I have never played Everquest, though I certainly read a lot about it years ago, and most of what I read made me NOT want to play it; the lore in the game was entirely racist in nature, with “good” races, “evil” races and “neutral” ones. It is still that way today.
By contrast, World of Warcraft, while including many gameplay elements of Everquest, rejected the idea of good and evil races and divided players according to faction, not race. The Alliance does consist of humans and the races allied with them, while the Horde consists of Orcs and the races allied with them, but not all humans in the game are depicted as good, while some Orcs are depicted as disloyal to the Horde and even a threat to it.
Compare the different games’ descriptions of one race in particular, the Trolls.
http://everquest.station.sony.com/races
TROLL
Trolls are often considered a hideous and deplorable race that carries a sickening smell. This view suits the Trolls, as they are generally unpleasant to everyone. Trolls are an immense race, at least twice as strong as the average human. They have the ability to regenerate faster than most other races. Trolls have two primary motivators: food and power. These grotesque creatures will eat just about anything.
Trolls are extremely cruel and their greed is almost insatiable. They trust no one, not even each other. Trolls also fancy that they have advanced abilities in the culinary arts, with their ability to pickle just about anything, or make a meal out of “spare parts.”
Trolls generally detest the other races, including other Trolls. They tend to put up with the Dark Elves out of fear, much like Ogres do.
The city of Grobb lies within the Innothule Swamp of Antonica. The city is infested with mosquitoes and spiders, which serve as both pets and snacks for the Trolls.
Who would want to play such a disgusting race? Not me!
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/race/troll
Troll
The savage trolls of Azeroth are infamous for their cruelty, dark mysticism, and seething hatred for all other races. Yet one exception among the trolls is the Darkspear tribe and its cunning leader, Vol’jin. Plagued by a history of subservience and exile, this proud tribe was on the brink of extinction when Warchief Thrall and his mighty Horde forces were driven to the trolls’ remote island home in the South Seas during a violent storm.
Led at that time by Vol’jin’s wise father, Sen’jin, the Darkspears abandoned their prejudices and worked together with Thrall’s orcs to defeat a group of humans encroaching on the jungle isle. With unparalleled bravery, the trolls fought side by side with the Horde to secure victory, but tragedy befell the Darkspears soon afterward. Intent on appeasing a mysterious sea witch, a frenzied band of murlocs captured the isle’s defenders. Although a number of the imprisoned orcs and trolls managed to escape, the noble Sen’jin was slain by his captors.
In Sen’jin’s honor, Thrall welcomed the Darkspears into the Horde and offered them sanctuary in a new kingdom that he planned to create across the Great Sea. The trolls accepted Thrall’s offer, and Vol’jin eventually led his tribe to the vibrant jungles of the Echo Isles located just off the rugged coastline of Durotar.
Not long after they settled on their new home, the Darkspears suffered a terrible betrayal from within. Driven to insanity by the dark powers under his control, the witch doctor Zalazane began enslaving his fellow tribespeople and amassing an army of mindless trolls. For a time, Vol’jin and other uncorrupted Darkspears fled to Durotar’s coast and established Sen’jin Village. From this crude settlement, the trolls struck at Zalazane’s forces, hoping to win back their home at any cost. The Darkspears’ efforts, however, failed to drive Zalazane from the Echo Isles.
Following the victory against the Lich King in the frozen continent of Northrend, Vol’jin renewed his bid to defeat Zalazane and launched a brilliant assault on the isles. With the help of the tribe’s ancestral loa, the courageous Darkspears killed the maddened witch doctor and seized their embattled home.
Of late, political changes within the Horde have sparked fears among the Darkspear tribe regarding its future. Vol’jin’s close ally Thrall recently named Garrosh Hellscream temporary Horde warchief. Thus far, the brash young orc has put the Darkspear leader and his tribe on edge, causing many trolls to leave the Horde capital, Orgrimmar. Although spirits are high among the Darkspears after Zalazane’s fall, tension lingers concerning what place the trolls will have in Garrosh’s Horde.
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