My take on werewolves

[Wingman]

So, for the last while I've been giving my werewolves a severe overhaul.
I've decided to use them as the flagship for some new mechanics I'm working on. Essentially, the deal is that everyone in my setting has a certain 'energy' to them, and really everything contains some of it, trees, rocks, water, everything. This energy, this Will, allows them to impose their will onto reality, to one degree or another. So, by using Will, things that shouldn't be possible can happen, by literally making them possible, at least for a brief instant.

Now, I've already got a slew of beings that have copious amounts of Will, but, for my werewolves I'm working on a being that doesn't have extra Will by default, but rather has different uses of it. Rather than spending their Will to transform, they merely allocate it temporarily. By allocating this power, they can boost their physical abilities, but at the same time they're strengthening their Id. Essentially, this is because they've got one of my True Werewolves inside them. It gives them strength, and speed, and stamina. It gives, but it also takes. There is a line, and if it is crossed they are in danger of losing control.
At this point, my werewolves more resemble the Fey than anything else, since they're less of people turning into wolves, and more of people becoming shapeshifters. They're basically the Id personified, which, as I'm sure you guys know, can cause some serious problems if it is given opportunity to run rampant.

As a werewolf turns more of his Will towards "transforming himself" he becomes increasingly less human, and more...different. This manifests in ways directly related to how he's transforming himself. If he's increasing his speed and agility, then he might spontaneously become hyperflexible, and if he's increasing his health and vitality he might develop thick skin, or protective fur. Thus, you can measure how powerful they are, or at least how much they are using, by how far away from human they are.

So, it's not really about transforming to a specific form to get a specific ability array, but rather it's about deciding the abilities you want to improve, and them having the form as a secondary concern.

As an example, Will is measured in points. The average human adult has 3 or 4, animals have 2, children and unusually aware animals have 2. The average adult werewolf can commit 2 points before he is in danger of losing control, this is about equal to a +35% increase in total health and vitality, or +100% increase in strength or agility (for an average nonathletic adult anyways). So, enough to put Office Worker Joe on par with a trained martial artist, easy as pie, and on par with the greatest of human athletes as a severe risk. And they can do this, more or less, all the live-long day. Initially, this might seem overwhelming, but it's actually balanced since they're unable to make with the lightning-from-the-eyes that is so popular with the mage-type people.
As a comparison point, the average demigod is strutting around with 8-10 Will, which means they can ignore jagged pieces of metal rammed through their chest on a casual basis, or just deflect them with their skin. On top of any other shenanigans they decide to get up to, like starting cults and making floating castles.

All supernatural or magic abilities in this setting are fueled by Will, from monk-like karate chopping through steel, to wizardly floating around shooting lasers from your eyes. Though, as a rule of thumb, the less probable something is, the harder it is to make happen. It's easy to jump an extra couple feet, or to lift some extra weight, but it's difficult to make a rope with only one end, or a flying castle, or shoot fireballs, et cetera.

I know it's a bit of a departure from the typical "werewolf"(I should probably get a new name for them...), but I rather like it. If anyone's curious, I'm using the manga/anime Claymore as an inspiration for this.
So, what do you guys think?

[Vagrant]

I like a lot of the ideas you have there, but my favourite has to be how the desires of the person can result in Werewolf A being somewhat different from Werewolf B.

To speak of my own Werewolves a moment, the system that allows them to access their were-forms draws on their dreams to do so, it's something they refer to as manifesting. Anyone who has contact with the nanotech responsible could do it, but it takes time and effort to reach down far enough to access it (they need to activate a subconscious trigger, it takes some time and is usually achieved by meditation), but when they do they manifest and outwardly embody their dream-form. If they perceive themselves as a gentle creature, then that's what their outward nature will show.

Once they've done this a few times, they can begin to access other abilities that draw on their life's experiences and what they're familiar with. As an example, a Doctor who manifests might gain healing abilities. Over time, this would come to define them outwardly in much the same way as they define themselves within their own minds.

What you have there is a similar process that I really like, so that what happens is that your Werewolves call about the shift, they create their ideal Werewolf, and over time the attributes they bring to the Werewolf come to define them, and this provides for individuality between different Werewolves. This is a mechanic that can be used to great effect in stories, I'd think.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about them not being traditional, because a lot of us here don't exactly have very standardised weres. A lot of the stories milling around here depict some ideas that are quite new to the concept of the Werewolf, I jsut call 'em new-age weres.

I like yours too, I like yours a bunch because you've added something of yourself to your were-creatures, and that's something no one should be afraid of doing.