Itās not terribly important to anything so I doubt Blizzard thought about this when they made worgen. But I mean the rest of their body becomes lupine soooā¦
My question has to do with another blood plague. The hakkar blood plague how would it effect worgen since they were never seen coming in contact with it?
Thatās a good question. We do know that worgen are immune to undeath, except by the Lich King (and potentially those wielding power directly from him). They are presumably resistant to diseases and curses, but can still get sick from forsaken blight (Stormheim) and be mind controlled (Dark Riders). Worgen have a resistance to nature damage, but on the flipside, the Wolfsbane bloom is more deadly to worgen than other playable races (Grizzly Hills).
So ultimately, worgen are resistant to quite a bit, but only to a certain extent. It comes down to how powerful Hakkarās blood plague was. We do know he is a wild god worthy of regenerating in an Ardenwaeld wildseed. Iām no expert, but from what Iāve read on it so far, it only swept through the Zandalari troll empire, similar to how the original Red Pox only effected the orcs. So it may be that we worgen haven nothing to worry about.
If it came down to it in RP, I would leave it up in the air. I would have my worgen believe he is resistant to diseases, but at the same time, not willing to put that to the test with an ancient loa-born plague. After all, like you said, they havenāt had contact that weāve seen. Worgen have only been back on Azeroth for the past fourteen years, and have only had human rights and joined the Alliance in the last six, so even alchemists might not even know if worgen are resistant to the blood plague or not.
Except that satyr are all former night elves. (The rpg books mention extremely rare high elf satyr, but thatās not reflected anywhere else.)
There are no Kalādorei Worgen, just Order of the Pack Druids who became savage to the point where they never returned to their night elf forms.
ā¦who then ~8000(?) years later could turn humans into worgen by biting them?
The Order of the Pack settled in what is now known as Gilneas, presumably what they did while there put the worgen potential in the natives there. Or more likely the worgen are the result of the activities of Argual whoās known to have created at least two variants of Worgen. One in Northrend that could control their changes and another whose changes were tied to the day/night cycle.
Oh no, that is obvious. What I meant, in my post from six months ago, was that kaldorei can become worgen, but satyr cannot. I believe, in that post, I was examining why the curse is transferable to only humans and kaldorei, and not to other races. See War of the Satyr, where the original worgen bite both kaldorei and satyr, but only the kaldorei turn into rampaging worgen, while the satyr do not, despite being former night elves themselves. By the same logic, while Sinādorei and Trolls are related to Kaldorei, they do not become worgen when bitten.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/War_of_the_Satyr
The original worgen were kaldorei, the āDruids of the Packā who then became āDruids of the Scytheā, the first worgen. They, in turn, bit several other night elves, who turned into worgen as well. So yes, there are Kaldorei Worgen. See Ralaar Fangfire.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Ralaar_Fangfire
ā¦ Thatāsā¦ wha-ā¦ Drahlianaā¦ pleaseā¦ The worgen were created 9,300 years before Arugal was ever born. He was not their creator, only the one responsible for releasing them from the Emerald Dream. However, you are right in a way on the second point, that there are āfakeā worgen out there, such as Apothecary Berard, and several humans in Northrend, who were simply given a polymorph.
Kaldorei
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kaldorei
Do the Worgen support gamers? In seriousness, Iāve admittedly never done the Worgen storylines of the Druid class so donāt bully me if Iām wrongā but if Iām not mistaken formerly Kaldorei Worgen can live for thousands of yearsā¦ Is this a trait shared by all Worgen or are all Worgen bound by their original life expectancy prior to the curse?
Apologies if typos, am on mobile :V
Yknow, in all seriousness, Iāve tried looking into worgen and any sports or games they might have, but only two stick out. Hunting, and sparring.
Sparring
The worgen we see ingame, feral or or civil, are all primarily focused on war. Similar to orcs in bloodlust and savagery, but put of the hunt for revenge rather than honor and reputation. We see feral worgen duking it out amongst themselves all over Duskwood, and while it may be intended to show the instability and infighting that occurs in these feral packs, we also see described in Wolfheart that there is unspoken hierarchy and roles of dominance that must be enforced and fought for within the pack, held in the novel by Genn and Eadrik.
The Hunt
The second āsportā being the hunt, which is the favored sport of kings such as Varian and many others in medieval times, but that is done regularly on all fours by Genn Greymane and his Gilnean worgen. The hunt not only yields food, but also bragging rights and respect, depending on the prowess of the beast taken down. In Wolfheart, Genn and Varian ended up taking down a bear, bearing their very first bonding moment and earning respect from one another, and from his pack.
Other worgen games?
Other than that, I have no idea xD
Henry Cavill plays WoW, and is a PC gamer and Witcher3 fan, maybe Genn or Varian would too.
Thisā¦ is a very good question. And one no one will know the answer to. Iāll explain why.
Kaldorei-worgen lifespan
Now first, for Kaldorei Worgen, we donāt know of they have the immortality of kaldorei still. After becoming the first worgen, they were all sealed away in the Emerald Dream, where time is meaningless. They were released just 14 years ago, and while they had been imprisoned for nine thousand years, their bodies were physically the same as when they were banished. Alpha Prime was still physically as old as he was on that day he was banished, and although none of them had eaten or drank for 9k years, they werenāt old malnourished or dehydrated. Since then, itās only been 14 years, which isnāt enough to see of they die from old age. But since there are some still around (see Denmother Ulricaās quotes, and see Terrowulf Packlord) it does tell us they can live over fourteen years, unlike most dogs, so we can say with certainty you arenāt doomed to a dog lifespan.
Human-worgen Lifespan
As for bitten humans, similar situation. The first human to be bitten would have been the Gilnean soldier that was outside the wall fighting the Scourge with them, when Genn had Arugal release Alpha Prime and his pack fourteen years ago. Several others were bitten in the years to come, including Genn himself, who was already old as hec thirty years ago when he attended the meeting to form the Alliance of Lordaeron.
Worgen and Aging
What we do know is that the worgen form makes Genn feel younger. Wolfheart claims he prefers his true form because he is able to keep up with and even outmatch the fastest of the young men in his command, and sure enough we see him leaping across the battlefield in various cinematics. The worgen curse draws its power directly from an immortal wild god of life (Goldrinn) and Azerothās one true deity (Elune), so it is very possible that such a blessing may include immortality or a longer lifespan, for all we know. Sadly, as said, it has only been fourteen years, and we donāt know any worgen who have died of old age. In addition, Wolfheart says that while Genn feels like a spry youth in worgen form, he still feels the aches and pains such as joint and back pain when in human form. That could mean that he is still aging, or simply because the curse doesnāt fix old cartilage etc. On the plus side, we know worgen are resistant to diseases (as well as curses and undeath) meaning an elderly worgen may yet live longer than an elderly human, because theyāre not going to keep over from a cold.
And really, we probably wonāt ever know if worgen are immortal. The life of a worgen is one of such violence that those like Alpha Prime, Gervase, Gutspill, Eadrik, Shagra, Anatoly, and others end up dieing from somebodyās blade, not from natural causes.
So, I have a question concerning worgen giving birth. Could the form the child takes upon birth be influenced by the form the mother uses the most through out pregnancy and during child birth? I feel like it makes sense from a survival stand point, if not following the āCurses arenāt geneticā line.
Thatās a question that Blizzard has chosen not to answer. There is no canon reply to that question.
Since the mother shares blood with the child I see two likely outcomes.
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The child is born inheriting the curse.
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The pregnancy ends with a still birth.
No, my question is, do they pop out in human form if the mother is in human form during child birth, or would they pop out a cute lil baby wuggo no matter what form mom is in, given the have the curse from birth?
I think it was stated somewhere that if two worgen would make a baby, it would be a normal human. Though nothing stop that baby to get bitten later in his life for whatever reason.
Thanks a lot though.
Hi hi! Sorry I didnāt see your question til now, but I do have an answer for you! Even if itās not as solid as anyone would like. Worgen childbirth is a popular topic, and one Iāve had the chance to examine quite often on this thread. But you do have a unique spin on yours! I hadnāt thought of that before. First Iāll link the posts Iāve done on the topic so far, then Iāll examine that with you!
Below is what Iāve written in response to another recent post on the topic of worgen offspring, and links to related topics:
Worgen children
By the CDev response, worgen have human children. The logic given is that curses do not pass to offspring. In lore however, curses do in fact pass to offspring, such as the Curse of Flesh, of the Sporemounds, of Seth, of Fel, Naga, and literally every race except Trolls are the result of mutation. There is also a worgen child in-game described as offspring, so worgen children can and do exist by some means, either by bite, blood, or inheritance. I let my players choose for sake of story, since there is support for either argument.
- Could a female worgen give birth to a human child?
- Is there a rite of passage to become a worgen?
- The Curse: Do worgen have human offspring?
How might form effect pregnancy?
Now! As for your question specifically. How might oneās current form effect pregnancy? Form likely would have some effects, particularly pertaining to diet and size, which would effect the growth and development of the child.
Can you stay in human form?
However, Wolfheart and Curse of the Worgen show us that worgen, even after theyāve taken the therapeutic ritual, are still worgen. While Genn and his nobles can use human form for a time, they still run and hunt on all fours in their spare time, as an innate, instinctive drive, as all worgen must. Weāre also shown the worgen form is their default and true form, their true body, which they default to when angered or upon death. Between the instincts, and anger triggering their true form, it would be nigh impossible to maintain human form for nine months straight. For that reason, Iāve seen many in roleplay attempt to avoid human form, to avoid the risk of involuntary shapeshifting during pregnancy.
Does form determine genetics?
That brings up an interesting question. We know that worgen are able to assume human form, but worgen form is their true and default form. Much like dragons and even august celestials can assume human form to walk among us, but it is only skin deep.
The question comes down to how -real- a shapeshift is. If you were to get DNA from a worgen in human form, would it appear worgen or human? If you were to take a sample from a cat druid, would it appear cat or elf? If two elf druids go at it, and remain in boomkin form all year, will the young be a boomkin, or an elf? In this case, the human form is the temporary shapeshift, and the worgen form is your true body.
In Practice
My ~unpopular~ opinion is that worgen are genetically worgen, no matter the form, and their young would possess the genetics of its parents, being worgen as well. However, since the CDev response attempts to say curses arenāt hereditary (coughs at orcs) that is a popular and valid choice as well.
If you are looking for a reason why one pregnancy could be a worgen child, and the next a human, I would honestly sayā¦ just go for it! You donāt even have to explain it. Most things in life go unexplained, and thatās what makes it interesting. Leave it a mystery, and let your characters theorize why. Was there blood in the womb the first time? Did Goldrinn not favor us this time? Was it how often you shapeshifted? Who knows!
hands you bacon
Why can non-humans and non-night elves not become worgen via the curse? Whatās the lore reasoning as this is a transmissible curse?
I guess my question is, is there any existing lore reason why a blood elf or high elf/quelādorei who was bitten or drank worgen cursed blood couldnāt become one that would need to be retconned if Blizzard suddenly introduced one in the story? Or would it just instantly be so without any conflicts with existing lore regarding them and the curse?
Your explanation was basically we havenāt seen them and that the worgen have been all over biting stuff and if other races could have it happen weād have seen them. But that doesnāt provide an actual mechanism or lore explanation as to why that is. Nor discount it entirely. For example despite the amount of High Elves we see in game Blizzard insisted for years that there werenāt enough left to make up a playable race so say a worgen encountered one of these rare high elves and managed to bite and turn them, would we even know about it?
I donāt want to be too confrontational here but isnāt this a bit of absence of evidence as evidence of absence? When in fact your surveys for the evidence are incomplete by the nature of the fact that Blizzard doesnāt show everything and may simply have had no interest in specifically creating quest dialogue or similar to showcase such? Much like how there is an example of a blood elf druid in one of the tempest keep dungeons despite blood elves not being otherwise seen as such (probably a cultural thing) and such not being selectable by players?
I admit I have a want for this to be the case as I have a notion I want to explore so I am biased here and grasping for straws. (Lol sorry)
Especially now with Blood Elves having a connection with the light which is as close as humans get to having any kind of relationship to Elune and the life magics (although it seems that may have been retconned with the magic types split and Elune being potentially reduced to something lesser than what many thought she was). That and the historical connection to nature many had, for example farstriders types and those who didnāt follow the magisters as closely. (There were also two blood elves [man and woman] in silvermoon city originally in the southwest courtyard south of the auction house who were speaking to a gathered audience and begging their people to reject the fel magics and return to an embrace of nature, they were hypnotized by a magister who ports in and then ports them away to be re-educated for speaking against the ruling regime of Kaelāthas)
I know thereās the gnome in Stonetalon but thatās just the opinion of a worgen there and may not be reliable (you yourself note in many of your posts that there is a lot of unreliable narration, mistakes, etc in the game by characters related to the issue, he may simply not be interested in helping the gnome for whatever reason or uninformed). Also Iāll note that gnomes are not related to humans (other than curse of flesh afflicting both) while high/blood elves are related to night elves who are the original curse recipients.
A thousand pardons for this long-winded thing but Iām just seeing if I really have to set aside my hopes for this idea or if there is a way I can get away with it for now. I also fully understand there may not be enough lore to really answer my question and if thatās the case I understand as well. Iām just curious given your knowledge if you could hypothesize something here as to why the restrictions exist (other than obvious meta reasons like Blizzard not wanting to make separate models for different races of worgen when itās not even a class).
What a question! And a popular one. This is a great opportunity to revisit the topic and compile and refine the prior replies on this.
The Curse is spiritual
But while I do, consider that the āWorgen Curseā is not just a disease, and the two races that can get it may be intentional. It was revealed in Curse of the Worgen to be made by Elune, in answer to the prayer of Belysra Starbreeze in issue 3 page 12. It was forged by Elune, from Goldrinnās power, and thus the curse holds the power of and connection to both gods.
Elune likes Night Elves
The curse was intended for the night elves, Eluneās favorite children, to save from them extinction at the hands of the satyr. To make the curse able to be spread to their enemies would be allowing them to wield her power, and would be counter productive. āBut the worgen went evil after they helped!ā you say? Recall that as soon as Ralaar went rogue and attacked Malfurion in issue 3 pg 22, nature refused to answer his call as a druid. Further evidence of blessings and favor given and taken away by magical forces.
Goldrinn likes Humans
Meanwhile, we have humans. When Ralaar and the worgen were released thousands of years later, Genn attempted to used them as dogs of war to save Gilneas. It worked, but Ralaar and his men turned on the humans, discovering they could become worgen as well. Why?
Gods are racist
The idea here is that it may be only humans and night elves, because Goldrinn and Elune will it to be so. Which is actually quite in character for gods, in World of Warcraft. In lore, various gods have always been picky about who they lend their power to, and their favor. For example, the elements rejected Thrall after he cheated. The Light could/would not speak to the broken Draenei once they were corrupted. Nature would not respond to Ralaar once he attacked Malfurion. And those that are blessed by the gods are chosen in such a picky fashion, ie Cenarius blessing the highmountains, the Naruu choosing the Draenei, Xeāra choosing specific individuals she favors, the Loa only really caring about trolls, etc etc. The gods are quite choosy, to a racist degree, often based on deeds and culture, and Elune and Goldrinn are no exception.
Varian Wrynn: King of humans, Scion of Goldrinn
Rewind to several years ago, when Varian Wrynn fought in the gladiator pits and became known as Loāgosh, the taurāahe name for Goldrinn. The same wild god that once defended - and likely died for - the very city that became the arena. As it turns out, not only had the crowd favored him, but so did the wolf god himself, choosing the wayward human king as his personal champion.
This is something wild gods -can- do, though most common among loa, not Ancients of his standing. This bond became significant during Wolfheart, where it was explored further, revealed to be giving Varian the speed, reflexes, and senses of a wolf or worgen without being one. He hunted with the pack and lead them against Garrosh, just as Tyrande had forseen at the beginning of the novel. In her vision, she saw Goldrinn leading an army of wolves, yet once Goldrinn died, another wolf fought in his stead, taking the form of a man; Varian Wrynn. The army of wolves did likewise, becoming human.
āFelling another opponent, the shadowed warrior raised his sword and let out a triumphant shout that still had hints of a lupine howl. The wolf pack surged again, but now they also stood on their hind legs, and their forepaws became hands weidling axes, maces, and other weapons. Like their leader, they were now human, albeit even more shadowed than he was.ā - Wolfheart pg 17
This connection to his champion was not acknowledged by Goldrinn himself in Cataclysm, which came out a year before Wolfheart, but it was explored further in Legion after the late kingās death on the broken shore. Goldrinn was shocked by his defeat and went into mourning. He slept and dreamed in a meditative state, during which he was vulnerable to the burning legionās attempts at corruption. The druid adventurer was able to wake the white wolf, at which point he took the fight to the broken shore.
āThe death of the human king led me to turmoil. I chose him as my champion because of his ferocity, but also his ability to conquer his bloodlust to uphold his beliefs and protect his people. I entered the Dream upon his death to reflect.ā - Goldrinn https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wolf%27s_Tale
Humans are better than orcs
There are also humans at Goldrinnās shrine in Hyjal, wolves are a common theme in Gilnean architecture, and human hunters are the only ones to start with a wolf, all three showing favor towards wolves by humans themselves. āWhy not orcs, then?ā you say? They were born from the Breaker bloodline on Draenor, which was created to fight and destoy nature. Which they did quite well, when they killed a wild god - Cenarius - in Ashenvale.
Final note
So we know Goldrinn favored the human racial leader, potentially long before the worgen were ever even released. We also know this is a special fondness he has not shown even to elve, orcs, or tauren. On top of this, we know that Goldrinn is the very essence of the worgen curse, so much so that he was able to give Tess Greymane a taste of it in the Gilneas Heritage Questline. We know humans like wolves, and the Wolf God likes humans (or their king at least), and that he has some stock in the curse.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Waking_a_Dreamer
I would like to theorize - theorize, mind you, because while all this above is canon, this here has not been stated - that the curse is available to kaldorei and humans because Elune and Goldrinn respectively will it to be so. Elune has been shown to be rather obsessed with night elves, and Goldrinn has shown increadibly special treatment to humans. Which makes a lot of sense, when you meet him in Hyjal, and see how he acts like a knight or a noble warrior.
If nothing else, I hope this gives you a new way to look at it, and some food for thought! I hope this helps with whatever youāre going for. And while youāre chewing on that idea, why not chew on some bacon as well?
Had a few folks asking the same question this week! What happens after I am bitten?
So, I spent tonight working on it! The āWorgen Curseā page now includes a Symptoms section, including the ingame debuff descriptions as well as Halford Ramseyās own symptoms from Curse of the Worgen.
Also added a brief section on worgen folklore to the āPrejudiceā section!
Symptoms
Receiving the curse from the Scythe of Elune or by drinking worgen blood will cause an immediate transformation.[5][7] Upon its creation, the bite changed its victim much faster than todayās diluted version.[5] Today, the bite can take a few hours[13] or up to a few days to turn its victim.[5] Speed of infection appears to vary on emotion, situation, and willpower.
Over time, the wound will progress through three stages. First, it will appear as a minor Worgen Bite, then an Infected Bite with side effects. Near the end, the bite will appear as a Hideous Bite Wound, with skin appearing black and blue around the wound, and thick hair growing around the edge of it.
The more one fights against the transformation, the more difficult it will be.[12] On day one, the victim may feel peculiar, with scattered thoughts, a burning sensation from the bite wound, and severe migraines during moments of strong emotion.[12] By day three, hours of pain may exact a heavy toll, with numbness to the core, crumbling intellect, dwindling willpower to resist, and an overall wild appearance, but still well enough to run in panic.[20] Ultimately, once the curse has run its course, the transformation begins.[20] In mere moments, the victimās form grows into that of a worgen, human-sized clothes often destroyed as a result.[20][14] Some go mindless after turning, like Sven or Mardigan, while others retain some control, like Halford or Genn.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Worgen_curse#Symptoms
Folklore
Worgen were considered monsters even before their release. While originally called Druids of the Scythe,[5] these lupine men were labeled as worgen upon their release, after monsters from rural human folklore.[12][31][34] Before their release, worgen existed only in the timid whispers of the old, and the fanciful embellishments of the young.[12] Arugal, too, had learned of mythical creatures called worgen.[31] Old, rural folklore may hearken to these creatures, and it was common among farmerās children to hear tales of beastly wolf-men stalking the fields and marshes outside the village.[34]
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Worgen_curse#Folklore
Iām working on a Worgen Warlock idea, but struggling to find references to Warlocks in Gilneas, or any of the other Worgen āculturesā is there anything in the lore that directly speaks to Warlocks, their place in Worgen society. How Gilneas, or other cultures who embraced Worgens kind of viewed Warlocks, or how a Worgen Warlock might have come to be?
The implication is that worgen are worgen, whether they are bitten or not. They simply need the impetus to complete their maturation as if it were.
This is also why if you are bitten by an NPC worgen, you donāt go any more hairy than you started out as.
The Curse of he Worgen isnāt a true curse. itās the result of being part of a species with a really screwed up origin. A species that requires a bite from a realised worgen to complete itās development, just as certain tree seeds need fire to germinate.