Werebats
Basic Information
Anatomy
A werebat's human form is typically sharp-toothed,but even then the differences were so minute that they were virtually indistinguishable from non-afflicted individuals.
They could also transform into a giant bat.
The most fearsome form of a werebat was their hybrid form, retaining a humanoid figure but with their arms extended into leathery wings, snouts pushed out from their face, and eyes that glowed when hit by light. Their teeth sharpened into fangs and their nails lengthened into pointed claws.
Genetics and Reproduction
After copulation, which occurs before hibernation, the sperm is stored in the female Werebats uterus and oviduct.
Ovulation and fertilisation is then delayed for weeks or months and does not commence for about 1-3 days after waking from hibernation.
Then the egg is then fertilised and the young are born for the summer.
Growth Rate & Stages
Like all lycanthropes, there were "true" members of the race and the infected, with the former being born as Werebats who couldn't be cured, and the latter having been infected with the Werebat curse.
Infected are far more dexterous than they were as their original race.
Werebats born from a union between Werebats and other races normally resulted in a normal racial variant, but could also create a curable child or a true Werebat.
Young Werebats stayed in true bat form until the age of three before finally turning into their human form and then ageing like Humans.
They became extremely ravenous during this time and could devour numerous villagers before being sated.
Ecology and Habitats
Werebats preferre to hide in dark areas like attics and caves that favored their nocturnal behavior.
They reside in temperate climates within deserts, forests, or underground, in close proximity to ample supplies of prey.
Still, they rarely inhabit lairs as bats, using their human habitations for shelter.
Dietary Needs and Habits
For every night spent without drinking at least a pint of blood, a Werebat will grow increasingly tired, dying in just short of a week if starved of blood.
Depending on how long they are starved, more blood is needed to recover with 6 pints need to recover from the brink of death.
Although they can subsist on cattle and other animals, they prefer that of humanoids but this desire can be control with enough self-discipline.
Biological Cycle
Werebats may enter torpor for just a few hours to save energy during a cold day, or they can remain in torpor for up to a month while hibernating over winter.
During hibernation, Werebats cycle through periods of torpor interrupted by brief periods of arousal when their body temperatures return to normal for a few hours.
Behaviour
Werebats in normal form are normally elusive and quiet, and despite not showing immediately distinguishable outer signs, those infected will start behaving more solitary and shy.
Most are lonely and desperate, actively seeking out treasure and hoarding it in order to purchase a cure for their affliction.
While just as intelligent as before, reports varie on whether their moral alignment is altered by the transformation.
In some cases it is said that they are twisted into beings of evil, while in others they retain their same moral and ethical lens.
Most Werebats prey on humans, but even then the attacks are not malicious in nature.
They often just merely view humans as lower on the food chain.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Even in their human forms, Werebats possessed oddly keen hearing and poor eyesight in the sun.
They had an acute sense of hearing, allowing them to use echolocation to sense the presence of things around them.
This could be thwarted through the use of silencing magic.
Werebats produce echolocation by emitting high frequency sound pulses through their mouth or nose and listening to the echo.
With this echo, the Werebat can determine the size, shape and texture of objects in its environment.
Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Bestial, Human Language, Language of animals
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Man-Bats
Origin/Ancestry
Unknown Lands, Caves of darkness
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Comments