Lycans

~*~*~*~ ABOUT LYCANS ~*~*~*~
LYCAN ORIGIN
LYCAN RANKS
LYCAN BREEDS
LYCAN PACKS
LYCAN GIFTS
LYCAN AGE
LYCAN SOCIETY
LYCAN RULES OR LITANY
LYCAN INJURIES
LYCAN DEATH
LORE OWNERSHIP

LYCAN ORIGIN

Lycanthropy is an inheritable trait passed down through generations of dual beings, of man and of wolf. It is believed that much like the spirit of Amel that infiltrated Akasha, thus giving birth to vampirism, the wolf spirit known as Uratha did the same to a young male named Peter Stubbe that was part of an old medieval Germanic tribe that sought to eradicate their surrounding villages through fear and violence. This changed his DNA, his chromosomes, and thus began the origination of the species.

These dominant genes transform human DNA either through conception or infection. Like rabies, saliva carries the genetic profile that can be transmitted through the bite.  This would require the strongest presence of lycanthropy in the saliva, so its limited to alphas. Betas and Omegas cannot transform humans, any bite they make would be devoid of the presence of lycanthropy and usually causes death.

Through the years, the pull of the supernatural has always called to the werewolf. As werewolves evolved from their primal instincts, they learned to develop their gifts, to control their urges, to use the moon to their advantage rather than sub come to its power. Unlike vampires, werewolves have no susceptibility to the sun. This proved to be invaluable to vampires as did the werewolves’ need for a master. Vampires learned to use this to their advantage.

For thousands of years, the werewolves were the daytime guardians of the vampires… doing their biddings, running their businesses, keeping their secrets. Their dependency on vampire culture, law, and structure became more and more apparent through the years. Eventually werewolves became enslaved to their vampire elders, intertwined in their eternal lives. Since vampires normally outlive werewolves, one vampire would be the master of generations of werewolves. And so whole entire generations fell under one master’s rule.

Vampires are ruthless creatures and ever more so to those they think are beneath them.  Because werewolves are weaker, have limited (although prolonged) lives, they are considered the lesser of the supernaturals. They were easy to break into submission and were exceptional at their charge. They made great slaves.

That is until the Grand Release. Lycans in our lore were the previous daytime guardians (or slaves rather) to the ancient vampires within the coven. In what is now known as the “Grand Release”, Pandora put a stop to the enslavement of Lycans and made them part of this family; much to the chagrin of Marius. Most Lycans feel a deep sense of loyalty to Pandora, over Marius even, and consider her to be the “top dog”.

LYCAN RANKS

The Alphas. The top dogs of the packs, Alphas are your pack leaders. Alphas can be either pure breeds or bitten breads, both of which can then pass on the Wolf Gift via “the bite”. Alphas have great responsibility to their progeny, families, and subordinates. In turn the larger their packs, the stronger they are. Their gifts level up with the number of Betas in their packs, however Alphas do not want to have large packs because it increases the chances of being challenged. So they pick their Betas very carefully. An Alpha gets ONE bonus point for every Beta he/she has under their pack.

To become an Alpha, you must take the title from an existing Alpha through what is known as “The Challenge”.  Betas should be very careful to challenge an Alpha, it is a fight to the death. Within the confines of this game, its a fight to which the loser must either delete their character or change their name to create a new character. Its permanent character death.  The new Alpha assumes pack leadership and wins TWO bonus points.

Betas can sometimes simply become Alphas through their chivalrous actions, known as the “True Alpha”.  True Alphas can never be challenged thus they cannot loose their titles but they are a very rare rare occurrence.

The Betas. Most werewolves will fall into this rank. Betas can be either pure breeds or bitten breads but cannot pass on the Wolf Gift until they reach Alpha status. Cubs, Lycans that have yet to go through their first change, are also considered Betas of their Lycan parent’s pack. To become a Beta, you must simply join a pack, be born into a pack, or bitten into a pack.  Once you join a pack, you are granted TWO bonus points.

Betas can procreate through traditional means by taking on a human or Kinfolk partner, but they cannot create other werewolves via “the bite” until they become an Alpha. They can potentially become a “True Alpha” as stated above.

The Omegas. Omegas are werewolves that have no sworn loyalty to a pack. They have either chosen to leave their packs or have been kicked out. Omegas can be either pure breeds or bitten breads and also cannot pass on the Wolf Gift unless they reach Alpha status.

The Kinfolk. The human counterparts of the Lycan clans. These folks usually carry part of the Lycan DNA in them but not enough to be werewolves.

LYCAN BREEDS

The Pure Breeds. Werewolves that are born from one human and one Lycan parent will in their early teens go through their first change. This is known as the Rite of Passage. Once a werewolf goes through their change, they are considered a cub and part of their Lycan parent’s main pack as a Beta. Lycans cannot procreate together, their reproductive systems seemingly ignore each other. That doesn’t mean that male and female Lycans cannot enjoy healthy relationships, they are just not lineage productive.

The Bitten Breeds. Werewolves that reach the rank of Alpha can if they chose, and if the human survives, to pass on their lycanthrope DNA via “the bite”.  These werewolves do not fully transform like pure breeds do and certain gifts are not available to them. They are immediately Betas among their biter’s packs. They can break off from their packs however and they can challenge their pack leaders just like pure breeds do. They also do not procreate other Lycans, so their children are pure humans.

The Kinfolk. Not all human and Lycan couplings produce werewolves, but that doesn’t mean that they in turn cease to be carriers. Their own children may turn out to be Lycan even if they are not. These folks are known as Kinfolk and live among their families as regular members of society. Kinfolk are prevented from being in packs and thus prevented from being pack leaders.

LYCAN PACKS

PACKLEADERS
Packleaders are usually of the GUARDIAN rank in game and they are the ALPHAS within the Lycan lore. To become a packleader you must challenge an existing packleader to a duel of the death, this means perma death (you would have to rename your character / create a new character if you loose the duel).  The duel must be witnesses by all members of your pack, and also a member of the High Council of the coven.  When you win a duel, you gain 1 point in each of your gifts.

Your gifts are increased 1 point per packmate that joins your pack for each of your gifts, up to the max. As an Alpha you are in charge of increasing your packmates’ gifts, but they cost you 1 point for every 3 points you award. Of course, as stated before the stronger your pack the stronger you are.  You must balance though so that you do not end up being challenged.

When you are an Alpha, your eyes glow a deep red when you are in were form. You transform much bigger and more completely into your wolf spirit. Pure breed Alphas can transform into full wolfs. In addition, a “True Alpha” can at will transform to a full wolf, if they so desire, even if they are not a pure breed.

PACKMATES
Packmates are those Lycans that are part of your pack. You can chose to join a pack, be born into a pack, or are bitten into a pack.  The more packmates you have, the stronger your pack is in general.  It also makes your Alpha twice as strong as the strongest of your pack. To join an existing pack, you must appeal to the packleader and complete the “Swear Your Fealty (Lycan)* guild quest. Through your journal, an Alpha will choose you. If they do not, you become an Omega within the coven.

Your gifts are only increased at the expense of your Alpha’s gifts. Should your Alpha award you one of his gift points, you will have 3 points to distribute as you see fit into your gift tree. If you get higher than your Alpha in any one gift, you may be able to challenge your Alpha for his leadership.

When you are a Beta, your eyes glow a bright yellow when you are in were form.  Your eyes would glow a stunning blue if you have ever killed an innocent. Your transform only slightly bigger and less completely into your wolf spirit. Pure breed Betas can manage the level of their transformations almost to full wolf form (only Alphas pure breeds can fully transform).

THE LONE WOLF
Omegas, or the lone wolf, are Lycans that are not currently part of a pack. They cannot gain gift levels; remaining at Level 1 until they join a pack.

When you are an Omega, your eyes glow a dull yellow when you are in were form.  Your eyes would glow a dull blue if you have ever killed an innocent. Your transform only slightly bigger and less completely into your wolf spirit. Because of the limitations to your were gifts, you are weaker than packed weres and are more susceptible to being killed off.  Pure breed Omegas can manage the level of their transformations almost to full wolf form (only Alphas pure breeds can fully transform).

LYCAN GIFTS

Lycans are awarded an initial point value based on their age. For every year, a Lycan is awarded a total of 1 point to spend in their gifts. So if your role play is to age your character at 32, then you have 32 points to spend. To acquire new points, you must have been active member of the clan (keep an active UO account and active participation) for every full moon (real life). Every full moon that you live through grants you A SINGLE point to spend. Your birthday is important because as long as you remain active on your character’s birthday, you get TWO bonus points. You are also awarded or subtracted points based on the conditions of your rank — Beta, Alpha, Omega — see the “Lycan Ranks” section.

ALL LYCANS (Pure or Bitten)
The following gifts are available to all Lycans, equally. You have a max of 15 points in each, 16 points in each if you are a pure breed:

Heightened Senses (15 / 16): Werewolves can smell, see and hear far better than humans.

Accelerated Healing (15 / 16): Werewolves heal quickly from most injuries.

Enhanced Agility (15 / 16): Werewolves can jump, run, climb and react faster than humans.

Enhanced Strength (15 / 16): Werewolves are much stronger than humans.

Enhanced Resilience (15 / 16): Werewolves far less susceptible to injury and disease than humans.

Pain Transference (15 / 16): Werewolves can absorb and alleviate pain from other people/creatures.

Truth Seeking (15 / 16): Werewolves can decipher lies from truth of those they concentrate on by listening to their heartbeats.

Controlled Change (15 / 16): Werewolves learn to control their rage and change at will. They also learn to better control their susceptibility to the lunar effects of a full moon.

 

PURE BREED LYCANS (Special Abilities)
The following gifts are only available to PURE BREED werewolves. All pure breeds have these gifts and they cannot be trained.

Call of the Wild (1): Pure breeds have the ability to call upon the natural beasts of its surrounding for aid and assistance in battle.

Call of the Flesh (1): Pure breeds have the ability to heal the wounds of others, creature or human, by licking the wounds with their tongues. All but mortal wounds can be cured with this gift.

Call of the Wolf (1): Pure breeds can transform almost entirely into the wolf spirit.  Alpha pure breeds can achieve the full transformation. They are practically undetectable from a real wolf.

Call of the Shift (1): Pure breeds can transform into different forms of a wolf, once a certain age and proficiency is reached. It is limited to one, max two, shapes. Examples could be a Dire Wolf, a Fire Hellhound, Horrific Beast, etc.

 

ALPHA LYCANS (Special Abilities)
The following gifts are only available to ALPHAS. You can have a max of 5 points in each, 6 if you are a pure breed:

Memory Transference (5 / 6): Alpha werewolves can transfer (give or take) memories by inserting claws into nape of an individual’s neck.

Commanding Shout (5 / 6): Alpha werewolves have the ability to call upon their pack in wolf form by a distinct howl.

Controlled Change (5 / 6): In addition to their own controlled change, Alpha werewolves can help to control the change of those within their packs.

Shield the Pack (5 / 6): Alpha werewolves can block or shield incoming presence, psychic, and magical powers within close proximity.

Wolf Gift (5 / 6): Alpha werewolves are the only ones that can gift the DNA strands via “the bite” to a human. The stronger this gift, the less chance of death.

 

TRUE ALPHA LYCANS (Special Abilities)
The following gifts are only available to “True Alphas” and cannot be trained further.

Learned Shift (1): True Alphas can imprint the genetic code of other animals or people by touch. They can then use this code to shift into a version of that animal or person, rather than a wolf. This shift lasts for only a brief period no longer than 15 minutes.

Feed the Pack (1): True Alphas can share their blood with their packmates to temporarily gift to them some of their powers. The effect lasts anywhere from 10 minutes to 4 hours depending on the amount of blood ingested.  This ability must be used with care, as it renders the gifting Lycan almost powerless for a short time.

LYCAN AGE

The average lifespan of a werewolf can be as much as 150 years. However due to the nature of the animalistic instincts, wolves tend to die to inflicted wounds during battles or at the hand of their own — either to take the Alpha powers or to weed out weaker, less formidable wolves.  Wolves that live longer lives age fairly well, keeping much of their agility and strength. Often the older the wolf the more rank they have; more often than not they are Alphas and are stronger than most wolves, having staved off many challenges for their Alpha-hood.

LYCAN SOCIETY

Loyalty above all else.  Lycans are fiercely loyal to their pack mates, then their pack leader, and finally their clan.  They see Pandora as their overall clan leader since she instrumented their freedom with the “Great Release”.

LYCAN RULES OR RITUALS

{{{ Work in Progress }}}

LYCAN INJURIES

Lycans have increased healing abilities that rival that of vampires.  They can heal almost instantly, except when bitten or scratched by an Alpha.  Alpha wounds take much longer to heal. And although Lycans do not retain any scars from their injuries, the actual scar can take a while to heal.  Lycans cannot regenerate limbs, despite popular belief. If a limb is lost as a wolf, that same limb is lost as a human. Prosthetics can be made much like they can for humans to adapt to Lycan form by special blacksmiths with use of Valorite ore.

LYCAN DEATH

Death is inevitable for Lycans, as they are not immortal. Despite their long lives, old age does set in and eventually does not allow a Lycan to turn into their wolf form anymore. At that point it is customary for the Alpha to end the suffering of the elder and be consumed.  Full burial rites are given to all those that pass of old age and their powers is consumed by the Alpha of their pack.

Death can also come to Lycans that are beheaded in combat or if plugged with enough silver bullets that they cannot expel.  If an enemy equips themselves with high tech silver nitrate bullets, it will immediately infect the bloodstream and causes almost instant death. But such technology would rarely be available in Sosaria.

LORE OWNERSHIP

This lore was adapted by Adam Carter (Armand) based on the previous lore written by Anne Rice in combination with lore written by White Wolf, loremaster. Any updates and changes to it are reviewed by the lorekeepers, Maria Espino (Pandora and Marius) and Sue Patterson (Bianca Solderini and Maharet & Mekare).