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Werewolf

Werewolf

AX.GHW.13.07.01

A human host carrying a lycanthropic infection, not by lineage pact like a Skinchanger, but by transmission through a bite from an existing Werewolf during a full moon transformation. The infection produces involuntary shifts tied to the lunar cycle and progressive erosion of the human personality during the shifted state, particularly in the early years of infection.

Type: Shapeshifter (Lycanthrope, Infected)

Threat Power Package: Standard

Size: Large (shifted form); Medium (human form)

Attributes (shifted form, human form is 1D lower in Body and Speed)

  • Body: 4D
  • Speed: 3D
  • Wit: 2D

Talents

  • Brawl: 3D
  • Notice (Scent): 2D
  • Fortitude: 2D
  • Survival: 1D

Combat Statistics (shifted form)

  • Health: 34 (20 + Body 4 + Standard modifier 10)
  • Defense: 2 (Speed 3 + Armor 0 = 1, +1 = 2)
  • Armor: None (natural resilience)

Saves

  • Body Save: 6D (Body 4D + Fortitude 2D)
  • Speed Save: 3D (Speed 3D)
  • Wit Save: 2D (Wit 2D)

Attacks

  • Claw Strike: Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense, 4–6 damage typical
  • Bite: Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense (requires Grabbed target or charge), 4–6 damage typical; any human bitten during the Werewolf's shifted state must make a Body Save vs Threshold 4 or contract lycanthropic infection, symptoms manifest at the next full moon

Shapeshifter Traits

  • Silver Vulnerability: Silver weapons deal +2 damage; silver wounds do not benefit from Regeneration
  • Regeneration: The Werewolf regains 2 HP at the start of each of its Turns in shifted form. Silver wounds and fire damage do not regenerate.
  • Involuntary Shift: During the full moon (or when the GM determines stress triggers a shift), the Werewolf cannot remain in human form. In human form they have no combat-relevant supernatural traits and may be a sympathetic or even allied character.

Special Abilities

  • Pack Sense: Werewolves who share a pack bond (infected by the same Alpha) can sense each other's location and general state at Near range without a roll. Within the same scene, they coordinate attacks instinctively. When two or more Werewolves from the same pack attack the same target in the same Turn, each rolls at +1D.
  • Infection: As described in Bite. Wolfsbane applied to a fresh bite wound within one hour reduces the infection Save Threshold by 2 (to Threshold 2). Immediate treatment by a Sacred Fire practitioner (Threshold 3 application) can neutralize the infection entirely if applied within the same scene.

Tactics

Werewolves in their first few years of infection fight with animal instinct rather than tactical thought. They charge, they bite, they pursue fleeing targets. Older, more controlled Werewolves fight with both animal speed and human tactical awareness. In a pack, they flank and use Pack Sense to coordinate without communication. A Werewolf who retains significant human personality during the shift may be reasoned with or may respond to someone they know. This is not reliable, but it is possible.

Lore & Ecology

Lycanthropic infection spreads through bite, but not every bite infects. The conditions require the Werewolf to be in shifted form during a full moon, and the wound to penetrate deeply enough to introduce sufficient infectious material. Most Werewolves in established hidden-world communities are not threats; they are people managing a condition with varying degrees of success. The Skinchanger community has significant institutional knowledge about lycanthropic management that they share selectively. The threat version of this entry is the Werewolf whose management has failed or who never had support in the first place.

Destruction

Silver through the heart permanently destroys. Decapitation in shifted form is permanent. Fire is effective in both forms. The challenge is that killing a Werewolf kills the human host, a host who, in their human form, is a person with relationships, history, and potentially the desire to be helped rather than killed. Experienced hunters distinguish between the Werewolf who is a genuine threat and the newly infected person who needs intervention.

Scene Materials

  • Hair and tissue samples (confirm lycanthropic infection; $200–400 research value)
  • Evidence of human identity (operational and ethical significance)
  • If recently infected: evidence of the Alpha who bit them (points toward source)