But at the same time, I don't think a person who basically just grows a fur coat once a month lends itself to very much conflict (some, sure, but not really that much for too long). The drama surrounding werewolves tend to be from those people or moments that lose control, either subtly by their newfound capabilities going to their head, or more egregiously by outright doing something they didn't want to do.Uniform Two Six wrote:Well, here's my take: First off, I think that the werewolf maintaining his mental faculties is much more interesting from a story perspective since human beings are complex things mentally. It leads to all sorts of plot-driven conflicts both internally (how he feels about his new condition - revulsion, excitement, sociopathy, etc.), and externally (keeping others from learning of his new nature, conflicts with people who have found out, etc.).
Personally, I think a werewolf that doesn't keep their human mind can be more interesting, especially if they can retain some memories. That's not to say they shouldn't have a mind at all (I agree that a purely instinct-driven creature isn't terribly interesting), but that doesn't mean the mind has to be the human's. Even a wolf raised in the wild has a mind, and isn't driven on instinct alone... though it doesn't have to strictly be a wolf mind, depending on the story and setting. If that mind is different, focused on different needs and desires, and may not see things like the human counterpart would, it would be more interesting for me, I think. You still retain the internal mental conflicts (literally, as there's effectively two minds there that may or may not be able to communicate directly), possibly with some added moral conundrums (that other mind is a sentient entity too), without removing what I think makes werewolves interesting... that werewolves always present some danger, and that changing is always going to come with cost and risk, since you can never be sure what you're going to do when changed. Whether you change because it's automatic (full moon), or as a physical or mental response (adrenalin, stress), or because you want or need to (being in a situation where changing into a werewolf could help save your life), it's never merely an inconvenience, or worse, a superhero power, and there's no hiding in a closet for a while to escape it.