Werewolves in the Weird West
Seeing as though Pinnacle/White-Wolf are bringing out some crossover dime novels I thought I'd provide rules for using these creatures in the Weird West as both villains and as posse members...all these rules have been playtested (check out the Black Country posse to see the Were-Cat player!) and they worked quite well, but change them at your leisue of course!
A Brief History...
Wheras Vampirism is believed to be a disease and is in fact not, lycanthropy is believed to be supernatural, when in fact it is a disease (albeit not in a literal sense). No one knows the exact cause of lycanthropy but they sure have it's effects well documented. It seems the disease is linked to the lunar cycle and causes the sufferer to transform into a slavering beast which feeds on human flesh and is impervious to harm. The disease can also be passed on to other mortals through a bite, much like rabies (the symptoms of which are sometimes confused with lycanthropy). As far a cure, no one really knows of one - although scientist are working on it, but one thing is for sure - lycanthropy has been around a long time and looks set to stay for the near future...
The New Breed
Traditional Werecreatures are not necessarily evil, in fact most fight to defend nature and all that is good, but they have been given a bad rep (and more publicity) since 1863, when rumours of wolfmen attacking people and stock spread like wildfire throughout the Americas. The blame lies with the "new breed" of Were-creatures created by the Reckoning to spread fear and chaos, these are normal people who change into Werewolves at full moon but have no control over their actions - they become an abomination, a servant of the Reckoners - they do not suffer from lycanthropy, their curse is a supernatural thing. The New Breed and "True" werewolves do not get along very well, confrontations are savage and bloody, and are becoming more frequent.
Common Rules
All lycanthropes have the following characteristics;
- A lycanthrope may be of any carnivorous animal, not just a wolf - were-bears, were-lions, were-eagles, and even were-alligators all are considered as lycanthropes, although lycanthropes tend to take on the form of nocturnal predators
- Transformation A - lycanthrope may change into Were-beast form whenever he wishes (taking 1d4 turns to complete) so long as he passes a Spirit(5) check to stay in control of the Beast within - if he fails the check the Marshal takes control of the character and has him run amok as if he were a wild beast, if the character succesfully stays in control then he may then choose to transform further into Full Beast form - taking an extra full turn. A Were-Beast is half human, half beast (like a wolf man), a Full-Beast is fully transformed into the animal (like a wolf) and simply looks like a slightly larger version of the creature
- Full Moon - At this time of the month a lycanthrope must change into Were-beast form and his Spirit test TN becomes 9 as the beast tries to emerge, this transformation lasts the whole night
- Losing Control - The lycanthrope remembers nothing if the beast takes over, the Marshal plays the character and tries to find it fresh meat to eat, the Werewolf will not necessarily eat it's fellow posse members unless it is really hungry, rather it will eat their horses instead. An out of control were beast will not turn into full beast form.
- Were-Beast - When in this form the character's corporeal stats change, his Strength and Quickness Traits jump up by 2 steps (die types) and his Overawe co-ordination is doubled, Deftness, however, will drop by 2 steps as the creature has trouble using equipment. mental traits remain unchanged if the character is in control of the beast. Another bonus is the 6 inch claws the were-beast posseses, inflicting d8 extra damage in combat. A Were-beast's size increases by 1 also as they tend to get a bit bigger.
- Full Beast - The lycanthrope's mental traits become unchanged but his corporeal traits change as desired by the Marshal, usually (for wolves at least) pace increases, Deftness drops to 1d4, weapon use becomes impossible, the Trackin' aptitude increases amongst other things. The main advantage is that the lycanthrope can pass itself off as a normal creature.
- Toughness - Were-beast's take half wind damage in combat, and on top of this a Were-Creature is resistant to wounding, it's size increases by 1 when in were form but the character may halve all damage rolls made against him in combat (as if his size were doubled), magical attacks, however, do normal damage, but bullets/spears/explosions e.t.c do reduced damage (i.e if a bullet does 21 damage to a Were-creature's leg it causes 1 wound, not 3 - it's size is treated as 14, not 7, if the damage were magical it would cause 3 full wounds. This size increase is not in effect when in Human or Full beast form
- Silver - Lycanthropes have a vulnerability - silver, the Moon Metal. If harmed by a silver bullet (or other silver coated weapon) the lycanthrope suffer full damage as if it were a magical attack plus an extra dice damage on top of this, also his wound will smoke slightly, this extra damage occurs even in human form. Silver also causes full wind damage...
- Bloodlust - Werecreatures need (or believe they need) fresh meat to survive, be it of animal or human origin, in effect they all suffer from the Hankerin':Raw meat hindrance, they like to eat about a pound of raw meat a day, either in human or animal form.
- Human Form - Apart from the flesh hankerin' and the siver sensitivity a lycanthrope in human form is no different to most normal humans, he may develop a bit more hair and sleeps with his tongue hanging out but otherwise is totally normal.
- Lycanthrope Powers - Most Were-Creatures have special powers of some kind, whether it be a natural advanced healing ability or the power to tap into unatural raw strength their abilities are what set them aside from the viscious killing machines that are the New Breed!
The Disease
Lycanthropes carry their disease around in their saliva but it is only active during a full moon, this means that anybody they bite that night has a chance of catching it. If a target is bitten by a Were-Creature and takes a wound they must make a Hard(9)Spirit check or they will catch the disease, probably not realising it until the next full moon!
The Cure
There is one surefire way to cure lycanthropy - death! If a lycanthrope becomes Harrowed it no longer suffers from the disease, although it still does carry it. One other possible cure is a Belladona cocktail, made from deadly nightshade. If the plant is found then a concoction may be created on a Hard (9) Occult check, then the lycanthrope must drink it the day before the next full moon and takes a Hard(9)Vigor check due to the poisonous qualities of the potion. Passing loses him 3d6 wind, failing loses 6d6 wind, going bust loses him 9d6 wind. If wind falls to 0 in this way then the cocktail was too much for him and he dies in agony, if he survives the poison then he must then pass a Fair(5)Spirit check to be cured, if he fails then he must try again at the next full moon....bad luck