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Silverclaw · Post by **Silverclaw** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:25 pm

How long do you think werewolves live? Some movies show them as immortal, but I'm not fond of that idea at all. I think they would have an average life span longer than a reguler human. Not sure how much longer though...

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:41 pm

Silverclaw wrote:How long do you think werewolves live? Some movies show them as immortal, but I'm not fond of that idea at all. I think they would have an average life span longer than a reguler human. Not sure how much longer though...

Longer...Why? Because they are better,stronger and cooler than humans?
I really can't see why their lifespan would be any greater. Wolves actually have Shorter lifespans than humans. I suppose you could argue that their natural regenerative abilities would counteract the aging process, but...
I just don't know.

Capable...maybe. But I think they would also be more likely to die young...either by murder or possibly even suicide. (Though I don't really like to think about that.)

Silverclaw · Post by **Silverclaw** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:50 pm

I thought that they may live longer because the werewolf virus, heals them as they shift. They have very fast healing process. And they go from human to werewolf. Not just because their 'cooler'.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:59 pm

I believe I mentioned that.
I suppose that could be possible. But then I think we should also consider that age could also weaken the Werewolfs healing abilities. Ex: an 80 year old Were wont recover as fast or as well as a 30 year old.
Again...the hazzards of being one would likely pick most of them off before they get that old.

\

Edit:
Sorry. I just realised that didn't sound very friendly.
This is a very good topic, and something that should be seriously considered.
My appologies if I made it sound otherwise.

Darksong17 · Post by **Darksong17** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:42 pm

I agree they should live a little bit longer

LoupGarou · Post by **LoupGarou** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:57 pm

Why not change the dog years (or wolf years) to human years,for instance 10 dog years are 56 human years and 11 dog years are 60 human years(always add 4 years),so 1 werewolf years is 4 human years,basically their lifespan is 4 times bigger,so an average 70 year old human would be 280 year old werewolf.
It's an idea i've had for quite some time now and i'm using for my comic book.

WolvenOne · Post by **WolvenOne** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:01 pm

My opinion on this matter is that, simply put, werewolves do age, but the aging is quite so dramatic as it is with humans. They don't become all sickly, don't suffer from, er, what do they call that female bone loss thing?

Okay, long story short, thier regenerative capabilities take a lot of the edge off the worst aspect of aging, but they still slow down a bit after awhile. Considering a werewolves likely lifestyle, that "slight slowing down," would probably result in a werewolf getting hurt, thus I think that most werewolves would end up dying, roughly around the age of 65-75.

As for the actual life-span of werewolves, well, for all I know there may not be one. We don't even know exactly how longs humans can live for before they die. Infact, I think the oldest human on actual records ended up being over 150 years old I believe. Though this person, if I remember correctly, was a hermit or something in, africa I think. With that on mind, it's very possible that his date of birth was simply not recorded properly.

LoupGarou · Post by **LoupGarou** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:13 pm

Since its been said that when transforming back into the human form the skin tissues as well as the cells regenerate,it would make sense that they would live much longer than humans,i suppose it depends on the director .

WolvenOne · Post by **WolvenOne** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:17 pm

I'm going to take a moment and point out that, this probably won't have any baring on the movie. After all, I doubt they're going to show the life of a werewolf from infection to death......

....Though... considering a werewolves potential lifespan, that may be interesting if handled correctly

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:09 pm

One function of lycanthropy is regeneration, so every lycanthropic shift could reset a werewolf's blood pressure, repair any bone and muscle decay, etc. A werewolf wouldn't necessarily be immortal, but the lycanthropic regeneration would constantly negate most of, if not all of the effects of aging. A bullet to the head could still kill one, but if they could maintain their will to live, avoid all freak accidents and attempts on their life, and shapeshift on a regular basis, a werewolf could live for centuries.

NightmareHero · Post by **NightmareHero** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:24 pm

Vuldari wrote: Again...the hazzards of being one would likely pick most of them off before they get that old. \

Not if there were VERY few of them, and they remained annonymous......

Treads Lightly · Post by **Treads Lightly** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:36 pm

I too dislike the idea of immortal werewolves. It was mentioned in another thread that nothing is free. It seems that there would be some price to be paid for the ability to become big and powerful in the long run. Just my opinion, but it seems too convenient that all you have to do is shift and all of your ills are cured.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:33 am

Treads Lightly wrote:I too dislike the idea of immortal werewolves. It was mentioned in another thread that nothing is free. It seems that there would be some price to be paid for the ability to become big and powerful in the long run. Just my opinion, but it seems too convenient that all you have to do is shift and all of your ills are cured.

This is how I feel. Now Lycanthropy is a cure for cancer, aids, heart disease, and all other physical ailments short of decapitation?...I don't like that. That is WAY to big of a perk.

Think-Harder wrote:Not if there were VERY few of them, and they remained annonymous......

How does being rare reduce the chances of being killed if someone catches them in wolf form? The guy wetting his pants is not going to stop and consider if Werewolves are an endangered species before he bashes it over the head with a baseball bat in a panic.

Lasthowl · Post by **Lasthowl** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:36 am

I'd hate to be a werewolf with AIDS. You'd have horrible multiple secondary infections, but your flesh would regenerate just enough that you'd never die of them.

This strikes me as much worse.

Apokryltaros · Post by **Apokryltaros** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:59 am

Lasthowl wrote:I'd hate to be a werewolf with AIDS. You'd have horrible multiple secondary infections, but your flesh would regenerate just enough that you'd never die of them.

This strikes me as much worse.

That would be like saying a werewolf wouldn't be able to kill himself by chopping off his own arms because they'd grow back.
I would think that a werewolf's immune system would be either able to stave off AIDS, or still be overwhelmed by the loss of his white blood cells and the ravages of the secondary infections, and ultimately die, as his regenerative abilities are exhausted.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:07 am

Apokryltaros wrote:
Lasthowl wrote:I'd hate to be a werewolf with AIDS. You'd have horrible multiple secondary infections, but your flesh would regenerate just enough that you'd never die of them.

This strikes me as much worse.
That would be like saying a werewolf wouldn't be able to kill himself by chopping off his own arms because they'd grow back.
I would think that a werewolf's immune system would be either able to stave off AIDS, or still be overwhelmed by the loss of his white blood cells and the ravages of the secondary infections, and ultimately die, as his regenerative abilities are exhausted.

...okay. Maybe mentioning AIDS was not the best example. I was just rattling off diseases that can kill.

As for the "decapitation"comment, I wasn't suggesting that every thing else should be able to heal. That would be the exact opposite of what I was suggesting. I don't like the idea of entire arms growing back either.

I think it would be reasonable to suggest that they are highly resistant to most diseases...but not Immune.

LoupGarou · Post by **LoupGarou** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:27 am

I don't think wether their immune or resistant to any disease is important when making a movie about werewolves,unless it's a werewolf version of Philadelphia or something like that.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:36 am

LoupGarou wrote:I don't think wether their immune or resistant to any disease is important when making a movie about werewolves,unless it's a werewolf version of Philadelphia or something like that.

The Werewolf "curse" / "disease" will have to originate from an older werewolf at some point in the story.
The subject of how long a WereWolf can live will have some bearing on how old that "Alpha" wolf should be allowed to be. ...and whether they can die from old age or disease would play a critical factor in that.

...that is whay it is important. (potentially)

WolvenOne · Post by **WolvenOne** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:39 am

On the flip side, I imagine wolves wouldn't handle cancer very well.

I would think that the regeneration would actually ACCELERATE malignant tumors and the like. Which isn't to say that Werewolves would always get cancer or anything, just that they'd die a lot faster due to it.

As for the concept of werewolves not aging and all and being niegh immortal, that's a little too drastic in my view. I agree that most of the worst aspects of aging would likely be nullified, but a general slowing down would likely occur. Werewolves would tire a bit more quickly, wouldn't regenerate quite as fast, and they'd likely be plagued by minor aches and pain.

The simple fact of the matter, is that as they age, the virus would have more to repair due to the natural effects of aging and may not work as quickly anyway. This, combined with a werewolves likely hectic lifestyle, would simply be quite a tax on the regenerative abilities of a werewolf.

Now, if a werewolf manages to avoid the lifestyle and takes good care of itself, and so on and so forth, then a werewolf COULD in theory live for, a long long time, and avoid yet even more aspects of old age.

However, it's almost inevitable that a werewolf would have to give up such a lifestyle. Simply put, the older a werewolf gets, the more suspician they're likely to garner more and more suspician simply because they're not aging normally.

This would make them an extremly easy target for anybody that's hunting werewolves. (A subject being discussed elsewhere.)

Thus at some point, a Werewolf WOULD have to move underground, take on a false identity, and leading a false life would become exceedingly difficult the older one got.

So I would think at one point the werewolf would simply abandon human life and become a hermit. Much like the ones that live in the middle of nowhere Alaska.

Thus, they'd likely come to rely more and more on thier werewolf form for hunting and the like. At THAT point, the wear and tear due to ever increasing age and physical activity in the Werewolf form would probably start making up for lost time.

Between that and thier continued isolation in harsh conditions, I would think before too long, the werewolf would get some sort of serious injury and simply fade away.... so to speak.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:46 am

I have no arguments at all with WolvenOnes last post. That all sounds about right.

Xodiac · Post by **Xodiac** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:14 am

Longevity is, like so much else here, a judgement call. Wolves, and for that matter most other creatures, have a shorter lifespan than humans do. A straight compromise whould have a werewolf rarely getting past 45 or 50 years old.

But then the regeneration comes into it, and you have to ask yourself if AGE is equivalent to DAMAGE. And although I would argue for it if I was to role-play a werewolf in an RPG (and indeed, I did argue for it, and get it), for a movie I think it'd be better steered away from. We already have immortal vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc. A lot of popular fiction has dragons and elves ageless as well. As much as I like magic, why must everything magical never age?

Let's make an exception, here, and have werewolves have purely human lifespans. The decreased time given to them thanks to being wolven is compensated for by the regeneration roughly equally, so an 80 year old werewolf will appear as an 80 year old man. Of course, some men age more gracefully than others, but that's normal variation, not any benefit of werewolfism.

That's my opinion on the matter.

WolvenOne · Post by **WolvenOne** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:27 am

I would agree with that if it were a regnerative anthromorphic wolf, however, werewolves spend most of thier time in human form, well, most werewolves would at least.

As such, I don't see why thier life-span would be drastically reduced, (with regeneration taken out of the picture.)

I will agree that seeing a REALLY old werewolf, should be extremly rare. As I would think that the lifestyle would kill off most of them before even reaching old age..

Treads Lightly · Post by **Treads Lightly** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:51 am

I can’t remember the exact source, as it has been a few years since I saw the documentary, but there was a theory that aging was directly related to a particular chemical, gene, whatever, inside human cells. This “gene” (I will call it this for lack of knowledge of the proper term) was present at birth and was not replenished. Basically every time a cell splits it uses up some of this gene. Once the gene is used up, the cell cannot split anymore. This then causes bone loss and worse because damaged cells cannot be replaced, in turn leading to death.

Supposing this is true, then a werewolf would use the gene up far quicker if he would shift often, and perhaps even just by being in the half form. This could be the equalizer. If you want to spend your entire life as a wolf, you will live to maybe 35-40, if you want to live as a human, you can make it to 75, like normal people.

Shifting is bad for your health, just like smoking, eating and breathing

WolvenOne · Post by **WolvenOne** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:58 am

Mmm... I'm not sure I buy that. If that were the case then most people that died of old age would die at roughly the same time. Yet it's been scientifically proven that taking care of yourself and living certain lifestyles can increase your lifespan dramatically.

It's my understanding that really, we don't know what causes people to age and why some people live so much longer then others. There are lots of different theories though.

Treads Lightly · Post by **Treads Lightly** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:16 am

WolvenOne wrote:Mmm... I'm not sure I buy that. If that were the case then most people that died of old age would die at roughly the same time. Yet it's been scientifically proven that taking care of yourself and living certain lifestyles can increase your lifespan dramatically.

Supposedly different people are born with different amounts of the chemical, and it is only used when cells need to regenerate, such as when they are starved of oxygen because of obesity, killed by smoking, broken bones, malnutrition or whatever would kill cells in your body. So taking care of yourself would increase your lifespan because you would need to replace fewer cells throughout your lifetime.

Like I said, it is a theory. If I remember correctly they were trying to find out why older people suffer from bone loss and accidentally discovered a chemical that wasn’t present in their cells that was in younger people. Ack! If only my brain worked as good as my Tivo!

Just thought that it might be plausible related to werewolfism being a virus.

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