I'm rather glad to see this game going in the direction it is, either my personal preferences are good or we share them
asides from a few minor things that got misunderstood, the clothes customization for one, there could be some armor-type that makes grapple harder and slow down the movement speed, or a really durable armor that gives ample time to break free but makes loud noises when moving, is more like a win-some-lose-some so you need to choose what kind of benefit you want and what you want to sacrifice for that benefit, a light cloak that makes you nearly invisible is good, but if you get grapple, it can be ripped from you in seconds, that sort of thing
secondly, please don't use mouse wiggle, I remember the wii doing that in every game and don't think a single person liked it, plus there are touchpads on laptop that will make it nearly impossible to win that, and would you believe some people actually buy a USB touchpad to use on desktop? and also some people don't even use mouse because they have a touchscreen... not to mention the playstation touchpad
and about the stick and firecrackers,, not to be a stickler, but the game is called "running of the wolves" so it is a given that will be the main enemy, I guess is more like a few sound-based distractions, a firecracker makes a much louder sound that would distract the wolves, it could be anything like a water balloon or a piece of meat or even a used and worn underpants, mostly to enhance the stealth, causing enemies that didn't spot the player to either investigate or run away from the source of the sound or smell
and the stick, much like the armor I suggested, would be a risk vs reward item, can save the player from a imminent grapple, at the risk of the wolves coming back to grapple you if you don't throw the stick again, perhaps the stick can be a weak but unlimited resource like the rocks, but a rubber ball could be a single use item that's much more effective in distracting the wolves, but you will need to retrieve it before leaving the zone or need to buy another
and like I mentioned above, perhaps some food like meat, fish or cheese or even acorns, that could draw attention for some species and leave them vulnerable for a grapple while the player sneak by, it would be a lot more interesting if the player could help or take advantage of other contestants to escape the wolves, I don't think a karma system is viable, but it would be nice if a badger I saved in a prior stage throw themselves in the way of a wolf so the player can run away, or a fox I backstabbed to sneak by a wolf, could be blocking the way, or throw something in my direction to alert the wolves so they can sneak away while the wolves are distracted
and the transmogrification could be a simple accessory like the "QQ Bang" in Dragon Ball XV, where you combine a set of items or armor and equipments of similar stats and create an item that will overwrite the clothes's stats, I believe that's a simpler way to make a cosmetic system as oppose to a cosmetic and a functional set of the same equipment, I could be wrong