Lycans

Lycans, commonly confused with Werewolves, are a species of shapeshifting humanoids forced to transform into wolf-like creatures every full moon. The lycan shares many physical and cultural similarities to its' sister species, the werewolf. It is debated whether lycans are a subspecies of werewolf instead, but the two are more widely regarded to be separate entities.

## Characteristics

In the most basic sense, lycans are humans who transform into wolf-like ceatures on the full moon. They lose their human sentience in wolf form and become extremely wild and violent, often destroying anything or anyone they come across.

Lycans are on average 6.9 ft tall if female and 7.3 ft tall if male. They are carnivorous and dangerous bipedal creatures. Lycans are almost the complete opposite of their werewolf cousins while transformed. They are practically hairless and are very thin and bony (this does not diminish their strength) and cannot control themselves while transformed.

While in humanoid form, a lycan can be identified by their distinguishable characteristics. Features to note would be sharp canine teeth (sometimes leading them to be falsely identified as Vampires), eyes that seemingly glow in dark lighting, and pointed ears, though depending on the surrounding populus this may not be a reliable clue.

### Weaknesses

Silver and the wolfsbane flower, also known as monkshood, are the two most noteable weaknesses a lycan has. They are also two of the main ingreedients in the most common cure for lycanthropy.

Silver works to dampen, prevent, or even reverse a lycan's transformation, and many individuals living amongst humans or in otherwise unaccepting communities use silver jewelry as a method of controlling their transformations and breakouts. Silver has been found to prevent full moon transformations, however it is ultimately up to the individual's tolerance of the metal as to how effective it can be. An individual may be able to use silver as a way of "curing" their lycanthropy for some time, however the risk of suppressing one's nature for so long is a violent and painful transformation as their inner wolf can no longer be held back.

Wolfsbane is used as a way to physically weaken a lycan, often by coating weapons in wolfsbane extract to maximize the effectiveness. It is poisonous to lycans and extended or excessive exposure to the plant can cause physical illness, and in extreme cases, death. Upon ingesting wolfsbane, a lycan might feel sluggish or fatigued, as well as nauseous, light-headed, or hot. The effects set in almost instantaneously, making this flower an excellent deterrent.

## Becoming a Lycan

* bite, wound, etc
	+ need to ingest blood, saliva, etc of infected person

## Culture

### Ancient Times

"Ancient times" refers to the time period spanning from the creation of the werewolf species to about the 18th century.

### Modern Times

"Modern times" refers to the time period starting at the 18th century to present day.

#### Social Hierarchy

While most packs still retain the Alpha/Beta ruling dynamic, they have completely done away with the concept of Omega and have turned the system into a less-aggressive, non-fight-to-the-top society.

#### Religion

Due to the mixing of cultures, many werewolves consider themselves eclectic; they follow many or a combination of many different religions and/or belief systems. The original werewolf religion Lunism has survived and is still practiced by a large majority, though its numbers are dwindling.