Lycanthrope

Lycanthropes are a curiosity in Kalijor. There are two different veins of the race, the canine and the feline. While it is not known how either race originated, what is known is that the different veins propagate differently. The canine lycanthropes pass on their lycanthropy through the exchange of bodily fluids, saliva, blood and the like. They are a particularly aggressive species that is not well liked by any of the other civilized races and due to their inability (or refusal) to accept more civilized ways of living, they have been hunted to near extinction by the rest of the world. Feline lycanthropes can only pass on their lycanthropy through genetic propagation, or the process of normal child bearing. Their bite and bodily fluids are not capable of spreading lycanthropy in any way. In the process of exterminating the canine lycanthropes, most of the felines have been destroyed as well, owing to general paranoia about the “condition” of lycanthropy. Regardless of how it is transmitted, all lycanthropes have certain traits/abilities in common, they are extremely strong, fast, agile, and notoriously difficult to injure. Their bodies heal so quickly that normal wounds disappear before they are ever even seen. In order to seriously harm, or kill a lycanthrope they must be exposed to weapons/implements made of, or coated in pure silver. The only other known means of destroying a lycanthrope is magic which seems to have no diminished effect on them. Lycanthropes are capable of shape-shifting into one of three different forms, that of a human, that of an animal, and that of a hybrid between the two. The hybrid form is their natural state while the other two are alternate forms. Their human guise is always fit and trim, an impeccable specimen of the species with toned muscles and perfect complexion. Their animal form is always at least twice as large as a normal specimen of the species and their eyes remain the same as in their human and hybrid forms, much less animal-like and usually the method used to identify them when in that form. The animal forms that lycanthropes take can vary greatly and are passed on to anyone that “inherits” lycanthropy from the individual in question (so someone bitten by a were-wolf will turn into a were-wolf of similar coloring and marking, not a were-tiger). Canine lycanthropes are savage, wild creatures that seem to be driven mad by their condition, during the day they act feral at best, but under the light of the stars they turn into uncontrollable beasts bent on carnage and destruction. Feline lycanthropes on the other hand are tribal people that live in harmony with their surroundings, welcome travelers/strangers and treat them as family members; however, they have understandably become increasingly reclusive as the war against lycanthropes has waged on, to the point that they are now almost nothing more than a memory to most people. In their hybrid forms they have tails, animal ears and fur covering their entire bodies with longer, human-like hair on their heads. Their animal forms are larger than a comparable animal and bear similar markings in the same variety of patterns and colorations.

Average Life Span: Immortal unless killed by violence. The longer a lycanthrope lives, the more powerful, and larger, it becomes.

Average Height: 4 to 7 feet in human form. The animal forms vary by species and sub-species, but are typically about 10% to 50% larger than a normal animal of the same type. Hybrid forms are typically 6 to 10 feet tall.

Average Weight: 80 to 250 pounds in human form (always fit and trim), 200 to 700 pounds in hybrid form, and 10% to 50% heavier than a normal animal of the same type when in animal form.

Eyes: Blues, greens, browns, hazles.

Hair: Browns, blacks, blonds, reds. Their hair in human form will usually have faintly visible markings that are similar to the markings of their fur in animal form. Also, in animal form they will have a mane of hair that is longer than normal for an animal of that type and in the same color as their human hair.