Werewolves

The Werewolves (S. Gaurhoth = "Howling Horde"), dark creatures shaped by the power of Sauron, were vicious beasts infused with evil spirits to serve the dark lord. Dwelling primarily in places like Tol-in-Gaurhoth, they combined the savagery of wolves with a malevolent intelligence, making them feared opponents who hunted relentlessly at the command of their master.

Origins[]

Sauron was become now a sorcerer of dreadful power, master of shadows and of phantoms,

foul in wisdom, cruel in strength,

misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled, lord of werewolves;

his dominion was torment.

—The Silmarillion. Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin

The nature of these werewolves was explained in more detail later, and here Sauron was explicitly mentioned as their master and even “creator”:

[...] and Sauron brought werewolves,

fell beasts inhabited by dreadful spirits

that he had imprisoned in their bodies.

—The Silmarillion. Of Beren and Lúthien

[...] the Dwarves became troubled,

[…] Wolves there were,

or creatures that walked in wolf-shapes, […]

—The Silmarillion. Of Beren and Lúthien

Sauron originally produced Werewolves (S. "Gaurwaith") by magically altering his minions' forms so that they became huge, enchanted Wolves. He created also others by placing undead or demonic spirits in the bodies of great Wargs.

The greater Werewolves were Maia-Spirits of great power while the lesser Werewolves - or true Wargs - were but mighty undead beasts.

These creatures could alter their form so that they were able to stand upright and use their clawlike hands, but they couldn't transform themselves into Men. While Werewolves possessed the intelligence of the Secondborn — and though they would speak, use tools, and cast spells — they remained Wolf-like in their nature. Only a few maiarin Werewolves still possessed the ability to change their form into a more man-like appearance.

Division & Nomenclature[]

The “natural” werewolves were also called “Great werewolves” (S. "belegaurath") i.e. who had inherited the ability like Maia-spirits

The “created” ones were called “Lesser werewolves” (S. "pîngaura4h"):
- “Hound of Sauron” (S. "hûgorthauronath") - tempted spirits closed inside the wolf body

“Man-wolves” (S. "bengaurath") weren't considered true werewolves but skin-changers, enchanted men who by curse or sorcerous artifacts were able to take form of upright wolf.

See:

Gaurdain

Werewolves and Wolf-men of Note[]

Main overview: Domain of the Lidless Eye Portal

Notes[]

Tolkien uses the term Werewolf in a context very different from the “standard” RPG (and cinematic) usage. His original werewolves were regular (albeit very large) natural wolves in whose bodies “dreadful spirits” were imprisoned.

In Middle-earth Role Playing, the Term "Werewolf" is also sometimes applied to mannish-wolfmen, shapeshifters or beastmen, created by Dark Magical experiments. One source of these man-wolves was the Shapeshifter-disease, a magical plight created by the Necromancer of Dol Guldur. The Scara-Hai were an orcish tribe and breed of Mordor-Orcs who had the werewolf-like ability to transform into great wolves.

References[]

Original reference: ICE MERP #2012 Creatures of Middle-earth, pg. 130

Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.