Werewolves: The Facts

*Brutality* is, first and foremost, a werewolf game. What follows are the rules, regulations, and need-to-knows of the race. In this post is laid out how the moon affects them, the different forms, the limitations, pureborns and bitten (and there differences between the two), behaviour, pack structure and territory, as well as some other bits and pieces that are classed as need-to-know.

## The Moon.

* Quite simply put, the younger the wolf, the more the moon affects them. As a werewolf develops, they get more control over the moon, and are more capable of resisting the lure of its cycle.
* A younger wolf will, in the most extreme circumstances, lose control and transform, becoming violent and unrecognisable as the human they are most days of the month. But as they get older, they can, especially with help from older wolves — if they are a member of a pack — fight against the temptations to give in to the wolf during the three nights of the full moon.
* In most werewolves, this short period of time will cause heightened tension, whether that be between rivals in the pack, or between mates (usually behind closed doors). Many wolves simply become more mischievous and energetic during the cycle, or in certain cases, quite the opposite; lethargic and withdrawn.
* The average age for overcoming the moon is around one-hundred-and-forty; it varies for each individual.

## Different Forms.

* Just as every person on the planet is different, every werewolf is unique. Upon transforming, even if you were to see a hunting party of changed wolves, each one is different from the next, and in quite a number of ways.
* The height and posture of each wolf may vary, as can the bodily structure; not all werewolves, for example, possess the necessary joints in their hind legs to allow upright, bipedal movement, and must remain on all fours.
* The colour of the coat and eyes is as different in each wolf as it is in humans, understandably, and can range from shocking white to midnight black; the colour of the human side’s eyes and hair has absolutely no influence over those of their wolf.
* The amount of coat a werewolf has varies; some wolves are more or less hairless, making them more suited to rapid travel, whereas others are covered in a shaggy coat, thick and protective.
* Some transformed werewolves can, oddly enough, look much less wolf-like than others, but again, this depends on the individual; it can be influenced by — in pureborns — the forms of the parenting werewolves.
* Finally, some werewolves do not have tails but others do, in varying lengths, thicknesses and levels of practicality (balance etc).

## Strengths.

These are more or less the same for every wolf, but as an individual matures and gains experience, his/her strengths may develop, and evolve into new and intriguing abilities. The basic strengths are as follows:

* Heightened strength and endurance (to the elements, temperature, discomfort, pain, light etc).
* Senses off the charts (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing).
* Agility (able to scale walls and dodge bullets in extreme cases where awareness is at its peak, as well as being able to leap from great heights such as a rooftop, and land without injury or fault).
* Balance (walking along walls, railings and roof ledges with ease).
* Healing (this varies with each injury, but a stab wound from a steel knife will fade in days, whereas one from a silver blade could take as much as a few weeks, depending on the depth of the injury).

The others are as follows:

* Most werewolves, as they mature, gain complete control over their transformations, and can call the wolf to the surface willingly, allowing for spontaneous but controlled changes.
* The oldest werewolves develop intriguing, rare traits, such as the ability to change only certain parts of their body, such as their upper torso and head, or simply a hand, enabling them to use the strength and destructive prowess such parts of the body from their wolf can provide. Another rare (perhaps the rarest) ability is to communicate ‘telepathically’ with other lycanthropes while in wolf form, regardless of who that other party is and how ‘wild’ they are in that moment. The oldest werewolves in the world, all of whom have vanished from record, were rumoured to possess both rare traits. The average age for accomplishment of one or the other of these traits is around eight-hundred-and-thirty or so; as with the control of the moon, it varies for each individual.
* Finally, contrary to popular belief, werewolves do *not* lose their clothing when they change. It isn’t magic that causes their clothing to essentially switch places with their wolfen pelts and vice versa, but that might be the easiest way to describe it. Regardless of the age of the werewolf, whether they have been a lycanthrope for two days or two centuries, they will never return to human form and have to rush around naked in search of cover. Naturally, if they get wet or dirty while in wolf form, their clothing will reflect that, just as it will if the wolf in question is in a fight and gets slashed or bitten. Their jewellery also survives changes, as does footwear, items in pockets, clipped on belts; this even includes *weapons*, which is more than convenient for pack fighters to say the least.

## Limitations / Weaknesses.

* The weaknesses and limitations are, like their strengths, the same for most werewolves.
* The one most used in fiction is their inability to withstand the metal silver, in all its forms. Contact with silver will burn their skin, and proximity with it in extended periods of time can provoke illness, in one form or another. If silver is introduced into the body, through a stab wound or gunshot injury, and not extracted within a few hours, then it has the potential to invade vital organs through the bloodstream and cause excruciating agony and intense sickness, and in extreme cases, death, if the toxic metal reaches their heart or brain.
* Many people believe this is the only way to destroy a werewolf, and while they are very near to being immortal (as long as they live the right lifestyle), this isn’t exactly the case; severing the spinal column will, in essence, stop the body from functioning, and while it is possible for a werewolf to survive and heal following a broken neck, destruction of the brain, or complete severing of the spinal column will result in death.
* Most werewolves who are unlucky enough to suffer a broken neck are never the same again, and can never heal completely; they either lose the ability to transform completely because of the discomfort, or fall victim to paralysis.
* Beyond these, the only other limitations/weaknesses depend on the age of the werewolf itself; the older they are, the stronger they are, and therefore, the easier it is for them to battle fatigue or discomfort from injury, which might drive a younger werewolf into submission or unconsciousness, or make them lose hold on their wolf form; if the injury is enough of a shock to the body, more or less all werewolves lose their ability to hold their wolf form, and return to the body of their human side.

## Healing.

* There are limits as to what a werewolf — pureborn or bitten — can and cannot heal. This only applies to physical wounds/injuries, obviously; emotional healing is the same for any werewolf as it is for a human, or a vampire. They have no special ability for that kind of stress or pain.
* In terms of physical trauma, a werewolf has little to no trouble healing bruises and grazes. These are only minor, and take the minimum amount of effort from the body to repair completely. Broken bones take longer; fractures, understandably, not so long. Something as ‘critical’ as a punctured lung — or other vital organ other than the brain or the heart — can heal, with maximum effort from the body and the help of other pack members, or a pack physician; it takes a lot out of the wounded werewolf to heal such major injuries, and as such, many younger wolves cannot handle the process, and slip into comas, or simply die, depending on the extent of their injuries as a whole — the more wounds a body has to heal, the more difficult and arduous it is.
* In terms of regeneration, there are limits, obviously: blood-loss, given that it is not overly-extensive, can be compensated for by the body constantly replacing what has been lost; in terms of regenerating muscle, tissue and flesh, every werewolf simply has to wait, and these will all ‘re-grow’; teeth can regenerate, given a day or two; fingers/toes and any limbs will not regenerate; eyes, ears etc, will also not regenerate; bone, to a degree, regenerates, such as the teeth — it simply takes time and patience. However, that does not mean that a severed limb’s bones will regenerate; even for a werewolf, that is beyond the realms of possibility.
* The older the werewolf, the more they can withstand the healing process and extensive injuries, depending, of course, on their past experiences with hardship and battle wounds etc.
* If a werewolf, in wolf form, loses their tail for whatever reason, the likelihood of that damage transferring to the human body and becoming a spinal injury is great, and as such, the severing of the tail in wolf form is, for any individual, an extreme threat.

## Pureborn.

* Not many people have heard of werewolf pregnancies, but they are in fact, quite common. It is much easier for a werewolf to give birth than, for example, a vampire, whose body has stopped functioning internally thanks to their lack of working organs and blood that isn’t ingested from a victim.
* A werewolf pregnancy can sometimes be easier to achieve with pureborn mates, but this has never been proven, and a good number of bitten females have given birth.
* The gestation period of a werewolf is actually shorter than that of a human, but longer than that of a ‘regular’ wolf. Humans are pregnant for, on average, nine months, whereas a ‘regular’ wolf is only pregnant for sixty-three days. A werewolf gestates for around four to five months, before giving birth.
* The birth itself can be difficult, but it is as varied as it is with human women; it is different for each female.
* During the gestation period, many females will cease to transform, removing all risk of damaging their unborn child which might occur as a result of their change.
* Pureborn werewolves have been falsely rumoured to be more powerful; in actuality a bitten werewolf can, like a pureborn, develop the same extra abilities as a pureborn wolf, as mentioned in *Strengths*.
* Pureborn werewolves usually do not experience their first transformation until puberty, around the age of thirteen, and at this stage, their parents will help them through the process, given that it is particularly excruciating and exhausting.

## Bitten.

* The shock of being bitten by a transformed werewolf can sometimes be too much for the human body to take, and as such, a good number of those attacked will die as a result of their injuries, before the lycanthropy can spread throughout their system and take hold, which results in their becoming a sired werewolf.
* In many cases, the attacker will be a savage rogue wolf, or a young individual out of control on the full moon, thus leading to the human being killed more or less instantly, and in some cases, depending on the sanity of the attacker, devoured.
* It isn’t unheard of for a werewolf to bite or otherwise infect a human in order to ‘share’ their lycanthropy (this is referred to as being ‘turned’), with permission or because the human will otherwise perish; these instances are not overly common, but they are not as rare as some make them out to be.
* A bitten werewolf will change, without exception, on their first full moon, after the lycanthropy has had a chance to invade their system completely, changing their DNA just enough to alter their nature and make them a sired wolf.
* The first change, much like that of an adolescent pureborn, will be torturous, as the body breaks and reshapes to take on the form of the wolf, and many lose consciousness during the process.
* It is also equally as possible to be bitten and ‘infected’ by a transformed wolf, as it is by one in their human guise; both have been documented through history.
* Transference of lycanthropy is also not limited to a bite; for many sired wolves, their change from human to werewolf is a direct result of being slashed by their attacker’s claws deep enough to draw blood and leave some part of the wolf behind; hair, or something similar.
* In some cases, it is possible to infect a human by mixing a wolf’s blood with their own; this has been recorded in both intentional and accidental incidents.

## Behaviour.

* While werewolves are something of a far cry from their wild, purely-animal ‘descendants’, their behaviour can be similar, mostly in the terms of dominance, mating, and aggression between rivals and packs.
* Dominance and the hierarchy are the main similarities between wolves and *were*wolves; these are described below in *Pack Structure*.
* Werewolves are not always violent to one another, especially if they have no definite territory to defend; the larger the territory, the more defensive and protective the individual/group.
* Werewolves are, by nature, pack animals, and rely on the stability of a unit to survive, though they can manage on their own, or in pairs, whether or not these be partnerships or mating couples.
* Two males who encounter one another in a space they both claim to own will almost always result in a fight, and males will fight over a female as well, though more often than not, the female herself will solve this problem by choosing one of the rivals and rejecting the other.
* Younger wolves are not always looked on as inferior, and it entirely depends on the outlook of the wolf in question; younger wolves can often provide valued views, and as such, are as respected and appreciated as the older wolves who more often than not make up the leadership chain of a pack.
* Werewolves, like their wild animal counterparts, will, nine-times-out-of-ten, mate for life.

## Pack Structure.

* A pack of werewolves is always made up of a hierarchy, both for males *and* females, respectively.
* Leadership is not always rewarded to those with greater brawn or brute muscular strength, and an Alpha must also be tactical and intelligent if he/she hopes for their pack to survive and stay together.
* In each pack, there are usually two Alphas, and two Betas; a male and female of each. An Alpha Male relies on his Female to support him as he leads and protects the pack, and his territory, as well as love and cherish her, unquestionably above all others. A Beta Male and Female, unlike their superiors, will not always necessarily be a mating pair, and can in fact, just be equals.
* In every pack, there are these four leaders, the Alpha and Beta pairs, leading a group of pack mates, in various stages of subtle dominance over one another (usually assigned by age and instinct as a result rather than any shows of ego or violence itself, though the Alpha Male will rely on a handful of individuals for certain tasks, such as security, reconnaissance, or the like; these wolves are called fighters, and every pack boasts a number of them), and at the bottom of the chain, is an Omega.
* The Omega is, for all intents and purposes, the underdog, and will often suffer the brunt of displays of aggression or prowess so that the other wolves may assert their dominance, though this ‘practise’ is becoming more and more outdated, the violence petering out and becoming extremely rare. They are, for the most part, male, but it has been heard of for the Omega to be female; why they stay with a pack in such conditions is unknown, but it may have something to do with the fact that they do actually serve a role, albeit something of a risky one — they are often a scout for the pack, especially in instances where the unit must relocate. They are not always bullied or used as proverbial targets, but more often than not, it is automatic for ‘higher ranking’ wolves (save the Alpha and Beta pairs, usually) to set their sights on the Omega out of habit and instinct.
* In any given situation, the Alpha Male is the one approached about a subject; failing that, the Alpha Female; and below them, either Beta, depending on the availability — neither Beta is more dominant than the other, and in many cases, the Alpha *Female* can be more dominant than her mate, but most packs rely on a powerful, capable Alpha *Male* to lead.
* If a pack finds itself with only one Alpha, the lone leader can often find themselves facing many challenges from their pack members; a pack led by only one wolf, even with two subordinates, is regarded as weaker than one with two Alphas, and the pack often only seeks to denounce their former, single Alpha (even a mourning one, should they lose their mate for any reason) in order to return stability to the unit.
* The young/children in a werewolf pack are regarded as valuable assets, and as such, are kept very safe in the group, and are rarely left alone as a result, watched over by parents or other responsible members of the pack; every wolf in the pack is responsible for the safety of the young.
* It isn’t unheard of for packs to hold regular gatherings of their number wherever they might live, to reassert a unity and strength in their group, and signify that their leaders acknowledge each and every member of the group; should any not show for such a meeting, they would be sought out to attend, and failing that, they would think their member lost or endangered, and then hunt for them, to return them to the pack.
* Pack unity is very important to werewolves, and as such, so is their safety as a group; no individual would leave the pack home alone, even if they wanted to.
* Instinct would drive them to seek company, if only to ensure their safety; similarly, the Alpha or Beta wolves would *never* be left alone outside of the pack home, even if they ordered their pack wolves to stay behind while they did so — the loyalty and devotion between the group would mean that a group would shadow their leaders while out of the pack home; anywhere around seven or more would be acceptable for such an endeavour to guard their Alphas/Betas.
* This sense of unity would also instinctively keep all wolves in a pack together in one home; even if defending a large territory with many potential homes where the group may spread out and inhabit more than one residence, their nature and impulses would keep them together, no matter how confident they felt in their safety.
* Werewolf packs vary greatly in size; they can be as small as four or five members, ranging up into the twenties and thirties, depending entirely on the stability and strength, and of course, the females who might give birth to new generations of members.
* It is not unheard of for some packs to border on *fifty* members, and *beyond*; the size often depends highly on the stability of the unit, and the size of the pack home, and the trust between its members.

## Territory.

* It is common for an Alpha to assert their dominance by defending territory, in any size from a few blocks in a city, to an *entire* city itself, depending entirely on the size of the pack they can use to defend it.
* The larger the pack, the larger the territory, understandably.
* It isn’t unheard of for one pack’s territory to overlap into another pack’s territory, resulting in vicious, all-too-regular conflicts, where one group will try to drive the other back.
* Werewolves are particularly defensive of their territory, and as a result, aren’t really very fond of any other supernatural creatures who might put it at risk; this often leads to vampires being at risk in a werewolf pack’s territory, finding themselves hunted or driven over the boundaries.
* However, many packs do not actively seek out every other supernatural being in their territory to banish them; in most cases, if the vampire or rogue wolf calls attention to themselves or poses a threat to the pack, only then they will be driven away, or in the case of the latter, outright killed.
* Packs are very protective of their own members, more so than they are of their territory, and dangerous threats to their safety are not tolerated.

## Mentality.

* Werewolves, while having two almost split-consciousnesses, are not exactly two beings in one body. There is the ‘human’, and the wolf, but they do not have separate trains of thought, per se, and aren’t altogether independent from the person they are most of the time.
* The wolf, while sharing the body and being part of the person itself, can influence moods, and seem to be separate, inside the mind; it isn’t at all uncommon for werewolves to feel their wolf pacing within them, making them restless, or almost growling internally, as a result of instinctual anger or territoriality.
* This state of mind — feeling the emotions and moods of the wolf — affects some werewolves more than others, but as previously stated, it is merely a side-effect of being a supernatural being, and they share the body like two sides of a person, without being split personalities.
* On the full moon, however, these positions are reversed, if the wolf is too young to keep from transforming; the wolf is dominant, and the ‘human’ side is in the background.
* In no case is a werewolf two separate, clashing entities, unless the individual in question is actually mentally unstable, e.g., suffering from schizophrenia.

## Occupations.

* It isn’t unheard for a pack member to hold a ‘nine-to-five’ job as well as holding their place in the werewolf unit.
* If the werewolf does choose to hold an occupation (the money from which will almost always go towards pack funding, usually accumulated through any number of means) they are often encouraged to aim for something low-key, and always something where other pack members can ‘shadow’ and watch out for them.
* Alphas and Betas will only ever work jobs that can be done on their own time, and from their pack’s home; they will not go out into a city, leave their pack behind, and, for example, work behind a bar. They will instead deter their working pack members (if there are any; some packs have no werewolves who would work a job) from being employed in high-profile occupations, such as entertainment, or any of its branches, anything that might draw attention.
* It is unheard of for a pack werewolf to work a job which forces them to cut contact with the pack completely, leaving them alone and beyond the pack’s protection for any length of time. Pack leaders are simply too protective, and the pack instinct is too strong, for such things to be common.

## Staff.

* It isn’t unusual for a werewolf pack to have several human specialists on a ‘payroll’ of sorts. These are usually only for extreme circumstances, but over the past, werewolves have, for example, run into trouble with the law, and while a rogue may simply pack up and move to another location, a pack wolf has its family unit to consider, and as such, lawyers are the most common ‘staff’ found to be employed by pack Alphas. They may have one or two assistants, depending on the trust issue; it is, after all, rather risky to employ humans at all.
* Many packs also employ human doctors as well, despite their natural healing abilities, which would seemingly render such an ‘employee’ useless. But as a matter of fact, just as with human women, a pregnancy is something that must be monitored in female werewolves, and as such, this kind of thing is why doctors are ‘employed’. There is also the potential of silver poisoning that a doctor may be able to help with, if situations were to become dire.
* Perhaps there are one or two other human specialists that might be hired by werewolves, but these are the two most common choices for packs.