InsaneJournal

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? »

One day your character will change into a wolf. This is completely out of their control, and the first time it happens can be at any age from childhood to old age. There is no obvious explanation, either -- they weren't attacked and bitten by another werewolf, and as far as they know it's not hereditary. (Sure, Uncle Angus is hairy as hell, but he's not a werewolf.) Research will bring up all sorts of folk tales -- everything from divine retribution to pacts with the devil to sleeping naked outside under a full moon -- but one's about as likely (or unlikely) as the next. Those afflicted will probably speculate anyway.

THE MOVIES ARE WRONG »

Werewolves are just people who turn into wolves. They have no intermediate step, and they don't turn into giant hairy half-wolf rage beasts. They are not affected by silver any more than a normal person would be (a well-placed bullet will kill them just fine, silver or not) and the same goes for the poisonous aconitum plant, commonly known as "wolfsbane". And, though your character would only be aware of this through first-hand experience, lycanthropy is not contagious -- other than medical bills and recovery time, surviving victims of a werewolf attack will go on living as they always did.

TYPES OF WEREWOLVES »

Lunar Werewolves change once every lunar month on the night of the full moon. The change is beyond their control and happens at moonrise, though they may experience a sort of werewolf PMS -- feeling weird, off, cranky, maybe animalistic -- over the course of the day. Once changed, they temporarily lose all recollection of having been human. (The game essentially happens in "real time" so that we can use the real lunar calendar, which you can find at the resources page. If you miss the big day, don't worry. This is why backdated logs were invented.) Former Werewolves changed only once, ever, but then they stayed that way for quite awhile. Unlike their lunar cousins, they retained their human memories and self-awareness while in wolf form, though it was only after a period of three to nine years that they were able to change back into their human selves. (How their disappearance from regular life was handled will vary from character to character.) Now that they're human again, their state seems to be permanent; former werewolves are unaffected by the night of the full moon and won't change again. So barring special plot reasons (dun dun dun!), their first time was also their last.

WHAT IS BEING A WOLF LIKE? »

For every werewolf in this game, their wolf form is similar to that of a grey wolf, the species native to North America. Their coat colour ranges from almost pure white through various shades of blond, cream, and ochre to grays, browns, and blacks. They typically weigh about eighty pounds, but werewolves in wolf form are much larger than natural wolves -- up to almost twice the size, usually anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds. They are not any faster than natural wolves, but they do possess increased strength appropriate for their size -- a werewolf can bite through bone like jello and easily push or pull up to 3,500 pounds. In exchange for limited wolf instinct, werewolves also retain human intelligence, including the ability to understand language. That said, spoken language is much easier for them than written language; wolf sight works differently than that of the human eye, making reading a challenge. (They are more likely to recognize obvious symbols and simple, large-print words -- stop signs, for example.) Otherwise werewolves in wolf form have no special abilities over natural wolves, though their increased size (and corresponding strength, bone density, etc) makes them very hard to kill. Much like with a bear, a .22 caliber bullet is not going to penetrate the skull. A shot from a .50 caliber bullet (a favorite handgun caliber for hunters concerned about encountering bears) would be an entirely different matter, however. For more information on grey wolves, see their Wikipedia entry.

WHAT IS THE TRANSFORMATION LIKE? »

The transformation is painful. It is also, thankfully, brief. One might describe it as feeling as though every bone in your body has simultaneously fractured and broken as the muscles and tendons in your body are pulled like taffy while your skin feels the worst itchy, blistering sunburn you've ever experienced. The process for new werewolves can take several agonizing minutes while experienced werewolves can usually transform in less than three. Just before the transformation begins, clothes feel uncomfortable. Either the wrong size or itchy or completely wrong in some other way. The werewolf will feel compelled to remove, tear off or otherwise get rid of everything attached to them, including jewelry. Generally after the first change werewolves don't wear much jewelry. If a werewolf is in the presence of another werewolf in the midst of a transformation, it will force the observing werewolf to transform as well. An example situation would be if a former werewolf were to be in the presence of a lunar werewolf on the night of the full moon. Though former werewolves left on their own will never transform again, placed next to a lunar werewolf just before they change will force a similar, (hopefully) temporary transformation.

Kinfolk
The majority of children, grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren of werewolves are merely human. The presence of a werewolf in the family tree can leave a dark supernatural mark and show itself later on in the bloodline. These rare werewolf descendants are known as kinfolk. There are only two things that distinguish kinfolk from their human relatives-- they can never contract lycanthropy and they have a special curse gift of their own.

There can be up to two kinfolk characters in the game possessing the same gift. An asterisk (*) will denote the number of characters currently in the game that posses that gift.

Astral projection • The ability to psychically travel and observe outside the physical body.
Note: When using this ability characters are essentially unconscious. Kinfolk with the receptive telepathy ability may also be able to perceive your character.

*Empathy • The ability to sense or manipulate the emotions of others.

"Invisibility" • The ability to be unnoticed by others by sight, sound, touch, smell or taste.
Note: While characters with this power are essentially invisible their ability does not work on cameras, security systems, infrared devices or other technological devices.

Power manipulation • The ability to force the power of another to turn on or off temporarily.
Note: In order to do this the character must be within hearing or seeing distance and must remain conscious. Also note that being able to manipulate powers does not mean your character is aware another character possess an ability.

Probability • The ability to manipulate the likeliness or unlikeliness of a probable outcome.

*Psychometry • The ability to perceive an object's past through touch.

Receptive telepathy • The ability to hear other peoples thoughts.
Note: Characters with this curse can control this ability just enough to shut the voices out if they like, but they cannot project or speak telepathically with others.

Technopathy • The ability to manipulate technology and machines.

Telekinesis • The ability to move objects (under 100 lbs) with one's mind.

Humans
Are human. 'Nough said.