Troll question (magic)

Lore Story Forum
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Hi.

I decided to not do the joke I was going to, titling this ‘Troll Question…I mean, question about trolls…I mean–etc”. That has no bearing on anything, just something I found amusing.

Anyway, I do have a question about troll magic, lorewise. I am not as up to date on the specifics of it as I could be. I suspect that there are some subject matter experts, here.

I think that the catchall term for what trolls call magic is ‘voodoo’, in a similar sense to ‘loa’ being a reference for different powerful beings (gods, demigods, loa, etc). But I also recall doing a quest, and they mentioned that hex magic was kind of a dark magic? A bit more forbidden?

It’s a bit different than the arcane/fel thing, or the Kul Tiran druid/Drust thing. Voodoo/hex. Is it one of those ‘every hex is a voodoo, but not every voodoo is a hex’?

I’m not entirely sure if I have that right. I would appreciate if someone could clear this up, or even point me in the correct direction to find out on my own. I’m not entirely clear where on warcraft wiki, for example, I would start.

I have a couple of troll characters I want to RP, and I like to make sure I have things as right as I can: Both for the creepy troll, and an upcoming shadow hunter.

Thanks!

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Hmmm, I think the terms are getting mixed together a bit, but here’s a summary of what I found:

  • Voodoo is a major traditional troll magical practice, but not literally all troll magic. Trolls also use shamanism, druidism, shadow and arcane magic.
  • Hoodoo is more specifically tied to hexes, curses and jinxes. (I learned this today. I thought when NPCs said this they were joking lol, go figure) :sweat_smile:

The confusing part is “hex” can mean different things in Warcraft. The Shaman spell is Nature magic, while Midnight uses “hex magic” for the Vilebranch’s soul/death rituals.

Example: Think of spells like Polymorph (Mage), Hex (Shaman), Curse of Weakness (Warlock), or the old Hex of Weakness (Troll Priest).

So I’d say voodoo is the broader troll tradition, with practices like hoodoo, curses, jinxes and spirit-related magic, rather than “all troll magic is voodoo.”

NOTE: It seems that Troll Culture has words that have Broader meanings depending on their tribe or tradition I guess… Loa like you mention being use for any powerful being that are revered or worship.

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