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Our Werewolves Are Different
Some werewolves are more man than wolf, while others are more wolf than man.

It's a full moon tonight,
I'm gonna get a bite,
I can't wait till I start transforming.
Calibretto, "Mysanthropy and the Full Moon"

Subtrope of Our Monsters Are Different, dealing with variations of lycanthropy (i.e. werewolves). As with vampires, the exact parameters of lycanthrophy vary, but to meet the definition, a werewolf must be an animorph who takes the form of a wolf. The prospective werewolf character has a number of options for customization.

  • What: This transformation may be total, turning the human into an actual wolf, or partial, turning the man into a Beast Man that has wolf features, but retaining human proportions. With the advent of more sophisticated make-up and visual effects, techniques have been developed that allowed more wolflike features on humanoids, such as giving a character a wolf's muzzle and ears. The human to werewolf transformation in the movie An American Werewolf in London is generally considered to be the standard to which all others are compared, quite remarkable for a movie now more than twenty five years old and from the pre-CGI era.
    • Werewolf — The basic no-frills transformation is man into wolf, ending up looking just like what you'd see in the woods or a zoo — but this is actually rather rare.
    • Dire Wolf — like the above, but either much bigger, or far more muscular, often with long, rather un-lupine claws, and a grizzly-bear physique.
    • Wolf Man — In 50's horror films, the transformation usually took the form of a hairy humanoid with a scattering of animal features, such as pointed ears, fangs, claws, and maybe a more canine nose or even a tail, but otherwise remaining almost entirely human (The "classic" Wolf Man appearance is not entirely dissimilar to the symptoms of a rare genetic disorder, hypertrichosis.) May be used as a Game Face to intimidate.
    • Man-WolfMix And Match Critters with a fur-covered humanoid body and a fully lupine head. Man-wolves seem to have become more popular than wolf-men recently, likely due to increasing special effects technology; the old wolf-man design was purely for the purposes of suggesting wolfishness while remaining within the limits of latex applications.
    • There may also be breeds of therianthrope, other than lycanthropes (werewolves), typically based on other predators.

  • Why: The underlying cause of one's lycanthropic condition. Technically, a number of variations are possible: in some mythologies, a werewolf is a wolf who can take human form. However, far and away the most popular conceit is that a werewolf is a human who has somehow (especially against his will) become able to temporarily transform (usually unwillingly) into a wolf. Usual methods include a Viral Transformation spread by being bitten, but a lot of depictions show lycanthropy as solely hereditary.
    • Heredity: Sometimes werewolves are just another species, or a genetic condition like any other that can be passed on to one's children. Alternately, it's a hereditary curse, which tends to manifest around the Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday (give or take a few years). In Speculative Fiction, the werewolf is often neither really wolf nor man, but some form of alien.
      • One werewolf legend says that if a person is born on the 24th of December or concieved on the night of a new moon, they are werewolfs.
    • Disease: Lycanthropy is an infection, passed on (like vampires ... maybe) to any surviving victim of a werewolf bite. Rarely is it explicitly established that disease-style Lycanthropy isn't also hereditary, though it often is.
    • Magic Spell: Becoming a werewolf is either an intentional result of either a Black Magic ceremony and/or making a Deal With The Devil, or the result of a baneful spell placed upon the werewolf by some Evil Sorcerer. Other popular causes include curses and typical Mad Scientist experiments. Natural Magic is often used, with certain types of magicians (Druid's in particular) being able to change their form into that of a Wolf, Dire Wolf, Wolf-Man, or Man-Wolf.

  • When does the transformation occur?
    • Change at will (usually reserved for werewolves of the "separate species" or "demonic pact" variety);
    • Change under any severe stress;
    • Change (voluntarily or otherwise) on night of the full moon;
      • May more specifically require exposure to the light of a full moon, and can thus be sheltered indoors or under clouds);
      • Alternately, may require that one see the full moon.
      • May take place on nights surrounding the full moon (frequently three) or on just the night of the full moon itself
      • If you want to be really old-timey, your werewolves will only change when the plant aconitum (aka wolfsbane) blooms, which is to say, around autumn, although different species bloom all year. Sometimes the werewolf has to eat the aconitum.
      • Japanese werewolf lore also includes transformations induced by seeing objects that are round.
    • Doesn't transform at all. Rather, that's his natrual form. Usually applies to the 'separate species' variety and aliens.

  • Control? A werewolf may maintain their human mind while transformed, or they may be reduced to a animal's understanding. Or advanced to a animal's understanding. Or end up somewhere in between. Or they may just go nuts. In either case, they may also be subject to an irresistible urge to prey on human beings. Usually and logically, the more voluntary the transformation, the more control the transformed has in wolf-shape. Doesn't make much sense to choose a transformation that includes going nuts.

  • Mortal? Probably the most important element for the hero of the story to know (whether he is the werewolf or just trying to hunt it down): Just how do you stop the beast? Some werewolves are mere mortals (if dangerous ones); some are virtually indestructible creatures unless you use a Kryptonite Factor.
    • The most popular weakness is silver (preferably in the form of a bullet) — associated, like werewolves themselves, with the moon.
    • The monkshood plant (Acronitum genus, the european variety, Aconitum napellus, is the most commonly used) is another possible option, since it's also called wolfsbane.
    • Mistletoe is also a traditional way to ward off werewolves.
    • Beheading it or burning it usually works across the board.

  • Cure? A werewolf might just be a werewolf for life, but sometimes it's possible to undo the condition if it is unwanted. Sadly, this may only be a temporary treatment rather than a permanent cure.
    • Sometimes, a possible cure is to kill the werewolf which just infected you, usually with a time limit, such as before the next month.
    • In some of the most Idealistic shows, inflicting the werewolf a non-fatal wound with silver is enough to cure him.
    • Sometimes wolfsbane or another plant are said to actually inhibit the transformation rather than actually repelling or harming the creature. It is usually not a particularly effective treatment, though the reason varies (usually because the plant's poisonous nature fully affects the werewolf, because it mitigates but does not completely stop the transformation, or because the substance needed is particularly rare).
    • Occasionally, the cure is to consume a lock of wolfsbane before the next full moon, ignoring the poisonous nature of the plant.
    • If lycanthropy is a disease, then curative magic, healing salves mixed with wolfsbane or some other exotic ingredient, or even normal precautions against infection may prevent it from taking hold. This almost always has to be performed soon after infection/exposure.

Other Common Werewolf Tropes include:
  • Evil werewolves are typically deeply hedonistic characters who relish giving in to their "animal nature".
  • Upon death, a werewolf will revert to human form.
  • In the game of Elemental Rock Paper Scissors, werewolves are associated with Earth. In some stories, this means that they can not stomach flight.
  • A werewolf may begin to adopt lupine characteristics in human form, such as heightened senses, the need to mark territory, hairy palms, or the tendency to sleep curled up into a ball.
  • Werewolves are strangely prone to Theme Naming and Meaningful Names. Beware of any guy named Wolfgang "Moondog" Lupin.
  • Werewolves often operate in packs. Killing the alpha male may "cure" the rest of the pack.
  • Werewolves of the evil and involuntary subtypes are almost guaranteed to undergo a horrifying and/or excruciating ordeal as they transform. Good werewolves tend to have it easier.
  • Werewolves sometimes find themselves pitted against vampires.
  • Although most of the time it does not come up, often werewolves are classified as being undead, primarily due to their inability to be killed except by special means, (see above) much like most undead.
  • Sexism is rampant in the werewolf world, and in most stories women weres are not allowed to be the alpha/in control of a pack, period, due to their smaller size. (This does get subverted in the Kitty Norville and Women Of The Otherworld books, though.

Werewolves are often relegated to supporting roles in movies such as Underworld that have both werewolves and vampires. Having your neck bitten by beautiful people is erotic, being torn into bloody chunks and eaten is not.

The word "werewolf", for what it's worth, is a compound with the archaic English word for an adult male (etymologically "man" really was genderless). Hence, the not-uncommon female lycanthropes should more strictly be "wifwolves", a term that has sadly not seen much actual use. Naturally, werewolves are Older Than Print.

Some settings with a Fantasy Kitchen Sink approach may include more weres than just wolves. Bears and big cats are the next two favourites. In general, weres are those possessing therianthropy; please note that 'lycanthrope' applies only for wolves.

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