Werewolves
Werewolves are one of the two most common forms of lycanthrope (the other is the wererat) and one of the most feared.
While over a dozen distinct werewolf packs live within the Shudderwood, most packs trace their lineages to one of five tribes native to the region, which are described below. Most of these tribes have two names: that which they call themselves, and a more common epithet by which most outsiders know them.
Ecology
Werewolves hunt in a similar manner to wolves, seeking out the weakest prey and wearing it down. Thus they prefer to target lone travellers and isolated dwellings and avoid large groups and heavily settled areas. They usually live together in extended family units known as packs. A pack will usually claim an area as its territory, and travel around within it. In humanoid form the pack might appear to be a gypsy caravan, a troupe of travelling entertainers, or even a party of adventurers. They sometimes seek to deliberately inflict lycanthropy on others and recruit them into the pack. Occasionally several packs will inhabit the same general area. A single alpha werewolf may then rise to overall leadership of the packs, but will rule only so long as she retains the strength to enforce her will. The fall of the alpha leader generally leads to chaos and bloodshed.Lycanthropy
Lycanthropes are found all across Golarion. Afflicted lycanthropes are often encountered alone. A man bitten by a wolf becomes a monster; terrified, he stumbles into the woods, where his uncontrolled transformations and attacks are determined by the beast’s hunger and the pull of the moon. Natural lycanthropes, by contrast, are a strange, hidden race. An isolated village may be the abode of werewolves by night; the caliph of a desert city prowls the dusty streets in the skin of a tiger when she hungers. Each lycanthrope has its own habitat and customs. Lycanthropes cannot escape the beast within. Their animal nature manifests in unexpected ways, even when they try to disguise it. A werewolf inevitably has something of the wolf about his appearance— unusually wiry hairs, unnaturally sharp teeth, or flaring nostrils. The beast also affects the creature’s behavior and mannerisms, even if the afflicted victim fights against its influence. The communities and settlements formed by natural lycanthropes therefore mirror the social structure of the animals they become. The strongest and most powerful wolf, for example, is the alpha of the pack. Therefore, in a werewolf settlement, the strongest werewolf will be the chieftain or mayor.Werewolves of the Shudderwood
Broken Ones
These lycanthropes settle in remote or isolated territories, building small provincial communities near the wood’s edge. For the most part, they pose as simple farmers or trappers, occasionally traveling to larger communities to sell or trade for goods. They live and hunt in small packs, targeting lone travelers or those who stray from larger groups. Physically smaller than the other tribes, the Broken Ones transform into red wolves. Their pack structure is matriarchal, and their current tribe leader is the druid Cybrisa Dorzhanev.Demon Wolves
The smallest and most recently formed pack in the Shudderwood, the Demon Wolves are an amalgam of newly afflicted werewolves, whose pitiful existence is typically scorned by most natural lycanthropes, and exiles from other tribes, all worshipers of the demon lord Jezelda, Mistress of the Hungry Moon. Their current tribe leader, an antipaladin named Adimarus Ionacu, was once in fact an afflicted werewolf who willingly contracted the disease in devotion to his demonic patron. As a boon, Jezelda transformed him into a natural lycanthrope, and bade him convert more werewolves to her worship. To date, Adimarus’s missionary zeal has been quite successful; the black-furred Jezeldans are one of the fastest-growing tribes in the region, and may soon rise as the new lords of the wood.Primals
The smallest of the Shudderwood’s tribes, the Primals are also the most homogenous, as they are all descended from the ancient Kellid tribes who once inhabited these lands before they were driven out by the invading Varisians. At present, less than 30 Primals remain, settled deep in the woods and traveling in small migratory hunting packs, living as much as their ancestors did. Despite their declining numbers, the Primals’ ability to transform into large gray dire wolves makes them an influential force among the wolves of the wood. Until recently, the Primals tribe leader, Kvalca Sain, was packlord over all the wolves of the Shudderwood. Her recent assassination at the hands of Mathus Mordrinacht and the Whispering Way has thrown all of the tribes of the Shudderwood into disarray, not just the Primals themselves.Prince’s Wolves
Varisian werewolves with ties to the Sczarni crime family, the Prince’s Wolves were created as part of Prince Andriadus Virholt’s efforts to rid his lands of the agents of the Whispering Tyrant centuries ago. The Prince’s Wolves maintain a tight pack structure and spend much of their time traveling in small family groups, performing or pickpocketing to support themselves before moving on to do it again somewhere else. The Prince’s Wolves transform into wolves with brown or gray fur, and their current tribe leader is a roguish scoundrel named Rhakis Szadro.Silverhides
The Silverhides, known for their gray-white fur, are more aggressive than the Broken Ones, yet possess more composure and subtlety than the other tribes. The Silverhides rarely form standard packs, instead living much of their lives as solitary individuals or lone wolves. Only in times of great importance do they unite and form organized packs. More so than all the others, the Silverhides have been successful at blending in with normal humans and living secretly within their communities, with a few bold individuals even settling in some of Ustalav’s major cities. Descended from those afflicted with lycanthropy by the ancient high priest of Desna, the Silverhides have long gathered at the Stairs of the Moon to pay homage to the spirit of their ancestor, the vilkacis. It is no secret that the Silverhides’ current leader, Mathus Mordrinacht, has had designs on the position of packlord over all the packs of the Shudderwood for some time.
Scientific Name
Homo sapiens sapiens lupus
Geographic Distribution