Lore: Lupine
Description: You possess information pertaining to werewolves- what they eat, when they gather, their strengths and their weaknesses. You can use this Knowledge to discover how best to combat them, or how to bring about a peace between their tribes and you. Unlike the Occult Knowledge, most of what you believe about your subject is actually true (though certainly not all).
- Novice: Your knowledge is largely speculation and hearsay.
- Practiced: You know some relevant facts.
- Competent: You possess a general understanding of your subject.
- Expert: You possess expansive knowledge.
- Master: You know as much about them as they do themselves.
Possessed by: Vampires, Magi, Witch-Hunters Specialties: Tribes, Totems, Spirit Guides, Packs, Ancestors
Contents
From Unmasqued
This Lore represents outsider or incomplete knowledge regarding werewolves, such as might be had by a vampire. It is notably less complete than Lore: Werewolf (which PCs are unlikely to ever receive), and is mixed with certain misconceptions and vagueries.
Generally Possessed By: Gangrel, rural Kindred
Sources Consulted for this List: None. It should be noted that UnMasqued werewolves have no connection to the White Wolf game Werewolf: The Apocalypse and that all genre material regarding them is almost entirely home brew (albeit heavily inspired by the excellent 1996 Sierra Adventure game Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within).
Lycanthrope Lore *
Holy *#%$! Werewolves exist! They turn into wolves! They feast on human flesh!
You know that werewolves have only two forms, a human form and a wolf form. You are unaware of the full capabilities of each, but you understand that as a human the werewolf has powers beyond normal mortals, and that as a wolf it has powers beyond normal wolves.
You know that werewolves tend to have very short tempers, and that their transformation to wolf form can be triggered by uncontrolled anger - in addition to the classical exposure to the light of a full moon.
You know that werewolves tend to be pack creatures, and that if you should be so unlucky as to encounter a werewolf, you will likely meet several of it's friends as well.
You know that werewolves tend to stay far from cities, and to inhabit rural or remote regions.
You know that silver and the herb acconite (wolfsbane) are both said to be banes to werewolves.
Lycanthrope Lore **
You know that werewolves, like vampires, do not age and could technically be considered immortal. You know that they are capable of recoving from injury or healing wounds at an exceptional rate, even more swiftly than a Kindred. You are aware that, not being undead and hence static creatures, they do change in phsyical appearance slightly with time, and that permanent changes may be made to their body (piercings, tattoos, amputations, etc...).
You know that werewolves, in human form, tend to be incredibly healthy, robust and attractive, and that they seem to display a resistance to disease or poison.
You know that werewolves, in wolf form, are hideously strong, fast and large (ranging from the size of a large European wolf to the size of a very hefty male lion). You know that they are more than a match for most Kindred.
You know that a werewolf, when killed, reverts to it's human form.
You know that werewolves, either through necessity or desire, commonly eat human flesh. You know that this blood lust (and the subsequent transformation into wolf form to acheive it) can be triggered by anger, by the sound of other wolves howling, by exposure to moonlight without any artificial light sources, or by the act of sexual intercourse.
You know that silver causes werewolves extreme pain, and that injuries made with a silver weapon do not heal as quickly as other ones. You know that werewolves tend to get uneasy around silver objects not being wielded as weapons as well. You are aware that wolfsbane (while some werewolves display allegenic symptoms toward it) is not a universal bane.
You know that one generally becomes a werewolf by being bitten by another werewolf or by sleeping with one. You hear that this is not always the case and that many bite victims/lovers of werewolves never transform.
You have a vague idea of how pack structure functions, and are aware that every pack has an alpha, although you cannot determine how alphas are decided.
Lycanthrope Lore ***
You know that werewolves, in human form, retain a meausure of supernatural strength and heightened awareness, giving them a significant edge over average mortal.
You know that werewolves, in wolf form, are able to shrug off most supernatural powers. You also hear that they seem to be more capable of healing injury, to the point where wounds vanish from their skin seconds after being struck. You know that the wolf form also becomes more powerful and ferocious after consuming human flesh, and that it is able to perform fantastical feats of strength, speed and endurance as a result.
You also know that many werewolves try to refrain from eating the flesh of man, even if they do seem to have a supernatural urge to do so, and that werewolves avoid cities mostly for fear of losing their control around so many people. The love of natural wilderness is a secondary motivation.
You know that some werewolves are more powerful than others, but that it has been observed that there is a rough but direct correlation between a werewolf's power and how uncontrollable it's actions are. You suspect that this may be related to why some werewolves try to refrain from flesh eating.
You know that werewolves can also be born into the curse instead of being bitten, if one of their parents (usually the father) is a werewolf. Such werewolves tend to be more powerful, and almost universally are alphas of their packs. You also know that the rumor regarding lycanthropy being spread through sex is a myth, and that the lovers of werewolves who inherit the curse have always been bitten at some point.
You are aware that all those who receive the bite of a werewolves tend to be slightly "infected" with the curse, and may exhibit symptoms of lycanthropy without transforming. These symptoms include irritability, lack of self control, sadistic fantasies, and sporadic sharpening of the senses or sudden increases to physical strength. You know further, that such lycanthropically affected mortals can live out their entire lives without once transforming into a wolf.
You know that no Cainite has ever been transformed into a werewolf by a lycanthrope's bite, and that no werewolf has ever been successfully Embraced.
You know that there is some sort of supernatural bond between the alpha and the wolves within his or her pack, although you aren't certain what this entails.
Lycanthrope Lore ****
You know that most Disciplines affecting a human will not effect a lycanthrope in wolf form, but that Animalism is said to have some effects.
You know that werewolves fall deeper into their curse through giving into their bestial nature, committing atrocity, and/or eating the flesh of men. This has the result of both making the wolf more powerful, strong and capable of killing, while simultaneously also making them more feral, uncontrolled and quick to anger. You have heard that some of the most powerful werewolves were comparable to the oldest of elder vampires in the depth of their prowess - however, you know that werewolves tell unsettling stories, of how such creatures died - not by being killed - but by rapidly starving to death as they ran out of prey to feed of off. You've heard stories that Bête du Gévaudan was allegedly a lycanthrope who had fallen into such a state.
You know that the original progeniters of the werewolf curse were neither bite victims, nor werewolves by birth, but were rumored to be men so wicked that they received a curse from God that their bodies should come to resemble their souls and appetites.
You know that the catalyst for transformation to a werewolf after being bitten (or even being born into the curse) is almost always the act of murder in hot blood, and that virtually every werewolf alive killed somebody the first time they transformed.
You have heard rumors that there is a way for a willing mortal to transform themselves into a werewolf via some form of ritual.
You know that the alpha of a pack is a werewolf born into the curse, and that his pack generally consists of those he has brought into the curse through biting. You further know that because the curse of any "beta" belongs originally to the blood of the alpha, that as such betas show a supernatural psychological submission to their alpha. It is excruciatingly hard for them to act directly against him.
Lycanthrope Lore *****
You know that eventually, when werewolves reach a certain level of power and depravity, they revert to wolf form upon death. You also have heard of that these beings no longer have the ability or need for sleep; that they must consume human flesh regularly to survive; and that some even can no longer even return to their human shape.
You know that there are dark means to transform oneself into a werewolf through use of infernal pacts (often said to involve an ointment made from human fat and a belt made from human skin). You known that such beasts are exceptionally rare, and exceptionally powerful
You know that the alpha of a pack is beholden to his underlings just as much as they are to him. You know that should an alpha ever strike at one of his own with by his own hand, he will feel a sympathetic agony with the wound inflicted. You can muse a great deal on how this effects the alpha/beta relationship so as to be different from that of a Sire and Childe.
Credit to the Author: http://www.unmasqued.com/lores_lycanthrope.php
