pack stucture

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Night_Hunter
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pack stucture

Post by Night_Hunter »

I know it will varry

But structure will be like this

Alpha=Leader
Beta=Second in command
Delta=Just more important than average
Gamma=Average, mojority

What would pack structure depend on anyway? Is it the same for everyone
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Post by Berserker »

It's easy to see what werewolf pack structure might be. Just check out any human nuclear family. Wolf social behavior is very similar to human behavior, and I don't think werewolves would be different.

There's a couple of parents that run the show (the Alphas,) with the family members below that. There's the Big Brother or the Big Sister who's slightly more responsible and has the limited ability to boss around their younger siblings. There's the little kids, who have to do what their elders say no matter what. And then there's the annoying little snot-nosed brother (the Omega.)

If the werewolves are not a family, take a look at human tribal societies for a comparable model. Or in urban settings, perhaps a street gang hierarchy is more appropriate... one or two people are the head honchos, and they have their warriors, advisers, and select right-hand men who help keep control.
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Post by Terastas »

Berserker pretty much hit the nail on the head, at least as far as a family would go. Human households tend to have the same positions, but they aren't exactly declared outright or assigned so much as they just fall into place.

A werewolf community would likely operate in very much the same way; a werewolf wouldn't declare himself the alpha so much as he would unofficially become the alpha once other werewolves start to rally around him and look up to him for support. Betas would also not be declared, but would be werewolves with other areas of expertise that other werewolves would go to for advice and assistance, as well as other werewolves entrusted by the alpha. The pattern of trust and responsibility continues all the way down to the omegas, who in this case would be the newcomers that still require some supervision while they adjust to pack lifestyle (so Omega would only be a temporary position).

In my own writing, werewolves don't even assign positions as they try to remain as distant and low-key whenever possible. There is somewhat of a hierarchy, but it's unofficial, and any and all titles refer to what they do for the pack as opposed to any system of rank. The four most prominent are:

Benefactors: Refers to any werewolf with an occupation with a nice hefty paycheck. Lawyers, therapists, small business owners, anyone that makes enough money that they can live comfortably, live securely, and still have money left over to support a pack's familiars (discussed below).

Coordinators: Refers to any werewolf whose job offers them access to an information network; anything from a 911 operator to an employee of a newspaper or radio station. Coordinators are in positions where they can keep their eyes/ears peeled for anything that might relate to the pack and/or can relay warnings or scheduled events in the form of coded messages (the coordinator for my primary pack, for example, uses the personal ads in a newspaper as code; a nonexistent missing cat means an emergency Pack meeting, Yugioh cards for sale is a warning to keep distant from each other, etc).

Representatives: Typically the only pack member that knows the names of any members of neighboring packs (and by 'neighboring,' I mean existing in the same state, not just the next town over; it would be the New York, Albany and Buffalo packs as opposed to the Brooklyn, Bronx and Manhattan packs). It can be anyone, but typically the position is assigned to someone whose occupation affords them an excuse to be out and about at odd hours and/or on short notice like a locksmith, cab driver or real estate agent.

Familiars: Typically the only non-werewolves ever in a Pack, familiars are given the Pack's financial support in exchange for them keeping their living spaces open as safe houses for any werewolves in need. Their job is essentially to manage the safe house, but to justify paying their bills without even leaving the house, they must maintain that they either work at home as artists, website owners, etc., or are collecting in the form of disability or retirement. They typically remain uninfected because they need to be available 24/7 -- they can't effectively conceal a werewolf if they have to conceal themselves.

And anyone that doesn't have one of those four jobs is just a Pack member whose only real job is to keep in touch and stay out of trouble. Anyone filling one of those four positions (even the non-werewolf familiars) can draw out some sense of authority from it, but only in the sense that the rest of the Pack relies on them filling their roles effectively. Humans are social just like wolves, but we are also free-thinkers who do not place our trust in others easily, especially not in people that covet a dominant position before proving their capacity. Being an alpha in a werewolf pack would be less a privilege and more a responsibility.
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Post by Black Claw »

Well the need the Alpha to lead them to safety for the pups and for hunts. but they also relie on the beta for second in comman when the alphas are gone. Delta are the workers in doing things. Gamma are the same as a delta but lower responsiblity. So they all balance each other out. :howl:  :oo
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Don't forget the Omega

Post by Trashdog »

The bottom of the barrel guy. Every wolf pack has one, and while human families may not necessarily, most human social groups do. You know, the guy everyone talks crap about. The group dork.
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Re: Don't forget the Omega

Post by Terastas »

Trashdog wrote:The bottom of the barrel guy. Every wolf pack has one, and while human families may not necessarily, most human social groups do. You know, the guy everyone talks crap about. The group dork.
The slacker. The oddball. The black sheep. The loose cog. Yeah, we get it.

The thing is that most human beings have bad habits, irritating quirks or other shortcomings, and as such, we tend to talk about everyone behind their backs. In fact, because we have a tendency to resent people that we feel are coveting authority they don't have or abusing authority that they do have (and since we also have a tendency to blow things out of proportion, we tend to view most people with authority that way), the people we usually talk crap about behind their backs are the alphas in our lives: Our parents when we are young, our teachers as we grow older, and our employers when we are adults.

So werewolves, having intelligence akin to that of humans, could not be expected to adhere to the model wolf pack. It's a close comparison to the human family, but the human brain, human emotions and human society are more complex than that.
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So...

Post by Trashdog »

Is that an agreement or a disagreement on the presence of an Omega?

FWIW, I'm not sure I completely agree with you that the person in the social group that humans talk down is the dominant personality. Do people b**** about authority figures? Sure! But that person is usually considered outside the circle, aren't they? I've been in plenty of situations where there was always one guy (or gal) that was sort of the figurative punching bag, and that person was never the leader.

My only point was that people have them, wolves have them, so too I would expect werewolves. *shrugs* Or at least that is my vision of a pack of werewolves. YMMV
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Post by punxnotdead »

I would think a werewolf social order would be similar to a wolf. Though, there would be few skirmishes between the members of the pack. Although the alpha is in charge, everyone gets to eat together...no one is last. Everyone will pitch in to help raise young. The younger, less experienced werewolves would stay behind and take care of the young while the others seek food or are gone for a period of time.
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Re: So...

Post by Terastas »

Trashdog wrote:Is that an agreement or a disagreement on the presence of an Omega?

FWIW, I'm not sure I completely agree with you that the person in the social group that humans talk down is the dominant personality. Do people b**** about authority figures? Sure! But that person is usually considered outside the circle, aren't they? I've been in plenty of situations where there was always one guy (or gal) that was sort of the figurative punching bag, and that person was never the leader.

My only point was that people have them, wolves have them, so too I would expect werewolves. *shrugs* Or at least that is my vision of a pack of werewolves. YMMV
My point was that humans can have them but the human social structure doesn't require one. Omega in the wolf pack is a designated position, whereas human omegas are typically people we just don't like and would rather not associate with any more than we already have to.

Werewolves may have canine instincts while in their werewolf form, but unless we're talking about werewolves in a medieval or pre-history setting, they would have to live their lives predominantly as human.
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Post by RedEye »

Just as the "Alpha" wolf was a human-society term applied to a wolf pack, so is the "Omega" term.

It's human society applied to wolves that gives us Alpha and Omega wolves; not wolf society itself.
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Post by Trashdog »

That's a very good point, Redeye.

And unless I'm mistaken the whole idea of a strict Alpha through Omega heirarchy as applied to wolves is based on an antiquated study done on a pack of captives wolves during the 1940's. I do know that 'Dominance Theory' is based on said study, and that it is the basis for many misconceptions about wolves and dogs. (Dogs being more my area of expertise though I admittedly lack any formal training.) I'm not trying to say there is no general heirachy, but it's a lot more fluid than people realize. :)
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Post by RedEye »

Right. More modern studies of non-captive wolves show that while there is a pack heirarchy, it isn't as strict as what is seen in captive populations.

It's almost as if the Wolves are emulating Humans and their society, after careful study and discussion.

It could also be "Lifeboat Psychosis" in the captive populations.
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