Lycanthropes - General

[The Archivist]

According to legend and myth, were-creatures gained their powers in a number of different ways, from witchcraft and devil worship to donning magical animal skins to the channelling of totem spirits. The most well known method for becoming a were-creature, the bite, was never a part of traditional tales, instead it was a Hollywood invention for the 1941 movie The Wolf Man.

Almost all cultures have a were-creature myth.

D&D werewolves are based on various werewolf legends and folktales, and more specifically on Hollywood depictions thereof.

D&D weretigers are based on Indian folktales.

I don't know any mythological or literary source for D&D wereboars.

D&D werebears are based on Beorn from The Hobbit (which is why they are lawful in alignment).

D&D wererats (originally introduced in Supplement I) are based on Fritz Leiber's novel The Swords of Lankhmar.

[The Archivist]

The word "lycanthrope" refers specifically to werewolves for the Greek word "lycos" means "wolf" (and the term were or wer means "man" so a werewolf is a man-wolf).

To describe other man-animal were-creatures, the term "therianthropy" is more accurate (therion meaning "wild animal" and anthropos meaning "man").

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy

[The Archivist]

In OD&D there is not much mention of disease but this one called lycanthropy. I find the disease fascinating that if bitten by the were-creature that it yields a uncontrollable manifestation. It festers and wanes with the moon and can be intriging to a hapless party that stumbles upon one.


I read an excellent book years ago simply titled "Werewolf" it discussed werewolves from several different lands and tales mentioning the different sorts and spent a fair number of pages detailing lycanthropes of non wolfish type.

Lycanthropy can be a personal curse, a family curse, a disease, an infection, a malignant spell (somehow different from a curse), purposeful shapechanging of a witch/sorceror or the use of a magical device.

In many tales a Lycanthrope is usually an animal with human-like cunning and an unnatural gleam of intellect in it's eyes. The man/wolf wolfman movie hybrid is generally a more modern invention.

Not all lycanthropes actually change shape some retain human form but gain animal gaits, sensibilities and capabilities.