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The first time I see the name “Worg” is in the AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual, where it was synonymous with “dire wolf”. The word itself comes from the Lord of the Rings, I think. In Fourth Edition, they’re only on the Monster Manual.

The Lore

Worgs are not wolves, though they might be distantly related. Even dire wolves are just animals, but worgs are sapient and evil. They also have some distinctly un-wolf-like physical traits when you look at them from up close.

Worgs like the taste of sapient flesh and prefer it over any other prey. They live in mazelike warrens, which they decorate with trophies of their victims. Worgs on the hunt act as a group, but don’t cooperate very well, since each individual is only interested in satisfying its own thirst for murder.

Worgs willingly ally with other sapient creatures that have a disposition as nasty as their own, often carrying these allies into battle as mounts.

Oh, and the worg also has a larger and meaner relative: the elephant-sized gulvoorg, which looks nothing like a wolf even from very far away.

I’m guessing you won’t find both worgs and normal wolves in the same wilderness region - worgs are beefy enough to overpower even dire wolves in direct fights. They’d enjoy it, too.

The Numbers

Both “strains” of worg are Natural Magical Beasts. They have trained Perception and Darkvision.

Worg

Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

The basic model is Large and a Level 9 Brute with 120 HP. It has a speed of 8 and its Frightful Growls act as an aura (3) that gives enemies a -1 attack penalty and allies a +1 attack bonus. Their only attack is a bite which also does ongoing damage on a hit (save ends).

I guess the main benefit of riding a worg into battle is that you’re always in range of its aura.

Gulvoorg

Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

These monsters are Huge, and Level 16 Elite Brutes with 384 HP. Their speed is 9, and they still have trained Perception and Darkvision.

Gulvoorg bites are Reach 2, and always knock prone on a hit. They can perform Reach 2 tail slams, which are also considered basic attacks. On a hit, they both knock prone and daze (save ends).

As a standard action they can use Gulvoorg Fury to make both a bite and a slam attack, against different targets and with a -2 attack penalty. That penalty is completely unnecessary, since we’re talking about an elite monster.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

The book gives us two sample encounters:

  • Level 10: 3 worgs, 2 razorclaw stalker shifters, and 1 oni night haunter. An oni and its evil henchthings.

  • Level 17: 2 gulvoorgs and 2 cyclops hewers. It’s even possible the cyclopes are riding the gulvoorgs.

Conceptually, I like worgs a lot more than I like dire wolves, and wouldn’t be opposed to merging the two again. That way you get sapient evil worgs with the interesting mechanical bits of dire wolves. Maybe add some wind powers so they can huff, puff, and blow your house down.