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Types
- Born Werewolves: Inherit lycanthropy through blood.
- Latent Werewolves: Born wolves who are incapable of shifting.
- Turned Werewolves: Created only by being bitten by a born-wolf with apex resonance. Most humans do not survive the change.
Forms- Human: Give the impression of being built different. Enhanced strength, stamina, healing, enhanced senses, eye-color flickers during emotion spikes.
- Half-Shift: Sharper canines, full eye-color shifts, nails sharpen to claws, voice deepens or distorts. Often involuntary during periods of extreme emotion when a wolf is still young.
- Wolf: Quadrupedal beast form, roughly the size of a horse.
- Lycan: Hulking bipedal beast form with claws, partial muzzle, fangs, wolf-ears, skin discoloration and partial fur growth. Difficult both learn (only 1/25,000 actually capable) and maintain. Without careful practice the use can fracture the mind of both the human and the inner-wolf.
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Biological Traits
- Shifting: semi-voluntary after the first shift, governed by discipline, emotion, and environment. A full moon doesn’t force a shift, but makes it significantly harder to resist. Adrenaline can also spike shifts.
A born-wolf’s first shift is usually triggered around puberty between ages 10 and 14, though extreme emotional or physical trauma can accelerate it. It is violent, painful, and involuntary. It is usually done under supervision if born into a pack.
Turned-wolves who survive the bite will typically experience their first shift sometime between the bite and the next full moon.
- Extended lifespans: a typical born-wolf may live 150–200 years; turned wolves are marginally shorter at 120–180 years depending on the strength of the Alpha who turned them and how well their body integrates the change.
- A wolf’s aging process slows significantly after reaching adulthood. A 60-year-old werewolf often appears 30 in human years and maintains peak physical condition well into their second century.
- Hyper-olfactory and auditory acuity. Wolves can communicate layered emotional states through pheromonal and olfactory signals, forming complex nonverbal dialogue.
- Immune system resists common toxins, poisons, viruses, and bacteria.
- Supernatural strength, speed, and endurance.
- Accelerated healing (not perfect; damage still painful).
- Naturally resist compulsion and emotional glamours
- Spellcasting against wolves often requires physical proximity, advanced sigils, or wolf-bone relics.
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Reproductive Cycles
- Estrus: Most female werewolves experience an estrus cycle roughly every 28 to 35 days, subtly influenced by the lunar cycle.
- Ovulation tends to begin 2–3 days before the full moon, aligning with instinctual behavioral shifts.
- During estrus, scent becomes more potent to nearby males, especially to a bonded mate. Emotional and physical sensitivity increases, and in some cases, minor subconscious shifts (claws, scent marking, increased appetite) can occur.
- Male werewolves don’t have a cycle per se but may experience pheromonal surges when exposed to a fertile female.
Pregnancy & Gestation- Werewolf gestation lasts approximately 7 months, significantly shorter than human pregnancies due to accelerated cellular regeneration and hybrid fetal development.
- Mixed pregnancies (e.g., wolf/human or born/turned pairings) are rare and more dangerous, with high mortality for both child and parent if unsupported by a pack.
- Children born to turned-wolves are more likely to be latent if not outright human unless the other parent is a born-wolf with a strong bloodline. Because of this, turned-wolves are sometimes viewed as “dead ends” by old-blood packs. And certain traditionalist packs may refuse to recognize pups sired by turned-wolves as part of the bloodline tree.
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Weaknesses & Limitations
- Silver: Causes necrotic burning, stalls healing, disrupts shifting & link with inner-wolf. Prolonged exposure causes comas.
- Wolfsbane: Neurotoxin; causes seizure-like symptomes—vision tunneling, auditory distortion, bodily pain, dizziness, dissociation. Smells cool, bitter, & vegetal, like crushed leaves or snapped stems.
- Moonflower: Aphrodisiac, sedative; has opium-like effects—euphoria, relaxation, fatigue. Smells pale, faintly sweet, & creamy, like a warm milk bath.
- Emotional Volatility: Rage and grief can override shift control, especially in young or unstable wolves
- Packbond Severance: Wolves turned rogue by having their packbonds forcibly severed can experience hallucinations and violent instability.
- Moonmadness: Young wolves risk losing control under a full moon if untrained; can result in memory loss or accidental mauling
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Wolf Culture
Packs: Werewolves are deeply pack-oriented by nature. Packs may form through bloodline, geographic proximity, or ideological alignment. Not all packs are authoritarian, but most maintain a dominance hierarchy.
Packbond: The metaphysical connection between a wolf and their packmates. Allows basic thought-sharing, emotional awareness, and directional sensing between members of a pack. Can be suppressed, blocked, or ignored through training. Formed via ritual blood-sharing; can only have one.
Rogue vs Lone Distinction- Rogue Wolves: Werewolves who have been forcibly banished from their pack and had their packbond severed. This severance often causes severe psychological trauma, leaving them unstable, erratic, and frequently violent. Rogues are marked by a distinct reddening in their eyes in both human and shifted forms that worsens the longer they are unstable.
- Lone Wolves: Werewolves who live outside of pack structure. They may have been born without a pack, lost their pack and chosen not to rejoin one, or simply prefer solitude. Lone Wolves are not outcasts, and their decision is respected by most.
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Rank
A wolf’s rank is determined through a mix of lineage, resonance, instinctual dominance behavior, pheromone strength, combat prowess, shifting discipline and control under emotional stress.- Alpha: Strongest presence, most disciplined shifter, and the pack’s ideological anchor.
- Beta: Presence second only to the Alpha; smooths pack tension and enforces laws.
- Gamma: Enforcers, combat specialists, protectors. Handle pack security and border enforcement.
- Delta: Information & communication specialists. Handle outside-pack liaisons & work with Gammas on border enforcement.
- Standard: The largest group in a pack. Your average wolf. Their roles within a pack vary greatly based on their resonance, skills, and the pack’s needs and structure. e.g. Warriors & Scouts (military); Healers (medic); Den Parents & Teachers (nurturers); etc.
- Omega: Physically the weakest and least imposing, lacking in dominance behavior. Often used as scapegoats and release valves.
- Juveniles: Underage/minor wolves who have shifted for the first time, but are not yet adults.
- Pups: Wolves who have not yet shifted for the first time.
- Elders: Senior wolves who exist outside the formal ranking structure.
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Resonance
Resonance is a wolf’s innate biomagical signature. It governs how a wolf interacts with pack structure, dominance dynamics, pheromonal communication, and supernatural force, acting as a metaphysical “frequency” unique to each individual. Two wolves of the same rank may differ drastically if their resonances are different.- Apex: Possesses the most powerful inner-wolf and aura; physically dominant; their presence exerts an instinctual pull on others. Apex-wolves are usually, but not always, born-wolves; turned apex-wolves are even more rare than turned-wolves.
- Anchor: The most emotionally controlled wolves; grounding, immovable, enduring; resistant to fear, compulsion, moonblindness, emotional manipulation, and moonflower effects (though still vulnerable).
- Fang: Predatory and aggressive; often the largest and most physically imposing; exceptional strength & endurance; highly resistant to fear, pain, and wolfsbane effects (though still vulnerable).
- Analyst: Strongest senses; skilled in territory navigation, can read pheromonal nuance, anticipate movement, recognize threats early.
- Sensor: Empathic, hyper-attuned to emotional and energetic shifts. Able track emotional shifts and micro-tells; can sense physical/emotional conditions via touch. The most affected by packbond fluctuations.
