Cairne Bloodhoof with a totem weapon and a totem harness on his back.
Tauren totems are both a weapon and a building used by the tauren.
They are also called totem poles and represent a link to the tauren's past. The carvings provide a focus for shamanic arts or illustrate stories of famous events or heroic tales.[1]
Weapon
A Thunderous Brave in the War of the Thorns.
When roused, tauren are fierce fighters and use their mighty totems to smash their enemies into the dust of the plains.[2]
"Tauren" units use totems as weapons in battle.
Cairne Bloodhoof, Tauren Warriors, Melgromm Highmountain, Muln Earthfury, Olin Umberhide and Thunderous Braves use an unobtainable totem weapon.
After Cairne's death, his son Baine took up his enormous totem as his own.[3] As all of Cairne's weapons were blessed by a shaman, this would allow the totem to strike and harm incorporeal spirits as if they were any solid opponent.[4]
In the RPG
If this massive weapon looks like it's an intricately carved tree trunk, that’s because it is. The tauren prefer to spend their time decorating and meditating on their totems, but they are also perfectly willing to hit foes over the head with them. Said foes quickly learn the error of disturbing a meditating tauren.[5]
Spiritwalkers can use tauren halberds and tauren totems.[6]
The Blackgore Totem is a famous totem.
Harness
Please add any available information to this section.
War Harnesses as item reputation rewards with Highmountain Tribe: 
[Bloodtotem War Harness], 
[Highmountain War Harness], 
[Rivermane War Harness] and 
[Skyhorn War Harness].
[Highmountain Harness] part of the Heritage of Highmountain the heritage armor for the Highmountain tauren.
Tauren chieftain with a totem harness on his back in Warcraft 3.
Baine Bloodhoof with a totem harness on his back.
Unequipped totem harnesses seen in the Valley of Wisdom.
Mayla Highmountain with a Highmountain War Harness on her back.
Tauren Earthshaker in the Ruins of Lordaeron.
Building
- Main article: Tauren Totem (Warcraft III)
The tauren totem is a building for the Orcish Horde in Warcraft III, where the tauren are trained.[7]
The proud, noble tauren, having allied with the orcish horde, reside here and hone their abilities through contact with their spirit totems. This structure allows the mighty tauren to make use of the Pulverize ability, a technique that damages enemy forces and adds a unique tool to the tauren's already wide-ranging arsenal.[8]
In World of Warcraft, tauren totems are often found in tauren lands, but not generally as a structure with a use, just as decorations. The flight path in Thunder Bluff is inside a giant totem.
Concept art.
Warcraft III structure.
Thunder Bluff with totem buildings.
Thunder Totem the capital city of the Highmountain tauren.
Totems can also be found among taunka structures.
Notes
- Totems are also used by other races as structures. Trolls use bat-like totems as a decoration. Furbolgs use totems as part of their settlements as a decoration. Wildhammer dwarves have a totem in Kirthaven.
Gallery
Tauren totem doodads in Warcraft III
Tauren totem from the WoW cinematic intro (also used as a weapon in the cinematic).
Icon of the Earth Mother is the racial icon of the tauren.
Tauren shown carrying a totem weapon (in the right of the image).
Highmountain tauren totem in the Orgrimmar Embassy.
Tauren shown carrying a totem weapon (in the left of the image).
- Heroes of the Storm
Tauren Banner and Tauren Warbanner added in update 2.0.
Tauren totem on a Healing Fountain model used in the Alterac Pass battleground.
See also
References
- ^ Ultimate Visual Guide, pg. 127
- ^ Warcraft III manual, 26
- ^ The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, 290
- ^ The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, pg. 20
- ^ Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, 134
- ^ Magic & Mayhem, pg. 49
- ^ Warcraft III manual, 45
- ^ Warcraft III manual, 29