World History 501

Weres

The majority of werecreatures are born, not made. Only a truly rare and powerful creature could make more of its kind with a mere bite. If you're not the descendant of a shapeshifter, it usually requires rituals and rare materials to become one; not the least of which includes an appropriate animal hide, well enchanted. Most werecreatures have only one alternate form, and the majority of those are purely animal. The bipedal monsters in movies are strictly a minority, and most two-legged werewolf sightings are more likely to be Sasquatch or angry were-bears.

Werewolves are by far the most prominent shapeshifters, present on six continents, in an assortment of breeds. There are even recorded incidences of semi-domestic weredogs among the sled dogs of the Northwest Territory, the greyhounds of North Africa, and the great hunting mastiffs of Europe. The social nature of canines aids their socialization in human form, and their pack mentality both keeps them from each other's throats and encourages them to police their own kind.

The jagurundi, or were-jaguars, were largely wiped out by the war and disease brought by Cortez. Most surviving jagurundi are the product of curses rather than bloodlines, and are notoriously ill-tempered.

Wearbears are slowly recovering from the predation of previous centuries, human and otherwise.

Vampires

Vampires are made - chosen, in most cases - which only feeds into their feelings of superiority. The (presumed) majority bow to the Councils that govern various territories. In Europe and Asia, such Councils may be a Triumvirate or even a single Prince or Countess, ruling a city, or even a district of a metropolis like Paris or London. The American Council model tends to be significantly larger - five to a baker's dozen or more - but their territories are likewise larger by several orders of magnitude, often encompassing several states.

The vampires of the New World contributed to the overthrow of European imperialism, in exchange for recognition by mortal governors and the right to a large degree of self-rule. This radical - and astonishingly successful - arrangement spread back to Europe by the early 19th Century. In the Far East, supernatural creatures have long exerted influence through various tongs and secret societies, granting superior or inferior rights (depending on the situation and who is asking or answering) through traditions centuries or millennia old.

Only sunlight is the universal bane of the vampire. Holy symbols, running water, and various other folk charms rarely have more power than what the creature's own beliefs offer them. They do have some vulnerability to necromantic magic, compared to a mortal human, but it is not overwhelming.

Vampire powers can be as hereditary as eye color, or as random as the distribution of freckles, depending on the origin of the bloodline and the circumstances of the transformation. Most vampires are faster and stronger than humans, but far from unbeatably so. That said, there are vampires that can lift a modern automobile overhead or move quickly enough to outpace the human eye for brief stretches. Others can influence emotions, summon and command lesser creatures (wolves, bats, and insects are all popular, but creatures as evolved as Great Apes or diverse as sea life - cetacean to crustacean - have been documented, at least in legend), or command talents rarer still - even sorceries of the blood.

Other Supernatural Powers

The djinn were behind 9/11 and assorted other Arab extremist attacks on the US and other Western nations. Sometimes they act directly, but more often they impersonate angels to stir up fanatics. Their motives aren't clear, but some have alluded to a grudge dating back to before the Crusades.

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