How Acrobatic Is A Werewolf?

This is the place for discussion and voting on various aspects of werewolf life, social ideas, physical appearance, etc. Also a place to vote on how a werewolf should look.

How Agile Are Werewolves?

Slow and cumbersome
0
No votes
Fast and acrobatic like cats
23
26%
2 - Doesn’t really care either way
64
74%
 
Total votes: 87

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How Acrobatic Is A Werewolf?

Post by Darksong17 »

How fast and agile are they? Should they only be able to walk. Can they jump and leap off of walls and generally have catlike reflexes?
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Post by Terastas »

They could, but generally I think it would vary from one werewolf to another.

A first-time shifter, for example, wouldn't be accustomed to his/her new form and would likely have trouble standing up. On the other hand, a werewolf with the proper training could probably have some Matrix-esque abilities. For the most part though, I wouldn't stretch reality too much in their capabilities -- just give them enough agility to keep it interesting.
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Post by Darksong17 »

I agree entirely ^^
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Post by WolvenOne »

Wolves really arn't that agile in the most strict definition of the word so I cannot see Werewolves being ALL that agile either.

For example, wolves are agile enough to run at fairly high speeds and still make a fairly sharp turns, but they don't really have the ability to gracefully scale walls or to always land on thier feet like cats. However, with enough training humans can do some of that sort of stuff, so, there-fore, I'd say that a highly experienced werewolf, or a werewolf that's studied gymnastics or whatnot as a human, would probably be more more agile then thier cannine cousins.

Strength, speed, and intelligence seem like the three most important characteristics of a werewolf to me. Agility is important as well, but, as people said earlier, a newly created werewolf would probably be somewhat clumsy at least for a little while.
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Post by Xodiac »

You know, that's a good point. When I watched a movie like Van Helsing, I wondered what the heck the werewolf was doing scaling walls, bouncing around corners like a ferret on speed, and gracefully landing perfectly each time. But mostly the wall thing. Canines can't climb! Humans can, and so a humanoid werewolf might be able to climb, and might not. I know from my own costuming experience that claws make manual dexterity very difficult, and so while a humanoid were might be able to scale a wall he won't be able to do so under fire, or to leap from wall to wall. Trying to dig into the surface with claws would most likely shatter the claws.
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Post by Werewolf »

Well wolves aren't and acrobatic as felines such as cats, wolves aren't quite as nimble but can hold their own when they need to... the best qualities a wolf has is their endurance, they are fairly quick runners maybe not the fastest but can maintain a good amount of speed over a longer period of time which they often use to wear down prey during the hunt.

Wolves also have high senses like smell and hearing as well as pretty good sight, as far as agility they should have a fair amount of it but nothing like an olympic gymnist :wink:

If anything it should be a combination between their human abilities and their enhanced wolf ones, meaning that not all werewolves would have the same physical abilities but would vary depending on how fit and their own skills.
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Post by Bete »

I went with the majority's decision of "somewhere in between," I would think that they would be a cross of human and wolf capabilities (not cats and definitely not running on the ceiling like some of these new movies, oy-a-vey).
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Post by Figarou »

no wall climbing.
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Post by CrewWolf »

I think werewolves would be slightly more acrobatic but not with exactly catlike grace. They are stronger and faster, can jump higher, and can endure what most humans would normally crumple under. Yes, I believe werewolves can climb. They have opposable thumbs, they have increased strength, they can climb. They wouldn't use their claws like a cat would though, they'd be more like a human in that aspect. But they wouldn't be spiderman. No leaping off rooftops, or scaling walls, or swinging through cities using super spiderweb wire or anything silly like that.
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Post by What Mafia »

Xodiac wrote:You know, that's a good point. When I watched a movie like Van Helsing, I wondered what the heck the werewolf was doing scaling walls, bouncing around corners like a ferret on speed, and gracefully landing perfectly each time. But mostly the wall thing. Canines can't climb! Humans can, and so a humanoid werewolf might be able to climb, and might not. I know from my own costuming experience that claws make manual dexterity very difficult, and so while a humanoid were might be able to scale a wall he won't be able to do so under fire, or to leap from wall to wall. Trying to dig into the surface with claws would most likely shatter the claws.
Amen. That seriosuly bugged me when I watched that movie. hwlwnk
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Post by WolfVanZandt »

But Pleeeeeease (pleasepleasepleaseplease) no climbing the walls. Where do these movies get the idea that Werewolves are people who have benn bitten by a radioactive spider?!? They might be good at rock climbing techniques but they're not supersticky.
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Post by Teh_DarkJokerWolf »

I think they should be able to climb walls.....no not like spiders,but their claws would dig into the surface and crack the wall they are climbing....could of like on the tv show gargoyles.....Actually there was an gargoyles episode with a werewolf that could climb walls, but you could hear the wall crumbing as it climbed up the wall.....(i can't seem to find that episode anywhere now...oh well) But i definitely agree that there be no spider werewolves :D
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Post by Figarou »

WereWolfQueen_84 wrote:I think they should be able to climb walls.....no not like spiders,but their claws would dig into the surface and crack the wall they are climbing....could of like on the tv show gargoyles.....Actually there was an gargoyles episode with a werewolf that could climb walls, but you could hear the wall crumbing as it climbed up the wall.....(i can't seem to find that episode anywhere now...oh well) But i definitely agree that there be no spider werewolves :D
In order to climb a brick/concrete wall, the claws needs to be extra long, tough, and durable to dig into the brick/concrete. But it will crumble away and the werewolf would come crashing down.

There is no way it can climb a wall made of plaster or sheet rock. How in the world can it support the weight of the werewolf? Even if the claws dig into plaster, it will break away and again, the werewolf would come crashing down. I still don't want to see any wall climbing.
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Post by Terastas »

The only way I could see a werewolf climbing a wall would be Jackie Chan style -- in a place like a narrow alleyway, they could leap against a wall and kick against it with their stronger legs to propel themselves up and against the opposite wall, repeating the process until they reached their intended destination.

Of course, that would take a crapload of practice. I was trying to picture it, and all I could envision was a werewolf trying it under the supervision of a veteran in human form, getting it twice before mistiming and landing flat on his back, after which the veteran sighs and says: "Don't worry, even I didn't get it on the first time."
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Post by netherwurm »

I agree no wall climbing. Dang it what else can i add? Its all been said. A werewolf should have enhanced speed and senses. Only after practice should they be athleticaly supperior to humans. Catlike reflexes? sure, after they practice a little.
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Post by Scott Gardener »

WolfVanZandt:
But Pleeeeeease (pleasepleasepleaseplease) no climbing the walls. Where do these movies get the idea that Werewolves are people who have benn bitten by a radioactive spider?!? They might be good at rock climbing techniques but they're not supersticky.
I whole-heartedly agree! Underworld did it, and it puzzled me enough. I could see in my mind an actual werewolf watching the movie, scratching his head, trying to figure that out. Then, Van Helsing did the big, lumbering climb up what must have been a hundred feet or more. Maybe they read Werewolf: the Apocalypse and decided to try to one-up "stepping sideways." In that game, werewolves can teleport!

I'd imagine that--actually, I frequently DO imagine that--a werewolf would have the same agility as a human or wolf, depending on form and context. Certainly, the slow, lumbering beast is both completely out of character for wolves and has as many votes as Ralph Nader last November, so that's out. A few like the idea of cat-like reflexes; probably more from the camp who likes there werewolves super-powered. I say, save truly cat-like reflexes to werecats, but werewolves should be at least as good as a physically fit human in some regards and quite a bit better in others.
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Post by Rodentia »

reading thru this tread, I've determined that it's not just a "how agile are werewolves?" question, but also a "how much do they retain of their human mind and skills?", since given what's being discussed, like the wall climbing, are as much something you learn as something your body can do.
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Post by Kzinistzerg »

I say they can get very, very good, but it takes time to get used to one's body.
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How Acrobatic Is A Werewolf?

Post by Suho Wolf »

I agree, no wall climbing. Jackie Chan and others can do that only because they practice, practice, practice, and if you watch the out-takes at the end of his movies even he doesn't always nail it.

Even if a werewolf could do it in human form, I tend to think he couldn't replicate that in a transformed state.

I think it is precisely the fact that he is not thinking like a human that his abilities are enhanced. We know that the human body is capable of much greater feats than most of us are able to do in our everyday lives. But why can a five year old lift a car off his father to save him? Divine intervention? Possibly, but more likely it is because he doesn't stop to think about it. By disengaging that part of their brains, were wolves can achieve the true physical potential of their human bodies.

This is not so much acrobatic, but definitely able to run and jump faster and higher than before. I agree with the thinking that experience matters here.

Last thing, re: nails and wall climbing. If you look at bears, black bears can climb trees where others (Grizzlies?) cannot, due largely to the fact that black bears have short nails. Too long is not good for climbing. (Of course, they also weigh less. )
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Post by WolfVanZandt »

Hey, I wouldn't mind if Werewolves ran up walls like_Jackie_Chan_does. Unfortunately, in movies now days, they sprint horizontally along walls. Even Jackie Chan can't do that.
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Post by Apokryltaros »

WolfVanZandt wrote:Hey, I wouldn't mind if Werewolves ran up walls like_Jackie_Chan_does. Unfortunately, in movies now days, they sprint horizontally along walls. Even Jackie Chan can't do that.
Unless he's being chased by a horde of shurikan-flinging Shadowkhan.
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Post by WolfVanZandt »

Hmmmmm......I wonder what the chances are of getting Jackie Chan to act in one of the Werewolf parts......

:)
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Post by Apokryltaros »

WolfVanZandt wrote:Hmmmmm......I wonder what the chances are of getting Jackie Chan to act in one of the Werewolf parts......

:)
I would scream like a little girl's fangirl mom on seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in wet speedos if Jackie Chan was going to be in the film.
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Post by Figarou »

Apokryltaros wrote:
WolfVanZandt wrote:Hmmmmm......I wonder what the chances are of getting Jackie Chan to act in one of the Werewolf parts......

:)
I would scream like a little girl's fangirl mom on seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in wet speedos if Jackie Chan was going to be in the film.

heh, so would I. I'll be looking forward to the bloopers at the end of the film. :D
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Post by Stone Wolf »

The bloopers would be entertaining to say the least.... the broken, bones the bruises.... ouch
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