#species.

[spaciebabie]

All this milf-trap talk is reminding me of namygaga. Species have you heard of them

who

[canthaveshitingotham-crucified]

i primarily wish for the fall of the american empire so that copyright law will burn in hell where it belongs and Jokers will be properly pluralized in the american mythos. funnier that way

[vhampyrs]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— 𝐋𝐘𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 —

tw : This meta will mention cannibalism, as is unavoidable for the topic at hand.

There are two main types of werewolves that come to mind when one thinks of the species: the accursed man-beasts of horror media fame, doomed to turn into ravenous creatures against their will at the bidding of the moon, and those who are capable of taking the form of wolves at will. The latter, while considered werewolves by colloquial understanding, are born from lineages of shapeshifters and blend more seamlessly into society. The former (which will be discussed in this entry), conversely, are the true "werewolves" by traditional definition; man-beasts who were often the scourge of many early Eastern European cultures, whom attributed varieties of legends to the creatures over the centuries. Most of these legends have consistent themes, yet take on their own flavors and differences shaped by different cultural experiences. The rise of Christianity was not the progenitor of the attribution of "sinful" characteristics to the werewolves, but it certainly did add to the allegorical symbolism of these beings, painting them as creatures of vice and morality tales to persuade the populace not to act undesirably, lest they end up as victims of the werewolves — or become the creature itself.

𝐄𝐓𝐘𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘

Many names have been given to the creatures over the years. "Werewolf" derives from the Old English werwulf, more common in Western Europe. This is the most popular term due to its usage in pop culture. But this is a far cry from the original name of this species, which in truth originated in Ancient Greece, not the regions of Europe most widely associated with the myth in the common day. Another popular yet less-used term is "lycanthrope", which was born from the true name of origin, lykanthropos in the Greek. And yet, neither of these words is the one most widely claimed by the species itself. Most have historically preferred the regional variants of their names, but as most lineages have been hunted to extinction or near-extinction, there is one wolven bloodline that has remained prevalent amongst its cursed brethren: the vârcolac.

𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍

The true origin of the curse of the vârcolac is contested, and many different versions of the myth exist with no concrete evidence as to the truth of how it started, but most of the vârcolac themselves would tell you that it all goes back to one source: King Lycoan, a figure of Greek mythology commonly regarded as the originator of werewolves in general, and the practices of the Wolf Cults in his realm of Arcadia, who worshipped Zeus Lycaeus. King Lycaon was a cruel man who, per the commonly recited myth, greatly offended Zeus by breaking the laws of hospitality in a most grievous way when he visited, serving him the meat of a human child to test his omniscience. As a punishment, Lycaon was transformed into a wolf-like beast, and those of his bloodline and the cult that followed him were cursed. This curse has persisted for thousands upon thousands of years with no cure and no mercy, and over time, the Arcadian Lycans dispersed with the rise and fall of the famed empires of the land.

The vârcolac lineage in particular trace their bloodline to Macednus, one of the fifty sons of King Lycaon and the founder of Macedonia. It was through the rise of the Macedonian empire that the vârcolac (albeit before they were called such) migrated to the regions of Romania and the south-western Balkans. After the fall of Macedonia, they became more culturally integrated into the local regions, and thus eventually took on the name of vârcolac ascribed to them by the people of the land. Other lineages of the lycans have seen similar migrations, with many being spread through the bloodlines of King Lycaon's sons and the kingdoms they founded. Those born naturally to one of these fifty lineages are regarded as the "purebred" among the lycanthropes, regarded for their superior strength, speed, and size to lycanthropes who are turned through the spreading curse, though as mentioned, most of these bloodlines have been hunted to near extinction.

𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄

It's a common misconception that lycanthropy spreads through the bite of a werewolf. This is not true for the vârcolac. In fact, the opposite is true: one must consume the cursed flesh of a vârcolac during a new moon to become one, if not born one naturally. This is owed to the origin of the Arcadian Cults; those not of King Lycaon's own accursed bloodline became wolves by the cursed consumption of human flesh during ritual feasts. Most who are transformed do so unintentionally as it's rare for a human (outside of the aforementioned, extinct cults) to ever willingly seek to become a vârcolac, as horrid as an existence it is. Most cases of those who become vârcolac are those who were tricked by a vârcolac intending to grow its pack, or those who, while fending off an attack from the beast, accidentally ingested its blood or flesh while defending themselves.

This isn't a guarantee that the individual will turn; if the amount ingested is small enough, it may be possible for the individual to fight it off entirely. In other cases, their body may not be able to withstand the curse, and they may die. Unlike for the natural-born vârcolac, however, it is possible for a turned vârcolac to cure itself: if they are able to abstain from eating human flesh for nine years, then the curse will be purged from their body. However, most do not have the willpower to make it that long, as the beast takes control every full moon nonetheless.

* It should be noted that, while vârcolac transform into beasts every three day period of a full moon, humans can only be turned into vârcolac during a new moon. This is because of the properties of the new moon; the veil between worlds is weakest then, and there is enough transformative magic present to initiate such a change. This is the same reason why vampyres can only turning fledglings during a new moon.

more information may be added over time as headcanons develop.

[rainydayballads]

Perceptive:

Do you have eyes in the back of your head, or are you just using a hidden mirror in your courtly fan? Who knows? Whether you have eight eyes or two, they sure are keen. Your Eyes stat is increased to a D20.

[rainydayballads]

Spooky:

There’s something in your appearance that sets other people’s nerves on edge. Something unnatural. Any check you make to intimidate others is made with advantage.

[rainydayballads]

Dangerous:

Something in your genetic makeup has given you natural weaponry. Maybe it’s fangs, or teeth, or poison, or simply high-density muscle mass and lots of it. Whatever the case may be, you can spend a Blunder Point to automatically succeed on Encroachment checks and deal whatever damage you rolled on the die.

[rainydayballads]

Large:

You’re tall or wide or possibly both. You make Balance checks with advantage. This includes when someone is trying to damage you.