Lycanthropy or werewolf? There wolf!

I was reading the thoughts on weretypes as characters in T&T at the Lone Delver and this caused my to think about it for my self.



I have had one player opt to play a werebear in a long ago campaign and have played a werewolf myself. These characters were both simple shapechangers and so did not require much thought about rules. I have also used traditional weres as villains.

In thinking about were-types one thing to decide early on is what do they change into. It could be a normal animal, a man with animal features (like the Wolfman), or a giant man-animal hybrid. In White Wolf's World of Darkness werewolves pass through no fewer than 5 stages beween amn and giant wolf.

Having decided that, give some thought to vulnerabilities. Are they hurt by normal weapons? Silver, magic, wolvesbane? Does it depend what form they are in?

Do they retain memory and conciousness when they switch forms? In some versions the two forms do not share any memories or knowledge.

How is the change effected? Is it a curse, a disease, as spell, or a Kindred type ability? In some versions of folklore the change is effected by litterally changing skins.

Are these "rules" the same for all were-types? Are there other types of shape-changer in the world?

One of my were-wolf villains was ripped straight from Stephen King's "Cycle of the Werewolf". Luckilly my players had not read it. He was a deranged priest who changed when the moon was full. He shifted into a giant man-wolf hybrid. He could only be hurt by silver or magic when in werewolf form. His index finger was the same length as his middle finger, hair grew on his palms and his eyebrows met in the middle. In his home was a complete abscence of anything made of silver. (I gave lots of clues).

I have also had fun with Selkies who shed their seal skins to walk on land as humans. Anyone finding them could put the skins on and dive in to the ocean as a seal.

Making Dragons Fly

Of all the iconic creatures of High Fantasy the Dragon is probably the least likely.

A fearsome flying, fire-breathing, often speaking, some times spell casting, giant lizard with near unpiercable hide and a seemingly insatiable appetite for princesses.

Such a creature is so unlikely that it has become my standard response to players who insist on questioning the "realism" of a fantasy world. "You have no trouble with flying, fire-breathing dragons but you have a problem with X?"

What's wrong with dragons? Well let's start with what's right. Size, we know from dinosaurs etc that reptiles can grow to enormous size. Sleeping for years after eating, again reptiles eat infrequently and many species undergo periods of prolonged hybernation. Intelligence, well...if you have a brain as large as a dragon's, why not? Armoured hide, the Romans made armour of crocodile hide, and scales and bony plates can be quite an effective defense. Fangs and claws, just look at nature red in tooth and claw. Even the bed of gold has its parallels in jackdaws and packrats stashing away interesting and shiny trinkets. And spell casting is no problem, after all this is Fantasy and magic is de riguer.

So what about the rest?

First, flight. How do dragon's fly? Most illustrations of drgons have wings that are too small for flight, and some have wings of almost impossible anatomy. Then there is the weight of the creature. Dragons are going to be very heavy... If we give them hollow bones and internal airsacs like birds to reduce weight they can fly (maybe) but become extremely fragile. Look at the Pterosaurs that grew to enormous size, they were spindly creatures.

Second, firey breath. How on earth do you make this one work? Do dragons have respiratory tracts lined with asbestos? Terminal GERD? The most sensible explanation I have seen is highly inflamable venom that the dragon spits or sprays. Belching hydrogen gas or similar might also work. Belching hydrogen would also help with flight as those airsacs I mentioned above could be filled with it.

I do however have an answer to all the issues with dragons. It is admitedly a bit of a cop out, but... MAGIC. Dragons fly because they are magic. Same reason they breathe fire, elves have pointed ears, wizards cast spells, orcs are ugly, etc. Magic. Also known as the Walter Cronkite rationale "And that's the way it is."

I do find suspension of disbelief easier if things are kept semi-plausable, but in a fantasy world you have freedom to break the rules occasionally.

A world with realistic dragons would be a less magical place.