The Many Forms of the (Were)Wolf
A predatory column on using folklore in tabletop RPGs
So, what exactly is a werewolf? Well, they’re a person who transforms into a man-wolf hybrid under the light of the full moon. They have an uncontrollable rage and this affliction stems from a curse, one passed on by being bitten by another werewolf.
That’s what a werewolf is. Except, of course, when it’s not.
Here are four alternative takes on werewolves from around the world.
Rougarou
Our first werewolf, the rougarou, takes us back to Bayou Country. With its name derived from the French loup-garou, this Cajun legend haunts the swamps of French Louisiana1.
While we can at least agree the rougarou has the body of a man and the head of the wolf, as with many folktales, the details change with the telling. Becoming one is typically a curse, contractable in numerous ways:
If you reveal the name of someone you know to be a rougarou, you might just be cursed to become one yourself2.
If you break the rules of Lent for seven consecutive years.
If you’re cursed via a spell. In this case, you have to remain in the form of a rougarou for 101 days and, potentially, you need to draw someone’s blood in that time to pass your curse on to them.
Another rougarou draws your blood to break their own curse (a bit of a jerk move if you ask me).
Now that you’re a rougarou, you likely transform at night, voluntarily or involuntarily, and get up to all sorts of mayhem. Maybe you drink blood and eat flesh. Maybe you beat up people who break the rules of Lent. Whatever floats your boat.
Before we go, though, here’s one weird trick rougarou don’t want you to know: they can’t count higher than twelve. Lay thirteen objects out in front of it and by the time it gets to the thirteenth object, it’ll get confused and start counting again. Now you just have to wait it out until the sun rises, chasing it off.
The Livonian Werewolf
In 1692, Thiess of Kaltenbrun was put on trial for heresy in Swedish Livonia. This trial was the accidental byproduct of another, where, when called as a witness in a church robbery, the octogenarian freely offered to the court that, ten years prior, he had been a werewolf3. But not a Devil-consorting werewolf, of course—Thiess had been a “hound of God”.
Many years ago, Theiss and other werewolves would meet up and transform into wolves. He and the other werewolves would go around butchering and roasting farm animals (‘How do wolves roast meat?’ asked a judge), before getting down to business:
Q: How often in the year do they go into hell together?
A: Ordinarily thrice: Pentecost Eve, St. John’s Eve, and St. Lucia’s Eve. The first two are not always exactly on these nights, but when the grain is blossoming. Then and at the time of sowing, the sorcerers carry off the yield and there-after carry it into hell, so the werewolves work hard to bring it back.
(Trial Transcript4)
Theiss also explained to the judges how he had first become a werewolf when “a rascal” had drunk a toast to him, giving him his powers. In fact, Theiss could do the same for someone else by toasting, breathing into the jug three times, and proclaiming "you will become like me.” Unfortunately, however, he hadn’t found the right person yet.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, things didn’t work out for Thiess in the end, though not for the reasons you might think. During the trial, he couldn’t prove he was a devout Lutheran—he didn’t attend church or regularly pray—and it was found that he performed folk magic and healing for the community. Since his blessings didn’t invoke the name of God, the judges decided they encouraged people to turn away from Christianity and were thus criminal. Theiss was flogged and banished for life.
Vrykolakas
In Greek tradition, werewolves and vampires are often closely related. We can see this in particular in the undead vrykolakas, whose name comes from the Old Slavic term for “wolf-pelt”. Vampiric in nature, rather than drinking blood they instead crave human flesh (and livers).5 They roam about causing epidemics and panic, often engaging in poltergeist-esque activity. Sometimes they go through a village, knocking once on each door. If you answer, you'll die and rise as a vrykolakas yourself in several days.
Revenants, these damned corpses rise for the usual reasons (sacrilegious behaviour, excommunication, unconsecrated burial, etc.) but also if you eat the meat of a sheep wounded by a wolf or werewolf. Slain werewolves become powerful vrykolakas after death too, if their corpses are not properly destroyed.6 If you ever need to kill a vrykolakas, trap him in his grave and set him on fire. Saturdays are great for this, as they can’t leave their graves then. Never let it be said I can’t also provide strictly practical advice.
The Head of a Wolf
Another interesting idea comes from medieval England, where “wolf’s head” referred to an outlaw who could be killed as if they were a wolf:
“For from the day of his outlawry he bears a wolf's head, which is called wluesheued by the English. And this sentence is the same for all outlaws." (Leges Edwardi Confessoris, 6.2)7
While this is obviously metaphorical, fantasy easily lets us make this a literal realisation of dehumanisation instead. And if you’re interested in hearing a take on this as an RPG premise, I’ve got you covered!
This last month I’ve been writing a dark fantasy RPG called WOLF HEAD, where you play a criminal cursed with a wolf’s head:
The King is just. Rather than execute you, he cursed you with the head of a wolf. Instead of death, you were exiled to be hunted for the rest of your days.
But now, the King needs you, or someone like you. There is a great crisis threatening the realm. If you were to solve it, he would remove the curse, pardon you of your crimes. What would you be willing to do for absolution?
If that sounds interesting to you, check out WOLF HEAD here!
Using These Werewolves in Your Game
It’s all good to have different conceptions of the werewolf, but how do you use them in practice?
Bayou Curse
Everyone loves a good werewolf mystery (I think there’s a game named after it?). The problem of course is that the rougarou curse is transmittable via speaking the identity of a rougarou aloud. How do you solve a mystery when doing so risks you becoming a monster yourself? At what point do you cross that line? Does arresting or punishing someone in human form for being a rougarou count as betraying their secret?
If you want to really delve deep into this idea, you can explore lycanthropy as a memetic virus, a perfect idea for a modern horror game like Delta Green.
Hounds of God
The most interestingly gameable takeaway from Theiss’ tale is the idea of “hounds of God”. His story takes a traditional view of werewolves, empowered by the Devil, and reframes it as gallant heroes charging into Hell to thwart the actions of witches and devils. So, why not add holy werewolves to your own game? In a D&D-style fantasy, werewolf clerics dedicated to a ‘Good’ deity could easily make for a memorable encounter or faction. If your party needs help thwarting the efforts of some demon or devil, they could do far worse than recruiting some wolfish allies.
Just don’t forget too that Theiss’ werewolves still hunted and butchered the local livestock before their quest. Just because you have a troupe of holy werewolves doesn’t mean they can’t get up to bad behaviour.
Werewolf II: The Vrykolakas
Everyone knows you have to kill a horror movie monster twice.
The vrykolakas is a great way to have a werewolf villain rise from the grave for revenge. For one, their weaknesses and powers have changed, avoiding the problem of having the same fight twice and forcing the party to adapt to new circumstances. The unusual behaviour of the vrykolakas creates a mystery to investigate too, which couples with a fun last-minute reveal of the villain’s identity. In your Monster of the Week—or Monster of the Week—game, this is a great way to keep the episodic structure while still creating continuity through callbacks.
And that’s it for weird wolves!
Next month, we’ll be celebrating the spooky season with some equally spooky folklore. Next week though you’ll be getting a bonus column with the free copy of WOLF HEAD for subscribers, valid until the end of October, so keep an eye out for that too!
Penny for your thoughts: Have you ever run or played in a game with a werewolf villain? Have you ever played a werewolf yourself?
~ A.C. Luke
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Kerner, Frank. “History of the Rougarou: Louisiana’s Werewolf”. Pelican State of Mind. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
Leach, Christopher. “Mankind’s Uncontrollable Nature: The Legend of the Rougarou”. WGNO. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
De Blécourt, Willem. 2007. "A Journey to Hell: Reconsidering the Livonian "Werewolf"". Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 2.1: 49–67.
Ginzburg, Carlo, and Lincoln, Bruce. 2020. Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf: A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
Lee, D. Demetracopoulou. 1936. “Folklore of the Greeks in America”. Folklore 47.3: 294–310.
Summers, Montague. 2001. The Vampire in Lore and Legend. Courier Dover Publications: New York.
“Leges Edwardi Confessoris, version 2 (39-chapter text) (ECf2)”. Early English Laws. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
This was great! I once wrote an article about werewolf myths or a blog I used to work for, and you still found stories I hadn't uncovered in my previous research. Interesting read, as always! :)
Considering I own a copy of every book published for Werewolf: The Apocalyspe, yeah I have played a werewolf and had werewolves as both heroes and villains in games I have run. ;)