Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy has long been considered a curse afflicting mortals regardless of species. In addition to the obvious physical changes, there is a shift in mindset that seems to align all members of a were species. In addition to this change of outlook, a sense of belonging to pack and an acceptance of the hierarchy of that pack appears to be inflicted on the unfortunate victims. So it is that even the noblest of people will gleefully attack former allies on the orders of their alpha.
It was while researching a possible cure for this affliction that I came across what appears to be an exception to this rule. As anyone who has ever heard of Druids will know, they posses the ability to change into the shape of natural beasts. However, according to the legends of Kenuij Silverpetal, the first High Druid of Caresnas, some of them can transform into the form of a werewolf. Given Kenuij's reputation as a champion of good I decided to investigate this further.
Unfortunately, Druids are also rightly known for their reticence when it comes to discussing their affairs with outsiders. I was therefore forced to rely on trawling through tales written in Kenuij's time, and notes left by one of his travelling companions, the Mage Rowan. According to her, Kenuij did not start out with this ability, but was granted it following a ritual at which she sadly was not present. Given that this supposedly took place before he became High Druid I can only conclude that his personality was not adversely affected by the transformation. Further digging into tales told at the time revealed that Kenuij was capable of casting spells in his monstrous form, even going so far as to summon a lightning storm.
While interesting, none of this led me to a cure for lycanthropy, though I did develop what might be best termed a vaccination. So long as a victim has not yet undergone the change for the first time then it's possible to break the curse using a blend of several common herbs. Once a person has turned for the first time, the only way to stop them is death.
Killing a lycanthrope is no easy task. They can ignore blows that would fell lesser creatures, and their speed and ferocity makes them dangerous to individuals or even small groups of hunters. The best known weakness is a vunerability to weapons coated in or incorporating silver. Such weapons are effective against werewolves and wererats and the use of such weapons is covered in tales so often that 'having a silver weapon' is now synonymous with having a tool to completely deal with a problem. Unfortunately the touch of silver is not enough to slay such creatures instantly. The silver makes them more vulnerable but any would be hunters had best be prepared for a long and arduous fight.
Although wereboars are afflicted with a form of lycanthropy like wererats and werewolves they do not have the an adverse reaction to silver. This has led to some wereboars being able to avoid detection for years or decades. However, in most cases a wereboar's savage nature usually means that they do not take any care to hide their tracks. In fact, most delight in facing any potential hunters directly and trying to infect them with lycanthropy.
Wereboars are susceptible to weapons made of bronze (~90% copper, 9% tin, 1% arsenic). Given bronze's inferiority to steel this could give a well equipped wereboar the advantage in a fight. Fortunately most don't realise they are vulnerable in this way and frequently forgo armour.
Werebears are also not vulnerable to silver. They are also tend to be calmer and more careful than other lycanthropes which could lead them to be far more dangerous than their more savage cousins. Their vulnerability is to zinc which can be made into an alloy with other metals and still be effective. However, werebears are more likely to wear armou than other lycanthropes making them harder to deal with. Fortunately for the civilised world, werebears tend to be an exception to the rule that lycanthropy turns a person into a savage killer.
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