Post by Minister for Magic on May 25, 2010 15:22:47 GMT 1
WEREWOLVES
According to Hex
Updated parts of the document are in italics.
As vampires have a page, we decided this is only fair. We've seriously deviated from the direction the books had taken with werewolves, so to eliminate member confusion, we've put this little fact-page up.INFECTION
The most common method of infection is by bite, transferring the disease onto a new host via saliva. The virus will only take hold if large amounts of infected saliva are allowed access to an open wound while the werewolf is in lupine form, so just kissing a significant other (even if they cut their lip) is harmless. Once bitten, an individual will become ill with random symptoms of varying severity until their first transformation at the next full moon. These first shifts are hideously painful.
Another way to get a werewolf is via genetics. If one parent is a werewolf, there is a 25% chance of the offspring bearing the disease, but if both are werewolves, this moves up to 50%. As an added note, female werewolves are far more likely to have twins or triplets.
Both muggles and wizards can be transformed into werewolves.SHIFTING
To be frank, these aren’t fun. They hurt. A lot. Especially for new werewolves. Thankfully they get better as time goes on, and older werewolves just get used to the discomfort. Those who were born werewolves are lucky enough to breeze through it fairly easily.
At first, change is triggered by the presence of the full moon. With practice, the werewolf can learn to voluntarily induce shifts at any time of the month (but must shift and stay shifted for the full moon). Shifts can also be brought on by extreme anger or panic, but can be held back with sufficient discipline. When a shift starts, there's no stopping it.
Once they've changed, newly turned werewolves are completely feral. They are driven only by animal instincts and the need to hunt and kill any prey item that crosses their path (humans, wizards and vampires respectively). All memory of their human lives and all rational thought is lost. However, with frequent practice and time, werewolves who have developed a degree of acceptance for what they are can learn to maintain their personality, thoughts and memories and eventually gain full control. Someone who vehemently fights against their nature and only turns when the moon is full is is unlikely to ever gain much sentience/sapience.APPEARANCE
Werewolves turn into a pseudo-anthropomorphic form, mostly resembling a wolf save for some subtle differences, such as a more human-like shoulder alignment, a font paw shape reminiscent of hands, and more human-like proportions. A reference image of what we're thinking of can be found HERE. They walk and run on four legs, but can stand up and take a few steps to either investigate their surroundings or to intimidate others.
In general, a werewolf will reflect their human shape, so a short but muscular human turns into a short but muscular wolf, and a tall skinny person becomes a tall, lanky wolf in turn. Natural hair and eye colour also plays a part, and a werewolf’s fur and eyes will reflect this.STRENGTHS
There are perks present to being in werewolf form. When transformed their strength, speed and stamina are highly advanced to the point that one on their own could challenge a fully mature vampire in a fair fight, although this depends somewhat on physical condition. A couch-potato werewolf with no muscle tone might not fare as well as one who works out every day as a human. They also develop keen eyesight, smell and hearing beyond that of a human and a wolf combined.
In human form, most of these benefits are lost. They're as strong and fast as anyone else, but they seem to retain weird canine-like quirks, such as predicting weather and developing a sense for untrustworthy individuals. They can also identify different humanoid species (such as vampires and shifted animagi) by smell, and vice versa.
They’re also physically hardier (in both forms) and can withstand and recover from much more severe punishment than humans. When they shift, wounds heal while their body rearranges, so all but the most serious wounds sustained as a werewolf will disappear when they turn back into a human, and vice versa. However, this doesn’t mean there’s no chance of scarring. They also seem to have an odd immunity from human diseases, but not from canine ones. Watch out for that kennel cough!WEAKNESSES
Yeah, you knew silver was coming, didn't you? It’s not immediately harmful to the touch in human form, but they still display some allergen like reactions to physical contact with it. Ergo, you’re not likely to spot a werewolf with silver jewellery. These reactions get exaggerated in wolf form, so any clever werewolf will be wary about contact with silver at this time.
Silver isn't a major problem unless it gets near the bloodstream. Injuries from silver hurt like crazy and do not heal normally. The wounds will carry over even after shifting and scarring is likely to be heavier than it would be otherwise. Silver wounds are also far more likely to be fatal than wounds gotten from anything else. So although they might survive a normal bullet where a human wouldn’t, a silver one will definitely do the trick.
Otherwise, they’re still for all intents and purposes mortal. Bash one thoroughly enough with a baseball bat or injure them enough and yes, they will die. They’re also not immune to spells, curses or jinxes and will age like anyone else.SOCIETY
Since the second wizarding war and due to the efforts of Hermione Granger, werewolf stigma is not as common as it used to be, particularly among younger generations, but it's still far from gone. They are no longer forced to be solitary due to social constraints, and can seek work if they so wish it, although employment still isn't easy. A werewolf generally has two choices:
They can try and become a normal, fully functioning member of society. Own job, a house, have a girl or boyfriend, and generally have a normal human lifestyle. These 'lone' wolves are still subject to the laws of any resident packs, however.
Alternatively, they can opt to accept their new state and team up with others to form groups called packs and even claim territory in villages and districts. These packs are lead by an alpha pair, and like wolves there is a chain of command from highest to lowest. The alphas may or may not be romantically involved, depending on the packs nature.
Also, packs can be anything from outcasts and scavengers living together and sticking by their ways, or otherwise responsible members of society who meet up every now and then be it to shift together or to discuss matters. Each pack is different and there are no real hard and fast rules.
Either way, their future is up to them.
Generally, they don't get on very well with vampires, due to the tendency of both species to hunt each other down out of general dislike or for blood.
There are stories of werecats that live in the Asian jungles, and even of werehyenas roaming the African plains, but they appear to be a secretive bunch and few - if any - are found in Europe.