And orcs are da cure
Ogres triumphed over their ancestors, the Gronn, through evolving a method of cellular division reproduction.
Gronns, on average, are like crocodiles in that they are not bound by physiological limitations: a Gronn that continues to live will continue to grow. Ogres used to grow in much the same way before evolving a means of dividing themselves once they reach a certain mass. In this way, Ogres managed to breed superior numbers and use them to spread across Draenor.
This is why you don’t see female Ogres. And, indeed, a two-headed Ogre is simply an Ogre in the middle of dividing.
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I really dig this one. It makes complete sense.
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I quite like that as an explanation as to why we have no female ogres. Also, kinda creeped out how the males will randomly crossbreed with things just because.
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Please don’t encourage her.
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Elf eyebrow hairs are extremely thick, coarse and wiry. This is what allows them to keep a rigid shape despite being like a foot long–no product is required.
It also means that getting poked with an elf eyebrow is basically like getting poked with a needle. So don’t eyebrow your friends.
And IDK if it is headcanon or confirmed, but I definitely think that long-lived races mature just as quickly as any other race and simply remain in a young adult body once they reach maturity. My brain just rejects the idea of a night elf spending 200 years in diapers.
Another immortality headcanon: elves, draenei, and other long-lived species regrow their teeth every century or so. Even if you’re lucky you’re not gonna get through 15k years without cracking a tooth on an overly-crispy draenic biscuit here and there, so ya gotta keep growing them if you don’t wanna gum your food after your first 200 years.
Medium-long lifespan species don’t have this feature however, so a dwarf has to make their chompers last for 400 years or so. Most dwarf grannies have a nice set of mithrils.
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+1 on Night Elf body hair. They are clearly a shaggy people.
In the immediate aftermath of their loss of immortality, several Night Elves died of sudden, ambiguous illness. Some of these were generally nonlethal diseases, wreaking havoc against immune systems that never had to learn to fight common antibodies. But perhaps more horrifying were those who were suddenly riddled with tumors that the dragons’ blessing had previously kept miniscule.
Those who survived this non-pandemic “plague” tend to think the worst of an oncoming illness to this day. Thankfully they’re knowledgeable healers.
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My thoughts are that elves mature at the same rate as humans, but since they live for so long, culturally they are considered young adults (18-21 human years) for about 100-150 years. Many are quite self sufficient, and don’t need guidance. But others might make, what elder elves consider life-damaging, unwise decisions at that age. So for those elves, a mentor is a good idea during that time. If they are in the military or other group with similar rules, they are already getting that guidance.
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I learned today my headcanon is confirmed for Draenei at least, there is one NPC that I know of who is shown to be a mature Draenei at a relatively human age.
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In Illidan the protagonist notes about the Night Elf he meets that he wouldn’t be able to tell if he was 20 or 200.
So yes that is confirmed.
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YEah I’ve used the same sort of headcanon for my long-lived races too. It makes sense to me! And having it confirmed for all intents and purposes in Illidan made me feel pretty good!
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Female dwarves have beards- we’ve just never seen one with one in game. Think I read it in an old Knaak book somewhere.
Worgen have ‘scratch spots’ like dogs and wolves, and react similarly when they’re preyed on.
All elf types are effected by bloodthistle- just not to the exact extent that blood elves are. Nightborne, Night Elves and Void Elves still get a kick from it but nothing like they used to.
Since the Void elves draw their magic from the void and blood elves had the sunwell restored, they’re now more resistant to diseases and close to the immortality they had.
All nightborne are suffused with a small amount of arcane by nature of their biology and where they are.
I’ve got more to drop another time, but for now I’ll leave all this here.
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Zandalari armor their chests less than everything else because their regenerative abilities are crazy, crazy good. Soft tissue damage isn’t such a big deal unless you’re talking straight through the heart or total disembowelment. Bones take longer though, and ideally should be set before healing.
This is why you see more limb than upper body armor- a Zandalari warrior would fear a broken leg that left him open for a coup-de-grace more than, say, a punctured lung.
I know that’s probably not the real reason, I just wanted to throw out a half-baked in universe explanation for a stylistic choice I like anyway.
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Nice. My theory is that and also that zanda skin is actually crazy tough and leathery
Funny timing, I was just positing some headcanons of my own in my guild Discord just this morning.
Anyway, I like to think orcs are way heavier than they look. An average male gorilla can only be 4-6 feet tall and still weigh 200-500 pounds. So I like to think an average, healthy male orc at 6 feet tall weighs anywhere from 300-400 pounds. Female orcs at 5-6 feet tall can be around 200-300. Even Garona, skinny as she is (in the movie anyway) is still hovering around 200. Muscle density, yo.
Other fun headcanons: Draenei were evolved from a talbuk-like creature on Argus after exposure to mana crystals, similar to how dark trolls evolved upon exposure to the Well of Eternity. Their tendrils, tails, hooves and crests are all leftovers from that shift. Before draenei civilization became more advanced, it wasn’t uncommon for male draenei to fight for female attention by butting heads and wrestling.
Orcs can range from insanely hairy to hairless depending on heritage. Blackrocks had little need for hair to catch on fire, so they’re more likely to lack body hair, whereas Frostwolves, Laughing Skulls and other similar clans had more use of it for warmth, protection from the sun, dust, bugs, etc. Thrall’s got more chest hair than Saxton Hale.
Elves have very acute senses. Darkvision, hyper-sensitive hearing, discerning sense of smell (though this sense diminishes the further they get from trolls), etc. Even elves who don’t use magic have a sixth sense for sources of mana, which can be trained to be more accurate and sensitive.
Night elves evolved huge ears and eyebrows as a way of navigating the tight, dark spaces of the caves they inhabited as dark trolls (and they still inhabit, with burrows and the like). Large, agile eyebrows are seen as an attractive trait.
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Tauren store fat, water and energy in their back humps, allowing them to follow prey for immense distances without rest or food.
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Going to see if I can revive this with a bump. Here we go.
Imp Mothers may simply be what happens when succubi chase mortal men and want to ‘make a family’- though, they do actually summon imps through portals instead of fully birthing them.
Draenei are capable of adapting to nearly any type of magic, and are more potent magic batteries than any elf, orc or human can be. Faith simply constricts them to Arcane, Light, or Fel.
Fel by nature increases physical strength- however, it poisons most of anything which results in physical withering. Curiously, Forsaken, Death Knights, and Void Elves are either extremely resilient or immune to the Fel Poisoning effect.
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I know this thread is four years old, but I’m interested to see if anyone has any other headcanons they’d like to add.
I think Nightborne face and body tattoos glow softly when they feel strong emotions of any kind – be it anger, happiness, desire, etc. Not too brightly but enough to be noticeable.
Feel free to add more, I’d love to hear it! 
During pregnancy, Worgen women become stuck in one form until birth. I also presume the same of Druids and their shapeshifting.
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Blood elves can digest raw meat. I think this is a plot point somewhere in one of the cata zones, but I’m saying it’s a holdover from their troll roots. Trolls and night elves can digest raw meat, too.
All gnomes have the cilantro soap gene.
Undead people can experience spiciness because spice isn’t a taste, it’s a chemical reaction to capsicum. Their dulled senses lead to some undead being thrill-seeking.
Undead with synesthesia can experience senses of taste and smell due to weird brain reactions. They can’t taste actual food that well, but setting off their synesthesia can induce false tastes and smells.