how do scars work in warcraft if there is healing magic? I was planning on going into rp with a character who had an aging scar (veteran) but thought, couldn’t it just be healed by a priest or something?
Some choose to have scars left, some magic leaves scars, and healing is all over the place. No restrictions on why you would have scars. Have fun.
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I don’t tend to worry about keeping track of whether injuries leave scars unless it’s to further a character’s story or otherwise commemorate a noteworthy event. It’s less work that way.
As for how characters can still have scars despite the abundance of healing magic, I tend to look at it like this–healing magic speeds up the natural healing process somehow, much more than standard medicine would. Unless the healer is highly skilled, the healing magic is likely to leave behind a scar. Another way of looking at it is that the faster you heal a wound the more of a scar that it leaves. So a flash heal might save your life in the heat of battle, but not save your looks.
An alternative to raw magic is potions, however, a potion generally needs to be imbibed before it has any effect. Flasks can be shattered in battle, or the potion itself may have a certain shelf life. The potency will depend on the ingredients and skill of the alchemist, and the injured party may even be allergic to some ingredients. Or perhaps the injured has built up a tolerance to the potion, making it less effective.
There’s any number of ways to explain why characters have scars; it just boils down to whether you desire it for your story or not.
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Healing magic isn’t always present, won’t always have someone on scene when a wound is taken. And the strength needed isn’t always clear. Some wounds, like Lor’themar losing an eye or Anduin breaking all his bones, will never truly heal.
There are probably better examples out there. But while the extent isn’t always clear, healing is likely not just a ‘snap your fingers and things are fine’ deal. Nor can all wounds be cleanly removed.
This is an interesting topic to me, as her little has been outlined in existing lore. This means, for all intents and purposes, it’s sort of up to us, at least for now. I’ve read some of the things Cannibal had said on his takes on healing, and it’s similar to some already mentioned above. My opinion is slightly different, however.
First off, non-magical healing will create the most obvious scars, takes the longest time to heal, and has the longest lasting effects in terms of aches, pains, etc, due to the imperfect intervention of mortals (stitches, bone setting, I’m not even sure how primitive their medical practices may be. Do they even have sterile technique?)
Next, Druid and other sources of nature healing (red dragons, maybe?) will leave minimal scarring, as it uses the power of nature to regenerate, regrow, and accelerate natural healing processes. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology may increase the effectiveness of this healing, as the healer is guiding the natural processes. It is also limited by those same processes.
Shaman and Monk healing I’m a little gray over, as I’m not sure how water spirits would actually mend gaping wounds. I can understand them cleansing away infections, but what water would do besides irrigate the wounds, I have no idea. I suppose it would be something between nature healing and Holy healing. The ability to heal is dependent on the power of the shaman and the subsequent power of the spirits at their command.
Speaking of Holy, as it supposedly is the Light of Creation, I imagine that Holy healing would make anew, as if there never was an injury to begin with, and would therefore leave no scars, and, ironically, would require the least amount of anatomical knowledge, as it is powered purely by Faith and force of will.
Unfortunately, most of this is simply using logic and head cannon. We know that all those types of magic couldn’t halt an Argent Crusader from dying, but the Holy magic prevented him from becoming undead. The restorative power of the red flight’s breath kept Bolvar Fordragon from dying from the Blight of the Apothecary Society, or burning to death, but he continues to live in constant pain and agony, so we know the healing has limits, but we don’t know definitively what they are.
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