Phoenix MUD Adds a Werewolf Class

        /\     /\
        .-.   .-.
  /\   /   \ /   \  /\
  .-. |    ||    | .-.
 /   \ \  /  \  / /  \  Even a man who's pure of heart
 |   |  '`.-.`'  |   |  and says his prayers at night,
  \_.' .-`   `-. '._/   Can become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
    .-'         '-.     And the autumn moon is bright.
   /               \
   |               |
    \             /
     '.___...___.'

What are they?
Lycanthropy and the legends surrounding it are as old as mankind. The ancient legends agree on only two points: The werewolf is evil, and it has a taste for human flesh. Beyond this, all is speculation.
Do they fear silver? Do they need a full moon and/or a wolfskin to change? Must they be male or female? Although Werewolves of the Phoenician variety do share some of these relatively recently acquired traits, there is no ultimate authority. Scroll down for a bibliography.

Phoenician Werewolves
Phoenician werewolves spend most of their lives as normal, well-adjusted law-abiding Phoenicians, questing, story-telling, laughing, crying, cursing, singing, loving, killing and living heartily. During the evening and night hours, however, at the time of the full or gibbous moons, the change occurs. During their wolf cycles, Phoenician werewolves can kill other werewolves or any of the other PK classes.
Wolf Moon encompasses 3 of the 8 phases of the moon. The total time a shapeshifter will be in Wolf form comes to 9 Phoenician evenings and nights out of every Phoenician month.

Phoenician werewolves have twice the strength of regular Phoenicians of the same level, and do +20 the damage. During their wolf cycle, remorted werewolves enjoy substantial increases in their stats, which
are not bound by the limit of 10 over natural stats restricting regular Phoenician remorts. A remorted werewolf has 3 times its natural constitution, 3 times its natural power, and twice the intelligence and agility. Its charisma sinks to an unmodifiable -10 and its wisdom remains unaffected. During their wolf course they can move heavy objects without help and wreck doors like a Warrior.

Werewolves of Phoenix also have certain skills available to them. See HELP FRENZY, HELP HOWL and HELP POUNCE. In addition, their bite supplies them with some strength during combat and deals additional damage. They have certain spell/skill advantages as well. The jab of a Werewolf, for instance, does damage on a par with the stab of a non-wolf. Animate is less expensive for werewolves, and the animated corpses last longer under their thrall. In addition, Werewolves can feed off the flesh of the zombies that follow them and help them fight. (See HELP DEVOUR).

Their thick pelts offer all Werewolves some protection from the damage done by the hidden dagger of SecondStrike, unless the wielder is a Warrior, in which case only Rodanthians have protection against it. Depending on their particular sect, werewolves enjoy either partial or complete resistance to various forms of attack. For info on the various lycanthropic orders, see Info WolfOrders.

Weaknesses
Werewolves cannot carry, wield or wear anything. There are no exceptions. Besides the obvious inventory limitations, this restriction also limits some of the skills they are capable of performing, for instance stab, backstab and secondstrike, or any
ability, skill or spell requiring an object to be picked up or held. Familiars hate and fear werewolves, as do helper Natives - these cannot be accessed by morphed Phoenicians at any time during their wolf cycles. Grouping is also impossible for them during this time, as they are loners by nature, requiring only the companionship of the moon and stars.

Diet
Werewolves of Phoenix can eat only meat. This includes corpses, both the inert kind and the re-animated Zombies created via the animate spell. See HELP DEVOUR.

Miscellaneous
Werewolves can cross water without a boat, but they are not natural swimmers, and swimming is exhausting for them. They do have the ability to see in the dark, but their sensitive eyes require a short period of adjustment on moving from dark to light or light to dark.

How does one become a Werewolf?
How indeed? This information is shrouded in mystery, but is said to involve a garden accessible only by night, a plant treated with a rare and noxious substance, a wearable item, clear wits and a great deal of courage. Any candidate must be a minimum of level 35 or rlevel 1+. This is all the information available. Further disclosure WILL result in severe penalties!

Is there a cure?
We don't think so. Elliott O'Donnell, in his 1912 volume "Werwolves", passes along some possible folk-remedies, but adds "[A]s to the success or non-success of these various methods of exorcism I cannot make any positive statement.... As far as I know, once a werewolf always a werwolf is the inviolable rule."