Talk:Lycanthrope

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If we're discussing lycans, I'd like a more solid list of how to interpret them. Being that I was helping to start up a solid wolf-lycan pack, and have encountered a curious number of differing interpretations on just what a 'lycan' is, in any form. Also, silver. What exactly does it do? And, is anyone else out there interested in such a lycan-wolf pack? Still trying to get it up and running :P


  • Odette
    • I guess it would really depend on what you wanted to play your character like on what silver will do. Though, to be honest, I'd think that having silver in the blood stream could kill a lycan, just because it's bad for them. Some people rp it as an itch or a burn, but if it stay inside them for too long a time, I'd think it'd be detrimental to their health and eventually kill them.
      • I guess there could be a small weakness part underneath their physical aspects to say what silver does, or can do, etc.
      • As one of those times looking, it says that vampire blood is a lycan's weakness, what's it do? Does it make them sick and weak or does it attack their lycan virus and make them weaker in some way?
    • It seems like lycans can be anything, as long as it's an animal? (By what the psycology part says). Perhaps the animals should be a little more fleshed out, or left alone? It does say hawks there, but I'm not sure how many people would actually approve of that one.
    • It also says that lycans can come from being scratched or bitten. I don't really like the scratched idea that much because anyone can accidentally scratch you, or do all those traits only happen when someone's in their animal form?
    • What can become a lycan?



More on this subject of what Lycans can be. It should most certainly extend to all animals with a spine. Predators without a doubt. Perhaps RP approval for prey Lycans (rabbits, squirrels, etc.). Mostly because prey animals would usually wouldn't spread the 'disease' very much. Also I think the issue of animals contracting the 'virus' should be left open. A wolfwere should be as open as a werewolf. -Cuki


  • Odette
    • If contracting the virus is open, then how is someone supposed to know that they don't want it, or don't want to rp getting that? It's easy to not become a vampire, since people know how they're sired, but what about a lycan? There seem to be a lot of ways.
    • Also, prey animals can give diseases just like any other animal. If it's contracted by a bite, what scared animal wouldn't bite someone? People also contract rabies, in real life, from squirrels because they're bitten or scratched, or something, why not the lycanthrope virus that way, too?
    • I like the idea of virus races like these to be taken off and all, because anyone can become one at any time, with rp or barely with any.


That is suppose to be the point. You don't know until the next full moon. Sorta like an pleasant surprise. Only not. It might be something you have to agree with OOCly, but ICly it could very possibly be something your character does not want. As for the prey. I suppose the difference would be that it would be less likely for you to contract it from a prey animal/Lycan for several reasons: less likely (but not impossible) to attack, don't go hunting for meat, more likely to run away, great chance of prey animals be killed outright, etc. Things like that make it significantly less chance of taking place.


  • Odette
    • Prey
      • Prey like animals pass on rabies to other people all the time. Why is it so different if they pass on some virus that's done in the same way?
      • Prey like animals are also hunted because they're prey like animals, which would mean that they'd bite or scratch things that are trying to come near them or do happen to catch them. Any cornered animal is bound to attack.
      • If prey like animals are more likely to run away, then them being killed, outright, is a contradiction. Anything can be killed, but most animals are going to put up a fight before that happens.
    • Are lycans allowed to change at anytime, or only at a full moon/at night?

Damion:

Several things I want to put here and a few questions

Firstly, I am soon going to be switching (back) to a lycan character, and I do intend on joining a pack as well, as soon as I can.

I agree that a predatory animal would be more likely to pass along the virus, particularly in things like random duels, so the opponent of the lycan is likely to be bitten or scratched, but by the rules of a DD is not killed, their fore contracting the disease.

Also, I agree that a scratch should not be a viable means of transport of the virus. Viruses are spread through the exchange of bodily fluid, and fingernails, or wolf claws, I suppose in this case, do not have any fluid on them or in them, unless the lycan happens to be bleeding or something at the time of the scratch. Teeth on the other hand always have saliva on them.

I have a question though that I am not sure has occurred to anyone, but lycans can obviously be any sort of mundane animal, i.e. were-wolf, were-deer, were-hawk, etc, but can lycans also be non-mundane animals? As in were-manticore, were-cerebus, or were-dragon? I think that perhaps this sort of lycan would open up a lot more variety, and more powerful breeds. Not to mention it could make quite a few interesting RPs.

On the subject of silver, I think that its effect should be expanded somewhat from what it is currently RPed as. Lycans tend to be a fairly powerful race, sence they have the option of being some sort of spell caster in their human-esque form and a fairly powerful fighter in their animal form. They have the best of both worlds. This of course can be kept in check by correct RPing, not giving your character unlimited power, but you cant always expect people to do that, and making silver have a mandatory strong effect on them puts some checks on things.

And also, since there are multiple breeds of lycans, could someone contract different forms of the virus? As so say, could some one be born a were-wolf and perhaps also be sired a were-chicken? This again gives lycans a little to much power, since it gives the player a choice to pick and chose what ever he wants to be, but then again its no different than someone playing a shape-shifter character with several different forms, or a dragon character having the ability to turn into human like forms and half human like forms, as they often do.

and finally, I think the moon should give a strong urge to change, particularly to sired lycans who have not yet gained a hold on the change. Born lycans, as is my understanding, can change at will and can resist the change during the full moon, but like I said, have a strong urge to change, hunt, kill, etc. This is just how I have always played, and I’ve played three lycan characters in the past, it seems logical to me.


  • Rhocielle
    • Regarding born lycans, I was wondering how extensive their permanent animal traits would go? Is it only limited to a tail and ears? Or, like some of the feline characters, could be extended further to say that some born lycans could permanently be in a lycan form for whatever reason of their genetic curse? It would seem to me that lycans in a permanent form would equally be inclined to have greater control of their more primal urges to kill and feed, or be that much more vulnerable to it, given that it is all they known.
    • As it is a common statement that a full moon brings about change or a stronger desire to change for lycan characters, is there a way to tell what phase of the moon is in Hollow, or is up to us to RP when the next full moon is, at this time?
    • As Hollow has in fact two satellites, as described here: http://www.hollowgame.com/wiki/Astral_Bodies , how does that affect our common belief in the ties between lycanthropy and the full moon, or moons, in this case?

  • Cyllarus
    • I would also like to repeat one of the questions above, what PC races can contract the virus? I have been playing Cyllarus as if centaurs are immune to it, being rather distantly related to normal bipeds. The only races farther out are dragons and prekleks and dryads. The others can be seen as fairly similar to humans, and thus still vulnerable to the virus, although a giant or ogre with the virus is a scary prospect.
    • Also, is it possible to cure someone who has been infected? For instance, if the wound is immediately treated with a creme containing silver and wolfsbane or something, can the infection be stopped before the curse completely takes them? If so, how long do they have before they are permanently afflicted?
    • I talked with Ryeanna, and here is her initial response:
You told Ryeanna, "ooc: oo, I was thinking about hmailing you. Last week I posted a question on the Lycan page in the wiki as to what races can be infected by a Lycan bite. I don't suppose you know the answer, do you?"
Ryeanna told you, "ooc: That's a good question. I think vampires and dragons are defintely a no and probably dryads, preks,felines, pixies and undead too."
You told Ryeanna, "ooc: I can see all those. How about centaurs? Trolls, ogres and giants you can make arguments both ways for also."
Ryeanna told you, "Centaurs yep (If we allowed that they'd look pretty odd). Trolls regenerate so they're a no. Ogres and giants would be ok I think."
You told Ryeanna, "So centaurs are immune to it? Or no? Cyll did get wounded by one, but I rp'd it as if there wasn't an infection. But if he's vulnerable to it, he'll be a bit more cautious in the future. ;)"
Ryeanna told you, "ooc: I'm pretty sure they are but would need to check what the others think."
      • I'll agree with what Ryeanna and Cyllarus have said of those not in danger of infection and turning lycan ~ Rhocielle (Lycan)
    • I would tie the Lycanthropy/Moon connection to the moon of Arh'Nuk. It is roughly the same size as our Earthly moon, while the other one is approximately the size of Mars (aka very small), and very erratic in it's pattern.



This is tentative until the admins weigh in for sure. The Probable categories are races I am fairly certain the admins would accept as Immune or Vulnerable. The Possible lists are those I am not sure what they will decide, but it is where I would place them. And the Draconians are a mystery. --Cyllarus 17:50, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

  • Races Probably Immune to Lycanthropy
    • Avian, Dragon, Dryad, Feline, Pixie, Preklek, Troll, Undead, Vampire
  • Races Possibly Immune
    • Centaur, Fermin, Naga
  • Unknown
    • Draconian (dragon half may make them immune, but non-dragon parent may make them vulnerable)
  • Possibly Vulnerable
    • Giant, Goblin, Minotaur, Ogre
  • Probably Vulnerable
    • Drow, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Human, Orc, Shadow Gnome
Published to Lycanthropy Curse

  • Soltinn

I was wondering about the class restrictions. If a lycanthrope can be just a diseased human, why is there a limit on the classes he/she can be? It should be open to all except maybe paladin, given that lycanthropy is often seen as evil, or at the very least, chaotic in nature. Can we change this?

  • Cyllarus (this was the response to Soltinn by hmail, putting it here for all)

Think of it as a matter of game balance. One of the draws for Humans is that they have so many choices available to them. If the comparatively superpowered Lycans had all the same choices available, there is less reason to play a plain human.



Cyllarus, I cannot add [[Category:Hollow Lore Manual]] because this page is locked.


  • Raziel


Right, so, here’s what I’ve been taught over my years of being in Hollow.. And, trust me, I’ve had several lycans.


First things first: Lycan forms depend on the form of whoever had scratched or bit them. (example: A wolf lycan bites a human, the human becomes a wolf lycan. Fox lycan bites a human, human becomes a fox lycan. So on and so forth.


Second thing I’ll mention is the lycan forms… In the past there’s been lycans who can become birds of prey, or carrion birds.. I, quite personally, find becoming a bird or an animal that is preyed upon, to be silly.. Shapeshifters should only be the ones able to do so. Not because a lycan should be scary or anything, but because of how I was taught on how to write the lycan’s shifting of forms. Which is as follows:::

A lycan, as I was taught, shifts by having their bones snap and break. Rearrange and change. Grow and shrink at a reasonable amount. Fur should burst forth, starting from the head and going down the back and body. And the tail bone should stretch back and into a tail form. Now. I’ve own three birds in my life, and have had since I was a baby to notice things about them. First of all, their feathers are basically the same thing as fur, yes.. But the tube part of the quill appears to be directly linked to veins.. Why I say this is because my cockatiel got spooked once, and one of his quills in his feather snapped.. He had bled a bit from that. I do not think that would be too fun for shifting, either way, growing feathers would be rather itchy to say the least. Also, the form of a lycan retains some humanity.. I would think the only way to become a human bird of sorts would be to be an avian.. Or something disturbing.. Just saying. As for a small animal, like a squirrel or rabbit, you’d have to shrink in immense proportions and likely still have to retain some bit of humanity to tell that you’re a lycan. Though, of course, I am just going by what I was taught over my years of Hollow.


Three: Biting and scratching. Biting is tradition, really. Scratching, however, is odd. But I wouldn’t knock it. The reasoning behind it is that if you got saliva under your nails, you still have the disease there.. Lycanthropy, in a sense, is like rabies. And, if I remember correctly about that, you can receive it from scratches too. HOWEVER, it has to be a deep scratch. One that would draw blood. Otherwise there’d be lycans absolutely everywhere! Nuff said there.


Four: The Full Moons: What I’ve learned here, is simply, that that is a day when a lycan is uncontrollable.. Can’t even control their shifting. Even the oldest of lycans can fall prey to the moon’s glow… Problem becomes, that Hollow has three moons.. If I’m quite correct. So, it’s usually that the lycans I’ve all known went by the full moons of our world.. It’s been said, also, that our full moons are the equivalent of one of the moons becoming full.. Or, even all of them at the same time. I really don’t know about the moon phases of Hollow, though. But that’s what has been done in the past.


Five: New lycans: I was taught that a freshly bitten lycan will act more aggressive, and be forced to shift for the first six full moons of their lycanthropy. Not being able to control their shift until that time has passed. In their shifted form, they’re utterly uncontrollable. And dangerous to themselves, family, friends, animals, everyone. Nobody. And I mean –nobody- should be able to control their shifting until after said time. Just what I was taught.. Makes sense to me.


Six: Old lycans: When I say old, this means the time that they have had the disease coursing through their veins. NOT how old they are.. Well, unless you’re a born lycan. Anyways. The longer the disease has been in their veins, the stronger they get and the quicker they heal. This being that if you had someone who’d been a lycan for, say, 1,000-2,000 or more years would have hulk-like strength. Literally. And practically not be able to die, for they’d heal so quickly… So quickly, in fact, that if somebody went to cut off their head, the skin and bones would heal before the sword has even had a chance to finish passing through. Of course, this doesn’t make them invincible. You could kill them with a guillotine, likely drowning, stabbing a sword through their heart and never removing it, and other many creative ways of killing them. This wouldn’t make them stronger than a revenant, also. Also, silver still burns them, but at this point they’d be immune to silver… However, I find it unfair to play an old lycan character like that unless you were planning on having some sort of fun with them, rather than dueling.


Seven: Born lycans :: This one I always just would wing, but I have it that a lycan –can- have ears. A tail. Both. Or none. They can also have wolf features (example: Wolf teeth, wolf eyes, claw-like nails, and so on.. Or whatever features are befitting of their animal. And that, since they’ve always had the disease, that they are better controlling themselves, aside from full moons where they’d get a tad more wild.. Or even very wild, depending on their attitudes. But, that’s about all I have for them.


Eight: Silver: I just rp that it burns like a… Well it burns like sticking your hand directly into a fire, then into acid right after.. Though maybe not that- bad. But, regardless, it’s no fun. I’ve seen it rped, however, that if you were to have drinken water that had a silver coin in it, that you’d have a reaction like being allergic to food.. Throat gets swollen, or even get symptoms of eyes puffing up. Other than that, silver in the blood stream is poison.


Nine: Vampire Blood: That… I have no clue on… I pass!


Ten:

What can become a lycan, from what I learned.

  • Human
  • Elf
  • Drow
  • Dwarf
  • Gnome
  • Half elf
  • Half drow (just thought I’d add that)
  • High elf
  • Hobbit
  • Ogre
  • Orc
  • Shadow gnome

What I believe cannot/should not::

  • Avian
  • Centaur
  • Draconian
  • Dragon
  • Dryad
  • Fermin
  • Feline
  • Giant
  • Minotaur
  • Naga
  • Pixie/Fairy
  • Preklek
  • Undead
  • Troll
  • Vampire

That’s my list, and I have my reasons.


Eleven: As for the disease being able to be healed not long after the bite.. That is a very good possibility that a silver something, like a silver crème, or wolfsbane could stop it… But it’s hard to say.. And, many times, it’s rped out that someone thought they were bitten by ‘Just a wolf’ and be completely oblivious or in denial about the whole thing. Though, if they knew they were, that’d be a definite different story.. However, it used to also be rped that the disease would heal up the wound quickly and seal the disease in.. But, honestly, hard to say.


Twelve: Classes: Classes are important too, though it should be open to a few more, perhaps.. Only because they –were- a person with a job and a lifestyle before they’ve changed into something. A druid would be a druid, a rogue a rogue, and so on.. It only makes sense to me that the classes don’t particularly change just because of the lycanthropy. But that’s just my own thoughts. Lycanthropes, however, have a lot of difficulty with magic. They’re minds are too stuck on instincts, and instincts usually overrule magic it seems.


Thirteen: Hmmm… I believe that’s about all I can think of.. At least for now. I’ve been around since Hollow 1, honestly, and most of my characters have either been lycan or have been affiliated with lycan packs… So this is all just opinions, and a compilation of what I’ve learned over the years.

Just thought I’d give some of my help, sorry for this being so much. I just wanted to give some of my knowledge, to assist with it. Honestly, I love lycans a lot.. So, I wouldn’t mind helping out with decisions in how to make them, at all. --Raziel (talk) 05:58, 2 August 2012 (UTC)


Also! I'd like to add that lycanthropy is a -disease- Lycan's do not have venom, because venom is what comes out of a hollow fang and poisons someone.. Well, for the most part. This is just a disease, and I've never understood why people say that they have lycan venom in them. Like I said above, Lycanthropy is basically like a warped version of rabies. But, that's just from what I learned. Take it or leave it. --Raziel (talk) 00:13, 13 August 2012 (UTC)