A full moon, a howl in the night, a scream in the dark. Lycanthropes have been a part of horror and fantasy for a very long time. They have had the privilege of walking on both sides of audience perception as wanton cruel villains, and as darkly fascinating heroes. I believe my first introduction to werewolves in any meaningful way was in An American Werewolf in London, which I likely saw at way too young of an age. I stand by the fact that that film still holds the championship belt for the most painful looking werewolf transformation in film history. It is safe to say that lycanthropes are likely one of my most enjoyed fantasy creatures. This has led me to using them in a lot of my tabletop rpg sessions as villains, allies, and characters who are just trying to make their way in the world. In this editorial, I will explore and share ways in which I have used these shifting creatures, or even possibly how I could use them. Hopefully, It could spark some interesting ideas in the creative minds reading this to make something both frightening and fun.
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| Werewolves in 2004 Van Helsing are some of the best to date. |
To start, I’d like to look at the typical idea of a lycanthrope. When I say typical lycanthrope, I am referring to the beast that lives inside of a mortal and emerges once a month at the full moon. When an individual turns they are nothing but the beast; they are wild feral and have no control over their actions. It is only when they awake after the moon has passed that they become themselves. These are the cursed lycans doomed to endure until they are restored or, more likely, killed by a silver weapon of some kind. For me, using these in a storytelling game like Dungeons and Dragons, allows me the opportunity to create often very tragic and sympathetic characters. If an adventuring party comes to a town plagued by a werebear that is destroying whole house's, occupants and all, it creates an air of urgency to stop the beast. Consider what happens when it turns out to be the town priest who has been actively helping the victims, or what if it is a child who is scared and doesn’t know what's happening. This puts the party in a moral conundrum that leads to some very interesting moments of character development and could even cause a rift in the party. If the lawful good paladin see the cursed individual as a threat that has to be destroyed, but the chaotic good wizard has a theory on how to remove the curse, what's going to happen? Will the party seek the fastest solution or the one with a chance to save the cursed? Will they risk a angry mob if they kill a beloved member of the town? Will they put their lives on the line to keep the individual restrained while they work for a cure? What happens if one of the party gets bit? This is where things can get very tricky for a Dungeon Master, but if you know your world and know the party, it certainly can work.
The next point to bring up is the evil lycanthrope. These are beings that are fully aware of what they do when they shift.Some may even have control, but regardless, they enjoy the pain and slaughter that they commit. They may be killing just for kicks, or they may even be scheming masterminds with a grand plan. Regardless, due to the power they possess and their killer instinct, they can make a huge threat to a group of adventurers. These beings can exist in many fashions. One of my most enjoyed creations of this nature was a big bad evil guy for a story arch in a campaign. The creature was a wererat who had fashioned himself as Lord Below, in a major city where the player characters had begun to call home. The Lord Below was an apha wererat who had
called together others to act as his swarm .It was his ambition to take the city above. He was starting by kidnaping children and infecting them to raise them as his own personal horde along with those who joined him. This is one way to get a party's attention for a long term campaign against an evil lycanthrope. Another way that could easily be used for this type of villain is to introduce the Lone Killer. This is when a series of grisly murders begin to pop up and there seems to be a pattern and evidence of a lycan. However, he doesn’t ever turn his targets and there is a specific mode of operation to the creature's mind set. Examples include specific types of victims or even certain locations in which the kill must be made. Both of the above mentioned concepts can lead to some great villains.Sometimes lycanthropes may not be the big bad; they may be a major sub-boss in the story serving a greater master. Think of the werewolves working for Dracula in 2004’s Van Helsing. If a greater evil can give a evil lycanthrope what it wants and it knows how to temper the beast, lycans can be deadly elite henchmen for a mastermind.
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| Never forget wererats are indeed valid threats. |
The next thing that comes up when using lycanthropes are the good aligned werefolk. There have been a few examples of this in a few different works of fiction. These are the lycans that maintain some semblance of their humanity despite their shifting, some even using the dark gift as a tool to do good. The most popular example that comes to mind when one talks about these kind of werebeasts comes from the Worgen from the World of Warcraft video game, and honestly that's not a bad example to consider. Characters like this are more loners, often staying away from large groups of people. They understand that most will view them as monsters if they aren’t careful. That
being said, this doesn’t stop the afflicted from doing the right thing, good lycanthropes often take on the role of a protector or guardian type character in my narratives. There was a moment when I was thinking to myself: What would a group of good aligned lycanthropes look like? So, I had the thought of, an order of Paladins, Clerics, and Priests, dedicated to order, justice, and protection of the weak called the Lunar Sacrament. They are feared by most due to the fact that makes them different from from most holy orders. You guessed it, they are Lycanthropes. Its is the idea of to fight the darkness, you must use the darkness. I thought about what would be their errant forces. I determined that they travel in groups called packs, because it's fitting. A pack for this order of lycans, consists of a cleric, a priest, and three holy knights. I knew that seeing squads of roving lycans likely would be overwhelming to adventurers. So, what would be their Knight Errant type? There are some who walk the path of the lone crusader. These are, more often than not, the most well known members of the order, essentially being champions. However, one doesn’t need to go the paladin route. Just because I was inspired by the band Powerwolf doesn’t mean everyone will be. Exploring druidic customs as well as monastic paths could lead to some fascinating concepts when creating these kinds of characters.
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| Worgen in the World of Warcraft are both fierce and proud. |
Now we come to my last major point. How do you handle a player character who wants to be connected to lycanthropy? Well,there is good news! With the wonderful world of the open game license that is D&D, homebrew rules exist! I have found that there are indeed some very creative people in this community who love the idea of playing a lycanthrope or lycan touched character. Below, I will put some links that I have approved for use in most of my games. I hope they help you as they have me. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this brief exploration into werewolves and their kind in this little read. If you did please feel free to comment your thoughts and stay tuned into The Wanderer’s Corner. New content posts every Saturday, see you next weekend!
Home Brewery World of Warcraft Races (Worgen):
Reddits Werewolf Prestige Class by Wardrow:
Wizards of The Coast Unearthed Arcana: Eberron (Shifters)
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