WEREWOLF RULES

A werewolf is a person who transforms into a monstrous wolf on nights when the scarred moon is full.

- Werewolves have enhanced abilities. In human form a werewolf is about two to three times stronger than the average person, depending of course on their build. Their reaction time is much better than that of a human beings, and they have enhanced endurance and speed. They can keep up a steady run for hours if unburdened. The wolf form is even more enhanced. The wolf form is faster, stronger and tougher than any human can possibly attain unaided. It is pretty much tireless. Running steadily the whole night is not beyond a werewolf trying to reach a human settlement, and their claws and teeth tear right through most armors like tissue paper. Most times a werewolf can kill you before you even know it’s on you.

- A werewolf’s natural senses are extremely acute. Even in human form, their hearing and sense of smell approach animal-like levels. They have keen sight as well, about two times as good as your average person. A werewolf who needed glasses before being bitten receives the same benefits, and often finds themselves able to see perfectly fine without them. However, to fully utilize their new eyes, they would need to continue wearing their glasses. The same goes for any other sensory impairments that would not be fixed by the potent regeneration a werewolf has.

- Werewolves have incredibly advanced healing. In human form, most wounds are gone in a few hours tops and most broken bones are healed in about half a day. A werewolf in wolf form heals wounds in minutes and broken bones in about half an hour. They are also much tougher than humans; blades and bullets can bounce off their tough hide if not applied with enough force. Along with this, magical abilities are only about fifty percent effective on them and wounds inflicted by them heal at the accelerated rate. Without the use of silver, it is almost impossible to kill a werewolf unless you have a form of attack strong enough to slay it in one strike. When in human form, this toughness is to a much lesser degree, but it still takes a lot to fell a werewolf.

- Werewolves are vulnerable to silver. When it comes into contact with bare flesh, even while the werewolf is human, it burns the skin as though it were on fire. It tends to negate the natural healing of a werewolf, though to a lesser effect if the wound it causes is minor and the silver isn’t in contact with the skin for more than a few seconds. Silver also remarkably seems to bypass a werewolf’s natural defenses, their armor-like hide losing much of its substance when struck.

- A werewolf, when transformed into its wolf shape, has absolutely no control over its actions. The werewolf mind is utterly blood-thirsty, always seeking the next meal even when already gorged to bursting. When full, a werewolf will kill just for the sheer fun of it, especially when humans or elves are around. They are their preferred prey and will be pursued beyond all others. The only exception is other werewolves. Most encounters by other werewolves turn out to be violent, more often than not with one werewolf dying. However, when one wolf can establish alpha dominance over another, a werewolf will begin to form a pack just like any other wolf. The packs can grow in number even over the single night that a werewolf is transformed, as they noisily communicate their presence. A werewolf pack is immensely dangerous.

- A werewolf transformation occurs when the scarred moon is full and emits its red light. Just before the moon begins to rise, on the edge of darkness, a werewolf will begin to feel symptoms of the oncoming change in the form of small pains, usually in the abdomen, and labored breathing. Before long, the pains grow in strength and are accompanied by a feeling of intense heat. Finally, just before the change is about to hit full swing, a werewolf’s organs will begin to make audible sounds of movement and rearranging. These symptoms can last from five to ten minutes. Then the actual transformation kicks in, a horrific altering of the whole body into a new creature. A werewolf change shifts and breaks the bones into new shapes, stretches the skin and muscle and rearranges the organs bit by bit until the subject is completely a werewolf. There is likely nothing that quite approaches that pain. From the start of the first pains to the very end, a werewolf transformation can take up to fifteen minutes. During this time, growing bulk stretches and strains most clothing. Almost all clothing is utterly destroyed by this, as the werewolf would have to be wearing something as loose as a potato sack to have hope of it surviving. Even if, any shreds of clothing large enough to bother are promptly removed by the irritable wolf upon completion of its metamorphosis. However, the transformation to and back does heal any and all wounds due to the replacement of tissue the change entails.

- It is possible to stave off a werewolf change and prolong your time as a human, but this comes at a cost. The change is slowed down, taking longer to finally occur and dragging the actual process out. The subject is spared none of the pain, and prolonging it doesn’t help things. About ten minutes can be bought using this torturous technique until the werewolf becomes too bestial to focus on staving off the transformation anymore.

- A werewolf injured to the point of near death will immediately transform back into its human form as a survival tactic. This will heal all wounds, but of course leave the werewolf utterly vulnerable.

- A werewolf is about one and a half times larger than the human it transformed from. The fur is normally based somewhat off of the hair color of the human subject, though this isn’t always the case. Like most wolves, it has a tail, but unlike most wolves its front limbs end in a blended mixture between paws and deadly claws. Besides that, there are few differences between a wolf and werewolf. In human form, the only sign is that in dim conditions a werewolf’s eyes can seem to catch the light and reflect it back. This is terribly hard to catch, even if you’re specifically looking for it.

- A werewolf changes back into its human/elven form when the sun rises. This is just as unpleasant as the change to a werewolf.

- A werewolf can become pregnant and the weekly transformations do not hurt the developing baby. Also, werewolves in the later stages of pregnancy become much more placid, no longer seeking out prey or trouble, a survival instinct that makes sure the baby suffers no harm before birth. However, at this stage the wolf is very protective. She will not go out of her way to hurt anyone, but will not tolerate anyone touching her out of protective instinct. Some of the placidity probably occurs due to the fact that a pregnancy is terribly cumbersome, and a wolf with a big belly rarely feels like moving it.

- A child that the werewolf has after becoming a werewolf is absolutely safe from any werewolf parent. When they come of age and go through their first change, the parent treats them like any other werewolf, but until then the wolf won't attack its child period. Any child had before the werewolf was turned, however, is treated like any other prey.

- There are only two ways to become a werewolf. You must either be bitten by one or be born to parents with either one or both being a werewolf. Neither one has an advantage over the other- you're stuck with the same curse no matter what.

- Lastly, if you intend to be a werewolf, reference the FAQ, look under Celestial Bodies and familiarize yourself with the scarred moon. It's just a paragraph. An important one, for you!