Of all the races of Azeroth, the Furbolgs were among those worst affected by the Burning Legions attack on Hyjal. As the forests burned away so did the furbolgs sanity and before long most of the tribes had descended into madness. Of all the scattered tribes, only the Timbermaw, Stillpine, Bristlelimb and Barkskin escaped corruption. Each of these only survived by isolating themselves from the outside world - in Timbermaw Hold, Azuremist Isle and in the Barrow Deeps of Hyjal. For many years they hid themselves from the surface world, not knowing if the Legion had destroyed all or been destroyed itself.
The Timbermaw eventually ventured out into a changed world. The prisine forests which had once surrounded their home had been corrupted, turning the trees into stunted growths and the water into poison. So they were overjoyed when they stumbled across some survivors from one of the other tribes, but soon realised the terrible truth when they were attacked by their own brethren. For the survivors were of the Deadwood Tribe, which had been driven insane by the loss of the forest, and which now sought revenge on any creature they saw. They became mistrutful of any other than their own.
When the Stillpine, Bristlelimb and Barkskin heard this news, they resolved to see what had happened to their own territories and to restore them if they could. The Bristlelimb were delighted to see that Azuremist had survived relatively unscathed, but their jubilation was shattered by the sudden arrival of the Exodar which killed half the tribe and corrupted the rest. When the Stillpine followed them out they found radioactive crystals showering the island but were soon driven back by their comrades and were forced to accept the assistance of the draenei who had caused the disaster.
That left the Barkskin. Although the Burning Legion had ravaged Hyjal, they had not stayed long enough to cause permanent damage. Before long the forested peak was back to its pristine state. The night elven druids in the area were puzzled by this rapid restoration, since the furbolgs mostly hid themselves. But after diligent searching they stumbled across the furbolg stronghold in the depths of the Barrow Dens, and after sending ambassadors to Darnassus the Barkskin furbolgs accepted a place in the new Alliance.
- Starting Zone: Nordrassil - furbolgs start in the branches of the damaged World Tree, and have to take an elevator to the bottom. Quests mostly involve trying to cure it and at the same time stopping the remainders of the Legion who have infested the lower branches.
- 1-10 Zone: Hyjal Peak
- 10-20 Zone: Upper Hyjal
In this expansion the Hyjal zone from CoT is divided into Hyjal Peak (around the World Tree) and Upper Hyjal (further down and connected to Winterspring)
- Racial Capital: The Barrow Deeps
- Instance - Illidan's Prison. The families of those jailors that Tyrande slew to free Illidan have banded together to get revenge.
Nature's Call: +10 Herbalism skill
Strength of the Bear: +10 Strength and +10 Stamina
Feral Regression: Can temporarily acquire all the attributes and abilities of a bear.
Kindred Soul: Furbolgs start off as Neutral with Timbermaw Hold, unlike all other races who have to earn their trust.
Warrior, Shaman, Druid, Hunter, Priest
To get to the rest of Kalimdor, furbolgs can take the road through Winterspring and Felwood, however this would be too dangerous for lower level characters and is too long for higher levels. Instead there is an Orb of Transolcation just like the one in Undercity and Silvermoon which takes the player to Darnassus. In additon the Barrow Deeps are only a small part of a vast cave network extending across most of northern Kalimdor. They eventually connect to Timbermaw Hold in Felwood and Azshara, and there is even a tunnel stretching all the way to Ashenvale. Naturally there are also plenty of aggressive creatures roaming these tunnels to avoid making the route too easy.