of makes up for it a little. A tiny bit of extra healing.
Again, I really think that this will be great for any character with multiattack, and even if you don't, the cone heal, while minor, is a pretty great thing for a species trait and then you have one of the best damage types as a breath attack stapled to it.
Haranir:
The Haranir are a secretive people who live underground where the roots of the various world trees of Azeroth converge, and where the planet's Worldsoul once rested. The Haranir are a kind of missing link between the elves and trolls, and I could have sworn they were the long-fabled "Dark Trolls" until this book contradicted this. Still, they share traits of both species, and are all about safeguarding the natural world and the roots of the trees.
Darkvision: You have darkvision out to 120 feet.
Again, subterranean.
Gift of the World Tree: You have proficiency in Nature and Survival.
Some bonus proficiencies are always nice.
Haranir Magic: You know Druidcraft and Thorn Whip. When you reach character level 3, you learn Entangle. At level 5, you learn Spike Growth. You can cast each spell once per long rest without a spell slot, or you can cast them with your own spell slots as well. You choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as your spellcasting ability for these spells.
These are... good spells! Spike Growth in particular is infamous for the "cheese-grater" builds you can make with it, doing tons of damage with forced movement. But Entangle, while humble, can still be quite strong.
The species fits quite well with the format of the D&D Elf. When we get to the Horde species, we'll look at their Troll cousins. Anyway, a really solid showing for WoW's newest playable race.
Pandaren:
The Pandaren are a species of humanoid panda-people, who fought off tyrannical mogu oppressors to build an egalitarian empire in the land of Pandaria, guided by the Wild Gods known as the August Celestials. While most were locked away by a protective mist for 10,000 years, a small group of them traversed the mists on a turtle that grew to the size of an island, only returning to their ancestral home and their distant relations after the mists parted. The Pandaren have a culture that emphasizes family, food, storytelling, and philosophy.
Bouncy: You have resistance to Bludgeoning damage from falling.
This is probably not going to be a character-defining trait. But it's fun.
Darkvision: You have darkvision to 60 feet.
Hey, does anyone not get darkvision? Truly, I'm not sure why they get this, other than that... it's generally nice to have.
Inner Peace: When you spend hit point dice (yeah, 5.5 changed it to that from hit dice, and I struggle to write it that way) after a short rest, you regain 1 additional HP per die expended.
Just like the Earthen one. Not going to be much, but it's a little bonus.
Quaking Palm: When you hit a creature with a melee attack on your turn, your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks until the end of your turn.
This is... this is fantastic. While it's not a full disengage, and we do need to land a hit, this requires no extra action, and it's unlimited in use. So, Pandaren can just move around the battlefield pretty safely.
Again, this is one of those species that are mostly fine, and then you get that Quaking Palm, which, I'll note, does not require the melee attack to be with a weapon or unarmed strike, so if you want to hit them with a spell attack (as long as it's melee) you'll be good.
And there we have it - there aren't a ton of neutral species.
As we take a look at the faction-specific ones, I'll note that there are a fair number that are already represented in the PHB. I think we'll start off with the Horde ones, which will have more new options, though there also some little variant options, like additional origin feats for humans.
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