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this is to enlighten people to the subject of lycanthrophy



Lycanthropy





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Lycanthropy is the transformation of a human being into a wolf. Lycanthropy may be thought similar to metamorphosis. There are two types: the first types is exhibited as a mania in which the person imagines himself as being a wolf, and has a craving for blood. The second type is the magical-ecstatic transformation of a person into a werewolf which is usually accomplished through the use of ointments or charms.



The lore of werewolves has existed in many countries and civilizations since antiquity. Traditionally the belief in lycanthropy was first mentioned by Plato. Piny the Elder mentions it in his "Natural History", asserting that a certain member of a family in each generation becomes a wolf for nine years.



Other ancients including the poet Vergil, the novelist Petronius, and the geographer Strabo have written about the act of lycanthropy. In many legends the werewolf is a person born under a curse, and during the time of a full moon is unable to stop or control his hellish metamorphosis.



The term werewolf or "man-wolf" is derived from the Old English wer or man, plus wolf.



The werewolf is usually a man, but occasionally can be a woman or child, who roams the countryside killing and eating its victims. Often the werewolf is wounded and the wound sympathetically carries over to the human form and reveal the identity of the werewolf.



One theory, presented by P. E. I (Issac) Boneits in "Real Magic" (1971), explains that sympathetic wounding actually is a cellular psychokinesis brought on by an extreme telepathic rapport between the human and the animal. In such case the human identifies with the animal so much that he actually takes over the animal's body. So any wounding the person receives while controlling the werewolf will carry over through cellular psychokinesis to the human body.



Other legends claim the person deliberately transforms himself into a werewolf. A sorcerer will do this to do evil to or kill his enemy. In South America sorcerers are said to kill and drink the blood of their enemies.



It is claimed sorcerers can turn into other were-animals (man-animals) such as serpents, leopards, panthers, jackals, bears, coyotes, owls, foxes and other feared creatures. Although, it seems it is the wolf that elicits the most fear, and, therefore, is feared the most of all.



It is a Navajo Indian belief that witches change into werewolves and other were-animals by donning animal skins. As were-animals they travel at great speeds. The meet in caves at nights to initiate new members, to plan ritual killings-at-a-distance, practice necrophilia with female corpses and eat their victims.



During medieval times European and Baltic countries were entrenched with werewolf beliefs. Later in the 15th. and 16th. centuries werewolves, like witches, were thought to be servants of the Devil. They made pacts with the Devil and sold their souls to him for his help.



In the 16th century Franch enacted edicts which banned the practice of lycanthropy. Many cases that were brought to the courts involved murder and cannibalism. Many were convicted of killing children and eating parts of their bodies. One man took some of the flesh of a little girl home to his wife.



Another case was that of Peter Stubb near Cologne, in 1573. His confession was gotten from his after he was tortured on the rack. He started the "wicked art", as he called it, at the age of 12. He claimed the Devil had given him a magic belt that enabled him to change into a robust wolf.



He terrorized the countryside feeding on livestock, 13 children, two pregnant women, tearing the fetuses from the wombs and eating them. He also confessed to having incest with his daughter and having various mistresses. His sexual appetite remained unsatisfied, so the Devil sent him a succubus.



His escapades went on for 25 years until hunters tracked him down as a wolf, and he was recognized after slipping off the belt. His daughter and one mistress were judged to be accessories to his horrible killings and all were burned to death.



One of the strangest incidences involving werewolves was that of "Benandanti" in northern Italy. In this case the werewolves were men who left their bodies and assumed the shape of wolves. After becoming wolves they descended to the underworld to battle witches.



This case was tried in 1692 in Jurgenburg, Livonia, situated in an area east of the Baltic Sea, steeped in werewolf folklore. It involved an 80-year-old man named Thiess.



Thiess confessed to being a werewolf, saying his nose had been broken by a man named Skeistan, a witch who was dead at the time he had struck Thiess. According to Thiess' testimony Skeistan and other witches was preventing the crops of the area from growing. Their purpose for doing this was so they could carry the grain into hell. To help the crop to continue to grow Thiess with a band of other werewolves descended into hell to fight the witches to recover the grain.



The warring of the werewolves and the witches occurred on three nights of the year: Saint Lucia, Pentecost and Saint John (the seasonal changes). If the werewolves were slow in their descent the witches would bar the gates of hell, and the crops, livestock, and even the fish catch would suffer. As weapons the werewolves carried iron bars while the witches used broom handles. Skeistan broke Theiss' nose with a broom handle wrapped in a horse's tail.



The judges were astounded by such testimony, for they had naturally supposed the werewolves were agents of the Devil. But now they were hearing the werewolves were fighting the Devil. When asked what became of the souls of the werewolves, Thiess said they went to heaven. He insisted werewolves were the "hounds of Gods" who helped mankind by preventing the Devil from carrying off the abundance of the earth. If it were not for them all would suffer. He said there were werewolves in Germany and Russia also fighting witches in their own hells.



Thiess was determined in his confession, denying he had ever signed a pact with the Devil. He refused to see the parish priest who was sent for to chastise him, saying that he was a better man than any priest. He claimed he was neither the first nor the last man to become a werewolf in order to fight witches.



Finally the judges, probably out of desperation, sentenced Thiess to ten lashes for acts of idolatry and superstitious beliefs. A.G.H.





heres some more from unmasqued.com

This Lore represents outsider or incomplete knowledge regarding werewolves, such as might be had by a vampire. It is notably less complete than Lore: Werewolf (which PCs are unlikely to ever receive), and is mixed with certain misconceptions and vagueries.



Generally Possessed By: Gangrel, rural Kindred



Sources Consulted for this List: None. It should be noted that UnMasqued werewolves have no connection to the White Wolf game Werewolf: The Apocalypse and that all genre material regarding them is almost entirely home brew (albeit heavily inspired by the excellent 1996 Sierra Adventure game Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within).





Lycanthrope Lore x1

Holy *#%$! Werewolves exist! They turn into wolves! They feast on human flesh!





You know that werewolves have only two forms, a human form and a wolf form. You are unaware of the full capabilities of each, but you understand that as a human the werewolf has powers beyond normal mortals, and that as a wolf it has powers beyond normal wolves.





You know that werewolves tend to have very short tempers, and that their transformation to wolf form can be triggered by uncontrolled anger - in addition to the classical exposure to the light of a full moon.





You know that werewolves tend to be pack creatures, and that if you should be so unlucky as to encounter a werewolf, you will likely meet several of it's friends as well.





You know that werewolves tend to stay far from cities, and to inhabit rural or remote regions.





You know that silver and the herb acconite (wolfsbane) are both said to be banes to werewolves.





Lycanthrope Lore x2

You know that werewolves, like vampires, do not age and could technically be considered immortal. You know that they are capable of recoving from injury or healing wounds at an exceptional rate, even more swiftly than a Kindred. You are aware that, not being undead and hence static creatures, they do change in phsyical appearance slightly with time, and that permanent changes may be made to their body (piercings, tattoos, amputations, etc...).





You know that werewolves, in human form, tend to be incredibly healthy, robust and attractive, and that they seem to display a resistance to disease or poison.





You know that werewolves, in wolf form, are hideously strong, fast and large (ranging from the size of a large European wolf to the size of a very hefty male lion). You know that they are more than a match for most Kindred.





You know that a werewolf, when killed, reverts to it's human form.





You know that werewolves, either through necessity or desire, commonly eat human flesh. You know that this blood lust (and the subsequent transformation into wolf form to acheive it) can be triggered by anger, by the sound of other wolves howling, by exposure to moonlight without any artificial light sources, or by the act of sexual intercourse.





You know that silver causes werewolves extreme pain, and that injuries made with a silver weapon do not heal as quickly as other ones. You know that werewolves tend to get uneasy around silver objects not being wielded as weapons as well. You are aware that wolfsbane (while some werewolves display allegenic symptoms toward it) is not a universal bane.





You know that one generally becomes a werewolf by being bitten by another werewolf or by sleeping with one. You hear that this is not always the case and that many bite victims/lovers of werewolves never transform.





You have a vague idea of how pack structure functions, and are aware that every pack has an alpha, although you cannot determine how alphas are decided.





Lycanthrope Lore x3

You know that werewolves, in human form, retain a meausure of supernatural strength and heightened awareness, giving them a significant edge over average mortal.





You know that werewolves, in wolf form, are able to shrug off most supernatural powers. You also hear that they seem to be more capable of healing injury, to the point where wounds vanish from their skin seconds after being struck. You know that the wolf form also becomes more powerful and ferocious after consuming human flesh, and that it is able to perform fantastical feats of strength, speed and endurance as a result.





You also know that many werewolves try to refrain from eating the flesh of man, even if they do seem to have a supernatural urge to do so, and that werewolves avoid cities mostly for fear of losing their control around so many people. The love of natural wilderness is a secondary motivation.





You know that some werewolves are more powerful than others, but that it has been observed that there is a rough but direct correlation between a werewolf's power and how uncontrollable it's actions are. You suspect that this may be related to why some werewolves try to refrain from flesh eating.





You know that werewolves can also be born into the curse instead of being bitten, if one of their parents (usually the father) is a werewolf. Such werewolves tend to be more powerful, and almost universally are alphas of their packs. You also know that the rumor regarding lycanthropy being spread through sex is a myth, and that the lovers of werewolves who inherit the curse have always been bitten at some point.





You are aware that all those who receive the bite of a werewolves tend to be slightly "infected" with the curse, and may exhibit symptoms of lycanthropy without transforming. These symptoms include irritability, lack of self control, sadistic fantasies, and sporadic sharpening of the senses or sudden increases to physical strength. You know further, that such lycanthropically affected mortals can live out their entire lives without once transforming into a wolf.





You know that no Cainite has ever been transformed into a werewolf by a lycanthrope's bite, and that no werewolf has ever been successfully Embraced.





You know that there is some sort of supernatural bond between the alpha and the wolves within his or her pack, although you aren't certain what this entails.





Lycanthrope Lore x4

You know that most Disciplines affecting a human will not effect a lycanthrope in wolf form, but that Animalism is said to have some effects.





You know that werewolves fall deeper into their curse through giving into their bestial nature, committing atrocity, and/or eating the flesh of men. This has the result of both making the wolf more powerful, strong and capable of killing, while simultaneously also making them more feral, uncontrolled and quick to anger. You have heard that some of the most powerful werewolves were comparable to the oldest of elder vampires in the depth of their prowess - however, you know that werewolves tell unsettling stories, of how such creatures died - not by being killed - but by rapidly starving to death as they ran out of prey to feed of off. You've heard stories that Bête du Gévaudan was allegedly a lycanthrope who had fallen into such a state.





You know that the original progeniters of the werewolf curse were neither bite victims, nor werewolves by birth, but were rumored to be men so wicked that they received a curse from God that their bodies should come to resemble their souls and appetites.





You know that the catalyst for transformation to a werewolf after being bitten (or even being born into the curse) is almost always the act of murder in hot blood, and that virtually every werewolf alive killed somebody the first time they transformed.





You have heard rumors that there is a way for a willing mortal to transform themselves into a werewolf via some form of ritual.





You know that the alpha of a pack is a werewolf born into the curse, and that his pack generally consists of those he has brought into the curse through biting. You further know that because the curse of any "beta" belongs originally to the blood of the alpha, that as such betas show a supernatural psychological submission to their alpha. It is excruciatingly hard for them to act directly against him.





Lycanthrope Lore x5

You know that eventually, when werewolves reach a certain level of power and depravity, they revert to wolf form upon death. You also have heard of that these beings no longer have the ability or need for sleep; that they must consume human flesh regularly to survive; and that some even can no longer even return to their human shape.





You know that there are dark means to transform oneself into a werewolf through use of infernal pacts (often said to involve an ointment made from human fat and a belt made from human skin). You known that such beasts are exceptionally rare, and exceptionally powerful





You know that the alpha of a pack is beholden to his underlings just as much as they are to him. You know that should an alpha ever strike at one of his own with by his own hand, he will feel a sympathetic agony with the wound inflicted. You can muse a great deal on how this effects the alpha/beta relationship so as to be different from that of a Sire and Childe.