Help me improve these creatures

Hello tropers. I'm in the process of creating an original fantasy setting (see the elevator pitch here). I'm not entirely happy with a couple creatures that populate this world, but I don't know how to make them more to my liking. So I'm asking for ideas here.

Note that the descriptions I'm giving are not set in stone. I can accept ideas that alters some of these features.

Werewolves :

• During the night, they can take at will a half-wolf, half human hybrid shape. In that form, they are stronger, faster and tougher, have keen senses, and a Healing Factor (vulnerable to silver)
• If someone is bitten by a werewolf, they do not become werewolf ; instead, they die after some time, then rise as a vampire-like creature.
• One can become a werewolf by undergoing a ritual (that mostly consists in drinking another werewolf's blood)
• Werewolves live together in clans (would it be too cliché to call them packs ?). Their occupations vary, but mostly center around fighting. Some examples, from worst to best :
  • Extorting peasants and robbing travelers
  • Hiring themselves out as mercenaries or bodyguards
  • Hunting dangerous creature (including other werewolves), for sport and/or out of a sense of duty

What I want : make them more frightening in-universe. These werewolves are more badass than monstrous ; this is mostly intended, because I did not want to make them the ravening predators werewolves usually are. But I want to give the common folks reasons to fear even the well-intentioned werewolves, and not just because the "bad" ones give them a bad name.

Elves :

• They are secretive, mysterious people living in deep forests. Their contacts with humans are extremely limited.
• They look like most fantasy elves : short and slender, pointy ears, long hairs. They're vulnerable to cold iron. They're immortal and don't reproduce.
• They do not tolerate intruders in their forests. To get rid of them, they prefer to attack unseen with bows and arrows.
• Against bigger threats (such as invading armies) they use powerful magic rituals that can do things like make the weather awful, animate trees to fight off the intruders, and so on.

What I want : make them more like The Fair Folk. Right now they're basically Tolkien's elves but more recluse. What I was aiming for is a blend of Generic Fantasy Elves and traditional fairies. Of course, humans could just invent the stories of elves screwing with them (after all, in the real world they did exactly that with creatures that don't even exist). But as with the werewolves, it'd be better if it had some grounding in reality, rather than being pure superstitions and prejudices.

edited 19th Feb '16 4:29:37 PM by Aetol

How about a kind of berserker rage for the werewolves? While in their bestial form, they risk losing control and going on a rampage. Even a genuinely heroic werewolf would be a danger to everybody around them under severe stress.

One benefit of a pack structure for the "good" ones would be that the other werewolves could keep a rampaging packmate in check. This would make well-intentioned packs relatively safe, but lone wolves would be more hazardous...

edited 19th Feb '16 9:31:22 AM by MattStriker

The fatal bite of a werewolf could induce rabies-like symptoms, driving the victim mad and feral, possibly infecting others, before dying.

Werewolves become completely unable to distinguish individual identities - human, animal, mineral, plant, home, etc. All non-werewolf humanoids are alike to them. They are otherwise able to reason, to an extent based on the host's ability, but suffer from Memento-class short-term memory loss. This all only applies to their bestial form - their human forms are 'normal'.

The elves look like Slenderman or Jack Skellington, but smaller. They are short and slender to the point of looking like emaciated children. They have expanded their territory recently, and even coming near their forest (without an invitation) is considered a capital offense; imagine the whole of South America and Canada being 'their forest', shoreline included. The 'bigger threat' they'd be forced to use their magic against is something like a Category 4 hurricane, and absolutely no one wants to test that. That said, they return kindness with kindness, and are otherwise good neighbors - there's a reason you'd want some as friends.

How's that?

I like your creepy elves. Creepy elves are the shyt

Coming back to bump the thread and commenting on the answers.

That's an idea I had, yes. I'm not too sure what would cause someone to lose control ; I don't want it to be "whenever it's plot-convenient". I'm also thinking it could be combined with difficulties to resist the transformation (during full moon or even every night). Both control problems could become worse or better as the werewolf ages.

Lone wolves being more dangerous is a good idea too.

They'll be dangerous enough after dying (and vampirism actually is rabies-like). I prefer leaving them clear-headed and struggling with their impending doom. And I didn't mention that the only way to avoid dying is becoming a werewolf, which makes for a nice dilemma.

I like this idea. It would work best if they can only recognize three categories of humanoids : their own pack, other werewolves, and everything else. That leaves a lot of potential for friendly fire whenever something doesn't go as planned. And not being able to recognize face is a thing in real life, so that's not too outlandish.

Not so sure about the memory loss though.

I like that, a lot. You venture into the forest and you see elves standing in the distance, staring at you creepily. Sometimes people just disappear. Much better than elves just killing anyone who sets foot in the forest.

What kind of other relations could they have with humans though ? Maybe they send envoys out of the forest to trade stuff with villagers. Maybe sometimes they come out of the forest in a large cortege and everyone is scared shitless and hide in their homes.

edited 4th Mar '16 2:51:00 AM by Aetol

If you wanted a bit of a departure from the usual, you could make it so that the werewolves go ballistic during the new moon rather than the full moon.

I figured, you'd just leave a gift or peace offering at the edge of the Elves' territory and announce that it is such in a loud voice. If they like it, you offer to trade them for something. Or maybe they have a taste for seaweed and/or deep sea fish. Perhaps they have a cultural stigma against fire (which leads to metal which leads to ...pain, by their reasoning), which means they aren't able to manufacture glass or cook food properly - and in that second case, they greatly appreciate cooked food and human cuisine.

...And "long pork" as well, but, y'know, killing the golden goose and all. :D

As for the werewolves, the idea I had was to make them such a threat to everything around them that their own kind has a tradition of locking up their kinsfolk during the "blind hour".

Aetol, you ever watch young children explore? Younger siblings, cousins, babysitting, etc? Kids. When they're unable to distinguish between a "good thing" and a "bad thing" and a "lethal thing"? The Duplo block they put in their mouth and suck on, or the fork they jab into a thing they assume is food.

Now give them superhuman strength and watch them throw a temper tantrum over being unable to drink from an empty cup. Monstrous, frightening, creatures you'd have good reason to be careful around, like any other wild animal that can go right back to living in the woods.

edited 7th Mar '16 11:46:00 PM by DeusDenuo