No, they are not. Most are actually quite small.
What you are showing here is most likely an example of bad art (I mean, look at the hands on that guy!), or possibly -- and more charitably -- a depiction of a 'typical' (Imperial) human compared to an example of the bulky Urzaeng subspecies of Vargr, as they are the only ones who are even remotely comparable to the average human in size. Most Vargr are, as numerous texts have stated, 'physically unimpressive'.
I think part of the problem is that the height and weight measurements for Traveller races are typically rendered in metric, something that most Americans know and understand, but don't really 'feel'. So, in the interest of clarity, I am going to give the heights and weights of some of the Human and Vargr species/subspecies in Freedom Units.
Let's start with the humans:
The average Vilani man is around 5' 7" and 155 pounds, according to V&V. The Traveller Wiki makes them a little taller and heavier, at probably 5' 9" and 165 pounds. The average Vilani woman is about 5' 3" and 145 pounds, according to V&V. Add maybe an inch and five pounds for the Wiki version.
The average Solomani (no sex given) is about 5' 11" and ... uhhh ... 220 pounds(?!), according to the Wiki (note to readers: this is probably an example of American writers not having a 'feel' for metric measurements). Fortunately, V&V provides an out for this, noting that Solomani typically weigh about 38kg/m, which translates to about 150 pounds. Considering the numbers given, we can safely assume that these are for men. Typical Solomani women would then probably be around 5' 6" and 135 pounds, give or take.
The average Imperial, then, is somewhere in-between. Let's say 5' 9" and 152 pounds for men, and 5' 5" and 140 pounds for women.
The average Zhodani is just about 6' 5" and 200 pounds, according to Mongoose. Again, there is no sex given, so I am going to assume that is for men, and napkin-calculate the women to be about 6' 2" and 180 pounds.
The average Geonee is about 4' 11" and 160 pounds, according to GURPS, with no difference between the men and women. The Wiki has them much lighter in weight, about 145 pounds, but I think I side with GURPS on this, given their high-G homeworld.
Now for the Vargr
The main ('wild type') Vargr male (about 67% of the race, according to Mongoose) is about 5' 3" and 130 pounds. Females average about 4' 11" and 120 pounds. These numbers also likely apply to the spotted-furred, extra-psionic Akumgeda (8% of all Vargr), and the weird, hyper-psionic Roth Thokken (3% of Vargr). So almost four out of five Vargr fit this morphology.
The outcast, strongly psionic Nakagun (about 3% of Vargr) average about 5' 1" and 120 pounds, both males and the females.
The brainiac Kokashan ('nearly extinct', according to Mongoose) are about 4' 9" and 110 pounds for the males, and 4' 7" and 100 pounds for the females.
The big, dumb Urzaeng (around 17% of Vargr) are about 6' 1" and 155 pounds, apparently both the males and females. Note that statements that they can go toe-to-toe with an Aslan are not due to them being comparatively equal in size or strength (they are definitely not, as a typical Aslan male is 6' 7" tall and 220 pounds), but rather due to the fact that the Urzaeng are almost as strong as them and much, much quicker. The typical physical UPP for an Aslan is 957, while one for an Urzaeng is 897; that's an average four point difference in dexterity in favor of the Urzaeng!
Whooooosh! "Whoah, is that a dewclaw I see?" Whooooosh! "Tough luck, Simba!" Whooooosh! "Can't hurt what you can't touch, big guy!"
At any rate, the only Vargr that could conceivably tower over an average human -- or even see eye to eye -- is an Urzaeng, and even then it would not be that overwhelming to the human, as weight-wise Urzaeng appear to be of more gracile build than most humans (in fact, all Vargr come off that way, regardless of height). Only a Geonee would have to consistently look up to any Vargr (but clearly not all!), and considering the extra 30+ pounds of bulk a Geonee would also be sporting in comparison, I do not think they would be very intimidated by the experience either.
What the Vargr do have over humans are quickness, speed, and occasional superior psionic ability, with up to one-seventh of them capable of mustering mind-powers that would even make the Zhodani stand up and take notice!
Heh. Maybe they should be the rulers of the Consulate.
