Lycanthropes

## Curse of the Beast

### Description:

Lycanthropes are a form of cursed humanoid, plagued with the ability to transform into a particular animal and a hybrid form of their humanoid and animal forms. Many types of Lycanthrope exist, and many have their own appearances and specializations. Generally, however, Lycanthropes in their normal forms are mostly indistinguishable from their mundane counterparts; the tell-tale signs of Lycanthropy change depending on the subrace. In their hybrid forms, Lycanthropes are usually six (6) to seven (7) feet tall, far more muscular than they are normally, and bear a combination of humanoid and animalistic traits; younger Lycanthropes will be unable to control themselves while in this hybrid form while older Lycanthropes can. Various types of Lycanthropes live in all climates and regions of the world.

Lycanthropes are seen, almost unanimously, as monsters by other races. Despite often being the victim of an unwanted curse, Lycanthropes are hated and hunted by other races; generally, this is caused by the actions of recent Lycanthropes that cannot control themselves or their transformations. The Hunters Grimm, Witch Hunters, JPCU, and various other organizations seek to eradicate Lycanthropy altogether, against the wishes of the gods and older Lycanthropes that are in control of their faculties.

Most Lycanthropes are as intelligent as normal people. Young Lycanthropes lose their mental faculties when they transform, but this effect is diminished with age and experience. Many Lycanthropes, bearing this curse for one reason or another, and living for very long periods of time with this other aspect of themselves, are also far wiser than normal people. Very often, they possess great spiritual understanding or philosophical comprehension. Lycanthropes tend to favor the countryside, although some Packs prefer to remain within larger population centers; this combined with the hit to intellectual capabilities suffered during transformation often limits their technological and magical abilities.

Lycanthropes can reproduce in two (2) ways: sexually, and via transmission of their curse. Lycanthropes can have sexual relations with other Lycanthropes of their subrace, which produces a far stronger Lycanthrope child; Lycanthropes that breed with Lycanthropes not of their subrace give birth to Beastmen, and Lycanthropes that breed with normal humanoids produce [REDACTED]. Lycanthropes can also pass on their curse, most often achieved by biting a target and having the target survive the wound; this "curse" is theorized to be a magical virus which is passed on through the user's saliva into the target's blood. Full-blooded Lycanthrope children are treated very well; Lycanthrope parents are, as the animals from which they draw their curse, very territorial about their children and will not hesitate to slay anyone who gets between them and their child. [REDACTED] are treated as inferior by even their parents, and their survival is often left up to the entire Pack as opposed to only the immediate family. Beastmen produced as a result of Lycanthropic mating are killed out of disgust and revulsion; a common punishment for committing such a crime is to force the parents to kill and each their mutated infant child, a suitably brutal torture for a brutal race of cursed individuals.

Most Lycanthrope subraces are biologically immortal; as they were created out of curses, Lycanthropes are immortal so as to ensure that they live with their curse for as long as possible. Another theorized reason behind this longevity is Lycanthropy's existence as a foil for Vampires; Vampires are immortal, so as to beat Vampirism Lycanthropes must also be undying.

### Types:

Lycanthropy has existed around the world for many millennia, operating at the fringes of larger societies since their creation [REDACTED]. Lycanthropy exists in a number of forms according to their origins. The list of origins is provided below:

1. Biological: The rarest form of Lycanthropy exists as a purely biological phenomenon, either as supernatural diseases, genetic mutation (*Note: Genetic mutation of a Lycanthropic variety are exceedingly rare but notably more common amongst Beastmen*), etc.; biological Lycanthropes cannot typically transform between their forms, and are most commonly stuck in their War Form, making these creatures exceedingly violent, unpredictable, and insane.
2. Natural: The second (2nd) most common form of Lycanthropy is created through Lycanthropic reproduction; when two (2) Lycanthropes of the same subrace mate together, their offspring are powerful Natural Lycanthropes that, despite being magical beings, are inherently Lycanthropic and cannot pass on their "curse" via bite. Natural Lycanthropes learn to control their transformations at very young ages and are considered more dangerous than almost any other type; Natural Lycanthropes are found in almost every Lycanthrope Pack.
3. Alchemy: One of the more common forms of Lycanthropy comes from the imbibement of Alchemical substances which impart a degree of transformative power upon the user via genetic engineering; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is credited as one of the first users of this method of Lycanthropy, although it was imperfect and incomplete.
4. Curse: The most common form of contracting Lycanthropy falls to the imposition of a supernatural Curse upon a sentient humanoid; these Curses can be imposed by gods, Genies, powerful spellcasters, Fairies, or surviving a bite from another Lycanthrope.
5. Element-Touched: The [REDACTED] are a Pack of Lycanthropes created via exposure to the Faewild, an Elemental Realm of Nature; this is the only instance of element-associated Lycanthropy and occurs either as a result of curse imposed by a Fairy/Fae or as a result prolonged exposure to Glamour/the Faewild itself.
6. Spiritual/Dream: The primary competitor for rarest Lycanthropic Type with Biological, Spiritual or Dream Lycanthropes are normal humanoids cursed to Astral Project their mutated now-animalistic Souls at night, most commonly manifesting as a dream for the user; Spiritual Lycanthropes may not initially recognize the presence of their Curse for a significant period of time, but are generally more docile and less harmful than other Lycanthropes due to their Spiritual nature and limited ability to "transform"/Astral Project.

### Personality:

The personality of Lycanthropes varies as widely as do those of humans and other humanoids. However, the personal leanings of Lycanthropes are also swayed heavily by the opinions and views of their Pack, which is in turn impacted primarily by the Pack Leader. Morality/values are also altered when a Lycanthrope is in their Hybrid/Animal form, which therefore varies depending on subrace.

Lycanthropes as a race are, understandably, very untrusting. They are more likely to attack a stranger immediately than wait and talk or see how the situation plays out, more-so out of self-defense than malevolence. They only trust their Pack; even those Lycanthropes that are inducted into a Pack via bite and not blood relation trust their new Pack far more than they trust their biological family, even if the new Lycanthrope hates their Packmates (*Note: his innate bond between Lycanthropes of a given Pack is believed to be a feature of the Beast Within*).

### Abilities:

In their Humanoid Forms, Lycanthropes are still usually physically above average, sport extra hair or a deeper voice, etc. The Lycanthropic immunities to damage also apply to their normal forms, a powerful boon designed to keep Lycanthropes alive for as long as possible so as to extend their suffering under the curse. Lycanthropes possess heightened senses in both their Hybrid and Animal Forms, the specifics of which differ depending on subrace.

Lycanthropes are immune to non-Silvered nonmagical weapons, making them incredibly resilient. On top of their survivability and durability, this makes Lycanthropes very hard to kill, impossible to kill without special weapons, appropriate experience, or the application of Magic. Lycanthropes also possess a natural immunity to Vampirism, another piece of evidence to support the theory of Lycanthropic anti-Vampirism. Additionally, Lycanthrope blood is quite toxic to Vampires, and will deal serious damage and debilitation to any Vampire that unknowingly bites a Lycanthrope. Notably, Lycanthropes cannot successfully commit suicide; attempts at ending their own life do not succeed and likely do not approach success, a feature of the curse designed to keep a Lycanthrope alive and suffering for as long as possible.

#### Pheromonal Communication & Signaling:

Lycanthropes are also known for their pheromone-based abilities. Most infamously, Lycanthropes are known for the pheromones they release upon death, which mark their killer with a powerful scent unique to the lineage of the Lycanthrope who was slain; all Lycanthropes of that Pack can identify and very easily track this scent from great distances, making it incredibly difficult to permanently escape a Lycanthrope Pack's wrath. This pheromone, deemed [REDACTED] by JPCU scientists, also increases in potency with the user's age; should someone manage to kill an ancient Lycanthrope, that person will be permanently marked with a scent strong enough to be tracked from several counties/provinces over. Groups like The Hunters Grimm, JPCU, and Catholic Church all have specific methods (*Note: These methods are frequently derived from Alchemy*) of removing this pheromone from their members, although no such remedy is readily available to normal people; only expert Alchemists are even aware of such concoctions.

#### Levels of Transformation:

All Lycanthropes possess a number of alternate forms which can be accessed by the user, either as a result of exposure to specific stimuli, after the completion of a specific ritual or action, or at will if the Lycanthrope is strong enough. These forms vary between totally human to totally animal, and are detailed below.

##### Humanoid Form:

Lycanthropes often appear as mundane members of whatever sentient humanoid race they were previously apart of, with few distinguishing factors to identify them as Lycanthropes. The various subraces possess different signs of Lycanthropy that appear in users' Humanoid Form, but most involve an increase in hair growth/thickness, larger or sharper teeth, stronger/sharper nails, unnatural eyes, increased muscle growth and strength, and drastically increased hunger. Even in their Humanoid Form, Lycanthropes are immune to all non-Silvered nonmagical weapons and are far sturdier and more durable than normal people.

##### Hulk Form:

Some Lycanthropes, particularly those with an acute control over their transformations or those with mutations/defects have access to an imbalanced form bearing closer resemblance to a large, mutated humanoid than a Lycanthrope; this mostly-human-partially-animal form is more often the consequence of an improper mutation (for Biological and Alchemical Lycanthropes) than a purposeful development or skill. Some Lycanthropes are limited to a Hulk Form instead of any others as a consequence of some mutation, limitation, or specific flavor of their curse; most famously, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde had access to only a Humanoid Form and a Hulk Form as a result of his imperfect Alchemical concoction.

##### War Form:

The perfect mix of monster and man, a Lycanthrope's War Form is a testament to the power of the Beast Within and a mutated Soul. The equal combination of a humanoid user's best physical features and the best features of their subrace's animal form, a War Form is a transformation bred for violence and slaughter on devastating scales. Weaponizing the Beast Within, a War Form turns even the most docile person into a rampaging one man army. The War Form threatens to blind a user with fury, requiring great skill to use in combat without falling into careless rage; even the sight or smell of blood is rumored to drive Lycanthropes mad with violent anger should their Beast take over.

##### Dire Beast:

When a Lycanthrope requires a dangerous form that favors speed and stealth over raw killing power, some can assume the form of a larger animal; this animal, commonly one of ancient variant (like a Dire Wolf for Werewolves, etc.) and large size, is associated with the Lycanthropes's subrace. This form is rarely achieved, and available only to the oldest and strongest Lycanthropes. The Dire Beast Form favors a Lycanthropes's Beast Within but does not allow it to totally take over as is the case with the standard War Form. Notably, Lycanthropes lose the ability to speak non-animal languages while in this form, although they can still understand all of the languages they normally can.

##### Bestial:

All Lycanthropes have access to a pure animal form that corresponds to their subrace. The Lycanthrope retains their intelligence while in this form, although it is susceptible to the Beast Within; the Beast manifests as a more docile and mundane animal when in this form, however. Notably, Lycanthropes lose the ability to speak non-animal languages while in this form, although they can still understand all of the languages they normally can.

##### Partial Transformations:

Particularly old and/or skilled Lycanthropes can obtain such an acute control over their transformations that they can choose to alter specific parts of their bodies, alterring only small sections of themselves at will to achieve particular things. This can allow users to temporarily enhance their strength or speed, grow claws or stronger jaws/fangs, jump large distances, obtain Night Vision, etc.

#### Beast Within:

All Lycanthropes, regardless of the symptoms and features of their curse or subrace, possess a so-called "Beast Within." This term refers to Lycanthropes' predatory, animalistic instincts that exist in parallel to their more intelligent, humanoid intellect; the Beast Within can manifest in a number of ways, varying according to a Pack's attitudes towards their predatory nature, but is rarely pleasant. To indulge the Beast is to abandon one's humanity and rationality in favor of pure animalistic, feral rage and fury; a Lycanthropes' War Form draws most strongly on the Beast Within, and threatens to drive even the most skilled of Lycanthropes into a blind berserk rage if unmanaged. Similarly, the Beast is least active when a Lycanthrope is in their humanoid form.

With time, training, and practice, however, Lycanthropes can learn to master, accept, or reject their Beast Within. Mastering the Beast allows them to transform at will, push away the violent thoughts, and use the deadly fury when it's necessary; accepting the Beast removes a Lycanthropes's humanity and reduces them to a raving madman even in Humanoid Form, driving them to insanity and wanton violence of unprecedented cruelty; rejecting the Beast leads to a harsher and longer-term struggle agains tthe Beast with the ultimate reward of separating the Beast from the user entirely, enabling the user's mind to be at peace, even when in War Form, and suffer none of the consequences associated with a Beast's presence. Separating oneself from their Beast does, however, induce the creation of a [REDACTED], the Spirit of the Beast made manifest.

#### Subraces:

1. Werewolves
2. Werebears
3. Wereboars
4. Werehyenas
5. Weretigers
6. Wererats
7. Werebadgers
8. Werefoxes
9. Weresharks
10. Werespiders

### Hierarchy:

Lycanthropes organize themselves in Packs, the equivalent of a family unit. Packs can reach numbers into the dozens and can involve Lycanthropes, mundane animals, and even mutated forms of the associated animal. Packs act as an adoptive family for most Lycanthropes, many of whom find themselves cast out or hated by their previous families. Packs are led by the oldest member, the Pack Leader, who can be either male or female; the Alpha/Beta stereotypical system of organization is in use for some Packs, albeit rarely, as this is an outdated and incorrect model of Lycanthrope socialization.

Pack morals and activities are dictated by the Pack Leader/Alpha, who determines the group's movements, actions, roles, tasks, objectives, and values. The Pack Leader also establishes the social order, dictating who is to do what and when to whom; this is very often expressed purely through body language or unspoken pheromonal communication, making it difficult to see or comprehend for non-Lycanthropes. Common Pack organization differs between the subraces.

#### Known Multi-Subrace Packs/Organizations:

1. [FAE]
2. [REMOVED]

## Religion:

Each Lycanthrope subrace worships their own god(s), although there do exist two (2) leading deities that oversee the collective pantheon; these 2 overarching deities lead the gods of the smaller sub-pantheons that are aligned with their respected aspects. The full list of deities is provided below, separated according to subrace:

### Greater Deities:

1. Thalene: The goddess of guidance associated with acceptance, guidance, peace, communion with nature, and calm; followers come to terms with their Curse and can learn to overcome the Beast Within, potentially obtaining the ability to separate themselves from it entirely in a ritual known as The Taming.
2. Ravekhild: The god of guidance associated with rejection, conflict, anger, independence/isolation, etc.; followers reject their Curse and instead come to an agreement with their Beast Within, learning to use its strength at will in exchange for over-active aggression and a hatred of other humanoids.
3. The Beast Without: The evil god of destruction, insanity, mutation and desolation, and feral minds; followers give in entirely to their Beast Within, becoming nothing more than raving monsters with little to no connection to their Humanoid Form or their previous lives, usually suffering from mutations, insanity, and an unquenchable thirst for violence and rampage.

### Lesser Deities (by subrace):

#### Werewolves:

1. [REDACTED]

[REMOVED]