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Zombimode
2013-01-29, 08:35 AM
Last session I more or less spontaneously introduced an orc werewolf.

Some background:

The party camped for the night and I rolled on my custom "nightly encounters" random encounter table. It came up with "Werewolf".
When I originally designed this encounter I intended it as a straight up combat encounter. But, as often when I only have some rudimentary notes, I decide to add some more color when the situation actually comes up.

Likewise in this situation. The Werewolf was a default human werewolf, but in the region the characters are currently in, it is just as likely to encounter a goblin, orc or dwarf werewolf. (In hindsight, making it a dwarf werewolf would have been much better for the course of the game...). In order to move away from anthropocentrism I decided on the spot to make it a male orc.

I wanted to have some atmosphere to put the party on their toes, so I started the encounter with the howls of wolves. First, distant in the east. Then distant in the west. Then distant in the south. Then again in the south but much nearer and to those who know about this things the howl didn't sound like from an actual wolf, but more like someone imitating the howl. And then shortly after in the south a humanoid figure stands on top of a hill in the pale moonlight, but clearly humanoid and not werewolf-y.
The area is largely plains covered with very tall grass (growing about a meter in height). The humanoid figure kneeled down in the grass and thus vanished from the sight of the party. But they discovered something was moving through the grass with high speed towards their position (the werewolf, now in wolf form).

The party has set up camp near a river and the grass was much shorter there. Instead of breaking out of the grass in his hybrid form as a maddened beast aiming its claws and teeth at the character's throats, the werewolf stopped shortly before he reached the party's camp and arose from the grass, again in his humanoid form, and approach the party slowly.
I decided to play him as troubled by his own bestiality and struggling against his bloodlust and instinct to kill. So I described him as a twisted tormented creature on the verge of transforming, only able to spit out some mangled words (in orcish, which luckily some of the characters were able to understand) like "need... fresh... blood".

The party consist of an elf, a half-elf, a half-orc, a dwarf, a goblin NPC and a horse (the system is D&D 3.5, but it doesn't really matter). The half-orc wasn't keen on fighting this thing, but the others felt more threatened and readied their weapons (with the exception of the goblin who hid between the horse's legs, like he always does). On the other side, the werewolf was clearly aiming for the horse. He did not meet the party's request to stand back and so the half-elf ("owner" of the horse, which he stole...) lost his nerves and filled the werewolf's belly with a salvo of arrows. The werewolf transformed and attacked, but was still aiming for the horse. The half-orc did not participate in what he called "slaughter", but still up against three other PCs the werewolf was taken down before he could seriously harm the animal (mostly because I mistakingly assumed that the werewolf's damage reduction would apply in all forms, but as I reviewed the creatures stats as the combat began I realized my mistake and thus the half-elf's initial attack took away most of the creatures hitpoints).

Aftermath: half of the party stormed out in the night to find "a safe place to rest" or something, while the half-orc and two others remained at the camp site. The half-orc treated the wounds of the werewolf and stabilized him. Then, he cut his arm open and fed the werewolf with his blood. I was very impressed by this gesture and ruled that this would slowly end the transformation.
We made a cut at this point, so next session I have to deal with a split party (*sigh*) and a soon to be awake orc-werewolf who outlived his initial purpose as swordfodder for the players and now needs a personality.


Now, I have some trouble how to play this orc-werewolf. The archetype of the werewolf that is in conflict with it's bestial side only truly works when the creature "underneath" the werewolf is, or at least was, actually a peaceful and caring individual. It looses much of it's sting when the base creature already is brutal and warlike.

So, some stuff about orcs in this setting: like most creatures, orcs were created by some divine entity. Unfortunately shortly after their creation they, and many other races, were corrupted by the force of anti-creation, called Chaos. While the original design described a proud-warrior-race-culture with a strong emphasis on physical might, this corruption led to their commonly known "misbuild" appearance and a sometimes excessively brutal and aggressive mindset.

I am aware that I may already have created a dissonance by making his behavior so averse against violence against other humanoids that even after being attacked he still goes for the animal instead of the humanoids who injured him. I want to stay true to this characterization, but I also don't want to humanize him to much. Otherwise there would have been no point in making him orc in the first place.

I'm welcome to any suggestions :smallsmile:

Gnomish Wanderer
2013-01-29, 11:23 AM
Honor Duel.

This particular orc believes that every intelligent being deserves a chance to prove itself in a fair fight. He likes to duel and battle one on one to test the might and determine dominance. As a wolf he considers himself sick and malformed with power, therefore unable to fight fair, and is desperately seeking to break the curse.

KillianHawkeye
2013-01-29, 11:31 AM
One option is to solve this problem with backstory!

Let's say that this orc, while normally a brutal and ferocious warrior in his own right, has decided that he does not like losing all control to the bloodthirstiness of his wolf side. Perhaps there was a past incident in which he lost control and accidentally killed his own family. Even orcs care about their families, right? So he made a vow to never succumb to his wolf side again, a vow which he has a lot of trouble actually holding up to. And every time he loses it and transforms, he sees it as a failure of his own strength and ability to withstand this curse. If there were no downsides, it wouldn't really be a curse at all.

For what use is power that comes at the cost of all you hold dear?




I may have to use this idea myself, if I ever have time to run a game again.

Kornaki
2013-01-29, 11:34 AM
What if it's the wolf side that's peaceful and benevolent? The orc is a violent brute, but when he turns into a wolf he just wants to hunt animals for food and leave people alone. Flip the stereotype on its head

Zombimode
2013-01-29, 03:07 PM
One option is to solve this problem with backstory!

Let's say that this orc, while normally a brutal and ferocious warrior in his own right, has decided that he does not like losing all control to the bloodthirstiness of his wolf side. Perhaps there was a past incident in which he lost control and accidentally killed his own family. Even orcs care about their families, right? So he made a vow to never succumb to his wolf side again, a vow which he has a lot of trouble actually holding up to. And every time he loses it and transforms, he sees it as a failure of his own strength and ability to withstand this curse. If there were no downsides, it wouldn't really be a curse at all.

For what use is power that comes at the cost of all you hold dear?

Yes.. I liked this idea... in general I mean. Some details are off for my specific case here, but I think this is solid.
First, I agree with you on the nature of Lycanthropy as a curse. It is how this works in the setting. There is no such thing as a "natural" lycanthrope or as society of lycanthrope. If you get inflicted, you're doomed to eternal isolation. You can't live with other people, not even other lycanthropes, if you wake up every other night compelled to kill those who are close to you.

About the family: I picture orcs of this setting as not particularly caring about individuals. Its okay if Dude#2-Dude#10 of your warband get killed during the battle, as long as Dude#11-Dude#20 are still around afterwards. The important things is that there is a group. Orc don't want to be alone, so preserving the group, may it be a warband, a clan, or an army, is a strong motivation for an orc.
The isolation that comes with lycanthropy is truly horrific for an orc.

Adapted from your idea, this is what I have now:

Our orc-werewolf, who shall be called Trecker, wasn't much of a warrior in his orc-days. A bit narrow-chested for an orc, he aspired to be a Taleteller, someone who learns the history of the clan and relates them to the fellow clanmembers in the form of epic stories about battles, fights and bloodshed.
However he was forced to abandon his future plans because he was ordered to accompany a warband. Being not much use as a warrior, he became the quartermaster instead.

As they traveled this region (the Darkwood Forest) they were attacked one night by a ravenous wolf-beast. Arrows and spears proved to be useless against the creature as they could not harm it. The orcs were in shock and began to break and flee. In the confusion, Trecker did not react fast enough, and soon the wolf-beast was over him sinking it's teeth into his flesh. It was the warbands chief who saved the day (well, night), as he was able to stand up against the beast and actually harm it. The chief rallied the scattered orcs and the beast was brought down with large quantities of lamp oil and torches.
But the damage was done.

In the very next night, Trecker really didn't feel well. His mind became increasingly clouded by pure instinct. At midnight he could not fight it anymore. Under the howling of distant wolf packs, he let out one primal roar - and turned into the beast.
For the first time in his life, his fellow orcs were impressed by Trecker - but also terrified. Compelled by the curse to attack those emotionally close, Trecker the Beast lashed out against his former clanmates. Since he knew that they had exhausted their supply of oil he searched for the chief, the only one who could stop him. The chief was still recovering from the wounds of the last fight and thus Trecker remained victorious. After this he managed to kill or severely injure a couple of other orcs before they started to run in all directions.

Trecker's work was done. But the killing didn't stop. Panicked and completely unorganized running alone or in small groups they were easy prey for the small packs of wolves who had closely observed the situation and waited for the right moment to strike. The whole night was filled with the screams of horrified orcs being mauled to death by hungry wolves. As the sun climbed above the canopy of the nearby forest, all of the orcs were dead.

On the next day, Trecker roamed the countryside in search of his lost clanmates but he only ever found sings of the nightly bloodshed. He returned to the camp and felt on his knees. He was alone, and the meaning of this finally began to sink in. And there was something else, something Trecker had never felt before in his life. He was still an orc and such emotions aren't well developed in his kind, but this was undeniable guilt. He had committed one of the few true sins an orc could do: he was responsible for the destruction of his entire community!

He later learned that the wolves of the area, the Black Wolves, a bigger, fiercer and more cunning breed then the normal gray wolves, had much more to do with the incident then he had originally thought. While he had as a consequence of his curse some amount of power over the wolves, it were in fact the wolves who had the true power. Over the time they had learned that they could influence the werewolves with their howling, so much as even guiding them into certain areas. But this knowledge could not remedy Treckers guilt, nor solve his loneliness. While he was protected from attacks by the wolves, he was also never accepted in their packs.

Much later, maybe two years after his first transformation, Trecker was accidentally discovered by a lone traveler. It was early in the day and Trecker just had fed last night, so he felt no urge to kill the man. This new acquaintance, although human, was very open, could understand and speak orcwelsh and was obviously in search for company. Trecker had almost forgotten that he was once an individual and part of a community, but as this man spoke to him, he remembered. Trecker decided to travel with this human to relish in the memories.
He soon learned the the human's name was Bart and that he shared the love of stories Trecker had in his former live. The two spend hours upon hours of telling and hearing stories of their respective cultures. Bart also knew a great deal about nature. He showed Trecker how to find plants with curative properties and how to read the sings of the weather.
As the nightfall came, Bart offered his new orc-friend to rest at his fire. Trecker hesitated at first, but he wanted to hear and tell more stories and he gave in. It was a cloudy day and a cloudy night so the only light was the glistering bonfire. Trecker had just finished the epic of Bloodwart, the Elfbane as a single noise pierced the serenity of the night: the howl of a lone wolf. In panic, Trecker looked up and as if the gods of the sky wanted to play an evil trick on him the clouds cleared for a moment, and Treckers gaze met the pale and full perfection of the moon.
Bart did not survive the night.

Did Trecker really cared for this human? No. But it was company. And Trecker had it betrayed again. All the guilt he thought he had long forgotten was suddenly renewed. And he was traumatized. From now on whenever he killed something, he remembered the night of his first transformation, and this effect was especially strong when his prey was something humanoid. His life could probably not get any worse, but part of the curse of lycanthropy was the overwhelming instinct to survive.
He made the decision to avoid humanoids from now on. But as he soon discovered, he was still nothing but a pawn of the wolves. This night, they guided him to a camp of humanoid travelers...

KillianHawkeye
2013-01-30, 06:40 AM
Nice, glad I could help. :smallsmile: