Orcish Werebears

[Ogrebear]

According to the rules someone who becomes infected with lycanthropy and fails a saving throw becomes the alignment of the Were type they are infected with permanantly.

So what happens if you infect an Orc with Werebear lycanthropy?

The Bear is Lawful Good, the Orc Chaotic Evil.......so what happens to the Orc? They used to be Lawful Evil with an semi-organized military society....... could an Orc take the life of a Werebear? Would someone who wakes up one morning and realises the evil around them manage to escape? If he woke in the woods would he go back to his tribe knowing they are evil? Could he ever find acceptance amongst the Druids or other Werebears because he's an Orc?

I once ran a plot where a bunch of Adventuerers where sent to meet someone to guide them into the wilds, they came across a community of Orcs living and working together in harmony with nature (should've seen their faces!!) who all turned out to be Werebears.

How would you all handle a Orc or Orc tribe infected with Werebear Lycanthropy?

 

[Greatwyrm]

He'd probably either be kicked out of his tribe or leave voluntarily. The alignments on most intelligent races, at least the ones suitable for PCs, are what's average. Not every orc is LE, not every human is TN, not every elf is CG. You know, that whole, can't judge a book by it's cover sort of thing.

 

[Shin Okada]

I have been always thinking that good lycanthropy may cause strange things in a fantasy world.

Imagine a country where any citizens must be either born werebear or be scratched by some elder werebear by the age of 5 or so. Now all the people there are surely LG. And that country has the strongest militia force all over the world. Maybe in that country any evil humanoids are not killed but captured and be turned into werebear......

 

[The Souljourner]

I've never liked the "lycanthropy changes your alignment rule". Makes for too many problems.

That being said

Would someone who wakes up one morning and realises the evil around them manage to escape?

Hell yeah he could escape. Change into werebear form, and he'll be practically invincible. I'm playing a dwarven werebear, and I'll tell you right now, no amount of 1st level warrior orcs could take him down. And that assumes they know something is wrong. Heck, nothing says he couldn't just walk out of town in orc form and never come back.

-The Souljourner

 

[Darklone]

Uh? I'm surprised. Where's the problem with a paladin getting killed by a nice vampiress who visits him at night... he's fallen and chaotic evil the next morning...

So what's the difference to an orc getting werebeared ?

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I've never liked the "lycanthropy changes your alignment rule". Makes for too many problems.

The alignment change is a manifestation of the were's instincts which eventually become so strong that a person's will cannot overcome it. To me it makes perfect sense. It is a werewolf's instinct to hunt and kill prey. If some mild mannered scholar were to be infected by a werewolf they'd find themselves instinctively "measuring up" people they run across as worthwhile prey. They might be horrified to discover that they are thinking that way about people but they have no control over that instinct.

Let me give you an example and hopefully it won't become a flame war with people telling me I'm wrong. I believe it is our human instinct to mate. If you see an attractive woman walking towards you on the street your eyes will be drawn to the attactive woman and you'll consciously or subconsciously begin to size her up as possible mating material. You may be happily married and have your wife next to you but in the end it is pretty much impossible to keep your eyes from roaming even if you never act on that instinct to attempt to have sex with the attractive woman. What happens with a Were is that they lose the ability to suppress their new animal instincts and begin to perfom acts in accordance with their new instincts. They may not see it as evil because to them it "feels" right to act on their instincts but then again I believe that most evil characters do not see themselves as evil anyway.

Anyway... just my $0.02. Hope I haven't offended anybody.

 

[Belen]

The alignment change is a manifestation of the were's instincts which eventually become so strong that a person's will cannot overcome it. To me it makes perfect sense. It is a werewolf's instinct to hunt and kill prey. If some mild mannered scholar were to be infected by a werewolf they'd find themselves instinctively "measuring up" people they run across as worthwhile prey. They might be horrified to discover that they are thinking that way about people but they have no control over that instinct.

Let me give you an example and hopefully it won't become a flame war with people telling me I'm wrong. I believe it is our human instinct to mate. If you see an attractive woman walking towards you on the street your eyes will be drawn to the attactive woman and you'll consciously or subconsciously begin to size her up as possible mating material. You may be happily married and have your wife next to you but in the end it is pretty much impossible to keep your eyes from roaming even if you never act on that instinct to attempt to have sex with the attractive woman. What happens with a Were is that they lose the ability to suppress their new animal instincts and begin to perfom acts in accordance with their new instincts. They may not see it as evil because to them it "feels" right to act on their instincts but then again I believe that most evil characters do not see themselves as evil anyway.

Anyway... just my $0.02. Hope I haven't offended anybody.

Makes sense to me.

 

[Ogrebear]

The alignment change is a manifestation of the were's instincts which eventually become so strong that a person's will cannot overcome it. What happens with a Were is that they lose the ability to suppress their new animal instincts and begin to perfom acts in accordance with their new instincts. They may not see it as evil because to them it "feels" right to act on their instincts but then again I believe that most evil characters do not see themselves as evil anyway.

Very interesting points, makes a lots of sense.

Question for you then- an Orc that has been raised the way Orcs are get infected by a Werebear and the animals instincts take him over, what sort of effect would that have on the former CE creature? The new way of LG thinking is almost totally at odds with his former worldview.

Also how would you think he'd be recived by other Werebears?

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I'd consider taking a common plot of werewolf movies and flip them round.

If they're inflicted werebears - The Orc(s) want to be evil. They like evil. It's their normal way of life. However, after the full moon, they wake up with little memory of what they've done... they've actually been out and about comitting good deeds...

Quite whether an evil being gets 'teh angst' about doing good deeds is an interesting question.

Anyway, I figure it'd make for an interesting phenomena....

How others would react is a great question. I guess any cosmic balance orientated druids would jump up and down with glee (CE + LG = N ?)... Although, I'm pretty sure the orcs tribe wouldn't be thrilled to have an 1000 lb killing machine (that hates evil) running around every full moon...

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Very interesting points, makes a lots of sense.

Question for you then- an Orc that has been raised the way Orcs are get infected by a Werebear and the animals instincts take him over, what sort of effect would that have on the former CE creature? The new way of LG thinking is almost totally at odds with his former worldview.

Also how would you think he'd be recived by other Werebears?

He would find himself cringing every time his tribes-orcs commit acts of evil and cruelty. Just like the scholar he'd wonder why he all of a sudden would have this instinct to be repulsed by such acts that never bothered him before. Over time he'd lose his ability to repress his distaste and may transform should he witness a really vile act and lash out in Hybrid form at his tribe. When he snapped out of it and regained his normal form he'd find his warband laying strewn about entrails everywhere. As he probably wouldn't have any memory of what happened he'd be appalled that his "Friends" were slain but at the same time he'd have a strange sense of satisfaction and justice at the deed.

Other werebears would probably react to him on an instictive level. If a human werebear met the orc werebear his first "Human" reaction may be to prepare for a fight but some instinct inside him would tell him that this orc is not a threat but is in some strange way kin. The same would go for the orc... he'd sense the the human werebear is closer to him as kin than even the orcs that he was raised around.

The key to ALL werecreatures is to remember that they are creatures of incredible instinct. Instinct fuels almost every part of their being.