Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

might add, the most opportune time to
track and kill these creatures), one
that has survived numerous transfigurations
will be more cunning. It will
make the effort to cover its tracks and
to keep its true nature secret. For
example, a newly infected werebeast is
quite likely to attack its prey-often,
sadly, a loved one-in a relatively
public place, rending him or her within
clear sight of others. An “experienced”
(if I may use that term) werebeast is
more likely to sneak into the house of
its prey at night and drag the victim
into the woods. In a private, secluded
place, it will devour its quarry with
vicious glee, knowing that his or her
screams will never be heard.
Obviously, if an infected lycanthrope
has survived its first six or so
transfigurations, the chances of its
continued survival dramatically
increase. Once the werebeast begins to
apply its intelligence to the problem of
survival, the difficulty of hunting it
increases tenfold. For this reason, it is
vital to start the hunt as soon as a
werecreature has claimed its first
victim. If the culprit is a newly infected
lycanthrope, the chances are much
better of successfully hunting it if the
effort is made immediately.
True Lycanthm-
There is a wide variation in the goals
and desires of lycanthropes that inherit
their condition. Initially, when I first
became aware of the existence of
werebeasts, I suspected that this
variation was based along phenotypic
lines. In other words, I believed that
lycanthropes of the same phenotype
shared an overall set of behaviors and
views. Over the intervening years,
however, I have found that this is not
true-or, at least, not universally true.
Certainly, there are similarities between
lycanthropes of the same phenotype.
But, quite are often, the variability
within a phenotype is greater than that
between phenotypes. The inescapable
conclusion is that lycanthropes are
individuals first and foremost. Indeed,
they show much the same disparities
and similarities as do humans and
demihumans
The central aspect of any lycan-
thrope’s philosophy is survival. Since
survival requires the creature to eat raw
meat, and since its preferred food (re-
gardless of its origin or moral outlook)
is humanoid flesh, hunting intelligent
prey is at the heart of all its behaviors.
However, this does not mean that a ly-
canthrope that has inherited its illness
will be the conspicuous, ravening beast
that newly infected werebeasts often
are. (Certainly there are some true ly-
canthropes that seem to enjoy openly
terrorizing humans and thus attracting
attention to themselves, but they are
rare. I postulate that this is particularly
true because such creatures would
bring down the wrath of every were-
hunter in the region. As such, these ly-
canthropes are few and far between.)
It is possible to argue this point by
analogy. Humans must eat to survive.
(Granted, they do not have the dietary
restrictions of lycanthropes, but set
that consideration aside for the
moment.) Does this mean that a
human’s every waking moment will be
spent concentrating on finding his next
meal? Does this imply that humans
think of nothing but food? Of course
not. The same logic holds true for
lycanthropes, whether hereditary or
infected ones that have adjusted to
their disease.
Indeed, for many werebeasts the
greatest motivation in their lives is that
of continuing the deceit that they are
normal humans or demihumans. I have
personally encountered several
lycanthropes that have crafted such
cunning, complete masquerades that
maintaining them interfered with their
ability to hunt. They would
undoubtedly have found it easier to
feed if they had relaxed their attention
to detail in their ruse. Yet they did not
do so.