Search found 27 matches

by Kveldulf
Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:32 am
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: When did the idea of non evil werewolves come from?
Replies: 61
Views: 46204

Re: When did the idea of non evil werewolves come from?

I'd vote for shamanic practices (and later, after people got agriculture and stuff like that, so needed organized religion more than shamanism, holdover magico-religious techniques). Granted that, to the best of my knowledge, all shamanic cultures agree that sometimes shamans can be bad guys; the ge...
by Kveldulf
Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:13 am
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: Beowulf - a werewolf?
Replies: 23
Views: 18243

Re: Beowulf - a werewolf?

Awesomely unlikely. The name "bee-wolf" is a kenning for "bear" (the one who destroys bees, as when searching for honey), and Beowulf is a typical Bear's Son hero...descent into the cave to fight the monster, abandoned by friends above; in one version or part of the tale, he kill...
by Kveldulf
Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:07 am
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: Benandanti
Replies: 18
Views: 16071

Re: Benandanti

Interesting stuff indeed! I was not even slightly familiar with these legends, or with Theiss...my doctorate is in Old Norse religion (and specifically the worship of Odhinn), so I know a great deal about Scandinavian werewolves, with a strong focus on the role of the hide-shifting/ hide-faring/bers...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:59 pm
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: Irish Werewolf
Replies: 3
Views: 4728

Re: Irish Werewolf

I'm pretty sure that Irish werewolves, as such, do *not* put in an appearance in the Táin bó Cúailgne (unless you count the Morrigan briefly shape-shifting into, among other things, a wolf to harass Cú Chulainn). There are, however, a lot of fascinating Irish werewolf legends, including, indeed, the...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:39 pm
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: Help needed about werewolf legends.
Replies: 27
Views: 16798

Re: Help needed about werewolf legends.

Uniform...don't suppose you could give me any specific references to the "full moon being fairly well established by the end of the Roman Empire", could you? My primary field of historical study is Viking Age Scandinavia (with the obvious frequent excursions into later folklore and Norther...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:40 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: How would a Were in human form dress?
Replies: 7
Views: 8294

Re: How would a Were in human form dress?

Depends on what they're doing. I suspect that most werewolves would be inclined to rural life, so one would probably see a lot of jeans and flannel shirts... a bit of the lumbersexual aesthetic! (not to mention that if one is inclined to date non-werewolves, one is probably going to find more wolf-p...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:29 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Strongest animal a werewolf could go toe to toe with?
Replies: 42
Views: 31718

Re: Strongest animal a werewolf could go toe to toe with?

I'd say a polar bear or a large grizzly would be a pretty fair match for a werewolf, one-on-one. Similar strength levels (at least by me); the bear has the advantage of mass and that thick layer of padding, but if the werewolf has regeneration or invulnerability-except-to-whatever-magical/special ma...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:05 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Why silver?
Replies: 146
Views: 75782

Re: Why silver?

I think ultimately it's going to depend on your proposed mechanism for lycanthropy. Primarily supernatural - plenty of folk on this list have already discussed the ongoing belief in silver as a generally "pure" metal that can affect a wide variety of supernatural beings where cold iron can...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:47 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Werewolves and PETA
Replies: 10
Views: 10197

Re: Werewolves and PETA

I could also see PETA attempting to make lycanthropy as illegal as possible with the argument that "this is basically humans practicing a cruel and brutal form of hunting". Not necessarily logical, but these people aren't...and I certainly wouldn't trust any children, or pups if you like, ...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:51 am
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Medical issues and werewolves
Replies: 0
Views: 5660

Medical issues and werewolves

I'm a medical student myself, so some of the things that have come up have really engaged my attention and imagination in regards to werewolves. Cancer - I think it's unlikely because of the complete nature of the shift and probable hyper-immune systems. I would believe it if someone told me that th...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:39 am
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Hunters
Replies: 178
Views: 88669

Re: Hunters

Makes sense to me, Volkodlak. In considering potential classes of "hunters", I totally left out the idea of regulators dealing with rogue/mad werewolves (I tend to think that we would be highly motivated to take care of our own issues before they become public issues), but the enlistment a...
by Kveldulf
Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:49 am
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Hunters
Replies: 178
Views: 88669

Re: Hunters

I'd say we're definitely looking at different situations with different types of killer. Methodical, efficient, planned assassinations - go with some kind of institutional situation (hereditary cult of werewolf-killers, secret organization hidden within a religious or governmental body, etc.). Prett...
by Kveldulf
Sat Dec 02, 2017 8:32 am
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: The Downsides to Lycanthropy
Replies: 29
Views: 23411

Re: The Downsides to Lycanthropy

Enhanced senses are frequently no fun at all. Imagine trying to walk down a city street, and some jackass starts whistling right near your ear, which feels roughly like having an ice pick driven into it. Then you either scare the guy out of his wits by reflexively snarling, or go home with a headach...
by Kveldulf
Sat Dec 02, 2017 8:17 am
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Prehistoric Werewolves
Replies: 9
Views: 7112

Re: Prehistoric Werewolves

Also, given the strong presence of animal masking/ritual transformation in the earliest visual arts (and pretty much every hunter-gatherer society everywhere), I would expect that a prehistoric werewolf, Neandertaler, Denisovian, or Cro-Magnon, might well function as shaman to a tribe. And quite eff...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:13 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Their diet?
Replies: 237
Views: 89204

Re: Their diet?

Actually natural wolves certainly do scavenge human bodies when the opportunity arises. The Vikings referred to doing battle as "feeding the wolves" for just this reason; wolves, ravens, and eagles were defined as the three "beasts of battle" because they hung about the edges wai...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:28 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Best job for a werewolf?
Replies: 79
Views: 53530

Re: Best job for a werewolf?

Professional author (or other type of artist) would be the absolute best choice. Live where you please, keep your own schedule, and if you get a bit weird and snarly once in a while, hey, it comes with the territory. I say this from happy experience. Doctor actually would be another really good choi...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:15 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Clothes
Replies: 121
Views: 75609

Re: Clothes

I'd go for stretch trousers and light T-shirt if at all, because they're cheap, rip easily, and can be ditched in a hurry. It is not possible for a wolf to move well in almost any clothes designed for a human. It's just not. And it looks silly (although I do recall a werewolf hero of Poul Anderson's...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:01 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Hunters
Replies: 178
Views: 88669

Re: Hunters

There's also the point that, even if hunters have no supernatural abilities of their own, they are basically going to be working like mundane assassins. They have to determine that someone is a werewolf in order to target them...unless they're up in a blind in a wood where they know that a pack runs...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:41 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: What are your thoughts on how a werewolf would fight.
Replies: 204
Views: 83479

Re: What are your thoughts on how a werewolf would fight.

I think it's going to depend on circumstances. If fighting another werewolf, say for dominance within the pack, there may be pack rules that require the fight to be in full wolf form. In which case, the two will fight very much like natural wolves - but experience counts for a lot in that regard too...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:17 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Strength of a werewolf, for both sexes
Replies: 144
Views: 71680

Re: Strength of a werewolf, for both sexes

I'd definitely go with lifting a car, because to me being a werewolf is closely associated with the whole "berserk" phenomenon (though not identical to it, a similar mechanism is in play). Maybe not throwing it unless one were a major powerlifter to begin with, although some of the little ...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:07 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: The Wolf's Code...
Replies: 44
Views: 26292

Re: The Wolf's Code...

Do not do your business in the den. This means anywhere in your house. Especially if your spouse is not also a werewolf, as Things Will Be Said the next morning as the mop is shoved abruptly into your hands. Also, in the springtime when you are ready to blow your winter undercoat - no matter how itc...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:58 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: The ultimate question... FRESH OR COOKED?!
Replies: 12
Views: 13022

Re: The ultimate question... FRESH OR COOKED?!

I say both. Remember, even our natural cousins in the wild quite like eating berries and such. Sometimes I think it's a shame to ruin a particularly nice cut of red meat or a lovely fresh fat salmon with fire, and often I don't (even vanilla humans often eat steak tartare, carpaccio, and sushi or sa...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:47 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: Would you Willingly turn someone?
Replies: 86
Views: 61436

Re: Would you Willingly turn someone?

Now, there's one of the great ethical questions of being a lycanthrope... If I were asked, and if I had great trust in the asker's competence and emotional stability...after full disclosure of the risks, difficulties, pack laws and structure, and so forth...I would probably then still require a sort...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:30 pm
Forum: What should a werewolf be?
Topic: How would a werewolf tell others he's a were? How would you?
Replies: 55
Views: 35464

Re: How would a werewolf tell others he's a were? How would you?

Very, very carefully... Seriously, assuming that I retained full (or at least good) control of my actions in wolf-form, I think I would kind of prepare the (prospective spouse, closest best buddy, whoever) by letting them meet me as a wolf a few times first and get comfortable around the large, furr...
by Kveldulf
Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:18 pm
Forum: Werewolf Legends & Lore
Topic: Help needed about werewolf legends.
Replies: 27
Views: 16798

Re: Help needed about werewolf legends.

As far as we know, any legends brought to North America by Viking Age colonists stayed with the Viking Age colonists and went home with them (those who made it home again, that is). I have no idea where Wikipedia got that particular bit of misinformation. Germanic lycanthropic practices - no known r...