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wir-brEd
plural: none
1 : a person transformed into a beast
2 : to propagate animals
If the Blind are
cruelty incarnate, the Phages
little but passion, and the Commeddia
mysterious, then the Werebreed are everything that is pure
survival instinct.
Bestial and dangerous, the ranks of the Werebreed are nearly
exclusively carnivorous - although some particularly dangerous
omnivorous specimines also occur. Herbivores are entirely
absent from the type, and Herbivores seem to be completely
immune to the carrier disease for the Werebreed changing.
Of all of the changes forced upon the bodies of those that
succumb to the Plague, few are as physically and mentally
complete as those the Werebreed undergo. Triggered by the
lunar cycle, they revert to an atavistic form that runs on
all fours and shows little more than a completely vicious
animal cunning during the period of the full moon. The change
releases massive adrenalin and endorphin bursts in their bodies,
making them near-immune to pain and fatigue. They recover
supernaturally quickly from injuries, leading to the use of
tasers by the CCD.
The change is not without cost, however. The energy demands
are great, and Werebreed lack the peculiar feeding adaptions
of other Changeling types - they must eat meat when they shift,
and they must eat a massive amount of it. Unfortunately, their
reversion dampens their conscious minds so severely that they
cannot recognise any flesh but that from a fresh kill as viable
food. Their hunting instincts are extremely strong, leading
to deadly rampages.
Purebloods and non-intelligent animals alike find their own
instincts warning them to panic when a Werebreed is about,
though particularly disciplined Werebreed have been known
to force non-intelligent animals of their People's type to
join with them through fear. Thus the occassional Werebreed
wolf folk may be capable of amassing a pack of normal wolves
and subverting their hierachy enough to make the animals serve
them while they are changed. It is suggested that Werebreed
may occassionally be able to communicate with the animals
their people resembles, though the abject fear shown by the
beasts indicates that they are unwilling participants.
Werebreed react very well to suppressant medication physically,
and a Werebreed on the drug regime will not change during
the full moon. However they are by nature extremely cyclical,
and continued medication gradually begins to cause more and
more distress as their bodies lose their internal clocks.
Their disease is passed by bite, and is somewhat weak - extensive
mauling, and survival of the injuries inflicted, is necessary
to create a new Werebreed.
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