Thunder Bluff Thunder Bluff is the tauren capital city located in the northern part of the region of Mulgore on the continent of Kalimdor . The entire city is built on bluffs several hundred feet above the surrounding landscape , and is accessible by elevators on the southwestern and northeastern sides . History . The centaur were driving the tauren out of their homeland around the time of the Third War . When Thrall and his Horde arrived on the continent , an alliance was forged between the Horde and the tauren . Following the defeat of Archimonde and the end of the war , Thrall helped the tauren rout the centaur and reclaim their land . Shortly thereafter the tauren founded the city of Thunder Bluff and began the process of settling into their old surroundings and repairing the ecological damage the centaur had wrought . Thunder Bluff grows and expands at a tremendous rate . Thunder Bluff was settled fairly recently by the tauren , who successfully drove out the marauding Centaur from their lands . Thunder Bluff is the first city of its kind ; for centuries , the tauren wandered the plains as nomads , unable to claim a permanent home . All Horde visitors are welcome here , and the expertise of the tauren in professions ranging from leatherworking to shamanism , druidism to hunting are all practiced and taught here . Unfortunately , the central location of the Thunder Bluff also makes it easily accessible to members of the Alliance . Thus , it is often one of the easier Horde capitals for Alliance players to raid , with Baine being killed long before Horde reinforcements even become an issue . In order to gain access to Thunder Bluff , visitors must either ride wyvern s to the top one of the four towering mesas , use the zeppelin from Orgrimmar or be lifted via rope and wood elevators , an invention unique to the tauren . Cataclysm . Following Cairne ’ s death in a duel with Warchief Garrosh Hellscream , Thunder Bluff was briefly seized in a coup by Magatha Grimtotem and elements of her tribe . In retaliation , Cairne ’ s son , Baine , launched a brilliant counterattack using a fleet of zeppelin s . After he strategically divided Magatha ’ s forces , Baine recaptured Thunder Bluff and assumed his role as the high chieftain of the tauren . Having recovered from the recent unrest , the capital is once again a bastion of peace and security for Kalimdor ’ s tauren . People and Culture . Although some of the historically nomadic tauren probably miss their itinerant lifestyle , they are intensely proud of their permanent home and spend much of their time trying to make it better . They gladly accept the help of the orc s and troll s that help them , but are somewhat less enthusiastic at the presence of the Forsaken , whom they only grudgingly tolerate because of their membership in the Horde . Tauren place a strong emphasis on the value of life , and the unlife of the Forsaken stands as an affront to their beliefs , not to mention the less than honorable activities the Forsaken carry out . Geography . Thunder Bluff is composed of four towering mesas , or rises . The only entrances from the plains below are elevators leading to the central platform . The central rise is connected to the others through large wooden bridges . Thunder Bluff is located in the far north of Mulgore , among the sprawling flatlands of the Golden Plains . The weather is almost always warm and sunny , with intermittent breezes carried in from The Barrens . Rises . The various rises in Thunder Bluff act a bit like neighborhoods or quarters in a human city , or the valleys and keeps of the orcish city Orgrimmar . Thunder Bluff has a central mesa divided into three rises , surrounded by three additional mesas with distinct names : Notable Characters . The ancient Chief of the Bloodhoof clan , Cairne Bloodhoof has become the High Chieftain of the tauren race . He watches over Thunder Bluff , and over his people in an ever - darkening world . Many believe that he is training his son Baine Bloodhoof , who can be found in Bloodhoof Village , to take Cairne ' s place one fateful day . Cairne can be found in the Chieftain ' s Tent in the eastern Main City , and is accompanied by his Honor Guard . Magatha Grimtotem is the elder crone of the mighty Grimtotem clan . Blessed with shamanic powers when she was just a young girl , Magatha has sought power and prestige nearly her whole life . The Grimtotems believe that Magatha will lead them in eradicating the lesser races from Kalimdor and retaking the tauren ancestral holdings abroad . Magatha constantly spars with Cairne Bloodhoof over the direction of the tauren ' s future and feels that only she is fit to rule her people . Hamuul Runetotem is the elder druid of Thunder Bluff , and a childhood friend of Cairne . It remains to be seen where Hamuul will stand in the possible conflict that may arise between his chieftain and Magatha . Cataclysm . So far , very little has changed in Thunder Bluff , although Mulgore has a few noteable changes .