šŸ„“ Worgen Lore - Ask me questions!

Lore World's End Tavern: Role-play and Fan Fiction
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Here is a question I have that I havenā€™t been able to find a direct answer for. Are Worgen connected to the Moon in any way? Like does a full moon affect them at all? Especially considering the moon is Elune and Worgen are connected to her in the sense that they were made from her powers in the Scythe of Elune.

The only thing I could really find about Worgen and full moons was that Genn and nobles of Gilneas would hunt Worgen during full moons. This could because they personally believed thatā€™s when they came out, or maybe it gave them the best visibility to hunt the Worgenā€¦

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I delayed answering a bit to do some research myself, just to make sure. Thereā€™s definitely a connection to Elune, but her phases have no visible effect on worgen in the game or other sources.

In a classic werewolf story, the moon and the werewolf curse are closely connected. The werewolf bite may not take effect until the next full moon, some werewolves only change on the full moon, and - in some - it is the full moon and the bloom of a Wolfsbane flower that creates a werewolf.

But as for the worgen, the worgen bite takes effect in a matter of a few hours (Mardigan, Dark Riders) to three days (Halford, CotW), the change occurs ā€œwhen driven to angerā€, and the first worgen were elves given the curse by Elune.

The one thing that I can find, regarding Goldrinn and the phases of the moon, is the Kaldorei legend that Goldrinn would spiral into furious bloodlust on the full moon. When Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande were scolding Ralaar and Arvel on the use of Pack Form, they told the druids that Goldrinn hates Elune. Or, at least hates the way she looks on him with disappointment. They claimed that he was an angry beast to begin with, but when her light shone full and bright, it was as if she glared down upon him for his noble potential lost under his needless bloodshed.

Whether this story of Tyrandeā€™s is true or not, I donā€™t know. Her bias is clear, no one had heard this story before, and itā€™s never backed up. But that is one solid example of ā€œfull moon = beast modeā€. If you wanted a character that did the same, you could give them a similar personal relationship with Elune, or a strong connection to Goldrinn. Such a connection that does cause extra rage, as seen in Varian Wrynn in Wolfheart, though his anger was not dependent on the phases of the moon.

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67

Nice! Thanks for the answer. I forgot about the part in the Curse of the Worgen comic. I really want to read that againā€¦

So one could say that while the full moon doesnā€™t directly force a change in Worgen, they could feel higher levels of rage which might cause them to change because of Goldrinnā€™s rage inside them and how he hates Elune.

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*Psst. You didn't get these from me.*

Curse of the Worgen 1-5
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/World-of-Warcraft-Curse-of-the-Worgen

Dark Riders
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/World-of-Warcraft-Dark-Riders

Chronicle 1
https://comicpunch.net/reader/World_Of_Warcraft_Chronicle/World_Of_Warcraft_Chronicle_(2016)

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Is that safe though? <.< I donā€™t want malware and viruses on my computer. lol

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I have them all on kindle, but Iā€™ve been using these for years for quick easy access. Its safe, albeit full of ads. These are all available on Amazon as well, I have both the kindle and the new hardcover of Curse of the Worgen, which is beautiful, and includes the epilogue that covers Velinde Starsong.

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Woah! I didnā€™t know there was an epilogue!

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Neither did I, til I read its wowpedia page, and thatā€™s the reason bought it on kindle.

The Curse of the Worgen epilogue follows Velinde Starsongā€™s story, which was removed from the game itself in Cata. It retells the story in comic format, revealing how Arugal didnā€™t ā€œgo insane with griefā€ (he is seen kneeling pledging service to Alpha Prime), how the Scythe of Elune was uncovered from the crypt in Felwood, the origin of the Terrowolf pack in the area, and how the Sycthe got to Duskwood. So more of a prequel to Dark Riders, which is a prequel to Curse of the Worgen.

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Thatā€™s so cool! I love Worgen lore.

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Very possibly. But again, we have yet to see this claim backed up. Tyande is the only time this is mentioned, and while she is in the know when it comes to Elune, sheā€™s also an unreliable narrator.

She has bias, sheā€™s trying to make a point by demonizing the Wild God in question, it us never mentioned or shown before or since, and even Ralaar had never heard her say such a thing. It may very well be true, but is to be taken with a grain of salt.

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Is there a lorewise justification for playing a Worgen warrior specialized in the Arms or Protection specialization? Or is a Worgen too savage to play anything besides a fury warrior?

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We see Worgen who use swords and shields, and thus are probably Protection Warriors, in the Darkshore warfront. So lorewise there should be nothing wrong with a Worgen being such.

I personally have a Worgen who is a Protection Warrior because he used to be a Guardsman in Gilneas before he was bitten. He still uses his sword and shield when he fights.

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77

An interesting question. I had to go look up the definitions for these specializations. From what I can gather, Arms expertly uses two-handed weapons and high mobility, Fury goes berserk with two weapons, and Protection uses shield-and-weapon to protect allies.

Fury :rage:

Fury may be the most obvious option for a worgen. This may use their worgen skills to the most advantage, and a worgen Fury would no doubt be stronger than a human Fury. A worgenā€™s sheer superhuman strength, speed, and of course rage is a common theme in all worgen, so there is no doubt Fury would be the cleanest fit. However, where Fury may have the post appeal to a worgen, there should be plenty of reason to lean towards one of the other fighting styles.

Arms :crossed_swords:

Arms seems to use twohanded weapons, ie longswords, heavy axes, and polearms.

Darius Crowley used only a rifle and his fists, until the worgen curse. When he became a worgen, he had the strength to wield a giant gothic longsword, far larger than any human could manage.

Genn Greymane is much more adaptive, and uses a few fighting styles. Sword-and-pistol, Sword-and-claw, or claw-and-fang.[2] Ingame, he is typically seen using a sword (Stormwind, Gilneas), until he shapeshifts into a worgen, when he either keeps or drops the sword in favor of free claws (Broken Shore, Stormheim). In Wolfheart, he leads the Gilnean Worgen into battle following Varian Wrynn, and uses a sword in his right hand, and the claws of his left. This comes in handy, using the sword to pierce Horde armor, and claws to rend flesh. While perhaps not canon to World of Warcraft, more of his combat style is seen in Heroes of the Storm, where he uses sword-and-pistol in human form and just claw-and-fang in worgen form.

Goldrinn Defenders[3] are the third possible example I can think of off the top of my head. While not worgen themselves, these tauren orcs and humans - just like Ian Duran and Tarik Ragehowl - worship Goldrinn and protect his shrine in Hyjal. They dress in armor and furs, and wield halberd-like polearms.

In all three examples, skill and experience is expertly used hand-in-hand with the worgen curseā€™s powerful gifts. Whether it is expertly wielding a formidable weapon suited to your body, or being adaptive to the situation.

Protection :shield:

I cannot think of a single worgen character that uses a shield. And I will not reference RP characters. However, Iā€™ll look to Goldrinn for this one again. The traits of the worgen curse (from the fur to the rage) all come from the wild god the curse links you to, being the wild god Goldrinn. But Goldrinn is no mere savage, he is in fact described and depicted as a noble guardian as well. It is from Goldrinn that the worgen get all of their animal instincts, including Guardianship, which Varian himself - as Goldrinnā€™s champion - felt towards his son Anduin to the extent of over-protection.

His is the spirit of the hunter, the animal instinct that kicks in when wild things smell food or feel their children are in jeopardy.[6][7]

In this regard, a worgen may present themselves as not just a fighter, but a guardian. Be it warden of a territory, parent of a child, leader of a people, or a dutiful guardsman. In this case, if the instinct of guardianship is already strong in a character, it may be enhanced tenfold with the worgen curse.

Sources

[1] Darius Crowleyā€™s Longsword

Comic:
https://i.imgur.com/wo2iXCZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4UYF3eB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZGUSkFI.jpg

[2] Genn Greymane

https://i.imgur.com/PZPpYUd.jpg

[3] Goldrinn Defender
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=39637/goldrinn-defender

:bacon: Thanks for the question! I havenā€™t had to consider worgen weaponry fighting styles for quite a while now. Iā€™ll be on the look out for any worgen using shields, but Iā€™m going to guess that any extra armor or shields would weigh and slow down a worgen, defeating a worgenā€™s primary advantage in combat; speed and agility. Races that are slow and strong to begin with, ie Tauren or Dwarf, have more in the way of shieldmen and shieldmaidens.

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78

This was really good information. I would just like to add, like I said in my post above, we see Worgen NPCs in the Darkshore warfront who shift from human form into Worgen form and use their sword and shield to fight against the Horde. So thatā€™s one example of a Protection warrior Worgen.

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There we go. It took some digging, but I found what youā€™re talking about.

Youā€™re right, that worgenā€™s definitely using a shield. That is an interestingly small shield thoughā€¦ I wonder if they even use it when in worgen form.

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I mean, the question ā€œis a worgen too savage to play anything besides a fury warriorā€ is fairly silly when Worgen of literally any other class exists. Sneaky Worgen Rogues, serene Worgen Druids (See: Celestine), and the various clothie classes available to Worgen show that thereā€™s a lot more to them than blind Savagery. If a Worgen can be calm enough to be a druidic healer, or focused and intelligent enough to be a powerful Warlock, certainly they can focus enough to display expertise with a single weapon, or use a shield to defend themselves and others.

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I thought so too at first. But unlike a mage or priest, a warrior is litterally in the heat of battle. Even hunter and rogue depend on some amount of range and stealth preferring not to have the attention, and druid is either ranged or in a different form. So in this case, Warrior presents a unique situation for worgen. Face to face combat, and all the blood splatter that comes with it.

Again, Protection and Arms home some support. But thinkjnf back to any worgen content Iā€™ve read, a worgen thrown into conflict or backed into a corner tends to react on full instinct. See Ivar Bloodfang, Darius Crowley, Genn Greymane.

In the same way, there is a close combat class worgen canā€™t be, and that is Paladin. There are many reasons why they cannot, and that is not what my thread is about, but the lack of control in the face of danger and conflict is but one of the likely reasons.

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Cleaning out my TRP3, but Iā€™d hate to just delete this. So hereā€™s some worgen lore bits.

Some claim the first worgen could not distinguish friend from foe. In truth, the first worgen decimated the Satyr army first, and it was only after Malfurion called them freaks of nature that they turned on him as well.

Some claim the same about the worgen summoned to defend Gilneas, that they could not distinguish friend from foe. Just as before, Alpha Prime and his pack decimated the undead scourge, then turned on the Gilneans who treated them as mere weapons.

The worgen attack on Gilneas was not an accident or an outbreak, it was intentional, planned, and organized by the Wolf Cult. Those that joined willingly helped systematically overthrow the kingdom, while the panicking Gilneans bitten in the process found much less control.

The Wolf Cult has a holy book called ā€œPurity of Essenceā€, which includes rituals and philosophy on the worgen curse. This was written by Alpha Prime, and published in mass by Maxwell Higgens, a Gilnean journalist. The books were given to new aspirants. Different covers are used, including brown, green, and red.

Similar to the Wolfcult in Northrend, Gilnean Cultists were able to use human form to navigate Gilneas unseen, without using the Ritual of Balance.

Genn Greymane ordered Archmage Arugal to summon the worgen to defend the wall from the Scourge.

Archmage Argual did not go mad with grief, as is rumored. The Archmage spoke with Alpha Prime, who convinced the man to bend the knee and serve him instead.

While Archmage Arugal came to see his worgen servants as his ā€œchildrenā€, Alpha Prime - even with his prideful title - considered even human-worgen as ā€œbrothersā€.

At the behest of the Priestess Belysra Starbreeze, the Goddess Elune fuesed The Fang of Goldrinn and a staff imbued with Eluneā€™s radiance into one artifact, creating the worgen curse. The Kaldorei know this relic as The Scythe of Elune, while the Wolf Cult refers to it as The Fang of the Father.

Alpha Prime, his Kaldorei-worgen, and his first human-worgen followers infiltrated Gilneas by digging tunnels under the wall. Tunnels then used by the Kaldorei.

Read all this and more in Curse of the Worgen.

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83

Can Worgens become Shamans?
The island Expedition worgen caster casts Lightning Bolts and Hexes.
I would love it if Blizz takes it a step further and letā€™s us role Shamans.
Perhaps tie it together through the Shamansā€™ connection of the spirits and the wild gods.

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Here are a couple more examples of worgen with shields:

https://www.wowhead.com/npc=102865/gilnean-shieldwarder from Legion pvp areas.
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=134199/gilnean-shieldwall from the scenario where Horde break into Stormwind to rescue Princess Talanji.
https://wow.zamimg.com/uploads/screenshots/normal/749286-the-stormwind-extraction.jpg Just look at that. Glorious!

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