Therianthropes

Therianthropes, also known as lycanthropes, werecreatures, or two-faces, are a monster species remarkable for their ability to change shape from a human-like form, to that of a vicious beast form. Therianthropy is generally a trait present at birth. It is possible for a human to be changed into one, though this generally involves fairly stringent preparation, as the process is often fatal.

There are several different therianthrope species, though the most commonly found are the werewolf, werecat, and wererat, though reports of werebears in the northern areas are frequent.
In their human forms, therianthropes can be distinguished by their sharp teeth ,claw-like nails, a scruffy, disobedient hair. Some may also have gold or yellow eyes.
The most remarkable trait about therianthropes is their ability to ‘free the beast’, taking on a monstrous form. The trigger that causes this change varies from species to species. Moonlight seems to effect werewolves, while wererats are driven to it by physical strain. The change is said to be very painful and can often result in large bruises and skin lesions. In their beast form they resemble hunched, animalistic humanoids with gangly limbs and elongated faces.
It is said that the change comes with a considerable change in demeanour, making the Were a lot more aggressive and savage. Many will be driven to hurt those that they once considered allies while in this state. The extent of the rage tends to depend on the natural savagery of the animal they become. As a result, werebears tend to wreak havoc on anything in the immediate area, losing all memory of former companions, while wererats will generally continue following their human aspect’s task as a beast and retain a vague memory of those their other half considered a friend, only attacking them in case of hunger or provocation. All Weres lose the ability to speak or perform complex tasks as a beast.

Therianthropes are often hunted for their teeth, claws and blood, which are used as talismans or medicine, a major ingredient for several different potions. Their pelts, with naturally thick skin, are often used to make durable clothing for adventurers, as a result, they are on the decline.




Wererats
Wererats are a species of therianthrope, often thought to be the weaker cousin of werewolves or werecats. Like most therianthropes they possess two forms, one that remains mostly human, and one that takes on animalistic traits.

While quite close to humans, they tend to be seen as bringers of plague and disease, and it is customary for cities to purge any nests that they find within city walls. Wererats, sitting as they do on the low end of the spectrum of therianthropy, tend to serve as easy prey for “adventurers” keen to make some fast gold.

Despite this claim, wererats are not generally carriers of plague, and most are no less clean than humans of their social standing, which granted, is not often saying much.

In their Were form they resemble hunched humanoids with long tails, wiry limbs and elongated faces filled with sharp, yellow teeth. They are usually proportionally smaller and less muscular than other werecreatures, as well as more fragile, but are capable of impressive feats of stealth and agility in this state.

The change, in a survival-orientated creature like the wererat, is triggered by great physical stress. Hunger, thirst, pain, extreme temperatures or exposure to dangerous situations can trigger the change. The change itself is quite painful, but mercifully fast into the rodent form, the changing back being rather more laborious.

While generally fairly clean creatures, the bite of a wererat is riddled with infection that their bodies have gotten used to. A bite not tended to will cause infection and fever in the victim.

Wererat culture is based heavily around survival, and testing the cunning and initiative of the individual. In times past, wererats dwelt most in the deep forest, and the individuals were valued more highly. With most wererats dwelling in towns or on farmland, packs of wererats enforce their social Darwinism through vicious competition between the young. They’re expected to fight, cheat, outwit, evade, a double-cross one another from an early age, and the weak suffer considerably. Wererats hideouts are generally very crowded, often dirty, and tend to exist in the most run-down properties.

As a species, while somewhat fragile, they’re very hard to kill, and have the capacity to recover from serious illness and injury.


Name: Talinix “Talin” Castor,
Age: 21
Gender: Female

Species: Northern Wererat ( Bonescratch Bloodline)
Occupation: Graverobber, scavenger, bandit
Appearance:

In her human form, Talin resembles a short, stocky woman in her twenties with pale skin. She has very pale coloured eyes, a characteristic of her bloodline, and they don’t deal with bright light particularly well. Talin has a short, round nose and a heart-shaped face surrounded by dry, untidy brown hair that reaches to her mid-neck length, and is generally held back from her face with a cotton bandana.
She wears a thick, pale grey tunic and a dark pelt of some sort as a cloak, with dark red and white stripe markings stitched haphazardly on as a form of decoration. Her forearms are wrapped up in several stripes of somewhat frayed looking fabric.

Equipment
Talin is a bit of a pack-rat (no pun intended) and likes to collect, as a result her neck and wrists are decorated with talismans, charms and assorted things on chains. Prominently a small bottle hangs around her neck, which is apparently the blood of some sort of subterranean creature, and glows with an eerie blue light in dark areas. A thick, single-side knife is fastened to her belt in a frog for quick drawing. Recently she happens to have come into possession of a sword, which hangs from a scabbard on her back. Talin rather liked the idea of having a sword..but is somewhat suspicious of the item. It is a bastard sword, found in an old barrow, appears jagged and aged, and seems to be made of a strange, greenish material that smells like old ponds. She’s slightly unsure what it might do.

Personality

Being raised in a very cut-throat environment, Talin was taught to look out for number one. She can be a little unempathetic, and cannot stand whining or self-indulgence, particularly as far as injuries go. She is generally the first to tell an injured ally to 'man up' and take it. She is naturally rather distrustful of people, and doesn't tend to rush into alliances unless she feels she's got an ace up her sleeve.

Unlike the typical wererat type however, Talin is fairly sociable. She enjoys talking....sometimes a little bit too much. She has a bit of a tendency to shoot her mouth off without considering the consequences of it. Despite this, she rarely puts her life on the line for the sake of pride. Talin sees nothing shameful about legging it if things get too nasty. As far as she's concerned, it's tough to boast if you're dead.

She's never one to turn maudlin, tending to attempt to find gallows humor in grim situations, or attempt to seek a way out of things. She is very practically minded and doesn't tend to be too swayed emotionally. As a result she doesn't tend to bond too strongly with others, tending to adopt a friendly persona, but rarely being genuinely grief-stricken at the loss of companion.

Talin is fairly comfortable with her beast aspect, though she tries to avoid triggering it if she can. This is mainly because she can't control what it does, and it can often resort to activities that are likely to get her killed. She also doesn't tend to mention it unless asked, or unless confronted with other therianthropes, so it can some as something of a surprise.

She has a huge mistrust of undead, as they were a major threat during her youth.

History
Like most of her kind, Talin was raised in a group with two dozen siblings, all fighting for food, space, and attention. She learned at an early age to look out for number one, and to use her brain to survive against larger, stronger, brothers and sisters.

Her clan of sorts, the Bonescratch are notable among wererats due to their habitat. Hailing from the city of Northmere, they made their home in the expansive catacombs that ran underneath the city, emerging only to hunt or steal food. With most citizens avoiding the catacombs, and few natural predators dwelling in the narrow tunnels, the Bonescratch were able to grow to quite large numbers, though both adventurers looking for prey, and undead roaming the chambers posed a great danger.

Talin grew up learning how to survive in the catacombs, with low light, not a great deal of food, and the occasional murderous skeleton during the night. While she was well adapted to it, she was resentful of wererat society, and the bullying and abuse which tended to accompany it, with the abused kicking downwards. Upon reaching adulthood she embarked on the risky decision to leave her clan's territory and venture above ground....although for this she still ended up earning much of her money by robbing magical items from graves. She set out in an attempt to recapture some of the wild roots of her species, and to avoid ending up an inconsequential kill for a half-elf with a cheap bow and a light spell.