The Dresden Files

It also indicates that weres ditching mass when they shift is surprising and impressive, so the Alphas are presumably big fuck-off Russia-class wolves.

Aren't they basically described as Dire Wolves?

Bit, nasty and seemingly prehistoric?

I thought those were the hexenwulven (sorry Three). Or maybe the loup-garou.

Can't remember. What I recall about what makes them scary is that they're apex predators with the minds of smarter apex predators, and thus move like fucking ghosts and so forth. Nothing specifically about their size.

The Alphas and the Hexxen were about equal, the Loup-Garou was something on a whole nother level. But yes both where massive beasts of wolves that Harry did think looked like something out of the ice age. Not big enough to be impossible to be real wolves, but right on the far end of the bell curve.

I wonder if a truly skilled shapeshifter could stay in an in-between form. Well, Naagloshii can, but maybe you could get something like a loup-garou-like form, you know, the typical furry werewolf appearance.

Possibly, but it'd be akin to juggling a loaded gun in one hand and a live grenade in the other, I guess.

Possible, highly difficult, insanely dangerous?

Yes, because if you screw up the "hybridization"...well...slow, painful death?

edited 1st Nov '14 4:25:15 PM by 3of4

I figure the effort you put into making sure the biology and anatomy works out is not commensurate with the benefit you get out of it.

I see Harry got his ideas about dire wolves from D&D...sorry, Arcanos.

The size of those things has been greatly exaggerated. I've seen them up close—the Page Museum in La Brea has several skeletons—and they're not really noticeably bigger than modern wolves. The Other Wiki says they were about the same height and length as modern gray wolves but bulkier. Nothing you'd want to tangle with (not that you'd want to tangle with a pack of gray wolves), but nowhere near the monsters that Gary Gygax and the inheritors of his tradition would have people believe.

edited 1st Nov '14 4:31:43 PM by Karalora

Dire animals were supposed to be prehistoric megafauna, not just big because magic? We were actually supposed to buy the horse-sized bats were once a thing?

Well, there have been big ass insects once upon a time, but that has entirely different reasons.

And to go off a bit...I wonder, we now know for certain there is a fourth Whamp house (its reached Foreshadowing levels)

If they feed on anger(?) whats their counter?

True Serenity?

I kinda consider Violence to be a possibility too, and then Pacifism as their counter? Might be interesting?

edited 1st Nov '14 4:44:42 PM by 3of4

Regular wolves are plenty scary enough. They don't really need to be bigger.

Idea, then: a shapeshifter who's so good, he does the halfway shift as bragging rights.

Sounds interesting. Makes me wonder, do the fear-feeding ones (I can never remember which is Skavis and which is Malvora) get sustenance from fight-or-flight, instinctual panic responses?

edited 1st Nov '14 4:48:21 PM by Ninety

@Seraph The modern alphas might be on Hexxen-tier, but at the time they were just regular wolf sized.

Problem with that is that the half-way is not something that works by nature. Humans and wolves have vastly different internal anatomy.

You'd basically need to design your own internal anatomy, which is so heavily Awesome, but Impractical your bragging rights turn into "what an idiot."

Well, it would be even more of a mark of "this dude knows his shit", then

What's more impressive, guy who runs a three-hour marathon, or guy who runs a three-hour marathon hopping backwards?

They started out that way—dire wolf, "dire bear" resembling the extinct cave bear, etc.—but after a point the D&D guys just started making shit up.

The first, cause the second just gets a "What the hell kind of idiot are you?" reaction. Impressive yes, but also.. kind of stupid.

Currently reading Skin Game. Just finished day two.

Grey's a Naagloshi, right? Or am I completely off the mark here? He's completely indifferent to the evil atmosphere of the slaughterhouse, and obviously non-human and very old.

*enigmatic smile*

I admire your fortitude in carrying on despite living a life devoid of joy and whimsy.

Keep reading.
Well, you wouldn't call him that to his face. I just kinda really like this idea guys ok
Owlbear sez hai.

edited 1st Nov '14 5:28:25 PM by Ninety

It's stated in the RPG that a Wham that feed on rage would be countered by Peace.

Say, speaking of Whamps, how totally Catholic is it that lust is equivocated with fear and despair, eh?

Well, lust is in the same tier as fear no matter how you look at it. Despair isn't, though.

That isn't so much Catholic as it is 'every Abrahamic religion ever.'

edited 1st Nov '14 5:57:38 PM by math792d

How is it catholic? All 3 emotions are pretty much baseline, primitive emotions.

Every being can be in heat (ie lust), be afraid or give into despair (animals in bad captivity?).

The Whamps are predators, it makes sense for them to go for those emotions.

edited 1st Nov '14 5:58:26 PM by 3of4