Were-creature

The crack of the twig, the feel of my muscles tensing as I get ready to run. The wind through my fur. I never feel this alive when I'm human. I am a werewolf.

Werecreature Origins

Some werecreatures believe themselves to have noble beginnings. Making pacts with witches or fae to save their people. However, werecreatures origins are less noble than that. Each race may have provided a different slight to a different mage, however, betrayal is the most common reason that each werecreature was changed. Unwittingly, they would procreate on the nights leading up to the full moon passing the curse onto their children and creating what is now known as werecreatures.

What is a werecreature?

Werecreatures are supernatural humans that have the ability to change into that of a singular animal. They have heightened abilities while they are human, and are larger more adept creatures when they are shifted into their animal form.

On the three nights of the full moon, shifters have no control over their shift into their animal form. There are means to prevent the moon's turn through jewelry, however it has detrimental effects long term. You can find more about this in magical items.

How to become a werecreature

Werecreatures are born, bitten by a werecreature or cursed by a mage. Born werecreatures are the most natural and adept of their kind as it is a part of who they are while being bitten or cursed requires learning and adjusting.

Born

When you are born a were you must have at least one direct parent that is a werecreature. You can only become a werecreature that your parents are or that of one of your families ancestors. So if both of your parents are wolves then you will be a wolf, but if you have a werebear in your ancestry you can be a bear (the recessive gene can be purchased in the gem shop). If you have a wolf and bear parent then you can be born as one or the other.

Born weres are more adept at all aspects of being a were, including being more aware of their shifted presence, mastery of shifting and abilities. Born werecreatures have a mastery of shifting from a young age and are able to shift all or part of themselves at will.

Bitten

Bitten weres are created in exactly the method it sounds like. They are bitten by an adult werecreature and thus turned into the werecreature they were bitten by on the next full moon. Bitten weres lose all blood ancestry werecreature genes. For example, if your character is a human with a werebear ancestor, then bitten by a wolf. You can only pass on the wolf gene, the werebear gene is gone.

Bitten weres have a short opportunity to seek out the assistance of a life mage to reverse the effects of the bite. However, once the first turn occurs the effects are permanent. Magic users (like mages and hunters) lose their innate abilities but can still do low forms of manipulation.

Bitten weres must learn to control their shift (if they can even do it), struggle with their senses (especially in city settings), rarely remember their shifts and sometimes die before or during their first shift.

Cursed

Similar to how they were originally created, a person can be cursed by a mage and made into a werecreature. The effects are similar to being bitten. This sort of creation is extremely rare (must be purchased in the gem shop).

Werecreature Abilities

Heightened senses - Each sense is dependent on the type of werecreature your characters are to know what sort of acuity they have. Consider the strengths of the creature itself and that will effect their senses. For example, a wolf will have a better sense of smell then they will sight while a bird shifter will have better sight than smell.

Shifting - Shifting is an extremely painful process as bones reorganize and skin tears off to reveal fur. Having control over the shift indicates a pretty high pain tolerance as you can force it at will.

Turning - In order to turn someone the werecreature must have gone through puberty, this prevents youthful wolves from turning someone on accident. To turn someone into a werecreature they just have to bite them breaking the skin and causing the person to bleed. This can happen in both human and shifted form.

Rabid bite - Beyond turning a human into a werecreature, a werecreatures bite is toxic to other supernatural creatures. While not lethal it will make the creature sick and heal extremely slowly. This particular ability makes them apt partners for hunters.

Werecreature Types

Werecreatures come in many varieties. Below are the ones accepted on the site. If you want a custom werecreature type that isn't listed below you will need to purchase it from the gem shop.

In Dawnbreak all were types are accepted though, globally, werecreatures stay regional to where they would normally be. So you would primarily find alligator shifters, for example, in America in the southeast or China and not really anywhere else.

Wolf

Wolf shifters are the most prominent in Dawnbreak as it was founded by wolves and hunters more than a hundred years ago.

Wolf shifter abilities:

• Acute sense of smell - Can smell things from nearly a football field away.
• Great eyesight at close distances
• Acute sense of hearing, can hear conversations across the room or house
• 3 times human strength
• 2 times human agility
• 2 times human speed

Bear

• Acute sense of smell - Can smell things from nearly a football field away and more accurately than a wolf.
• Acute sense of hearing, can hear conversations across the room
• 4 times human strength

Lynx

• Good sense of smell
• Great eyesight
• Acute sense of hearing, can hear conversations across the room or house
• 2 times human strength
• 3 times human agility
• 4 times human speed

Fox

• Good sense of smell
• Great eyesight
• Acute sense of hearing, can hear conversations across the room or house
• 4 times human agility
• 2 times human speed

Hierarchy

Each creature tends to have their own hierarchy depending on where they are, however Dawnbreak has a unique dynamic where all shifters answer to the Redford wolf pack. While each creature has their own sub pack, or lone culture, shifter issues are brought to the Redford's Wolf pack.

For decisions, most things go to the Redford Pack council, which does include other werecreature types, but anything that needs immediate action, final decisions or the council needs a tie breaker, it goes to the Redford alpha and his mate.

Redford pack Hierarchy:

Alpha: Red Redford

Alpha's mate: Violet Redford

Lieutenant's: Donovan Redford, Alexei Kuznetsov (2 more open)

Council: 7 Open