Therianthropy

Therianthropy is a condition, disease or curse, that causes humanoids and giants to change form, usually into hybrid humanoid-animal states, becoming a creature known as a therianthrope.

Culture

Some organizations make it their mission to study the condition of therianthrope. The latter group will sometimes capture and attempt to cure those afflicted with therianthrope.
No deity in elaris has the condition as a part of their divine portfolio. However, priesthoods have conflicting claims on this topic, as some gods are often associated with therianthrope.
In most cities and large towns across Elaris, it is customary to cremate the remains of those that have been afflicted with therianthropy.

Acquisition

As a disease, therianthrope is generally contracted through open wounds being exposed to the blood, saliva, or other secretions of a true therianthrope or another infected. Some legends also claim the disease can potentially be contracted through love making.
Animals can also act as carriers of the contagion, such as spiders, wolves, worgs, and practically every kind of avian or mammal. It is less common for prey animals to be carriers, as they typically don't survive encounters with therianthropes. The type of animal determines the phenotype that is passed on to the afflicted, thus a wolf carrying therianthrope would inflict the werewolf phenotype.
The offspring of a therianthrope and non-infected has the potential to inherit the condition. If the condition is not inherited, the offspring and its descendants will instead gain a resistance to therianthropy. If ever exposed to the contagion they will instead become what is known as a quasilycanthrope.
Humans and demihumans—with the exception of dwarves—are susceptible to all forms of therianthrope. Other humanoid races are less uniform in their susceptibility, being less likely or outright immune to contracting certain phenotypes through pathologic means. Some of the humanoid races that are known to be susceptible to therianthropy include bugbears, goblins, gnolls, hobgoblins, kobolds, ogres, orcs, sahuagin, trolls, all true giants, firbolgs, voadkyn, and cyclops. Creatures that are highly innately magical or highly resistant to magic are generally immune.

Effects

Transfiguration

Those who are afflicted with therianthropy often don't have full control over their ability to transform and can be triggered into doing so by a certain circumstance. The most common of these in Elaris is a moon, such as Sorus, entering its full-moon phase. By contrast, true therianthropes are said to be generally unaffected by such triggers. An exception to this is the moonlight of Faerie, which will force a conversion of any therianthrope.
The process of transfiguring between therianthropic states is a painful experience for all but true therianthropes. If killed in its animal or hybrid form, a therianthrope's body will revert to its natural humanoid form.

Mental Effects

Once the transformation is complete, an afflicted therianthrope's personality will be subsumed and overtaken by a ravenous, predatory mindset until they return to their original form. This altered state of personality varies between strains of therianthropy, incorporating behavioral aspects of their strain's animal. This personality typically retained all the memories possessed by their humanoid state.
When an afflicted therianthrope finally does return to their base humanoid form, their memories of the time spent in their animal or hybrid form is either hazy or outright forgotten, as are any memories of the pain they experience during the process of transfiguring between states and of the transformative process itself. If an afflicted does manage to retain memories of the time spent in their animal or hybrid form they will be indistinct and surreal, as if one were recalling a nightmare.
By contrast, true therianthropes retain their personality in their animal or hybrid forms and their memories of the time spent in either form remains intact in their humanoid forms.

Vulnerabilities

Therianthrope brings with it a tremendous resilience to most forms of damage and is generally seen and known to be overcome only by magic and silvered weaponry. However, they can also be injured and poisoned by the gemstone variscite. Some monster hunters have found that all therianthropes suffer from at least one or more non-magical vulnerabilities that vary between each phenotype, and in some cases between individuals. This vulnerability is akin to a severe allergy to a specific type of plant and minerl, which they are sensitive to in their humanoid, hybrid, and animal forms. Low doses can incapacitate and weaken them, while greater doses can prove deadly.

Known Therianthrope Allergies

Phenotype	Mineral	Plant
Werebat	Silver	Skullcap Mushroom
Werebadger	Silver	Poppy
Werebear	Cold Iron	Belladonna
Wereboar	Silver	Camphor
Werecrocodile	Flint	Mandrake
Werefox	Canine Bones	Juniper Berry
Werejackal	Copper	Fennel
Werepanther	Amber	Catnip
Wererat	Silver	Poison Ivy
Wereseal	Whale Bone or Ivory	Amaranth
Wereshark	Petrified Wood	Mangrove Leaves
Weretiger	Obsidian	Ginseng
Werewolf	Silver	Wolfsbane

Prevention

There exist a number of magic items and spells in Elaris that can be used to preemptively protect one's body from contracting therianthrope. A potential post-preventative method against contraction of therianthropy is to use the spell wound bind on an injury produced by a therianthrope, though it only lowered a victim's susceptibility to contracting the disease.

Treatment

Suspended animation can be used to halt the progression of therianthropy in a victim until an effective means of curing them can be found. If an individual's therianthropy is hereditary, there is nothing that can be done to rid them of the condition.
A majority of curative spells and psionic powers and methods that can usually rid one of a disease have no effect against therianthropy. Some claim that the spells heal and cure disease can rid one of the infection, but it has to be done by a powerful priest within three days.
When it comes to those suffering therianthropy as a curse, it is said that remove curse is effective if cast upon the hybrid form of the therianthrope on the night of a full moon.
In terms of mundane methods, consumption of the plant belladonna is widely believed o be capable of curing theriathropy. However, it has to be fresh, picked within the last week. Some also claim that leeches can be used to cure a victim, though this is demonstrably false.
Finally, there exist some magical sites or phenomena that have the power to rid one of therianthropy. Drinking from the waters of a moonwell has the potential to purge therianthropy from the body, but it is not guaranteed and can only be tried once per moonwell.

Rumors & Legends

Therianthropy is mired in misconceptions as there exist several myths, legends, and folktales surrounding the condition. For example, one often quoted folktale claims that the condition only lasts for 15 or so years as the "animal inside" will allegedly die of old age.

This is a rare option

This option requires special permission to take. In the case of spells, psionic powers, and similar options, this option must be found in the world and cannot be taken upon level-up.

This is a stub

This article will be expanded upon in the future

This is a

Good Article

Table of Contents

Type

Magical