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Werewolf: The Forsaken Myths |
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Since I was unable to find Werewolf: The Forsaken myths online, I decided to type them up which will go alongside the World of Darkness RP I've created. These myths were lifted directly from the Werewolf: The Forsaken book created by White Wolf Publishing. Even if you have no interest in creating a World of Darkness RP or playing it (which is played similar to Dungeons and Dragons), the books themselves are excellent reads.
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Actual werewolf folklore is a tricky subject. It often contradicts itself, and many myths of people who can change into animals are technically myths about witches rather than shapeshifting monsters. Furthermore, some popularly accepted elements of werewolf folklore are recent inventions. (The silver bullet is largely a Hollywood addition, for instance.) So which of these myths are true where the Uratha are concerned, and which are human misconceptions?
Werewolves catch lycanthropy when bitten by another werewolf: Myth. Werewolves are born to their power, although they consider themselves human at first. A young werewolf might be bitten by another werewolf before his First Change, but the bite does not transmit the condition. It is more of an initiation, the first step down the road to discovering what he really is.
Werewolves change during the night or nights of a full moon: Part fact, part myth. Werewolves are tied to the moon, and each phase influences the urges of any werewolf whose First Change occurs under it. Those werewolves who undergo their First Change under the full moon tend to be more violent, and their rampages often coincide with the appearance of their moon phase in the sky. A werewolf can shapeshift regardless of the moon's phase, though.
Werewolves can be killed only by silver: Myth, with basis in fact. Werewolves can die from massive damage from almost any source, but they heal so quickly that it takes a tremendous amount of punishment to slay a werewolf. Yet silver inflicts searing wounds that cannot be healed quickly, so a silver bullet will kill a werewolf more readily than a steel-jacketed round would.
Werewolves are allergic to wolfsbane: Largely myth. Wolfsbane has has some power to affect werewolves, but only when imbued with supernatural power. On its own, it's just another plant.
Werewolves are witches who dress in wolf skins to change: Myth. Again, werewolves are born to their state; they do not steal it through magical ritual.
Werewolves lose their human intellect when they shapechange: Mostly myth. In most forms, a werewolf retains her full intelligence, though she posesses a certain amount of predatory instinct in all forms. the exception is the horrifying Gauru form. A werewolf who takes this form still possesses human intelligence, but her rational side is overridden by the desire to destroy. It takes great strength of will to do anything but attack and kill while in Gauru form.
A werewolf can be detected in human form by signs such as eyebrows that grow together or index and middle fingers of equal length: Myth. A werewolf's human form provides better camouflage than that.
Werewolves are solitary monsters: Partly myth. Werewolves are pack animals, like wolves. However, they do not blend in well with human beings, and most prefer the company of their own kind.
If you cut off the paw of a werewolf in wolf form, it will become a human hand: Fact. If a werewolf's hand or other limb is severed, it will revert to a human part of the body, just as a werewolf who dies reverts to a human corpse. This even applies to the blood a werewolf spills, confounding DNA testing as a means of proving that werewolves exist. A werewolf in the war form can spill a gallon of blood, but it will all register as ordinary human blood.
Salem Wolf · Sun Dec 27, 2009 @ 10:32am · 0 Comments |
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