Therianthropy is a magical "disease" which changes the "contaminated" into an animal or hybrid creature during the full moon. The best-known form of therianthropy, called lycanthropy, which causes people to turn into wolves or werewolves. During three nights in a month, a therianthrope is not able to control themself and may be lethally dangerous to those nearby. Despite the folk tales, being bitten by a therianthrope only very rarely results in acquiring the affliction.
A person can't usually remember the atrocious acts committed as a Therianthrope when they transform back into their original form.
Therianthropes are creatures of the night and they are especially active during the full moon. They usually go hunting alone, as there rarely is an opponent that can match their strength, agility and fast health regeneration. If a therianthrope actually encounters an enemy that has equivalent strength and can fight a fair fight, the creature can call for beastial reinforcements that will come to its aid. A good way of dealing with therianthropes is magic, magical items, or silvered weapons.
Therianthropy is a degenerative curse, meaning that a person affected by it will become dominated by their bestial nature of a therianthrope and lose all that made them who they were.
Acquiring Therianthropy
Most folk tales contend that when a person is bitten by a therianthrope they also become one, if this were always the case Runetalras would be overrun with were-creatures. It is only in rare and ill-understood circumstances that a therianthrope can infect another with their curse; instead almost all new therianthrope are created through two ways. Firstly, by being the subject of a
Blood Curse or other kind of curse which bestows a creature with the curse of therianthropy. Secondly, the curse of therianthropy is hereditary, meaning that any offspring of a creature cursed with therianthropy will also be born with the same curse.
Classifications
There are three major classifications of therianthropy, were-creatures the traditional form of therianthropes who transform around the full moon, werecurse a blight unleashed by the
Demon Lord Thesibrun, and chosen ones creature capable of controlling the curse of therianthropy.
Were-Creatures
There are several major types of therianthropes, those being Werebears, Wereboars, Werecats, Wererats, Wereravens, Weretigers, and Werewolves. Each of these creatures transform into their beast or hybrid form around the full moon.
Werecurse
The werecurse affected Runetalras is history that was long since lost, however, in 532:Contempt it was reawoken and unleashed upon the known world. The werecursed are wholly mad creatures who are only capable of violence. That is not to say the werecursed are unintelligent as they are capable of elaborate traps and ambushes. The legends say that the werecurse was created by Thesibrun
Demon Lord of beastial violence and Therianthropy also known as the Lord of the Werecurse, Seven Faced Horror, The Seven Beasts that are One, Father of Therianthropy.
Chosen Ones
Chosen Ones are exceedingly rare in the known history of Runetalras. They are creatures who have, through magic or strength of will, conquered the curse of Therianthropy, this allows them to transform into their animal or hybrid form at will.
Behaviour
Therianthropes often live either among others of the mortal races, blending in and returning to the wilds before their transformation comes upon them. Others choose the life of a hermit, excluding themselves from the rest of Runetalras to avoid harming others.
Therianthropes seem to have an aversion to vampires, one which is mutually shared, this 8aversion seems equal to both vampires and orcus-touched vampires.
Therianthropes are confrontational and violent to other species and categories of therianthropes.
Therianthropes often have friendly relationships with the animals they can transform into and may sometimes hunt with them.
Treatment
The best and most reliable way of curing therianthropy is to break the original curse or Blood Malady. Breaking a curse or Blood Malady is far from easy, indeed some are crafted in a way to have no cure.
There are folk remedies that are said to cure the curse of therianthropy, such as wolfsbane or "finding a true love", although the effectiveness of these remedies is spotty at best working in some cases and leading to disaster in others.
Most often the cure to a therianthrope when their bestial nature starts to dominate or when a therianthrope does not take adequate measures before a transformation, sadly the only choice left is to hire adventures to put the therianthrope down.
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