Lycanthropy

Lycanthropes are cursed humanoids who bear the ‘moon disease’ either due to wounding and transfer by an infected or inheriting the gene from one of their parents. Those who are infected can be treated if quick but will otherwise become lycanthropes after two month experiencing their first, and often most horrific, transformation at the full moon.
The disease is separated into Strain A and Strain B with the former referring to those infected in their life and the latter those born with the infection.
Common types of Lycanthropes include:

• Werewolf
• Werebear
• Wererat
• Weretiger
• Wereboar
• Wereraven

Lesser known recorded types include:

• Werebat 
• Weresabercat 
• Werecrocodile 
• Werestagbeetle 
• Wereshark 
• Wereangler 
• Werenewt
• Wereass
• Werestag

Transmission & Vectors

Strain A
Strain A Lycanthropy is transferred through the exposure of blood to infected blood or saliva.
Most commonly this occurs through saliva transmission via biting in the 'hybrid' or beastial forms. Infection by saliva can also be transmitted through kissing and oral intercourse however the bodies natural anti-toxin processes mean these vectors are far less infectious that a direct and piercing bite. Some nomadic groups have made a coating based in lycanthropic spit for their weapons, most often arrows, which replicates the effect of biting when piercing an opponent.
Infection by blood transmission is common during prolonged battles with lycanthropes with their hybrid and humanoid forms often coating their claws or weapons in their blood from cuts sustained in the battle. Paired with the wounds often inflicted on their foes it becomes easier for lycanthropy to be spread through blood transmission in the midst of a battle. This infection also comes true in the incident of any blood transfusion or willing consumption of the blood which is done in many rituals that praise beastial gods and their venerations.
Strain A is made infectious only after the disease reaches Stage IV of the infection but is at this point weakly infectious reaching the standard infection levels in Stage V.
Strain B
Strain B is passed through an infected parent into their children. Any child born to an infected parent is guaranteed to posses strain B lycanthropy though in an incident where both parents possess a different form of the disease the inherited form is determined often by the potency of the infections. Strain B will always win over strain A but where both parents are Strain B infected it is decided by a range of factors including; any prior attempts to remove the infection, the general health of the infected, the number of generations that have fostered and passed on the infection and the same conditions of the initial lycanthrope to infect the initial familial host.
Strain B lycanthropes are infectious from birth and can infect anyone with Stage A lycanthropy though the forms listed above.
Tree of Infection
Not all forms of lycanthropy are able to infect every species. Scholars in the Golden City have been able to create what is known as the 'Tree of Infection' that illustrates creatures who can be infected by the various afflictions.

Fish > Insects > Amphibians > Reptiles > Mammals

To explain the tree; A mammal, like humans, orcs, elves and such can be any animal in that tree as they are last in the line. So humans can be a wereshark, werenewt, werecrocodile or a wereboar. Reptilian humanoids such as Lizardfolk can't be a Werewolf. They lack the material to do so. But that reptilian could be a wereshark.

Treatment

Treatment of lycanthropy is split into Early-Infection treatment and Late-Infection treatment. The former carries a far higher likelihood of the infected surviving the process and also tends to be far easier to source. Late-Infection treatment is rare and often required significant investigation into the phenomena to not only understand the processes but perform it. 
Early-Infection Treatment
Several treatments exist for lycanthropy in its early stages which can be split between; magical, medicinal and surgical.
Magical treatments for lycanthropy are performed through divine magic. These methods can be used to remove the infection through its early stages requiring a more powerful application of magic as the infection develops and dependent on its potency on infection. The magical solution cleanses the blood often leaving the healed feeling light headed for several days as a result.
Medicinal treatments tend to be made from a range of ingredients to deal with the side effects of the stages of lycanthropy and then an infusion of Changeling or Doppelganger blood both of which act as a protection against its spreading and an inducement for the subject to vomit. Medicinal treatments are the most common solution and many adventurers or other agents involved in hunting lycanthropes carry such potions on their persons.
Surgical treatment is a radical and very early solution in which the removal of the infected limb within moments of the infection can prevent its spread. This is considered an acceptable trade off in many cultures where medicinal and magical treatments are unavailable.
Late-Infection Treatment
Late infection treatments come in medicinal and magical forms both of which are exceedingly dangerous.
The medicinal form tends to be from an infusion of salt, doppelganger blood and acid ingested and injected at several points over a period of a month. The treatment is excruciatingly painful and kills most Lycanthropes that attempt it. Those that survive the process are often heavily scarred with black veins across their body, coarse coughs and voices and assorted scaring. Yet the treatment does succeed in rendering the disease inert and preventing you or your children from becoming lycanthropes. It is however possible for subsequent generations to become shifters as a result of this treatment due to subtle notes of the infection remaining.
Magical treatment requires an advanced ritual use of the remove curse spell supported by the corpse of the animal of which the infection is related, such as a wolf for a werewolf, and a heart-wood sigil of the casters deity. Most often the divine casters capable of such a ritual are followers of the Green Father though not always and where they worship a different deity the acquisition of the sigil is often made significantly harder. The ritual itself lasts eight hours and acts as a slow cleansing of the blood transmorphing the disease into a dark spiritual form which is then pushed into the corpse of the wolf returning it to life through a dark yet divine practice. This ritual is complex, dangerous and considered by some to be heretical act but does allow a cleansing of the target without significant scarring. Shifters can still appear in the descendants following this ritual but are often less common then in the medicinal path.

Prognosis

Lycanthropy is a slowly developing condition that begins in Stage I and gradually reaches Stage V, except in Strain B where it starts at stage V. Each stage lasts roughly the length of a lunar cycle escalating under the light of the full moon.
Stage I
Following the initial infection Stage I lasts until the first lunar cycle after infection but a minimum of ten days and is the primary period to easily eject the infection. Standard lycanthropy cures are highly effective at this stage and often include some mix of changeling or doppelgänger blood with both species being immune to the infection and causing those with it to vomit the infected blood up.
Stage I symptoms include a reddening of the flesh around the wounded area which also burns to the touch despite healing regularly. The redness remains until the end of Stage I but the burning ends after the wound heals leaving instead a soreness over the infected area. Positive effects also begin to emerge and other diseases quickly cure leaving only the lycanthropic symptoms as abnormal to the healthy state of the infected.
Stage I ends as the infected experiences their first full moon after the infection the light of which attracts them and brings a sense of calm and peace. They will feel a natural yearning to remove their clothes and rest beneath the moon regardless of the temperature and conditions outside. Either the next morning or beneath its light they will find the redness and soring healed the following morn. Those who are unable to see the moon, due to confinement or a subterranean lifestyle, will feel a maddening urge to witness the moon that can be placated with moonstone.
Stage II
Following the full moon healing of the wound Stage II lycanthropy begins. Cures are still relatively effective at this point though often come with a prolonged fever as the body of the host rejects the lycanthropic infection that has spread through their body.
Stage II symptoms include mood shifts in the infected who begin to show traits of their lycanthropic form alongside a growing pyrophobia and a strong resistance to disease. Of the common lycanthropies stage II symptoms include:

• Werewolf: Short temper but protective of those considered family
• Werebear: Territorial of possessions and protective of those considered to be 'owned' by them
• Wereboar: Gluttonous and brutish
• Wererat: Skittish and cunning preferring to resolve situations in a way that reduces threat to you
• Wereraven: Curious and attracted to shiny objects
• Weretiger: Proud and dismissive of those they view as less important than themselves

Stage II ends following the next full moon at which point those infected feel a calling for the entire day up to its appearance. Those of Stage II lycanthropy feel deeply attracted to the moon and once more wish to stand before it nude and devoid of obstruction such as it might dance across their nude form. Any wounds they have sustained will heal under the moonlight and they will feel themselves grow physically stronger but too will find the personality traits, including the pyrophobia are exaggerated.
Stage III
Following the full moon Stage III begins. Cures are about half as effective at this point and come along with a fever, sweating and violent mood swings within the infected. At this point attempts to cure the lycanthropy often take over a month and require some period of isolation for the wellbeing of others.
Stage III sees the development of physical symptoms of lycanthropy with the infected experiencing a rapid shift in their body over the course of the month. Of the common lycanthropies stage III symptoms include:

• Werewolf: Muscular growth and rapid hair growth, sharpened features and slight growth in height
• Werebear: Significant muscular growth and rapid hair growth, broadened body and slight growth in height
• Wereboar: Muscular growth and short stiff hair growth, broadened body and hunching of spine
• Wererat: Weak muscular growth and short wiry hair growth, Narrowing body and sharpening of features
• Wereraven: Weak muscular growth and hair soft and feathery to touch, hollowing of bones and increased flexibility
• Weretiger: Muscular growth and rapid hair growth, softened features and slight growth in height

Stage III ends at the full moon where infected against feel a calling to the moon. Unlike in prior stages Stage III lycanthropes feel this call each night regardless of the fullness of the moon. On the full moon however the call is louder and commanding and the desire to be nude before it irresistible. Beneath the moonlight they feel aware of the world around them with their senses heightened and physical attributes empowered greatly.
Stage IV
Following the full moon Stage IV begins. Standard cures at this point have little value requiring the same ritual processes required to cure fully formed (stage V) lycanthropy.
Stage IV sees the development of the sensory symptoms of lycanthropy with the infected experiencing heightened senses and awareness as well as a higher and deeper calling to the moon at night. Of the common lycanthropies stage IV symptoms include:

• Werewolf: Enhanced smell and hearing
• Werebear: Enhanced smell
• Wereboar: Enhanced taste
• Wererat: Enhanced smell
• Wereraven: Enhanced sight and hearing
• Weretiger: Enhanced smell and hearing

Stage IV ends following the next full moon at which point the infected experience their first transformation into their hybrid form. As the call brings them before the moonlight their body morphs into a hybrid entity motivated by primal desires and needs at which they are able only to observe as if backseat to their actions. The hybrid beast often causes terror in the area following its desire to eat and hunt being empowered by its lycanthropic form and the power of the moon itself. When the moon sets the lycanthrope transforms back into its natural form with only a foggy memory of what has transpired over the course of the night.
Stage V
Having transformed for the first time the infection is in full swing and each full moon the infected will transform if touched by the moons light. These transformations are empowered by the light of the moon but this empowerment also applies to the primal instincts and desires of the polymorphed form.
In Stage V experienced lycanthropes are able to transform at will between their forms and, with practice and discipline, can even maintain their control over their hybrid form during the full moon. These more experienced lycanthropes tend to live isolated lives or in lycanthropic communities at the fringe of society. There conditions resistance to diseases also gives them longer lives with many lycanthropes living a fifth longer than their non-lycanthropic counterparts natural lifespan.
Lycanthropes in Stage V also develop an ability to understand and communicate with their sister species. As such wererats may speak to rats and werewolves to wolves. This communication is largely instinctive but becomes easier and clearer as the Lycan practices the skill.

Cultural Reception

Most cultures treat lycanthropy as a disease that must be eradicated putting to death any who are infected but some, such as many tribes in Vostros, view lycanthropy as a blessing from the gods. With lycanthropes experiencing heightened immune systems against other diseases and infections in addition to often extended natural lifespans one can see why.

Type

Genetic

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Uncommon