Book of Races II: Therianthropes

**Lady Leth** · by **Lady Leth** on Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:17 pm

Therianthropes

(from the Greek theríon, θηρίον, meaning "wild animal" or "beast" and anthrōpos, άνθρωπος, meaning "human being")

Also known as: Therians, Sentinels, Guides, Guardians, Shapeshifters

General Facts
• They are homeothermic, which means that they are able to maintain the same temperature regardless of external influence - also, this temperature is slightly higher then average human temperature.
• Blood: contains a hormone that speeds up regeneration. Red, but darker then human. Higher density - it's thick and somewhat sticky.
• They do not transform parts of their bodies. The transformation must be complete.
• Different heartbeat rhythm. More rapid rhythm compared to human. Their heart is stronger, as the blood it must pump around the body is different.
• The animal that they change to is referred to as the Ghost.
• A therian in their animal form is referred to as eidolon.

Origin
No one is entirely positive how did the first therians come about, but many of the tribes believe that the first change was more spiritual rather then genetical. Native Americans for example, believe that each individual has their animal 'Guide'. Another theory talks about connecting with one's spiritual Self. Many therians believe that this is the sort of change their ancestors underwent - they were able to connect with their Higher Self. However, none of the First therians are alive, and so, there became legends and speculations. In the modern days, the only way therians can come into being is through reproduction with either a human or a therian of the same Ghost.

Appearance
Physically they look just like humans. When in animal form, however, they tend to be larger then a normal representative of the species (to eliminate unnecessary danger). Also, they often have a feature which matches their human form's, and further distinguishes them from an average animal - for example eye colour, fur/feather colour. If an individual has a tattoo, it'll be transferred into the animal's skin. Because technically it's ink, it'll affect the animal's feather/fur colour in the area, and possibly form a pattern resembling the tattoo. Their human size is also linked to the animal - for example, if there are two therians of the same subrace*, and one of them is bigger as a human, he or she will be larger in the animal form as well.

* Therians have variations which will be referred to as subraces - each subrace can transform into a different 'kind' of animal. The largest surviving subraces are the Raptors, Felids, Canids, and Ursids.

Strengths
I. Senses
The therian's five senses are enhanced to a certain level, depending on what subrace do they belong to. Even as a human, they posses the senses of their Eidolon. If the information below is not detailed enough, research into the animal that your therian can transform to.

• Sight. Depending on what their Ghost is, they can either be able to see better in the dark, see better at a long distance, etc.
• Hearing. Certainly better then human but varies depending on what their Ghost is.
• Smell. Varying depending on the Ghost.
• Taste. Depends on the Ghost.
• Touch. Depends on the Ghost, although usually isn't much above human average.

II. Ability to change into their Ghost
This is one of the biggest advantages that therians posses. Currently, there are only four surviving large groups of therian subraces:

• Raptors (ones with ability to transform into Birds of Prey), e.g. hawks, eagles, owls
• Felids (ones able to to transform into Cats), e.g. cougars, lions, domestic cats*
• Canids (ones able to transform into Dogs), e.g. foxes, wolves, jackals, dogs*
• Ursids (ones able to transform into Bears), e.g. grizzly, polar, pandas

Therians are distinguishable from regular animals by unusual markings, eye or fur colors, and always size. Another way to distinguish them from regular animals is the fact that they are often spotted in large gatherings - even if the animal they transform to isn't known to form any groups. this is due to the fact that nearly all therians live in bands or entire tribes - working together is the key to their power.

It is believed that in the past, therians could transform into any kind of animal, but due to environmental or genetic causes, most of them are now extinct. Still, although it's rare, small tribes or bands of therians able to transform into different animals still exist - for example, ones with the ability to change into snakes.

III. Communication
Another big plus is the fact that therians can communicate with the species of their Ghost (which is useful to find out information). Even if they are in their human form, the animals recognize them and would not harm them. When in the eidolon form, they are also cable to call upon the animals of their species - and they may, or may not, come and follow the therian's lead. This is a big advantage for therians that are far apart from their tribes.

IV. Lifespan & Aging
Therian lifespan is much longer then human one - naturally, they are able to live up to 500 years, but there are individuals older then that - this was achieved through repeated consumptions of vampire's blood (although only the strongest individuals can survive that, as vampire blood works like a virus, and for three days, the therian would be put in severely feverish state). Therians age at a normal rate for the first 20 to 30 years of their life. However, afterwards, their aging rate slows down considerably - and they age five time slower then humans.

V. Regeneration
Like vampires, therians are able to re-grow certain types of tissues, but not organs, entire bones or limbs (unless their animal form is a snake, for example). Their wounds can heal with extreme speed due to a hormone present in their blood. For example, it would take about 1 minute for a cut to close up without leaving any scar tissue. A bigger wound, like deeply cut throat, will take about half an hour to fully heal. It should be noted that they can generate extra tissue only if something (for example finger) has not been completely cut off.

Weaknesses
I. Fragility
Although they are more unlikely to bleed to death then humans, and have fast regenerating abilities, if the wounds are inflicted faster then they can heal - they can die just like humans. Also, if in their animal form they would be for example, shot, they would be unable to transform themselves back until the bullet has been removed.

II. Inhumanity
Their ability to transform into their Ghost has numerous drawbacks. First and foremost, the danger is humans. They could try and capture or kill them, due to their size or unusual appearance in their animal form. People may try to kill them for what they believe to be animal fur, or they may try to attack them if they spot them in an area they should not be in (city). The problem is that some therians chose to live close to humans in order to protects them or track down vampires. This sort of behavior from humans complicates the matters. Another thing is that therians feast in the same way as their animal self, often due to preference - however, this behavior may betray their identity, or simply scare humans, that's why they usually avoid living in the immediate neighborhood.

III. Instincts
Therians have very strong instincts that often lead to disagreements within the tribe, similar to competition between normal animal.

IV. Numbers
A notable weakness could be the overall numbers of therians in existence in comparison to vampires - their numbers are much more scarce compared to vampires. This is mainly due to the fact that they cannot convert a human into their own kind - therians can only be created through reproduction.