Unlike vampires, not all werewolves originate from humans. There are two distinct types of werewolf; Pureborns and Turnees (also called a variety of other names such as Unborns, Unnaturals, Mimics, and Falsewolves). The former are those who were born as werewolves, while the latter were originally humans who got Turned by means of a bite from a Pureborn. There are three major distinctions between the two - shapeshifting ability, reproduction, and lifespan.

Pureborns have far greater control over their shapeshifting and are able to transform at any time, simply by willing it to happen. Turnees have less control over it and can only shift instinctively, often as a response to being in danger. It's possible for them to learn how to fully control their shifting, but it takes many years of dedicated practice and not everyone can do it.

If a Turnee reproduces with either a human or another Turnee, their offspring will always be human. Only Pureborns have the ability to naturally create werewolf offspring. If a Turnee reproduces with a /Pureborn,/ then their children will have a 50% chance of being born as werewolves (same goes for a Pureborn X human pairing).

(The following paragraph ONLY applies to Pureborns.)

Unlike most dragonshifters, werewolves don't need to be in beast form to reproduce, but the mother will be stuck in one form until after giving birth. The offspring will be born in whatever form the mother was in at the time. Werewolves have a high chance of giving birth to twins or triplets; in fact, having just one baby is considered unusual while having multiple is considered the 'norm'.

Turnees have the same-length lifespan that they would have had as a human, usually somewhere between 70 and 90 years. Pureborns live roughly twice as long (140 to 180 years). Despite getting the short end of the stick when it comes to lifespan, Turnees still have a werewolf's strong immune system which makes it almost impossible for them to get sick.

Like most non-humans, werewolves have a set of deeply-ingrained instincts. These instincts are mostly suppressed while they're in human form - but in beast form, they pretty much behave like big dogs despite retaining their human intelligence when they shift. They cannot speak in beast form, and communicate using body language and noises. They can howl like real wolves to send messages over vast distances, and it's surprising how much they can communicate with this alone - tiny changes in the pitch, tone and duration of the howl can give other werewolves a good idea of what they're feeling or planning.

Werewolves are highly social and usually have large friend groups, called 'packs'. Hundreds of years ago, werewolves spent most of their time in beast form, roaming the wilderness with their packs and embracing their animalistic sides. Nowadays, most werewolves live in more civilised ways, but they still retain their social nature. A pack can have anywhere from 5 to 40 individuals and can consist of both Pureborns and Turnees. The ones who have the closest bonds with the pack leader are sometimes called 'the inner circle'. Packs don't have strict rules and members generally come and go as they please, though treating other pack members with disrespect is not tolerated, and can lead to being thrown out.

New packs are created naturally when a large enough group of friends and acquaintances is formed. Young werewolves usually start life in their parents' pack, but as they get older and meet more people, they eventually end up either joining a pack, or becoming the leader of their own group. Sometimes werewolves fight to determine who will be the leader of a group, but usually, the one most suited to be leader falls into their role without being contested by the others. It /is/ possible for a werewolf to be in multiple packs at once, and in the modern age, it's considered quite normal.

A werewolf who has no friends (or not enough to create a real pack) is called a loner. Loners are generally treated with polite indifference by other werewolves - meaning they are neither hated nor especially liked, but merely accepted as a part of society.

In beast form, werewolves somewhat resemble a cross between a large dog and a bear. They have heavy builds, thick coats, chunky muzzles, and small rounded ears. They usually retain their human height when they transform, so a 5'6 human will shift into a 5'6 (at the shoulder) beast - which is kind of terrifying. They coat colour mostly reflects their hair colour, and their eye colour is always the same.

(Done)

Love me some awoos
Lol in skyrim I choose being werewolf over a vamp, the sunlight thing was annoying X'D
I also liked smacking things like a maniac.

Cool lore. I have a question though. If it’s normal for a pack leader to lead several packs, then do packs ever merge into one?

Re: Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Thanks.

the height thing hhHHHH

SO IF SHAQ WERE A WEREWOLF AND SHIFTED INTO WOLF FORM

THERE WOULD BE A 7 FOOT I WOLF STANDIN THERE

holy--