lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is a serious curse and supernatural disease. On the plus side, the subjects gain increased natural healing against wounds and increased vitality and most impressively, the ability to shape change into a full animal or an animal-human hybrid. These transformations are not subject to the Law of Conservation of Mass. They can transform into animals bigger or smaller than the base creature. The hybrid-man beast is nearly always larger in mass than the subjects human and animal forms.
Most afflicted take the form of wererats or werewolves, but an infected lycanthrope can take on the characteristics of almost any carnivorous or aggressive omnivorous mammal could.
Generally a werewolf will infect someone to turn into another werewolf and a weretiger will infect someone to turn into another weretiger but if the infected subject has a special affinity with a type of animal other than his or her attacker, the new infected lycanthrope will take on the animal characters of the animal they have an affinity with instead of that of their attacker.
While not (usually) mindless savages, lycanthropes all develop an obsession with bloodlust that only abates when they kill or maim something. The ability to resist this urge depends solely on the subject's willpower, but every lycanthrope that lives long enough eventually succumbs. This is accompanied by a growing lack of empathy for mortals who are not lycanthropes.
Despite popular belief, the full the full moon does not force a transformation or a killing spree. But any lycanthrope exposed to even a sliver of the full moon's light are exposed for what they are. Since lycanthropes cannot effectively hide on the night of the full moon, it's as good time as any to take the offensive.
Lycanthropy is believed to be connected to the the Void in some manner. Most lycanthropes have substantial resistance against energy draining effects and all of them are at least somewhat vulnerable to silver weapons. Silver is the traditional bane of Void Demons and undead and lycanthropes are very much alive.
Lycanthropes can instinctively recognize their own kind. Their innate bloodlust never forces them to attack other lycanthropes but nothing forces them to get along. Some are loners who eschew all company and others seek solace in the company of other lycanthropes.
Most lycanthropes are not involved with Void cultists or Infernalists but the accusation is nearly always there. Some turn to infernalists for shelter because no one else will take them in making this a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some lycanthropes, even those who have made peace with their need to murder still refuse to consort with the minions of the Void, perhaps living in a state of advanced denial.
Transmission & Vectors
Lycanthropy is possible (though not guaranteed) to be transferred to a humanoid through a bite, assuming the subject survives the bite.
Lycanthropy can also be passed from parent to child and occurs at a nearly 100% transmission rate.
Symptoms
Early stages has increased aggression and irritability.
Middle stages has increased growth of body hair. This can be controlled by shaving but lycanthropes rarely choose to do so at this point.
Late stages has a slight but noticeable feral cast to the eyes and teeth even in human form.
Treatment
Rare herbs can be used to avoid the contagion of lycanthrope if the bite can be properly treated within a few days of the point of contact.
Beyond this, only powerful magic usually amplified by am epic quest can cure an afflicted lycanthrope.
Most jurisdictions choose to "cure" late stage lycanthropes with a silver blade to the neck.
History
While records from exact events in the Second Unmaking and the immediate aftermath are spotty at best, but lycanthropy seemed to have cropped up in Scarterra during the later days of the cataclysm and remained a serious concern for centuries afterward.
It is believed that one or more of the Demon Lords either deliberately engineered the disease or they accidentally release as a byproduct of unrelated experimentation.
Type
Supernatural
Children
Origin
Alien
Cycle
Chronic, Acquired & Congenital
Rarity
Rare
Comments