The Species List

[Astera]

Lycanthropes

2 Types:

- Natural born Lycanthropes: Called different names depending on the region, the accepted term is Lycanthrope. Natural born Lycanthropes are more common than bitten Lycanthropes. Females go through a month long heat cycle every ten years and it is only during this time she is able to conceive. The chances of conceiving are drastically lessened if the mating pair has not imprinted on each other. When females conceive in their human form, the first two months they are able to change but changing results in a miscarriage. After the two month period, the female is unable to change. Her healing abilities are slowed and she is vulnerable during pregnancy and a month or so after the birth.

Pregnancy lasts for nine months and children born are like human children, susceptible to human illnesses and all. At puberty, the child is forced to go through their first transformation into their Lycan form and after wards they are the same as their parents or any other Lycan. They mature until their early to mid twenties before the aging process stops.

The Lycan form of natural born Lycanthropes are slightly different than bitten Lycanthropes. They have a tendency to walk on all fours instead of the two hind legs, but they tend to be bigger in size and more muscular. Their "hands" are more paw-shaped, complete with a dew claw, and no thumb. They are able to grasp things but not very well. Natural born Lycans tend to rely a bit more on their strength than speed but that is not always the case. There are plenty of natural borns who are slender and built for speed. Even the largest of Lycans can still outrun a human.


- Bitten Lycanthropes:[/u] Called "Mutts", "Mongrels", or "Vali" (an older term), these are Lycanthropes made instead of born. To create a Lycanthrope, the process is a dangerous one. A massive amount of blood is needed from the Lycanthrope and given to/bleed on a human's open wound in order for the Lycanthropy to take hold. The wounds on the human are healed minutes later and for a week the human continues life as normal. Then, the human begins to feel light-headed, nauseated, and unable to focus clearly. They begin to see and hear things that are not there and are then forced through their first transformation. Not all humans are capable of handling the transformation and their minds often snap.

Bitten Lycanthropes are like natural born Lycanthropes. Their human forms are healed of all ailments and are in top physical condition and health. Their mating, pregnancy, and such are the same. In Lycan form, they tend to walk on two legs instead of four. Their hands are shaped similar to human hands, complete with a thumb, no dew claw, and are better able to grasp items. Bitten Lycanthropes tend to be slimmer and better built for speed, but this is not always true.

Bitten Lycanthropes can have a hard time adjusting to Lycan life and are killed by packs if they threaten to expose the species. A few are adopted into packs or create packs of their own.

Lycanthropes have 3 forms

[/b]

- Human form:[/u] The most common seen form. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing and are able to heal very quickly. They also tend to be a bit stronger than the average human but not Superman strong. They are not immune to silver, but depending on breed purity, some have a more severe allergy to silver than others.

- Wolf form:[/u] Probably the second most common form. They can vary in size and fur color, though they are not usually much bigger or smaller than the typical wolf.

- Lycan form:[/u] The beast form. They are more wolf-like in appearance with a few human-esque characteristics. They are from six foot from head to rear (not including tail) up to sometimes eight or more feet tall. Large males can weigh half a ton or more, the smallest females weighing four hundred pounds. If not trained at a young age or without a strong mindset, instincts can and will take over.

Humans

No need for much explanation here. Most humans are ignorant to the existence of Lycanthropes, because Lycans strive to stay hidden until the proper time to reveal themselves occur. There are humans who are wolf Hunters and seek out to kill Lycans. Please see the thread concerning Manus Dexter Dei under Information to Read to see the main group of Slayers run on this board.

Vampires

I think everyone knows about Vampires as well. I am not the most knowledgeable person concerning Vampires but there are restrictions.

- Vampires cannot reproduce. (Technically, Vampires can't even have sex but I'll slide on this rule)
- I will allow them to be able to walk about in day time, but they are very sensitive to the light, especially young Vampires.
- Vampires are created from having their blood drawn by an older Vampire then blood from the older Vampire given to the bitten human (usually ingested).
- If a Vampire drinks Lycanthrope blood, it can/will kill/poison them!

Therianthropes/Zoanthropes

The other, less popular "weres". These include:

Cynanthropy (Weredog)
Ailuranthropy (Werecats)
Kitsune (Werefox, specifically used in Japan but often accepted everywhere)

There are many other "weres" out there. All I ask is to keep it as realistic as possible and keep them mammal-based. (Please don't do rat, mouse, rabbit, etc.... if you really want to, PM an admin about it and we'll discuss it)

[Edwin O'Connor]

Werecats
-------------------------------------------------------------
General Information

-Werecats can be any species, including the larger housecat variety, but tend to be of the wild variety, such as leopard, tiger, lion, etc.

-Werecats only have two forms, the human and full-sized feline form, but tend to maintain more control over the circumstances of their shifting than lycans do.

In their feline forms, they tend to be larger than the average animal of their species, but not abnormally so. There is no "dire" form, so to speak. There are occasionally reports of sabretooth tigers within the werecat community, but if anyone actually knows of one, they're not talking.

-Regardless of species or gender, werecats tend to display a certain amount of their feline appearance even in their human form. (For example, a white weretiger would have VERY blue eyes, unless wearing contacts to disguise this. Cheetahs are rarely very muscular.)

-Regardless of species or gender, werecats also tend to display a certain amount of their feline habits. (For example, male lions tend to lay around all day, unless something's trying to take what's theirs.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Becoming a werecat

-Being born one. Natural born werecats are slowly growing more common, as they're less hunted than lycans, due to their ability to blend in, and the general solitary or mated pair nature of cats. (Lions are really the only ones known for gathering in large groups.)

Unlike the standard shapeshifters, both parents do NOT need to be werecats. The genetic mutation that led to werecats can be carried on either the x or y chromosome. While human-werecat matings that lead to werecat children are low, percentage-wise, they do occur, roughly once every 7-8 years somewhere on the planet. Human offspring of such a pairing are often very attractive, and have an affinity for cats, but nothing more. They do not have the ability to pass the condition to their offspring.

The downside to a pair of werecats mating, is that while fertility rates are comparable to human, werecat kits are incredibly weak, and often are either stillborn, or die a short time after their birth. Noone really knows why. It's apparently something in the same genetic mutation that causes the feline shapeshifting condition in the first place. Still, the VAST majority of werecats are natural borns from two werecat parents.

-------Being bitten

Like most shapeshifters, being bitten is enough to transmit the condition from a werecat, BUT bites aren't a 100% thing. The only sure way for a human to become a werecat would be through blood exchange, or some other fluid. Potentially, a night of heavy sex could be enough, but so far no werecat has claimed to have been "turned by fucking". Most werecats seem to regard the idea as more of an urban legend, or as a dig on a particularly promiscuous female or male. ("Sheila really gets around, like she's trying to see if she can turn someone by fucking them.")
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL STRENGTHS
-Werecats are not lunar-tied at all, but generally feel a stronger pull toward their animal natures during nighttime. Extended periods without shifting can lead to lycan-like problems with maintaining control over their animal side. Some werecats claim to have greater issues during a particular moonphase, but most older werecats would simply say this is either a purely psychological issue, or because they simply restrain their animal side too much the rest of the month, and have brought the problem upon themselves.

Werecats are not particularly vulnerable to any particular substance or metal, but by the same token, they are much less resistant to damage, and take a bit longer to heal than lycans do.

Werecats all tend to exude a certain amount of "animal magnetism" that humans seem to be quite vulnerable to. As such, they tend to be fairly popular, aside from with people who don't like cats. Avowed cat haters will dislike werecats without truly understanding why.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL WEAKNESSES
-Slower to heal than other shapeshifters, such as lycans.

-Can be weakened (though not killed) by illness. This seems to be a holdover from when they're first born. If a werecat survives their first year or two, they're pretty much guaranteed to be able to mature. However, they still can catch colds, and even feline diseases, though they will eventually shake them off. During these times of illness, they're little more than human.

-Females of their species in heat. Female werecats all go into heat twice per year, for five days. Males around females in season will become extremely aggressive to anyone or anything getting in their way. A female in heat around two or more males will probably lead to pure chaos, and at least one dead or severely injured werecat. The heat cycle never ends early, even if the body is in the beginning stages of pregnancy.

[Astera]

Boudas/Bultungin (Werehyena)

General Information:[/u]

- Boudas and Bultungin are both generally accepted terms for Werehyenas. Most of them do not necessarily like being called "Were", the same as their Lycanthrope cousins.

- Like their Lycanthrope cousins, they have three forms. The human form, the beast form, and the animal form. They prefer their human forms.

- Bultungins are extremely endangered. There are probably only four hundred left, with these numbers dwindling. Those that live in packs live in Africa, the rest rogue and wanderers.

- Due to their unusual and strict breeding requirements, Bultungins literally come in all shapes and sizes. Those that are from/live in Africa are almost all darker skinned in human forms. Those that live outside have either darker or lighter skin but they all have brown, black, or gray hair or a mixture. Their eyes are either dark brown or black.

- The natural born females are the more dominant ones. ALWAYS. They are taller and stronger than the males, much more aggressive in nature. Females that are natural born are androgynous in appearance. The natural born females are much more sexually charged than the males as well.

---------------

Natural Born:

- Bultungins heal slower than Lycanthropes, though not quite as slow as Werecats. They have a weakness against silver that is not as severe as Lycanthropes. There is a rumor they are severely allergic to a type of plant and they are vulnerable to poisons.

- Males are smaller than females. Females run the packs, they are the leaders as well as the protectors. If a male disobeys or is disliked, it is not uncommon for females to kill the offending male. Even rogue males bow down to the whims of females of their species, despite not being in a pack.

- Females are born with mock penises and a uterus and vagina that are too small to be able to sustain a child. If pregnancy does manage to happen, abortions are performed or the mother and child will die. Sex for the first time is extremely painful and even afterward, it is still uncomfortable for the female.

- Reproduction can only happen when a female human is turned into a Bultungin. When changed, the bitten female will not have a mock penis and be able to reproduce.

---------------

Bitten Bultingins:

- They are changed in the same manner as a Lycanthrope. Sex also does not cause a change, only direct blood/blood. Though, unlike Lycanthropes, not as much blood is needed to change a human into a Bultingin but it is still dangerous as Bultingins are males changing females into their species and males are the weaker sex.

- Changed females do not develop the mock penises the natural females do. However, they are considered more times than not lowly females and members and in unkind packs, their offspring are taken from them and raised by the females of the pack and the changed female is killed. Rogue mating pairs are still in danger of this as well. Because of this behavior, it does not help their species.