As I’ve played a mage on Wow (Keep in mind I’m playing Classic, not Retail. If rules regarding who can/can’t be polymorphed have changed at all, feel free to let me know), I’ve noticed that there are certain mobs that can’t be polymorphed, such as elementals, undead, and demons. I’ve always wondered why only humanoids/beasts can be polymorphed, but not any other type of creature. Is there any lore explanation for this? Or did Blizzard design polymorph this way to force groups of players to rely on other classes for CC (ex. Shackle Undead from priests, Banish from locks)?
Game balance. Polymorph was ranged, with no CD, and didn’t send mobs running off to pull half the dungeon. It was probably the best CC available originally. If it could be used on anything there would have been no reason to use anything else.
Though these days it might just be for legacy reasons.
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This limitation precedes WoW and was in WC but really finds its roots in D&D. Many spells have multiple versions where one level can only affect animals, then another humanoids, and then something much later might be any to affect all or most types.
Specific immunity to polymorph, especially baleful/hostile polymorph, has generally been granted to creatures which aren’t living in a biological sense but are animated by pure magic (elementals, outsiders – closest to but much bigger than demons, undead) or that have powerful control of their own forms (shapeshifters, dragons). This gets extra confusing in WoW because plant is traditionally its own type in D&D and it doesn’t have the same immunities as elementals do, but here all plants are a type of elemental.
The balancing element was derived from the metaphysics borrowed loosely from Warhammer and D&D and has been kept legacy. It was definitely not balance that came first; you don’t balance with one class having a CC that works in most content and everyone else having at best one iffy CC.
For most kinds of content in Vanilla, Mage was far superior as CC to anyone else. Fear was a dungeon wrecker, sap was tricky to use and questionable if your team couldn’t kill fast enough, others like MC and hibernate were extremely niche. Without Misdirection, Freeze Trap was potentially quite good but required a bit more skill than you saw on average in those days.
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There are some interesting books that can be found in Dalaran about Mage abilities. Here’s one about polymorph.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Polymorphic_Rules_%26_Regulations
This book goes over the regulations of polymorphing. Even inanimate objects can potentially be polymorphed. The results are disastrous.
There’s another book that implies portals can be created to literally anywhere, but unlicensed mages are only allowed to create portals in designated locations, under penalty of death.
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We don’t even know what Kingdom was turned into a Horse just that one was!
Judging from the name of the case the King wanted a Horse and offered his Kingdom for one only for the Archmagi to take the thing literally!
Hearthglen was once a Principality so Human Kingdoms besides the Seven Kingdoms did exist in the past.
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Polymorphing dragons into sheep was legendary
I especially appreciated the humorous story of some mae who opened a portal that emptied a lake into Ironforge’s lava pit.