Uratha

The Uratha are werewolves, territorial apex predators with an instinctive compulsion to hunt. They are able to shapeshift, assuming the forms of humans or wolves or one of several intermediate forms, shrug off even the most grevious of injuries, cross easily between the material world and the Shadow and call upon strange powers that draw on the animistic nature of that otherworld. They are creatures of strong and turbulent passions, eternally struggling with a burning, limitless rage that simmers close to the surface and may explode into violence without warning.

First Change

Any human with werewolf heritage, referred to by uratha as kinfolk or the wolf-blooded, may become a werewolf though it is not known what triggers such a change. This transformation is referred to as the First Change, a chaotic and stressful period of up to a month during which the werewolf-to-be experiences emotional instability, changing senses and alien sensations, psychological changes and rising instincts, and even hallucinatory visions of spirits or the Shadow. The impending Change churns the Shadow like a storm, drawing the attention of nearby packs and spirits cunning or foolish enough to try and take advantage of a new wolf. The nuzusul - the First Tongue word for a werewolf during this time before their Change - often feels that they are going insane, as the stresses continue to rise until they finally Change. This is usually an outburst of suddent violence and Rage as the new werewolf is overwhelmed by the full force of their instincts to hunt and kill. Many wake to their new existence with the blood of those they cared about under their claws.

Powers of the Uratha

Shapeshifting

The five forms of the uratha: Hishu, Dalu, Gauru, Urshul, Urhan

One of defining abilities of a werewolf is to change shape. Uratha can shift between any of five forms at will. The ease with which they can change between these forms depends on their personal balance between the material and spirit sides of their inner being. All fives forms are considered to be their "natural" state of being at that moment in time, though any spoor they leave - blood, hair, or body parts - will quickly revert to that of a human when seperated from their being.

The five forms each have their own uses and purpose on the hunt:

• Hishu: The Human - Indistinguishable from an ordinary human aside from their sensory acuity and regenerative abilities. Uratha in this form can easily blend into crowds and disappear in the human herd.
• Dalu: The Near-Human - Able to pass for human in dim light or unless closely scrutinised. Uratha in Dalu form are 6-12" taller than their hishu form and nearly double the mass, all of it muscle, with claw-like nails capable of splitting flesh from bone, feral features including gold-tinged eyes and carnivorous dentition. The dalu form is imposing and powerful, able to exert a lesser form of the Lunacy or cow a crowd with a growl. It is the favoured form for violence when complex language or tools are required, or the devastating power of gauru is not required.
• Gauru: The War-Form - Resembles an enormous and terrifying fusion of man and wolf, it is the uratha's Rage manifest into flesh. An uratha in gauru form stands at 1.5x the height and four times the weight of their hishu form, heavily furred with limbs like tree trunks, murderous claws and fangs like butcher's knives. The gauru form is utterly terrifying to all but the most iron-willed, strong enough to topple cars and able to shrug off all but the most grevious injury in seconds. This form has only one purpose, to kill, and it is only commonly used at the moment of the killing blow due to the far greater risk of falling into death rage while in gauru.
• Urshul: The Dire Wolf - Resembles an immense wolf out of legends, nearly the size of a horse, with the same colouration and physique shared by the uratha's urhan and gauru forms. Urshul form cannot communicate with in any human tongue but can use the First Tongue with ease. This form is used to harry the prey, wear it down and hamper it with crippling injuries until the time is right to strike and kill with the Gauru form.
• Urhan: The Wolf - Indistinguishable from an ordinary wolf from the area the uratha was born in, with physique that reflects their hishu form. An uratha's exceptional senses are most accute in urhan form, though they are unable to communicate in any way except instinctual lupine methods and a few words of the First Tongue. This form is used for speed in crossing long distances, tracking prey, and blending in with nature.

Weaknesses

Silver

Uratha are phenomenally resilient creatures, able to shrug off minor injuries and recover from even grievous wounds would cripple a normal human with phenomenal speed. The only exception to this preternatural regeneration is from wounds inflicted with silver. Luna's metal is painful for a werewolf to touch and it is capable of causing agonising wounds as their blood boils and wounded flesh sears from contact with the metal. Such wounds heal as slowly as a human would. Unfortunately for any would-be werewolf hunter, a wound from silver that does not kill its victim will almost certainly provoke a werewolf into a death rage.

Rage

Werewolves tend to be passionate beings, feeling all emotions with great intensity but none so intensely as anger. Most struggled with quick tempers and simmering anger issues even before their First Change, but that was pale shadow of what they feel after finding the wolf for the first time. This rage - mir in the First Tongue - is raw fury wedded with an apex predator's instincts to hunt and kill. It burns endlessly in their hearts, never fully extinguished and always threatening to burst forth into violence. It is most evident in Gauru form, when they are driven to violence and brutality accelerates a werewolf's already prodigious regeneration to new heights.

The purest and most dangerous form of the rage is Kuruth, the Death Rage, which comes when a werewolf completely loses control of their anger and their conscious mind is drowned out by their instincts toward violence. A werewolf in Kuruth can retain a limited amount of control for a short time, a state called Wasu-Im, the Soft Rage, during which time they can try to destroy the trigger of their rage or remove themselves from anyone they wish not to hurt in their anger, but eventually that limited control will fail and they will fall into Basu-Im, the Hard Rage. In this state, they will assume Gauru form and destroy anything and anyone nearby before finally collapsing into unconsciousness. Worst of all, Death Rage is infectious within a pack and one member falling into Basu-Im may cause others nearby to follow suit. The only thing that a werewolf in Death Rage will not attack is a packmate who is also in Death Rage; everyone else, including other packmates who have resisted their rage, are targets to be destroyed.

History

Werewolves have an oral history, passing stories and legends through packs, protectorates, and tribes. While that’s a wonderful tool for keeping their culture alive, it does mean that when fact and narrative conflict, fact falls by the wayside.

Even so, almost every werewolf hears at least one tale of the time before, and how the Forsaken lost paradise. Just as many cultures and religions have a myth of the flood or the myth of how humans gained forbidden knowledge, werewolf history has a common theme. The worlds of Flesh and Spirit used to be so close that one could touch the other, then the werewolves came and brought ruin upon it. Among the Uratha, this typically bears a lesson along the lines of “they fucked up so now we have to do better.”

The common elements of these stories come together to tell of the Sundering, the story of the creation of the Uratha and of their fall from grace.

The Sundering

This story is true. In ages past, the worlds of flesh and spirit freely mingled in Pangaea. Humans could cross the Border Marches into the Shadow, while spirits could enter the world of Flesh to gather Essence. The great wolf, Urfarah kept the balance of the worlds through predation, hunting spirits that grew too bold, thinning the herd of humanity when they grew too numerous, and warring with other great spirits who would exploit the border for themselves.

The Sundering - the end of Pangaea, and the great crime of the People - began with love. Luna, Amahan Iduth, the Warding Moon who protects the Shadow from the void beyond, saw in the Wolf a kindred spirit and the two greatest guardians of the Shadow fell in love. From the Moon's ever-changing protean nature and the Wolf's guardianship and predatory instinct came the People. Bound to the earth and unable to join their mother in the skies, the first werewolves joined Wolf's pack and recieved the Moon's Gifts from the Lunes.

Yet this act of creation weakened Wolf and he grew slow and weak, and both worlds suffered for it. Spirits set themselves up as deities among human tribes, Essence and resonances surged uncontrolled as humanity spread unchecked, and the great spirits escaped Wolf's slowing jaws by shattering themselves into uncountable shards that infested the worlds. The Uratha and their wolf spirit cousins knew that strong young hunters must replace a weak elder, and Wolf's ban forbade him from surrender. Only in death could another take his place. So the Uratha and the greatest wolf spirits fought their father and killed him.

Urfarah's death howl shattered the Border Marches, raising a Gauntlet between worlds and forever dividing Flesh and Spirit. Luna saw what Wolf's children had done and, stricken with grief, cursed the People with madness and to burn at the touch of silver. Pangaea was lost and the world grew into that which we see today.

The Sundering still divides the People. Some, led by the Firstborn wolf-spirits who joined the battle against Urfarah, took up Father Wolf's role and pledged themselves to Luna to carry out his duty to guard the divide between Flesh and Spirit. They recieved Luna's forgiveness and call themselves the Tribes of the Moon, or Urdaga, or simply the Forsaken in memory of their patricide. Others believed that killing Urfarah was a mistake and follow the Firstborn who did not join take part in the murder. They call themselves the Pure Tribes, or Anshega, and hate both Luna and their brethren who swore themselves to her.

Society

Werewolf society is a loose and fragmentary network of alliances and ties born of dedication to patron spirits. The base unit of that society is the pack, a grouping of uratha and wolfblooded bonded with a totem spirit as a way to unify themselves into a common cause. Packs enable werewolves to hunt greater prey or to protect larger swathes of territory, but primarily to have companions who understand their struggles in ways mere humanity cannot. A pack will generally claim a specific area of territory as their own, though not always as some choose to roam. Whatever territory is claimed by the pack will be vigorously defended from anyone who may try to lay claim to it as will any people the pack members have close ties to, often without them being aware that the pack is watching their backs. The

This page is a work in progress and in need of some love. If you know anything that can be added to it, please feel free to so.

Werewolves in Blackmouth

This page is a work in progress and in need of some love. If you know anything that can be added to it, please feel free to so.