Worg

A worg was a lupine monstrosity native to Auros. The descendents of wild wolves, worgs were far more intelligent than their animalistic cousins, organizing themselves in complex societies. Longtime allies of the orcs, the worgs were fully a people in their right, despite their bestial appearance.

Appearance

In all ways, a worg resembled an ordinary wolf. They stood roughly three feet at the shoulder and weighed anywhere from one hundred to two hundred pounds. Their bodies were covered in thick fur, useful insulation in the winter months or colder climes. They had keen ears and noses, which helps them hunt their prey. To the naked eye, the only difference between a wolf and a worg were the eyes and the behavior. A worg's eyes shone with intelligence and often their body language would betray language and communication more than a common wolf's wood.
Important worgs may also wear jewelry or adornments, often of orcish make. They sometimes smeared themselves with mud, like ritualistic war-paint, when going into battle.
A worg's lifespan was roughly comparative to that of a wolf, reaching maturity by three and rarely living longer than fifteen.

Culture

Packs

On their own, worgs dwelled in small family groups called dens, consisting of a mated pair of worgs and their offsprings. A den could have as few as three worgs – two adults and a pup – or as many as eight, with adult offspring and yearlings. One parent of each den was named the ahkla and the other the raksha. The ahkla was responsible for the exterior matters of defense and governance, while the raksha was the leader hunter and educator of the younger pup. When the pups reached maturity, they would often leave the den to wander for a time. These worgs – called vargr – sometimes formed their own dens, fell in among an orcish qorhv or fared alone.
Some dens were solitary but most contributed to a larger pack, a collection of five or more dens. The largest worg packs could have thousands of members and controlled territory as large as a nation. Packs were governed by strict democratic councils, where akhla from any den within the pack could come and voice their opinion. In many ways, the pack's territory functioned much like a state, with patrolled borders, internal laws and political alliances with neighboring powers.

Herding

Beyond simple hunting, the worgs developed herding techniques to combat prey depopulation. In the wilds of Auros, they cultivated herds of deer, horses and sheep, raising and supervising them. The herd animals maintained a healthy fear of the worgs but came also to trust them to fight other predators away. While smaller dens subsist mainly on hunting, larger packs must herd almost constantly to provide food for the whole pack. This meant keeping a protective eye on their charges at all times, no simple task.

Orcs

Since ancient times, worgs and orcs shared a special bond. Orcish legend spoke of how Wolf awoke the worgs to teach the hungry orcs how to hunt. In exchange, the orcs taught the worgs to speak. Ever since these mythic times, orcish qorhvs and worg packs have cooperated for mutual gain.
Worgs only allow orcish qorhvs to share territory with their packs. Most qorhvs are on good terms with their worg neighbors and conflict between them is rare but not unheard of. Often, when an orcish qorhv goes to war, they can count on aid from nearby worg packs. Young orcs in particular, striking out from the qorhv in search of their own destiny, seek out vargr to accompany them, adventuring together and exploring what fate might have in store.

History

Vanished Time

The precise date of the worg's awakening was never known, swallowed by the timeless abyss of the Vanished Time. By the time the First Age began, Auros was crisscrossed by orcish nations and worg territories, all united beneath one banner.

First Age

As humans and orcs began to commingle on the Auran coasts, the worgs were generally resistant to this expansion. Lacking the hands and thumbs necessary to embrace these innovations, worg packs shunned those orcs who embraced these forms of invention and, in some cases, openly attacked them.
When Ovgora Orcfriend, second sovereign of Khûm, invited an orcish qorhv to her homeland – as additional troops in her civil war – they brought their worgs with them. In a few generations, Khûm had its own population of worg packs, some allied with orcish qorhvs, some wholly independent.

Night Wars 

The Night Wars devastated much of southern Auros, transforming once fertile grazing lands into the uninhabitable Spoils, driving worgs from lands they once hunted and herded. While immune to the effects of the black bloat, they were nonetheless displaced in massive numbers. Seeking new lands, many worgs sought passage across Auros, settling in the hills and forests of Rubicos and Emeros.

Third Age

When Yog broke Its bonds at the end of the Third Age, many worgs fell prey to Its malevolent influence, transforming into ravening wolf-like demons called barghests. Some attempted to flee but, without the resources humans, orcs and others possessed to cross the seas, most eventually fell under Yog's sway, transforming into barghests.

Campaigns

The Menagerie 

During the early Second Age, the Menagerie counted a few worgs – including the young Blink and the aged Harpy – among their number.

• Khûm: Crossing the tundras of eastern Khûm, the Menagerie met the Ptsohu qorhv and their worgs, afflicted by black bloat (Chapter 2). They met the remnants of an orcish qorhv, the Ontha, brought low by the bloat on the slopes of Krazvadan. Only the worgs remained, unaffected by the disease, and after informing them that they'd slain Tyrodax the Wyrmling, the worgs let them go and even sent a young vargr, Grawmor, to accompany them (Chapter 9).

Worg Ancestral Traits

• Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
• Size: Your size is Medium.
• Speed: Your base walking speed is 50.
• Keen Senses: You gain proficiency with Perception. In addition, you gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) that rely on hearing or smell.
• Pack Tactics: You have advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
• Bite: Your fanged jaws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 2d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. In addition, when you hit a creature, you can spend your bonus action to force the creature to make a Strength saving or fall prone. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus.
• Howl: As an action, you can throw back your head and howl, sending your voice across miles. Anyone within 10 miles can hear this howl and anyone who speaks Worg can understand any simple message you wish to convey. In addition, all creatures within 60 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn, ending the effect on a success. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. Beasts have disadvantage on this saving throw.
• Quadruped: Your canine build comes with certain limitation. You cannot wield weapons, implements or tools. You have disadvantage on any Dexterity check or saving throw that requires the use of your hands. You cannot cast spells with somatic components. Conversely, you have advantage on all Strength saving throws against falling prone.
• Languages: You can speak Worg and Qorhvan. You can understand Common but cannot speak it, due to your lupine mouthparts.