Werewolves

Natural-born hunters, werewolves possess preternatural strength and agility, extremely acute senses, and rapid healing and regeneration abilities. While these traits are maximized when in wolf form, they do persist even in human guise (though to a lesser extent).
=Attributes:=
*Lifespan – a werewolf lives about three or four times longer than an average human, with some living as long as 250 years. Their prolonged lifespan is primarily attributed to cellular regeneration, which occurs during each human-to-wolf transformation. As new cells are constantly recreated for the entire body, the aging process is significantly delayed.
*Strength – Stronger alpha wolves can lift as much as 2 tons – the equivalent of a small car. Upon shifting forms, most werewolves tend to grow in size, as bone structure and muscle tissues expand and reform.
**[Note: It is speculated that the enhancement of strength and reaction time may be due to a metamorphosis in muscle fiber composition. This would explain the correlation between age and increased strength in lycanthropes - even when in human form. As a lycanthrope grows older, the cumulative total of transformations made within a lifetime also increases. In turn, residual ‘werewolf muscle tissue' may remain after reversion to human form, building up overtime to increase human form strength.]
*Agility – From a standing position, a lycanthrope can jump as high as 15 feet. Sprinting at top speed, some werewolves can run as fast as 40mph. In comparison, the fastest recorded human running speed is 26.3mph.
*Endurance/Healing – Werewolves possess an extremely high threshold of pain and rapidly recover from most wounds. While a broken bone can take months to heal for a normal human, it is only days for a werewolf to completely mend. A werewolf’s distinct muscle composition is not only vastly stronger than human muscle tissue, it also utilizes oxygen and breaks down lactic acid more efficiently. This, combined with larger lung capacity, gives an enormous boost to a werewolf’s stamina and endurance, and practically nullifies muscle soreness after vigorous activity.
*Immune System – Bacteria, disease, viruses, infection, and even most lethal poisons and toxins are easily neutralized by a werewolf’s immune system.
**[Note: It is unknown whether werewolves can defend against all pathogens – such as the Ebola virus – nor what the physiological effects may be with other hazards, like radiation poisoning or genetic mutagens.]
*Vision – Associated with their nocturnal hunting nature, werewolves have extremely acute long distance sight, and can see in near complete darkness. Much like canines, a lycanthrope in wolf form cannot view the full color spectrum – only shades of black, white and brown.
**[Note: Independent studies have shown werewolf eye shape and structure to significantly change during transformation. A predominant hypothesis states that the ratio of rods and cones within the retinas significantly changes during transformation, and the distance between lens and retina increases – explaining the vast improvement in night-time vision, loss of color perception, and enhanced far-sight.]
*Hearing – Like a natural wolf or dog, a werewolf’s ear shape allows it to zero-in on remote sounds. Werewolves can pick up distant conversations and hear pitches beyond a normal human’s audible spectrum. (This includes dog whistles, mechanical noises, and feedback from electronic devices.)
*Smell – The olfactory sense is the most important attribute a werewolf possesses. It is estimated that werewolves can smell up to 10,000 times better than a human, and are able to consciously pick out dozens of different scents at once.
**[Note: Without saying a word, a werewolf can tell where someone has been, the condition of their physical health, what they have eaten, and what their mental state may be like. Asking the right questions, and using scent as evidence, a shrewd werewolf can utilize smell as a lie-detector.]
*Taste – Often overlooked, a werewolf possesses all 5 primary taste receptors of humans: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and ‘umame’ (the sense for rich, fatty, ‘satisfying’ foods). Lycanthropes also carry the canine receptor for ‘freshness’ – enabling them to distinguish polluted water and poisoned or spoiling foods that may otherwise appear fine.
*Claws – Used as both tools and weapons, a werewolf’s claws can dig through concrete and tear through sheet metal. Claws can be used to reach inside small spaces, carve wood, climb trees and cliffs, and scale vertical walls.
*Fur – The most distinguishing trait of a werewolf is its fur. A werewolf’s fur serves as protection and insulation against harsh environments, as well as camouflage when in their sub-species region (Ex. White fur of arctic wolf sub-species acts as camouflage in snow and tundra climates). Colors and patterns can be as unique as human fingerprints. (Though only other werewolves tend to notice the more subtle differences in detail.)
=Weaknesses:=
The most distinguishing weakness of a werewolf is silver, and all lycanthropes are psychologically bound to the phases of the moon. Ironically, many of a werewolf’s other weaknesses are derived from its unique physical attributes.
*Silver - Werewolves have a severe allergy to silver. Superficial skin contact will result in redness and irritation, and a burning sensation that intensifies with increased pressure or prolonged exposure. Silver-inflicted wounds require healing times matching those of a normal human's, and often leave a scar. Silver wounds cause painful, physical burning in addition to pain associated with the particular type of wound. If the silver remains lodged inside the body, cellular proteins will begin to breakdown, causing progressive, localized damage similar to a chemical burn.
*Full Moon - Though not understood why, werewolves have a psychological link to the phases of the moon.
**Periods during the half-moon phase are when werewolves will maintain the greatest self-control, and most balanced, human-like behavior.
**During a new moon, individuals may carry on with more indifference, demonstrate more sedate behavior, or behave more carefree than normal.
**During a full moon, individuals usually exhibit signs of impatience, anxiety, restlessness, and/or aggression. Younger and recently-turned werewolves typically cannot maintain the mental and physical control necessary to prevent outbursts of extreme behavior and chaotic thought patterns. This quickly leads to a feral state, in which the conscious mind goes haywire, shutting down (much like a seizure) and an uncontrolled transformation to wolf form occurs. At this point, mental control is replaced by a primal subconscious, driven solely on primitive instincts (fight-or-flight) and basic needs (food).
*High-Frequency Noise - The effect of high-pitched noises can range from irritating, to deafening, to dangerously incapacitating – depending upon their intensity. High frequency noises at extreme amplitudes can rupture ear drums and cause severe damage - leading to temporary losss of hearing and vertigo.
*Immune System - Werewolves are impervious to pain killers and anesthetics – requiring massive doses for even a mild, short-term effect before the drug is broken down. Short of magic healing spells, when in extreme pain, a werewolf is nearly always on his/her own.
*High Metabolism - Though not a direct weakness, werewolves require large intakes of food to function at peak levels. Protein is the primary necessity, required for the near-constant cellular regeneration that takes place during transformations and healing. Though werewolves can survive without food longer than humans, the diminishing effects on muscle mass and energy can be just as drastic.
*Scent - Werewolves maintain their unique scent even when in human form. Though meaningless to other humans, this does makes it more difficult for werewolves to blend in as 'human' when among other demons with keen olfactory senses.
Category:Therianthrope
Category:Species
Category:In-Universe POV