Lycanthrope

 The union between two true lycanthropes creates a baby who is born a true lycanthrope. There is no way for a creature to be turned into a true lycanthrope unless they inherited the affliction from their parents.

These lycanthropes can shift and change their form into their bestial shape at will. The process of transformation into a beast is described by them to be of “transcendent ecstasy” as their body mutates into their hybrid form. For the most part, these werebeasts maintain a high level of intelligence throughout their transformations and have societies built around their many forms.

A true lycanthrope cannot be cured of its existence, in the same way one cannot cure a dwarf from being born a dwarf. Nothing short of a wish spell can remove this type of lycanthropy, without perhaps clever usage of spells like reincarnate or magic jar being the exceptions in order to effectively change the cursed body into a new one.

A creature can become a lycanthrope by becoming infected with the dreaded disease, typically by being bitten by another lycanthrope. The disease is carried by the saliva, blood, or any other liquid secreted by the body of a lycanthrope, and it can be contracted when such liquids make contact with the bloodstream of an otherwise healthy creature. After a few days of the disease running its course, the victim will be fully afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy.

 These lycanthropes typically cannot change their forms at will. Instead they transform when confronted with certain “triggers.” Examples of triggers can be high amounts of stress, the smell of blood, hearing the howl of a wolf, seeing the full moon, or even the bloodlust of combat. The process of transformation for these lycanthropes is described as unbearably painful, to the point of agonizing pain, as their bones break and their skin tears in the shifting process.

Most pathological lycanthropes lose themselves in their transformations, becoming no more than feral beasts. It is believed that the reason why most blank out during their shifts is as a self-defense mechanism to withstand the painful process. Most of these lycanthropes can either take on a hybrid shape or a fully bestial shape, but generally not both.

Once the disease has taken root upon the body of a creature, it becomes exceedingly difficult to remove. The lycanthropic affliction is by nature a curse, and so it falls under a very distinct set of rules that sets it apart from traditional magical maladies that would be otherwise easy to remove via simple curative spells.

The first step is to destroy the source of the curse— often called the primogenitor. It is not enough to simply kill the werebeast that produced the infection if that werebeast was itself infected by another. One must track the line of infections until the original source of the contamination is found—typically either a true lycanthrope or a maledictive lycanthrope. This lycanthrope must be killed before the next steps can be taken. Failure to do so prevents the curse from being broken.

The second step is to repent for any transgressions one has committed while transformed as a beast. As with many curses, lycanthropy is a magical malady that reacts strongly to symbolism. Rejection of the bestial gift is a powerful statement that weakens its hold upon the body, but even more powerful is the restitution one takes to clean the soul of the taint which has infected it.

The third step requires assistance from a third party, in particular a healer with the necessary spells. The cursed creature must be bound and forced to transform into its bestial self. Precautions must be made to securely chain the lycanthrope so as to prevent the healer’s savage murder. The first spell to be cast is ceremony (Atonement). Provided it is successful, it will restore the sentience and intelligence of the cursed victim even whilst transformed.

Upon gaining full sentience, the victim must then assert all its willpower to remain still and unmoving; a very difficult task as the pain of transformation will be present alongside the bloodlust provided by the bestial curse. The healer must then cast lesser restoration in order to cleanse the disease from the victim’s blood, and then cast remove curse in order to finally dispel the curse. Provided that the victim stood perfectly still during that whole process and the atonement spell took hold, then the lycanthropic curse will have finally been removed.  

As a powerful curse, the lycanthropic affliction can befall a creature by the use of high-level magic. Creatures who wish upon dark gods for strength or make deals with hag often become cursed with this malady.

 In its most general terms, maledictive lycanthropes function similarly to pathologic lycanthropes. However, the nature of the transformation is ultimately dependent on the source of the magic, and so has the potential to break established norms and rules. These lycanthropes can be influenced radically by the ever-volatile nature of magic.

 These lycanthropes can simultaneously be either the easiest to cure or the hardest to cure, depending entirely on the nature of the magic used to inflict the curse. Curses of this magnitude function at a level too high for basic curative spells like remove curse to effectively remove, and oftentimes slaying the source of the curse does nothing to stem its effect.

 Most magical curses include some kind of escape clause. If the action in this clause is performed, the victim is freed of the taint of lycanthropy. Sometimes the clause is known by the afflicted, while other times it must be searched for and discovered. It is not uncommon for all the victims of a maledictive lycanthrope to become cured of the curse once the escape clause is reached by the primogenitor.