Culture

Werewolves lurk somewhere near the bottom rung of supernatural society, both as a result of their tendency to remain either alone -- or occasionally in small packs of three or four that avoid other supernatural creatures -- and the messiness on nights with a full moon that more elegant creatures like vampires look down on. Some werewolves attempt to lead human lives at first, although their monthly transformations often force them to the edges of society to avoid either attracting attention or injuring someone else. As a result, many werewolves tend to live in the countryside or where there are fewer people to threaten them or be threatened by them. There are a number of werewolves, however, who remain among humans for the sole purpose of attacking as many people as possible during the full moon.

 

Appearance

Although they appear human most of the time, on the night of the full moon werewolves are forced to assume the shape of a wolf. It is possible to identify a werewolf, however, by the fact that they are far larger than a true wolf (and, of course, the fact that wolves have been thought to be extinct in England since the reign of Henry VII. That's always quite telling). In human shape, werewolves often look tired and ill in the days immediately preceding and following the full moon.

 

Powers

If you consider involuntarily transforming into a wolf on during each month's full moon to be a power, perhaps. In exchange for the heightened senses and brute strength of their wolf form, however, the werewolf gives up their human conscience and conscious, turning them into a savage monster hungry for human flesh -- and not recently-buried corpses, as some Continental superstitions hold. Werewolves retain increased senses of smell and sight in their human forms, allowing them to spot other supernatural creatures with relative ease. They also heal from injury nearly instantly in both wolf and human shape, although they still age at the same rate as un-cursed humans.

 

Weaknesses

Werewolves can only be harmed by silver, which burns to the touch. Any wound caused by silver heals slowly and can cause blood poisoning if not treated quickly, usually by a spell but occasionally by human medical knowledge. A sprig of wolfsbane can ward off a werewolf, although its poisonous nature makes it inconvenient for human use as a protective talisman.

 

Creating a Werewolf

All werewolves are created accidentally; even those werewolves who purposefully allow themselves to transform in populated areas do not possess the self-awareness to actually choose a victim. It takes a bite to infect a human with lycanthropy. Being scratched by a werewolf in wolf form or bitten by one in human form, while it does not cause the monthly transformations, leaves un-healable magical scars that cause the human in question to appear as cursed to other supernatural beings.

 

Lycanthropy is not hereditary; the children of male werewolves are human, and female werewolves cannot have children due to the effect of their monthly transformations on their pregnancies.

 

Killing a Werewolf

There is no magical or supernatural ritual involved in killing a werewolf beyond the use of silver to injure them to the point of death. Of course, injuring a werewolf to the point of death takes quite a bit of effort -- it's not as easy as it sounds.