Worgen abilites Lorewise

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Great question! If I was on desktop, I could write a much more detailed post, but here’s what I can do for now.

Worgen Capabilities :wolf:

Strengths and Weakenesses

Strengths

Physical

Senses

Worgen possess heightened senses, including keen sense of smell, sensitive hearing, sharp eyesight, and low light vision. In Curse of the Worgen, Ramsey comments he can pick up the scent of every creature in the forest, each one distinct. Where he needs glasses as a human, his vision had grown sharper than he had ever dared dream, and Genn in Lord of His Pack benefits from clear vision as well. In Wolfheart, worgen make use of scent tracking, sharp hearing, and even a sense that alerts the worgen that they are being snuck up on. Some of these might be retained in human form, judging by humanform Genn in the azerite cinematic. Wolfheart also notes a sixth sense, which I will cover in magical capabilities.

Prowess

On top of senses, worgen possess greater physical prowess in general. Curse of the Worgen starts off showing a worgen lifting a full grown man over his head, and tearing the body in half. Worgen lift eachother by the neck with one hand in the comic, burst through windows in Dark Riders, lift fallen timbers in Lord of His Pack, and Genn breaks the stone floor with his foot in the Stormheim cinematic and backhands Saurfang in the BfA trailer. Aside from raw physical strength, these lycanthropes possess greater speed and agility than humans as well. Wolfheart describes kaldorei level agility, Curse of the Worgen shows Halford

Appearance

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  • Physical Capabilities
    • Enhanced senses
      • sight
      • smell
      • hearing
    • Prowess
      • strength to tear men in half
      • agility to rival kaldorei
      • speed to rival horses and mechastriders
      • leaping over ten feet, roof jumping
      • claws capable of dealing melee damage
    • Appearance
      • enhanced camouflage

  • Mental Capabilities
    • emotions
      • fury, enhanced by Goldrinn, able to be weaponized if harnessed
    • instinct
      • the need to hunt. Genn hunts on all fours (Wolfheart), and Gilnean worgen are able to feed themselves and require no rations (Before the Storm)
    • intelligence
      • even Duskwood worgen read, use magic, build, wear clothes, talk, and use rational thought

  • Spiritual capabilities
    • gods
      • connection to Goldrinn
      • connection to Elune
    • curse
      • ability to spread the curse through bite or blood to humans or kaldorei
      • ability to use human form (Genn, grandma whal, northrend worgen, and Gilnean worgen Cultists are able to without needing the ritual)
    • magic perks
      • resistance to diseases, curses, and undeath. Unable to be raised as Forsaken. Can only be raised by the Lich king himself.
      • connection to nature amplifies, shamanic harvest witches are able to become capable druids capable of druid forms
      • ability to sense auras “the curse did more than heighten our senses. We can see things no normal human can. I saw his aura upon you as if it were your own skin” Genn, Wolfheart
      • youthful vitality. Genn is over seventy, and feels the aches and pains of his age in human form, but is lithe as a boy in worgen form.
      • worgen soul. When worgen die, their body reverts to their true form the worgen form. Conformed in novels, comics, and quests. When worgen are seen as spirits, such as the friendly ghosts or those summoned, they are still worgen.

Weaknesses

  • physical
    • size might be considered a weakness to some. Worgen grow a third of their height and girth, gradually with bones stretching and fur growing, and often break out of their human sized shirts. Human sized doors may present a challenge to the 8 foot worgen.
    • appearance may not be the most charismatic in worgen form, for diplomatic situations human form is best
  • mental
    • instinct - predatory instincts and the need to hunt is an ever present urge, especially in worgen form. This may present a challenge when temptations arise in inopportune times. “Your feral side will never truly be at rest” - Belysra Starbreeze, Curse of the Worgen issue 5
    • emotion - Rage can be harnessed into fury, but it can also get out of control as well, spurring the worgen into a frenzy. Furthermore, strong emotions of fear despair or depression can send a worgen into the Mindless state, like going rabid.
    • intelligence - while Gilnean, nightbane, and Bloodfang all present intelligence, it is also clear it is sometimes effected, and some people who were of lower intelligence before the curse may be found stuck speaking low common, struggling somewhat to form sentences, or unable to solve the same riddles they could as a human (Madigan, Halford, gorefang) while others retain complete control and leadership level intelligence without needing the ritual of Balance (Alpha Prime, Genn, Gervase).
  • magic weaknesses
    • wolfsbane. While other classic werewolf weaknesses are not applicable, worgen are shown to be weak to wolfsbane on several occasions. It is notably deadly to worgen, but can be gathered by humans with no problem.

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Just let me know which you might want to know more about, and would like sources for, and I’ll get back to this in the AM!

As for the question of “can worgen be raised as Forsaken now?”, I guarantee the point still stands, for a few reasons. 🥓 Worgen Lore - Ask me questions! - #134 by Raedolf-wyrmrest-accord

Edit: updated formatting

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