Classic Horror at its best, in my opinion.

Don't know about the last edition but it should be taken as a disease since it spreads through bite. Magical rabies on steroids.

Of course it is possible for a god or powerful enough entity to curse someone with lycanthropy so they will go hurt people once in a while in animal form. Then there is the possibilty of it being a blessing from such beings. An evil nature god can create lycans as a reward for service, because which eco-terrorist wouldn't want to become a predator animal to maul city loving humans?

But there is also the "good" lycans from werebears, whose alignment is Good. Bharrai is a NG ursine god (whose followers can turn into bears) and Selune is the patron goddess of non-evil lycans in the FR.

Soooo, its literally whatever you want. Perhaps another a relevant question is "can a curse become a disease if it spreads?`

Lycanthropy = Werewolves

Terianthropy = Were(insert animal here)

In D&D and most if not all RPGs they call it the first but in reality is the second.

IMHO, in most fiction and RPGs (AFAIK) it's treated as a magical disease, that might have started as a curse on patient zero.

I mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I'm curious how many would allow a PC to play the were-version of their character or if they become an NPC when they transform.

I would like to see an urban fantasy ttrpg about werewolves who can transmit it with a bite or magic

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 12:45:32 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I've already stated that's:

1.- IMHO

2.- The reasons and basis to differentiate disease from curse IMHO.

Is there anything else you need explained?

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on December 28, 2024, 12:54:40 PMI would like to see an urban fantasy ttrpg about werewolves who can transmit it with a bite or magic

I've got one in the backburner, WBFMAG based, inspired by the works of 2-3 of my favourite Urban Fantasy authors.

I've thought about this a bit. I think I like lycanthropy as curse more than the psudeoscience of it being a disease. Which doesn't preclude lycanthropy being transmissable via bite. It's just part of the curse that it can spread to the innocent.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 06:38:46 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 12:45:32 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I've already stated that's:

1.- IMHO

2.- The reasons and basis to differentiate disease from curse IMHO.

Is there anything else you need explained?

No, if you don't want to discuss it further, then I guess not.

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 09:42:21 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 06:38:46 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 12:45:32 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I've already stated that's:

1.- IMHO

2.- The reasons and basis to differentiate disease from curse IMHO.

Is there anything else you need explained?

No, if you don't want to discuss it further, then I guess not.

I'm fine discussing it, but seriously I already gave my reasons.

As to why would people call it a curse (even if it wasn't), well people have called a curse lots of stuff we now know it isn't.

What I  think is more interesting is:

Do Terianthropes reproduce biologically? Meaning, if you get a male and female werewolves are they able to have offspring? and is the child also a were from birth?

Quote from: Ruprecht on December 28, 2024, 12:47:54 PMI'm curious how many would allow a PC to play the were-version of their character or if they become an NPC when they transform.

About three years ago I was running an Advanced Labyrinth Lord game and one of my players was bitten by a wererat in a scuffle and I waited to see if she was going to get it taken care of, yet the player spaced it. So I wrote an index card with some information and slipped it to the player who did a great job of running with it until she was eventually found out and Remove Curse was cast on her (one of the other players was deathly afraid of rats and set up the 'intervention'). It was an interesting part of the campaign.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 10:10:50 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 09:42:21 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 06:38:46 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 12:45:32 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I've already stated that's:

1.- IMHO

2.- The reasons and basis to differentiate disease from curse IMHO.

Is there anything else you need explained?

No, if you don't want to discuss it further, then I guess not.

I'm fine discussing it, but seriously I already gave my reasons.

As to why would people call it a curse (even if it wasn't), well people have called a curse lots of stuff we now know it isn't.

What I  think is more interesting is:

Do Terianthropes reproduce biologically? Meaning, if you get a male and female werewolves are they able to have offspring? and is the child also a were from birth?

You also have to consider that, if it is a disease, is it viral? Bacterial? Genetic (i.e., latent genetic that is activated by the bite)? Something else? Can it be medically treated/cured? Can (stupid/crazy) scientists experiment on it to create super-strains?

My problem with Lycanthropy as disease and the way it's mechanically presented leaves me the same way I feel about Shadows. Why haven't these things entirely overrun the planet?

If I were some extremely evil lycanthrope and I knew being a lycanthrope pretty much made anyone infected with it chaotic evil, I'd basically try and spread by super aids anyway I could, putting my blood in the water supply, spitting in food or drinks, the works. turning whole cities into nearly unkillable monsters armies.
sure silver is a weakness, but it's also economically impossible to arm an entire 14th century style army with silvered weapons. you'd win by attrition easily, let alone all the other factors.

So logically it can't be as virulent as the rules might suggest otherwise the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk quickly becomes the bloodiest furry convention in the multiverse.

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 29, 2024, 12:02:07 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 10:10:50 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 09:42:21 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 06:38:46 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze on December 28, 2024, 12:45:32 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on December 28, 2024, 12:17:03 PMI mean for it to be strictly a curse (IMHO) it would necessitate to not be transmissible by bite but to have the cursed be cursed, either by birth (the seventh son of the seventh son), by offending the entity cursing the were, or by accident (picking/wearing/etc the object that curses the were).

Is there some reason that a curse cannot be transmissible? Vampirism is often called a curse, and it can be transmitted (sorta).

I've already stated that's:

1.- IMHO

2.- The reasons and basis to differentiate disease from curse IMHO.

Is there anything else you need explained?

No, if you don't want to discuss it further, then I guess not.

I'm fine discussing it, but seriously I already gave my reasons.

As to why would people call it a curse (even if it wasn't), well people have called a curse lots of stuff we now know it isn't.

What I  think is more interesting is:

Do Terianthropes reproduce biologically? Meaning, if you get a male and female werewolves are they able to have offspring? and is the child also a were from birth?

You also have to consider that, if it is a disease, is it viral? Bacterial? Genetic (i.e., latent genetic that is activated by the bite)? Something else? Can it be medically treated/cured? Can (stupid/crazy) scientists experiment on it to create super-strains?

In my urban fantasy setting it's a magically transmitted disease and no cure is known. Which, since a were can very easily become feral (either temporally or permanently) it would feel like a curse, more so if they can't breed.

But in D&D it's called a curse and can be "cured".

Again, in my setting vampires are made by repeated feedings AND drinking the blood of the vampire until the sheep dies from the feeding. It's a curse that can be passed on by the act of drinking the vampire's blood which would imply not only consent but willingness to become an undead. Not all sheep rise as undead even if they have been sheep for a long time, but for every year as one the % of rising as undead increases up until 95% chances of becoming undead.

Haven't ever tried to make either a real disease with no magical component. Meaning something scientists could tamper with. Which doesn't mean a powerful enough wizard couldn't try to make a superstrain. Guess it all depends as to how the were's origin came to be...

Say it was a deity/demon that created the first... Are there wizards powerful enough to tamper with that? Has the magic remained the same over millenia?