Lycanthrope Facts
- The usual way to become a were-animal is through infection with one strain of the Lycanthropy virus, but there are rare cases of born shifters as well. A female shifter can conceive and a male shifter can sire a child, but the fetus will normally die due to the monthly shifting of either the child or the mother. However, there is help! Some witches are proficient enough in their craft to be able to weave a protective spell that protects the baby from being torn apart in the mother's womb because of shifting issues. There will be no hybrids, though. A child of a human and a lycanthrope will always be human, no exceptions. If two shifters plan to have a child they will have to be of the same species. For example, both the male and the female will have to be a wolf. A lynx and a leopard would be incompatible and so on and so forth. This is not commonly known, though, due to the rarity of shifter pregnancies.
- Please be aware that a born shifter is VERY rare and it will not be accepted in every backstory just because you want your character to be a shifter couple's kid.
- One strain only. For example: Your character can not be a wolf shifter but also carry the leopard strain.
- The likelyhood of a "successful" infection depends on the type of shifter. Rat and/or Wolf are easy to catch, a mere scratch can suffice. This is the reason why those types of shifters are the most common. Feline strains on the other hand are extremely hard to catch and an infection will only happen if your character was almost mauled to death during a shifter attack. The chance of an infection with other strains of Lycanthropy are somewhere between what was mentioned above
- Shifters of all subspecies in their animal form walk on four legs, just like the respective wild animal does. The were-form like we know it from books, movies and TV shows is only available to Alpha lycanthropes.
- Not every shifter has the potential to become alpha. For some the path is clear even at a young shifter age, some need exceptional circumstances to draw forth those powers, for some it takes many years and for some it never happens. Please keep in mind that alpha shifters are not standard or common.
- Shifting is a painful process that includes tearing of muscles, bones popping, body reshaping and skin turning into fur. It's also a bit messy as it leaves a puddle of clear goop at the shifting location and it happens at least once per month during the full moon night. The full moon shifting can not be avoided, no matter what you try. The moon will get you!
- Each shifter has an aura about them, it is as if it contains their beast within the Metaphysical, Shifters are able to control and contain their aura's over time, they learn to shield it away, and only release it out when it is needed, most times as a show of dominance, or threatening.
- Fur Patterns: You are part of a line, when you are infected, you will take on the coat and coloring of your infecter's appearance in beastial form. If a red fox infects you, you will be red as well, you will not be albino.
- Becoming the Beast Within - Should a character spend too much time within their shifted forms, there will be a residual overflow into their human appearances, this can be having their eyes permanently stuck in that of their beast, or their canine's elongated, possible fur forming in places where they should be no furr. Be mindful, not to lose yourself to your beast. (You must have spend over 48 consecutive hours in your shifted form in order to start seeing affects of this, once it has happened, you will need to the weakness in that you are unable to pretend to be human if it is a visible transformat)
- Freshly infected shifters: The only immediate effect of Lycanthropy is enhanced healing as the beast will not allow the human body to die. All other effects will show gradually. For example, someone wearing silver jewelry will only notice it starts to itch slightly. Later the skin touched by the silver will show a rash until about one week prior to the full moon they will not be able to wear it anymore because it hurts and burns. There will be no shifting before the first full moon. Only then the beast will be able to come out.
- Humans with psychic or magic abilites will lose those after becoming infected with a strain of the Lycanthropy virus. The loss of magic is not immediate, it happens gradually over the time until the next full moon, just as the infection shows gradually until it's fully out about one week prior to the full moon. So freshly infected shifters will notice the complete loss of their psychic or magic abilities, if they had those when they were still fully human, approximately one week to 3 days before the next full moon. If the infection happened close to a full moon night, it will still have to be played out gradually, just over a shorter timespan.
- Shifter sizes: Shifters are about twice the size of the wild animal. This also reflects in the physical strength in beast form. A rat will never be as strong as a lion for example. As a guideline for the sizes: Bears = Lions > Leopards = Wolves > Hyenas > Lynx > Foxes > Rats.
- Shifters and Weapons: While Lycanthropes will be able to use all weapon types, they can not use weapons containing silver or silver elements. That means no silver bullets, no silver blades, no silver in any weapon. And yes, this also is true for Alpha shifters.
- Shifters are able to smell lies: due to the chemical micro reactions in a living body when someone is telling a lie, a shifter will be able to pick up the change in the scent, subtle or not. They will not be able to smell a lie told by a vampire though since the undead lack said chemical micro reactions.