Lycanthropy

Lycanthropy is a curse, often also termed a disease, that transforms a humanoid into a beast. Those afflicted with the curse are called lycanthropes, lycans, or a name referencing the animal of their curse, such as werewolf or werebear. Many types of lycans exist, but the most common are werewolves and werebears. A lycanthrope has three forms—humanoid, hybrid, and animal—and control over the curse and the changing between these forms varies between individuals.

Lycanthropes are ostracized from most societies in Exandria, and the Claret Orders in Wildemount hunts lycanthropes who cannot or do not control themselves. Various organizations and communities of lycanthropes exist, both featuring single types of lycans or mixed types. Most notable are the Claret Order of the Lycan and the Gorgynei in Marquet. Relationships to the curse and philosophies about its spread vary between individuals and groups of lycans, ranging from seeing it as a ruinous afflication that must not be spread to considering it a gift to be imparted on the willing and unwilling alike.

Two lycanthrope player characters have appeared in the main campaigns: Tova, a werebear guest player character in Campaign One, and Chetney Pock O'Pea, a werewolf main player character in Campaign Three. Mechanically, lycanthropy is primarily represented by either a statblock or by the Order of the Lycan subclass of Matthew Mercer's homebrew blood hunter class. A character who is subclassed as Order of the Lycan is not necessarily also a member of the narrative Order of the Lycan.

Description
A lycanthrope is a humanoid afflicted by a curse that transforms them into a beast. They are created either by sustaining a wound from a lycanthrope or by inheriting the curse from a lycanthrope parents. The curse is driven by Catha, the primary moon of Exandria, rather than Ruidus.

There are various types of lycans, including werewolves, werebears, weretigers, wereboars, and wererats. A lycanthrope has three forms: humanoid, hybrid, and animal. They have heightened senses in humanoid form and appear as their normal selves, though many eventually develop features that suggest the animal. In animal form, they generally appear as a larger, stronger version of the animal but are otherwise largely indistinguishable; for example, werewolves in animal form tend to appear as direwolves. Hybrid is a bipedal form with the head, fur, and other features of that animal. Lycanthropes can wield weapons in their hybrid forms. Lycanthropes in their hybrid or animal forms generally revert to their humanoid forms when knocked unconscious or killed.

Control over changing between forms and over themselves as a hybrid or an animal varies between individuals. Some descend into ravenous monsters who cannot stop themselves from attacking those around them, and others are able to exercise finer control and transform into their hybrid form at will.

Mechanically, lycanthropy is primarily represented in two ways: by a statblock, such as those in the Monster Manual, and by the Order of the Lycan blood hunter subclass. A lycanthrope who is mechanically Order of the Lycan is not necessarily also a member of the narrative Order of the Lycan sect of the Claret Orders; examples of this include Tova and Chetney Pock O'Pea, who are both Order of the Lycan mechanically but are not members of the Claret Orders.

History
Lycanthropes are feared and ostracized by many throughout Exandria and even other planes. Some lycanthropes self-exile or isolate themselves from others upon contracting the curse, especially during full moons. Individuals also have varied relationships with their lycanthropy. Though many see it as a ruinous affliction, some lycans see it as a curse that can be useful if controlled. Various groups also maintain different opinions on purposefully spreading the curse to others: with malicious intent to cause suffering, wantonly to the unwilling out of the belief that it is a gift, only to the willing and in controlled conditions, or never on purpose even if the victim is willing.

Wildemount
Lycanthropy has existed in Wildemount since the Marrow War from 544 to 546 PD. The Claret Orders, an organization of monster slayers founded in Wildemount during the war, include an order of lycanthropes who inflict the curse on inductees in a ceremony called the Taming. This Order of the Lycan uses both a keenly trained willpower and hemocraft magic to exercise control over their curses and use it as a weapon during their hunts. However, the Claret Orders also hunt lycanthropes who cannot or do not exercise control over themselves and their curse.

The Cyrengreen Forest in the Dwendalian Empire is a sanctuary for lycanthropes, who are at odds due to differing views on controlling or embracing their feral curse. Tensions between them increases every lunar cycle. The Order of the Lycan of the Claret Orders trains outcast lycanthropes to manage and use their curse in a hidden garrison there, and the forest is also home to the werewolf Lorelei family, who seek to control their curses through a process they also call the Taming. The adventure hook "More Perfect People" in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount also places the werewolf Brotherhood of the Moon in Cyrengreen, and the group intentionally spreads lycanthropy to travelers on the road in the belief that it will create more perfect humanoids. In the adventure hook "The Unlucky Few" in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, a community of Righteous Brand deserters fled to the Cyrios Mountains, adjacent to the Cyrengreen Forest, after becoming afflicted with lycanthropy.

Three lycanthropes also lived on Rumblecusp under the effects of a memory loss magic: a werebear Jaina, Pono who contracted lycanthropy from Jaina, and an unnamed weretiger. Jaina and Pono remained living on Rumblecusp even after the memory loss was lifted and the island's residents were able to return home.

Elsewhere
There are occasional folktales and "distant stories" in Marquet about lycans, but they were generally believed old stories meant to scare children. The Gorgynei are a group of lycanthropes living on the continent who use hemocraft to tame their curses. They swear not to pass their lycanthropy on to others. In Jrusar in late 842 PD, Armand Treshi had the werewolf Gurge Kisgregg captured and hired Ira Wendagoth to force Gurge to pass the curse onto volunteers, who would go on to wreak havoc in the city as direwolves.

A pack of werewolves is rumored to live in the Parchwood Timberlands of Tal'Dorei. In the adventure hook "The Beast Below", werewolves are listed as a possible sources for howling and disappearances in the Dividing Plains near Ironseat Ridge, and a werebear killer lives in the Mooren River Run in the "Bear of the White River" hook in Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting and Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn. Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting also includes an adventure hook "A Bad Influence" in which suude from Stilben intentionally and secretly contaminated with lycan bile causes users in Turst Fields to kill others in a rage.

Bertrand Bell claimed to have slain a Whispering Werewolf of the North (or "from the North"), presumably in Issylra, though this story is dubious and probably untrue.

In the Feywild, a group called the Fendir live in the Moonbrush, seeking to live peaceably away from any who would harm them. Led by the werewolf Ukurat, the Fendir is largely composed of werewolves, though at least one weretiger and one werebear are among them. They were bitter enemies with Iotha and the Wisher pixies, who seek the eradicate the Fendir. The Fendir and Vox Machina fought and killed Iotha and the Wisher pixies in late 810 PD, as depicted in. The Fendir apparently prefer to remain in hybrid form.

Organizations

 * Brotherhood of the Moon, werewolves living in the Cyrengreen Forest in the adventure hook "More Perfect People" who intentionally spread lycanthropy, believing that it will create better humanoids
 * The Fendir, group in the Feywild primarily composed of werewolves but includes other lycanthropes
 * The Gorgynei, blood hunters in Marquet who use hemocraft to control the curse
 * Order of the Lycan, order of the Claret Orders based in the Cyrengreen Forest

Individual werewolves

 * Chetney Pock O'Pea, gnomish woodcarver from Uthodurn
 * Gurge Kisgregg, blood hunter formerly of the Claret Orders in Wildemount who lived with the Gorgynei for a time after contracting the curse on a hunt
 * Lilyana Cayd, half-elf blood hunter of the Order of the Lycan in the Claret Orders in Wildemount
 * Lorelei family, noble family living in the Cyrengreen Forest who inherit their curse
 * Alfarr Lorelei, the First Wolf of the family who contracted lycanthropy near the end of the Marrow War
 * Grenya Lorelei, Alfarr's daughter
 * Geneviève Lorelei, embraced the curse's feral nature, putting her at odds with the family
 * Katerine Lorelei, Geneviève's sister
 * Haldor Lorelei, Geneviève's son by a drow man
 * Aurra Lorelei, Haldor's eldest child, a druid who embraced the curse's animalistic side
 * Lucius Lorelei, Haldor's second child, a cleric of the Moonweaver
 * Portia Lorelei, Haldor's third child, rose to lead the family after her older siblings sought other paths
 * Lawrence Lorelei, Haldor's fourth child, twin to Benicio
 * Benicio Lorelei, Haldor's fifth and last child, twin to Lawrence
 * Ukurat, elven leader of the Fendir

Individual werebears

 * Jaina, half-elf living without her memory on Rumblecusp, remained there after the memory loss was lifted
 * Morgo Delwur, dwarven explorer operating out of Syrinlya
 * Pono, human member of the Clasp wounded by Jaina while living without his memory on Rumblecusp, remained there after the memory loss was lifted
 * Tova, dwarven blood hunter who fought alongside Vox Machina in the City of Dis

Trivia

 * In the Monster Manual, lycanthropy contracted from a wound inflicted by another lycanthrope may be cured with Remove Curse, but Wish is required for a lycanthrope who inherited the curse.
 * The in-universe relationship, if any, between the Taming ceremony of the Claret Order of the Lycan and the Taming of the Lorelei family, who operate outside the Order, is unclear. Mechanically, three of the Lorelei player characters are Order of the Lycan blood hunters, and the Taming is described as part of that subclass.
 * As of, every named werewolf living in Exandria is from Wildemount. The only named werewolf who isn't, Ukurat, lives in the Feywild.