The band Powerwolf just launched its new song The Beast of Gevaudan and it's about this historical incident in 18th century France where people may or may not have been eaten by a supernatural wolf monster.
Victims were often killed by having their throats torn out. The Kingdom of France used a considerable amount of money and manpower to hunt the animals responsible, including the resources of several nobles, soldiers, royal huntsmen, and civilians.[1] The number of victims differs according to the source. A 1987 study estimated there had been 610 attacks, resulting in 500 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten.[1] Other sources claim the animal or animals killed between 60 and 100 adults and children and injured more than 30.[1] The beast was reported killed several times before the attacks finally stopped.
Here's the Wikipedia about the incident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan)
Here's the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po-u-V6GiEk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po-u-V6GiEk)
Anyone do something unusual with wolves or werewolves in your fantasy games?
I don't know about unusual, but it was different: I did a campaign where werewolves had kind of an "underground network" similar to the real world "hobo" network of the early train eras. Hidden signs, codes, messages about safe areas, etc. The idea was that werewolves were constantly moving around to keep from drawing too much attention to themselves. They also had a werewolf code they followed (mostly) with the werewolves policing their own. Of course, the code was more about how to make things safe for werewolves than anything else.
I've done similar things with wererats--which frankly makes more sense to me. In that campaign, I just really wanted werewolves to fill that role and not use any of the other lycanthropes.
I have a warg king that keeps a pack of wargs and wolves in a ruined old wizard's tower. Years of exposure to magic have made the warg king more intelligent and cunning. He uses goblins and other humanoids as pawns when harassing the settlements of humans and the like and sends members of his pack out to spy on the edges of the forest and see what is happening.
Quote from: Spinachcat on May 21, 2021, 02:26:58 AM
The band Powerwolf just launched its new song The Beast of Gevaudan and it's about this historical incident in 18th century France where people may or may not have been eaten by a supernatural wolf monster.
Victims were often killed by having their throats torn out. The Kingdom of France used a considerable amount of money and manpower to hunt the animals responsible, including the resources of several nobles, soldiers, royal huntsmen, and civilians.[1] The number of victims differs according to the source. A 1987 study estimated there had been 610 attacks, resulting in 500 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten.[1] Other sources claim the animal or animals killed between 60 and 100 adults and children and injured more than 30.[1] The beast was reported killed several times before the attacks finally stopped.
Here's the Wikipedia about the incident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan)
Here's the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po-u-V6GiEk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po-u-V6GiEk)
Anyone do something unusual with wolves or werewolves in your fantasy games?
I like the distinction between wolves (normal animals) and wargs (potentially evil and magical wolf-like beasts).
Having said that, that's a very interesting case. In real life, the only animals I know of that wreak that kind of havoc on humans are the big cats. Tigers hold the record, with one individual being on record killing more than 400 people in Nepal and northern India.
Yes, I often use wolves. They are a classic common beast, plus they can run in packs.
Werewolves take it up a few notches. They can hide amongst the populace. Therefore they instill a much greater terror, into the hearts of men.
Quote from: Trond on May 21, 2021, 11:44:56 AM
Having said that, that's a very interesting case. In real life, the only animals I know of that wreak that kind of havoc on humans are the big cats. Tigers hold the record, with one individual being on record killing more than 400 people in Nepal and northern India.
The Beast of Gevaudan is a real life incident. Other major incidents include the wolves of Paris, Périgord, Kirov, and Ashta. They were often exceptional circumstances, like extremely long winters or wars when all the men were away, but it happened enough that no other animal in Europe has such a legendary aura of terror, exemplified in all the werewolf legends. The top kill counts tend to be a bit behind the tigers, but that's probably more due to population density than anything else.
Hyenas deserve an honorary mention. They're notorious for running into camps and "taste-testing" (biting) people, then running away, and there have been a couple incidents of where they've persistently hunted humans, like the Malawi hyena. There's a reason they're associated with witches in many African traditions.
Crocodiles and hippos are also major killers, though neither tends to go far from aquatic environments, and the hippo doesn't do it for food.
I ran a couple of werewolf scenarios for Honor & Intrigue. Since the campaign was set in a mostly historical 1620s France, I did a fair bit of internet research prior to running the adventures which included the Beast of Gevaudan. I had multiple blog posts about the adventures, their setup, and background historical information.
The first one was a "werewolf" who was actually just a
wild man (https://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-hallows-eve-1-wild-man.html) or madman. I blogged about the adventure here:
The Werewolf of Blackwood (https://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-hallows-eve-2-adventure-werewolf-of.html).
Much later they encountered a real werewolf leading a pack of normal wolves. I posted an
Adventure Seed (https://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-hallows-eve-3-adventure-seed-for.html) based on the second adventure.
I had a lot of information to cover stories the PCs might hear and research they might do, which I posted as
Werewolf Legends (https://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-hallows-eve-4-werewolf-legends.html).
And, as luck would have it, a PC was bit by a werewolf: The Werewolf Bit You, Now What? (https://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-hallows-eve-5-werewolf-bit-you-now.html)
Wolves killed a lot of people in Europe before they were almost wiped out in the 19th century. But people covers a large group. Norway, Sweden and Finland had a number of wolf attacks recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries. The number of dead was 78-91 children, 2 adult women and one unspecified adult. Wolves mostly killed children, because adult humans, especially adult men, are bigger and stronger than a wolf, and even a simple knife is a more dangerous weapon than the wolves claws and teeth. Even the beast of Gevaudan was mostly a danger to children. But what about the fear caused by wolves? Yeah, most people tend to overestimate things that are dangerous to their kids, and you get a lot of stories about things that seldom happen in reality (like serial killers. They happen, but if we were going by cop shows and Hollywood movies there would be serial killers everywhere all the time).
Quote from: https://throneofsalt.blogspot.comThe Champawat Tiger killed, as far as anyone was able to record, 436 human beings in her lifetime. Mostly they were women and children, gone out into the forest to collect firewood or livestock fodder. She killed strategically, never hitting the same location twice and constantly staying on the move.
By any stretch of the imagination that is more than enough to call her a monster. It's a perfectly fair assessment, and the leap of faith to ascribe it supernatural power would be quite small, given the circumstances. It's as close to a true monster as you're liable to get.
When the tiger finally died at the hands of Jim Corbett, the body revealed a different story: The two canine teeth on the right side of her jaw had been broken by a hunter's bullet some 8 years before.
The Champawat Tiger was starving.
The damage to her teeth meant that she was unable to hunt her normal prey...
I used to have a player who thought wolves were overused as a combat encounter in D&D. "Attacks on humans are actually quite rare!" And in fairness, wolf pack vs PC party probably is overused, but there's no reason at all not to use a wolf or tiger as a monster.
Quote from: Dave R on May 22, 2021, 02:04:07 PM
I used to have a player who thought wolves were overused as a combat encounter in D&D. "Attacks on humans are actually quite rare!" And in fairness, wolf pack vs PC party probably is overused, but there's no reason at all not to use a wolf or tiger as a monster.
What often is overused is treating an animal like a PC killing monster, i.e. it wolves attack a heavily armed party of humans instead of following them and waiting until night to try to spook their horses once the party makes camp.
Haven't used any werewolves in D&D before. Would like to though, so long as we're talking Gygax's AD&D rules for them, and them as Chaotic Neutral creatures instead of Chaotic Evil.
In general, though: I'd set them up as a loosely organized group of NPCs that mix up the duties of getting food and supplies and caring for others/the young, as well as finding places where everyone can safely live out their full moons. (Anyone who lives as one long enough to earn the ability to shift at will earns status among the group and can easily become the leader.)
Quote from: Pat on May 21, 2021, 02:05:05 PMThe Beast of Gevaudan is a real life incident. Other major incidents include the wolves of Paris, Périgord, Kirov, and Ashta. They were often exceptional circumstances, like extremely long winters or wars when all the men were away, but it happened enough that no other animal in Europe has such a legendary aura of terror, exemplified in all the werewolf legends.
This is one of the things that always bothered me. In a world with Dragons, Giants, and Chimeras roaming around, would those people be scared of a wolves? Or just treat them as a nuisance. (same goes for lions and other animal associated with nobility).
I was quite enamored with Eberron's take on lycanthropes (http://keith-baker.com/dragonmarks-lycanthropes/).
In my own worldbuilding, I decided to focus on the spiritual aspect of lycanthropy. Rather than a disease, I treat it as a form of spiritual possession: a bond with a totem of wolves and primal rage.
Quote from: hedgehobbit on May 24, 2021, 01:21:22 PM
Quote from: Pat on May 21, 2021, 02:05:05 PMThe Beast of Gevaudan is a real life incident. Other major incidents include the wolves of Paris, Périgord, Kirov, and Ashta. They were often exceptional circumstances, like extremely long winters or wars when all the men were away, but it happened enough that no other animal in Europe has such a legendary aura of terror, exemplified in all the werewolf legends.
This is one of the things that always bothered me. In a world with Dragons, Giants, and Chimeras roaming around, would those people be scared of a wolves? Or just treat them as a nuisance. (same goes for lions and other animal associated with nobility).
I imagine fantastical beasts would be pretty rare. Wolves would be a more common threat. And there are worgs/dire wolves, to add some 'beefy' wolf menaces.
Quote from: Ratman_tf on May 24, 2021, 02:17:19 PM
Quote from: hedgehobbit on May 24, 2021, 01:21:22 PM
Quote from: Pat on May 21, 2021, 02:05:05 PMThe Beast of Gevaudan is a real life incident. Other major incidents include the wolves of Paris, Périgord, Kirov, and Ashta. They were often exceptional circumstances, like extremely long winters or wars when all the men were away, but it happened enough that no other animal in Europe has such a legendary aura of terror, exemplified in all the werewolf legends.
This is one of the things that always bothered me. In a world with Dragons, Giants, and Chimeras roaming around, would those people be scared of a wolves? Or just treat them as a nuisance. (same goes for lions and other animal associated with nobility).
I imagine fantastical beasts would be pretty rare. Wolves would be a more common threat. And there are worgs/dire wolves, to add some 'beefy' wolf menaces.
From an epistemological POV, "fantastical" wouldn't be a thing in fantasy worlds. Fantastical creatures would be mundane. For instance, real bestiaries (http://bestiary.ca/) thought of these creatures as perfectly normal parts of ecology. (Although medieval writers had a poor understanding of ecology, but I digress.)
Where does one draw the line? Rarity alone? Effect on the environment? Uniqueness? Was there a mythic past where monsters were far more common?
To my mind of thinking the standard wolf /werewolf encounters are important they do a great deal to set the tone of the game and setting.
Weather its the 1st encounter the pcs run from In a thick forest or that simple moment of horrer as the farmer looses control and changes under the light of the moon .
These encounter say even thing you think you know things you think you have seen can scarry and a bigger threat then you can handle in your spiffy armor and sharp sword.