Post by Sa'id Abdul-Rahman on Apr 2, 2009 18:09:52 GMT -5
There are four major types of creatures that are considered to fall under the label of 'Shapeshifters': the Werewolf clans (who are usually offended when called shapeshifters), the Lycanthropes, the Chosen, and Shapeshifters proper.
The Werewolf Clans:
The Werewolf Clans (with the capital W) have existed since the beginning of recorded history. While the occasional member goes out into the world, most keep to their own established clans and within their own cultures and governments, and they usually make great attempts to hide from the world around them. There are three recognized major clans: the Kanati, who range through most of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States; the semi-urbanized Antathe of Western Europe; and La Circle des Amis of Northwestern Canada. There are smaller clans, rarely bigger than one or two families- some of the more notable include one located in the Himalayan mountains, and one scattered in a few spots in the Middle East- but the majority of Werewolves are related in some way to one of the three major clans.
Those in the Werewolf clans are born werewolves, as a seemingly genetic phenomenon, and all of them change into wolves. If a person is born 'pureblooded'- having both Werewolf parents- they will become a Werewolf with no exceptions. If they have only one Werewolf parent (whether the other parent is a human, vampire, any other kind of shapeshifter regardless of form, etc.), there is a reduced chance of them experiencing the change. The first change happens sometime between the onset of puberty and the age of thirty. The Werewolf Clans are the only kind of shapeshifters who have a natural hybrid form (think the Wolfman, not cat-boys).
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropes are traditional werewolves, infected by a magical disease. They are bitten by an infected lycanthrope, who must break skin but does not have to be in animal form, and thereafter is forcibly changed into a wild wolf on the night of the full moon. Under a full moon, they lose human reasoning; they can learn to change at will and to retain some amount of reasoning ability at other times, but can never resist the forced change. They can be docile, but only as docile as the animal they turn into- a wild animal is still a wild animal, and as any wolf breeder could tell you, even a supposedly domesticated wolf can do the unexpected. They act more and more animalistic in both forms as the full moon looms closer.
There are three known variants associated with lycanthropy: wolves, who have been traced as far back as the 3rd century AD around the British Isles; bears, who are first recorded for certain in 14th century Germany; and leopards, who seem to have shown up sometime during the early colonization of Africa in the 17th century. Though there are legends, there are no other known kinds.
All lycanthropes gain incredible speed and strength during their transformations (whether voluntary or not). They gain regeneration in all forms, though they are burned by pure silver and these wounds heal slowly and not cleanly. If bitten, a person has until the next full moon to receive (usually magical) treatment. Other shapeshifters are entirely unaffected by the curse of lycanthropy; vampires, having no working natural metabolism, are as unaffected by this disease as any other; mages gain some resistance, but become violently ill and may succumb without treatment, draining them of their magic. Even with successful treatment, mortals and mages may gain some vulnerability to silver, become affected by the moon, and/or become carriers.
Chosen
There are certain animals which have gobs folklore surrounding them; this, depending on who you ask, may be the cause or the effect of the existence of Chosen. This group of Shapeshifters is disparate, but they all have a few things in common: at some point in their life, they have a vision, dream, or experience of a creature in the form of an animal, individually conceptualized as a god, spirit, Platonic archetype, or other independent being. They are told by this creature that they fulfill some arcane set of criteria, often not elaborated upon; afterward, they gain the ability to shapeshift into that animal and gain an extensive list of powers and weaknesses. These abilities are generally more related to things attributed to the animal by myth or folklore than attributes of the actual animal, though this varies.
While there are a great number of animals that choose people- e.g., foxes, wolves, raccoons, lions, owls, sharks, and snakes are common- there is always some sort of vision, and they always have one blatant supernatural characteristic that is usually more of a weakness then a benefit (okay, now think catboy- or kitsune, or medieval witch/werewolf tells). Whether the vision-creatures who choose shapeshifters, and what precisely they are if so, is hotly debated among mages and the surprisingly few Chosen who care.
Ancient Magical Bullshit/Miscellaneous Furries
Most other groups of Shapeshifters can be traced, one way or the other, back to strange experiments run by mages in more... unregulated times. Most of these are passed on to children, and result in a large number of varied creatures, some of which (ooc: restricted) include extinct, hybrid, and mythical beasts.
As this group has a great variety of forms and origins, they also have a great variety of powers and power levels, and most of them are not particularly stronger then your average normal mortal. In addition, being in essence magical constructs, all of them are susceptible to magical wards. However, they also have the greatest ability to expand their powers, including into minor magic. There exist legends of grand and powerful werecreatures of this kind that even learned to take other forms, but while there is some evidence that this extends past legend, no real proof exists. Even in legend, there is no tale of a true polymorph. (ooc: highly restricted and we will not help you with this.)
The Werewolf Clans:
The Werewolf Clans (with the capital W) have existed since the beginning of recorded history. While the occasional member goes out into the world, most keep to their own established clans and within their own cultures and governments, and they usually make great attempts to hide from the world around them. There are three recognized major clans: the Kanati, who range through most of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States; the semi-urbanized Antathe of Western Europe; and La Circle des Amis of Northwestern Canada. There are smaller clans, rarely bigger than one or two families- some of the more notable include one located in the Himalayan mountains, and one scattered in a few spots in the Middle East- but the majority of Werewolves are related in some way to one of the three major clans.
Those in the Werewolf clans are born werewolves, as a seemingly genetic phenomenon, and all of them change into wolves. If a person is born 'pureblooded'- having both Werewolf parents- they will become a Werewolf with no exceptions. If they have only one Werewolf parent (whether the other parent is a human, vampire, any other kind of shapeshifter regardless of form, etc.), there is a reduced chance of them experiencing the change. The first change happens sometime between the onset of puberty and the age of thirty. The Werewolf Clans are the only kind of shapeshifters who have a natural hybrid form (think the Wolfman, not cat-boys).
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropes are traditional werewolves, infected by a magical disease. They are bitten by an infected lycanthrope, who must break skin but does not have to be in animal form, and thereafter is forcibly changed into a wild wolf on the night of the full moon. Under a full moon, they lose human reasoning; they can learn to change at will and to retain some amount of reasoning ability at other times, but can never resist the forced change. They can be docile, but only as docile as the animal they turn into- a wild animal is still a wild animal, and as any wolf breeder could tell you, even a supposedly domesticated wolf can do the unexpected. They act more and more animalistic in both forms as the full moon looms closer.
There are three known variants associated with lycanthropy: wolves, who have been traced as far back as the 3rd century AD around the British Isles; bears, who are first recorded for certain in 14th century Germany; and leopards, who seem to have shown up sometime during the early colonization of Africa in the 17th century. Though there are legends, there are no other known kinds.
All lycanthropes gain incredible speed and strength during their transformations (whether voluntary or not). They gain regeneration in all forms, though they are burned by pure silver and these wounds heal slowly and not cleanly. If bitten, a person has until the next full moon to receive (usually magical) treatment. Other shapeshifters are entirely unaffected by the curse of lycanthropy; vampires, having no working natural metabolism, are as unaffected by this disease as any other; mages gain some resistance, but become violently ill and may succumb without treatment, draining them of their magic. Even with successful treatment, mortals and mages may gain some vulnerability to silver, become affected by the moon, and/or become carriers.
Chosen
There are certain animals which have gobs folklore surrounding them; this, depending on who you ask, may be the cause or the effect of the existence of Chosen. This group of Shapeshifters is disparate, but they all have a few things in common: at some point in their life, they have a vision, dream, or experience of a creature in the form of an animal, individually conceptualized as a god, spirit, Platonic archetype, or other independent being. They are told by this creature that they fulfill some arcane set of criteria, often not elaborated upon; afterward, they gain the ability to shapeshift into that animal and gain an extensive list of powers and weaknesses. These abilities are generally more related to things attributed to the animal by myth or folklore than attributes of the actual animal, though this varies.
While there are a great number of animals that choose people- e.g., foxes, wolves, raccoons, lions, owls, sharks, and snakes are common- there is always some sort of vision, and they always have one blatant supernatural characteristic that is usually more of a weakness then a benefit (okay, now think catboy- or kitsune, or medieval witch/werewolf tells). Whether the vision-creatures who choose shapeshifters, and what precisely they are if so, is hotly debated among mages and the surprisingly few Chosen who care.
Ancient Magical Bullshit/Miscellaneous Furries
Most other groups of Shapeshifters can be traced, one way or the other, back to strange experiments run by mages in more... unregulated times. Most of these are passed on to children, and result in a large number of varied creatures, some of which (ooc: restricted) include extinct, hybrid, and mythical beasts.
As this group has a great variety of forms and origins, they also have a great variety of powers and power levels, and most of them are not particularly stronger then your average normal mortal. In addition, being in essence magical constructs, all of them are susceptible to magical wards. However, they also have the greatest ability to expand their powers, including into minor magic. There exist legends of grand and powerful werecreatures of this kind that even learned to take other forms, but while there is some evidence that this extends past legend, no real proof exists. Even in legend, there is no tale of a true polymorph. (ooc: highly restricted and we will not help you with this.)